FAQs B.Tech Freshers

Where will the freshers be accommodated?

At the Ahalia Campus, Kozhipara, Palakkad, where the temporary campus of IIT Palakkad is situated.

How developed is the IIT Palakkad campus at the temporary site?

IIT Palakkad is presently functioning in the Ahalia Integrated Campus which is a sprawling campus running into many hundreds of acres of land. The IIT Palakkad academic block, student hostels, and staff quarters are located in walkable distances from one another, and all have modern facilities including wi-fi connection. The construction of the permanent campus at a different site near Palakkad has already started.

An old Youtube video of Ahalia campus can be found at:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lP2C8gImbNM

What will be the courses in 1st semester of B.Tech?

The following common courses were offered till now: Physics, Mathematics, Chemistry, Ecology and Environment, Engineering Drawing, Concepts in Engineering design and Introduction to Engineering, along with Physics lab and workshop I. There may be small changes in the curriculum though.

Can freshers bring laptops in the first semester? How is the Internet facility on campus?

Yes, they can. There is no restriction in bringing a laptop to the Institute but it is not a necessity at the beginning. If you have a laptop, it would be helpful for the course Engineering Drawing and in the second semester for a course on Computer Programming. All students have access to the computer lab in the academic building, which is only 5 minutes walk from the hostel. The labs and the academic area are connected to high-speed Internet and the hostels are Wi-Fi enabled. If you have a laptop, you can access online resources from your hostel itself.

What facilities are provided to the freshers for the purchase of hostel necessities like bicycles, mattresses, pillows, buckets etc.? Do we need to bring these things along with us?

Institute make arrangements for the sale of hostel necessities like bicycles, mattresses, pillows, pillow covers, bedsheets, locks, buckets, mugs etc. on orientation day. Local vendors are invited for the sale of these items inside the Institute. Stationeries and other items can also be purchased from the Ahalia Home Centre, which is close by

How easy is the branch change in IIT Palakkad? What is the criterion for the same?

Branch change depends solely on your CGPA (Cumulative Grade Point Average) for the first semester. Any branch can have at the most a ten percent increase over the original sanctioned strength and the strength of a class should not fall below the sanctioned strength by more than ten percent.
For more details kindly have a look at Rule R.5.0 of document below:
Ordinance

Will we be buying books or can we borrow them from the library?

In general, you can get the e-books for the materials that the teacher specify. Also, you can get them from the library, though the library may have only limited copies. Local bookshops in Palakkad/Coimbatore or online stores are also of help, so are the seniors. Moodle web pages on our intranet site has all the course materials posted by faculty and students.

How is the weather in Palakkad like?

Palakkad is near the West coast on the South and has monsoon climate. June-August will be rainy (South-West monsoon); there will be rains also during October-November (North-East monsoon). March-April will be the Summer season. Weather is generally pleasant, and our campus (the temporary as well as the permanent one) is situated at the foot of the Western ghats.

What is the holiday schedule of IIT Palakkad?

We have a five-day working week, in general. Semester breaks are from Mid November to the end of December for winters and from mid April to end of July in summers. The long summer break allow students to take up summer internships.

What about sports?

Sports activities are coordinated by the Faculty Sports Advisor. Special coaching from expert coaches is given to selected students in various sports items. Students participate in tournaments like Inter-IIT sports competition, and other in-house tournaments. At IIT Palakkad, we have fields for Cricket and Football, Basketball, and Volleyball courts, and TT tables and carrom boards in hostels. Badminton courts are also getting ready in the new hostel complex. A gym with modern facilities is also available in the hostel block.

What are the games played at IIT Palakkad?

Football, Basketball, Cricket, Volleyball, Badminton, Table Tennis, and Athletics.

What are the co-curricular activities and clubs at IIT Palakkad?

Co-curricular activities include National Service Scheme, Life Skills program, Extramural Lectures, Seminars, Talks and Workshops.

How many people will stay in a hostel room?

