BIRLA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY & SCIENCE, PILANI

PRACTICE SCHOOL DIVISION

PS-II ALLOTMENT PROCESS - AN OVERVIEW

FIRST SEMESTER 2021-2022 (July 5th – December 15th, 2021)

The following activities are majorly involved in the computerized Practice School-II allotment
process followed for the students' allotment to various PS organizations.

Name of the activity

 Release of the PS-II Preference form for students [Pre-allotment details]
 Allotment of students to various organizations [Actual allotment]
 Clarifications from students [Post-allotment]
 Allotment finalization and generation of bio-data [Post-allotment process]
 Communicating the finalized list and bio-data of students to the organizations

PRE-ALLOTMENT DETAILS
Release of the PS-II Preference form for students:
There are three major steps involved in the preference form filling.
1) Your profile
2) Bio-data
3) Station preferences and accommodation.
For First Degree students, after logging onto the PSD website using the already registered
username and password, you are required to fill in the above three proformas in the same order.
For Higher Degree students, the login details are provided to you through email.
 The PS-II preference form contains the list of the participating organizations sorted as per
industry domain wise.
 As Practice School is part of academic curriculum, students are strongly advised to align their
preferences in line with their degree.
 Students can drag and drop the organizations at the appropriate preferences. Once the stations
are rearranged, then you may click on the accommodation.
 It is normally expected that students should save the preferences frequently. After 25 minutes, if
there is no action by the user, the system will automatically log out.
 The project details, stipend details and other facilities extended by the host organization are
available in the website. Details will also get updated frequently. Apart from this, students can
refer to the PS-II chronicles available in PSD website (https://www.bits-
pilani.ac.in/university/practiceschool/Overview). You may refer the Frequently Asked Questions
(FAQs) for some of the details.
 There are around 30 organizations that are further split into 90-100 stations in order to
specifically allot students to a particular project (primarily in finance, IT domain). For example,
JPMC, Mumbai has been divided into multiple PS-II stations.
 Students are advised to note that splitting of stations into different business verticals (project
wise) is primarily meant to provide students with an opportunity to choose project of specific
interest. However, depending on the organizational constraints, there can be a movement within
business verticals if the need arises. In such cases, the decision of the organization plays a crucial
role in the outcome of your allotted business domain and is final.
 Some organizations have not provided project details and facilities and thus you may find
organizations with zero stipend. That does not mean that they will not provide stipend. They will
be sharing the details later which will be updated as and when available. If enough details and
confirmation are not available at the time of release of allotment, we don’t make an allotment to
that station.
 In an effort to financially support students working in CSIR research labs (details given in the
problem bank and facilities), institute has come up with a policy of providing maximum stipend
of Rs. 12,000 per month per student for the entire duration of PS-II. However, stipend amount,
if any provided by the host organization, will be deducted from this scholarship. Further, if the
student is also in receipt of Institute merit/merit-cum-need scholarship, the total scholarship
amount will not exceed the fees (semester plus summer term) for the session for the individual
student. Please note that the CGPA should be greater than or equal to 7 at the time of
registration of PS-II on July 5th, 2021 (at the end of Second Semester 2020-2021) to be
eligible to receive this scholarship.
 Preferred disciplines mentioned in the project details for each organization are given by the
organizations and it indicates the domain in which organization is working. During the process of
allotment, it may get updated to cover broader and associated disciplines.
 The bio-data needs to be filled in properly. The bio-data consists of
(i) Personal details, (ii) Current CGPA (automatically populated)
(iii) Course details & grades including the courses registered (automatically populated),
(iv) Skill sets possessed
 (v) Professional interest (vi) Project type courses, (vii) Co-curricular activities
(viii) Extra-curricular activities, (ix) Any other details (Free text field is provided)

 Once you have filled up your preference form, please save it for your reference. You can also
download the saved preferences. If you find any discrepancy due to any problem, you are
required to meet the office of the respective Associate Deans to clarify the same.
 Sometimes, new stations may get added up and you will be notified in the notice
section/announcement section. Please give preferences accordingly. In order to facilitate the
smooth addition of new stations for those who have already filled preference form, new stations
will appear at the end.
 It is not possible to alter preferences and bio-data after deadline. Please ensure that you fill
the form properly.
Note:
1. The bio-data filling is very important as it plays an important role in the allotment process.
2. Students should give preference based on academic learning scope only rather than nearness to
home, stipend, etc.
3. Students must give skill sets which they are good at or else can write basic knowledge.
4. Detailed and meaningful bio-data is an added advantage.
5. If any student is having genuine request to make, they can submit an application to the office of
campus Associate Deans immediately after the submission of the preference form through email.
Requests after the allotment is extremely difficult to consider even if it is a genuine one.

