IITians stay put in India

‘‘You do not have to count the numbers. There is a complete reversal in trends. More B.Tech graduates are preferring placements in companies here rather than going to the US for studies,’’ he asserted.

In fact, students have been calling on him to request certain companies, which had stayed off campus recruitments, to come back head-hunting.

Until three years ago, IIT alumni who were pursuing post-graduation in US bought application forms for their juniors to facilitate the admission process. But now, they are advising juniors not to follow in their footsteps.

In the wake of the slowdown in the US economy, Narendran said, the seniors themselves are finding it difficult to obtain jobs there. As a result, they are either going in for a PhD programme in their chosen subject or pursuing another MS programme in a different engineering discipline to enhance their academic credentials. Arun Nagarajan, a final year B.Tech (Mechanical Engineering) student, said: ‘‘The feedback we get from our seniors through e-mails influences our decision.’’

The financial aid given by US universities apparently started shrinking from 2000 when the Y2K problem was countered successfully and jobs in the IT sector dwindled. The attack on the twin WTC towers only worsened the situation for Indian students.

There is also another factor that has encouraged B.Tech graduates to stay put here. Some of the US companies have closed down a few offices and started up operations in India opening up good placement opportunities. Besides, Narendran said, of late students pursuing core engineering branches (non-IT disciplines) are finding jobs easily.