List of Frequently Asked Questions about NIST

1. Who are the promoters of the Institute?

The promoters of the Institute are as follows:

Mr. Surendra Mudali, Chairman
Renowned social activist and educationist of Orissa

Mr. Sangram Mudali, Director
B.Tech, IIT, Kanpur
M.S., Univ. of Houston, TX, USA, worked at B.F. Goodrich, Ohio, USA

Ms. Geetika Mudali, Placement Director
B.Tech., Osmania University
M.S., New Jersey Institute of Technology, NJ, USA

Ms. Sanjeeta Mohapatra,
M.S., State University of New York, NY, USA
Presently working in Lucent Technologies, USA

Mrs. Janaki Mudali
B.A. L.L.B and educationist of Orissa

2. What about the approvals and affiliations of the Institute?

The Institute was established in 1996 with the approval of the AICTE (All India Council of Technical Education) and Government of Orissa. It is presently affiliated to Berhampur University. However NIST will be affiliated to Biju Patnaik University of Technology (BPUT) as per the recent Government notification affecting all engineering colleges of Orissa.

3. What are the prospects for placement?

Among all the private engineering colleges of Orissa, NIST has had the highest number of students recruited through campus placement. NIST has been visited for campus placements by all top companies recruiting in the IT and Engineering sectors. They include IBM, Satyam, Wipro Technologies, HCL Infosystems, PCS, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), Wipro Infotech, CG-CorEl, Integra Microsystems, Tata Steel, Reisys (USA), Indian Army. Despite the recent slump NIST students of the previous batches have been fully absorbed in the industry. TCS alone has more than 80 NISTians working at their offices all over the country. We also have the highest number of students joining MS (USA), M.Tech.(IITs) and MBA programs among all the private engineering colleges of Orissa.

4. What are the facilities available for career planning?

We believe in imparting qualitative technical education and life skills to succeed in the marketplace. Improving employability is one of our major focal points of all activities carried out at NIST. We provide training and coaching facility for GRE, TOEFL (for higher education in US, Australia, Europe), GATE (for M.Tech), CAT (for MBA). Life Skill Development courses start right from the 1^st semester till the 8^th semester and include Personality Development Programs, English Vocabulary, Writing and Speaking skills, Group Discussion, Thematic Appreciation Tests, Mock tests. All information regarding career options are available in our Placement Office. Students are motivated to start their career planning from 3^rd semester onwards. The NIST Alumni Counseling Services has been formed to help students in pursuing their career plans.

5. Is hostel compulsory?

Yes, hostel is compulsory for the first year only for the purpose of fostering a closer knit community of NISTIANS and to focus on the academic workload. Hostel is available optionally for students in all subsequent years. Parents and students are specially motivated to continue residing in hostels for all years.

6. What are the facilities available in hostels?

Comfortable rooms with toilets, TV, Music Systems, Newspapers, Magazines, Computers, Internet, Sports & Games, Library, Cultural Programs, Medical assistance, etc. Each hostel has a caretaker and a Superintendent who is a senior faculty member.

7. How much is the mess bill and how is the mess food?

The Mess bill is approximately Rs. 850.00 per month which includes breakfast, lunch, tea and dinner. Non-vegetarian food is available six days in a week with special items for vegetarians as well. Students may not opt for the mess card also. Students provide feedback and suggestions regarding the

menu to the mess manager or to the superintendent.

8. What is the examination system?

The end semester examination comprising of 80% marks is held by Berhampur University as per guidelines mentioned in the University Regulations. The rest 20% marks is sent by the

Institute based on internal grading.

9. Are the examinations held in time and results published in time?

There has been a delay in holding examinations and publishing results by the Berhampur University. This delay is also common to Utkal University. However with the establishment of the BPUT the examinations and results will be completely streamlined. BPUT will be exclusively looking after all engineering colleges of Orissa. The batch of 2002 will be affiliated to BPUT and all its examinations will be conducted by it.

10. What is the internal grading policy?

The internal grading is based on mid-sem examinations, pre-final examinations, class attendance, quizzes, assignments, projects. The grading policy is intimated to each student at the beginning of each theory and laboratory course. The corrected papers are shown to the student for their feedback. All marks are published on the web and students and parents can access it using their unique passwords. Students earn their marks through hard work, diligent study and disciplined approach to academics.

