I did my BE in Electronics & Communications from DDIT, Nadiad and passed out in 2002. Following is my review of the college.
Note that all my points are based on the situation at the time I was studying there(1998-2002). Some things may have changed since then, so please investigate further yourself before deciding anything.
Pros:
One of the better engineering colleges in Gujarat(it was 3rd or 4th best in 1998 when I got admission)
Some of the senior professors and lecturers are good, but the rest really suck. At my time, some of the professors like Prof.(Dr.) A S Ranade(HOD, E&C), N J Kothari, G M Chauhan, etc. were good. Rest were ok. The HOD of Mathematics Dept.(don’t remember his name) was good but a real terror!
Fairly decent campus, though nothing extraordinary.
Cons:
- Major emphasis only on academics, so don’t expect all-round personality development here. Extra-curricular activities are limited and mostly done as a formality. The management at our time(read Dr. H M Desai) used to think of extra-curricular activities as a waste of time.
I remember that Dr. Desai used to sit behind the crowd during the annual cultural week’s stage events and keep a tab on everyone. Once, a student’s ID card was confiscated simply because he tossed his cap in the air!
On another occasion, students celebrating Holi on campus were chased by security on the orders of Dr. Desai, who didn’t take kindly to it(why, I’ll never know) and even slapped a student who tried to escape from the door where he was standing!
Lab and computing facilities and junior teaching staff are really not up to the mark. There is also a lack of good conferences, interactions, etc. with experts and students from other colleges/universities. As a result, professional and personal growth is limited.
No real night life or entertainment avenues to speak of. Nadiad is a small, sleepy, conservative town. Don’t expect a Bombay-like(or even MIT Manipal-like) happening crowd here. Most of the students are from rural and semi-urban areas, and the city is equipped only to cater to such a crowd.(To make matters worse, I stayed in the BAPS Swaminarayan Hostel there, which totally eliminated any chances of me enjoying my college life!).
Conclusion:
I can only hope that the college management realises that today life is not all about academics. One has to excel in(or at least be adequately exposed to) multiple skills, both academic and non-academic. To excel in your career, it’s not enough to have good grades. You need a lot more skills like man-management, good communication skills, etc. In short, when you come out of college, you need to be a "polished product" in every sense.