Engineering students may skip firm's offers

The financial scam that Hyderabad-based Satyam Computer Services is facing has left engineering institutes high and dry. In an already bad job market, the students who had accepted offers from the company have started looking at other avenues.

Engineering institutes, on their part, are playing cautious with some even deciding not to invite the company to the campus for placements in future. “We were in talks with Satyam for placements, but with what has happened, I do not think we would take it forward now,” said a training and placement officer from one of the Indian Institute of Technology.

The National Institute of Technology (NIT), Warangal, may not invite the company for placements next year. Satyam had made job offers to four students of the institute.

“I received an offer from Satyam sometime back. But the recent developments in the company have been a cause for concern and so I am looking for another job,” said Naveen Nair, a final student at NIT Warangal, who was one of the four offered a job by Satyam. On its part, the institute is planning to assist these students by conducting a fresh round of placements.

“The students are worried about their future since the Satyam offer is the only one that they have right now. We are planning to meet the students and work out a fresh round of placements for them if needed,” said A Venugopal, training and placement officer at the institute.

The company is not likely to visit the IIT Madras campus for placements this year.

“Satyam had been invited much before the recent developments took place. But the company might not visit the campus eventually for placements,” said Jayakumar, deputy registrar, training and placements of IIT Madras.

The IITs are already facing the heat due to the IT firms’ decision to hire fewer students this year in the light of the current financial meltdown. The premier engineering institutes have been telling students to take up higher studies or join start-ups. Some are also considering extending the placement period, which began in the first week of December, to April 2009.