IIT (ISM), Dhanbad has Food Outlets of KFC, Domino's & Various Others

ISM (Indian School of Mines) was converted into IIT (Indian Institute of Technology) in 2016 but the Institute is almost touching its 100th year. It is a well reputed institute with a very average course work. The coursework is not too heavy but not too easy. Although there were some huge loopholes in the system but gradually all are getting solved with the advent of the New Education Policy. This Institute has a really amazing culture of interaction between seniors and juniors who eventually make it feel like home. With mutual respect and endless memories this junior-senior bond is worth experiencing.

In 2021, I enrolled myself in B.Tech in Mining Engineering, but eventually extended my course into B.Tech + M.Tech. This change converted the 2 year master into just 1 extra year. Institute offers this course change option after completion of 2nd year (4th semester), in this you can choose to extend course by 1 year and add any of the following. A master degree in any discipline (your parent branch, or any other desired branch) called dual degree. The selection is based on some CGPA criteria which is not too difficult. The others options include an MBA program or another B.Tech degree in desired branch (called double major). All these have some criteria defined to be qualified for these options which are usually >7 CGPA for 1 (and >8.5 for 1 in CSE) and 7 or 7.5 for 2; and for 3 it is >8 (for CSE it comes around 9 CGPA)

Being a general category female student, entire fee was applicable for me. All the even semesters have similar fees (around Rs. 1,36,000) and every odd semester have same fee i.e. Rs. 1,24,000/-. In this Rs. 15,000/- per semester fee is for hostel food and accommodation. The fee can be paid using student loans and during the time of enrollment a lot of banks have their stall set up near the area of registration for any help in applying for student loan.

In my department, most of the faculties have good knowledge. They prepare PPT before lectures to present and explain them during classes. Some professors do have problem in explaining things but their knowledge is up to date and very appreciable. New faculties are very invested in teaching and have fun way of explaining which makes one interested in studies. In our course, we have 4 years (in which for only 3 years Mining is taught). In our department, there are 315 Bachelors students and approximately 60 Masters students along with a huge faculty around 20 professors & associate professors.

The placement needs improvement. For special courses like Dual Degree or double major, they do not open companies and my personal experience could have been better. In my intern season, I got Mail for a Test but in the end didn't get test link. The only company I appeared was the one which directly called me for interview on basis of my resume without the help of CDC (Career development centre). For some companies I didn't get link and was told that I was not shortlisted for the OLT but the company hadn't applied any criteria for rejection. Although I did end up getting 3 internships and have 2 placements offers right now. It was just because of the reputation of IIT Dhanbad. Not the placement cell.

Girls’ hostel curfew time is strict. After 12:20 or 12:30 AM, they write the names of the late entry and do not allow going out before 5 AM. Boys also have same rules for them but not strictly applied. They can easily roam in campus without any security asking them. Girl hostel do get checked more frequently than boys.

Classrooms are fine. They have started installing AC all around which is great. Small classrooms already have the ACs installed. The projector and New Lecture hall building are alright. The old building is quite rough and not built properly. The audio there is not audible properly but it is rarely used for classes. Each department has their own building which are all nicely equipped and well made. The garden is beautiful and really nice to sit around with friends & have memorable times. Lots of new eating places are opening up like KFC, we already have dominos, 2-3 laundry shops, 1 juice corner, 2 stationary shops and most of everyday need items are available inside the campus.

Campus life is really amazing. The campus is beautiful and full of greenery. Although after a time, it feels small but very peaceful. Campus is not isolated from city so it is easily connected. The Institute has a lots of clubs, societies for everything. Cultural clubs for dancing, singing, art, theatre, photography, videography etc are open for students. There are technical clubs - for coding, web development, robotics, mechanics, quiz which are also available. Most of sport activities are present and have team for them.