The article is divided into 4 parts, in the following order – Formalities regarding Alumni Membership, Formalities for UGs, Formalities for PGs and the Informal To-Do List. Please ensure that you go through your respective formality lists thoroughly and meticulously. In case anyone comes across any conflicting or alternate procedures other than the one given here, please let us know at insight@iitb.ac.in. It would be a real help.

NOTE – In general, while roaming around campus taking care of your formalities, try and keep money around for situations you unearth along the way, like that library fine accumulated by keeping that Kreyszig for 3 years.

Formalities regarding Alumni Membership

1. Fill up the Alumni form on the ASC website and take a print out. Go to the Alumni office and submit your Alumni form. Money for Alumni registration (Rs. 1500) is automatically deducted from the Caution Money account.
2. If you do not want to become a member of the IITBAA, you have to write to IITBAA before the Convocation Ceremony.
3. If you want to pledge a certain percent of your salary to the institute, you can go to Alumni Office and do so, and get a complimentary T-Shirt. If you pledge, you will definitely be contacted by the office, so don’t take the pledge lightly.

Formalities for UGs

B. Techs

For those who haven’t done a BTP, start from instruction 4 onwards.

Note (input from Nancy Aggarwal) – The no dues formality is not requirement anymore if you have no pending dues; it is cleared by the academic office themselves.

1. Make sure that you have 3 hard bound copies of your BTP report, though the number of reports is governed by the size of the panel (So minimum 3 copies, if not more); all duly signed by the HoD and other panelists.
2. Get the library dues cleared at the library office.
3. Now the department no-dues. This could be very department specific, so first check in with the Dept. Office (maybe a senior too) to learn the process. You may require signatures from various labs, etc. Submit any BTP reports at the Department Office. For those who haven’t done a BTP, a remark from the Fac-Ad saying that “there is no requirement for project submission” on the no dues form might be necessary.
4. Next fill the Hostel No-dues form from the Hall manager. This would require clearances from the mess, canteen, hostel library, and such.
5. Following that, fill the Convo form on the ASC website and submit it in the ACAD office. People who are not in the institute can scan the same and submit it.
6. Finally, if you’re not going to be in the Insti during the 1st week of August, then have someone else take the Uttariya for you after producing the cash receipt of Convo form. Scanned copy also will work.

NOTE – Accounts section takes one day to process the no-dues forms.

Dual Degree Students

1. Pay for your convocation form on the ASC website, fill it up and submit the hard copy in the Academic office.
2. For the presentation, get as many soft-bound reports as the no. of members on the panel. These reports are NOT hard bound, as the panel might suggest potential changes which need to be incorporated into the final report.
3. Once the final report is prepared, you could give it to H8 Xerox shop (or any other shop) for binding. H8 is known to do it well. Charges there are Rs.8 per color printout, 1 per b/w page and Rs.150 per book for binding. He takes a day to give the final report.
4. Once the final copies are printed, get them signed by all the panelist professors on the approval sheet. Sign the declaration page and take scans of both the approval page and declaration and include these two pages in your soft copy of the report.
5. Go to the library and submit the e-copy with scans on the library website. You will have to also take two printouts of your abstract from this website, get it signed by your guide and hand a copy to the library to clear your library dues.
6. Go to the department, fill up a form (for submitting the reports) with your guide’s signature and submit two copies in the department office, one copy of the report to the guide and one copy for yourself. Then, finish the department no-dues.
7. Wrap up the hostel no-dues in the end.
8. Arrange to collect the Uttariya during the 1st week of August, after producing the cash receipt of the Convocation form (or a scanned copy of it).

Formalities for PGs

All right, this is a rather drawn-out process. This list, based on a guide released by the electrical department, is divided into three sections – before, during, and after the final stage presentation.

