Birla Institute of Technology & Science, () (known as BITS Pilani) is a technology school located in Pilani, Rajasthan, India. In addition to Pilani, BITS has campuses in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Goa, India and Hyderabad, India and an extension center in Bangalore, India. The institute is privately supported and fully residential. It is one of the most prestigious and selective institutes in India.

History

Clock Tower, BITS Pilani

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 Massachusetts Institute of Technologyhttp://thesilentbreeze.wordpress.com/2008/09/19/bits-pilani-and-iit-kanpur-how-mit-comes-into-the-loop/.

BITS Pilani started to expand in India and abroad since 2000. New campuses were established in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (2000), Goa, India (2004) and Hyderabad, India (2008). The fourth campus was opened in 2008 at Jawaharnagar (near Hakimpet Air Force station), Hyderabad, India. BITS also runs a virtual university and an extension center in Bangalore.

Admission

Pilani,Goa and Hyderabad Campuses

The admission to these campuses since 2005 are through revised admission procedure via National Entrance Examination called BITS Admission Test (BITSAT). BITSAT is a test conducted online held between May 1 and June 10 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 a minimum aggregate of 80% marks in Physics, Chemistry and Mathematics (subject to a minimum of 60% in each of these three subjects) in their higher secondary examinations to be eligible for admission.

Toppers of higher secondary examinations of each single board are exempted from taking BITSAT test and are considered for direct admission. This exemption helps ensure that BITS-Pilani retain the significant number (about 20-25) of first rank holders from across the country who join BITS every year.

Acceptance rate in BITS is very low, (Selectivity < 2.08% in 2007)^[2] making it the most selective and one the toughest schools in India to get admission into. For more information, see BITS Admission.

Dubai Campus

The admission to Birla Institute of Technology & Science, Pilani - Dubai is based on the marks secured at the 12th standard qualifying exam. However they are planning to make admissions through the main entrance test for the year 2008 and also to give importance for local rankings to encourage GCC students.

No Reservation

The institute has been a champion of meritocracy and hence believes that merit should be the only criterion for admission into higher education and unlike government run institutions is not legally obliged to undertake affirmative action.

Reputation and rankings

• According to the Asiaweek magazine's rankings of Science & Technology schools in the Asia-Pacific region BITS Pilani, Pilani campus was on the top ^[3]

in Asia and Top 5, in the year 2000^[4] in terms of Student Selectivity. (UNESCO Science Report 2005(ISBN 92-3-103967-9) makes use of these rankings).

• Annual rankings of Engineering colleges in India have been published by India Today^[5]

magazine since 1997. BITS Pilani was consistently ranked in the Top 5(1997-2004). BITS has opted out of the rankings since 2005 because of a pending court case between BITS and India Today.^[6][7]

• Business Today lists the university in its top 20 Wired Organisations of Asia (Issue: January 18, 2004)
• Government of India's National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) rated BITS as a five star Institution^[8] for the period ending February 7, 2007. BITS has scored 82.55 out of 100, higher than comparable public universities (with a five star rating and a focus on science and technology) such as Anna University (75.7), Bangalore University (77.05), Jadavpur University (77.35), Mumbai University (75.05), Pune University (78.55) and Roorkee University / IIT Roorkee (77.15).
• The Washington Accord recognises degrees from BITS Pilani and the IITs to be equivalent to the other institutions in the accord ^[9]
• The Dataquest-IDC^[10] survey have ranked the university in top 20 Technology Universities in India in 2005.
• Outlook - C fore survey^[11]

has ranked the university's business program in the top 20 Business programs in India in 2005.

• Alliances with Universities(Exchange/Distance Learning/Research Collaboration): MIT,^[12] University of Maryland, College Park, University of Otago,^[13] University of Southern California, Kathmandu University,^[14]
• Outlook placed the university at the top in its rankings of 2008.^[15]

Pilani Campus

BITS, Pilani was established in 1929 and became a Deemed University established vide Sec.3 of the UGC Act,1956 under notification No. F.12-23/63.U-2 of June 18, 1964 http://discovery.bits-pilani.ac.in/index.html.

