Birla Institute of Technology and Science
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{{Infobox University
|name = Birla Institute of Technology & Science (BITS)
|image = Image:BITS-Pilani-Logo.jpg
|established = 1929
|type = Private
|city = Pilani (and Goa, Dubai)
|state = Rajasthan
|country = India
|motto = "Knowledge is Power Supreme"
|president = Prof. S. Venkateswaran
|undergrad = 1365
|postgrad = 185
|free_label = Alumni
|free = http://www.bitsaa.org
|staff= 347
|campus = Rural
|logo = Molecule (Sciences), Lotus (Humanities), Rocket (Technology)
|website= bits-pilani.ac.in
}}
Birla Institute of Technology and Science, Pilani, Rajasthan, India (popularly known as 'BITS Pilani') is one of the oldest and leading technology schools of India. In addition to Pilani, BITS has campuses in Dubai and Goa, an extension centre in Bangalore, and a fourth campus under construction in Hyderabad. The institute is privately supported, fully residential, and admits both men and women students.
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Brief history
It was founded by Shri Ghanshyam Das Birla in 1929 as an intermediate college.
During World War II, the Government of India established a technical training centre at Pilani for the supply of technicians for defense services and industry. At the end of the war, in 1946, it was converted it into the Birla Engineering College with degree programmes in electrical and mechanical engineering.
In 1964, the Birla Colleges of Arts, Commerce, Engineering, Pharmacy and Science were merged to form the Birla Institute of Technology and Science (BITS). In this period of inception (especially during 1964-1970), BITS Pilani received support from the Ford Foundation and benefited from an alliance with the MIT.
BITS Pilani started to expand in India and abroad since 2000. New campuses were established in Dubai (2000) and Goa (2004), and a fourth campus is to be opened in 2007 at Jawaharnagar (near Hakimpet Air Force station), Hyderabad. BITS also runs a virtual university and an extension centre in Bangalore.
Reputation and Rankings
Many reputed sources, including the UNESCO Science Report 2005 (ISBN 92-3-103967-9) make use of Asiaweek magazine's latest rankings of science and technology schools in the Asia-Pacific region, 2000. According to this ranking, BITS Pilani was ranked in the Top 20 in Asia (overall), and in the Top 5 in Asia in terms of 'Student Selectivity'.
The management programmes offered by BITS Pilani have also been ranked by Asiaweek (Top 30 Best Full-Time MBA, Top 30 By Reputation, Top 5 Distance MBA). These programmes have also been profiled by Business Week Online (The Best B Schools).
Annual rankings of engineering colleges in India have been published by the magazine India Today since 1997. BITS Pilani was ranked in the Top 10 consistently (1997-2004), but opted out of the survey since 2005.
BITS Pilani was also the only Indian university to be ranked in the Top 20 Wired organisations of India by Business Today (January 18, 2004 issue).
The institute is accredited (with a five-star rating) by the Government of India's National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC).
Undergraduate Admission Procedure
BITS admits students through revised admission procedure since 2005 via on-line computer test (BITSAT). BITSAT is held between April 10 and June 20 in many cities all over India. The exam tests subject-content in English, Physics, Chemistry, Mathematics and Logical reasoning, and is focused on higher secondary curriculum in India. Prospective students are required to obtain minimum 80% marks in Physics, Chemistry and Mathematics in their higher secondary examinations to be eligible for admission.
Toppers of higher secondary examinations are exempted from taking BITSAT test and are considered admitted. This exemption helps ensure that BITS retain the significant number (about 20) of first rank holders from across the country who join BITS every year.
Acceptance rate in BITS is very low (about 3% in 2005) making it one the toughest schools in India and the world to get admission into. For more information, see official policy.
Pilani Campus
Highlights
- 328 acre (1.3 km²)
- Museum
- Saraswati Mandir
- An excellent library
- Shiv Ganga
Hostels
There are 12 student hostels or 'Bhawans' on campus named after historical or mythological characters of India (such as Ashok, Bhagirath, Budh, Gandhi, Krishna, Malviya, Meera, Ram, Rana Pratap, Shankar, Viswakarma and Vyas). One of these hostels (Meera) is exclusively for women, one (Malviya) is for both men and women, and the rest are exclusively for men. There are 7 dining halls or 'messes' associated with these 12 hostels.
Current Initiatives
BITS Pilani is the pioneer of university-industry linkage program in India. It is also setting new standards in distance learning programs with its virtual university going online. BITSConnect, an alumni initiative, has commissioned a $50 million VLSI Lab initiative which aims to conduct semiconductor research and development, now called as the "O-Lab". BITS Pilani is a key partner in several international initiatives like the development of JournalServer open-access digital library, the Project IPV6, MIT iCampus initiative, etc.
Annual Festivals
CONQUEST
The Center for Entrepreneurial Leadership (CEL) has been set up “to create business leaders in all spheres of life with an entrepreneurial thinking.” It is one of the top five Entrepreneurship Centers amongst Indian universities and is a Co-founder of the National Entrepreneurship Network (NEN).
