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IIT Madras is in its diamond jubilee year and the institute is looking at having 2000 courses and 7000 faculty by 2020. Also, in addition to it, there will be focus on research and innovation.
As IIT Madras makes an entry into its diamond jubilee year, it is expected to have 7,000 faculty members teaching 2,000 new courses by 2020. The students will have the option of choosing from a wide range of courses for completing their degrees.
The institute has undergone a lot of changes since its inception in 1959 when it was a forested site of about 633 acres and had only 10 departments. Currently, IIT Madras has more than 8,000 students who are enrolled in 16 departments which offer B.Tech, M.Sc, MBA, M.A., M.Tech and Ph.D. degrees.
The institute is now amidst the strategic plan period of 2014-2020, and is on the right track to meet its targets whether it is faculty recruitment, funded research, innovation, entrepreneurship or curriculum modernization, the institute is hopeful of meeting its objectives, said the director Bhaskar Ramamurthi.
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The goals of the strategic plan are focusing on research to support large groups of faculty members working on transformational technologies in areas such as energy, healthcare, housing, and education. It has always been a research university but in the initial decades, the focus was more on undergraduate education and quantity of research was low.
But now, to change that trend, the focus has shifted to industry, research and international collaborations as well as undergraduate education. According to him, the level of international students and faculty should be enhanced. The institute is also helping Indian companies through the research park to become technologically and globally competitive.
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Talking about the students, Ramamurthi said that students over the years have been very creative. Earlier their focus was on academics and higher education but now they look at entrepreneurship. Many startups are coming up from the students and faculty of the institute. Also, in recent years the faculty has also started using more technological tools so that students can share and access information easily.