Highlights

G.D.Birla Memorial, BITS Pilani

• General
  • 328 acre (1.3 kmē)[This is the area under BITS. The total area of the Vidya Vihar campus, which houses several other smaller facilities - some of them under the Birla Education Trust- encompasses an area of over 1000 acres)
  • Birla Science Museum
  • Hostels (known as Bhawans): 12. 11 hostels for boys named after historical Indian characters(Ashok, Bhagirath, Budh, Gandhi,Krishna, Malviya,Ram, Ranapratap, Shankar, Vishwakarma, Vyas) and 1 for girls(Meera).
  • Dining Halls (known as Mess): 7. One for every 2 or more hostels(VKB, RB, KG, RPA, SV, MAL, MB)
  • Guest House
  • Alumni House
  • Central Library
  • Central Workshop
  • Gym Grounds Sports Facility
  • Students Activities Center (SAC) having rooms for student societies to operate and a few indoor sports facilities like badminton, squash, Table Tennis etc.

Saraswati Temple, BITS Pilani

• Landmarks^[16]

• • Clock Tower
  • Saraswati Mandir
  • Central Library
  • Students Activities Centre
  • Auditorium
  • Gliding Club(now defunct)
  • Shiv Ganga

• Popular Hangouts
  • Sky Lawns
  • SAC Canteen
  • C'not(Connaught) Shopping Area
  • Shiv Ganga
  • Ganga Restaurant

Academics

Central Library, BITS Pilani

Integrated First Degree

BITS Pilani offers 4 year Integrated first degrees B.E. (Hons.), B.Pharm. (Hons.), M.Sc. (Hons.), M.Sc. (Tech.), and M.A. (Hons.). Various programs are offered with the degrees and these are classified into 3 groups A, B & C.

• Group A: Chemical, Civil, Electrical & Electronics, Mechanical, Pharmacy, Computer Science, Electronics & Instrumentation.
• Group B: Biological Sciences, Chemistry, Economics, Mathematics, Physics.
• Group C: Information Systems, General Studies, Engineering Technology, Finance.

Higher Degree

BITS Pilani also offers higher degree programs like M.E., M. Pharm & M.Phil. These are offered in a variety of disciplines like Chemical Engineering http://www.bitsadmission.com/admn/hd/hdmain.htm, Chemical with Specialization in Petroleum Engineering, Communication Systems,Power Electronics and Drives Electronics and Control, Embedded Systems, Microelectronics, Software Systems, Biotechnology, Manufacturing Systems, Design Engineering, Materials Science & Technology, Transportation engineering, Pharmacy etc.

MBA Program http://discovery.bits-pilani.ac.in/academics/higher_degree.html#MBA: Recently BITS-Pilani has upgraded its reputed 4 year MMS (Master of Management Studies) first degree to a two year MBA program to meet the industrial demands.
The students are offered two stream of specialization http://www.bitsadmission.com/admn/mba/mbamain.htm#pilanidegrees
1. IT Enabled Services Management and
2. Engineering and Technology Management.
While the intake is students already possessing an engineering degree, those who have other qualifications like B.Sc., B.A., B.Com. may also apply provided they have aptitude towards having training in science, mathematics and technology as well. The requirements of the pro-gramme will necessitate such students to spend addi-tional time which may vary from 1 to 4 semesters de-pending upon their qualifications. Selection of students are after Technical Tests, an Aptitude Test, Group Discussion and a Personal Interview. The Tests are online and are conducted in different centres across the nation. For more information click here.
A group of qualified core faculty, visiting faculty and practitioners imbue the students with contemporary knowledge base, business analysis and information based decision making skills thus spawning illustrious corporate executives, entrepreneurs and academicians world-over in its existence of over three decades. The course structure is designed with the help of experts and approved by the Senate-appointed committee for keeping maintaining the quality of the program. For more information click here.
Placements happen during the third semester after which the students take up Practice Schools in the last semester for 6 months where the students get industrial exposure in the management and business domain.

Flexibilities, Dual Degree & Transfer Option

BITS Pilani offers a lot of flexibility in the taking overload of courses and electives outside ones' study area. Dual degrees are very common for Group B programs and in some cases Group A & Group C programs also. The dual degree programs take 5 years to complete. There is also the option to Transfer from one program to another. Usually applications are accepted at the end of the first year and transfer to a more sought after degree is reserved for the top students.

