There are a number of reasons why IIIT Hyderabad is underrated, especially among the Indian masses. I will be stating three main reasons
These are some of the common reasons for IIIT Hyderabad being an underrated institute today.
A friend of mine has studied at IIIT Hyderabad, one of the premier institutes in India. She joined in the year 2014 and submitted her thesis in the year 2016. The institute has a policy for an internal review of the thesis.
Unfortunately, my friend did not do so well. Her thesis was discarded because her reviewer said that there was a lot of plagiarism. She redid her thesis and submitted it. The second time around her thesis was deemed as “unsuitable” as it was only on an application on well-known models for a different case study. She tried to fight for her thesis by stating that research does not always require new ideas, it also involves application understanding the importance of the models for a different case study.
The reviewer told her that North Indian students like her should not seek admission in the university as they “spoil the rich culture and heritage of South India”.
In response, she wrote a letter to the Dean. She did not receive a response from the Dean which led to her leaving the college without a degree. Today, my senior is a PhD student at IIT Hyderabad. The same thesis that was so harshly and irrationally criticized by her IIIT professors is now considered to be the best work for Indian scenario.
She has also received the best paper award from one of the top conferences and from the institute.
She thinks IIIT has failed as a research institute and that’s why it could never be on equal footing with IIT. The management, according to her, focuses more on CS students. The other branches are not treated fairly.