Despite the Covid-19 pandemic, IIT Madras has reported strong Pre-Placement Offers (PPO) ahead of the campus placement that is to commence on December 1.
Microsoft and Texas Instruments led the pack offering 12 PPOs each, followed by Qualcomm with 10, and Goldman Sachs and American Express with nine each, according to a release from IIT Madras.
As many as 182 PPOs have been made to students in this academic year (as on November 28), as against 170 offers during the entire 2019-20 academic year.
The slew of PPOs could be attributed to the institute’s strong internship programme, which was conducted completely online this year , to overcome the logistical restrictions on account of the pandemic, the release said.
The internships, which were facilitated through an institute-coordinated process, allowed students to intern with companies that are large recruiters. The constant increase in PPOs was the result of the excellent performance of students during the internships.
C.S. Shankar Ram, Advisor (Training and Placement), IIT Madras, said the sustained increase in the number of PPOs this year is a clear reflection of the academic quality of IIT Madras and its students. “I am optimistic that we will be able to carry forward this momentum and our students will obtain the best possible job offers in Phase-1 placements,” he said in the release.
Day One (August 30) of the Internship Drive saw 17 companies offering 140 internships. In 2019, 147 internship offers were made on day one, the release said.
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N V Ravi Kumar, Advisor (Internships), IIT Madras, said, “We have been observing a direct correlation between internships and PPOs since the internship office was created. Internships provide an excellent opportunity for students to understand the working culture and expectations of companies they work for and for the companies to realise the potential of our students during that short period. When interests and expectations of interns and companies match, it culminates in pre-placements offers.”
The major sectors that offered PPOs during 2020-21 were information technology (46 per cent); Core and R&D (29 per cent); Analytics, Consulting & Finance (19 per cent) and FMCG (6 per cent), the release said.