IITian Vibes
Campus stories, placement reality, and everything in between — written by people who've lived it.
Fests Techfest 2026: IIT Bombay's 30th Edition — Dates, Speakers, Robowars, How to Attend (Asia's Largest Science + Tech Fest)
The 30th edition of Asia's largest science + tech fest lands late-December 2026. What to know: 1.8 lakh footfall, 35,000+ competition entrants from 20+ countries, Nobel-laureate speaker lineage, Robowars and Full Throttle, plus practical accommodation + registration info.
Founder StoriesBhavish Aggarwal: The IIT Bombay CSE Grad Who Built Ola, Rode ₹21,000 Cr to the Top — and Watched ₹57,000 Cr Evaporate
IIT Bombay 2008 CSE. Left Microsoft 2010. Built Ola. Ola Electric IPO Aug 2024 → briefly worth ₹21,000 crore → ~₹57,000 crore of shareholder value destroyed by July 2026. Krutrim's chip programme scrapped, Kruti AI pulled from stores. Three CEO roles, one founder, one honest read.
FestsMood Indigo 2026: Everything About IIT Bombay's Fest — Dates, Pronite, How to Attend (55th Edition)
Asia's largest college cultural fest, 55th edition. Everything you need: expected dates, how registration + accommodation work post the 2025 crowd cancellation, headliner history from Asha Bhosle 1981 to Sonu Nigam 2025, and the honest read on team-culture issues that surfaced this year.
Founder StoriesSridhar Vembu: The IIT Madras Grad Who Ran the Only ₹12,000-Crore Bootstrapped Firm in India — From a Tamil Nadu Village
IIT Madras EE '89, JEE AIR 27, Princeton PhD, Padma Shri 2021. Vembu turned down the only VC term sheet Zoho ever saw, moved to a village in 2019, and this week is in Japan importing small-town SMBs to rural Tamil Nadu. Sourced profile with FY25 numbers and r/developersIndia critique.
NewsIIT News This Week (29 June – 5 July 2026): Kharagpur's Platinum Class, Bombay's Nuclear Programme, Delhi's Aerostat Demo
Seven of the 23 IITs made real news this week — Kharagpur's Platinum Jubilee convocation, Bombay's Nuclear Engineering programme, Delhi's Aerostat demo, IITM Pravartak's five-year mark, plus JoSAA Round 2 and four alumni-founder raises. What actually shipped between 29 June and 5 July.
PlacementsIIT Kharagpur Placements 2025-26: The Actual Breakdown (1,501 Offers, ₹2.44 Cr Top, 15 International)
IIT Kharagpur's 2025-26 Phase 1 delivered 1,501 offers, 457 PPOs, and a ₹2.44 crore top. Underneath: quant/AI premium widening, international offers stayed thin, IIT Bombay lapped KGP 78 to 25 last year. Sourced breakdown with NIRF median, r/iitkgp voice, and the honest Director quote.
ResearchJoSAA 2026 IIT Cut-offs: Round Dates, Opening Ranks & What Score Gets Which Branch
Round 2 of JoSAA 2026 just released. Top IIT CSE closing ranks barely moved. Inside: the canonical all-23-IIT closing-rank reference (CSE, EE, Mechanical, Civil for 2025 Round 6), the JoSAA round schedule, the July 14 withdrawal deadline, and the structural changes you should know before locking choices.
Founder StoriesDeepinder Goyal: IIT Delhi Rank, Zomato Founder, Eternal CEO Step-Down 2026
The honest profile. Goyal took Zomato from a Bain canteen menu PDF to India's first ₹1 lakh crore consumer-tech IPO, then stepped down as Eternal CEO in February 2026. With sourced timeline, the IIT Delhi DAA record, and the r/indianstartups read on his last 6 months.
Founder StoriesSundar Pichai's IIT-JEE Rank, Kharagpur Metallurgy Story & Path to Google CEO
The honest profile. Sundar Pichai broke the IIT founder myth by becoming the highest-leverage operator in tech. Sourced timeline, KGPian voice, and the uncomfortable critique.
ResearchWhich IIT is Best in 2026? QS World 2027 + NIRF 2025 Combined
QS says IIT Delhi. NIRF says IIT Madras. They use different methodologies and answer different questions. Cross-source breakdown of the Delhi-Bombay-Madras debate, with the honest "use which ranking when" guide.
