IIT Madras Marks 65th Institute Day with Enrollment Goal of 50,000 Students

IIT Madras marked its 65th Institute Day with recognition of outstanding alumni, faculty, and students. The institute clinched top spots in the NIRF rankings for five consecutive years in the overall and eight consecutive years in the engineering categories. 

The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras celebrated its 65th Institute Day, attended by students, faculty, alumni, and both teaching and non-teaching staff. The ceremony featured the recognition of alumni, faculty, and students for their exceptional achievements in the past year. Highlighting its academic excellence, IIT Madras retained its top position in the National Institutional Rankings Framework (NIRF), ranking first in the 'Overall' category for the fifth year in a row and in the 'Engineering' category for the eighth consecutive year. 

The Chief Guest of this occasion was Dr. V. Sumantran, Chairman of the Board of Directors of InterGlobe Aviation Ltd. (IndiGo Airlines), and Chairman, of Celeris Technologies. Dr. V. Sumantran is an alumnus of the 1981 batch of BTech in Aeronautical Engineering and a Distinguished Alumnus of IIT Madras.

Addressing the Institute Day event, Dr. V. Sumantran, Chairman of the Board of Directors of InterGlobe Aviation Ltd. (IndiGo Airlines), and Chairman, Celeris Technologies, said,“Being a student in the Aeronautics Department, our batch was typically between 9 and 12 students and we had a personal relationship with our professors. They knew us well. It was also a time of so much flexibility and encouragement. I volunteered during my summer vacations at the super sonic wind tunnel in the Department, which prepared me well for my future endeavours.”

Delivering the Presidential Address, Prof. V. Kamakoti, Director, IIT Madras, said, “IIT Madras BS Data Science and Electronic Systems progams have crossed enrolling more than 26,000 students who are in different parts of this ‘Multiple-Entry, Multiple-Exit’ program. This year, we must aspire to reach 30,000 students so that within the next two-three years, IIT Madras should have a total of 50,000 enrolled as part of our higher education system. This will include 12,500 students in the campus and more than 37,000 in the online mode.”

Further, Prof. V. Kamakoti said,“For the next year, as a target, we are looking at 100 start-ups, or a start-up once in every three days. In December 2025 (Placement season), I want to have the pride that 20% of our graduating class are already CTOs. In Zanzibar, we are going to offer an MTech in Infrastructural Engineering. The Government has already given us more than 200 acres for setting up the IIT Madras Zanzibar permanent campus. In this direction, we have started 250+ Rural Interaction Centres since the majority of youth across India are in rural areas besides nine centres in the Northern part of Sri Lanka. Our target is 500 Rural Interaction Centres for this year.”

Awards at IIT Madras 

During the event, Dr. Shaligram Tiwari and Dr. Joe Thomas Karackattu, professors from the Departments of Mechanical Engineering and Humanities and Social Sciences respectively, received the 'Srimathi Marti Annapurna Gurunath Award for Excellence in Teaching' for 2023-24. The award, sponsored by IIT Madras alumnus Prof. Marti Subrahmanyam of New York University's Stern School of Business, honours outstanding teaching achievements. The Early-Career Research and Development Award, which carries a grant of Rs 25 lakh, was presented to the following Professors:

1. Prof. Anubhab Roy - Department of Applied Mechanics and Biomedical Engineering
2. Prof. Tarak Kumar Patra - Department of Chemical Engineering
3. The Mid-Career Research and Development Award, which carries a grant of Rs 40 lakh, was presented to the following Professors:
4. Prof. Mohanasankar Sivaprakasam - Department of Electrical Engineering
5. Prof. Basavaraj Madivala Gurappa - Department of Chemical Engineering

The Shaastra and Saarang 2024 teams, representing the annual technical and cultural festivals at IIT Madras, successfully raised a total of INR 3,00,000 this year. The funds were distributed equally among three organisations:

1. Deepam Trust, Chennai received INR 1,00,000.
2. The United Orphanage for the Disabled in Coimbatore was given INR 1,00,000.
3. Ties That Bind Foundation, Chennai also received INR 1,00,000

Read More 

• IIT Madras and Lightstorm Collaborate to Launch Employment Skilling Initiative
• IIT Madras Launches International Master’s Program on Water Security and Global Change with German Varsities