IIT Madras is currently in an expansion mode with plans to set up an offshore campus in Tanzania taking shape along with a push to increase the number of collaborations with various foreign universities.
IIT Madras Director Prof V Kamakoti recently interacted with a group of reporters on some of the ongoing projects of India’s best higher educational institute according to the Centre’s NIRF rankings.
Q. Is IIT Madras planning to expand the number of joint degree programmes?
Prof Kamakoti: Yes, it is in the process. We have been in discussions with many universities in the United Kingdom for instance. See, there are some subjects that we teach well, while there are some which are taught very well elsewhere. The idea is to join hands so that a student enrolled in IIT Madras will do a set of courses here and another set in the partner university.
Also, we also need to consider that the level of interest in subjects varies from one country to another. For example, Nepal is very keen on energy systems. They have a lot of hydel energy. They have multiple sources of renewable energy. We have a very strong energy systems group here. We offer a joint degree M Tech programme on energy systems with Kathmandu University. We are in talks with multiple, at least eight to nine requests for joint degrees.
Q. What are the other specialisations that you are focused on?
Prof Kamakoti: We now have 10 international M Tech programmes under the I2MP basket (International Interdisciplinary Master’s Degree Programmes). The courses range from additive manufacturing, quantum sciences, and cyber-physical systems to robotics and quantitative finance among others. We want to have 20 such programmes. All these programmes can be offered as joint programmes depending upon the interest of the other universities. This is catching a lot of interest now. Specifically, the hybrid model of teaching is helpful in this area.
Q. What else are you planning to do?
Prof Kamakoti: Teaching is going to be very important here. New skilling or re-skilling is an area we are eyeing to tap. There is a lot of demand for re-skilling and training from the industry. And that is where we will step in. The courses will not be free. We have a very clear commercial model. We now have a very clear idea of converting an idea into a startup. There are also systems to convert an idea into a design and further into a prototype in case of innovations.
We are now looking at a patent-a-day scheme. We are also trying to go to the poor and educate them. As we are a public-funded institution, it is also our duty to remain accessible to all. We are launching an initiative in this regard called democratising education in science. We will impart quality science education to students of classes 9-12 to create strong foundations. For that, we will have lectures recorded and translated into 21 Indian languages, and put them on the Swayam platform.
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