Initiatives

Road to the Institute, BITS Pilani

BITS Pilani student hostel on a foggy day

BitsConnect

• Initiative-1: The Gigabit backbone^[17]

^[18] (Completed January 2004) This was a $1.5 Million project jointly led by BITS Alumni and BITS Pilani resulting in a state-of-the-art campus wide network. This initiative provided broadband access, telephones and video conferencing abilities in every room, staff quarters & guest house, as well as wireless access in Sky lawns & the library.

• Initiative-2: The Oysters Lab(OLAB)^[19]

^[20] Center for VLSI and Embedded design. In the second initiative, BITS Alumni are working with BITS Pilani to create a state-of-the-art VLSI lab. This is to provide the university with advanced computing infrastructure for Very Large Scale Integration(VLSI) and embedded design.

International Projects

BITS Pilani is a key partner in several international initiatives like the development of JournalServer^[21] open-access digital library, the Project IPV6,^[22] MIT iCampus^[23] initiative, etc.

Practice Schools

The Practice School Program of BITS takes all its students to the industry for seven and half months as an integral component of the academic curriculum like the medical internship.

• Practice School-I: This is a summer internship undertaken or two months at the end of second year for all its campus programmes. The number of industrial participants has grown from 14 stations and 244 students in 1975 to 220 stations and 1376 students in 2007.
• Practice School-II: This is the final year internship undertaken for five and a half months. The number of industrial participants has grown from 1 station and 24 students in 1973 to 135 stations & 1092 students in 2005.companies also gives students money or rewards against their 2 months internship.

University-Industry Linkage

BITS Pilani is one of the pioneers of university-industry linkage programs in India. The practice school programs ensure a good industry-university linkage with many Industrial participants hiring graduates after the programs. There is a strong collaboration with Broadcom, Magma and Mentor Graphics for OLAB project.

Off Campus Programs

BITS, Pilani offers various off-campus distance learning and collaborative programs that target the Human Resource Development needs of the industry. The enrollment has grown over the years from 30 in 1979 to over 10000 students in 2005. Off-Campus programs also accommodates industry professionals to pursue PhD whilst being employed. The various programmes offered are First Level Diploma, B.S. , M.Sc(Tech.) , M.E. , M.S. and M.Phil.

Annual festivals

The following are the academic and cultural festivals conducted yearly.(In Alphabetical Order)

APOGEE

A Professions Oriented Gathering Over Educational Experience (APOGEE)^[24] is the annual Technical Festival of BITS, Pilani. There are various events including paper presentations, invited lectures, Workshops(Robotics, Digital Film Making, Astro etc.). There is also a project competition which was revamped in 2007, with the introduction of a category based system for categorizing the competing projects.

Few of the events of APOGEE are ?

• Siddhi - A national level robotics competition conducted by the Mechanical Engineering Association
• Cyberfiesta ? An innovative software design contest
• CodeJam - A programming contest
• Blue Print - A national level design competition conducted by the Civil Engineering Association
• Brain of BITS (BOB) ? A quiz, where the prize is the title of "Brain of BITS"
• Over Head transmission(OHT) ? A quiz involving teams of 3
• The India Quiz - A quiz testing IQ (Indian Quotient)
• Treasure Hunt, Bulb, Jeopardy and Wordstock - Fun events organized by the Dept. of Informalz.

A cultural night "MITHALI" is conducted during festival where the students of BITS, Pilani showcase their talents.

BOSM

One of the most sought after sports festivals in the country is the BITS Open Sports Meet (BOSM). This annual festival of BITS Pilani usually held in the month of September is organised entirely by students. It attracts as many as 1000 participants from all over India.

The sports include Athletics, Badminton, Tennis, T-20 Cricket, Basketball, Chess, Football, Hockey, Table Tennis, Swimming, Volleyball and Weightlifting. Participants are accommodated in the campus during the four day festival by the dept.of Rec'n'acc (Reception and Accommodation).

The Festival is sponsored by companies like Adidas, Domino's pizza, Indian Oil, etc.

CONQUEST

Conquest^[25](Conquest - The Business Challenge) is a unique business event conducted by CEL(Center for Entrepreneurial Leadership). This business-plan competition includes intensive mentoring by industry champions and a rigorous simulation involving real-life start up conditions. The Winners share a prize money of INR 2 lakh and they are offered free incubation in the Technology Business Incubator at BITS Pilani. They are also given an opportunity to pitch their business ideas to some of the best VC forums in the country. Currently, the event is divided into 5 phases: Conquest Camp, Conquest Colander, Conquest Focus, Conquest Finals 1 & 2.

