JOIN USThe placement process and the placement cell at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) are going to see a number of changes and restructuring soon, especially as the first batch of students from its undergraduate course passes out in 2015.
According to Prof J M Chandra Kishen, former head of IISc’s central placement cell, the aim is to make it similar to those at IIMs and a few well-known IITs.
To start with, a new placement officer has been appointed. He will play a more personal role in the placement procedures. M Mathirajan, chief research scientist, Management Studies, IISc, is the new placement officer.
According to sources, he is already in touch with two companies who are possible recruiters. Earlier, such an interaction by the head of the placement cell did not take place and it was mainly the student placement coordinators / representatives who interacted with the companies.
This time, the effort will also be to send out invitations to companies much earlier than the previous year, so that the entire placement process can be completed early.
“Usually, emails are sent to the companies in July. But this time, we want to do this a month earlier. Last year, many companies like Deutsche Bank and Stanley Morgan showed interest. Since they closed their recruitments by June, we were not able to participate in the recruitment process,” said Vivek Verma, a student placement coordinator.
A step ahead
“We would also like to begin the placements by October, so that we are a step ahead of the IITs and do not lose out to them. We otherwise usually start in November,” said Vivek.
Another important aspect of the changes will be the restructuring of the placement cell website. “We want to make the website more interactive and are presently in the process of changing it entirely. Students from all 46 departments will need to register and their profiles will be maintained on the website. Companies will, in turn, be allowed to view the profiles for a fee, only after a confirmation that they are participating in the placements,” said Vivek.
The student coordinators for the placements cell are also set to get a number of clearly defined roles, so that the burden does not fall only on a few towards the end and each knows his / her own responsibilities.
Under the present scheme of things, at least one or two students from each department are chosen as representatives to the placement cell. Out of this, four or five representatives form the core placement coordinators.
Several factors
Speaking with the Deccan Herald, Prof P Balaram, director, IISc, attributed the need for changes in IISc’s placements to a number of factors.
“We are expanding; we now have an undergraduate programme. Next year, the first batch will graduate. We will have more degrees. We have more students coming out with greater diversity in degrees,” said Balaram.