u/DebuggingLyfe

I’m writing this as a current student to give a realistic picture of IIIT Pune for anyone considering joining. This is not a hate post—just a reality check so you know what you’re signing up for.

First, let’s clear a common misconception: IIIT Pune is not actually in Pune city. It’s located in Talegaon, which is quite far. It takes around an hour by local train to reach Pune, and there’s basically nothing within a 4–5 km radius of the campus.

The college was allotted 100 acres of land, but only about 33 acres (Phase 1) are developed so far. This includes:

2 boys’ hostels and 1 girls’ hostel

1 academic block

Director’s residence and some faculty housing

That’s it.

Construction has been stalled for almost a year, and Phase 2 hasn’t even started (even after new batches like 2029 have been admitted).

Now coming to the actual issues:

No proper sports infrastructure – There’s no proper ground to play on.

No canteen or shops – Apart from the mess, there’s nothing on campus.

Mess situation – It’s pure veg, and while the menu changes and food is okay-ish, hygiene is a serious concern. Finding insects or flies in food is unfortunately not rare.

No proper boundary wall – We had a temporary one, but parts of it were recently removed (reportedly due to payment issues with the contractor).

Wildlife issues – Leopards have entered the campus area 2–3 times. Yes, seriously.

The administration’s lack of involvement is another big problem. A good example is our annual fest “Iconclave”, which happened after 2 years. The college wasn’t willing to fund it properly but still expected it to happen. It was only because of insane student effort and management that the event was successful.

Recently, we also received a notice that hostels for 3rd and 4th year students will be allotted based on CGPA, which many of us find unfair since this policy was never mentioned during admissions.

On top of that, there is already a hostel shortage, but the college continues to increase student intake every year without expanding infrastructure.

This post is partly a rant, but mostly meant to inform future students. If you’re planning to join, just be aware of these realities and decide accordingly.

If you’re from IIIT Pune and think I’ve missed something, feel free to add in the comments.