11. What is the quality of faculty?

Faculty are selected after careful evaluation of their educational experience and research backgrounds. Only candidates with M.Tech /Ph.D degrees or persons with exceptional brilliance are recruited by NIST. NIST faculty members are educated from US Universities, IITs, IISc, REC, Jadavpur University, BE College, Shibpur, and are renowned for their teaching, industrial experience and quality of research. Faculty members are further trained by experts in modern teaching methodologies and use of audio-visual equipment. Apart from just being one of the most erudite group of people available in any engineering college of Orissa, we believe that our faculty members are setting new standards for engineering education, research and development in the state of Orissa. This is manifest in the large number of scholarly papers published by them in refereed national/international journals and conferences.

12. What are the areas of specialization for students?

Students are encouraged to work in latest areas of technology as per industry requirements such as Digital Signal Processing, Embedded Systems, Real Time Systems, Programmable Logic Controllers, Plant Automation, Microcontrollers, IT enabled devices and services, VLSI Design, VLSI Fabrication, FPGAs, Bio-Informatics, Semiconductor Devices, Fault tolerant systems, Interactive Voice Response systems, Software Engineering, Quality, Audit and Security issues in Software, Datamining and Datawarehousing, ERP, Web-based solutions, Wireless Communications, Bluetooth, etc. Each student is assigned a guide faculty in his/her project work.

13. Is remedial help available for students?

The NIST tutorial system is designed to identify areas of weakness in students and to assist them in a small group providing individual attention to overcome the same. Students having backlog papers are assisted by faculty to secure higher marks through an understanding of concepts and solving problems.

14. Is there any faculty-student interaction?

NIST has an unique NIST Counseling Services where every ten students are assigned a faculty counselor. Students and parents are encouraged to interact with the counselor regarding personal, academic issues and to get it solved. Such interactions are held in group meetings or individually and are meant to provide to every student "a home away from home".

15. What about ragging?

NIST has maintained a ragging free atmosphere since its inception. The NIST Rule Book lays down strict punishment including suspension or expulsion for ragging. Ragging is a cognizable offence under Supreme Court orders and the same is implemented in all seriousness.

16. What are the extracurricular and cultural activities?

WAVES is an annual mega event which showcases the talents of the incoming batch. Regular competitions in Quiz, Debates, Cartooning, Painting, etc., are held in the Institute as well as in the Hostels. Students are also sent to various inter-college competitions held all over India. An "Alumni Day" and "Technology Day" are planned for this year. Students publish the "NISTIAN" every quarter and a newsletter called "NIST E-news". Hostilites celebrate Holi, Ganesh Puja, Saraswati Puja, Diwali, etc., with much fanfare. Community activities which contribute to the society are also being planned for this year. We also have a music club on campus.

17. What are the activities in sports & games?

NIST has an international size tennis hardcourt, basketball court and volleyball court. All indoor games such as table tennis, chess, carrom, scrable, are available on the campus and in the hostels. An indoor Gymnasium is also available. NIST is proud of its adventure sports: windsurfing, parasailing, paragliding, canoeing, kayaking, hiking and mountaineering. Interhostel, Interyear and Faculty-student matches are held throughout the year. NISTians are frequently chosen on the University sports teams such as basketball team and TT team. A full time sports coordinator looks after the sports activities. We also a full time yoga instructor for imparting training to the students.

18. Are there any scholarships or honors program for the students?

Two types of scholarships are available to students. They are Teaching Assistants (TA) and Economic Hardship Scholarships. TA’s are chosen on the basis of their academic excellence and they assist assigned faculty in a certain course. Economic Hardship Scholarship assists the students for his/her living expenses. We are also introducing an honors program for the meritorious students of each batch to put them on a fast track in research and development under the supervision of our senior faculty members.

19. What is the policy for branch change?

The seats which are left vacant at the end of the first year are notified by the Administrative Officer at the beginning of the 3^rd semester and applications for branch change are invited. Allotment is made strictly with regard to marks secured in the first and second semesters. It is generally seen that only 1 or 2 seats are available for branch change.

