The admissions to the various courses at the Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology (IIST) in Valiyamala, Thiruvanathapuram are open. It is a deemed university that comes under the central department of space. Interested candidates can register till October 7. The admissions would be closed at 3 pm on this date. Websites: www.iist.ac.in and http://admission.iist.ac.in. Phone – 0471 256 8477.
Courses
1. BTech aerospace engineering – 69 seats
2. BTech electronics and communication engineering (Avionics) – 69 seats
3. Dual degree, 5 years: BTech in engineering physics and one of MS astronomy and astrophysics/solid-state physics or MTech earth system sciences/optical engineering. 22 seats. The candidates cannot drop out midway after completing the BTech course.
Selection
Relaxations have been announced in the minimum qualifications that are required for the selection process. The candidates must pass plus two and score at least 20% marks in this year’s JEE advanced; 5% marks must be scored separately for Mathematics, Physics and Chemistry. Meanwhile, socially/economically backward classes need 18% and 4.5% respectively.
Backward classes/ physically handicap candidates require 10% marks and 2.5% marks. The candidates’ birth date shouldn’t be before 1 October 1995. Moreover, backward classes and physically disabled candidates have a relaxation of 5 years as well.
The details are available in the website. The registration fee is Rs 600. All women candidates including scheduled classes/castes and physically handicapped need to pay only Rs 300.
The candidates who are to appear for the JEE advanced exams too could apply. Though the admissions would be based on these marks, the selection wouldn’t be through the Joint Seat Allocation Authority (JoSSA) which manages the admissions to IIT and NIT.
The rank list of IIST would be published on October 8. The candidates can submit their branch preferences till October 9. The seat allotment/acceptance would begin from October 10 onwards. The candidates should join the courses on November 2.
More information
In-campus accommodation is strict for the students. Students belonging to all categories should pay Rs 48,400 as fee in each semester. This amount would be refunded to those who maintain a specific academic standard. Besides, there is a book grant of Rs 3000.
Those who secure at least 7.5/10 average score in the respective courses would be appointed as scientists/engineers in ISRO or the space department as per the availability of vacancies.
In case the candidates who are appointed like this do not work for at least 3 years, they have to pay a fine of Rs 10 lakh. Meanwhile, those who are not appointed can look for other jobs.
The candidates who perform spectacularly in the BTech courses would get a chance to do a fully paid 9 month-long masters course in California Institute of Technology. This institute offers MTech and PhD programs as well.