Tag: architecture

IIT Kharagpur wins at the ADB Knowledge & Innovation Hub’s Transport Technology Innovation Challenge

Technology Innovation Challenge

  • Independent verification of the results

  • Publications of lessons learned by all the parties

  • Reference site and report for ADB and development member countries

  • Recommendations for next steps to scale-up the proposed solutions, including for future ADB-funded projects

  • Have a vision, plan and capability for future implementation/commercialization of the innovative technology solutions in DMCs

A user-friendly interactive system through the Technologies for Urban Transit to Enhance Mobility and Safe Accessibility (TUTEM) project that aims to enhance the last-mile security & safety of transit passengers in Hyderabad by providing commuters with safe access enroute to transit stations through mobile application platform was developed by Prof. Arkopal Goswami, Chairperson of Ranbir and Chitra Gupta School of Infrastructure Design and Management and Prof. Shreyas Bharule, Architecture and Regional Planning of IIT Kharagpur along with Prof. Avijit Maji of Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay (lead); Prasant Sahu of BITS Pilani, Hyderabad Campus and LocationMind Inc., Tokyo. The project was announced the winner in the ADB Knowledge & Innovation Hub’s Transport Technology Innovation Challenge (TIC) supported and financed by the High-Level Technology (HLT) Fund ADB’s multi-donor trust fund promoting more widespread adoption of high-level technology in ADB projects.

 Prof. Arkopal Goswami
Chairperson of Ranbir & Chitra Gupta School of Infrastructure Design & Management
IIt kahargpur

The venture will develop a user-friendly interactive system through the TUTEM: Technologies for Urban Transit to Enhance Mobility and Safe Accessibility (TUTEM) project. TUTEM aims to enhance the last-mile security & safety of transit passengers by providing commuters with safe access enroute to transit stations through mobile applications/features. It will develop security ratings for access routes to urban transit transfer points (UTTPs), safely pair users with secure para-transit operators, develop a speed-dialing system for distressed passengers, and finally demonstrate the system as a proof of concept (PoC).

Under TIC, technology providers are invited to submit a proposal to undertake a proof-of-concept/pilot of a high-level technology solution to address an identified development challenge where  the selected proposals can receive a grant of up to US$500,000. The purpose of the TIC grant is to introduce new solutions in ADB’s developing member countries (DMCs) and thereby support ADB’s mandate in assisting DMC’s to reach the Sustainable Development Goals. Through TIC, DMCs will learn about new technology solutions to address various development challenges, and technology providers’ risks related to market entry may be reduced by showcasing their technologies. 


Prof. Shreyas Bharule
Architecture and Regional Planning
IIT Kharagpur

The proposed technology or solution has to be new to the country or to the context with improved efficiency, impact, and/or life-cycle cost compared to existing solutions. However, the technology should have been tested and verified before in another country or context. The Transport Sector Technology Innovation Challenge (TIC) calls the technology providers to submit an Expression of Interest (EOI) to propose and conduct a pilot on high-level technology solution addressing one of the two development challenges – Improve Security for Public Transport Users and Promote Health & Hygiene for Public Transport Users.

The ADB Technology Innovation Challenge (TIC) calls for technology providers to submit proposals for innovative solutions to address a specific development challenge that ADB teams have identified. The winning proposal is awarded a grant to accelerate implementation of proposed technology solutions. TIC is being implemented under the knowledge and support technical assistance “Support for Innovation and Technology Partnerships in Asia and the Pacific – Subproject 3: High-Level Technology Application to Address Development Challenges,” which is financed on a grant basis by the High-Level Technology Fund and administered by ADB.

Description of the HLT solution and TIC project:

  • A mobile based application will be created and tested in Hyderabad.
  • The technology aims to enhance last-mile security and safety of transit passengers and give passengers an option to choose the safest mode/route of the transit through the mobile application platform.
  • A user-friendly interactive system will be developed where passenger can get real-time information about the city’s transit network and public and para transportation system’s operation.
  • The technology includes safety and security rating dashboard for urban transit transfer points and its adjoining area; pairing users among themselves and with pre-verified local paratransit systems for first and last mile routes; and speed dialing system for the distressed passenger.