20. Are the tuition and other fees higher in NIST?

NO, the tuition and other fees are as per Government of Orissa guidelines. There are no "hidden fees" which is collected by the Institute without prior information.

21. How is the schedule for classes?

The Institute works six days in a week. First year classes are held from 9:20AM to 4:30PM. Lunch is available for all students on the campus. Institute Transport is available for all students from the hostels and from Berhampur . A back up generator of 100KVA is available for any power outage. The workload in NIST is generally considered grueling :-} We have very few holidays and probably have the highest number of working days among the engineering colleges of India.. Whenever required, the classes are conducted on Sundays also. There is a lot of focus on technical presentations throughout the eight semesters to prepare our students for their professional careers.

22. What are the options for summer training ?

The Institute has a Training officer who coordinates summer training for students at the end of 4^th and 6^th semester. In the past students have done one month course which are specially designed for NIST students at IIT, Kanpur. The Institute also offers one month summer course in highly advanced topics such as VLSI Design, Linux, OOPS, Networking, etc. NIST students undergo summer training in prestigious organizations such as ISRO, DRDO, SAC, BEL, NTPC, SAIL, TIFR, IIT, IISc, etc.

23. What is the quality of B.E. final year projects?

The final year projects are one year projects which demonstrate the technical superiority of our students. All projects are state-of-the-art and directly relate to the industry and are sponsored by them. Most placements are based on the quality of our B.E. projects and therefore the Institute lays special emphasis on them.

24. Are conferences, seminars and other technical events held?

Students are members of many all-India organizations such as ISTE, IETE, IEEE, and participate in their programs. The Institute recently held the International Conference on Information Technology, CIT 2001, with more than 250 delegates from all over the world. In addition, there is a "Friday Seminar" where exceptional work of students and faculty is presented.

25. What is the library facility for students? Book Bank facility ?

NIST boasts of more than 18500 text and reference books in addition to national and international journals. A CD reference section including many CBTs is also available. The library is a 15000 sqft facility with seating capacity for more than 300 students. It is open from 7:30 AM to 9:00 PM for use of the students. A Book Bank facility is available to 30 students of each batch based on economic criteria. Under the scheme all the books necessary for the semester is made available to the student. All business of the library is fully computerized using bar codes and students can search for availability of books using the online search facility.

26. What is the Internet facility available?

NIST has a 64kbps Internet facility through VSAT available to all students. In addition Internet facility is available in the hostels through dialup lines.

27. Apart from the syllabus what are the other courses?

To keep abreast of the recent developments in the Industry, a set of courses are designed and conducted for all students. Typical courses are:

MSOffice, Advanced Verbal Skills, Web Design, MATLAB, Digital & Analog Simulation, ORACLE, VISUAL Basic, Switchgear Design, Advanced Instrumentation, VLSI Design, etc. Most of the above mentioned courses lead to certification examination. NIST is also an AICTE sponsored CNANCE center for the teaching of Sun certified JAVA courses.

28. What about Alumni Network?

The NIST Alumni Career Counseling is a voluntary organization which provides counseling and guidance to NIST students for their careers plans. It consists of alumni from the industry, academia, post-graduate students, management students. A alumni club is being planned for every metro in the country. Alumni Day will also be celebrated every year.

29. Is there any dining facility on campus?

Our Food Court is equipped with state of the art equipment ranging from steam cookers to stainless heated servers. The granite tables and the piped music add to the dining experience at NIST.

30. What computer facilities are available at NIST?

The computational facilities, both from the hardware and the software angles, are comparable to the best of the IITs. We have advanced equipment in industrial automation and electronics. Our VLSI R&D group headed by Dr. Ajit K. Panda is equipped with a range of modern software packages. Our intranet is hooked up to Linux and WIN-NT servers and caters to all the internal needs of the faculty, staff and students ranging from email to posting of instructional materials. If you need more information about our technological expertise, please visit the website of our consulting wing -- NIST Training and Consultancy Services at www.ntcsindia.com. The Advanced Technology lab is equipped with state-of-the-art microcontrollers, PLCs, etc.

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