IIT-Bombay announces online semester for first-year UG students

The first week of instruction will be a "zero" week, where students will be guided on how to attend lectures and exams online, said director Dr Subhasis Chaudhuri in a post on social media.

IIT-Bombay announced an online semester for first-year undergraduate students, on Wednesday. The orientation programme for the new batch will start on November 11, while classes will begin from November 16.

The first week of instruction will be a “zero” week, where students will be guided on how to attend lectures and exams online, said director Dr Subhasis Chaudhuri in a post on social media.

“Our student mentors will be reaching out to you beforehand and help you to get properly oriented so that your onboarding becomes a smooth one. There will be an orientation for parents or guardians also as they need to help you study from home,” Chaudhuri said.

Semesters have been planned in a manner that students can complete the entire academic year by the end of June. Students will receive one month of summer vacation next year, following which semester dates will be synchronous with the rest of the batches, he added.

The academic year at IIT Bombay usually runs in the semester mode from August to December and January to June. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the autumn and spring semesters for incoming undergraduate batches will be held from November to March and from March to July, stated the offer letter given to students.
The institute will not provide hostel accommodation due to paucity of available rooms and Covid-19 restrictions, the letter read.

Students have been asked to be fully equipped with basic facilities to attend online sessions, whereas the institute also plans to identify and support students who do not have resources for online education.

When contacted, Chaudhari told The Indian Express, “There is no change in the overall curriculum or subject syllabi. We have just deferred labs and workshop for subsequent semester as additional load.”

So far, the institute has allowed a select number of PhD students to return to campus to complete their research and postgraduate students unable to avail online education from home.

According to guidelines by the institute’s campus rebooting committee, one room can only be occupied by one student in the hostel.

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