Be an IT professional

Demand for skilled manpower will remain high for some time. The trick is to choose the right area of specialisation and evolve with technology. Dr Amrita Dass highlights the educational options in India

No technology in the world has shown more rapid progress than that of computers and information technology.

Today computers are indispensable for optimising performance in almost every field of work from space science, genetics, medical science, meteorology, agriculture, navigation, office automation and designing, music and films.

The internet has ushered in a whole new lifestyle with net banking giving birth to entirely new ventures unheard of before - IT-enabled services and e-commerce.

IT enabled services include Web research and Marketing, Desktop Publishing, Revenue Accountancy, Data Processing, Back office operations, Online Education, E-Commerce Enabled Services, Customer Call Centres, Medical Transcription and Electronic Customer Relationship Management, which involves handling customer queries and complaints through the internet.

E–commerce is conducting business electronically. E-banking, e-shopping, e-selling -all these form part of e-commerce.

Thus it is all about covering business transactions executed electronically between parties such as companies (business to business, B2B), companies and consumers (business to consumers, B2C), (consumers to consumers, C2C).

E-commerce offers enormous opportunities in every sphere of business with a market size of $200 billion. It allows trade at low costs worldwide and offers enterprises to enter the global market.

The IT sector is integral to the ICE sector i.e. Information, Communication and Entertainment.

Though 2001 witnessed a panic in this sector because of massive retrenchment, this was largely due to the overall economic slowdown.

In fact, this sector is still resilient and vibrant and expected to witness phenomenal growth till 2040 according to Nasscom (National Association of Software and Service Companies in India).

Those entering this field must be aware of two key factors for professional growth.

In this sector you cannot be "a jack of all trades and master of none". You need to gain expertise in any one particular field such as hardware, software, networking, web designing etc.

This sector is marked by fast-paced developments. You need to keep in touch with the latest innovations in your field and constantly upgrade your skills and knowledge.

Profile of top campuses

The International Institute of Information Technology
Address: Gachibowli, Hyderabad – 500,019
Website: www.iiit.net

About the institute: IIIT, Hyderabad, is an autonomous, self supporting institution set up in 1998 with support from the Andhra Pradesh state government.

IIIT is in the knowledge corridor of Hyderabad among intuitions of excellence such as the University of Hyderabad, HiTecCity, the Infosys campus etc.

The faculty has been trained at top class institutions worldwide and many of them have rich working experience.

The institute is a residential campus with all students required to stay on campus. Students are provided excellent infrastructure.

Each student gets a single occupancy room, most with network facility and uninterrupted water and electricity supply. There are separate hostels and canteens for boys and girls.

IIIT has well-equipped labs. On an average, the computer to student ratio is 1:2. Students have 24-hour access to the laboratories.

There is a good library stocked with not only the best reference and other academic books but also good magazines and books for leisure reading.

Students are also exposed to the latest research results and technologies. This has encouraged many students to pursue a research path in reputed universities and research labs worldwide.

The institute's graduates are quickly absorbed by IT companies.

Programmes: The institute offers courses at all levels - undergraduate, postgraduate and doctoral. By 2007, it is expected to have more than 1,250 students on its rolls.

Currently, the institute offers a four-year BTech and five-year Integrated BTech and MTech in Computer Science and Engineering in addition to a two-year MTech, MS and PhD programmes.

The institute has intensive course work supported by a flexible curriculum. The curriculum moulds itself to the needs of individual students.

Internship is a requirement for the undergraduate programme and preferred for the postgraduate programme.

Students have done their internships in companies such as Exceed Commerce (New York), INRIA (France), GE John F. Welsh Technology Centre (Bangalore), Microsoft Research (Seattle) and HP Labs (Bangalore).

Eligibility: Students who have completed (or will complete by June of the year of admission) their 10+2 with mathematics and physics are eligible to appear for the entrance exam.

Seats: 150

Entrance exam: Admissions for the undergraduate course is based on the All India Engineering Entrance Examination (AIEEE) conducted by the CBSE in May.

Selected candidates can indicate that they would like to study at IIIT Hyderabad at the time of central counseling, which is conducted by the CBSE at various centres in India.

Pattern of exam: There will be the following papers

Paper - 1
It consists of 150 objective type questions on physics and chemistry. Each will have equal weightage. Each question carries four marks. This paper is of 2 hours and 30 minutes' duration.

Paper - 2
It consists of 75 objective type questions on mathematics. Each question carries four marks. This paper is of 1 hour and 15 minutes' duration.

Vellore Institute of Technology (Deemed University)
Address: Vellore 632-014, India
Website: www.vit.ac.in

About the institute: Founded in 1984 as Vellore Engineering College, the institute was conferred the Deemed University status in 2001 in recognition of its academic excellence by the Indian Ministry of Human Resources Development. The founder G. Viswanathan is the chancellor.

Constant monitoring by the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) has ensured accreditation by the Indian National Board of Accreditation (NBA).

Started initially with three undergraduate engineering programmes - civil, mechanical and electronics and communication - VIT today comprises five constituent colleges and interdisciplinary centres offering two dozen specialised programmes to more than 6,071 students, one-fourth of them women.

The faculty strength is more than 307. They adopt an international business-oriented approach to education that enables students to meet today's emerging global educational needs and function effectively in their chosen professions.

Programmes: BTech in Information Technology.

Eligibility: A pass in 10 + 2 or its equivalent exam with physics, chemistry, mathematics or biology as subjects with at least 50 per cent marks. Candidates appearing for the 10 + 2 exams are also eligible.

Entrance exam: Admission is through the VIT entrance examination held in April in 22 centres.

Pattern of exam: There are objective type questions on physics, mathematics and chemistry.

Indian Institute of Information Technology and Management (Gwalior)
Website: www.iiitm.ac.