DailyPost 1162
IIT 2.0 – PROPELLING NEW INDIA
World class engineers being created through its portals has been validated, so has been the standards of infrastructure / space, faculty ratio / quality, success in autonomous management, a global network and a brand to be proud for all associated and the nation. IITs today starting with Kharagpur in 1951 to the newest ones have become a part of our professional education psyche and a dream destination of every child. Members of it’s eminent faculty adorn our technical committees, win national and international professional recognition, bring laurels & glory to all of us. The value add and fruition for the nation has to happen now.
Academic research has never been the final destination nor creating technical / professional manpower to man our top engineering institutes or the necessity for horizontal technology extension. Technology was not the mainstay of our existence when it all started, today it is. Academic research and business research are getting seamlessly enmeshed. Creation of Google is out of Stanford dissertation. DeepMind exists at the crossroads of all types of research under one roof. Product creation is the only answer, nothing else will suffice. Prototypes can’t make sense any more.
A ten year blueprint is the immediate need. Products don’t come out of classes. It comes out serious, dedicated research and is build layer by layer, proficiency by proficiency, resource by resource. IITs have to become R&D powerhouses. Nobels for India should be the mission. In every emerging technology, one Cross IIT Research Center is essential, may it be, 5G, IPv6, Robotics, Drones or ML/AI. Research has to include our country centric customisation /adaption and adoption. Sanity and rationale in technologies will automatically happen.
Consultancy end to end including execution has to be their forte in every project of the New India, applying technical knowledge to solve real world problems. Beyond international journal citations. Cyber Security can be any country’s nemesis. If Estonia can, why can’t we? Technical Institution Builders will make IIT 2.0 happen.
FORWARD LOOKING INSTITUTIONS DELIVER BEYOND REQUIREMENTS. IITs BELONG TO THAT GENRE.