IIT-Patna: Enough faculty for all

Since its establishment in 2008, the Indian Institute of Technology-Patna has had a good run but it still has a lot of catching up with its richer and older cousins. It houses 10 departments and a little more than 500 students.

Expectation
"It is an IIT. So, everything we offer must be world class," said the spokesperson, "We are trying live up to that expectation."

The administration proudly points out to a 1:10 faculty-student ratio. One of the officials at IIT-P said, “We still have a lot to do but we are evolving in our own way. IIT-P may have a smaller campus and smaller number of students, but we take it as our advantage. The smaller campus ensures the optimal utilisation of space; every teacher personally knows every student.”

IIT-Patna has 60 faculty members, including six visiting professors. The average age of faculty members at IIT-P is 30-35 years, which helps them connect with their protégés.

IIT-Patna has been able to score jobs for its first batch which graduated this year. Almost 30 companies participated, led by big names such as Microsoft and Infosys. The preferred choice for recruiters was the computer engineering department — a student here bagged a salary of Rs 1.65 million from Microsoft. For the batch about to graduate, the institute expects 100 per cent placement. It is not so optimistic about a hike in pay packages.

IIT-Patna runs from a transit campus at a polytechnic run by the state government. Its own campus is being built at Bihta, an hour’s drive from Patna.

The institute is also running on almost half of its approved faculty strength due to limited response in hiring new members.