Tag: Director

Prof. Amit Patra is appointed the new Director of IIT BHU (Varanasi) by Ministry of Education

If your  actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader. A successful leadership is about making others better as a result of your presence and making sure that the impact lasts in your absence by unlocking people’s potential to become better. A greatest leader is not necessarily the one who does the great things, he is the one that gets the people to do the great things.  Today, IIT Kharagpur celebrates one such leader that the institute is proud of. Prof. Amit Patra, Deputy Director of IIT Kharagpur has recently been appointed as the Director, IIT BHU (Varanasi) by the Ministry of Education. An Electrical Engineer with an academic career spanning over 35 years, his soulful voice echoes at every joyous and momentous occasions in the institute as an ardent music lover.

Prof. Amit Patra  received his B.Tech, M. Tech. and PhD degrees from the Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur in 1984, 1986 and 1990 respectively. During 1992-93 and in 2000, he visited the Ruhr-University, Bochum, Germany as a Post-Doctoral Fellow of the Alexander Von Humboldt Foundation. He joined the Department of Electrical Engineering, IIT Kharagpur in 1987 as a faculty member. During 2018-19 he visited the University of Maryland, Baltimore County as a Senior Visiting Research Scientist and has been serving as an Honorary Adjunct Professor. He also served many administrative positions as the Dean of Alumni Affairs and International Relations between 2007 and 2013 and was the Professor-In-Charge, Advanced VLSI Design Lab at IIT Kharagpur during 2004-07.

His current research interests include power management circuits, mixed-signal VLSI design, battery management systems, diagnostics and prognostics in industrial and biomedical systems. As the Professor-In-Charge of the Advanced VLSI Design Laboratory he was instrumental in expanding the chip design activity of the laboratory and also setting up an advanced test facility. During his tenure, the laboratory received a funding of about USD 1 Million from major multinational corporations like National Semiconductor, Intel, Synopsys etc. He took a major initiative to create a consortium of leading VLSI companies to support the chip design and CAD activity of the laboratory. More than a dozen companies including National Semiconductor, Texas Instruments, Agilent Technologies, Sun Microsystems, Cadence Design Systems, Synopsys Inc., Infineon Technologies, etc. joined this consortium. He has filed about a dozen patents and has a granted patent in his name and has carried out more than 45 sponsored projects mostly in the areas of VLSI and power management circuits and control systems. He has collaborated with National Semiconductor Corporation, Infineon Technologies, Freescale Semiconductor, Maxim Corporation, NXP Semiconductor and a few start-up companies in the Power Management area. In the area of control systems he has worked with ISRO, DRDO, ADE, ADA, General Motors and Tata Motors.

Prof. Patra received the Young Engineer Award of the Indian National Academy of Engineering in 1996 and the Young Teachers Career Award from the All India Council for Technical Education in 1995 along with the Samsung Innovation Award. A Young Associate of the Indian Academy of Sciences during 1992-97, he is a member of IEEE (USA), Institution of Engineers (India) and a life member of the Systems Society of India. Prof. Patra has recently been listed as one the top contributors of engineering publications in the country by a DST-conducted survey spanning the period 2002-2014.


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

IIT KGP Director Speaks on NEP

On Higher Education

A day of celebration as an educationist as we welcome the National Education Policy (#NEP2020) announced by Dr.Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank, Hon’ble Minister, Ministry of Human Resource Development, Government of India. The policy has substantial elements for the higher education sector. The key among them is setting up the National Research Foundation to foster research culture and removal of MPhil which has been witnessing a downward trend in offering research career opportunities hence fewer number of takers.

Emphasis on Interdisciplinary and Humanities Education at IITs

Another area I must mention is the thrust on multidisciplinary education including more of Humanities and Social Sciences at the IITs. While the older IITs have a strong presence in this sector, this would strengthen the holistic academic needs of new generation IITs. At IIT Kharagpur we are already offering microspecializations, micro-credits and research programs that are typically interdisciplinary. We have specialized centres in these areas, to name a few are the Rekhi Centre for Science of Happiness, the Academy for Classical and Folk Arts, our law school which is the first-of-its-kind focusing on Intellectual Property. We will be glad to work with new IITs in these areas.