ResearchIIT Rankings in QS World 2027: All 12 Indian IITs, Per-IIT Movement vs 2026
QS World University Rankings 2027 (released 18 June 2026): IIT Delhi reclaims India #1 at world rank 118; 12 IITs in India's top 20; IIT Hyderabad jumps 76 places. Full per-IIT table + year-on-year change.
PlacementsIIT Bombay Placements 2026: Why the Institute Has Released Nothing Official Yet
IIT Bombay 2025–26: only Day 1 data exists (42 companies, 98 offers, ₹1.48 Cr media-reported). The verifiable 2024–25 baseline: 69.3% placed (down from 75%), ₹20.21 LPA NIRF median, ₹26.45 LPA average.
PlacementsIIT Delhi Placements 2026: 1,275 Offers, 300+ PPOs and Why OCS Won't Publish the Highest Package
IIT Delhi 2025–26 interim: 1,275 offers, 1,140+ placed, 300+ PPOs (+33% YoY), 35+ international. Plus NIRF 2026 median ₹20 LPA — and an explanation of why the OCS refuses to disclose top packages.
PlacementsIIT Kanpur Placements 2026: Phase 1 Numbers, NIRF Median & What the SPO Actually Released
IIT Kanpur 2025–26 Phase 1: 1,202 offers, 1,079 accepted, 15 international from 250+ companies. Day 1 record of 672 offers (+16% YoY). What the SPO actually published vs the unofficial numbers circulating online.
PlacementsThe IIT Crore Club 2026: Which IIT Grads Actually Cracked ₹1 Crore+ Offers
The highest IIT package on record is ₹4.3 crore (IIT Madras, Jane Street) — but that's one student. The honest, per-IIT crore-club for 2024-25, why almost every crore offer is international quant/CS, and the ~20x gap to the typical median.
ResearchIIT Rankings 2026: NIRF, QS & What's Changed at the IITs
The latest IIT rankings — NIRF 2025 and QS World 2026 — in one sourced table, plus why the 'best IIT' changes by list and what's new in 2025–26 (Abu Dhabi, Zanzibar, NIRF negative marking).
PlacementsHow to Prepare for IIT Placements: A Year-by-Year Roadmap (2026)
The honest year-by-year roadmap to IIT placements — when the process actually runs, why the 3rd-year internship is the real lever, the CGPA filters that gate you, what companies test, and how much DSA is really enough.
ResearchIIT Founders: 10 Unicorn CEOs, Their IIT, Batch & What They Built
73 of India's first 100 unicorns had an IIT-alumnus founder — from Flipkart and Zomato to Razorpay and Sun Microsystems. The full sourced list, which IIT leads, and why the pedigree edge is shrinking.
Campus LifeIIT Academics 2026: CGPA, Branch Change & How to Survive
The IIT-specific academic reality JEE doesn't prepare you for — how the 10-point CGPA and relative grading really work, branch-change cutoffs (and why several IITs scrapped it), the 75% attendance gate, and how students actually cope.
Campus LifeIIT Hostel Life 2026: Fees, AC Rules, Mess Food & What Freshers Should Pack
What IIT hostel life actually costs and looks like in 2026 — per-IIT room types and fees, income-based fee waivers, the anti-ragging reality and helpline, and a fresher checklist built from real student advice.
ResearchIIT Research & Deep Tech 2026: What the IITs Actually Build
The IITs run a real deep-tech engine — a 3D-printed rocket engine, an indigenous space chip, Indic-language AI, Army drones. Who builds what, which IITs anchor India's quantum/AI/semiconductor missions, and where the research still trails.
FestsIIT Fests 2026 Calendar: All Dates, Passes & Registration Guide
When every major IIT fest happens in 2026 — Mood Indigo, Techfest, Saarang, Shaastra and more — with dates, reported footfall and sources. Plus why January is peak season and how outsiders actually get in.
PlacementsIIT Highest Package 2026: ₹3.67 Cr Bombay CSE — Per-IIT Breakdown
The honest, per-IIT placement numbers for 2024-25 — highest, median, and how many actually got placed. Sourced, in tables, with the figures most sites won't show you.
Founder StoriesOur Story: How a Failed Course at IIT Jodhpur Became IITianVibes
The real, unpolished story of IITianVibes — how two co-founders stuck on campus after failing a course turned a broken Google-Form merch system into a brand serving IITs across India, and why we run it for the vibes.