Reaching Venue

You can reach Mumbai either by air or by train.

From Airport


You can travel from Mumbai Airport to any destination within the city via the following options. Mumbai airport has two main terminals, Terminal 2 is international and Terminal 1 is domestic.
  1. Pre-paid taxis: There are official “pre-paid taxi” counters inside the airport before you leave the Terminal building, where you can book and pre-pay for a taxi. The rates are fixed, so the taxi driver can neither refuse your ride, nor can overcharge you. You should book a “cool cab” - an AC Taxi. Follow the signs to find the pick-up point.
  2. Uber/Ola: Uber works as expected in Mumbai and Ola is another taxi aggregator service in India just like Uber. Both Uber and Ola offer airport transfers in a variety of sizes of cars. They can be booked the usual way, from your phone. If your phone is not connected to a data network, Uber/Ola can also be booked at counters inside Terminal 2, and also near their pick up points in the parking lot. Follow signs carefully, Ola and Uber have specific designated pick up points. CEO Cabs is another app based taxi aggregator service like Ola and Uber.
  3. Airport transfer arranged by your hotel: Your hotel may arrange airport transfers for you. Check directly with your hotel.

Railway

There are three long-distance train terminals where you can get down (if you are coming by train) to reach IIT Bombay. These are: Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT), Lokmanya Tilak Terminus (LTT) and Bandra Terminus (BDTS). Even if you are coming by train you can always book Ola/Uber cabs to reach IIT Bombay from the respective terminal stations.

Conference Venue


The conference FSTTCS 2019 and related workshops are being held at Institute Lecture Hall Complex (LHC), located in the campus of the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay (IIT Bombay) at Powai, Mumbai.

The Institute Lecture Hall Complex hosts classrooms of various sizes from a large auditorium to small tutorial rooms. The registration will be done outside Room LH 101, on the first floor.

The link to the information brochure is HERE. The conference venue is marked as R on the map in the brochure. All invited talks will happen in the lecture hall room LH 101. All Track A and Track B talks will happen in lecture rooms LC 001 and LC 002 respectively.

Getting to Lecture Hall Complex from your location

For conference attendees staying outside the campus, some of the conference hotels are within walking distance from the venue (see “Accommodation” section). Ola/Uber/autorickshaws operate well in Mumbai and can be used to come to IIT Bombay from your hotel location. (More details in “Getting around within Mumbai” section). Please tell the security at the main gate that you are coming for the FSTTCS conference. And please carry a valid ID to show to the security, if asked. For attendees, staying in the Guest House, the LHC is a 5 minute walk. The staff at the Guest House will be able to direct you towards the venue.

For those staying in Hostels, the venue is the furthest away from Hostels 12 and 14, about a km away. Please walk towards the main gate from Hostel 12 and 14 and take a left at the School Of Management and a right at the cross-section. The second building is the Lecture Hall Complex.

The venue is the closest from Hostel 10. From Hostel 10, take the gate to the academic area to the KreSIT Parking Lot. The venue opposite KreSIT, and 2 minutes walking from the parking lot, the multicoloured building to the right of the parking lot. If you are coming by car, you can park it in the KreSIT parking lot. The parking lot is 7 minute walking distance from the Main Gate, IIT Bombay.

Banquet Venue


Meluha, The Fern

Meluha, The Fern, an Ecotel Hotel (Google Map link), is a 5 star environmentally responsible hotel, which is located in the heart of Hiranandani Gardens, Powai. It is situated in the proximity of IIT Bombay (2.2 km).

Don't forget to bring your coupons 😊

Food Arrangements


Lunch, tea/coffee and cookies/biscuits/snacks will be provided on all days for which you have registered. It is your responsibility to have breakfast and dinner on your own. The only exception is FSTTCS banquet dinner on Dec 12 for FSTTCS registered participants.

If you arrive late at night and need to have dinner, you can go to Gulmohar restaurant located inside the campus. There are many nearby restaurants outside the campus too.

The FSTTCS banquet will be held at Meluha, The Fern on Dec 12, 19.30 - 22.30 Although the banquet location is around 20 mins walk from the conference venue, we’d advise taking an auto-rickshaw.

Internet Access


You can connect to one of the following WiFi services while you are at IIT Bombay.

