Research at IIT-Delhi to get a booster dose: Director

The new innovation centre will have courses such as aesthetic design,product design,and animation.

Setting up the centre will also entail appointment of faculty members,some of whom will be experts from industries.

According to IIT officials,statistics show that the number of PhD students has increased over the years. The data collected by the institute says the number of PhD students at IITs has increased from 138 in 2010 to 199 this year.

“We are becoming more research-oriented. We want to increase the research output of the institute,but this research should be relevant and useful to society,” he said. Keeping this objective in mind,IIT-Delhi will also involve post-doctoral fellows in the system.

“Right now,we have two communities — teachers and students. Teachers do not always have the time for research. The cadre of post-doctoral fellows will strengthen research activities in the institute,” he said.

IIT-Delhi plans to increase collaborations with foreign universities. It wants to introduce fellowships for Ethiopian students who wish to pursue a PhD. IIT-Delhi is also helping the Mauritius government establish a research academy.

Meta university courses next session

Four universities are planning to start meta-university courses in the next academic session,IIT officials said on Friday.

Speaking about the Masters in Mathematics Education course,a collaboration between DU and Jamia,Shevgaonkar said,“I don’t know if it is a meta-university course,it is definitely a joint degree programme. When the idea of meta-university was initiated,three areas were identified for the courses — education,public health and climate change. For conducting these courses,resources of all four universities are needed.”

He said,“We want to use a lot of technology in these courses. Classes at one university will be telecast at the other three universities.”