IIT-B students question lack of clarity by placement cell

IIT Bombay students criticize the Placement Cell's transparency, noting fewer job opportunities compared to IIT Madras and IIT Delhi, as revealed in a survey.

MUMBAI: Students from the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay (IIT-B) have expressed dissatisfaction with the functioning of its Placement and Training Cell (PT Cell), questioning its transparency and fairness. This was revealed through a student-led survey conducted by Insight, IIT-B’s official student publication.

IIT-B students question lack of clarity by placement cell

The survey published in the October 16 issue of Insight, titled ‘Placements: The broken bridge’, also revealed how in recent years top job placements were being garnered by students of IIT Madras and IIT Delhi, leaving those in IIT-B out in the cold. The article is the first of a three-part series that the magazine will publish subsequently.

According to the survey, a majority of respondents believe that the placement process lacks clarity, consistency and openness – evidenced by 228 out of 309 students who stated that the cell’s lack of transparency was connected to fewer companies arriving on campus for placements this year. While 160 were unaware of how companies were slotted for campus visits, 175 out of 306 students believed the process of slotting students for interviews was not lucid.

The article has also questioned why certain reputed firms – prominent names in finance and consulting -- visit other IITs such as IIT Madras and IIT Delhi, but have consistently skipped IIT-B.

The article also underlines that many-a-time companies that have come on campus in a certain season did not return for the next round but continued to pick candidates from other IIT campuses. One of the notable examples is a top consulting firm that did not visit for four years until the 2022-23 season. Insight also illustrated examples of certain firms that go to most other IITs, with the sole exception of IITB.

When Insight asked the professor in-charge of the cell about the lacunae, it received the following response: “The issues have been with their (students’) demands. They come and tell us about placements in other IITs, but their mode of placements is against our policy. They (the firms) have their favourites. They may not like some of our policies. Even though the policy hasn’t changed since 21-22, it is likely that the view of the (respective) company’s management has changed. We are more student-friendly compared to other IITs. We don’t know what exactly, but they (other IITs) have their conditions which may be more favourable.”

The professor in-charge blamed market conditions for fewer hires from the Mumbai campus. The professor is quoted in the article saying, “It is a very dynamic situation. We work to ensure that we have more companies. Now that the other IITs have matured, it is no longer (only) our market – companies have a bigger pool for students to pick from. Considering scaling in mind, we tend to reach the numbers in getting students placed, but the percentages have shown a drop.” He said the reason for that was “a lot of external competition for our students and as well as an increase in the number of students at IIT-B”.

“Besides, we have to address certain internal inefficiencies,” he added. He further clarified, “The reasons for companies not coming are based on negotiations, not all of which can be made public. However, certain parts of our policy can be shared such as parameters considered for slotting students.”