Rooms allotted to freshers will be two seaters with an attached bathroom. All our hostel rooms are two-seaters now.

What is the procedure for getting the MCM scholarships?

Income certificates are submitted at the time of admission as mentioned on the website and applications are collected in September. The decision is made by the Senate to award the scholarships, and later in the second semester, students are given the scholarship reimbursing their earlier tuition fees and that of the second semester. See rule (R.28.0) in document whose link is given below:
http://turing.iitpkd.ac.in/web/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/Ordinances_Regulations.pdf

What are the good places to hang out near IIT Palakkad ?

Palakkad and Coimbatore are the nearby cities where the students can hang out. Palakkad is the seventh most populous town in Kerala with all facilities. Coimbatore is a metro city. Both cities have lot of options for Food and entertainments.

How to reach IIT Palakkad?

The closest Airport is Coimbatore Airport which is around 45 kilometers from the temporary campus. One can then take a taxi or a bus to reach the campus. Palakkad Railway station is around 25 kms from the campus. The details of how to reach us is given here:
https://iitpkd.ac.in/how-reach

How will we get a SIM in Palakkad?

On the day of your registration, you will get an ID card from the Institute which will serve as your address proof. Provide additionally an identity proof for your SIM card. The sale of SIM cards will be done by the various company representatives on the day of your registration. Mobile recharge can be done either at the cafeteria or stationery shop.

Are there any Banks/ATMs/Post Office nearby?

The Canara Bank IIT Palakkad Branch is only 50 meters away from the Institute. There are four ATMs nearby, including the one near the entrance of our academic building. The nearest post office is only 5 Km away.

Can we receive parcels / online purchased items delivered to the hostels?

Yes. India post and suppliers like amazon and Flipkart deliver items to IIT Palakkad hostels.

Is there Ragging? Do IIT Palakkad have policies against it?

Zero Tolerance to ragging.Kindly visit the following link.
Anti-Ragging Measures

What if I get lost in Palakkad?

Palakkad is a small town, but has good public transport system. People are helpful in general. And so, chances of you getting lost are very minimal. Keep the emergency contact numbers with you.

How is the mess food?

The mess food is nutritional and offers variety food. The caterer is experienced in preparing both South Indian and North Indian dishes. There is a mess council which consists of student representatives and the wardens who monitor the quality of the food and suggest required changes to the menu served.

How many girls’ hostels are in IIT Palakkad campus? Will all first year female students get accommodation in the same hostel?

All our girl students stay in the same hostel in the Ahalya Campus at present. A new girls' hostel is getting ready at our permanant campus site to which our final year and pre-final year students will be relocated soon. First year and second year students will continue to be accommodated in our existing hostel at the Ahalia Campus.

Is it safe for female students to roam around in the IIT Palakkad campus and nearby places ?

IT Palakkad academic block, hostels and the nearby places are well lit at night and are safe to roam around. There are many security guard posts across the campus.

Hostel timings

Open upto midnight normally, need to give attendance at 9pm, permission to be sought if going away from the campus or to reach after 10pm. No alcohol consumption or smoking is allowed.

Seat allocation procedure

The seat allocation in IITs is carried out in multiple rounds where the seats are allocated based on the preferences a candidate has given. In each round after allotment of the seat, the candidate will be given choice to freeze, float, slide or reject the current allotted seat. *Freeze implies that the candidate accepts the current allotted seat and does not wish to be considered for other rounds. *Slide implies that the candidate wants to be in the current allotted institute but still wants to be considered for preferable branches within that institute. *Float means that she wants to be considered for any branch or any institute based on her preference list. *Reject means that she does not want to continue and be considered for any further rounds of counselling. If you have further questions, then please refer her to: http://josaa.nic.in/

Wild animals

The campus is safe. It has a serene atmosphere with a lot of bird varieties including peacocks and small wild animals like rabbits. No undue incident involving wild animal has been reported so far.

Community/cast certificate, fee payment, other formalities

Please refer JOSSA website.