Campus Life & Modern Facilities at IEM Kolkata

IEM is a good college if I just take the academics perspective, but if I take the overall perspective; the college was too strict, which is why many Kolkata students have reservations against joining this college. I said the college as Gurukul because the college starts at 9.15 and a few moments before that the college gate is being shut. Even if you are late by 5 minutes, sorry they aren't opening the door. You can try all kinds of cajoling or coax, but they won't get soft. If you are lucky enough that your favorite teacher is too late, you get in by requesting them. Have you ever heard that a college has an assembly of students where they have to sing the National Anthem and chant a morning prayer? Well, if you are at IEM, then you have to. Well, if the director is in the mood of giving a lecture, then after the assembly, you will also have to listen to what he has to say. Again, I would say, academically, the college is one of the best, but they should take away these Gurukul rules.

Academics are done in classrooms and labs, and both were amazing. However, the college is right in the line of one of the city's busiest streets. Thus, the honking of trucks and cars will keep bothering you the entire day. The lectures obviously were tedious as the professors were quite happy to teach the same things repeatedly. Thanks to some fools who keep asking the same doubts time and again. The course material and the smart classrooms made a nice learning experience. The campus is called Gurukul Campus, so one can do anything after college hours, but during the classes, one can't even go out before the lunch break that begins at 12.30.

The Gurukul rules are not just for the students but also for the teachers. So, both teachers and students used to sympathize with each other and became best of friends. I made friends with almost all my teachers and was also awarded a few extra marks because of that. No spoon-feeding as it is not a government aided college. You have to do most of your research on your own. The faculty will back you but won't entirely help you.

Kolkata is poor in terms of placements as you can take any college for example. IEM is the best of them all as at least they do place 50-60 percent of students from each batch. Be it EEE, CSE, or IT engineering, you will be put under the same bracket. Godrej Industries being soft towards Kolkata has been the biggest recruiter. From full-on tech companies, Tech Mahindra, Cognizant, and Wipro have taken students in masses but at a pay package of 3-4 lakhs. I was shocked by the kind of job offers that were offered. IEM students have been trained so well, but the employers didn't value them correctly, so I had to pass that job even though I had a decent enough offer.

IEM hostel facilities are poor as the hostels are at the Ashram Campus. In the name of the girls hostel, they have four halls that can accommodate around 40-50 girls. The boy's hostel was spacious, but because I have never seen it myself, I am not aware of their facilities. The canteen used to give a monthly pass to students for food. Since the hostel was not at the Gurukul Campus, the college has provided a bus facility for hostel students.

There are three campuses of the college. One at Salt Lake, two attached campuses at College More, including the Gurukul campus was used for Engineering students from the 2nd year onwards. The Ashram Campus, which was the management building campus, was where we had completed our first year. Since I have spent most of the time at the Gurukul campus, I will share its facilities. The Gurukul campus had the best-in-class recreational facilities such as a closed golf course, table tennis, snooker tables, etc. There were also a couple of basketball courts, out of which one was converted into volleyball ground. There was a huge auditorium as all the common guest lectures were held at the Gurukul campus. If it weren't as noisy as it was, I wouldn't have had any complaints regarding infrastructure.

It was tedious as our studies would never end. Since Kolkata colleges are known for showing their moves, we had to prove ourselves at the fest. IEM's fest wasn't as great as other colleges of Kolkata but was still viewed by many prominent guests. Kolkata is India's largest city, and students used to come from Howrah to Alipore, so rather than spending after hours at the campus, most students headed towards their homes. At least I was among those, so it's fair to say I didn't enjoy the campus life much at IEM.