INTERFACE

Interface^[26] is the annual All India Management convention organised by the Management Association of BITS, Pilani and it encompasses a wide spectrum of activities. The main objective of the convention is to bridge the gap between management theory and practice. This event over its 29 year history is considered as one of India's foremost conventions. The event consists of paper presentations in Marketing, Finance, Human Resources Development, Management Information Systems, Operations Management, E-commerce, Creativity and Entrepreneurship. Other events include invited guest lectures(past lectures include luminaries like Dr. Manmohan Singh and the late Shri Rajesh Pilot), panel discussions, workshops, aptitude tests, business quiz & debates. One of the highlights of this event is the YMOM(Young Manager of the meet). This is a competition to identify the most outstanding manager among the student through various rounds of challenges.

OASIS

Auditorium Panel Art, Oasis Festival

• Music Competitions: Tarang(Light Indian music), Fusion(Harmony of Indian and western styles), Aandholika, Western Acoustics Jam, Carnatic & Hindustani, Rocktaves(Rock music).
• Dance Events: Razzmataz(Dance Synchronization), Choreo(theme-based narrative dance), Tandav
• Blab, Oasis Quiz, Literary, poetry & creative events
• Fashion Parade (Fash P)
• Theatre Events: Mime, Stage Play, Act & React, Street Plays, Sitcom Fever, Psychedelic Spoofs
• Treasure hunt and other fun events are conducted by the Department of Informalz.

SANGAMAM

This is the annual classical music and dance festival organised by Ragamalika, the classical music and dance club of BITS. It is a 3 day festival usually held in the last weekend of February and features the top classical artistes from all over India.

Research & Development Centers

• Software Development & Educational Technology Unit - SDET
• Technology Business Incubator - TBI - A few of the startups supported by the TBI are Mobile MEdics, Steps Ahead, IMConfuzed.com
• Centre for Entrepreneurial Leadership - CEL
• Center for Robotics and Intelligent Systems - CRIS
• Center for Desert Development Technologies - C-DDT
• Center for Women Studies - Center for Women Studies
• Rain Water Harvesting - BITS-RANA
• Professional Development Center - BITS-RIT APEX CENTER
• Other Centers Include: iSERC - Software Engineering Research Center (India), Center for Excellence in IBM Visual Age for Java and IBM DB2 UDB, Center for Instructional Software, Center for Material Science & Technology, Center for Research on Educational Innovation & Institutional Development, Center for Renewable Energy and Environment Development, Center for Robotics and Intelligent System, Embedded Controller Application Center, Technology Innovation Center.

Student Chapters

• ACM-BITS Pilani Chapter
• SAE-BITS, the 'Society for Automotive Engineers' Student Chapter at BITS-Pilani
• IEEE Student Branch, BITS-Pilani
• IET BITS Pilani Chapter

Goa Campus

BITS Goa Campus

BITS Pilani, Goa Campus was formally inaugurated^[28] on May 5,2006 by the Indian Prime Minster, Dr.Manmohan Singh.

Highlights

Hostel buildings, BITS Goa

• Located on the banks of Zuari river, about 2 km from the airport.
• Spread over 200 acres of land owned by the Zuari industries.
• Air conditioned auditorium with seating capacity of 2200 (the LARGEST one for any educational institution in Asia).
• Air-conditioned classrooms and Lecture Theatres.
• Fully Air-Conditioned Central Library (one of the largest in the country).
• Student activity center (includes state-of-the-art facilities).
• Hostels: 14 (12 for boys, 2 for girls).

Academics

The Goa campus runs Group P, Group S and Group T, which correspond to Group A, Group B and Group C at Pilani Campus. The dual degree scheme & the transfer scheme also applies to this campus. A wide variety of scholarships are offered to students(includes Merit scholarships Merit cum need scholarships etc).

Auditorium, BITS Goa

Annual festivals

QUARK

The annual Technical Festival of the Goa Campus is called Quark. This event is sponsored by industrial partners and several innovations in technology are showcased in the fest spread over 3 days. It received third highest sponsorship for a Technical festival conducted in India by any College. There are various events including paper presentations, lectures by professionals in their respective fields, Workshops etc. The event promises to go bigger as the college gets established completely. The official Quark website can be found here.