Unprecedented in its reach and a well-etched out stratagem, Conquest - The Business Challenge (http://discovery.bits-pilani.ac.in/Conquest/ ) has trailed off a success story that’s for real. Conquest is a unique business event which helps to transform ideas into reality. This business-plan competition includes intensive mentoring by industry champions and a rigorous simulation involving real-life start up conditions.
The competition was open to all students and corporates in the country. It received business plans from all industries - IT, Manufacturing, Pharmacy, Health Services, Rural Development, Infrastructure, Biotechnology, Finance & Marketing etc.
The event was organized in three phases:
1) Phase 1: Conquest Camp
Students of recognized Indian Universities and interested individuals with viable commercial ideas submitted the executive summaries of their Business plans. This year Conquest received 68 entries from various premier Universities and Corporates in the country. The screening of these entries was done by prominent CEO’s and VC’s.
Judges’ Panel include Prasenjit Chaudhuri, Consulting Partner, ZeroDelta , USA , Ashmeet Sidana, Venture Capitalist, Foundation Capital, USA , Raju Reddy, CEO, Sierra Atlantic , Sanjay Khendry, Vice President, Business Development, Sierra Atlantic, Satish Gupta, CEO & Founder, Cradle, Anilesh, Executive Director, Wadhwani Foundation, Dr. A. Srinivas Rao, Asst. Director, ITM Bangalore and Ajay Data, CEO, Data Infosys Limited
2) Phase 2: Conquest Focus
The five short listed teams were put across to eminent entrepreneurs who electronically mentored them for a period of 20 days. Mentoring involved interacting with the team to refine their business plan, giving them a first-hand insight into the business processes in the domain of the plan and helping them plug loopholes.
Mentors’ Panel include Prasenjit Chaudhuri, Consulting Partner, ZeroDelta , USA, Ashmeet Sidana, Venture Capitalist, Foundation Capital, USA, Raju Reddy, CEO, Sierra Atlantic, Thomas Duening, Director of Entrepreneurial Programs, Arizona State University and Satish Gupta, CEO & Founder, Cradle
3) Phase 3: Conquest Finale
The short listed teams presented their business plan to a Venture Capitalist and Judges. The teams then underwent a process of business simulation where their abilities to react to different hurdles, opportunities and obstacles at various points of time are tested. The Conquest finale is held in BITS Pilani for a period of 3 days.
1)Day 1: a.“Pitch it to VC”: Each team was given 15 mins to pitch their idea to a prominent Venture Capitalist. b.“Scenario Simulation 1”: The teams were given two scenarios which they might encounter once they start off their venture. The Judging was done based on their analysis and decision making. These scenarios were specific to each plan.
2)Day 2 - Feb 18th: a.“Business Plan Presentation”: In this round, the teams explained their business plan in detail to the Judges for 45 minutes. b.“Scenario Discussion 1”: Teams made a presentation to the judges explaining their action to the scenarios given to them the earlier day. c.“Scenario Simulation 2”: A scenario which is common to all the teams was given; this scenario was a potential 10X change in the business environment. The teams needed to identify new opportunities and threats and adopt new strategies.
3)Day 3 - Feb 19th: a.“Scenario Discussion 2”: Teams discussed with the judges about the new strategies they have adopted to face a 10X change in the business environment which was simulated the previous day. b."Open Door Session”: This happened in the main auditorium of BITS Pilani. Here the participants were tested on their soft skills and their ability to manage a business. This is followed by Prize Distribution Ceremony and Valedictory Ceremony.
The elite panel of Judges and Guests for Conquest 2006 include Ajay Data – CEO, Data Infosys Limited & President, TiE Jaipur, Alok Gupta – Country Head, Life Sciences and Technology, YesBank, Anupendra Sharma – Director, M & A Siemens & CEO, Mantra Capital, Pradeep Sethi – CEO, Corporate Insight, Samir Wagle – Associate Director, IL & FS Investment Managers, Venkatesh Valluri – Managing Director, Agilent Technologies and Vivek Mansingh – Country Manager, DELL India
The Winners share a prize money of INR 1 lakh and they are offered free incubation in Technology Business Incubator. They are also given an opportunity to pitch their business ideas to some of the best VC forums in the country.
For more information: http://discovery.bits-pilani.ac.in/conquest
APOGEE
A Professions Oriented Gathering Over Educational Experience (APOGEE) -- it is the annual Technical Festival of BITS, Pilani with projects ranging from Mac OS on x86, Generational Garbage Collector for .NET ,MaveRak AV Player,Hide n Seek.jpg,Via Voice,Highway Traffic Control Systems to Natural language Parsers to Optical Character Recognition Tools. The highlights of this 5 day festival are the many projects on display by the students, technical paper presentations, numerous contests (both fun science and hard-core tech) , Cyberfiesta (software design contest)and the two quizzes: Brain of BITS (BOB), which have teams of one, and Over Head Transmission (OHT), a team quiz. Also, the Computer Science Association conducts an event called Gamophilic for all the gaming freaks,wherein famous multiplayer games like Quake and CounterStrike are organised.For more information on the fest, please click on APOGEE
INTERFACE
Interface, the annual All India Management convention organized by the Management Association of BITS, Pilani encompasses a wide spectrum of activities. During the three days through which the convention spans, the organizing and the innovative skills of the students are tapped to the maximum.
