Is IIT Kharagpur The Same As MIT Or Harvard?

Since their inception, Indian institutes have always been compared to various major foreign universities- MIT, Harvard, Oxford, etc. While, not everyone can afford to go abroad for studies, those who can are often confused about where to pursue their studies- India or abroad? Similarly, engineering students often tend to compare Indian Institute of Technology, IIT Kharagpur with Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Harvard. To choose the better out of the two, is a highly subjective question and depends a lot on your personal preferences, we help you compare the two for you to figure out yourself.

1.    Status

Even though India’s higher education is touted as one of the best in the world, yet the primitive ways of teaching have inhibited their global reach. The best of the Indian Institutes, are not received very well outside India. If you’re sure of settling in India, IIT would be a great option, but it cannot assure you a great future outside India too.

2.    Alumni

Often, when we compare institutes, we tend to talk of the topmost people from there. When you talk of IITs, they’ll name a few CEO’s or Managers, but when you’ll talk of MIT or Harvard, they’ll name presidents, actors, in fact legends.

3.    Mission

All the three institutes have the same mission put across in different words, to educate and empower their pupils to build a sustainable and secure future for themselves in terms of employment. They draw the best they can to impart premier education and training. So, here you cannot really see a difference.

4.    Education System

In MIT and Harvard, self-learning is promoted and checked through continuous comprehensive testing, projects and assignments. Unfortunately, in India, students easily get through with last minute submissions and mugging up before exams. This is why, even an average student from MIT or Harvard is better when it comes to life skills than a topper from IIT.

5.    Say of Students

In India, a fixed curriculum is followed by everyone irrespective of their interests till a particular level. In foreign nations, students are given flexibility to choose options of their choice, pretty soon in their lives and hence are masters of their subject. They study, what they love instead of mugging up!

6.    Infrastructure

The buildings, labs, classes of IIT-Kharagpur are old, although the campus is huge and equipped with the best possible new facilities, it matches nowhere with MIT or Harvard.

7.    Co-Curricular Activities and Imbibing of Moral Responsibilities

Foreign universities put a lot of emphasis on the overall development of the student. This is the reason why they encourage students to take up co-curricular activities and have very active societies and clubs for the same. Co-curricular activities are promoted with equal enthusiasm as academics. Back here in India, although colleges organize fests and competitions, yet the extra-curricular activities are never given their due. Talking of moral responsibilities, India students often look for opportunities in foreign nations instead of serving their own motherland, while this is seldom the case with a foreign student.

Thus, in our opinion, we do not really advocate IIT Kharagpur being as good as MIT or Harvard, but for sure it is one of the best institute in India, and hopefully will soon make a significant mark on the globe too.