Inputs by : Prof. Arkopal Goswami, Chairperson of Ranbir and Chitra Gupta School of Infrastructure Design and Management, IIT Kharagpur
Email: akgoswami@infra.iitkgp.ac.in

Edited By : Poulami Mondal, Digital & Creative Media Executive (Creative Writer)
Email: poulami.mondal@iitkgp.ac.in, media@iitkgp.ac.in, Ph. No.: +91-3222-282007

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IIT Kharagpur ranked 1st in Agriculture & Civil Engineering in India in the 13th QS World University Ranking by Subject 2023

Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur (IIT KGP) ranked 1st in Agriculture Forestry and Civil & Structural Engineering in India, according to the latest edition of the world’s highest QS World University Ranking by Subject for the year 2023. The Institution’s strongest field Engineering & Technology ranked at 82nd with an overall score of 76.7 among all the universities globally and 4th in India, as per the 13th QS World University Rankings by Subject, 2023 announced on 23rd March 2023.

In India, IIT KGP ranked 1st in Agriculture & Forestry along with Civil & Structural Engineering. Domestically, the Institute overall ranked 2nd in Architecture & Built Environment, Material Science, Environmental Sciences, Accounting & Finance, Economics & Ergonomics. Core areas of the premier institute including Computer Science & Information Systems, Mineral & Mining Engineering, Chemical Engineering, Electrical & Electronics, Earth & Marine Science and Statistical & Operational Research held 3rd position in all over India.

Globally, the institute ranked 74th in 2023 compared to 80th rank in 2022 in Electrical and Electronic Engineering; 94th in 2023 compared to 109th in 2022 in Computer Science & Information Systems & 106th rank in 2023, improving its rank from 118th in 2022 in Mechanical, Aeronautical & Manufacturing Engineering.

Speaking on the QS Rankings by Subject 2023, Prof. V K Tewari, Director, IIT Kharagpur remarked, “IIT Kharagpur stands out from other IITs with its multi-modal curriculum nurturing creativity, capacity building, affordable healthcare and rapid technological amalgamation. As an Institute of Eminence, we have to acquire the opportunity in digital economy space fostering skill development and encouraging entrepreneurship. The Institute is gearing up to establish bridges with ISRO and futuristic technologies with DRDO in unmanned & robotic technologies, cognitive technologies and secure systems, directed energy technologies, sensor systems and software, life support engineering and baseline technologies in materials. We are also planning to steer ahead in areas like precision agriculture, energy storage systems, hardware security, hydrogen storage, quantum communication, additive manufacturing, 3D printing & composite manufacturing.”

The institute also ranked #1 in Architecture & Regional Planning (ARP) in Indian Institutional Ranking Framework (IIRF) 2022.

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Edited by : Poulami Mondal, Digital & Creative Media Executive (Creative Writer)
Email: poulami.mondal@iitkgp.ac.in, media@iitkgp.ac.in, Ph. No.: +91-3222-282007

Follow us on: Facebook – IIT Kharagpur; Twitter – @IITKgp;  Instagram – @iit.kgp; LinkedIn – Indian Institute of Technology
For news visit: https://kgpchronicle.iitkgp.ac.in/ 

IIT Kharagpur and NIUA Collaborate to Build Accessible, Safe and Inclusive Indian Cities

IIT Kharagpur has inked an MoU with the National Institute of Urban Affairs (NIUA) for ‘Building Accessible Safe and Inclusive Indian Cities’ (BASIIC). The collaboration is aimed towards developing a framework for universal city planning which would be more accessible and inclusive for various sections of the community with age-friendly disabled-friendly measures.

Talking about the significance of such an initiative, Director, Prof. Virendra K Tewari said, “India is a young country with a population growth rate of 1% as of 2019. Such a growth figure along with the current status will create a dynamic need for housing and urban planning in India. Further, under the new leadership as we move towards a more inclusive approach it is crucial to develop novel designs, frameworks, guidelines for cities covering larger demographics and people with varied needs.”

He further added, “The Department of Architecture and Regional Planning at IIT Kharagpur is considered the best school in the country in the domain of architecture as per NIRF. We are proud to collaborate with NIUA in fulfilling its mission statement and achieving the comprehensive goals towards building sustainable living conditions for all.”

Through the Urban & Regional Development Plan Formulation and Implementation Guidelines, NIUA is dwelling upon new emerging aspects like regional development, inclusive planning, sustainable habitat, land use and transport integration at the planning stage, Service Level Benchmarks, disaster management concepts, and governance reforms. But, there is a lack of consideration for universal design principles.

