Four years of learning, fun and implementation

Jadavpur University was a name I always craved for since it is one of the most reputed universities of India and had several feathers to its crown. Also, my friends, teachers at school and relatives recommended me to join JU. After securing a 425 General Merit Rank in WBJEE 2014, I got the opportunity to fulfill my dream.

Placements have been very good in our year as well as in the past years. In case of our batch, 86 students out of 105 appeared for placements and 55 companies visited (84% in core engineering sector, 5% in IT and 11% in Analytics/Consulting). Total 88 offers were made (69 in core, 8 in consulting and 11 in IT). 87 were domestic offers and 1 was international (at Taiwan).The highest package was 16.8 lpa. Mean package was 6.6 lpa and median ackage was 6.7 lpa. Bajaj, Maruti Suzuki, PwC,ZS Associates, Linde India, TIL Limited,Cairn India, Vedanta, Reliance, Hyundai etc were some of the most mentionable names.

Sanskriti (hosted separately by the three faculty student-unions) is the annual cultural festival of JU, U-Turn is the Engineering Faculty all-freshers orientation and Srijan is the annual tech-fest. Apart from that, every department has its own tech-fest, freshers orientation etc. Also, a large number of seminars, exhibitions, colloquium, industry-academia talks, TEDx, Josh Talks etc are some other events which always keep the campus vibrant. A number of sports events and departmental reunions are other events which the students as well as staff engage in.

The fees for four years, including all examination fees adds up to just around ten thousand rupees in total (quite unbelievable, because of the huge subsidy that comes from the State Treasury). For students coming from financially weak backgrounds, there are multiple waivers of tuition-fees as well as scholarships being offered from multiple sources.

THe campus life is one of the best one can get in the country. Throughout the year, something or the other is happening in the campus and everyone is free to take part in whatever he/she likes to. The annual freshers' debate VoxPop is one of the most renowned competitions in Kolkata and famous personalities have been the patrons in past years. The workshops are world-class. The JU Science Club regularly conducts Robotics Training sessions and competitions. The JU Music Club, Drama Club, Literary Club, Entrepreneurship Development Cell and others are always actively conducting some activity or the other to help students nurture their passion.

The hostels are average in terms of infrastructure but excellent in terms of the vibrance and the academic atmosphere. There is no ragging at all in the hostels because the seniors and juniors freely mingle with each other from the very first day and become close friends.

The alumni network is far spread and very cooperative, and the word "Jodubongsho" is very commonly used to refer to JU Alumni all over the world. The senior students (research scholars, Masters' students are too happy to help out the juniors in whatever way they can).

In total, there are 8 semesters over four years. There are two mid-semester examinations of 30 marks each which are averaged and added to the semester examination marks (100 marks exam normalised to 70 marks). The minimum marks for passing in theoretical subjects is 40, while for sessional (practical subjects), it is 50.

I competed for WBJEE 2014 and got through the exam with a General Merit Rank of 425. Then I participated in the Centralised Counselling of WBJEEB, keeping JU Mechanical, JU Electrical, JU ETCE, JU CSE as preferred choices in the said order. In the first round of seat allotment itself, I got JU Mechanical. Then I had to report to the nearest Counselling Reporting Centre (since my hometown is Durgapur, I reported to the one in Asansol) to lock my choice. After all the rounds of counselling were over, I had to report to the University on a stipulated date as per the Online Notice displayed on the University Website. Thereafter, all documents were verified and other formalities were completed, including payment of a token amount as the remaining fees for first two years.

JU Mechanical Engineering Department houses some of the best teachers of the country in their respective fields. In simple words, the faculty iss world-class. Most of the teachers made sincere efforts to make sure that we understood vividly whatever was taught in class. Most teachers were accessible even after class hours, for doubt-clearance.