Once in a lifetime experience

I took the Roorkee Entrance Examination (REE). I don't really remember my air in REE but i got the Civil Engineering branch which was the most sought-after branch of the institute Erstwhile University of Roorkee.

Very comprehensive with First-year having basic teaching of other branches of engg, Science and Mathematics. Rest three years were exhaustive Material and Metallurgical sciences.

In those days steel plants were coming up in India. We had teams coming from Hindustan steel now SAIL, Rourkela, and Bokaro steel plants etc. We interned at the Rourkela steel plant and later absorbed by them after successful completion of the course.

Thomso the annual event was the most talked about event among technical institutes in India. Technical meets sports meet and cultural events inviting celebrities from all sectors of India and abroad. From Beatles to Indian film industry singers everybody visited our campus.

The education fees were almost negligible as it was the most reputed technical college in the country and under U.P. govt. Admissions were done strictly on the basis of a competitive entrance examination with selectivity hardly 2% of the candidates sitting for the exam. For meals, the mess was indeed pricey in those days but that was due to the very high quality of food served.

For bright students, several scholarships were available but received only on their academic and co-curricular performance. Thomason gold medal, Cautley medal, Council of India prize, Harcourt butler prize, etc were notable awards which only the brightest students received. It was an honor to receive such awards.

The male to female ratio was indeed high in those days as still girl education and that too of Engineering level was a rarity. Apart from academics plenty of emphasis was laid on co-curricular events like sports etc. Workshops were huge and equipped with the latest equipment.

In the pre-independence days, the institute had an old boys association. After conversion into University, the Roorkee university alumni association was formed. Currently, its called IIT Roorkee Alumni Association. The network of Alumni is global with numerous chapters. Every year alumni meet are organized globally by the association which connects them for exchanging memories of good old times.

Semester exams were held twice in a year along with other midterm tests both theory and practical. Emphasis on practical training was given as engg is all about practical knowledge. Labs and field visits were frequent all over India. The Roorkee students were met everywhere with great enthusiasm.

Excellent and top in a class of that time. All the faculty was min. postgraduate from either Roorkee only or from other top institutions like BHU and IITs.