The main objective of the convention is to bridge the gap between management theory and practice. Scheduled to be held from the 4th to the 6th of February 2005, Interface-2005 will serve as a meeting place for the top notch professionals from the business world and the students from premier business institutes.
Over the past 27 years, Interface has metamorphosed into one of India’s foremost management conventions. Management students and professionals from all corners of the country meet for a three-day showdown, to exchange ideas and to update themselves on the latest developments in the world of management. To this is added a splash of entertainment in the form of Management games, Business quiz and Workshops, conducted on an all India basis.
This year Interface 2005 is being launched with the theme ‘Creativity in Entrepreneurship'. Interface 2005 focusses on creativity and innovation that is required to make an entrepreneur. Entrepreneurship is one of the emerging trends in the world of managerial careers and hence the focus. The activities during the three days would focus on varying topics revolving aroung the latest management strategies.
BOSM
The BITS Open Sports Meet (BOSM) is the annual All India sports festival organised entirely by the students of BITS, Pilani. It attracts as many as 1000 participants from all over India.
Oasis
Oasis is an All India cultural festival organised entirely by the students of BITS, Pilani. Oasis is organised in the month of October. The Budget of the fest is around 15 lakhs (around US$ 35,000). For the past 30 years, Oasis has been providing a platform to students from all over the country to showcase their talent and is a highly coveted event.
Visit the page http://www.bits-pilani.ac.in:12348/oasis2k5/home.html for further details
BITSians of Note
Award Winners
- Dr. D. Balasubramanian - Director, LV Eye Institute Winners of the Dewang Mehta Award for Innovation, India's Highest Award for Technology
- Dr. Vijay Chandru - Inventor of the Simputer, Founder of Strand Genomics, Professor of IISc Bangalore
- Rajesh Hukku, Chairman & CEO, I-Flex Solutions
Indian Government & Government Institutions
- Prithviraj Chavan - Minister of State, Prime Ministers Office, Government of India (2004 onwards)
- RK Arora - Former Executive Director / Head of CDAC, Inventors of the PARAM Supercomputer
- SN Zindal - Chairman, Software Technology Parks of India
Corporate Leaders
- Shivan Subramanian, Chairman & CEO of FM Global, $3 billion commercial and property insurance company in the US
- Vivek Paul, Partner in the Texas Pacific Group, Ex-Vice Chairman of Wipro Ltd. & CEO, Wipro Technologies - Named one of the world's 10 best managers by Businessweek in 2003
- Rajesh Hukku, Chairman & CEO, I-Flex Solutions - Named Star of Asia, Businessweek 2003
- Prem Jain, Senior Vice President, Cisco Systems, founder of Crescendo, sold to Cisco for $90 million
- Gunendar Kapoor, Board of Directors & Head of Foods Division, Hindustan Lever Ltd.
- Sunil Duggal, CEO of Dabur Group
- Rakesh Kalra, CEO of Eicher Motors
- Baba Kalyani, CEO of Bharat Forge
Well Known Entrepreneurs
- Sabeer Bhatia - Founder of Hotmail (sold to Microsoft for $400 million), left for Caltech after two years.
- Mukesh Chatter - Founder of Axiowave and Nextabit (sold to Lucent for $900 million)
- Jayan Ramankutty - Co-founder of Lara Systems (sold to Cypress Semiconductor for $250 million)
- Ajay Chopra - Founder & Chairman of Pinnacle Systems ($300 million NASDAQ traded company: PCLE)
- Vinod Agarwal - Founder & Chairman of LogicVision ($100 million NASDAQ traded company: LGVN)
- Diaz Nesamoney Co-Founder, Informatica ($500 million NASDAQ traded company) and Founder, Celequest
- Manoj Saxena Founder, Chairman and CEO, Webify Solutions Inc. Founder, Exterprise (sold to CommerceOne for $60 million)
- Dr K R V Subramanian Founder & CEO, Ascendum Systems Pvt Ltd, a Global technology service provider
NGO's
- Matthew Cherian CEO, Help Age India
Professors/Educators
- Dr. Krishna Saraswat, Stanford University
- Dr. S. P. Kothari, Head of Dept of Economics, Finance & Accounting, MIT Sloan
- Dr. D. P. Kothari, IIT Delhi
Writers
- Shashi Warrior - Writer of fiction
- Dilip D'Souza - Writer of social causes
Movie Stars & Directors
- Mani Shankar - Hindi Movie Director
- Anu Hasan - Telugu / Tamil Movie Actress
- Padmini Chettur - Dancer
- Kaniha - Telugu / Tamil Movie Actress