The IIT Kanpur’s decision to admit students through the Olympiad route highlights how premier institutes are opening new pathways for exceptional talent, while Computer Science remains the top choice among aspirants.
IIT Kanpur has enroled five students in its BTech and BS programmes in the session 2024-25 via the Olympiad path, skipping the Joint Entrance Examination (JEE) Advanced. All the five students have chosen Computer Science and Engineering (CSE).
Two of the students chosen belonged to the International Olympiad in Informatics Training Camp (IOITC), and three belonged to the International Mathematical Olympiad Training Camp (IMOTC).
The institute has not released their names or individual backgrounds but has confirmed that the shortlisting was based on performance in the Olympiads, attendance at training camps, and adherence to eligibility standards established at a JEE Advanced comparable level.
The Olympiad-based admission avenue was available in five departments, Computer Science and Engineering, Mathematics and Statistics, Economic Sciences, Biological Sciences and Bio-engineering, and Chemistry. However, all the five admitted students opted for CSE.
Authorities made it clear that there has been no special academic assistance for the Olympiad admit-tees. They will be merged directly into the regular curriculum, studying with other students who had entered by the JEE Advanced path.
Currently, this entry route is limited to a select number of BTech and BS programmes.
The academic senate has not recommended its expansion to other fields or to postgraduate levels. And there has been no initiative to introduce similar routes for other pools of talent, eg, sports or entrepreneurship.
The Olympiad route itself exists on multiple levels. Candidates are selected from among Olympiad achievements, asked to appear for a written examination based on JEE Advanced material, and scrutinized by a central admissions committee.
The structure, as per the institute, ensures that students admitted are of the same academic merit as their JEE-cleared counterparts.
All entrants to Olympiad choosing CSE is only an indicator of a larger pattern seen in this year’s admission.
The 2025 Joint Implementation Committee (JIC) report indicates 27,285 candidates opted for CSE at IIT Kanpur in their preference list. Electrical Engineering was at number two with 23,254 preferences, followed by Mechanical Engineering (20,261), Civil Engineering (15,846), and Chemical Engineering with Power and Automation (15,758).