Democratization of School Education

What excited me most is the School Education Policy. It has come after almost four decades and with much democratization of pre-primary, primary and middle school education. The emphasis on primary education in regional languages and the introduction of Sanskrit, following the three-language formula, will turn out to be a great boon to the people of the country, especially in the rural areas. In several European universities, Sanskrit is being explored as a coveted academic discipline.

German universities have delved into Sanskrit learning to conduct research on the scientific heritage of the Vedas, Upanishads and other ancient Indian scriptures such as Baudhāyana sūtras (800 BCE) which contains mathematical principles of square roots, Pythagorean theorem, geometric principles etc. or Pingala’s misrau cha (400 BCE) which is usually identified as the Fibonacci number series and works on advanced Mathematics, Physics, Astronomy, Chemistry, Metallurgy and much more. India in this 21st century has still much left to look back and explore our hidden wealth. Endowing our student community with an evolved language like Sanskrit will help shape a rational thought process among school-going children.

The regional and Sanskrit language education will also enable our student community to grow strong indigenous roots and learn from the resources of our rich heritage while training in computer programming will upskill them to dive for more opportunities as the 21st century progresses.

Education through the National Digital Library of India

The National Digital Library of India developed by IIT Kharagpur as an initiative of MHRD has much to offer towards this new policy. It can give a significant impetus to pre-primary, primary, middle school and high school education through incorporating not only educational resources but also developing online education pedagogy and outreach programmes facilitating rural students. It can further provide resources for the education of the elderly to make them more equipped for Digital India.

IITKGP Cares

IIT Kharagpur Donates Rs. One Crore to PM Cares Fund

India Today                 Indian Express           Business Standard           Yahoo News             Careers360            Hindustan Times             NDTV           Republic World                    Telangana Today           Navbharat Times             Times of India            Outlook          India Education Diary            News 18               Jagran Josh                    inshorts                Times Now

IIT Kharagpur has donated Rs. one crore to the PM Cares Fund of Govt. of India following a call by Hon’ble Prime Minister Narendra Modi in support of initiatives to combat COVID-19. Keeping in mind the need for having a dedicated national fund with the primary objective of dealing with any kind of emergency or distress situation, like posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, and to provide relief to the affected, a public charitable trust under the name of ‘Prime Minister’s Citizen Assistance and Relief in Emergency Situations Fund’ (PM CARES Fund)’ has been set up.

Photo courtesy: Click Kgp

IIT Kharagpur launched a campaign amongst its faculty and staff members to donate their one day’s salary towards this fund. The Institute has raised Rs. one crore from the faculty, staff and other sources of the Institute which has already been transferred to the PM Cares Fund.

“We had proposed to contribute towards this fund and circulated a form through which all employees of IIT Kharagpur can voluntarily donate towards this national fund through an institutional mechanism. I am glad to see people have come forward in large numbers and within a week we have been able to pledge the amount. We have communicated the same to the Ministry of Human Resources Development as well,” remarked Prof. Virendra Tewari, Director, IIT Kharagpur.

The Institute has also been approached by some alumni from the USA to set up a temporary fund in order to sustain and support for a period of 6 months, the needy people in and around the campus who have been severely affected economically due to COVID-19. While various government and non-government bodies are catering to the food supply of these sections of the community, there is a constant and urgent need for supplying them personal protective equipment or PPE gears for essential service providers, cleaning materials for needy people at large.

Talking about initiatives taken by IIT Kharagpur, Director Tewari further said, “We have set up regulations regarding social distancing, staggered hours for accessing public utility and essential services, accommodation for workers engaged in essential services, maintenance, halls of residence, security. Entry and exit to the campus has also been restricted to only one gate with security and health checks. We are ensuring nobody crosses the campus boundaries unless it is for a necessary activity that too not on a daily basis and not without surveillance and sanitization. The safety of our students, our people is our priority and I am glad every person on campus is cooperating with the administration in making this lockdown successful. I am positive people elsewhere in the country too would adhere to government regulations.”

The Institute is currently residence to about 5500 students and even a higher number of other community members comprising employees and their families.

