19, Aug 2011

The Indian Institute of Technology – Madras (IIT-M), under the supervision of some expert directors has undergone sea change over the years to become a quintessential domicile for higher education in the State. By proposing several socially relevant projects such as the Research Park, IIT Madras has earned the respect of the society. Besides taking pride in academic progress, IIT Madras can also take credit for hosting one of the State’s most popular college fests—Saraang, which draws youngsters from all over the country.  
Research Park:
The first-of-its-kind Research Park has 38 companies and 10 incubates. The aim was to bring industrialists, professors, and students of diverse cultures under one roof and create an atmosphere conducive for innovations. Such periodical interactions with industrialists have helped both the students and the faculty to do a reality check on their learning and teaching.
“Owing to these developments, research publication has gone up by a factor of four in IIT-M as now it has three publications per year per faculty member. Consultancy has grown by a factor of 10 in the last year. The institute has also revised 300 courses and proposed 600 new courses per semester across its 16 departments making research productivity in IIT-M on par with top universities around the world,” claims M.S. Ananth, former director IIT-M.
IIT-M boasts of departments packed with energetic minds as the management has recently recruited over 300 young faculties, hoping to refresh the system. Keeping in mind the importance of people who will take issues to the grassroots level, a full-fledged department of humanities and social sciences was launched recently by the management.
Launching the NPTEL:
IIT-M was instrumental in setting up the National Programme on Technology Enhanced Learning (NPTEL), a center that aims to enhance the quality of engineering education in the country by providing free courseware through online web and video courses in engineering, science, and humanities. Thus far, the NPTEL has created 240 items of courseware and these have been utilized by 4 million students. By December 2012, IIT-M is looking forward to launching phase two of the NPTEL with 1,000 items of courseware that will include management as well.
Preserving the Environment:
Over the years, achieving ecological equilibrium in the campus known for its biodiversity has been the most challenging task. IIT-M planned its expansion meticulously keeping in mind the recommendations of a biodiversity study. Prosopisalone, an invasive species, was identified as a threat and new buildings were constructed in areas where these rogue trees were growing. When a new hostel building was planned, the forest department undertook a study of the deer path that crossed the building site and created an alternative route for them. Fences within the campus have been removed in order to enable free movement of blackbucks. At the IIT-M, self-help groups are involved in the cleaning of the campus. Under this Ozone Project, organic waste is segregated and sent back to the forest as manure. The other wastes and scraps are sold and that generates around Rs.30,000 per month. This fund is utilized to educate the children of the SHG.
Making Way for the Future:
In the near future, IIT-M is looking to go global by integrating at least 10 percent faculty and 20 percent students from abroad. Mandarins at the helm of affairs are determined to do so by incorporating medicine and law into the scheme of things and encouraging international students to take up their internships at IIT-M.
Also keeping in mind the significance of clinical engineering in the field of medicine in India, IIT-M is now offering an MTech degree in clinical engineering and a PhD program in biomedical devices and technology, in collaboration with Sri Chitra Tirunal Institute of Medical Science and Technology and CMC, Vellore.

For over a decade IIT-M has striven to uphold the institute in dynamic equilibrium with its social, ecological, and economic environment. In retrospect, it seems to have paid off very well.