IIEST Shibpur is known for its national importance and outstanding alumni network. Thapar Institute of engineering and technology is one of India’s leading private institutions with a NIRF ranking of 27 amongst top engineering colleges. Let us have a look at the difference between the two universities based on some important and relevant factors.

Admissions:

IIEST Shibpur- For BTech at IIEST Shibpur students are required to clear JEE mains and have a minimum of 45% in Physics, Chemistry and Mathematics in 10+2, along with 30% in English. For the BTech program in CST, the JEE mains cut-off was at 9379 in 2019.

Thapar University- For CSE admissions at Thapar University, students must qualify JEE mains. The general rank cut-off was 915971 in 2019.

Fee Structure: Considering IIEST is a public university funded by the central government, the demanded fee structure is relatively low. Thapar University on the other hand is a private institution and therefore has a higher range of tuition fees.

• The total annual fee for BTech sums up to 1.36 lakhs.

• The total annual fee for BTech in CSE sums up 3.24 lakh.

Infrastructure: Being funded by the government, IIEST offers an updated experience in terms of technology but lacks modern infrastructure considering the college is nearly 160 years old. Thapar University is a private institution that has absolutely high-end and modern facilities all across its campus.

Placements:

IIEST Shibpur-

• In 2019, 72% of students got placed from the CSE branch in top companies.

• The average salary offered to the students of CSE is 6.5 LPA.

• The top recruiters that participate in the placement drive are TCS, Samsung, Infosys.

Thapar University-

• It has a consistent 90% placement rate over the years.

• The average salary offered is around 7 LPA.

• Major recruiters of CSE students are Amazon, Microsoft, JP Morgan.

As for which institute to choose, you should decide that depending on your preferences and requirements.

People usually choose NIT Durgapur just for the tag of the institute. If your aim is to pursue higher education which will help you in landing a good job, then IIEST Shibpur will be an excellent decision. The institution boasts of having a legacy of more than 160 years. In addition to that, the NIRF also holds IIEST Shibpur in high regard. The institute has a fantastic research environment and the placements are getting better year after year. The alumni network of the institute is one of the biggest and you will come across alumni in every field.

IIEST Shibpur is also offering degrees in B.Tech as well as the option to opt for Dual Degree after the third year. The institute is far ahead of NIT Durgapur. Obviously, as an IIEST Shibpur alumnus, my acquaintance is kind of biased towards the institute. IIEST is also a centrally funded institute that has an INI tag and will always be ahead of NIT.

Many of the professors have connections with professors in foreign universities which will help you in bagging MS and research opportunities. In terms of research, faculty, infrastructure, rankings, IIEST often comes among the top ten in India.

Indian Institute of Engineering Science and Technology Shibpur (IIEST Shibpur) is the second oldest engineering college in India. It offers 45 courses in Engineering, Management, Science, and Architecture. Admissions are conducted through central exams conducted by UGC like JEE, XAM, etc. IIEST has over 250 faculty members including regular guest faculty. It hosts 4000 students every year for their higher education. Even though the institute is engaged in a number of fields, it is most famous for its B.Tech and M.Tech course of Engineering.

Ranking and Placements:

While NIT Jalandhar, NIT Durgapur, NIT Silchar and IIITM Gwalior are one of the best institutes of engineering in the country, there are some parameters of difference in all these institutes. IIITM Gwalior and IIEST are the highest-ranking institutes by the NIRF rankings however, NIT institutes have brand names that assist more in placements and further studies. For the same reason, the placements at NIT Jalandhar and NIT Silchar are the highest among the lot at 87.8% and 86.12%. Apart from this, there are fundamental differences in course wise performance of the institute.

Courses:

NIT Jalandhar, NIT Durgapur and NIT Silchar are famous for their computer science and IT courses as that attracts the maximum campus recruitment. Whereas, IIEST Shibpur is famous for its mining course as it has excellent faculty and research-driven professors. IIITM is famous for a number of its courses and it completely depends on the student what they wish to pursue.

