ARIIA ratings are given by Innovation Cell of Union HRD Ministry which is now known as Union Education Ministry of Government of India.

These rankings were unveiled on 18 August by Vice President of India M. Venkaiah Naidu. Interestingly, IIT Mandi is the only second generation IIT to be featured in ARIIA ratings for this year.

Speaking about IIT Mandi winning the seventh position, its director Professor Ajit Kumar Chaturvedi said they are ecstatic that their efforts in improving the curriculum through practicum based learning and focus on the entrepreneurial ecosystem is yielding results.

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IIT Mandi Catalyst, the first Technology Business Incubator in Himachal Pradesh, has helped over 75 startups since 2017 and is changing both the industry profile and entrepreneurial mindset, he said.

‘We aim to incubate technology-based start-ups focused on economic and/or social impacts. Our aim is to build a start-up and collaborative research ecosystem by working with academic and industry leaders.’

The ARIIA 2020 has given us the reassurance that IIT Mandi is going in the right direction, he said.

A total of 674 institutes had participated in the rankings.

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This year, the rankings had six categories namely Centrally Funded Institutions, Private Institutions, Private/Deemed Universities, State-Funded Autonomous Institutions, State-Funded Universities and Women only higher educational institutions.

ARIIA is an initiative launched by the Ministry of Education, Government of India, and implemented by the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) and Ministry’s Innovation Cell, Government of India, to systematically rank higher education institutions and universities in India on indicators related to ‘Technology transfer, Innovation, Startup and Entrepreneurship Development’ among students and faculty.

About IIT Mandi

Since the first batch of 97 students joined in July 2009, IIT Mandi has grown to currently host 125 faculty and 1,655 students who are enrolled in various programmes of studies in undergraduate, postgraduate and research programmes, and 1,141 alumni.

IIT Mandi is a fully residential campus with 1.4 lakh sq. m. buildings completed. It has a guest house with 88 rooms, an 750-seater Auditorium, campus school, sports complex and hospital.

IIT Mandi has four Academic Schools and three major Research Centers. The Schools are: School of Computing and Electrical Engineering, School of Basic Sciences, School of Engineering, and School of Humanities and Social Sciences.

The Centers are: Advanced Materials Research Centre (AMRC; set up with an investment of Rs. 60 crore), Centre for Design and Fabrication of Electrical Devices (C4DFED; has Rs. 50 crore worth of fabrication tools), and BioX Centre (has acquired research equipment worth Rs. 15 crore). In 2017, the Department of Biotechnology, Government of India, selected IIT Mandi to lead the prestigious Rs. 10 crore FarmerZone Project.

To cater to the growing and changing needs of Indian industry and the aspirations of students, IIT Mandi has introduced 7 B.Tech., 7 M.Tech., 5 M.Sc., 4 Ph.D., 1 I-Ph.D and 1 M.A programmes in the past 10 years.

The unique, project-oriented B.Tech. curriculum is centered around its 4-year long Design and Innovation stream. From August 2019, IIT Mandi started 3 new and unique B. Tech. programmes in Data Science and Engineering, Engineering Physics, and Dual Degree in Bioengineering.

Since the inception of the Institute, IIT Mandi faculty have been involved in over 275 Research and Development (R&D) projects worth more than Rs. 120 crore.

In the past 10 years, the Institute has signed Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with as many as 11 international and 12 national universities.

So far, Catalyst has secured external funding of Rs. 24 crore from various funding agencies.

Enabling Women of Kamand Valley (EWOK) is another innovative programme run by IIT Mandi, which focuses on imparting skills training to rural women to enable them to start village-scale businesses.

IIT Mandi has been ranked no. 31 in the Engineering Institutions Category in the India Rankings 2020 released by National Institutional Ranking Framework, Ministry of Human Resources Development, Govt. of India.

This collaboration agreement seeks to capitalize on the strengths of both institutions, broadening the learning experience for students enrolled in the Bachelor of Science (BS) programs at IIT Madras and undergraduate programs at IIT Palakkad.

To date, over 30,000 students are actively participating in this program, fostering a vibrant and interactive learning community, say sources from IIT Palakkad.

Director of IIT Madras

Welcoming this collaboration, Prof. V. Kamakoti, Director, IIT Madras, said IIT Madras is committed to reach quality education to every deserving student in our country. This initiative with IIT Palakkad is a very significant step towards reaching the goals.

We are enthusiastic about mentoring these bright minds. Our courses and internships have a strong emphasis on hands-on learning and innovation, said director of IIT Palakkad.

This collaboration with IIT Madras will build a robust foundation that equips students with the skills, insights, and networks they need to excel, he said.

Key features

The key features of this collaboration include:

Ø Credit Transfer from IITPkd Courses: IIT Madras BS (Data Science and Applications) students who meet the eligibility criteria can fulfil their credit requirements by taking courses at IIT Palakkad, promoting an exchange of academic resources and expertise.

Ø Access to IIT Madras Courses for IIT Palakkad Students: The MoU allows undergraduate students at IIT Palakkad to enrol in courses on Data Science and Programming from the IIT Madras BS program, ensuring equitable access to these cutting-edge skills.

Ø Support for Additional Initiatives: The collaboration will also facilitate student exchange programs, internship opportunities, and other joint initiatives.

Commitment

This collaboration between IIT Madras and IITPkd highlights the commitment of both institutions to enrich student experiences through cross-disciplinary exposure, practical learning, and research opportunities.

It aims to create a robust academic ecosystem that utilizes the expertise and infrastructure of both IITs.

Collaboration

IIT Madras has been collaborating with other leading institutions in the country to provide in-person learning opportunities for final-year students in the BS program.

IIT Gandhinagar, IIIT Hyderabad, and Chennai Mathematical Institute (CMI) have already made their campus courses available to eligible students from the IIT Madras BS (Data Science) degree program.

About IIT Palakkad

Established in 2015, the Indian Institute of Technology, Palakkad is dedicated to creating an environment that enables students and faculty to engage in the pursuit of knowledge, to dream, think, and innovate thereby becoming change agents for a better world.

Having begun with just 120 students in July 2015, IIT Palakkad has since grown into an establishment that is about a thousand students strong and with the best manpower in key positions.

IITPkd aims to become a multi-disciplinary institution with 5000 students by its 10th year. The Institute recognizes collective growth, in collaboration with industry and other academic institutions, as the need of the time and emphasizes blue-sky research and directed research as two essential pillars of technology development.

The Institute embraces a vision to be a leader in cross-disciplinary inquiries, and to contribute to the potential that India’s demographic dividend represents for the country and the world, which is embodied in the motto of the institute “Nurturing minds for a better world”.

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