Challenges in Creating a Premier Institute of Higher Technological Education in a Remote Area: A Case Study of IIT Mandi

Timothy A. Gonsalves Director, IIT Mandi

Abstract In 2009, a picturesque 500-acre campus in a remote Himalayan river valley was selected for an IIT. With a population of barely 200, beset by landslides and bitterly cold winters, the village of Kamand is 45 minutes from the modest town of Mandi, and 6-7 hours from the nearest major city, Chandigarh. Was it a foolish pipe-dream that a world-class member of the IIT system could rise in this bucolic mountain setting? Ten years later, IIT Mandi has earned the distinction of being the first of the 8 new IITs to start occupying its permanent campus in mid-2012, and is a leader among IITs in a number of measures. IIT Mandi has achieved many significant milestones, in its long journey towards becoming a renowned IIT. It has graduated 6 batches of students who have started careers in 's leading companies, and in the best universities in India, North America and Europe. Over 110 faculty are active in experimental and theoretical research, with a productivity on par with the old IITs. They have won sponsored research projects from a variety of Indian agencies and from a few companies in the US. In this talk, we will outline the challenges that we faced while conceiving and building IIT Mandi. These include the remote location, natural hazards, lack of urban ecosystems, etc. We will describe how we defined and implemented a strategy towards the vision of serving Indian society. This strategy involves several USPs, including a strong inter-disciplinary culture, a unique project-oriented BTech curriculum, and a vibrant social outreach programme. Click Here for the Slides

Speaker's Biodata B.Tech. (Electronics) IIT-Madras; M.S. (Electrical Engg) Rice University, Houston; Ph.D.(Electrical Engg) Stanford University, California. Joined the Department of Computer Science & Engg, I.I.T., Madras as an Assistant Professor in 1989, rose to Professor and Head of the Department. Cofounder of the TeNeT Group of IIT-Madras, founding Director of NMSWorks Software Ltd, n-Logue Communications Ltd, Nilgiri Networks Ltd and the IIT-Madras Rural Technology Business Incubator (IITM RTBI). Since January 2010, the first full-time Director of the Indian , Mandi (), also Professor in its School of Computing & Electrical Engineering. Interests: design and performance of cloud computing, computer and telecom networks. With emphasis on innovative and low-cost product and technology development for Indian and international industry. Fostering software development in small towns and rural areas. Education for engineers of the future. Led or advised the software system design for product/technology development in telecom area. Commercially-successful products include Nova thin-clients, Grammateller Rural Automatic Teller Machine, corDECT Broadband Wireless Local Loop System, CygNet Network Management System for telecom, BlueBill telecom billing software and the LAN-T trainer kit for colleges. Sold in India and several foreign countries.

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