The Indian Institute of Technology in Delhi (IIT Delhi) has embarked on a mission to become a comprehensive university and even admit students from outside the joint entrance exam (JEE) system for some new streams of education such as bachelor of design.
“We have a very strong and very active humanities and social sciences department. We also have a brand-new School of Public Policy. We have also created a department of design. Next year, or this year, if everything goes well, we should be admitting undergraduate students from outside the JEE Advanced examination,” IIT Delhi director V. Ramgopal Rao said during a foundation day programme on Wednesday.
“A lot of changes are taking place. The goal is to scale up the IoE (institute of eminence) system and become more comprehensive,” Rao said.
The institution has taken many steps to become more international and increase the international footprint, Rao said. A joint Ph.D programme with the University of Queensland is getting good response and 65 students have joined them this year for the programme, he said.
IIT Delhi has 3,300 PhD candidates and more than 60% of the 11,000 students it has are at the level of masters and above, the director said.
“We have also significantly increased our interdisciplinary activities on the campus, whether it is between the departments and schools or with even other institutions in Delhi. We have an active collaboration with the National Institute of Immunology (NII), with the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), and various other institutions in Delhi, including the Indian Council for Agricultural Research,” Rao said.
The director also spoke about a comprehensive research park that is coming up in IIT Delhi to increase industry connect and promote innovation and reiterated the value of its biomedical research and studies. The upcoming satellite campus of IIT Delhi in Jajjhar (Haryana) will be a life sciences campus and the institute will work closely with the biotech industry, he said.
IIT Delhi is also working on expanding its work and education in artificial intelligence and blockchain, biological and healthcare systems, energy and environment, smart and sustainable infrastructure and habitat. It is one of the best institutions from India in global rankings. According to QS World University Ranking (WUR), the institution was raked 193 in the world and 47th in WUR for engineering and technology in 2020.
Source: Livemint
