Indian Institute of technology (IIT) Madras Director, Prof V Kamakoti said that fuelling start-ups in core areas can help India in tech education. On being asked about the hybrid model of education, he says, "For an online or hybrid course to stabilise, it takes two to three years." "We will shortly be starting another such programme on the sciences side. The most important help we have received from the University Grants Commission (UGC) is that it has allowed dual degree programmes where people can pursue two degrees at the same time provided that the time-tables don’t clash", added the Professor.
Hybrid Model of Teaching
In an interview to the News 18, the IIT director said that the online or hybrid courses are full-fledged courses with multiple exits and the faculty is involved in teaching these programmes. He added, "Those who complete four years get a BS degree. The final exams for these courses are in the proctored mode, which means that they have to come to a centre to write the exam and cannot write it at home." He cites example, "Those who are pursuing civil or electrical engineering from another college, but are studying data science here. So, it’s a great combination because we need core commerce graduates with data science knowledge, we need core civil engineering people with electronic systems knowledge."
NIRF 2023 Rankings: Top Rank in the overall category list
On the institute's top Rank in the overall category list and Engineering category he says, "It is a cohesive effort that has worked with things falling in the correct place under all five parameters of the rankings — teaching-learning effectiveness, student strength, graduation outcomes, diversity, and inclusivity. This cohesiveness comes from a strategic plan that we have made each year with fixed goals and we have been aligning to this plan."
He said that the Institute is committed to take the strength to 50,000 students for engineering courses, According to the director, Around 12,500 students are in the campus, and they have set target of another 37,500 on the online platform across India, which currently is 22,000-23,000.
QS World Ranking
On not performing so well in the QS World Ranking he said, "We participate in the QS rankings and there is a conscious effort to improve on the parameters that are under our control. A large part of the world rankings is based on perception and surveys, which we do not have a control on. But things such as publications in A-star journals and internationalisation, among others, we are consciously putting efforts to improve upon."
Faculty in engineering holding doctorates limited in the country
"B. Tech, people get good jobs, but those pursuing M. Tech are few, and the number of students taking GATE (Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering) for masters is itself decreasing," said the director, on asking about the NIRF report highlighting that trained faculty in engineering holding doctorates are limited to just the top 100 institutions in the country.
He further said, "All M. Tech students are placed well. For PhD, by the time a student is 25-27 years of age, there are social and financial constraints for many, especially for female students. Then, those who do complete PhDs get good jobs outside in the industry at high pay packages and they move out while not opting for teaching jobs. Those who come back to teaching after industry experience take several years. Over the past five years, I have lost six faculty members to such industry jobs. This is the challenge being faced at present. Unless a person has gone through this rigour of PhD and to a level of creativity, you can’t be a great teacher."
Suicides in the IIT Madras Campus
When the director was asked about the suicides in the campus, he replied, "We are the most affected with five such suicides within six months. We have found many reasons in our mental health survey including personal, health, financial and academic. Any of the first three can lead to academic stress. We have identified independent counsellors on campus, who come from outside so that students while approaching them do not have any stigma attached. We are also getting parents to give them emotional support on a regular basis. So, happiness is a collective responsibility is what we have learnt in a nutshell. Over the past two months we are slowly stabilising and found that the efforts being made are yielding some results."
