IIT Roorkee - Indian Institute of Technology - [IITR], Roorkee

IIT Roorkee is well known for its wide range of groups, clubs, and councils for students catering to almost every possible interest. These groups and clubs are broadly categorized into

• Cultural Clubs: These clubs promote numerous cultural activities like Singing, dancing, audio, photography, and cinematography. You can join these clubs even if you aren’t proficient in any of these.
• Technical Clubs: These clubs require a basic level of proficiency for joining. One has to go through auditions to be able to join these clubs. Some of the groups under this category are SDS, IMG, MDG, PAG, ArIES, and Roboconn among many others. 
• Compulsory Proficiency (NSO, NCC & NSS): A sports enthusiast should definitely join NSO but it requires a lot of commitment in terms of time and effort. Apart from NSO, you can also join NCC and NSS.

One can witness cutthroat competition in cultural and technical clubs so it’s better to join a group in which you are proficient.

There are some common blunders that first-year students tend to make. 

• Underestimating the value of CG is a crucial mistake made by first-year students. Remember that your CG will play an important role in shaping your career and taking it lightly initially will cost you double the trouble in the following years.
• Socialize with everyone and don’t skip Watch-Out, Kshitij tryouts. Either get an editorial post or join a Literary group on campus. 
• Work for Cogni instead of Thomso as it provides better networking
• Don’t tolerate ragging at any cost 
• Don’t fall for bad company or bad habits as they will ruin your learning process 
• Don’t challenge the professors much as it might counterattack you.
• Don’t get into fights or anything that gets you a blot in your CV

These are simple yet important tips first-year students should consider at IIT Roorkee.

Branch change in IIT Roorkee depends on the specific circumstances and the branch you are looking to change to. In general, it can be a complex process that involves meeting certain requirements and going through an application and review process. 

• Firstly, you will have to fill out the branch change form after the first semester.
• Once you fill out the form, a merit list will be prepared for each branch.
• This merit list will include the name of the students who opted for branch change and the branch they want to get transferred to.
• Those who made it into the merit list will be able to change their branch 

The entire process is easy and difficult at the same time as it requires serious dedication and determination you had while preparing for JEE. You will have to keep yourself away from distractions to be able to achieve this. This might sound easier than done. So it’s better to train yourself to be disciplined and motivate yourself for branch change.

One of my friends completed his Dual Degree program in CSE from IIT Roorkee last year. she was in a similar dilemma. The SCRA opportunity seemed lucrative to his father and relatives but he was against leaving IIT Roorkee.

He got the results in the first year at IIT Roorkee and she was due to join in the summer vacations. Giving up on the continued pressure, he decided to join SCRA. He couldn’t stay for more than 2 months and eventually resigned.

He shared the various perks he enjoyed as an SCA (Special Class Apprentice) with a high stipend, hostel facilities, and decent food. Additionally, he got a B.E. from BIT Mesra and you are given enough time to prepare for Civil Services. By the end of college, you are appointed as an Assistant Mechanical Engineer, a very coveted job.

Although he enjoyed his life in Jabalpur, his inclination toward programming always reminded him to go back, which eventually he did. So we can say that both opportunities are good except that one needs to identify his area of interest.

Some helpful tips for first-year students at IIT Roorkee are

• Make your friends wisely after judging people enough as they are an important part of your college life
• Don’t take the 1st-year lightly. Work the best you can and explore everything to find your passion. 
• Join at least 2 clubs to ensure maximum exposure. Pay attention to the advice of only 4th year students.
• Develop good relations with everybody in general as all your batchmates are going to be successful people one day and you need to have strong connections.
• Don’t stay holed up in your room, go and explore the world outside after classes. You can go to sports, library research labs, etc. Try not to spend your evening inside your room.
• Gain self-confidence and manage your own matters well whether it is going to the bank, canteen, mess, or even to a professor.
• It’s okay to study at the last minute provided that you were regular to classes and had maintained notes and reviewed them regularly. A good CGPA of around 8 will fetch you good opportunities during placements.
• Take care of your physical as well as mental health because health is wealth, especially for a student.
• Don’t adopt bad habits that might hinder your learning process.
• Lastly, stay away from negative people and negativity in general. Don’t let anyone crush your confidence level.

All these will help you grow as a person and focus on much more than just academics.

IT Roorkee allows students to change their branch of study under certain conditions. Whichever branch you belong to, you should be among the toppers. Very limited candidates actually get to change their branch because the Strength of a class shouldn't increase by 5% of the actual number of seats. Let’s understand this with the help of an example of 2 branches.

CSE: For instance, if the strength of the CS batch is 80 then only 4 students are eligible for branch change into it. Only 2 out of these 4 are available for General Category students. So the competition is tough as you will be competing with so many students just for 2 seats. 

Meta: If the batch size of this branch is 120, and is the least preferred branch. So being a topper from GT, GPT, IMSC, BT, PP, PS, etc. you will face less competition and more seats will be available as many Meta students will have their branches changed to other better branches.

Your first day at IIT Roorkee will certainly hold a special place in your heart. The first impression is definitely the last impression and so is the first impression of IIT Roorkee. The following answer is based on the experience of a friend.

As she entered, she was thrilled by the beauty of the campus and the infrastructure. She entered the Convocation Hall and got herself registered after a tiresome process. She was then handed a paper ID card.

Next, she was escorted to her assigned hostel which to her dismay was an old and eerie building. Her roommate was in the branch as her and soon she unpacked her belongings and set up her room. By evening, she had interacted with some regarding the Orientation Program.

The next few days were spent in a frenzy with the alarm clock waking her up early in the morning. Students were given a tour of the campus and were also asked to choose their proficiency amongst NCC, NSS & NSO. There was also a test of English where the vocabulary was to be evaluated. 

The students were enlightened in basic policies such as curfew timings and no ragging culture. 

Students were also given a white-colored T-shirt with IITR’s logo and were asked to run a marathon at 6 am in the morning. The food served at the mess was pathetic. 

Overall, the first day at IIT Roorkee is full of surprises and learning new things!

There are many things you can do to make your stay at IIT Roorkee productive some of which have been listed below 

• Attempt a research project to inculcate out-of-the-box thinking that is not just limited to the four walls of the classroom.
• Try to explore everything and gain interest in some technical fields. This will help you grow as a person.
• Look for an entrepreneurship project ongoing within the campus and you will get to learn amazing things.
• Socialize well with the faculty and develop good relations with them. This will help you understand whatever they teach with less difficulty.
• Become well versed in technical communication as it might help you climb the corporate ladder eventually.
• Go for spontaneous trips and experience new things with your friends that will make your college life interesting and DTU.

Lastly, devour the beauty of the campus by taking long walks with your friends!