Before the presentation*:

1. Pay the convocation fees (Rs. 500) on the ASC website and take printout of the receipt. Then, fill the Convocation form on the website. The name written here (in both English and Hindi) appears as is in the M. Tech degree certificate.
2. (Alternatively) You can also fill the Convocation form available in the department office instead of filling it online. Submit the form to at the Academic section (you can also submit later after you finish all the procedures).
3. As soon as you submit the rough draft of the dissertation to your guide (approx. 10 days before presentation though in my case it was 2 days), get the ‘Four Copy Form’ from the department and fill it. Get the signature from your guide. Make sure you and your guide fill the date as at least 10 days before the date of the presentation.
4. Go to the Accounts section on the 2^nd floor of the Main Building. Apply for the ‘Clearance Certificate’. This will take a day.
5. Go to hall manager and ask for the ‘Clearance Form’. Fill it and get his signature. You can also fill the ‘Vacation Form’ if you know the date of leaving. The Vacation Form requires the signature of the mess contractor.
6. Submit the ‘Four Copy Form’ along with the two certificates (from the Hostel and the Accounts section) to your in-charge in the Academic section. He will give you five no-clearance forms in which you have to get the respective signatures and submit. No clearance forms can be submitted after presentation, so get the forms and keep them safe. (For details on clearance forms, see below^$$)

*In case you have already given the presentation, it would still be possible to get these done, so don’t worry. This is just a general guideline.

For the presentation:

1. There is form available in the department office which asks for the name of guide (supervisor), chairperson and examiners. This is supposed to filled, along with the guide’s signature, before presentation. Fill this and submit it in the office.
2. If your external is from outside IITB, there are some honorarium forms and invitation letters to be sent. These are available at the department office.
3. For the presentation, you need four (or five, in case of a co-guide) soft-bound copies of your report. You should have submitted these hard copies (and probably soft copies) to your guide(s), internal examiner, external examiner and chairperson much before the presentation date. Make sure to get the bill of all the printing, copying and binding expenses, as IITB reimburses up to Rs. 1000.
4. Approval sheets (usually the number of hard bound reports that you will be printing after presentation) can be printed and kept ready during presentation (Get signatures from the examiners, guides and chairperson during the presentation).
5. Get the Final Stage Evaluation form from the department office before presentation. Fill it and give it to respective people during presentation.

After the presentation:

1. Make the corrections to the report as mentioned during the presentation (if any).
2. Submit the soft copy of the report and its abstract in the Central Library through ASC (Check the guidelines and pop-ups in the library interface before submitting). The approval sheet and the integrity sheet have to be scanned and attached properly in the soft copy of your report before uploading.
3. Take 2 printouts of the abstract submitted in library from the homepage of the library submission interface under the link ‘2010-2011 submissions’. Get them signed at the bottom by your guide. One is for the library (just for approval) and the other for the department.
4. Give the report for printing. Check the paper gsm, binding color, embossment colors and other guidelines to be followed while printing (guidelines can be obtained from the dept. office). The number of copies of the hard-bound report is 4/5 – 2 for the dept office, 1/1 for guide(s) and 1 for you.
5. From the dept office, take the form stating that you submitted two copies and the ‘Re-imbursement form’. When you submit your hard bound report to your guide, get his signature on the ‘two-copy form’. Get the sign from the dept office when you submit the 2 copies of your report and the abstract that you got signed from guide.
6. Get the guide’s signature at the back of all the bills. Fill the re-imbursement form and get guide’s sign. Submit them at dept office.
7. Get a sign from library (an office inside the reference section) in the ‘two copy form’ (after you upload the report and submit your signed abstract).
8. Submit the ‘two-copy form’ at the Academic section.
9. Upload a soft copy of report named ‘rollno.pdf’ in the PC lab interface.

Getting clearances:

^$$As mentioned earlier, there are 5 clearance forms given by the Academic section. These clearance forms can either be submitted at the respective places or you can get the required signatures and submit them yourself.

1. Hospital clearance – Submit at the reception. Take your hospital file also.
2. Estate office – From IDC, walk in the opp. direction of the Main Building.
3. Hostel clearance – Submit it to the hall manager.
4. Library clearance
5. Department clearance – There should be around 4-5 forms to be obtained from, and submitted to, the dept office (ex: guide, labs, stores, dept library, etc.)

