I took my Master of Technology in Microelectronics and VLSI in the Teaching Assistant category from IIT Bombay between 2007-2009. Although project work is an essential part of this program, it is more or less a taught degree. In the first two semesters, one is expected to do a certain minimum amount of course work and contribute to a project alongside the course work.

The first two semesters prepare students for their project, which they are expected to contribute to in the final two semesters. The former is assessed through examinations, while the latter is assessed through project reports and presentations. When I was a student, we had to give a presentation every semester (a seminar in the first semester and a progress report in the other semesters). This has now been reduced to one presentation per year. Students spend more time reading and writing for exams than working diligently on their project, although there are notable exceptions. Sometimes one wonders how so many people who excel in coursework are so poor at their project.

Since IITs are expected to train manpower for industries, I guess they are not very alarmed at the low quality of work done in the projects. In any case, most of the students come from second-tier institutes, so they cannot contribute much to research problems even if they want to early in their program. The most sincere among them usually learn a lot. The dual-degree (B.Tech. + M.Tech.) program was designed to accommodate a better research project, but the quality of contributions made by dual-degree students is hardly any better than contributions made by M.Tech. students in general.

Microelectronics and VLSI is all about circuits on or in silicon. They teach you the basics of semiconductor physics and the mechanisms and models by which semiconductor devices can be fabricated and analyzed. Since they have a decent lab, they also teach you how to fabricate them. Designing is usually done on computers, so logical circuit design using a computer is also a part of the program. Some computer languages to describe and simulate the circuit using a computer, such as Verilog and VHDL, will also be there. You may also audit some courses in other areas as well.

If you are looking for an industrial job, then the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) provide many opportunities. If you are not confused about your career choices and are inwardly convinced that academic life is a good life, then you might like to explore some lesser-known research centers with a better academic culture. However, it is important to do a background check before joining any institute (if you have a choice). Try to do sincere work in your project; there is nothing better than “learning by doing”. There will be many in your class who love to make fun of those who are sincere and upright in their academic life; their philosophy of life is the philosophy of “trivialization”. They are yet to figure out what, if anything, is important to them. It will do you good if you learn to ignore their influence, if not their company.