  1. eduroam: Please use authentication credentials as provided by your parent institution
  2. IITB-Wireless/IITB-Guest: The credentials will be given to you during the registration.

Accommodation

Hotels

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  • Renaissance Mumbai Convention Centre Hotel The Renaissance Hotel (Google Map link) is situated on the banks of the Powai Lake amidst 15 acres of lush greenery. It is located in proximity of both the domestic and international airport and IIT Bombay(5.3 km).

  • Meluha, The Fern

    Meluha, The Fern, an Ecotel Hotel (Google Map link), is a 5 star environmentally responsible hotel, which is located in the heart of Hiranandani Gardens, Powai. It is situated in the proximity of IIT Bombay (2.2 km).


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  • The Beatle

    Located in Mumbai, 2 km from the venue (Google Map link), The Beatle Hotel provides accommodations with a restaurant, free private parking and a fitness center.


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Websites to book hotels

Please look at the current offerings of these websites before booking any hotel, as they sometimes provide good deals and offers.


Arrangements for Indian students/faculty

We have limited on-campus accommodation for participants from Indian universities. Further details will be sent once you register.

Visa

To get a visa support letter from the FSTTCS organization committee, please see the instructions sent with the registration confirmation email. For any further queries, please write to us at fsttcs2019@cse.iitb.ac.in.

UPDATE: Applying for an e-conference visa might be more convenient than the regular conference visa. When you apply for this, you will get an electronic travel authorization over email within 2-3 days, which you need to print and carry with you when entering India. At the immigration, you will find an e-visa desk that will stamp the visa on your passport.

For the conference/e-conference visa, you might be asked to submit clearance letters from the ministry of external affairs (MEA) and the ministry of home affairs (MHA). The letter from MHA is not required according to the latest guidelines if the event is organized by a public-funded university, which in this case is IIT Bombay. Instead of the MHA clearance letter, you can try submitting this letter from MHA which says (at page 4) that a clearance is not required. The clearance letter from MEA can be downloaded from here.

P.S.: If you are from Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iraq, Sudan, a foreigner of Pakistani origin, or a stateless person, please send us an email mentioning this IMMEDIATELY.

Nearby Places

Here is a map detailing most of the points of interest in and around the conference venue.

IIT Bombay campus is a beautiful green campus with a beautiful lake side. More details on the campus can be found in this app InstiApp.

Getting around within Mumbai

  1. Uber(or the local equivalent, Ola) is your best option to travel locally. At the conference venue and in your hotels, you will have WiFi, but to use local cab services, you will of course need mobile data while not in these locations. Make sure you get a good mobile data package before arriving here. If you want to tour around Mumbai, we recommend this is as your best option. A long-term rental option is also offered by Ola, this also works out very well.
  2. Yellow-black taxis: You can try hailing these for long distances (>10 km), but these drivers are very selective about where they want to go and may refuse rides if the destination is not where they want to go.
  3. Yellow-black autorickshaws: These 3-wheelers can be fun rides to zip around for short distances (< 5 km) at non-peak hours. In peak hours, it can be hard to find an empty one and these drivers are also selective about where they want to go.
  4. Buses: The “BEST” bus network can get you to every corner of Mumbai to the other. However, buses can get quite crowded(especially in peak hours), and their timings are highly unpredictable. Google Maps are the best option to find routes and timings.
  5. Local Trains, Metro: These are the lifeline of Mumbai residents but can also be daunting to use due to the extreme crowds. Google Maps are the best option to find routes and timings.
  6. Walking: This is always an option for short distances, however note that you cannot always count on the availability of sidewalks and safe pedestrian crossings in Mumbai.

Essential Facilities Near Campus

  • Restaurants Near IITB: We have tried our best to put most of the restaurants near IIT in the map, but you can always look at Zomato for more information.
  • Food Delivery Services: You can always order food from Zomato, Swiggy, Uber eats etc.
  • Medical Emergency: We have a hospital inside our campus for emergency purposes. For others, Hiranandani Hospital has all kind of facilities.
  • ATM: We have three ATMs inside campus, all of them are marked in the map.
  • Grocery/Supermarket:Haiko and DMart are two supermarkets near the campus. We also have a small grocery shop inside campus..