“After a thorough review of the various acts, guidelines and design standards in the related field and studying global best practices and international standard, IIT Kharagpur will propose a framework for universal cities to ensure that everyone, including people with disabilities, the elderly and parents with children, can participate in society and access built environment, transport, services and urban amenities including recreation and also livelihood and information,” said Prof. Subrata Chattopadhyay from the Dept. of Architecture and Regional Planning at IIT Kharagpur.

He further stressed the need for seamless accessibility and the complete travel chain for safe and independent movement for all within the city.

The proposed framework will be instrumental for sector-wise assessment of the existing cities in terms of safety, accessibility and inclusivity as well as planning of Greenfield cities. The framework will include sections on (i) Infrastructure, amenities and services including water, electricity, sanitation and solid waste (ii) Outdoor environment, (iii) Livelihood, (iv) Urban mobility and public transport, (v) IT connectivity, digitalization and citizen’s participation(vi) Tourism and recreation.

“Differently abled persons and elderly often face discrimination and segregation due to the presence of sensory, attitudinal, cognitive, physical, and economic barriers. Through this framework, we would aim to crystallize future pathways for the planning of accessible, safe and inclusive cities in India, by laying emphasis on the process of audit, ground-level data collection, analysis, planning and implementation that would lead to sustainable and user-centric outcomes. The framework will attempt to achieve urban inclusiveness through “participation,” “appropriation,” and the creation of “value” in the context of urban life of its vulnerable group.” said Prof. Haimanti Banerji from the Dept. of Architecture and Regional Planning at IIT Kharagpur.

The researchers are further working on several such developmental projects encompassing affordable housing, innovative construction technologies, dignified living and productive participation for the trans-generational population.

Contact: Prof. Subrata Chattopadhyay, E: schat@arp.iitkgp.ac.in; Prof. Haimanti Banerji, E: haimanti@arp.iitkgp.ac.in

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Bringing cheer

A team of three students from the Department of Architecture and Regional Planning of the Institute has clinched the first prize at the ‘National Competition for Students 2019 for the Best Innovative Use of Steel in Architecture’. The competition was organised by Institute for Steel Development & Growth. INSDAG, an organization established by the Ministry of Steel, Government of India, which has been hosting this competition since 1999-2000, intends to promote and create an awareness of the use of steel in building design among students.

Mudita Kumar, Ananya Singh Parmar and Anuranjan Singh, the winners of the INSDAG contest, are final year undergraduate students of the Department of Architecture and Regional Planning. This is the third time that the Department is securing the first position in the competition, having earlier won the top prize in 2014 and 2017. It may be mentioned that the Department was adjudged the best in Architecture by NIRF for the last two years.

Three teams from IIT Kharagpur’s Department of Architecture and Regional Planning made it to the finals held at Kolkata earlier this month. A total of 16 teams were selected for the finals from four zones of the country by the zonal selection committees. The teams were evaluated for the finals by the Jury members consisting of renowned architects and faculties from the academia.

The call was for designing a cricket stadium with a seating capacity of 45,000 apart from a space for a cricket academy. As a concept of the winning design, the team came up with a structure made up of eight arches. “Intersections of these arches help in shading the concourse and permitting ventilation as well. They also help in creating recognizable entry points, helping different types of users in way-finding. The octagonal periphery formed by the arches also supports the extended roof which converges to a circular periphery,” said Mudita Kumar and Ananya Singh Parmar of the team.

Prof. Sumana Gupta (extreme right)

“All this makes the design iconic and landmarks the city for its heritage,” added Mudita. In fact, cultural integration and creating a landmark to foster a sense of belonging among all users were among the major concerns of the team which looked at Ghaziabad’s tortuous history down the ages. “Efforts were made to create a unique outlook of stadium in context with the city of Ghaziabad for which the citizens can take pride in. At all stages of design development, our prime focus on user behaviour, safety and convenience helped us come up with this user sensitive design and helped us win,” said Anuranjan Singh. (Read Anuranjan’s interview to KGP Chronicle)

The second team from the Department of Architecture and Regional Planning

Dr. Sumana Gupta, Assistant Professor at the Department of Architecture and Regional Planning mentored the student teams. She said, “Architects through this exercise exploit use of steel in different forms. Their expression is totally innovative. The motto of the contest was to assess how well steel was being used, not merely to express its ability to take tensile or compressive forces but to demonstrate how innovatively this fluid material can be used to give shape to the architect’s thought. The problem statement was also assigned as a studio task for the students hence there was continuous monitoring and participation was intense and wholehearted.”