ALLOTMENT PROCESS
The PS-II allotment of a student to a particular station depends on the following three parameters:

1. Students preference
2. CGPA and bio-data
3. Organization requirement in terms of number of students, discipline details, projects, skill sets,
course requirements and CG cut off.
Algorithm used in the PS-II allotment:
 Students are arranged in the descending order of CGPA irrespective of discipline and degree.
 Allotment takes place student by student. A student with top most CGPA is taken up first.
 Once the student's application is taken up, system scans up all the preferences of that student, till
the student is able to get one of those stations as per the preferences. Usually, typical constraints
 could be number of students, discipline constraints, skill set constraints, CG constraints, course
constraints etc.
 The above process gets repeated till every student gets allotted a particular station.
 There are some organizations where the requirements are open for all the discipline students,
especially in few IT and Finance organizations. In such cases, the allotment of students is mostly
based on the skills acquired by students in that particular domain as per the company requirement.
This allotment is known as offshoot allotment (offshoot can be typically in the area of finance or
in computer science).
 The moment a station is going to get allotted as per offshoot process, there is an additional cutoff
known as offshoot cut off, calculated on the basis of selected few courses relevant to the projects
that organization offers. Please note that the offshoot score is based on the on-campus regular
courses only.
 Allotment on basis of offshoot allotment can happen in two scenarios. In the first case, Offshoot
points can be a qualification criterion and in the second case, it can be an allotment criterion as
explained in the following two cases. You may also refer the Frequently Asked Questions
(FAQs) for some of the details with respect to off-shoot allotment.
 Please note that the following two cases are the typical example s of how off-shoot score
works in the allotment. The exact courses which constitute the off-shoot score with be either
decided by the organization or decided by the technical committee after analysis of projects.
Case 1 is more conventional whereas case 2 provides more weight to offshoot points. The
exact pool of companies for which case 2 will be applied will be decided at the time of
allotment by the technical committee depending upon the expectation by the organization in
terms of the expertise level. For IT offshoot, Case 1 is more applicable than Case 2. Even for
finance, Case 1 may be used in most of the cases.
 Case 1: Offshoot points is a qualification criterion and the CGPA is an allotment criterion:
For example, if an organization is open for all disciplines and are looking for the expertise in
finance domain, courses corresponding to finance domain (as defined by the company) is selected
and offshoot points are calculated for each student. Depending on the grades of those students,
offshoot points are computed. Credits are as per the grade system (A = 10; A- = 9; B = 8). If a
student is currently registered & pursuing that particular course, then 5 points are given for that
course. Though a student with adequate CG is opting for this station, but fails to get past this
offshoot score, then that student will not be considered for this station. If two students are
competing for a seat in one of such organizations, both qualifying for this organization, then the
 student with high CG will be allotted to that station. In this case, the offshoot points are only the
qualification criterion.
Case 2: Offshoot points is an allotment criterion and CGPA is qualification criterion.
In this case, keeping the overall objective of PS in view, depending on the nature of organization
and their specific requirements, students with high offshoot score may be considered as an
allotment criterion and CGPA the qualifying criterion. In this case, the offshoot points become
the allotment criterion and CGPA the qualification criterion. For some of the projects,
depending upon the technical committee’s recommendation, this case may be employed for
the allotment of students to finance stations.
 In some cases, exceptional candidates having demonstrated skill sets tailor made to a particular
project can also be considered for the allotment in that project.
Other points of interest:
 There are few organizations for which PSD separately invites applications from students for PS-II
especially for HD students. If any student gets selected for PS in those organizations, he/she gets
allotted to those stations. If a student gets selected for multiple organizations, then student can
give options appropriately in the preference form. However, the allotment of student to a
particular organization will be decided by PSD and is final.
 Filling up of the preference form is compulsory for all the students including those students who
want to continue in the same organization. Students who are on conditional offer also need to fill
up the preference form.
 Continuing students are allotted the same organization provided PSD decides to operate the
station for the coming session (July 5th – December 15 th). It is always safer to fill options
properly.
 It is expected that student should give preferences to stations on the basis of discipline, interest
and skill sets rather than worrying about other students' preferences and CGPA cutoff.
 Please note that the mode of operation (in-plant/work from home/Hybrid) is not the allotment
criterion and the students are advised to follow the mode of operation prescribed by the
organization depending upon the situation.
 Few organizations may involve frequent travelling to stations (in-plant) depending on the project
requirements and students are advised to take a note of it while giving preferences.

Common doubts over the allotment

 For example, an organization is looking for a mechanical engineering student with CGPA of 7.0.
There are two students competing for the final seat. First student having CGPA of 8.5 has filled
 this organization as his 5th preference. Second student having CGPA of 8.4 has filled this
organization as his 1st preference. Who will get allotted?
 If the first student is not getting his any of his first four preferences, he will be allotted his 5th
preference automatically because the CGPA is higher than the second student irrespective of
whose preference is higher.
 In case of students with same CGPA with same preferences for that station, competing for a seat,
then the professional interest and the technical competency of students will be taken into account
before the allotment. This is a typical CGPA lock case.
 Allotment is done by pooling together all the students of three Indian campuses of BITS Pilani.
 There is no normalization of CGPA across the campuses.

