Opinion The class of 2011

So,what is the real situation at the IITs? The IIT system is 50-60 years old. The first 25 years were invested in creating infrastructure and a new model of technical education. The primary contribution of IIT faculty to India has been in terms of changing the paradigm of engineering education. Engineering science-based education is the single most important contribution of the first generation of IIT faculty. The infrastructure built at IITs as residential campuses too has not been an insignificant contribution of that period. The foundation of postgraduate engineering education was also laid then.

The research work is based on two primary components. The first is dissertations by postgraduate and doctoral students. The second is sponsored research work by faculty and students. This is funded by agencies and industrial organisations. Such activities evolved in the second 25 years of the IIT system. Among the contributions of IIT faculty to the development of Indian industry and infrastructure are: for space programme in terms of research in the field of controls and software; for aerospace programme in terms of development of light combat aircraft; for nuclear programme in terms of research under the Board of Research for Nuclear Sciences; for railway system in terms of the Technology Mission for Railway Safety. It also includes defence communication developed in the 1970s by establishing a network in the mountain region,disaster management in terms of earthquake safety,better design and manufacturing using Computer Aided Design and Manufacturing,as well as rapid prototyping.

The rise of the software industry can be examined in terms of the contribution of IIT faculty. Besides grooming the leaders of this industry,the faculty contributed to the development of software systems for the railway reservation system. The Tata Research,Development and Design Centre of TCS is one example of the contribution of IIT faculty towards the PPP model of research between IITs and industry. A significant result of this decade in the field of theoretical computer science was related to the unsolved problem of Primality Testing. To develop a polynomial time algorithm for determining if a given number is prime or not was an unsolved problem. Professor Manindra Agrawal and his students stunned everyone by developing such an algorithm. Encryption scheme for the Indian navy was designed and developed by Agrawal. The e-passport has been developed by Professor Rajat Moona and this technology is now being adopted by the government. The operating system for issuing smart cards at RTOs is also developed by the faculty of the IITs. Even some of the work related to the security of wireless communication networks as well as Wi-Fi networks has been adopted by the industry. The ministry of railways has accepted the real-time train information system,SIMRAN,developed by IIT faculty and engineers for an all-India roll-out. The technology of Zero Discharge Toilet developed by IIT faculty is being considered by the Indian Railways.

IIT faculty is actively working with the R&D units of companies like Microsoft,Texas Instruments,Intel,Autodesk and Geometric Software. Boeing Corporation is working with IIT faculty to use their expertise at the National Wind Tunnel Facility. Chevron Corporation has declared IIT Madras and IIT Kanpur as research partners — two out of nine universities selected worldwide.

As for the number of journal papers published,it must be said that IIT faculty is doing excellent considering their limited resources compared with other universities in the world,and even in Asia. If one compares the financial input provided to faculty in any international university and in an IIT,it is clear that the performance of IIT faculty is not low. As a matter of fact,a large number of teachers are visiting faculty at several internationally renowned universities. If their work is not world-class then such recognitions will not come their way.

Of course,a good faculty must be a good student. It is clear that the present level of excellence needs to be raised several more levels. In that context,the debate triggered by the remarks is welcome.

One would like to propose a specific plan of action to improve the situation further. IIT faculty should embark on more ambitious research programmes and establish higher level of excellence in research. Benchmarks can be set and necessary investments should be provided by society — government and industry — for this endeavour.

Developing a good cadre of postgraduate students as well as scientific support staff is essential. IITs will have to network with NITs,IISERs,IIITs and other institutions to attract the best undergraduate students. If the quality of postgraduate students improves,the quality of research will become better. This will change the rankings of IITs. The institutes should be allowed to hire faculty not just from India but from around the world,and offer performance-based,contractual salaries comparable to world standards. They should also be allowed to attract and financially support foreign students of high academic calibre. The cases of Singapore,Malaysia and China should be studied carefully. These countries have transformed their universities in the past 10 years. It is time for India to take urgent steps. The IITs can certainly take a lead. Thought-provoking remarks from any individual — alumnus or otherwise — will certainly help change the situation.

The writer is director,IIT Kanpur. Views are personal

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