The third team to qualify for the finals

A second team of students consisting of Gunjal Jain, Runjhun Goswami, Gauri Pathak and Aman Yaduwanshi missed the third prize by a whisker. They, however, earned a “special mention” from the jury. Talking about their project, Gunjal said, “We wanted our stadium to be a symbolic representation of playful contemporary India. So the form had to be modern, yet relatable to the people.” Her team members thus designed the stadium together with “3 green breathing spaces” around the stadium. “The entire origami structure around the green spaces was extended outward to form shade above this area, creating a beautiful play of light and shadow below it. This is what made us stand out of all other teams,” explained Gunjal.

The third team who qualified the zonals consisted of Preetish Priyadarshi Nayak, Aman Kumar Agarwal, Atul Singh, Keshav Kumar. Although they did not win a prize, their design was much appreciated by Dr. Gupta for being truly innovative.

Urbanizing the Brownfields of India

Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur is geared up to bolster Professional Partnerships, expand Study Abroad Programs and initiate Research Collaborations with select Global universities.  In line with this, the Department of Architecture and Regional Planning has come up with its second collaborative research programme with the Department of Urban Studies and Planning, Massachusetts Institute of Technology USA. The topic of research is “Integrating Brownfield Sites of India into the Urban Fabric”.

Brownfield redevelopment is relatively new within the Indian context. Given that remediation projects wherever applicable are long-term commitments; careful ex-ante planning is required to ensure the resulting projects are economic and effective. As yet, no standard definition or guideline for brownfield redevelopment is available in India. There is a scarcity of planning instruments, which are needed to manage complex spatial information and to provide planners with actionable results. US being one of the pioneer countries to have adopted a successful Urban Brown Development (UBD) Policy, this study would compare urban brownfield sites in different contexts in the US and document planning options for the range of stakeholders involved in redevelopment procedures.

As part of this project a team of students led by Prof. Subrata Chattopadhyay and Prof. Haimanti Banerji along with Prof. Brent D. Ryan from MIT visited many brownfield sites in the US in June 2019 and has done exhaustive documentation of the successful models and planning policies. UBD in the United States is handled by various acts, legislations and development protocols at the federal, state and local levels. To have a holistic understanding of the process, the team visited 8 towns in three states viz: Michigan, Pennsylvania and Massachusetts. Various models of brownfield development were observed.

The town of Flint had adopted a community participation approach and has developed public green space popularly known as Chevy Commons on the site where the Chevrolet factory was earlier located. Detroit has a well-established Brownfield Redevelopment Authority which approves and manages re-development of all brownfield sites in the town and encourages the involvement of private developers in the process within some established development protocols and zoning regulations. Bethlehem, a steel manufacturing town, north of Philadelphia, once known for supplying steel to Golden Gate Bridge was taken over by Leigh Valley Planning Commission who has developed revenue-generating facilities like hotels, warehouse for Walmart, visitors’ centre and a Cassino by integrating the massive original machinery and the structures. This can be considered as an ideal example of Industrial Heritage. Philadelphia, on the other hand, has developed the unused piers on the river Delaware into vibrant public places and has integrated the same into the city master plan. The towns of Lawrence and Lowell in northern parts of Massachusetts have ventured into developing affordable housing in place of closed down mills. The interiors have been meticulously worked out so that the residential spaces can be best fitted into the huge factory bays.

This exposure will help the IIT team to further develop planning instruments in India that would combine environmental, economic and social concerns.

The team from MIT led by Prof. Brent D. Ryan will visit India in January 2019 for an assessment of urban brownfields in the country. The objective would be to generate and analyze pragmatic urban brownfield development scenarios within the contexts of environmental contamination, community preferences, regulatory constraints and economic viabilities for the study area, proposing the best fit solution. These preliminary findings could be translated to state-level policies or guidelines which would act as a road-map for other Indian cities for prioritizing, planning, redeveloping, and financing Brownfield sites integrating the same to the urban fabric.