Possible scenarios in the allotment

Scenario 1:
Most of the times, organization specifies discipline wise requirement for each project. Though we try and
convince them to treat the certain disciplines together (AS MENTIONED BELOW), sometimes some
organizations are not interested in considering the disciplines being used interchangeably. That might be
the reason why some students may find the students with lower CGPA being allotted to an organization.
(i) A3/A8/AA
(ii) A4/AB
Hence, we expect students not to compare the CGPA with other disciplines, even it is a closely related
domain.
Scenario 2:
Some companies do mention that they are open to all disciplines. That does not mean seats are filled with
only few disciplines with high CGPA students. Organization expects us to allot varied engineering
branches, science and Pharmacy, especially in certain IT companies.

Scenario 3:
Sometimes, students might be interested in projects other than their own domain. Though we try and
accommodate them, it may not be possible in all cases, the allotment may work in favor of student
preferences. For example, an A4 student having CGPA of 8.7 is very keen in pursuing the career in
finance sector with excellent credentials in courses related to finance as well. In the first instance, we will
try and allot this student as per the merit and preferences to the best possible extent. At the same time, if
we need to allot one student with B3 tag to that organization and if seat positions are very stringent, PSD
may decide to give that seat to B3 rather than "A4" student considering the overall allotment in view. A
student's merit can never be denied in his/her own domain. But, if student is aspiring for the domain
outside your discipline, PSD cannot guarantee your allotment in spite of possessing the right skill sets.

ALLOTMENT RELEASE AND CLARIFICATION FORMS:

 The allotment is likely to be released by June 20th, 2021.
 Once the PS-II allotment is released, students will receive an e-mail from PSD regarding the
allotment. If any student wishes to seek clarification, he/she can send a request through
clarification management portal. At the time of release of allotments, students will be provided
with a link, login and password to access the clarification management portal. In this system,
student can track the status of clarification. We may give one day to submit clarification. After
that, it may not be normally possible to entertain any request from students' side.
 It is also to be noted that students need not visit Practice School Division/make phone calls
till the clarification results are out.
 The decision of operating a PS station lies with PSD depending on many factors primarily from
learning perspective. It may be possible that a few stations may not be operated in spite of having
been listed in the preference form.
 Though division makes every effort to share the relevant information to students, if by any
chance, if there is any change in the requirement in terms of stipend or slight shift in projects, it is
difficult to consider for the re-allotment to different station simply because of change in
stipend/project. If by any chance, stipend offered by the organization is different from what is
mentioned in the problem bank details, division obviously makes effort in getting the stated
amount. However, in some cases, it is extremely difficult to rectify especially if the discrepancy is
known at the end of full month of PS-II.
 Please note that many organizations may also have standard deductions in the stipend amount.
 Students are expected to have patience during the process of post allotment clarifications. Once
changes are made, automatically, it gets reflected in your portal (you can login and check).
It may not be possible to communicate the changes individually through e -mail. However,
general e-mail will be sent to students once the changes are over. The clarifications will be
analyzed and changes if any will be communicated through e-mail or through clarification
management portal by June 25th, 2021.
 On the other hand, it may also not be possible for us to communicate back to students if we
are unable to make a change on the basis of your request. Normally, all the clarification
changes will happen within 7 days after the allotment. We may also keep the notice once all the
changes are done. After keeping the notice, if we are making any change (either on the basis of
 your clarification or for your higher preference), we will inform you by mail and reflected in the
portal. Nevertheless, you are also expected to verify the dashboard frequently.
 Sometimes, it may be possible that a particular student may be considered for higher options in
case of additional seats created later. In such cases, though we prefer to go by our merit list, we
might have already shared the list of bio-data of all organizations by that time and that
organization may resist in relieving any student to be shifted to other organizations. In that case,
we may go ahead with the next available candidates at that point in time.
 Keeping the interest of institute and change in organization requirement, allotment can be
changed without grievance as well due to certain circumstances. Students must be ready to accept
change in their allotment irrespective of their personal commitment.
BIO-DATA SHARING, FACULTY ALLOTMENT AND REGISTRATION DETAILS:

 Your bio-data will be shared with the organization prior to the joining of the course.
 Though the allotment is done keeping the various projects in view, your actual allotment depends
on the deep look at the bio-data by PS faculty in consultation with project mentor from host
organization. Please be available on the mobile and e-mail id for any information from
organization side.
 Every student will be assigned a faculty for the smooth conduct of PS-II course. Faculty allotment
details (Name, contact number, e-mail id) will be shared with you prior to the start of PS-II
course. The details of the registration (address, date and timings) will be shared with you at least
one week in advance in the form of allotment letter.
 Normally, students are expected to possess the allotment letter at the time of registration on
July 5th, 2021. Students are strongly advised to contact PS-II faculty prior to PS-II joining.
Students are strongly advised not to contact organization directly.
OUR COMMITMENT DUIRNG PS-II:
 PSD makes conscious efforts in the allotment process to provide every student a suitable learning
for your professional career. On the basis of past feedbacks and also to ensure that students are
well prepared to carry out the project in the organization, short technical modules in multiple
domains have been developed in certain key areas and the same will be made available for your
learning.
 There are many evaluation components during PS-II course to evaluate your technical skills and
also to improve your soft skills.
For any other queries, students are requested to get in touch with campus Associate Deans.

With best wishes

Associate Dean, Planning & Development Cell, BITS Pilani