In the photo: Akshat Jain, 3rd year, AGFE

“The administrative body of the Institute has been issuing notifications/circulars at regular intervals to communicate mandatory practices to be followed by the campus residents be they in the hostels or in family quarters as per MOWFA, Govt of India, Home Ministry and Govt of West Bengal guidelines and advisories issued from time to time,” said Registrar Prof. Bhrigu Nath Singh.

The Institute has already preponed the summer recess by more than a month and also issued a revised academic calendar, confirmed Registrar Prof. Singh. It has also procured a large number of licenses of online platforms through teaching and learning can be continued in electronic mode without any interruption.

Combating COVID

IIT Kharagpur’s Combat against COVID19

India Today             Indian Express          Yahoo News          Amar Ujaala

As the world is battling CoronaVirus, universities suspending their academic and select other activities, in one corner of Eastern India, the world renowned institute is giving fillip to the combat against COVID-19. The oldest and largest IIT and its stakeholders on the campus are contributing through a wide range of initiatives to continue helping students with their course work, increase public awareness about CoronaVirus pandemic and create resources to boost health and hygiene. Whether they be at the laboratories creating much needed solutions or socially distanced students seeking meaningful engagement or faculty and staff exploring alternate mode of teaching and learning, IIT Kharagpur is exhibiting its unique creative energy and cautious optimism at this crucial time demanding our endurance and responsible behaviour.

Health Outreach Projects

Recently Vision Prabaho, a twenty-member student group from IIT Kharagpur, found special mention in the social media post by Shri Sanjay Dhotre, Minister of State for Human Resource Development, Communications and Electronics and Information Technology. The group had translated the precautionary advisory issued by the World Health Organization (WHO) in eleven Indian languages.

Biswaroop Mondal, one of the students from the group said, “An astounding billion plus people are conversing in regional languages. We thought it would be imperative to help increase the reach through messages in vernacular languages. We have translated the advisory issued by WHO in Assamese, Bengali, Odiya, Telugu, Malayalam, Kannada, Marathi, Gujarati, Punjabi, Kashmiri and Hindi. We are trying to incorporate more editions of the video in other regional languages.”

In another initiative, four researchers are carrying out a study titled  ‘Travel During COVID-19 Outbreak: Behaviour, Impact, and Interventions’ to increase public awareness and perceptions about travel and social distancing. They are collecting public inputs to understand diverse insights and create a sense of preparedness. The researchers include Dr. Saurabh Dandapat, Dr. Kinjal Bhattacharyya, Annam Sai Kiran and Kaustubh Saysardar.

Hygiene Facilitation

Further to this, a research group is also working towards developing a hand sanitizing solution independently following WHO guidelines. The Transport section of the Institute has also prepared a hand sanitizer for internal use and hygiene. Read More

“The campus hospital is also exploring the procurement of washable masks designed and manufactured locally to ensure safety during unavoidable social and limited professional interactions. The administrators have been practicing social distancing themselves and encouraging the practice among the staff and students,” said Director Prof. Virendra Kumar Tewari. 

Alternative Academics

It may be mentioned in this regard that restricted travel and social distancing have been repeatedly advised by healthcare practitioners and has been a key component in the address by the Prime Minister on March 19. But the social distancing goes beyond health and hygiene.

“While academic activities remain suspended until March 31, students are being facilitated through existing and newly acquired e-learning platforms,” added Prof. Tewari.

The Institute already offers a wide range of course lectures on digital platforms such as MOOCs, Swayam, and DTH platform Swayam Prabha. Students can access these with a high-speed internet connection from anywhere in the world.

“Since the pronouncement of the suspension of classes, the Center for Education Technology has acquired a large number of WebEx licenses from CISCO for conducting classes from 2nd-year undergraduate courses upto postgraduate level. First-year classes are being conducted through YouTube Live. More than 40 faculty members are already taking classes using these e-learning facilities. We are further discussing with Zoom to facilitate interactive online teaching,” said Shib Sankar Das from the Centre. 

Prof. Jeevanjyoti Chakraborty who recently conducted a lecture on Mechanics reported more than 1500 viewers for his lecture on YouTube of which 450 were live viewers.

Talking about his experience Prof. Chakraborty said, “the teaching community is new to managing technicalities while recording lectures. The e-learning which we have been using until now was done at studios and there is technical staff to work through the logistics. The Institute’s stepping up the YouTube Live facility has enabled the faculty to concentrate on the teaching part instead of being concerned with the technical aspects of recording and streaming.”

