Students from some of India's premier institutes such as IIM Calcutta (IIM-C), IIM Kozhikode (IIM-K), IIM Lucknow (IIM-L), IIT-Kharagpur (IIT-KGP) and National Institute of Industrial Engineering, Mumbai have voluntarily undertaken to mentor hundreds of aspirants who cleared the written Common Admission Test and IIT joint entrance examination (JEE) to cover the group discussion and personal interview, the final lap for a coveted IIM or IIT seat.

The programme is a free, student-driven initiative and independent of the admission process but is backed by the administration of these institutes.

The programme is managed through either the institute website or a separate purpose-built website that matches the profile of mentors and aspirants based on the background and discipline.

At IIM-C alone, about 200 students may act as mentors to over 1,000 aspirants this year. "We have experience in facing the interview board and taking part in the group discussion," said Rohan Mahajan, a student and representative of IIM-C's external relation cell.

Aspirants need to register on the IIM-C website after which the mentors will contact with them. A supplementary website -- www.jokatimes.com -- will also publish interview experiences and advice from senior students. The website will also have an open forum on group discussions and personal interviews.

After the Supreme Court mandated the implementation of the 27 per cent quota for Other Backward Castes in phases, IIM-C increased the number of seats to accommodate over 407 students this year against 304 admitted last year and has shortlisted 1,242 students for the group discussion and the personal interview this year.

At IIM-K, the initiative has been called Mentorship 2009. They conduct online group discussions, mock personal interviews and also offer counselling over the telephone. They also give reading material or ideas for structuring the process based on individual profiles.

Another part of the mentorship programme at IIM-K is online support on aspirant community sites.

At IIM-L, the initiative is called IGNICION. The institute's website, on which aspirants have to register, will contain a list of frequently asked questions, a forum for discussing queries, important dates and announcements, information on academic and extra-curricular activities and so on.

"We have 313 seats this year for the post graduation programme.Around 1,879 candidates have been short-listed for the group discussion and personal interview this year. The ratio between call-getters and mentors is 1:6," said Saji Nair, an IIM-L professor.

At NITIE,  the group discussion and personal interview calls will start mid-February. "We have the email IDs of call-getters, whom we will ask to register on our website. Fifty to 60 students will mentor about 800 call-getters this year for 180 seats on offer," said Vishal Verma, media coordinator, NITIE.