'At VIT Vellore, students don’t just follow a set path but design their own'

NEW DELHI: Vellore Institute of Technology (VIT) has long been a preferred destination for engineering aspirants, known for its academic excellence, research focus, and strong industry connect. During a conversation with Careers360, professor at its School of Computer Science Engineering and Information Systems Aswani Kumar Cherukuri talks about the institution’s growth, curriculum updates, student support initiatives, and what keeps VIT ahead. Edited excerpts:

How has VIT been able to maintain its position as a leading institution?

From my personal observation over 24 years at VIT, I would say the key lies in consistent focus on quality. Quality is given paramount importance — whether it's in teaching-learning processes, research activities, consultancy work, or research publications. Every aspect emphasises maintaining high standards.

Another major reason is the visionary leadership of the top management. They are clear about short-term and long-term goals and put the right people in the right positions to achieve these goals. When I joined in 2001, VIT was still an engineering college. It became a university later with a clear vision for its future. And that forward-thinking mindset continues even today.

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What initiatives show that VIT has been ahead of its time?

VIT introduced the Fully Flexible Credit System (FFCS) in 2008. This system lets students shape their education the way they want. For example, if a student wants to focus on a project or manage a lighter workload during a semester, they can take fewer credits instead of the usual 20 to 27. Students also get to choose their faculty. If a particular professor is known for a great teaching style or has a strong reputation in research, students can opt to learn from them based on their choice.

Students can also pick courses from other disciplines, such as electrical engineering, humanities, or management, through what is called the “basket of electives.” They can also fine-tune their timetable, whether they prefer mornings or afternoons. Plus, they can decide the pace at which they want to learn, even adding extra courses if they want to specialize or earn a minor in another field.

At VIT, students don’t just follow a set path — they design their own.

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How does VIT ensure learning beyond the classroom?

Our curriculum is designed to encourage learning beyond typical classroom lectures. Students are regularly given course-related projects and experiments that demand hands-on work and practical thinking. This builds their ability to excel academically and professionally.

What kind of career support does VIT offer to students?

VIT has a very dynamic and vibrant Career Development Center (CDC). Apart from academic learning, the curriculum integrates industry-preparation courses. This ensures that students are industry-ready by the time they graduate. That's why top companies continue to recruit from VIT, even during periods of economic slowdown.

When and how are students exposed to industry interactions?

At VIT, students start building industry connections right from their first year. Companies visit the campus with real-world problems, and students get to crack them through hackathons. It’s a fun, fast way to sharpen skills and learn on the go. Industries come in to showcase their latest innovations at VIT’s annual technical festivals, where students not only get to explore new tech but also interact with professionals and leaders.

The connection to the industry is built into the classroom too. Every course has an eighth module where an industry expert steps in to share real-world insights. Hands-on learning is a big part of the experience. Students work in labs sponsored by top companies, gaining practical skills with the latest equipment. Beyond academics, there are 100+ clubs which host events, talks, and workshops with industry experts.

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How does interdisciplinary learning happen at VIT?

The curriculum is designed to encourage students to work on projects that often require knowledge from different fields. Research at VIT also brings different disciplines together. For example, even though I belong to the Computer Science department, we often work closely with the Biotechnology department. Our students study large datasets from marine microalgae research, combining biology and computer science to make new discoveries.

There’s also a special course called ‘Technical Answers for Real World Problems’ where students from different departments team up to solve real-world challenges. Outside the classroom, clubs, hackathons, and innovation challenges encourage students to work together, too.

VIT Vellore has its own entrance exam, VITEEE. It’s known to be highly competitive. Could you walk me through the process — right from exam to counseling?

Sure. VITEEE (VIT Engineering Entrance Examination) is the entrance exam for undergraduate programs. In fact, all our programs — undergraduate, postgraduate, and research — have entrance-based admissions. Every year, about 2.5 to 3 lakh students appear for it, not just from India but also abroad. Typically, the admission process starts around December. Students can apply until about April 7 this year.

The entrance exam is conducted online across the country for all our campuses. Once the exam is over, counseling happens in a centralised manner. Students participate in counseling based on their ranks and seat availability. They can choose both the branch and the campus where they wish to study. The entire process is detailed on our website.

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Could you explain the counseling process in detail?

Certainly. Counseling is a multi-city process. Students can participate from different locations across the country. During counseling, students are informed about the available branches of engineering and the number of seats. Based on their VITEEE rank, they can choose both the branch and the campus.

VIT has campuses in Vellore, Chennai, Amaravati (Andhra Pradesh), and Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh). Important dates are published on our website. Counseling is conducted in multiple phases and students are called according to their rank.

How is your placement record?

We don’t call it ‘placement’ but career development as our focus is on helping students build their careers, not just getting them a job. Career development begins from Day 1.

Students learn through a strong core curriculum. They also take special career-focused courses, especially in soft skills, which are part of their regular studies and sometimes even carry academic credits. We work closely with industry groups like FICCI and NASSCOM to make sure our training matches the industry needs.

The Career Development Center supports students in building their careers not just while they are studying here but even after they leave.

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Are there any plans for global expansion?

Yes, VIT is planning to have its own campus in Mauritius, which is already in the works. As of now, Mauritius is the only finalised international expansion.

How do you address the mental health and well-being of students?

Mental health is very important to us. Our campus is fully focused on students, whether it is through the curriculum, the way we teach, or the support activities we offer.

When students join VIT, each faculty member mentors about 20 students. I personally mentor 20 students and keep a close watch on their studies and overall well-being. This helps us step in early to provide support, guidance, and counseling whenever needed. The campus has professional counsellors, and students are engaged in academic, co-curricular and extracurricular activities through 100+ clubs for their overall development.

We make sure students have a smooth shift from home to campus life. We aim to help students grow in every way, and mental health care is an important part.

VIT Vellore follows a student centric academic model ( Image : Wikimedia Commons)

FAQs

Q1. Is VIT Vellore costly?

The cost of pursuing a BTech degree at VIT Vellore or VIT Chennai is significantly less when compared to other top private deemed universities for engineering, such as SRMIST, BITS Pilani or Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham. For instance, a four-year BTech in Computer Science at VIT costs Rs 7.80 lakh while at SRM Institute of Science and Technology it costs Rs 12.50 lakh. The fees for the same course at Amrita School of Engineering is Rs 18 lakh.

Q2. Is VIT better than any IIT?

No, IITs are generally considered more prestigious due to their government funding, stronger research focus and higher ranking. In the National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) 2024, the top eight spots in engineering were all held by IITs, while VIT Vellore secured the 11th spot. However, newer IITs such as IIT Indore and IIT Gandhinagar were ranked lower at 16 and 18 slots, respectively.

Q3. What is the total fee of VIT for 4 years?

The total fees for four years of BTech at both VIT Vellore and VIT Chennai is Rs 7.80 lakh while that of BTech Biotechnology and BTech Electrical and Electronics Engineering is Rs 6.92 lakh. Two-year MCA at the institute costs Rs 2.74 lakh.

Q4. What is the highest package in VIT?

According to the data submitted for NIRF 2025, the median salary for the four-year BTech batch that graduated last year was Rs 89 lakh per annum, with over 67% of students landing a job.