My sister graduated from IEM Kolkata in June 2016 and she is now working as a consultant at KPMG. She shared some of her experiences and the basic do’s and don'ts she followed while studying there.

• IEM Kolkata is very strict with its college timings and the students have to be very punctual. She suggested that they must reach college before 9:10 AM as the morning assembly starts at that time. Or else they can enter the college only after lunch time which starts at 12:20 PM. 
• All the students must maintain attendance of minimum 80%. This is very important as students will be prohibited from giving exams with lower percentages of attendance. 
• The students should submit all their projects, assignments and reports to their respective professors on time to maintain a good image in the college. This can be very crucial while getting internal marks which increases the overall marks in final exams. 
• The students must be able to build a good relation with their professors. This can help a lot in the long term to get many information about higher studies and their recommendations helps a lot in deciding the right college or career for our future.

Maintaining good grades is very important because students with lower grades are considered not capable enough for placements in top popular companies. They can sit for placements at non IT companies though. Students with lower grades don't get good opportunities in the college so one must maintain above average grade in his/her subjects, to secure a placement or even opt for higher studies.

The top recruiting companies that participate in their placement program include, Google, Microsoft, Accenture, Capgemini, L&T, Wipro, TCS, Mindtree and many more.

IEM is best for its non-core (CSE/IT/ETC/ECE) placements comparatively that of core ones (CIVIL/MECHANICAL/ ELECTRICAL). Situated in the heart of the IT sector business area the companies visiting the campus for recruitment are mainly software companies.

• Electronics and Communications Engineering (ECE) is the best branch in IEM. This I can say on the basis of closing rank for ECE which is generally the lowest when compared to other branches in IEM.
• Technically, one should think and then go for choosing streams. Because, you never know whether your true potential lies with ECE or in any other stream.
• Also, the other factor is that the recruitment which happens in IEM highly favors CSE and IT students, as most of the companies visiting the campus are IT companies or Tech startups.
• IEM Kolkata is one of the best colleges and offers quality education. The faculty members for ECE are the best as compared to other core branches.
• You can get easily placed if you pursue this branch.
• However, if ECE is not your choice then, you can go with other branches as well. Whatever you are interested in, you should keep your firm choice.

The IT sector has seen a slump, the core placement doesn’t reach up to the mark. But, if you do choose electrical you may have an extra opportunity to sit in both the core and non-core.

• Moreover, IEM is quite critical with its Electrical engineers and does hold a separate placement arrangement for Electrical students.
•  Also, faculties are fine and IEM has improved its labs and faculty has strengthened all its branches slowly and gradually.
• Overall you may judge it yourself based on the above points.

But choosing a branch totally depends upon you. If you really like CS or IT there is no reason to not to choose IEM; or any other branch you like. After all, it’s you who is going to adapt the particular field and enhance yourself in it in four years of time.

• If you are interested in programming and have secured the required cut-off rank then go for CSE stream else go for ECE. But if your rank is not good enough to join the first two then go for IT stream.
• Moreover, after the first year you can switch into the branch you like by just getting the cgpa around 8-9, which you have to do to enroll in the branch you think you can do well.

I sincerely hope you take the right decision and choose the branch which is best for you and not go with the flow and take the branch which stats say is the best branch in IEM.

Being a central university and highly popular national university of importance, IIEST Shibpur not only attracts the best faculty from across the country but also receives funding from the central government on a yearly basis which helps the university maintain its infrastructure, upgrade to the latest trends in the world and better their services. IEM is a private university with a NIRF ranking of 191 in 2020.

• Placement Services: Considering placements are the most important deciding factor to understand the scope of an institution, let us have a look at the placement facilities across the two academic universities:

• Crowd: IIEST attracts students from all across the country due to its national importance and is the second oldest engineering college in India. IEM on the other hand being a private university does not see diversity among students and is not very popular as compared to IIEST.
• Campus: The infrastructure of both colleges are very different from each other. IIEST is known for its beautiful huge academic buildings, library, sports complex, and research labs. IEM, on the other hand, has a relatively small campus that offers hostel facilities, a cafeteria, a library, and an auditorium.
• Alumni: The alumni network at IIEST is unbeatable with world leaders like Dr. Bimal Bose, Leader in Power Electronics, and Dr. Kajal Gupta, Chief Technologist at NASA. IEM does not have a notable list of alumni considering it is not very popular amongst the masses.

Hence, if students have a good JEE score and are eligible to get into IIEST, it would be advisable to do so instead of choosing a private institution such as IEM- based on the factors mentioned above.

As I know some people from these institutes you mentioned above, it will be clearer to base their ideas upon the rankings on different factors. 

In terms of Academic Credentials and Research works:

• Kalyani Government Engineering College will be my first choice. It is a Government-run College bestowed with some great Professors.
• Heritage Institute of Technology will be 2nd, as it also has some of the most influential professors. It is an autonomous institute. 
• This will be followed by Jalpaiguri Government Engineering College.
• Finally, the Institute of Engineering and Management, as there have been reports of faculty shortage.

In terms of Social life and Co-curricular Activities:

• Heritage Institute of Technology tops this criteria. 
• Whereas, Kalyani Government Engineering College is in the 2nd position.
• Followed by Jalpaiguri Government Engineering College and IEM.

In terms of Locational merits and Infrastructure,

• Heritage has one of the best infrastructures and is apparently only 10 mins from the major junction of Ruby Hospital or Desun Square.
• IEM also has established both the criteria really well, yet it somehow gets difficult for South Kolkata students.
• They are followed by Kalyani Government Engineering College and Jalpaiguri Government Engineering College.

In terms of Placement Scenario,

• Institute of Engineering and Management and Heritage Institute of Technology are the same in terms of their placement drives.
• Followed by Kalyani Government Engineering College and Jalpaiguri Government Engineering College

In terms of Affordability: (Fees, Accommodation, Miscellaneous Expenses)

• Kalyani Government Engineering College
• Jalpaiguri Government Engineering College
• Institute of Engineering and Management and finally,
• Heritage Institute of Technology

Hope this layer to layer breakdown has helped you gain some insight about the question you asked.