Scholarships:

Another important factor to consider is the amount of scholarship given by each institute. While most NIT’s do not give scholarships, NIT Jalandhar offers 4 scholarships to students depending on their merit and need. IIITM also does not provide scholarships. IIEST has some state-based scholarships.

Infrastructure:

NIT Jalandhar. NIT Durgapur and NIT Silchar have better infrastructure as they receive a number of grants and funds from the governments, being one of the premier engineering institutes of India. IIEST has more old-style infrastructure with most of its focus on research and development. IIITM Gwalior has excellent infrastructure along with good accommodation and campus facilities.

The table given below gives a brief overview of all the institutes:

All these institutes are one of the higher ranking institutes and students passing out from here more or less get a job easily. It entirely depends on the students' rank and financial and social stability to get admission to one of these institutes.

One of my seniors was a resident of Bhopal and he was a student of IIEST Shibpur. These are the experiences he had in the institute.

• Since the year he was granted admission, IIEST Shibpur has been taking admissions through JEE Mains and now it has a reservation of 50% of seats for home-state candidates, just like the NITs. Over the years, the number of non-Bengali students has certainly improved.
• Unlike South India, where you have to communicate in English for the majority of the time, in IIT Shibpur, the professors know how to communicate in the native language. New faculty from outside West Bengal is also being recruited since the institute converted to IIEST.
• In terms of food, if you are a vegetarian, you will probably have a good experience here. West Bengal has a variety of sweets and seafood.
• As most of your friends and peers will be Bengali, you will see a lot of them leaving for their homes on holidays and/or weekends.
• Both Bengali and non-Bengali live among each other on the campus in peace. The seniors are approachable and will always help when asked for. Ragging is strictly prohibited in the institution.
• The institute also has clubs where you can engage in interaction with students from other states. You can share your knowledge, experiences and even hone your skills in these clubs.

Overall, my senior had an enjoyable experience in the institute and he faced no prejudice from the Bengali students.

First of all, it is important to note that Civil Engineering and Production Engineering are not the same things. Students looking to pursue courses in any of these fields are required to do thorough research before choosing and applying to a university.

Ranking:

• IIEST Shibpur and Jadavpur University are both excellent colleges for education. Jadavpur University is one of the top graded A-tier universities in India however, IIEST holds more brand value because of its recent popularity and placements.
• Jadavpur University has been ranked at 12 out of 200 universities in India by NIRF ranking and the 2nd best university in Kolkata. IIEST Shibpur has been ranked at 43rd place in the same ranking.

Departments:

• The Civil engineering department is one of the oldest departments at IIEST university and has one of the highest numbers of placements. The production engineering department at JU is relatively new but it has the benefit of having experienced and up to date professors.

Admission Cut-off:

Both universities accept JEE scores for admission. IIEST Shibpur B.Tech in Civil Engineering requires a rank around 2506-27001 whereas JU B.tech in production engineering requires a rank of 315-420.

Placements:

• The placements offered at Jadavpur University are better for the reason that it has a better nationwide ranking and engages in campus recruitment programs. It had recently achieved a record of 84% placements in May 2020.
• IIEST civil engineering program had 78 students out of which 42 got placed in 2020.It recorded a 57.14% placement percentage.

Thus, it all depends on the student and their JEE ranking if they want to take admission in IIEST Shibpur or Jadavpur University. Again, it also depends on the interest whether they want to pursue Civil Engineering or go towards the production engineering line.

The aerospace engineering department at IIEST Shibpur offers students with aerospace engineering as well as applied mechanics. Students always get confused as they often ask if the academic choices get bound to aerospace engineering only. But you could have used copper for studying structural and fluid that are two main aspects of applied mechanics as well. Labs and facilities are still not fully constructed, but once they are constructed, they are going to enhance the department's performance a lot. This department has developed several talented students since its beginning. Maximum students get good marks in their GATE examination every year. Two of the pass out students have gone to the University of Suny buffalo and Illinois University as well. Students are also sent for internships at Hindustan Aeronautics Limited and other IITs only if they show their interest.

