The voice of MIT. Review on Manipal Institute of Technology

I'm writing this review as a proud alumnus of MIT Manipal. Though it has been almost 6 years since I graduated out of MIT, the memories I have of my alma mater will never fade away.

In 1993 when I joined MIT Manipal, I was ecstatic. It was regarded as one of the best schools in the Mangalore university system. But up until 1993 you had to be fairly affluent to get admitted into MIT. Along with the merit MIT had gained over the years in terms of quality of education and state of the art facilities, it was also notorious for fleecing unsuspecting parents with exorbitant capitation fees (an up front donation to the institution for those of you unfamiliar with the term). But the year I got admitted into MIT, things had changed for the better. The board of education in Karnataka had mandated the policy of in-state free seats (students applying for admission from within the state of Karnataka only paid subsidized tuition) and out-of-state payment seats(students applying from outside the state of Karnataka had to pay a higher fee for tuition). If you were an NRI (Non Resident Indian) you were doomed - you had to pay tuition in US dollars and the fees were comparable to the tuition in some of the private schools in the US. Now since Manipal is deemed an institution of MAHE(Manipal Academy of Higher Education) a lot of these policies might have changed..so check out their website for more details:

https://mahe.edu

The first thing that struck me about MIT was the wide variety of undergraduate programs available. Not to mention, the elaborate facilities for each program. For students taking up architecture, there was a whole section of the campus dedicated just to architecture. You could tell the moment you stepped into the architecture section.. from all the murals on the walls and the crazy artwork around you. Typically during the freshman year, all students that were enrolled into MIT had to take the same courses. So we were introduced to the basics of almost every discipline in engineering ranging from basic computer programming to electrical engineering fundamentals and even woodwork and metal fitting. It was a great experience.

The freshman year was not all about academics though. I don't know how things are now but I do remember we had a ton of things to worry about in freshman year especially during the first semester. Among other things MIT was famous (or infamous) for was the ragging (hazing for the benefit of American readers) initiations. Since the environment in MIT was very cosmopolitan, freshmen were segregated by state. Basically what that meant was if you were from say New Delhi, you were part of the ''Punjab and Sind Association''.. or if you were from Karnataka, you were part of the ''Local List''. These were like fraternities and whether you liked it or not, the minute you entered the portals of MIT you were automatically a member of one of these ''lists''. So basically students all the way from sophomore to senior year could rag you. First off was the dress code. If you were a guy you had to wear something that looked formal but in our case made us look like complete dorks. If you were a girl, you had to wear a plain looking salwar suit. I remember being subjected to some major humiliation, the details of which I will not go into. But when I think back I remember how mortified I would get whenever I would get accosted by a senior student from my ''list''..they would typically cart me off to the ''lion's den'' where they would have their fun at my expense. But that was all part of the deal to make men out of us high school wusses. In the second semester though, typically within about 5-6 months, the seniors would throw an acceptance party - basically making up for the crap they put you through.. in our case ours was a great poolside party - and it seemed almost worth the agony we went through as freshmen. From then on, it was almost like we were granted an all access pass. We could participate in the inter school cultural programs (which were elaborate and a lot of fun).. we could do all the things we were ''forbidden'' from doing for the first 5-6 months.. including flirting with our female freshman peers..!!

Well from then on, all we had to worry about was academics. The first couple of semesters were fairly easy but when we started taking the core coursework for our respective programs that's when we really had to bear down. Practical study was always encouraged - and we had a variety of facilities to choose from. In my discipline (which was Electronics and communications engineering) we had an Analog Circuits Lab, a Digital Circuits Lab, a power electronics lab, an electrical machines lab, a computer lab, a printed circuit board engineering lab, a microwave device lab and many more. Now that I think about it, I could never really utilize these facilities completely.

Faculty in MIT are really good. There are a few exceptions but in general, everybody is pretty dedicated. As we progressed to junior year (3rd year) most of the faculty assigned to our courses had a PhD.. and were very experienced. I remember ..up until sophomore (2nd) year I used to miss classes regularly just because they were too boring.. but from the following year I attended every single class.

MIT offers an ambience that is unique. First off there are only one or two schools in India that are a part of a university town. MIT is one of them. Manipal is nestled on top of a hill.. the surroundings are very picturesque..and there is a variety of things to do there and places to hang out. Along with the engineering school are the school of medicine, the school of management, and the school of hotel management. So it's a good environment to socialize with peers in different disciplines. As far as entertainment is concerned, there is plenty to choose from. TC (Tiger Circle) is what most people consider downtown.. and there is a whole host of little restaurants, bars and mini theaters to choose from. If you're looking to get away for some quiet moments of introspection .. or maybe a little romantic getaway with your special someone there's the End Point.. that overlooks the valleys and forests surrounding Manipal. For the religious kinds there is a Sri Krishna temple..but I remember a lot of the guys used to flock there for not so holy reasons too, many a relationship began in the hallowed surroundings of this temple. Another popular social hangout was the Central Library.. everyone would go there to study - there were 3 floors with huge study halls - but a lot of the time, studying was the last thing that would go on there..

The final year was awesome. In the last semester, there were extensive photo sessions and field trips and such. I remember in the final year, each department had to design a logo that was printed on T-shirts, and as the entreprenuers who came up with this grand idea, we ended up selling them to our peers at a pretty good profit (see my trumpet?) .. and we all basically paraded them on photo shoot day. It was a riot. Over the four years all of us in the entire class of '97 had developed such a close bond among ourselves that at the end it was with heavy hearts that we left the place that had made us not just qualified engineers, it had made us tough and ready to face the world.