This collaboration will facilitate interaction between a bi-national team of scholars, practitioners, policy-makers, faculty and graduate students from both MIT and IIT. Ideas generated during proposed workshops and seminars will suggest road maps for Indian planners and policymakers. US faculty and students will learn about emerging challenges in socio-economic, policy, and urban design that confront the study areas in particular and India in general and can transfer lessons back to the US context.

Feathers in the Cap

Careers 360    India Education Diary

IIT Kharagpur has emerged among the country’s best and as the only IIT to qualify and excel in four disciplines – Architecture (1st), Engineering (4th), Law (4th) and Management (6th), taking on specialized schools in their domains.

Speaking about the feat of excelling in non-engineering categories, Director Prof. P P Chakrabarti emphasised on the uniqueness of each of these specialized disciplines within the IIT system.

“While there are specialized institutions in these subject areas, being part of IIT Kharagpur has catapulted the growth of these disciplines in a matter of a few decades due to the convergence culture of IIT Kharagpur typically focusing on research, multidisciplinary academics and overall career development of students enabling a unique symbiotic approach to excellence.”

IIT Kharagpur is leading in ‘Research and Professional Practice’ and ‘Graduate Outcome’ in the categories of Architecture, Law and Management while holding a competitive rank in Engineering.

“Our research publications and citations are extremely high domestically as evident from Scopus and SCI. However, there is a need for transforming research into industrial and consumer applications. In recent times we have undertaken several initiatives in the forms of Centres of Excellence which are focused towards technology development for industry and giving a thrust to the startup culture,” he said.

The Institute has launched centres of excellence and undertaken projects of national importance in six thrust areas which include Advanced Manufacturing, Intelligent and Smart Transportation, Affordable Healthcare, Digital Convergence, Innovative Infrastructure and Geoscience for Future of Earth with support from the government and industry. The research collaboration and impact thereof can be witnessed across various engineering and other disciplines such as management, law, social sciences, architecture etc.

Also, the multidisciplinary approach has led to specialized thrust areas in academics which is flexible and unique. The course design and curricula of the programs above deliver the country’s crème graduates leading to the best-in-class graduate outcomes.

“Focus on the integrated and growth-oriented strategy adopted by IIT Kharagpur has enabled us to sustain our top position while keeping the societal and industrial needs in mind in launching new courses and also massively using our alumni resources,” says Dean, Planning & Coordination Prof. M K Tiwari.

The Department of Architecture and Regional Planning clearly exhibits this trait with its key area of regional planning addressing the diverse regional planning needs of a country like India which are more in the lines of a subcontinent with intermittent regions within her cities, townships and villages, opines Prof. Joy Sen, Head of the department, who himself is a well-known Regional Planner.

“We focus on regional sciences, regional econometrics and regional programming which enable us to develop inclusive and innovative regional planning models,” remarks Prof. Joy Sen.

Similar is the case with the Rajiv Gandhi School of Intellectual Property Law at IIT Kharagpur which has carved its excellence in the domain of Intellectual Property law while successfully running LLB with specialization in IP, LLM and Doctoral programs.

“I do see a lot of interest in students to take up courses like AI and Law, Energy Law, IP Management, IP and Competition Law, Law of the Sea, Information Technology Law to name a few,” says Prof. Padmavati Manchikanti, Dean of the School. “In fact, some of the thrust areas of the School, AI and Law, Biodiversity Law, Energy Law, Energy Policy and Governance, are unique in the country,” she adds.

Prof. Prabina Rajib, Dean of Vinod Gupta School of Management which has been ranked 6th following the top 5 IIMs, emphasized at the interdisciplinary elective courses in engineering, science and mathematics offered by other departments, centres and schools at IIT Kharagpur. This sharpens their interdisciplinary knowledge and capability as efficient managers.

“Our students are mostly from engineering background and their career path follows a direction more oriented towards technology management. Keeping in line with the industry needs, we have introduced many new electives in Business Analytics area and also offer electives in emerging topics like Artificial Intelligence and Business Law, Internet of Things Cyber Security, Intellectual Property Rights ,” says Prof. Prabina.

The teaching, learning and resources parameter has been affected in this year’s NIRF rank as well, acknowledges the Director. However, he indicated this has more to do with the high number of students at IIT Kharagpur which has the largest number of academic disciplines with 19 departments, 12 schools and 17 centres of excellence.

“We are further working on recruiting more faculty which will also accelerate up our research initiatives. In the past three years, more than a hundred faculty members have been inducted in the system,” he added.