• Student-teacher ratio: It is also very impressive with 36 seats in total and 20 teachers.

• University tie-ups: The department has tied-up with IIT Kharagpur where the students are taken for labs and other practicals.

• Qualified Facilities: The university is among the very few where you will find technically qualified teachers with good experience in the field. Professors always help out to gain practical knowledge even though Laboratories are not fully developed.

• Hightech latest Labs: It has a fluid dynamics lab as one of the basic subjects that are required for studying aerospace engineering.

Placements:

The placement records have improved this year, and many placement drives are yet to be organized. No core company visited the campus to hire the students studying in the Aerospace department because most of the core Aerospace companies ask for an M.Tech degree in aerospace engineering as the minimum qualification.

The department is a very young department that has still to grow to obtain its full strength. But the scope and opportunities associated with it are huge, and you may get a very good and experienced faculty to guide you.

IIEST Shibpurholds rank #21 in India by NIRF Rankings in 2020. Admission is based on the rank scored inJEE Mainand for the M.Tech courses, admission is based onGATE results. The total course fee is around 5.48 lakhs with a total of 30 seats.

Admission process

• Admissions are fully based on the results of JEE Mains.With this students are also required to complete 12th with at least 75%.
• The whole application process is online. The application fee for general is 1,500 and for reserved students, it is 1,000 INR.
• In all courses, 50% of the seats are reserved for people outside the West Bengal, and 50% is reserved for the students of West Bengal.
• 3% seats are reserved for physically challenged students and with this 3 seats are also reserved under the defence quota.
• This Institute conducts a separate entrance test and interview for Ph.D. students.

Placements

• The highest package offered to the students is 39.12 lakhs.
• Last year, this Institute break it’s own record in terms of placements. Total 462 offers were made to students and out of them, about 311 got placements.
• Companies like Accenture, Delloite, Infosys, CTS, Wipro, and so on visit campus every year.

The institute offers world-class facilities to students to provide them with great exposure to the industry. Faculty are highly qualified and have great experience in their respective fields.

If you’ll go out to top-notch research institutions and just shout out loud that I am from Jadavpur, you will get to see how many people come to meet you. And alternatively, if you’ll shout out loud something bad then see what happens. Just the same way, go to all IITs and do the same, you will find many students from Jadavpur University. Not only in the colleges, if you’ll go to some reputed organizations also, but you’ll also be able to find students from JU. 

In fact, a very reputed Bhabha Atomic Research Center also has some scientists who are from Jadavpur University. Not only in the scientific field, but students from Jadavpur University are scattered in various other sectors also like literature, politics, businesses, and all around the world. It is really a pity if someone talks about the recognition of the university just because they have a lack of knowledge.

Being a central university and highly popular national university of importance, IIEST Shibpur not only attracts the best faculty from across the country but also receives funding from the central government on a yearly basis which helps the university maintain its infrastructure, upgrade to the latest trends in the world and better their services. IEM is a private university with a NIRF ranking of 191 in 2020.

• Placement Services: Considering placements are the most important deciding factor to understand the scope of an institution, let us have a look at the placement facilities across the two academic universities:

• Crowd: IIEST attracts students from all across the country due to its national importance and is the second oldest engineering college in India. IEM on the other hand being a private university does not see diversity among students and is not very popular as compared to IIEST.
• Campus: The infrastructure of both colleges are very different from each other. IIEST is known for its beautiful huge academic buildings, library, sports complex, and research labs. IEM, on the other hand, has a relatively small campus that offers hostel facilities, a cafeteria, a library, and an auditorium.
• Alumni: The alumni network at IIEST is unbeatable with world leaders like Dr. Bimal Bose, Leader in Power Electronics, and Dr. Kajal Gupta, Chief Technologist at NASA. IEM does not have a notable list of alumni considering it is not very popular amongst the masses.

Hence, if students have a good JEE score and are eligible to get into IIEST, it would be advisable to do so instead of choosing a private institution such as IEM- based on the factors mentioned above.