Life in an IIT | Engineer parents, IIT Kanpur BTech student from Hyderabad shares his experience at the institute

Science and maths have been my tea ever since my school days. My mother also encouraged my fondness for maths by teaching me some additional concepts in maths. My mother was educating me in Class 8 and Class 9 mathematics while I was doing my Class 6 and Class 7. My mother is a professionally qualified electrical engineer and now a retired government servant. My father, being a mechanical engineer, is a scientist in DRDO. I understood the significance of the JEE exams and how Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) decide the career of a student, so I began a step-by-step preparation.

Following cracking of JEE Advanced in 2023, I secured admission to BTech Electrical Engineering at Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur (IIT Kanpur). I had also applied for IIT Madras electrical engineering, IIT Kanpur electrical engineering, IIT Kanpur mathematics and computing, IIT Guwahati mathematics and computing, and IIT Hyderabad mathematics and computing as well. I was also appearing for JEE Main for the first time and JEE Advanced.

JEE Main and Advanced Preparation

I had joined the competition quite early, from Class 8. I was doing science and maths olympiads and NTSE-based in Class 8. I did a three-day week, evening coaching course in Classes 8-10. I joined Class 11 and 12 in the same school after getting a good scholarship from the institute.

I got admitted in an integrated course where I was taught along with the school syllabus and was given coaching for JEE. I did not complain as I was anyway interested in maths and science and problem-solving was always a puzzle which interested me.

Early Days at IIT Kanpur

I entered IIT Kanpur in August 2023. I was away from home and was solo for the first time. In joining IIT Kanpur, the biggest load was that I felt I missed my parents, and due to this, it was hard to accommodate the new way of living. It took a very long time to get adjusted.

IIT Kanpur orientation lasts for nine days. In that, I made many new friends. IIT Kanpur wing culture also helped me make friends overnight.

Two-three students belong to the same wing. There was work assigned to the wings in orientation and students had to complete it.

Institute orientation acclimatized me with all the IIT Kanpur culture and made the transition easy.

Adopted Emphatically Communal Dining, Explored the Campus

During the first few months, the mess food at IIT Kanpur was simply fantastic but after some time, the quality of food was not satisfactory. I therefore started searching for some other alternative like the canteen and the neighborhood shops outside the campus. I used to have my meals having an open mind towards getting accustomed to this aspect of campus life. Second, mobility within the campus and outside campus also helped a great deal in my process of acclimatization.

Clubs, Societies

IIT Kanpur has clubs which are divided into three types – science and technology, media and cultural, and sports.

Although I play badminton as a hobby, I am not a member of the sports club. I have more interest in photography and hence I joined the photography club of the media and cultural club. I also joined the fresher's photography competition. It was there when we had to show our snaps to the jury for a four-day non-stop competition. I was chosen for the second round where I ranked second.

In tech and science, I belong to the electronic club. The electronic club conducts winter camps during December in the first 10 days of winter vacation. A screening test was conducted wherein I was chosen out of 20 students.

10 days actually were quite busy. We would leave for the camp at 10 am and return at 7 pm. I gained a lot of knowledge regarding concepts of electronics and allied sciences from the camp. I also visited IIT Kanpur's robotics club.

Approach Focused on Strategically Balancing Studies with Other Activities

In order to schedule my extracurricular life along with academic life, I followed a strategical time management and prioritization strategy. I scheduled my time punctually, breaking down the work into smaller and manageable portions and setting suitable goals and deadlines.

If we go to the classes regularly, it is not that tough prior to the exam. We also go to the tutorial classes on Saturdays and Sundays. The tutors guide us in the tutorial classes for solving the problems. Even though we miss some of the classes and go to the tutorials strictly, quiz and exam preparation is not tough.

The syllabus is not so tough if we do not try to cover everything on the last date. A good mark requires, however, 10 days of preparation for mid-semester tests and for quizzes, study for seven days is okay.

I think we should be sensible enough not to waste time on games and cell phones. IIT Kanpur is a wonderful college where we get a wonderful return on time invested. As a student of IIT Kanpur, spending time with friends in Kanpur offers ample scope to learn and enjoy – watch a film, visit canteens, and wander around campus.

Exposure at IIT

I have grown a great deal after joining IIT. Exposure here is irreplaceable with money. I was also a Product Inventor at Invention Factory 2024, which was conducted by the Maker Bhavan Foundation (MBF) at IIT Bombay. This six-week-long innovation program aimed to make students like me innovation-capable, prototyping-capable, and patent-filing-capable with the help of professors, industry mentors, and patent lawyers.

I met various students from various IITs there. The professors from IIT Bombay taught us product designing, product tuning, and product modeling. I am lucky that I selected IIT Kanpur over another one near my home base Hyderabad.

What After BTech

I still do not have an idea of what I would do after BTech. I have not even closed the door on planning to do a PhD as well. All the electrical courses are still pending in my second year. Depending upon how much I become interested in them, I want to decide. I may also pursue a doctorate. I may also pursue software engineering. I am keeping everything open right now.