CHENNAI: Although the IIT Madras placement season started on a lacklustre note due to the death of former Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa and devastation caused by Cyclone Vardah, the numbers have improved during the second phase. At the season’s conclusion, the number of students placed stands at 769, higher than last year’s 725.
Importantly, the number of girls placed has almost doubled, going up from 109 last year to 206. In all, 226 companies made 935 job offers this year, while the figures for last year were 213 companies and 872 job offers. The total number of pre-placement offers went up marginally from 69 to 73.
Prof Manu Santhanam, advisor, training and placement, IIT Madras, said: “There was a marginal increase in the average salary by about 5%.” A sector-wise analysis of placement and recruiting companies reveals there has been no shift in Core and R&D. While there has been a drop in Analytics/Consulting/Finance, this has been offset by an increase in IT companies. There was a greater participation by Public Sector Undertakings (PSUs).
Multinational Technology firm Intel was the top recruiter during the 2016-17, hiring 29 students, mostly from the Department of Computer Science, during campus placement. Other top recruiters include Citicorp Services, Samsung R&D (Bengaluru), Cognizant Technology Solutions and EATON. Meanwhile, public sector and government agencies including Indian Navy, Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC), Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), Coal India, Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited (HPCL) and Centre for Development of Telematics (C-DOT) besides Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) also made offers.
Santhanam said that a majority of graduating students are placed through the campus Placement Cell. However, some job opportunities also come through their respective department faculty via out-of-placement offers.