At the Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IIT Madras), students now can choose about 40 per cent of their courses, which enables customisation and personalisation. These changes have been implemented, orienting it towards employment, research, innovation and entrepreneurship.
V Kamakoti, Director, IIT Madras, emphasises that the flexibility offered will address the needs of the country, especially infrastructure requirements. "The PM has announced that 3 crore new houses would be built in the next five years. This requires a tremendous infrastructure boost. But civil engineering figures are low in the priority list of students. And even our civil engineering students end up taking up non-civil engineering jobs. These aspects will subtly impact our development.”
Interdisciplinary studies will tackle some of these issues. Kamakoti cites the example of a dual degree in civil engineering with robotics, a combination that will enable the construction of 3-D printed houses.
Similarly, recognising the burgeoning semiconductor industry in India, IIT Hyderabad has introduced a pioneering BTech programme in IC Design and Technology. This programme aims to equip students with the skills needed for the anticipated growth in the country’s semiconductor manufacturing sector. Not only that, the institute has introduced ‘fractal academics’. It offers courses that can run for just one or two weeks, known as ‘point-five credit courses’ or ‘one-credit courses’. This flexible system allows students to explore various subjects and delve deeper into areas of interest by selecting more comprehensive courses in those domains.
At the new-generation institute IIT Dharwad, there is a focus on 3D and 4D printing. Sustainable infrastructure development is another priority, with a focus on net zero water and energy infrastructure.
As director of IIIT Bangalore Debabrata Das explains, “Engineering is a versatile and essential field that touches nearly every aspect of modern life, from agriculture to healthcare, defence and beyond. It applies fundamental scientific principles from physics, chemistry, mathematics and biology to solve real-world problems. For example, IoT and data science are revolutionising farming, while robotics and advanced imaging technologies are transforming medical procedures.”
In this special issue, BW Businessworld interviews directors of some leading engineering colleges to understand how they are addressing the country’s needs at several levels – industry needs, society’s needs and nation’s needs and the need for making graduates employable; for nurturing entrepreneurial acumen in them and for developing research ethos on the campuses.
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