Record number of candidates for JEE 2013

The Joint Engineering Entrance (JEE) main, formerly known as the All India Engineering Entrance Examination, had registered a record 14 lakh candidates for the 2013 exams. This is the highest ever registration for the test conducted by the CBSE (Central Board of Secondary Education). 
    What is interesting is that while the year on year increase in number of aspirants since 2008 has been in between 20,000 to 30,000, this year it increased by nearly 2.8 lakh. The examinations will be conducted in April 2013. JEE is conducted for candidates aspiring for admissions to BE, BTech and architecture courses at NITs, IITs, Delhi Technological University and other centrally-funded technical institutes (CFTIs). 
    According to CBSE officials, this year has not only seen an all time high, but the increase in terms of numbers has also been the highest. “Around 14 lakh aspirants have registered, which is nearly 2.8 lakh more. Last year aound 11.2 lakh candidates registered for the exam,” said CBSE chairman Vineet Joshi. 
    While AIEEE and IIT-JEE were separate exams till 2012,it was decided that from now on admissions to engineering and architecture courses will be based on JEE (main) and advanced.

AIMING AT BETTER RANKING

IITs mull external peer review by eminent people

 In an effort towards greater transparency and accountability, the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) are considering an external peer review by eminent people from academia and industry every five years. Each IIT will also be expected to conduct an internal audit of every department. 
    This is the first time such a stock-taking exercise is likely to take place and comes at a time when the country’s institutes have barely found a mention in international rankings of top universities across the globe. 
    The external audit has been recommended by the standing committee of the IIT Council. A final decision is likely to be taken on January 7 by the IIT Council. The review will be made public by every institute. The proposal, if accepted, will allow parents, students and academicians to judge an institute according to the feedback. 
    India Education Review reported that no Indian institutions made it to the top 200 in the QS World University Rankings for 2012. The QS rankings for institutes of higher education had featured IIT-Bombay in 2010 which was ranked 187, but dropped to 225 in 2011. This year it was down to 227. 
    In the Times Higher Education (THE) World University Rankings 2012-13, only IIT Bombay, Kharagpur and Roorkee figured in the list of top 400 universities across the globe. 
    Besides the international rankings, there is no system of judging institutes of higher education in the country. “The argument behind this is that there is no measure of the quality of infrastructure, faculty, courses offered or the research being done. The IITs are equipped to judge each other and this review will encourage improvement,’’ a source said. 
    Committee members for the peer review will be selected by the chairperson of the IIT Council from a panel of 10 names given by the board of governors of the respective institute. Each IIT will be expected to undertake an in-house department wise review before any external peer review is carried out.

Government approves scheme for setting up 20 IITs in public private partnership mode

Government has approved a scheme for setting up 20 IITs in PPP mode with an overall outlay of Rs 2,808.71 crore, the Lok Sabha was informed on Wednesday.

In a written reply, Union minister of state for HRD Shashi Tharoor said, "While land for the purpose would be made available free of cost by state governments 

concerned, an IIT would be established at a capital cost of Rs 128 crore each to be contributed in ratio of 50:35:15 by centre, state and industry partner respectively."

On entry of corporate sector in technical education, he said, "AICTE has allowed public/private limited company/ industries with 100 crore turnover for last three years to establish a new technical institution in engineering and technology, pharmacy, architecture and town planning, hotel management and catering technology."

Replying to a separate question on pending cases of new IITs, he said, "Based on the recommendations of Scientific Advisory Council to the Prime Minister and also having regard to the regional imbalance, government during 11th Five Year Plan established eight new IITs."

These institutes were opened in Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Rajasthan, Odisha, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab, Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh.

"Proper connectivity, physical infrastructure and basic facilities have been kept in view while deciding locations for setting up these IITs," Tharoor said.

On closure of technical colleges, he said in 2011-12, 140 institutes were closed and 540 new ones were opened.

"Similarly, in year 2012-13, 79 institutes were closed and 210 new institutes were opened," he said.

In reply to a query on suicide cases in IITs, he said, "There are 15 cases of suicides that have been reported during the last three years and the current year."

Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/education/news/Government-approves-scheme-for-setting-up-20-IITs-in-public-private-partnership-mode/articleshow/17502172.cms

Not just high salaries, cos offer stocks to IIT recruits

The IIT campus placements this year show many recruiters have woken up to the trend of recruits moving on other jobs, sometimes a few months after joining. Instead of higher signing bonuses and relocation expenses, companies are giving stock options to the extent of close to 100% of the base salary. 
    Facebook has offered a base salary of $ 100,000 and a bonus and relocation bonus of $ 20,000 and stock options of $ 120,000 if they stick on for two years. Similarly, Twitter, Google, Amazon and American Express have all beefed up their compensation package with stock options. 
    An IIT-Bombay student placed on day one claimed that a couple of social media networks have offered stock options to students. “A couple of companies in the social networking sector have offered stock options of a lump sum amount which looks attractive,” he said. The scene at IITKanpur is the same. Shadab Mohammed, a member of the core team for placements at the institute, said, “Some of the companies have offered stock options at our campus too.” 


2 turn down 82L Samsung offer 
    ARs 82 lakh annual pay packet doesn’t seem to amuse a few IITians. Two of the six IIT-Madras students have rejected South Korean multinational company Samsung’s $150,000 offer, as the campus remains high on placements this year. Computer science BTech graduates Nitin Motiani and Sujeet Gholap said it was a “tough call,” but they eventually turned down the proposal.

IIT placements draw big firms, 10% higher pay

Mumbai: Placements at the Indian Institutes of Technology seem to have been insulated from the global economic slowdown. Companies like Facebook, Samsung, Google and other foreign majors began Day One across IIT campuses, offering about 5-10% higher salaries than last year. 
    It is projected that by the end of slot zero, 150 students on each campus will be hired. Average domestic salaries were in the 
mid-Rs 20 lakh range on the first day. 
    But Facebook continued to be the most aggressive employer this year too, making its presence felt at IIT campuses from Bombay to Guwahati to Madras. It has offered $136,000 (Rs 75 lakh) per annum to a student from IIT-Guwahati — besides a plum relocation bonus and a one-time signing amount. 
    Twitter is not far behind with a gross salary offer of $110,000. Artificial advertising solutions provider Rocketfuel is close as well. Algorithmic trading firm Jump Trading is keen to hire staff for its UK office and offered £70,000 as gross salary. 
    “One of our mathematics and computing students has been hired by Facebook for its California office. Even by US standards, they are paying a good salary,” said IIT-Guwahati director Gautam Barua. At other campuses, interviews were still on at the time of writing. 
    But the top offer so far was an annual package of $150,000 (Rs 81.6 lakh) from South Korean conglomerate Samsung, which is at IIT-Bombay and IITMadras. 
    “The company is looking for computer science graduates for its operations in the US and in South Korea. In fact, even financial and consulting companies are looking to hire many more students this year,” said Bhaskar Ramamurthi, IIT-Madras director. 
    Sources said Google has offered $135,000 (Rs 73 lakh) in a pre-placement offer at IIT-Kharagpur. IIT-Bombay has 35 companies (up from last year’s 34) on slot zero with first timers 
like LinkedIn, Twitter and Blackstone. 
    “Several companies offered international roles, including Samsung, Microsoft and Google. Several smaller firms too are offering high compensation packages,” said Avijit Chatterjee, professor-in-charge of placements at IIT-Bombay. While 1,300 students have registered for placements, about 200 have opted out. 
    Blue-chip recruiters on day one, which closes way past midnight, include Boston Consulting Group, Deutsche Bank, Goldman Sachs, IBM, ITC, Google, Sony (Japan), Schlumberger, Morgan Stanley, Microsoft, Oracle, Credit Suisse and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company. In the next few days, companies like Michelin, Rolls-Royce, Mercedes-Benz Research, Toshiba Corporation, MyLikes, Flipkart, Walmart Global Technology Services, iGate, Procter & Gamble Hygiene will visit campuses. However, public sector companies stayed away, restrained from campus recruitments by a Madras high court case.