'Equinox' is an Annual Tehno-Cultural Fest of IIIT Lucknow

From admission to my final semester exams, my experience at Indian Institute of Information Technology Lucknow was excellent. The faculty was very supportive and the course curriculum was excellent. The only problem arises with placements, where you have to try off-campus placements. Because MBA is a new course, they haven't established a strong reputation with the companies. I joined this Institute because of its good reputation, industry-oriented course, and reasonable fees.

I had opted for MBA in Digital Business course at IIIT Lucknow. I chose it because it's a completely new, future-oriented course that justifies Digital India. It holds immense potential for the future. To gain admission into this course, you must be a graduate with a minimum of 50% in any stream. The admission process involves taking the CUET-PG entrance exam first, then your admission will be determined according to the cutoff and you will be called for an interview. After the interview, document verification and fee payment takes place. Talking about exams, there are two exams in every semester, mid-semester and end-semester. Rest of the semester consists of quizzes, assignments, and presentations. Skills like PowerBI, Advanced Excel, Block Chain, Python, R Programming in the academic curriculum make you industry ready.

The annual Tuition fee is Rs 1,50,000/- which is Rs 75,000/- per semester. Admission fee is Rs. 2000/- which is paid alongwith first semester fee. No other fees are charged. As far as I know, there is no fee discount. However, some of the scholarships provided include the UP Scholarship, Central Scholarship, and other scholarships for SC, ST, and OBC category of students.

Speaking of faculty members, our Head was Mr. Neeraj Kumar Vishwakarma with Ms. Bindu Singh and Dr. Neelu as the main teachers, and several guest faculty members. Everyone was well-qualified; some from IITs, some from IIMs, and someone had taken higher education from abroad. All our faculty members had done Ph.D. Our HOD did PhD from IIT Kanpur, Ms. Bindu Singh from IIT Roorkee, and Dr. Neelu from abroad. Teaching method mostly included PPTs but for technical Mathematical teaching, Blackboards were used. All the faculty members were excellent at problem-solving and had answers to every doubt. In our course, there was a separate teacher for each subject, and one professor for every five students. The faculty was very supportive, friendly, and also respected the students. I had a good relationship with all of them.

The Placement Cell works very well but my program is a very new course so the Placement Committee is not able to work properly. Hence, good companies do not come to recruit but it is gradually changing now. The Placement Cell approaches companies and invites them to the Institute so that students can get placed. The Cell keeps inviting startup founders and company heads from top companies like Google, Flipkart, Amazon, Info Edge, etc. for seminars or guest lectures. The packages provided are between 5 LPA to 8 LPA. On-campus placement is average so you have to try off-campus.

The Institute provides hostel but sometimes, 10 to 12 students live in one room. The girls' and boys' hostels are separate but boys also live on the ground floor of the girls' hostel. Each student is provided with a Bed, Wardrobe, Table, Chair, and Water Cooler. Washing Machine is also provided to the hostellers. There is also a Committee of hostellers. Mess food is excellent and is provided four times a day including Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner and Snacks. Hostel fee is Rs. 6000/- per semester and Rs. 12,000/- annually. If you use the mess, you will have to pay an additional Rs. 15,000/- per semester. The hostel rules are that you must enter the hostel before 11 PM otherwise you will not get entry. Overall, my experience was decent.

The Indian Institute of Information Technology Lucknow campus has two main buildings in the campus, Academic and Admin building which are connected to each other and there is a separate building which houses the Girls Hostel and Mess. The campus spans approximately 50 acres of land. A Library is available with air-conditioning, excellent seating, and a great wealth of books. Computer Labs are available separately for each batch. Thereis no Seminar Hall so all the programs are held in the Reception area. Moreover, there is no Auditorium but the Conference Hall is quite nice with round table seating. There are two Canteens on the campus. Moreover, there are grounds for Table Tennis, Badminton, Cricket, Football, etc. and separate rooms for Carrom and Chess. There is a First-Aid Station staffed by a nurse. E-rickshaws are available for transportation. Many guards are also available for security. The best part of the Institute infrastructure was the Reception Area and the structure of the Conference Room. Digital Boards, Extensions, Charging Podiums, etc. are available in the Classrooms which makes the teaching experience great.

Overall campus life was average. The campus is very small and necessary entertainment facilities are not available but the teaching experience on campus was good. The crowd is nice and everyone is busy with academics. There are Clubs like the Poetry Club, Dance Club, Dialogue Club, etc. I was part of the Dialogue Club. In extracurricular activities, Sports Competitions, Dance Competitions, and Party Conferences are oragnised. ‘Equinox’ is celebrated as an annual fest every year around the month of April. My experience was good.