I am student of semester four, Mechanical Engineering, at National Institute of technology, Calicut.(Formerly, Regional Engineering College).I joined this college as it was the best college in Kerala, and as it has been converted into NIT it enjoys a considerable amount of autonomy to make its own decisions.Formerly it was under Calicut University, and then it followed an obsolete syllabi, and the examination papers were easily escapable, if you are the kind who likes to do the preps in the last minute.
Not any more.
Now the scoring pattern is some 40% of total marks for internals(2 in no), 10% for assignments, and 50% for end sem exams.And an attendance of 80% is required [b]per subject[/b].And since the credit system has been introduced, different subjects carry respective weightage.That means, if you are one of those studious kind, this is the place to be.Dont worry about competition, you will get lots of it here.Perhaps the maximum among South Indian Colleges.
Another good thing(arguably) that happened here after being an NIT is the swiftness and accuracy of Answer Paper evaluation.Dont worry, you will be able to see your valued answer paper and final result in a
couple of days after the end-sem exam.In this matter, it could be the first in the country.
About facilities:Of course the college has a quality digital library(NALANDA.nitc.ac.in), and a 2 mbps leased line from BSNL.The Internet can be accessed 24/7 from the computer center.There is a plan to ’wi-fi’ing the campus.The rest of the facilities are just fine.On becoming NIT, there are no shortage of funds, so many new facilities are being added on.Eg:The new hostel with Internet connection, new seminar halls, lots of LCD projectors, world-class softwares, a 3-story state-of-the-art CAD-CAM center, the ’wi-fi’cation, new hostels and extensions, New IT complex(under construction), new roads etc.
The college stood #1 in the Quality Improvement Program being implemented under the aegis of the World Bank.
But there are umpteen no of cons,
Perhaps the most important among it would be the confusion among the faculty and administration in working with the new Conditions, viz the new found autonomy, credit system etc.The contents of syllabi by and large remains the same, except that the syllabi in a particular sem contains a part of the old syllabi of the next sem, so that the theory classes will be over by the beginning of 7th sem, and then it is the time for industry-institution interaction, according to the administration.This theory has many defects, like:By 7th sem most of the students will be placed in companies, and most of them wont give a damn for the courses in the college.Also, the number of working hours has remained same, were as the syllabus has seen a considerable increase.Also the structure of examinations are such that they will be able to keep you in considerable pressure all over the course.
It would have been better if the institution had a by-law, (whatever damn rules it may contain), but unfortunately, this college doesnt seem to have one.Rules are being altered now and then, and many of them according to the whims and fancies of the administration.The institution is under a dictatorship under the administration.Democracy is almost unknown.(agreed there is a students council, but that is only for conducting the cultural and technical festivals, not for interfering with the ’wise’ an ’mature’ decisions of the administration.).This is diametrically opposite to the typical Kerala college, where politics rules.But the present director was formerly the UG dean of IIT Chennai, and his policies seems to be promising.
The technical festival conducted by the college(Tathva, tathva.nitc.ac.in) fails to arise interest among even the students of the college.Sponsorships are hard to come by, given the geographical poition of the college.The condition of Ragam(cultural fest, ragam2004.nitc.ac.in) is slightly better. Also, though the campus is quite big(350 acres), the b.tech courses provided by the college are just 6 in number.The college is 22 km from the nearest city, Calicut.The position is good for nerds, bad for the non-so-geek.
The college hostels are okay, except that presently four students are sharing a room(up to second year).The situation is expected to change by next year.
In the mess, of course it is the typical hostel food.No word other than ’abysmal’ can better describe it.But a good number of people take food from outside, so there ain’t any lack of options.
The HRD minister has said that 5 leading institutions in the country will be upgraded to the IIT status soon.NITC is a leading competitor for that, helped by its position.
Of course, your communications skills are expected to improve exponentially, the faculty never seem to utter anything other than English.National Integration exists only in principle, once you reach the college you and your state mates are going to remain as a gang for four long years.Ragging is quite weak, when compared with other institutions all over the country.
Also, Calicut city is a very conservative city, with almost no industry.
About alumini connections and contributions:okay there is an good-for-nothing alumni association, and almost no monetary contributions.Once they ’escape’, no comebacks.
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Bottom line:
Excellent for geeks.
For the not-so-geek:Placements are not bad, means, if you are quite avg, with quite avg soft skills, you will get through.Most of the placements are in reputed companies, so though the quantity of placements are not so great, the quality(and perks) are great indeed.If you aim at higher studies, the institution is just fine.