myIIT
Rohan Deshpande
BTech Mechanical 2016 - 2020
IIT Dharwad
My experience in a next gen IIT
Growing with a newly established institute was a very enriching journey. When I visited IIT Dharwad for admissions, the buildings were being renovated so that it could accommodate our batch. My family was quite concerned for the education I would get in a new institute. But when we talked with the professors there, we could see the enthusiasm and the plans they had laid out to ensure that we had quality education which would be at par with the older institutes. Due to the small batch size of 120, all of us were familiar with each other. The professors knew us by our names, and knew each of our strengths and weaknesses. I remember my prof being concerned when I had missed a few of his classes. He called up and set up an one on one session for me to clear up the doubts I would have regarding the concepts taught in those classes. The concern shown by them for my education was quite heart-touching.
We had 24x7 access to all of the institute resources, be it library, gym, music room or plain old rec room. The institute treated us as adults in a sense that we understand that the actions that we take would affect the student community as a whole. So with the freedom we were given, we also had to be responsible about it.
The best part of the college was the enthusiasm faculty members had when we proposed to build something by ourselves. They tried their best to provide us with the resources so that we can build things that we envisioned. We broke, burned a lot of things on our way to build what we wanted. But I believe those failures are what gives me the confidence that even if I fail at something I can stand up again and forge on with renewed determination. We were given projects ranging from building a sustainable energy absorbing structure to classification of quality of areca nuts. All of them pertained to a real world problem. Other than that we were
encouraged to conduct workshops on the things we have learned and applied by ourselves, participate in techmeets and hackathons. All in all the institute encouraged us to apply our creativity, knowledge and determination in solving problems.
Other than the technical aspects I cherish the amount of freedom we had to pursue our non technical interests, I remember lugging the college telescope up on the terrace with the club members, getting it setup so that it remains stable in all orientations. All of this at 1 o’clock at night! Sometimes, the faculty members would join us in the setup and stargazing. I could see my peers becoming more confident and assertive as they explored numerous hobbies such as photography, filmmaking, music.
I miss the beautiful weather of Dharwad, sometimes it would be cold and windy, so we would set up a small campfire. We would have tea and snacks around it and would talk about all the things in the world which would inevitably return back to earning money and starting a startup. Sometimes it would rain with hailstones and then we would set up chairs near our windows enjoying the cold weather while sipping tea.
When I first came here, being in a “new IIT” I had envisioned a story of apathy and worthlessness, where I would slog through my curriculum and pass out to become another engineer. But thanks to this institute, I could go on a journey full of experiences such as successes, failures, friendships, heartbreak, which shaped me. And ultimately these experiences, challenges and achievements allowed me to understand myself. I am happy to
graduate from this institute not just as an engineer but as a person who is comfortable with myself.