Miscellaneous

1. Apply for the provisional certificate. (Possibly only after your grades are put up)
2. Fill the vacation form for the hostel, and give the required vacation dates in the mess.
3. Send any excess luggage through an express delivery, if required. For example, safe-express charges approximately Rs. 660 per 20kg box and Rs. 400 extra for every additional box. Contact number: +91-93207-69341.

Compiled by: Yohan Mathew with inputs from Ashwath K., Naresh Ponnana, Ishan Sodhi, Joe Joshua Kochitty, V Mohan Babu, Antariksh Bothale

—————————————————————————————————————————————————————-

The Bucket List

For all you current and incumbent passouts, here’s InsIghT’s must-do-before-leaving-college list. First of all, make sure you’re done with your formalities. There’s nothing as uncool as running around trying to pay your library fees during convocation, while others sip that 18-year-old Chivas Regal (Oh wait, now you’ve to be 25 for that).

We really recommend these:

1. If you haven’t already, make Google groups of your hostel batch-mates/wing junta/other groups you would like to stay in touch with. Keep in touch regularly – share random links and make comments. This goes a long way in keeping in touch.
2. Visit and take pictures of the IIT landmarks, and other locations close to your heart: Sameer Hill, Lakeside road behind H8, Main building/Department building rooftop, H13 terrace, etc.
3. Sell off mattresses, comps/laptops, textbooks, etc.
4. If at any time the ‘senti’ threatens to overwhelm you, you could write thank-you-notes to everyone who helped you get into IIT and also get out of IIT. Make it personal (you could mention how they helped).

The LIST

DISCLAIMER – The list is a student feedback compilation. InsIghT and IIT Bombay take no responsibility for consequences of undertaking any of the following. Please try (some of) them at your own risk.

1. Start at the beginning of the day. Go for a morning run, the way you planned to do all those times, but never did. Once you build up the appetite, go to the closest mess, and pig out.
2. Couples might enjoy sunrise at Sameer hill (only after 6 am) and a morning buffet at Rodas (The omelettes are a must try).
3. Crash a wedding at the Gullu Lawn. Finish your dinner and then hit on random strangers (that’s why you need to eat first).
4. Enter the institute in an auto-rickshaw and as soon as you are in, ask the autowallah if he’ll let you drive for a bit. There’s a very high probability that he will (having a license might help).
5. Say Pepsodent instead of student at Main Gate and then tell your autowallah to drive like mad
6. Go to your hostel’s music room and play every instrument you can.
7. Ask out the girl/guy you always wanted to. Take them to a romantic evening at the boathouse, and then stay till after dark. The walk back at night is pleasantly scary.
8. Convince your H12/13/14 friends to have a barbeque party on their terrace (and someone, for the love of god, make an effort to learn how to cook properly). If you’re feeling up to it, order some cheap food, and end it with a food fight. Even braver souls can attempt to lob food at unsuspecting passer-bys below.
9. Finish the latest Call of Duty in a night-out. Drive all your wing mates out so you can listen to it at full volume.
10. Attend Filterpada Mela and go watch Maut ka Kuan (Filterpada is the area next to Renaissance)
11. Watch DDLJ. Again. At Maratha Mandir. On a Sunday morning.
12. Click tons of pictures of your room or a place you’re attached to, and 3D-stitch them (ex: MS Photosynth).
13. Go to a faculty selection seminar and ask prospective faculty members shitty questions (we’ll go so far as to give you guys some pointers: what should be done to improve the sex ratio in IIT?)

Obviously this is only a guide (A censored one, yes). Don’t be afraid to dream. Make sure that your last days in college are exactly as memorable as you want them to be. Share them with us. Oh, and just ignore the disclaimer.

Compiled using inputs from Mohit Sharma, Manas Rachh, Gautam Salhotra, Nithya and more