IIT Roorkee launches new courses to cater to rising demand for new-age technologies
Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Roorkee has launched seven new academic programmes in select areas of engineering, architecture, economics, and management along with specialization in Data Science and Artificial Intelligence to cater to the rising demand for new-age technologies.
The courses will be offered to students from the upcoming Autumn Session (2021-2022).
Six of these are post-graduate degree programmes and one is five-year integrated programme into its curriculum.
The seven new programmes aim at facilitating quality education in new and emerging areas that are becoming more and more relevant today.
These are: M.Tech. (Artificial Intelligence) and M.Tech. (Data Science) under the Centre for Artificial Intelligence and Data Science (CAIDS), M. Des. (Industrial Design), and MIM (Masters in Innovation Management) under the Department of Design, Online M. Tech. (Microelectronics and VLSI) for working industry professionals under the Department of Electronics and Communication Engineering, MS Economics (Five-Year Integrated programme) under the Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, and M.Tech. (Dam Safety and Rehabilitation) under the proposed ‘International Centre for Dams’ (currently coordinated by Department of Hydrology).
Union Secretary, Department of Science & Technology (DST), Professor Ashutosh Sharma, has hoped that these programmes would help students and working professionals add value to their respective fields. “New Initiatives of this kind separate the leaders from followers, and I am delighted to hear about the outlines and philosophy of the programmes,” he said while inaugurating the new programmes at the oldest technical institution of the country in an online ceremony on July 30, 2021.
“The new programmes involve the transmission of relevant knowledge and using the knowledge we produce. They are inter-disciplinary and multi-disciplinary and also in line with National Education Policy 2020. Their launch shows that we are on to breaking some of the silos that we have historically created,” DST Secretary added.
B.V.R. Mohan Reddy, Chairman, Board of Governors, IIT Roorkee, who was present during the launch, hoped that these new programs would change the mindset towards learning by making it more flexible, accessible, and a life-long process. “We are also aiming for Atma Nirbhar Bharat, and so new areas with a new approach to learning is important, innovation is an integral part of our future, as is entrepreneurship. I recommend entrepreneurship programs to make sure we have a lot more job creators as a post to job seekers.”
For Working Professionals
M.Tech. (Microelectronics and VLSI) is a three-year programme designed for working professionals. It is a flexible course for those who want to upgrade their career and cannot attend regular on-campus classes. This online degree will intend to prepare students for managerial engineering roles in the industry.
M.Tech. in Dam Safety and Rehabilitation programme is a two-year programme. It will train the sponsored officers working in the area to deal with challenges of safety and rehabilitation of the older dams and design of new dams. Any graduate of the relevant area can join this course.
The MS Economics (Five Year Integrated program) is a five-year integrated program to equip students with the tools needed by a professional economist in government or other organisations or to carry out research. A student can exit from this course after four years by getting a BS degree.
Prof. Ajit K Chaturvedi, Director, IIT Roorkee, has expressed confidence that these new programmes would fulfil the demand of future technologies in higher education. “All these new academic programs address the needs of our country. They have been created after careful deliberations at several levels. To offer these programs, IIT Roorkee has established one new department of Design and one new centre for Artificial Intelligence and Data Science. Further, given the interdisciplinary nature of another program, the Institute created a program committee with representation from four departments,” he pointed out.
It may be noted that the Indian Institute of Technology – Roorkee is among the foremost of institutes of national importance in higher technological education and in engineering, basic and applied research. Since its establishment, the Institute has played a vital role in providing the technical manpower and know-how to the country and in pursuit of research. The Institute ranks amongst the best technological institutions in the world and has contributed to all sectors of technological development. It has also been considered a trend-setter in the area of education and research in the field of science, technology, and engineering.
The Institute offers Bachelor’s Degree courses in Engineering and Architecture and Postgraduate’s Degree in 55 disciplines of Engineering, Applied Science, Architecture and planning. The Institute has also facility for doctoral work in all Departments and Research Centres.