WAVES

Waves is the annual cultural festival for the Goa Campus. It is an entirely student driven initiative. It is claimed to be the largest cultural festival hosted by any college in goa and rightly so. Never before a college has conducted such a large event within 2 yrs of its establishment, and promises to get bigger as the college grows.^[29]

ZEPHYR

This is the annual inter - hostel festival organized by the student association. It invokes a strong inter hostel rivalry with its 14 participants. A 4 day event, during the month of October, Zephyr is looked up on as an event fostering cultural talent and management.

Research & Development Centers

• Center for Software Development, BITS-Pilani, Goa Campus - CSD
• Center for Entrepreneurial Leadership, BITS-Pilani, Goa Campus - CEL

Student Chapters

• Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) Student Chapter, BITS-Pilani, Goa Campus

Discussion Forum

• BITS 360, BITS-Pilani, Goa Campus - http://www.bits360.com

Dubai Campus

Birla Institute of Technology & Science, Pilani - Dubai was established in September 2000.

Highlights

BITS, Pilani - Dubai

• Located in the Dubai International Academic City
• Central Library
• Largest IEEE & SAE student branch in UAE

Former Academic Block, BITS, Pilani - Dubai

Academics

BITS, Pilani - Dubai offers seven B.E.(Hons.) degrees in Mechanical Engineering, Computer Science, Electrical & Electronics Engineering, Electronics & Instrumentation Engineering, Electronics & Communications Engineering, Chemical Engineering, Biotechnology with the option of Practice School I & Practice School II.

Annual Festivals

B'Quizzed

B'Quizzed is an Inter University Quiz Competition organized by BITS, Pilani - Dubai every year in the month of April. It witnesses participation from colleges all across the UAE.

BITS Sports Festival

The BITS Sports Festival is being held at the campus since its inception with growing number of universities taking part in various sports events.

Sparks

Sparks is BITS,Pilani - Dubai's annual intra-college cultural event.

Initiatives

• Introduction of Post Graduate & Management Courses
• Academic collaborations with University of Maryland, College Park, Iowa State University, Kansas State University, Purdue University and University of Buffalo.

Bits-Hyderabad

Bits Hyderabad has been established in Jawaharnagar, close to the Hakimpet & Shameerpet, Hyderbad.

BITSAA (BITS Alumni Association)

The BITSian Alumni (BITSAA) over the years has increasingly contributed to its alma mater and is very active in India and abroad. The BITSAA International's primary purpose is to engage in charitable and educational activities by raising funds for setting up endowments, creating scholarships, rewarding teaching and research and generally promoting the development of resources at Birla Institute of Technology & Science at Pilani. BITSAA International also aims to strengthen the ties, friendship and communications amongst former students, current students, faculty and friends of the Institute. BITSAA International provides a number of channels for people to stay connected with each other and the Birla Institute of Technology & Science.

Chapters

• North America : Arizona, Atlanta/Georgia, East Coast (NY, NJ, CT, DE), Midwest, Boston/New England, North West, Pittsburgh, Research Triangle Park, Silicon Valley, South/Texas, Southern California, Vancouver/Canada, Washington DC.
• India : Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Bhopal*, Calcutta/Kolkota, Chandigarh*, Chennai, Hyderabad, Jaipur, Goa, Mumbai, Nagpur, New Delhi, Pune, Vizag.
• Asia & Middle East : Bangkok/Thailand, Dubai/UAE, Hong Kong*, Middle East/GCC, Kuala Lumpur/Malaysia, Shanghai/China, Singapore, Tokyo.
• Europe : London/UK, Paris/France, Amsterdam/Benelux, Munich/Germany, Moscow/Russia.
• Australia : Sydney/Australia, Wellington, New Zealand.

Alumni of Note

Many Alumni from BITS have become entrepreneurs, including Chinmoy Panda, Diaz Nesamoney & Mukesh Chatter. Some Alumni have achieved leading positions in corporates such as Vivek Paul, Baba Kalyani, SN Zindal, Balaji Krishnamurthy and many more. There have been many prominent BITS Alumni who are/ have been prominent researchers, writers, social workers and entertainers. For a detailed list see: List of Notable BITS alumni

Notes

External links

• BITS, Pilani
• BITS, Pilani - Goa Campus
• Bits, Hyderabad campus
• BITS, Pilani - Dubai Campus
• BITS 360° - BITS, Pilani Goa Campus Virtual Tour

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