New Delhi:
Students at IIT Delhi graduating this year are all starry-eyed about a new career option - being a scientist at Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO).
One of them is Anshul Sirohi, who is soon going to graduate from IIT. He wants the job at ISRO badly. In a few days he will be interviewing with the ISRO for the position of a scientist.
",A lot of my friends were looking for IT jobs abroad. A couple of them are also joining the corporate world, but I am keen to be a part of ISRO. I feel there is an endless opportunity for us in ISRO and everyday is a new day. There is lot of excitement and challenge,", said Anshul Sirohi, M Tech (Thermal Engineering), IIT-Delhi.
It was the historic launch of Chandrayaan-1 that has young IIT students wanting to reach out to the moon.
The number of students wanting to join ISRO has gone up by 30% this year. With the space organization introducing more projects like Chandrayaan -II, Aditya and Manned Moon Mission, more and more young technocrats are excited to be a part of this research institute.
What's also helping is higher starting salaries at ISRO than ever before.
",After the sixth Pay Commission, even the pay packages are the same like the corporate world. So why don't I rather work for ISRO and do something worth,", said Pawan Kumar Panth, M Tech (Thermal Engineering), IIT-Delhi.
That's what inspired Anupam Roy to work with ISRO for 18 months after he got his bachelor's degree from IIT. Now he's back in school for his master's and his memories are not all happy.
",They don't give the space to work and they don't show the confidence in you at all,", said Anupam Roy, M Tech (Mechanical), IIT-Delhi.
However, that is changing, promises the government.
",We are restructuring our organizations. We are also introducing all kinds of measures, which will create more space for these young professionals in research organizations,", said Kapil Sibal, Minister of Science and Technology.
So move over corporate, there's a new dream in town for the IIT-Delhi campus.