D Suresh Kumar | TNN
Chennai: Even when your imagination ran wild, you may not have conjured up the image of an IITian wearing a defence uniform. But this is no longer in the realm of fiction—the economic slump is driving IITians to consider a career with the Indian Air Force (IAF).
With the number of financial majors and global consulting firms on campuses dropping this year, over three dozen final year students of the Indian Institute of Technology here (IIT-Madras) have now applied for a career with the IAF.
“More than 40 students applied for the IAF’s technical graduate entry scheme this year. In contrast, last year, not a single student responded when the IAF came for placements,” Jayakumar, deputy registrar (training and placement), IIT-M, told TOI. “I don’t think such a thing has happened in recent years. We have only heard that in the 1960s, there were IITians in the defence services.”
From among the 40-odd aspirants, the IAF services selection board (SSB) has short-listed 17. “How many of them will eventually clear the SSB is a million dollar question. The SSB has a testing process, which includes a psychology test, group task and personal interview,” Jayakumar said. If selected, these students will undergo strenuous physical training like other IAF officers, but their jobs will be confined to the technical wing.
Amit Garg, students secretary (academic affairs), admitted that the move was a fallout of the meltdown. “Recruitments have been slow with just 50% of the 1,000-odd students who had registered for the campus placements being selected. For the first time, we have found that students responded positively to a career with the defence services and even nongovernmental organisations,” he said.
The slowdown has forced the authorities to extend campus placement till April; it usually ends by February. “We decided to extend the season since many companies informed us that they were waiting for the current financial year to end before finalising their manpower requirement,” Garg said. Sensing that those who had come for campus recruitments may not pick all aspirants, the authorities utilised the PanIIT meet to network with alumni and also entrepreneurs running start-ups to ease the situation.
With the number of financial majors and global consulting firms on campuses dropping this year, over three dozen final year students of the Indian Institute of Technology here (IIT-Madras) have now applied for a career with the IAF.
“More than 40 students applied for the IAF’s technical graduate entry scheme this year. In contrast, last year, not a single student responded when the IAF came for placements,” Jayakumar, deputy registrar (training and placement), IIT-M, told TOI. “I don’t think such a thing has happened in recent years. We have only heard that in the 1960s, there were IITians in the defence services.”
From among the 40-odd aspirants, the IAF services selection board (SSB) has short-listed 17. “How many of them will eventually clear the SSB is a million dollar question. The SSB has a testing process, which includes a psychology test, group task and personal interview,” Jayakumar said. If selected, these students will undergo strenuous physical training like other IAF officers, but their jobs will be confined to the technical wing.
Amit Garg, students secretary (academic affairs), admitted that the move was a fallout of the meltdown. “Recruitments have been slow with just 50% of the 1,000-odd students who had registered for the campus placements being selected. For the first time, we have found that students responded positively to a career with the defence services and even nongovernmental organisations,” he said.
The slowdown has forced the authorities to extend campus placement till April; it usually ends by February. “We decided to extend the season since many companies informed us that they were waiting for the current financial year to end before finalising their manpower requirement,” Garg said. Sensing that those who had come for campus recruitments may not pick all aspirants, the authorities utilised the PanIIT meet to network with alumni and also entrepreneurs running start-ups to ease the situation.
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