A Lesson from IIT | Why should Indians head to IIT Zanzibar?

A Lesson from IIT | Why should Indians head to IIT Zanzibar?

— Preeti Aghalayam

The IITs have been a dream destination for students over the past several decades. Every IIT-aspiring high schooler (and their extended families too) is well-equipped with information about getting into the IITs. But beyond the entry, in the IITs today, students have access to an immense set of opportunities within the program, which can align with an individual’s interest and plans for their future/career. With a bit of preparation (beyond the entrance exam) IITians have the chance now more than ever, to have a uniquely fulfilling and enriching college experience.

The IITs are growing rapidly, evolving into holistic top-notch institutions of international repute. Though the institutions earned their stripes as undergraduate teaching-focused ones, today, the IITs are a hotbed for innovation, research and entrepreneurship. Typically only 30 per cent of the student population at the IITs consists of undergraduate students, with masters and doctoral students being in the majority. Moreover, while the strengths in conventional engineering education remain, the IITs are also encouraging the exploration of interdisciplinary domains. The institutions have also redrawn curricula with large numbers of electives, providing students with a plethora of choices even at the undergraduate level. Collaborations with global partners – from academia and industry — are a byword, particularly for doctoral students.

A Lesson from IIT | Skills v/s CTC: What to focus more on?

These are some of the contexts that aspiring students need to think about in some depth. Every student is unique in the skills and personalities they bring into the system. At the end of their sojourn, depending on the type of course pathways, extra-curricular activities, exchange programs, and research/innovation opportunities they avail for themselves, each of them is poised to impact the world in distinct ways. The continued success of IIT alumni, particularly in entrepreneurship, is an obvious outcome of this.

Such diversity of thought and action is mindfully sought out in the IITs today, acknowledging the role various perspectives play in enriching education, research and innovation. In fact, the push towards internationalisation of the IITs is a definite nod to this. The first cohort at the Zanzibar campus of IIT Madras is already breaking traditional moulds, with an evenly split Indian-African class, and a healthy gender ratio (40 per cent women). The world-class education they are receiving, with the academic rigour of the IITs placed in a melting pot far from Indian shores, is remarkable, to say the least.

The exalted status enjoyed for long years by the IITs in India creates huge pressures both inside the institutions and outside society. Students, parents, professors, administrators, none of us is immune. But an awareness of the path of strategic evolution that we have set for ourselves, and the extremely positive implications this can have in terms of student experiences in the IITs, will go a long way in mitigating these. Students today can ride this new wave of success of the IITs as worthy international academic destinations, by arming themselves with information and open minds and exploring the myriad opportunities presented to them.

(Preeti Aghalayam is the Director-in-charge of IITM Zanzibar & a professor in Chemical Engineering. She is an alumnus of IITM.)

(A Lesson from IIT is a weekly column by an IIT faculty member on learning, science and technology on campus and beyond. The column appears every Friday)

For the latest news from across India, Political updates, Explainers, Sports News, Opinion, Entertainment Updates and more Top News, visit Indian Express. Subscribe to our award-winning Newsletter Download our App here Android & iOS