Indian Institute of Technology Gandhinagar (also known as IIT Gandhinagar or IITGN) is a public engineering institution located in Gandhinagar, Gujarat, India. It has been declared to be an Institute of National Importance by the Government of India.
Key Description:
Type: Public engineering school
Established: 2008 (12 years ago)
Parent institution: Indian Institute of Technology
Chairman: Vacant; to be appointed; functions currently being discharged by the director
Director: Prof. Sudhir K. Jain
Location: Gandhinagar, Gujarat, India
Acronym: IITGN
Website: www.iitgn.ac.in
Social Network: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, YouTube
History of IIT Gandhinagar
IIT Gandhinagar is one of the eight Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) announced by the Ministry of Human Resource Development in 2008. The institute began operating in a temporary campus at Vishwakarma Government Engineering College, Chandkheda, mentored by Indian Institute of Technology Bombay. The first batch of students was admitted to three programmes: Chemical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, and Electrical Engineering.
IITGN was included in the Institutes of Technology (Amendment) Act, 2011. The Act was passed in the Lok Sabha on 24 March 2011 and by the Rajya Sabha on 30 April 2012.
The permanent campus of IIT Gandhinagar is on the banks of the Sabarmati River in Palaj village.
In 2011, in his inaugural speech at the Amalthea technology summit, then Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi spoke of the land for the new permanent campus, saying, "[the] [s]tate government has decided to give land on 99 year lease with a token amount of just one rupee for setting up a campus of IIT-Gandhinagar." The institute took possession of over 400 acres of land in August 2012, and classes and other activities on the new campus began in July 2015.
Organization And Administration:
Board of Governors:
The institute is managed by a Board of Governors. The board comprises academicians, researchers, industrial leaders, and administrators. Raghunath Anant Mashelkar was the first Chairman of the Board of Governors of IITGN. Currently, the chairmanship is vacant.
Senate:
The Senate is a statutory body responsible for all the academic matters of the institute, including monitoring and making improvements in course structure and curriculum. The current Senate of the IIT GN was constituted on 5 April 2010. It hosts members of faculty, and advisers from academia and industry. Prior to its constitution, the functions of the Senate were being performed by an academic council comprising the heads of departments at IIT Bombay, the mentor institute.
Key Academic Officials
Key officials of the institute are the Director, assisted by the deans of Academic Affairs, Student Affairs, Faculty Affairs, Research and Development, and the coordinators of individual disciplines. Presently Prof. Sudhir Kumar Jain is heading the institution as the Director.
He is on deputation from IIT Kanpur. Prof Jain is one of India's leading earthquake engineers. He set up the National Information Centre of Earthquake Engineering (NICEE) at IITK and developed the National Programme on Earthquake Engineering Education (NPEEE), supported by the Government of India. He is president-elect of the International Association for Earthquake Engineering.
Academics of IIT Gandhinagar:
IIT Gandhinagar offers Bachelor of Technology programs in Chemical Engineering, Civil Engineering, Computer Science and Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, and Materials Science and Engineering.
On 19 July 2011, IIT Gandhinagar inaugurated a five-week immersion program for all new undergraduate students. The program is meant to foster creativity, ethics, communication skills, teamwork, social engagement, and physical fitness.
Students take almost 20 percent of their coursework in the humanities and the social sciences, as well as compulsory courses in design and the life sciences. In April 2013, IITGN's undergraduate curriculum was awarded the World Education Award 2013 for innovations in higher education, by the World Education Summit.
Nearly a third of all IIT Gandhinagar undergraduate students receive study abroad opportunities during their time at the Institute.
Admission in IIT Gandhinagar:
Admission to these programs is through taking the Joint Entrance Examination – Advanced (JEE-Advanced). The institute also offers Masters and PhD studies in various fields in engineering, sciences and humanities, and social sciences. Admissions to these graduate programmes are through written test and/or interviews.
BTech – Chemical-, Civil-, Electrical-, Mechanical Engineering, Materials Science and Engineering, and Computer Science and Engineering
MTech – Biological Engineering, Chemical Engineering, Civil Engineering, Computer Science and Engineering, Earth System Science, Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, and Materials Science and Engineering.
MSc – Chemistry, Cognitive Science, Mathematics, Physics
MA – Society and Culture
PhD – Engineering (Chemical, Civil, Computer Science, Electrical, Mechanical, and Materials Science and Engineering), Sciences (Chemistry, Physics, Mathematics, Earth Sciences) and Humanities &
Social Sciences: (Cognitive Science, English, Philosophy, Sociology, History, Language & Literature, Political Science, Psychology, Social Epidemiology and Sociology, and other disciplines).
In 2011, 117 undergraduate students were admitted to the 2012 batch, and 134 students were admitted to the 2013 batch. Admission to IIT Gandhinagar's postgraduate programmes are even more competitive than the undergraduate programmes, with a selectivity ratio of 0.5%.
Convocation:
On 22 July 2012, the first convocation of IIT Gandhinagar was held, within the temporary campus premises. 86 students graduated with Bachelor of Technology degrees in Chemical, Electrical, and Mechanical Engineering.
The Chief guest for the occasion was N. R. Narayana Murthy, Chief Mentor and Chairman Emeritus of Infosys. The convocation attire for IITGN was designed by the National Institute of Design (NID).
Research
In 2011, IIT Gandhinagar and the Physical Research Laboratory signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) that ensures research collaborations and exchanges between the two institutions at the level of advanced PhD programs in theoretical physics, astrophysics, and atmospheric sciences. The collaboration facilitates an exchange of research ideas between PhD students and the faculties of both institutions.
NTT Facilities, Japan, and Gujarat Energy Development Agency (GEDA), Gandhinagar, have each provided a 10 kW roof-top solar photovoltaic (PV) system to the Institute.
The system provided by NTT Facilities consists of 64 thin-film modules (rated 150 W) made by Solar Frontier, Japan, while the system sponsored by GEDA consists of forty-four multicrystalline silicon modules (rated 230 W) produced by Jain Irrigation Systems, India. Each PV system is expected to generate about 15000 kWh of electricity every year and reduce total CO2 emissions by about 28 tonnes.
These systems have already started to reduce the energy bills of the Institute and are being used for research in collaboration with Underwriters Laboratories.
IGNITE
IGNITE is IIT Gandhinagar's annual tech fest, which was first held in the 2014–15 academic year. It is a state-level technological exhibition for students and faculty of the school, to showcase and share to the world their technical ideas through exhibitions and live demonstrations.
The event exhibits a wide range of applications of science and technology to day-to-day life and how complex problems can be solved in creative and imaginative ways. Around 120 students work on various projects throughout the year; and Ignite acts as a finale for all the clubs, individuals, faculty, and staff involved to showcase their efforts. Ignite instills a competitive spirit and desire for more innovations.
The latest edition of the tech fest, IGNITE 3.0, was a huge hit among students all over the state, and included prototyping workshops, technical debates and quizzes, Bot Wars, Hand Sensing interactive sessions, and hands-on science challenges. Marquee events included Air Shows, Lab Tours, Project Expo, and 3-D printing workshops.