My Real Experience as a First Year DSAI Student at IIIT Dharwad

The curriculum is relevant and covers the skills needed for curent tech roles. I chose this course because it focuses on programming, maths and early DSAI basics, and the fresher workload is light enough to build real skills. Most subjects include practical assignments so it prepares you well for real world work and also gives a good base for higher studies or research. Exams follow a simple pattern with continuous tests, a mid sem and end sem. The difficulty is moderate. The curriculum can still improve with more small real world projects, fewer theory heavy classes and more hands on sessions. Better coordination between subjects would also help reduce assignments classes. Overall it's a strong and useful course, just needs a bit more practical exposure.

Students become eligible for campus placements from the 7th sem. The highest on campus package this year was around 64 LPA, while as far as I know, the top 20% of the students usually get offers in the 16-24LPA range. The overall placement rate is good, but results depend a lot on your skills and practice

Placement: The placements shown on the official site combine on-campus and off-campus results, so the picture can feel a bit inflated. From what I've heard, the top 20% of the students usually land between more than 14LPA. This year from what I've heard the highest on-campus offer was around 64 LPA. This is solid but still doesnt change the fact that placement packages vary greatly based on the students skill and effort. Campus: The campus area isn't very large, and a new hostel is currently being built, Due to limited rooms (4 sharing for seniors currently, 5 sharing for on-campus freshers and 4 sharing for off-campus hostel freshers) around 30 to 40% of freshers stay in an outside hostel. Buses run from 7:30 am to 11:40pm to make travel easier. There's a decent gym with enough equipment to train most muscle groups. The freshers credit load is light, sports are active, clubs are amazing, events and competitions are nice. Mess: The mess food is good enough for food. Some days, around 2 to 3 a week, can be boring, and sometimes its really tasty. For gym goers, breakfast includes boiled eggs/egg bhurji. Tasty dal 2 times a day for tiny amounts of protein. Canteen always provides tastier options when you want them, runs as late as 2 to 3 AM. Events: Events and clubs are one of the most fun parts of campus life. Competitions are frequent and lively, including ESports tournaments treasure hunts, blindfold challenges etc with price money and goodies. It's easy to get involved and find a group that matches your interests by joining clubs. Fees: For my 2025-26 batch, I pay 2,88,000INR in the first semester and 2,36,500INR in the second. Later semesters stay around 2,38,000INR. This is a clear increase from the 2024-25 structure. Everyone pays the same regardless of category, and there are no internal scholarships or waivers, though guidance for external scholarship schemes are provided. The fee is honestly high and affects affordability for many students.

Campus life is friendly and active, with regular cultural and tech fests help during the academic year, Clubs run events almost every week, making it easy to get involved and meet people. The library (known as KRC) has enough books, and classromoms are well equipped with projectors and basic tech. Sports options include football, cricket, badminton and indoor games, and competitions. Even though the campus is not very big.

Rooms are basic but comfortable with beds, tables, cupboards. The new hostel is still being built, so many freshers stay in an outside PG, which has similar rooms. The PG is provided by the college itself for the first semester. The mess food is good enough for daily survival meals, some days are good some days feel repetitive. The hostel registration process is easy and done during physical reporting, but affordability can be a concern because the overall fees are high. The outside PG locality is generally safe and quiet, with shops and cafes nearby. Overall te stay is manageable, but a proper on campus room for all freshers would make the experience better.

I chose this college mainly because it is an Institute of National Importance, has a good curriculum (since its a PPP mode college), and the campus environment felt comfortable for learning. I had applied to a few other institutes, but the combination of a lighter fresher load, active clubs, and decent placements. Additionally, it was close to my home.

The faculty-student ratio feels balanced, and most teachers are approachable if you reach out after class or during office hourse. In my experience, the overall mix is roughly 50% really good, 40% average and 10% strict. The strict ones mainly focus on discipline, deadlines, a lot of assignments, not negativity. Among the teachers I genuinely liked, Manjunath sir stands out for making sessions interactive. He encourages students who already know the basics to basics to form groups share their understanding, and help others. The atmosphere in his classes stays calm and welcoming. Chinmayananda sir is another great teacher who explains concepts clearly, answers every doubt patiently, and makes even tough topics easier to follow. I don't particularly dislike any faculty member; some classes just feel a bit dry depending on the topic being tought and teaching style. In the first semester we have three fixed subjects and ttwo electives we choose based on interest. The difficulty is moderate and quite manageable if you keep up with assigments. Only a small percentage of students fail to clear the exams, and thats usually happens due to low attendance or not keeping pace with coursework. The exam structure is straightforward with continuous assesments, mid-sems, end-sems, and some courses including small projects. The curriculum itself is aligned with current industry expectations, especially for DSAI, with a clear focus on programming, math fundamentals and hands-on learning.

The gym, KRC are open 24/7. No restrictions on hostel timings, only entry to campus isnt allowed past 9:30. buses run until 11:40 pm for outside campus students. Sometimes fests are held late night till 3-4 AM. The grounds and M Block (multi-utility block) are open 24/7 for sports.