IIT Madras hosts great exhibition

IIT Madras turned cynosure of all eyes when an exhibition on connections of South Asia with prestigious Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) was organized.

Archive of IIT Madras along with the Heritage Centre at IIT Madras are organizing the exhibition and the exhibition focuses on longstanding connections between MIT in USA and South Asia that go back more than 140 years ago.

Inauguration

The exhibition was inaugurated on 21 January 2025 by Palanivel Thiaga Rajan, Tamil Nadu Minister for Information Technology and Digital Services.

The inauguration was held in the presence of Dr. Ranu Bopanna, President of MIT South Asian Alumni Association, Dr.Hamsa Balakrishnan, Associate Dean of Engineering at MIT.

Prof. Raghunathan Rengaswamy, Dean (Global Engagement), IIT Madras; Dr. Mathangi Krishnamurthy, Associate Professor of Anthropology and Chairperson, Archive of IIT Madras; Dr.S.Ponnarasu, Chief Archivist, Archive of IIT Madras were also among those present.

Chief guest

Dr. Palanivel Thiaga Rajan said what is it that creates great institutions? Sometimes, it takes 20-25 years, sometimes a lot more.

How do we ensure that institutions continuously create a high bar and set high standards? Land is land, buildings are buildings, and people are important, but transient, he said.

There are many answers but part of the answer is creating a culture.

Things like even the greatest technical institutions expanding into the social sciences and creating social sciences and humanities departments are important. I am so glad to see that IIT Madras has a Department of Humanities and Social Sciences and an archive.

It is important that institutions of all kinds have archives, he said.

Chief guest who is also an alum of MIT said ‘I am additionally happy to be here as I was also interviewed for the project that became this MIT exhibition and film.’

Symposium

The event is part of the inaugural symposium of the Archive of IIT Madras titled ‘Enchanting the Archive’ and will run on the 21 and 22 January 2025 at the Central Lecture Theatre on campus.

Research collaboration

The ‘South Asia and the Institute: Transformative Connections’ exhibition is the result of a research collaboration that involved a special subject class in MIT’s Department of History with support from the board of MIT’s South Asian Alumni Association and the MIT International Science and Technology Initiatives (MISTI) MIT-India program.

Director of IIT Madras

Prof. V. Kamakoti, Director, IIT Madras, said they are happy to host the South Asia – MIT event and looking forward to deeper collaboration with the Institute.

Significance

Highlighting the significance of this exhibition, Dr. Sana Aiyar, Associate Professor of History, MIT, who is a key member of the team leading these efforts said, “South Asia and the Institute brings a historian’s gaze to this public exhibition to showcase the scope and scale of MIT’s very long and diverse engagement with South Asia.

Some of the earliest Indian students at MIT came from Madras. Since the establishment of IIT Madras, these connections and exchanges have grown exponentially.

‘After a year-long run at MIT, we are very excited to bring the exhibition to IIT Madras.’

Genesis

Speaking about the genesis of this event, Dr. Mathangi Krishnamurthy, Associate Professor of Anthropology and Chairperson, Archive of IIT Madras, said they have been fortunate to have unstinting support both in terms of resources but also strong encouragement from the Administration and Prof. V. Kamakoti, Director of IIT Madras in the necessary project of setting up this archive.

For our inaugural event, we wanted to provide varied audiences reasons to think of the Archive as a space and site that might invite them to think differently about science, art, and indeed, the practice of history; hence the title ‘Enchanting the Archive’.

Dr Mathangi further said it has also been greatly heartening to work with wonderful partners such as MIT and the Heritage Centre of IIT Madras to host the exhibition ‘South Asia at the Institute’.

‘We hope that everyone visiting our campus over the next two months finds occasion to peep in and view it for themselves.’

Our small team at the Archive led by Chief Archivist Dr. S. Ponnarasu has worked very hard to bring this event to fruition and we hope it will produce multiple engagements and interest, said Dr Mathangi.

Dr Mathangi further said it has also been greatly heartening to work with wonderful partners such as MIT and the Heritage Centre of IIT Madras to host the exhibition ‘South Asia at the Institute’.

‘We hope that everyone visiting our campus over the next two months finds occasion to peep in and view it for themselves.’

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