The Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur (IIT Kharagpur) on April 1 announced several reforms in its UG programmes for sessions starting from the academic year 2024-25.
Admission to all UG programmes will be a five-year program from the 2024-2025 academic year. The students will be able to opt for the five-year dual degree programmes after the second or third year of their study.
Depending upon their suitability and interest, students can choose a five-year dual degree programme in their parent department. They can also choose the interdisciplinary dual degree programmes (IDDP) offered by several schools and centres of the institute.
As per an IIT Kharagpur statement, this seeks to create more possibilities such as a BS (Hons) in Economics with MTech in Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning or a BTech (Hons.) in Civil Engineering with MTech in Financial Engineering.
These changes will allow students to make informed choices after spending a few semesters at IIT Kharagpur for a dual degree, instead of choosing before they join the institute.
To reduce the level of stress some students undergo to secure higher grades by opting for a branch change, the branch change option at the end of the first year for UG students admitted through JEE Advanced is abolished.
Less than 10 per cent of the students manage to change their branch every year, leaving the remaining 90 per cent of students depressed, sometimes resulting in serious mental health issues and them performing poorly in subsequent semesters.
The UG students taking admission in 2024 will have the option of earning simultaneously a double major along with the BTech (Hons) or BS (Hons) degree in the departments in which they get admission. Students can register for a ‘Double Major’ in any discipline after the first year. For instance, a student pursuing a BTech (Hons) in mechanical engineering can now opt for a ‘Double Major’ in economics or a student pursuing BS (Hons) in Physics can opt for a ‘Double Major’ in electronics and electrical communications engineering or artificial intelligence and machine learning.
Interestingly, the institute will now offer the students the possibility of earning a Minor or a Micro-Specialisation in several disciplines of their interest. Considering the rapid developments in Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning (AI/ML) and its huge potential for the nation, studying at least one AI/ML elective will be made mandatory for all students along with several other electives being offered in areas such as linguistics, happiness and well-being, Indian knowledge systems, performing arts etc.
IIT Kharagpur will introduce the Semester Away Program (SAP) for undergraduate students from the academic year 2024-25. Under SAP, a UG student can spend one semester either in another reputed national or international institute or industry or research laboratory and earn full credits equivalent to the semester credits. UG students can also combine their mandatory summer internship of 8 weeks along with the semester-long SAP program, thereby getting an opportunity to spend almost 8 months in another reputed organisation/industry anywhere around the world.
