The student community of the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay (IIT Bombay), which is considered to be one of the leading engineering institutions of India, is facing an unprecedented situation as the number of students left without admittance into any private or public companies during current campus placement season has gone through the roof.
Quantity wise, the Hindustan Times report revealed an abysmal placement record, with 36% of the students still unplaced. According to statistics, there are 712 students in a pool of 2,000.
This comes as low-skilled job markets worldwide face serious problems related to potential global economic slowdowns.
One of the reasons why companies shy away from visiting IIT Bombay’s campus, according to its placement cell officials, is here.
In contrast to the presence of international firms who were in every nut and bolt of placements due to their huge demands in the past years, domestic companies have increased their presence in the placement drives this year.
Although this has yet to be completed, and the placements will continue until May 2025, this 2.8 percent increase is quite impressive compared to the previous semester. According to the study implemented in 2023, 32.8% of undergrads were jobless after the hiring phase, which is a worrying pattern.
As professionals assert, it is possible that this could be due to the whole field slowing down, especially in the core engineering sector, while a large number of students are still not being placed. Some of the specialization domains for the current academic setting may experience a sharp decline from other previous years.
This is not to say, though, that the IIT Bombay placement process doesn’t have a reputation for high standards. However, companies of various kinds are very interested in recruiting such candidates.
We can confirm that the university is still placing the students, and the latter ones can earn the slot within the remaining period of two weeks.
There was news that particular career branches and specializations have a higher number of leftover students compared to other career sections.
This may be a result of students graduating with specific skill sets that do not meet the job market requirements, such as the ones offered by companies regarding new skills that they need.
On the heels of the last placements season, I am eager to witness how the one that will come forth at IIT Bombay will move the bar higher.
Whether the institute is capable of reducing the gap and enabling more students than the current admission rate will be reconsidered. The implication of the low growth of the global macroeconomy on the job market for engineering graduates in India will be another issue the students still need to talk about.
