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It's T-school rating time again as we come back with our second Dataquest–IDC T-School Survey. Every survey primarily comprises two factors-the overall research findings and the methodology-and it is our methodology that differentiates us from other surveys.

At this stage it is important to clarify the definition of a T-school. The term could be ambiguous; especially as the general connotation, in all likelihood, would be that of a regular engineering institute. While a regular institute may be very strong on several parameters, Dataquest's key consideration is the strength of the institute from the IT industry point of view. We have prioritized the parameters that matter to the IT recruiters of the country. Therefore, while an institute may get the maximum number of recruiters visiting during campus placements, the proportion of IT employers could be low, thereby negatively affecting its performance in our survey. The same would hold true for all other parameters and sub-parameters. 

Last year saw the first comprehensive T-School study from Dataquest, in association with IDC. As every popular survey is followed by reactions-some positive, some not so, and some moderate, so was ours. We thank all our readers for the bouquets and also the brick-bats, which helped in our efforts to constantly improve the survey and add more value, towards which we have made certain changes in the format over last year. We wanted to do it in a structured manner in discussion with the two major stakeholders in the study ie, the institutes and the IT recruiters.

We conducted separate focus group discussions to hear their suggestions and then identify the contours of the study. The objective was to take into account parameters that are more relevant and could be validated. So, factors that were not relevant or could not be validated were not considered (or given lower weightage) in the survey.

The Performers
The IITs continue to rule, with some shuffle at the top. IIT-Madras replaces IIT-Kanpur as the numero uno this year, and the latter slipped to number six. In fact, both the Delhi and Kharagpur IITs have beaten Bombay and Kanpur in the game this year. Even IIT-Guwahati puts up a great performance and moves up four places to take the fourth rank.

The Top 20 listing this year looks a little different once you go beyond the IITs. None of the regional engineering colleges (read NITs) feature in the top 10. BIT-Ranchi and BITS-Pilani both feature among the Top 20 T-schools in India. Jadavpur University, which has one of the best-known engineering colleges in the East, has entered the Top 20 this year.  

While 75% of the weightage is given to the response from institutes, 25% is reserved for the perception of the IT Recruiters. Therefore, scores on institute response have a stronger bearing on the overall scores in the study. Take for example the International Institute of Information Technology, Hyderabad. While just 20 companies came to the campus in this institute that was only established in 1998, all 20 companies were IT companies. This is one of the important factors that helped IIIT-Hyderabad score better than even some of the IITs. Hence, despite a relatively low score on industry perception, IIIT-Hyderabad manages to find a place in the Top 10. In fact, both IIITs (Hyderabad and Allahabad) have taken significant strides this year to come into the Top 10.

Another highlight of the survey is the entry of Jadavpur University in the Top 20. At #18, Jadavpur University has climbed seven places this year. The engineering department of this Kolkata-based university has a good track record in terms of industry recognition and quality of talent. While there have always been takers as far as traditional engineering is concerned, the current performance can be largely attributed to the huge IT boom in West Bengal. Placement scores were fairly high with nearly 16% of the recruiters coming from the IT industry and another 5% coming from ITeS. Academic environment emerges as another area of strength for JU. Today the IT industry is the biggest bet as far as the government is concerned. JU has a reputation that has been built over several years and with more and more IT companies showing interest, is all geared up to set up facilities in the State. It should not surprise anyone if it leapfrogs into the Top 10 next year.

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