Mandi: Indian Institute of Technology Mandi, one of the youngest IITs in the country, is all set to welcome the next batch of students. The Seat Allocation (Round 1) during the Joint Entrance Examination (JEE) counseling for admissions to the 23 IITs in the country is scheduled to commence on Wednesday (June 27, 2018).
Nestled in Sivalik Range of the Himalayas, IIT Mandi is fast emerging as a leader in science and technology education, knowledge creation and innovation, in an India marching towards a just, inclusive and sustainable society. Since the first batch of students took place in July 2009, IIT Mandi has grown to host over 1,030 students, 104 Faculty, 150 staff, 670 alumni, and attracted funding to the tune of over Rs.70 crore in Research Projects.
Speaking about the achievements of the Institute, Prof Timothy A. Gonsalves, Director, IIT Mandi, said, “IIT Mandi is making a special effort to increase gender diversity in B.Tech. Girl students who qualified in JEE (Advanced) are invited to visit the Institute Special Women Students Helpdesk at: https://www.facebook.com/groups/231995973956201/?fref=ts / https://students.iitmandi.ac.in/prospective_WS.php.”
Further, Prof Gonsalves said, “To reduce the chance of vacant seats, the IITs have declared an additional 13,800 qualified candidates in JEE(Advanced). With these extended ranks, 4,197 girls are qualified to make 13.1% of the total 31,988.”
Last year, 22 girls joined BTech in Civil, CSE, EE and Mechanical Departments at IIT Mandi. This year (2018-19), the target is to enroll 40 girl students in IIT Mandi.
From a total of 586 students in 2013, the institute aims to grow to 5,000 B.Tech, MTech/MSc and MS/PhD by the Year 2029. Currently, the campus has completed about 70,000 sq.m. of construction. Another 1,50,000 sq.m. is currently under construction. Infrastructure and space would be created to accommodate more than 2,500 students, 200 faculty and staff by the end of 2019.
The students admitted to IIT Mandi are welcomed with Five-Week Induction Program (5WIP), which is characterized by several unique features:
Ø Students are mentored in small groups of 20 by faculty, and not by external experts. This facilitates bonding between students and faculty which enriches the rest of the 4 years,
Ø There is great emphasis on the excitement of engineering, leading into the regular curriculum,
Ø There is considerable emphasis on the creative arts and sports as well for holistic development of the students, and
Ø The unique Himalayan location of IIT Mandi facilitates outreach activities directed towards the Himachali community.
The Institute offers an Interdisciplinary Academic Culture and a Design-Oriented B.Tech. curriculum. Students work on real-world team projects right from Year One. They start develop practical devices and skills that meet real-world needs.
The students, in their Second Year, work on ‘Product Development,’ and in the Third Year, on ‘Technology and Society,’ and begin a Major Technical Project by the time they enter their Final year, during which they create a product, and may get it patented.
Additionally, in line with the Government of India’s push towards eco-friendly e-Transportation by the year 2030, IIT Mandi is working to convert Mandi district fully to electric public Transportation.
IIT Mandi is already talking with select European Universities for various projects. The Institute entered into Strategic partnership with TU9 German Institutes of Technology, Germany and signed a MoU that is in force since May 2011.
There has been over 20 visits by IIT Mandi Faculty and students to TU9 and 12 visits from Germany. With funding from both India and Germany for exchange visits, faculty and post-doctoral students undertake Three-month visits in both directions.
The Institute encourages faculty members to develop global collaborations. It will also establish partnership agreements with industrial research laboratories in India. Already, 12 faculty members and a Mentor Professor are working on a Rs. 5 crore-sponsored project.
The Institute carries out research in wide range of areas including Computer Science, automotive, fracture mechanics, chaos theory, German, History and management besides sociology and psychology.
A senior journalist who has spent more than a decade in the profession, working for Amar Ujala and Aapka Faisla.
