Rank 19 - Jadavpur University : Can Do Without the Unrest

This venerated Kolkata institution gave the survey a skip last year, but
straight away comes into the Top 20 this time, thanks to a strong showing on
infrastructure and academic environment. But it scores low on both industry
perception and on the recruiter radar, leading to an average score on
placements. Unfortunately, this malaise seems to afflict most engineering
colleges from the East (especially West Bengal); excessive politicizing of the
campus atmosphere often leads to this negative sentiment. This year was
particularly volatile, with strikes becoming a routine affair.

In fact, JUs placement record used to be quite impressive; one reason for
the beating this time could be the massive campus unrest, especially during
campus interview times. Companies like Infosys and Cognizant were forced to
defer their campus interviews even as classes were suspended, research projects
stalled, and campus placement schedules thrown haywire. Result: a low score on
industry perception meaning recruiters not coming in numbers and consequently,
placements suffered.

The strong showing on infrastructure comes as no surprise: the college boasts
of a state-of-the art mobile computing lab developed in partnership with HP,
declared by UGC as a Center of Excellence in Mobile Computing and Communication.
UGC has also identified Nanotechnology as another thrust area to develop another
Center of Excellence. The CAD center in the college is one of the premier
promoters for CAD/GIS activities in Eastern India for more than a decade now.
Academically too, the college is on a strong footing with 350 research projects
funded both by national as well as international funding agencies, currently
being executed.