Forest Research Institute Infrastructure: Library, Hostel, Gym, Auditorium & Other Facilities

College Infrastructure & Hostel Facilities : The hostel timings for girls are 7 pm in winters and 7.30 in summers while no timing for boys at Forest Research Institute. Girls have a warden to whom they have to report to and get permission from for ever

College Infrastructure & Hostel Facilities : The hostel timings for girls are 7 pm in winters and 7.30 in summers while no timing for boys at Forest Research Institute. Girls have a warden to whom they have to report to and get permission from for every time they wish to take leave or be late. Hostel facility is extremely basic and Girl's mess is regulated by students while boys mess is corporal. Two hostels for girls out of which one is extremely small. Rooms range from Single occupancy to even four in one room with attached/ not attached bathrooms. Total 3 hostels of students, 2 for Scientists which are in better shape than student hostels. PG accommodations are extremely few to nil near campus and since the campus is huge a vehicle is a must. Most students live in the hostel but some localities live in their homes. Living in the hostel is convenient from PGs or even homes because FRI is at the outskirts. Hostel mess is just like any other hostel mess with the students craving for some taste and home cooked food. College canteen is extremely basic but two more canteens in campus one belonging to ICFRE and the other to main tourists but students can also eat there if they wish. Wifi is there in a hostel and classrooms are jammed with only a few sites available. Most of the time have to rely on Mobile data and no connection other than BSNL works properly here. The signal problem with frequent call drops. National Forest Library is probably the best out of all the infrastructures here. A variety of books present and the building is huge, quiet, has access to the Internet as well. Labs are pretty basic and the classrooms do have a projector (thank God for that) such that so many teachers only impart info from presentations made during the time of earlier batches. Dining halls/ Mess of Students is extremely basic with no utensils permitted to be kept in boy's rooms. Permission to make food ourselves which is a much tastier option for the students. Officers Club has a Basketball combined court with a badminton court indoors.

Entrance Exams & Admissions : There are four courses for Masters program at Forest Research Institute. They are Environment Management, Forestry, Wood Science and technology, Cellulose and Paper Technology. Being eligible for either of them requires a base in Science background in Bachelors. Environment Management eligibility criteria required Biology Background of any core like Zoology, Geology, etc. For this course, one entrance examination was conducted which included Science including Maths as a subject, English, General Aptitude and General Knowledge in the form of Multiple Choice Questions. The paper wasn't very tough but the hardest part was negative marking. The exam was in the month of April and results were posted online in the month of June. No cutoffs were there just had to pass at the entrance and be listed in the Merit or Waitlist. Separate lists were rolled out for reserved candidates. Out of all students, each course had only 38 seats for Indian candidates and around 7 seats for SARC Countries.

Placements & Internships : Being a Science student I have done a month long course on environment issues from CSE, New Delhi, worked under Mr. Mike Pandey in Riverbank Studios who was a Wildlife filmmaker initially but works on all aspects of the Environment now and I volunteered in a Blind School named National School for the Blind near my home in New Delhi. In Forest Research Institute the companies that come for recruitment are those which we happen to call upon (only for Environment Management students and Forestry students). The other two courses have a 100 percent placement while my course has about 50% placement that too for the toppers. The companies that come to our campus are Industrial, NGO based and Environmental. The salary figures vary from course to course. Starting at Rs. 15k for all courses ranging till Rs. 1 lakh per month. Alumni network of Environment Management course is proving to be beneficial. At an earlier time, no association was there but now our Super Seniors starting from the First Batch of FRI have formed an Alumni group which is also on WhatsApp.

Fees & Scholarships : My course fee at Forest Research Institute is around Rs. 28k every semester which is of 6 months. Scholarships from FRI are given to students who top in the entrance exam or semester exams. Combined prize of Rs. 11k is given to the student who scores higher from OBC and General category and the other prize is given to the topper from either SC or ST category. 2 students from each course get a scholarship every semester or in every entrance exam meaning around 8 students in total from each course and 2 from entrance exam. Loans are not necessarily needed but if a student requires financial assistance, he/she may be granted loans from any bank of National origin.

Academics & Faculty : The daily routine at Forest Research Institute is hectic for all courses. Either we have a lunch break of 1 hour or in some courses of 1.5 hours starting at 1 pm. Classes start at 9.10 am for all students and each class is 50 minutes. The timetable keeps changing according to an availability of teacher and nothing is online except the syllabus as of now. Internal assessments may or may not be taken by some teachers. But they are of 20 marks and there are times when teachers give marks on the base of face value. No fixed set of holidays, not much of extracurricular activities for the students. Attendance in each subject is 75% which if low, the student gets debarred from giving that exam and has to give the paper in the odd/even semester. Every event here has attendance and only 5% attendance is given to sick students. Assignments are given by the mood of the teacher just like marks, but some teachers are still really nice who properly maintain the decorum of an institution. Cannot do internships outside of FRI at the time of classes because attendance mandatory in classes and permission not given. It is a two years course with long vacations in December and June. A six-month dissertation for Environment Management and Forestry students which is a boon. Cellulose and Paper Technology students have their classes in Saharanpur facility from the third semester. 

Clubs & Associations : Wildlife week celebrated in October but no attendance is given. Sports week celebrated in the month of March at Forest Research Institute with students being slotted into four houses. Only two clubs Environment and theater are there. Festivals aren't really celebrated unless the students plan to do it themselves except Republic day and Independence day where students have to wear Saree (red and white bought from Market nearby) and Formal Shirt Trousers with a tie. Flag hosting on these two national holidays. Ganesh Chaturthi is celebrated in hostels by the tradition of Matki breaking. The major point is that everything has to be student initiated. College life is too confined and too study based according to all the students here with less exposure as compared to other Masters Universities.