PGDIM and PGDISEM are both courses that one can apply for with a CAT score at NITIE. Here are some differences listed according to some of my friends studying there.

• PGDISEM is a specialized course majoring in industrial safety, sustainability, and the environment. 
• Whereas PGDIM is a general management course with a focus on operations.
• PGDIM is a general management course similar to IIMs. 
• PGDISEM on the other hand caters to a niche segment of students who are highly interested in industrial safety and sustainability of corporate companies.
• Both the courses have a few common subjects and subjects which cater to their specific industries in-depth as well.
• The faculty teaching any of the courses in NITIE are highly experienced.
• From PGDIM, you will majorly get into Operations, IT, Consulting roles, whereas PGDISEM will get you into EHS, Safety, Sustainability, or Environment profiles.
• The placements for both the courses are in different fields. Other than that, the course structure for both courses is similar.

Selecting the right course depending on your interest and preferences is most important. So choose wisely as this will shape your career ahead.

A friend of mine joined NITIE with a one-year job experience but he was not a fresher. Some of the drawbacks are as follows:

• In the placement process, many companies show a preference for students who have prior job experience. It is seen most with consulting companies. 
• There are some companies that will hire freshers. You will not lose chances of getting placed.
• A student who has prior job experience will be able to understand the topics related to the possible real-life scenario which is more or less industry-based. They will be able to relate to the scenarios better than someone who does not have prior work experience. Experience always gives an upper hand.

Lastly, the LRP or laterals, the people with a work experience of higher than 20 months will be allowed to sit in the final placements twice. Candidates belonging to both LRP and CRP will get this opportunity and CRP if they are not placed in LRP. This option will not be available for the CRP candidates.

For admission in PG courses in institutes such as IITs, NITs, NITIE, one would require to possess an official and valid GATE score. The acceptance/validity of the GATE score is mentioned on the GATE scorecard. It is usually up to 3 years. To this extent, one is eligible to apply for NITIE, IITs, and NITs.

For instance, if you appeared for your GATE examination in 2020, the officiality and validity of your GATE score would extent till 2023, i.e., 3 years. Hence, with that GATE scorecard, you may apply for admission in 2020, 2021, and 2022 as well.

At NITIE, the GATE score card is valid only for two years, it would be better to check the criterion before applying for it. If it is not accepted then you might have to appear for GATE again.

NITIE has given employment to several entrepreneurs. I know a little bit about the startup culture at the institute as my sister is an alumnus. I'm going to list a few recent startups where one or all of the founders are from NITIE.

1. FreeKaaMaal.com: It is a bargain-hunting website where you can find the most up-to-date discounts, coupons, and earn cashback from over 300+ e-commerce sites. Every day, it assists over 60,000 online shoppers in saving money. Mr. Ravi Kumar established the company in 2012.
2. Lal10.com: It is a one-stop shop for purchasing genuine Indian handicrafts. Handlooms, food goods, pickles, sweets, and handicrafts are examples of products from different parts of India. Maneet Gohil, the founder, and CEO of lal10.com is from batch 2015.
3. Quifers.com: It is a low-cost, hassle-free goods transportation service. Amit Mishra and Vaibhav Gupta are founders of Quifers.
4. Moboace- MOBOACE: It is a Mumbai-based company that uses the mobile platform to implement the fascinating notion of "location-based" marketing. In collaboration with clients, they provide appealing "ON THE GO'' deals to the customers. 
5. Kazunga.com- Kazunga.com: It is your one-stop shop for renting out all of your favorite items. Kazunga.com allows you to rent everything from party dresses and bridal gowns to intricate lehengas and Chaniya cholis for Dandiya. Kazunga.com was founded by Ankur Priyadarshan.
6. Seatrr: It is an online platform where you can find your favorite cuisine or dish in a city based on user reviews and ratings. 
7. Level 10 Studios: It is a firm that started with the intention of creating fiction and visual/sequential narrative. 

There are various other successful start-ups founded by the students of NITIE.

NITIE Mumbai and several IIMs provide Post Graduate Diploma and it is considered equivalent to professional degrees in India, including MBA, as is given out by universities. 

