Need for more IITs stressed

To cater to the huge population in the country and tap the vast human resource potential available, there is an impending need for more Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs). But quality of faculty and innovations in research hold the key to prevent the so-called “IIT brand” from being diluted.

This emerged as the consensus among speakers participating in a panel discussion on ‘How do we scale up the IITs without compromising on quality?’ organised at the Indian School of Business here on Sunday. The discussion was part of Pan IIT 2009 where alumni of IITs got together.

Referring to the challenging circumstances under which the first IITs were started, when the country was just independent, Uday B. Desai, director of IIT Hyderabad (IIT-H) opined that the country today is better positioned to start new IITs.

Speaking about the “club(ish) attitude among the IITs” and the exclusivity they maintain, Dr. Desai referred to how IITs have MoUs with institutes from abroad and none with Indian institutes, save for one or two. “The way Massachusetts Institute of Technology helped IIT-Kanpur during its formative years is remarkable,” he said while noting that IITs have not worked hard to improve other institutes. “The quality to innovate exists in these institutions. For example, material science innovation could lead to lower cost housing, which could benefit lower strata of the society in the form of affordable housing. If IITs can address such issues, there is greater cause for more IITs to come up in next few years,” said Prashant Shukla, Chief Operating Officer of CMC Ltd.
Holistic growth

Less than two per cent of those who appear for Joint Entrance Examination (JEE) get into the IITs whereas Harvard admits 9 to 10 per cent of those who apply, pointed out Madhu Chadda, movie-maker and counsellor. She emphasised on holistic development of students and on teaching life skills and not theories. “Professors need to be trained on how to motivate students.”

Ashok Kumar Goel, Special Chief Secretary to AP Government, Energy Department spoke about how IITs need to collaborate with government. A.M. Kannan, director of Admissions and Financial Aid, ISB spoke on the need for producing employable graduates.

Pointing out the mushrooming of colleges in the State, B.V.R. Mohan Reddy, CMD of Infotech Enterprises deplored the poor quality of faculty. “We need new methodologies to deliver,” he said suggesting digital delivery mechanism as one. Chairman of AppLabs Sashi Reddi suggested IIT alumni giving back what “we got for free when we studied.”