UPES School of Engineering B.Tech Review By Aviral Nautiyal

The UPES School of Engineering is not at all good, and there are plenty of reasons for that. The teachers and management are too arrogant. I don't remember a single day when the College staff or management talked to me nicely. They instead treated students as if they came from a third-world country. I regret joining this College as better Colleges than UPES are available in my hometown. The second reason would be the worst placements. Both Engineering and MBA students sit for the same placements. This makes things harder for B. Tech students, as imagine yourself as a recruiter. Now you are getting a B. Tech graduate and an MBA student at the same package. Who will they choose? The answer is crystal clear. The University's flagship programs like Upstream and APE Gas are the best as the College has tie-ups with its core companies like Exxon Mobil, Shell, and Halliburton. So, if you are not interested in programs like APE-GAS, or APE Upstream, don't join UPES at all.

B. Tech tuition fees increased thrice in four years, and ever since the University started courses like MBBS, LLB, BBA, and MBA, the University has been in a declining market. As a result of all this, academics have suffered as today's University is nothing but a money-minting press. If you want to make a career academically, then UPES will not do any good to you.

Faculty were a bit hot and cold as some of them were experts or masters of the subjects, while most of them didn't even know how to teach. The reason why the education process is flawed here is the Institute's faculty. None of the students liked them, and neither of us enjoyed their classes. They struggled to teach us, so learning was impossible in their classes. To develop good skills in engineering, students have to be taught much beyond books, but at UPES, the faculty didn't bide this idea. They gave bites on how life should be, but when asked about something from the course, they would ignore it. Forget about the academic learning from them; even non-academic learning in their classes was impossible.

I have given a small gist already about placements. Let me explain it in detail. If your CGPA score is less than seven, then you are disqualified from campus placements. So, half the class or rather 60% of the students become ineligible straightaway. Now those who qualify have to give all the prior intimation to the placement cell as they will give you a pep talk on what and how to tackle the interviewers. This is not for free, though they will charge a very hefty fee for that. After all this, we were sent for PI rounds, and I saw that Mechanical students, MBA students, and even LAW students were approaching the same companies. I thought the skill set which they want, they will get accordingly. Then I learned that MBA students and B. Tech students are offered the same roles and the same salary. So, B. Tech students lost the vote of confidence there as well. Ultimately, 25% of students got placed from the campus.

Inside the campus, there are four hostels. Three are boy's hostels, and one is a girl's hostel. I don't know why, but the University has played a partial card here, as the girl's hostel rooms and other facilities are much better than that of the boy's hostel. I guess the fees are almost the same, but they get extra bonuses. The hostel was great as cleanliness at the hostels was maintained at all costs. You can keep your belongings in the lock, but the room's extra keys were with the hostel staff, and once we left for the College, the hostel rooms were cleaned daily. The mess was also quite good as the food quality was no less than a home-cooked meal.

The UPES campus is divided into two parts, as one part has the UPES School of Engineering, University of Petroleum, and UPES Design School are in that part. All the buildings at the campuses were built keeping in mind the facilities that can make students' lives easier. There were common rooms with LED TVs and music systems for enjoyment purposes. The campus has a huge food court along with general and medical stores. I would say that the University is well equipped, and rather than spending all its cash here, they should focus on bringing the right people on board.

One will have the best campus life experiences for sure at UPES. Many bigshots' sons and daughters study here. Since the College is far from the main city, chilling inside the campus looked more convenient than going out. The University is always planning about the next program even before the one is over. There are many sporting facilities at the campus too, and one can play as many sports they want as the University encourages students to be active in sports.