IITs are deemed universities themselves, which neither IIM nor NITIE are. This means that the degrees offered by them have the official banner of M.Tech. In that case, if you are planning to go for higher education, or even for employment purposes abroad, they will ask you for your degree, then you have chances of facing issues. 

Whereas, if you pursue a Ph.D., Fellowship, or even employment within India, then there will not be any hassle whatsoever. 

Several aspirants consider NITIE Mumbai the only institutional hub of pursuing an MBA via GATE. This gives NITIE Mumbai an uneven platform, in contrast to numerous other institutes that only offer an M.Tech. In a nutshell, the course of PGDIE is considered to be very closely similar to the PGDIM courses essentially offered by NITIEs via CAT. 

NITIE follows the module system wherein each one includes about 6 subjects. In the first year, all 6 subjects are compulsory while in the second year only one subject is compulsory and 5 subjects are elective. Also, on average, each module is of 3 months.

The fourth module at the end of the first year is reserved for the Summer internship for which proper placements take place starting from the second module. You need to submit a well-prepared report of the projects that have been completed during your internship and have to present it in the form of PPT.

Check the table to know the Academic Schedule at NITIE:

The above-mentioned schedule is for IM and ISEM students. For the students of IE, PM, and MM, there is not any Module 7, instead, they are given a project that has to be completed under any of the professors of the college.

Students are given a month of holiday in December. You can do winter internships at that time.

I have a few friends from NITIE and based on what I heard from them, I will say that the placement record of the institute is quite good. Here is the placement report 2020 of NITIE which will give you an insight into the salary offered in the college.

• Average Salary of top 10% = INR 36.80 LPA
• Average Salary of top 20% = INR 31.99 LPA
• Average Salary of top 50% = INR 25.99 LPA

About the happiness part, I can say that my friends are quite satisfied with their current salary.

For converting to a PGDIE course at NITIE, you definitely need to have a good profile. The admission procedure at NITIE is quite similar to that of IIMs. The weightage given to various parameters is as follows.

• 10th - 5%
• 12th - 5%
• Graduation - 10%
• GATE Score - 35%
• GD - 15%
• PI - 30%

Generally, you should be safe with a GATE rank >700. NITIE has released the GATE cutoff for 2021, which is as follows. 

Apart from this your performance in GD and interview will also be a determining factor. If you have work experience of more than 20 months, it can make your profile stand out. 

It all depends on your personality, skills, and grades. My sister was an average student of NITIE but she secured a great package because of her personality and skills. 

There is no guarantee that you will get the highest package. But, you can increase your chances by doing below few things mentioned below:

• Prepare an honest and attractive Resume 
• Invest a good amount of time and enter accurate details. 
• Be updated with current happenings in the country, read the newspaper.
• Get acquainted with management terminologies, and the basics of your desired specialization as these are some of the basic questions asked at the interview.
• Study the company you are interviewing for, profiles offered by them, and expectations of regular visiting companies on the campus.
• Practice Group discussion and Mock interviews
• Prepare explanations and technical justification of every point mentioned in your Resume.
• Attend pre-placement talk of the companies you are applying for and make notes

Hope this helps. All the best.

As there are many competitors, admission is tough. But only the cream students get the admission letter. The process includes cracking the CAT exam with a high percentile and acing the GDPI process after getting shortlisted. The final scores after aggregating the CAT and GDPI scores get calculated. The top highest scorers as per seat matrix are offered admission.

For the GDPI process, the topics can be abstract, technical, current affairs, or related to management. A few of the topics in the group discussion as per seniors are below.

• Kejriwal vs Modi Government.
• Independence of women in India.
• Is astrology a science or just a farce?
• Are we doing enough for the environment?
• Whistleblowers are disloyal agents
• Make in India - a boon or a bane
• India: Soft Power vs. Hard Power
• Extra weightage for female candidates for admission to educational institutes - right or wrong?
• Is war the only solution for Indo-Pak peace?
• Yoga should be made mandatory in schools.

These were the few topics. The topics are much simpler than the IIMs. Overall, the GD is comparatively easy to crack if you read the newspaper and track your surroundings.