Many IIT students feel they have let go of their passion, writes IIT Jammu professor

But once they join their dream institute, they are confronted with the big question: What is your goal? Is it to become an engineer and bag a lucrative salary package in the final year placement interview? Or is it cracking UPSC? Could it be research? What exactly is it?

It is easier to keep oneself motivated to crack the JEE Advanced — this is a dream many cherish.

In my interactions with BTech students, particularly those of the fresh batches, I have seen that many students have a mixed feeling about being in IIT.

Some of them wanted to pursue other careers but were almost pushed by their families to be IITians. One of my students told me that his true interest was in cooking, with Sanjeev Kapoor being his idol. But due to his parents’  inflexible ideas about what he could do, he had to choose Mechanical Engineering.

Every year, there are such students in IIT. Most of them harbour a grudge against their parents. I try to make them understand the generally over protective nature of Indian parents who always want to secure the social-financial future of their children at any cost.

In an IIT system, there is enough space to let you grow and spread your wings. Therefore, never fear to fly high, says IIT Jammu professor

I try to reason that there is no evidence that a Mechanical Engineer, because of their academic knowledge, would become less innovative in exercising his/her culinary skills. It applies to any such area of interest beyond your academic field. You have to keep your interest alive and can certainly pursue it once you secure your parents’ faith in you.

Academic insecurity is another issue that a section of students come across when they find all their peers are of the same or superior intellectual calibre as them. These students used to be the local heroes for cracking JEE. And at some point, they start enjoying that glory. However, when they see that everyone around them is like them, they fear losing that glory.

Being part of an IIT teaches a student the art of management and balancing. Students receive these balancing lessons in various ways, whether it is planning for a tech-fest, meeting deadlines, bunking classes, and whatnot. Students balance between the curriculum and the extracurricular, the ideal and the practical, and finally ambition and their footing on solid ground.

There is no specific algorithm to strike that balance. The only thing they must not forget is that besides being budding engineers, they are human beings.

It is not unnatural to feel off-balance at times, but always keep in mind to keep faith in yourself because you can regain that balance, keep faith in your peers and community. They will not let you fall. Remember that besides being engineers, you grow here as social beings. The degree and social skills you acquire will take you a long way.

Therefore, do not lose heart thinking that you will be lost in the crowd of other average IITians, or blame your family because you could not pursue your dream. Life is indeed very long. If you can nurture your dream, it will definitely come true one day. And in an IIT system, there is enough space to let you grow and spread your wings. Therefore, never fear to fly high.

(A Lesson from IIT is a weekly column by an IIT faculty member on learning, science and technology on campus and beyond. The column appears every Friday)