IIT Hyderabad: A 21-year-old student from IIT Hyderabad created history by securing a record Rs 2.5 crore annual job offer, the highest ever offer made at the institute since its inception in 2008. Edward Nathan Varghese, who pursued Computer Science Engineering, received the plum offer from Netherlands-based trading firm Optiver after successfully converting a two-month summer internship into a pre-placement offer (PPO).
Varghese was among the only two students who were selected for the Optiver internship and the only student who received a full-time offer after rigorous training and a project. Having been born and brought up in Hyderabad and gone to school from class 7 to 12 in Bengaluru. He will join the company in July.
According to the Times of India report, this was the only company Edward interviewed with, and he was extremely happy when his mentor informed him that the firm would be making an offer. His parents were equally delighted by the news.
Varghese was aware that the IIT tag attracts leading companies to campus and that the impact of the current job market would be limited. Since his first year of engineering, he had been actively involved in competitive programming and was ranked among the top 100 in the country, which also played a key role in clearing the interview. Additionally, the flexible curriculum that allowed us to pursue a wide range of courses proved helpful. He was fortunate to receive a PPO as well.
This offer is significantly higher than the institute's previous record of about Rs 1 crore, which was achieved in 2017, and has come amid an impressive placement season at IIT Hyderabad that saw the average packages jumping about 75 per cent with many international offers secured.
The placement epitomises the growing demand from across the globe for the best of Indian tech talent, while underscoring the importance of internships leading to full-time placements. Varghese's achievement bolsters the placement credentials of IIT Hyderabad while also serving as an inspiration for students navigating competitive job markets across engineering campuses.