He also mulled over the flipped classroom and active learning strategies wherein students can listen to recording course lectures prior to the scheduled online class and interact more regarding their queries on the topic.

Virtual Campus Outreach

In a novel initiative to give the mind rest from the flow of news and discussions regarding COVID19, the students of IIT Kharagpur and those studying in schools on the campus are being encouraged to engage creatively especially the occasion of Earth Day which is scheduled on April 22. The Govt. of India has been actively promoting it for the past few years. The Branding and Communications Cell under the aegis of the Dean International Relations, IIT Kharagpur has launched an online competition and exhibition (Drawing/Painting, Poster, Photo Story and Video) in electronic mode, extensively using social media platforms to celebrate the Golden Jubilee of Earth Day. While the themes would primarily include Climate Change, Sustainable Use of Natural Resources, Pollution, Biodiversity, it would also include themes such as Disaster Management, Hygiene & Cleanliness. (Click Here to Know More)

“The Institute is gearing up for a digitized celebration of Earth Day which is scheduled on April 22 with the optimism of a better tomorrow,” remarked Director Tewari. 

“We are among the first in India to strategize an online celebration of Earth Day which is otherwise marked with large public gatherings, environmental events and activism,” stated a staff member. 

Gearing Up for March 22

The Institute is also gearing up for the moment of gratitude and solidarity with those sections of the community who have been serving the campus diligently during the COVID pandemic.

Following the message of PM Narendra Modi, Director Tewari confirmed that the community will take part in the solidarity clap with the staff engaged in essential services such as healthcare, security, hostel mess, sanitation, electricity etc. along with the defenders of the nation on these fronts.

From the heart

Prof.Damodar Acharya, alumnus and former Director of IIT Kharagpur, was the invited guest of the Director, Prof. V.K. Tewari, at the 17th Annual Alumni Meet. He participated in the brainstorming session with three other former directors to contemplate on the future of the Institute. Prof. Acharya has decided to pay for the renovation of the two hostel rooms he occupied, first as an MTech student in 1970-72, and then during his PhD from 1972-75. KGP Chronicle talks to him about his decision and his thoughts on his alma mater.

What prompted you to contribute to the renovation of the two rooms you occupied as a student of IIT Kharagpur?

Answer: Freshers to college, including their parents, get their first impression about the Institute as they enter the room allotted to them. Our hostel rooms were good and matched the taste of students of the period of their construction. With time and lack of proper upkeep, they are not as good as they used to be. Government gives money for new construction. But for renovation and upgradation hardly any budget is available. No doubt some of our alumni are contributing to renovate common facilities like kitchen, dining hall and common room with big ticket funding. During my period, efforts were made to improve toilets. However, the rooms could not be renovated. Renovation of a room, I understand, requires modest expenditure of about Rs 100,000 that most of our alumni can afford. In KGP every student is attached to his/her hall and to the room that he/she stays. By contributing a small sum for the renovation of the room where one has stayed, one contributes for a good cause and in a small way pays back to the alma mater.

I firmly believe that with this type of small donation from each of the alumni together can make a lot of difference and ensure involvement of a large number in Institute building. This consideration prompted me to contribute for the renovation of the two rooms where I stayed during my student days with the hope that many more like me with limited capability will join the movement,

IIT Kharagpur wants to be among the top 10 institutions of the world. Is there too much focus on global ranking?

Answer: Higher global ranking, whether we like it or not, has become a goal of any Institution that offers world class education. Higher ranking helps in attracting good students, both national and international, world class faculty, funding from national and international sources and excellent career for its alumni. Perusing higher ranking is the goal of any Institution and IIT Kharagpur cannot be an exception. Definitely the focus on higher ranking is not too much.

Becoming one amongst the top ten institutions in the world is no doubt a laudable long term goal. IIT Kharagpur has to strive to achieve this in the shortest possible time. However, this calls for charting a strategy and time bound actions to reach the achievable mile stones. Some universities have done so with amazing success in a very short period though most have hundred or more years of history.

What do you think IIT Kharagpur should change or improve if it has to improve its ranking?

Answer: Comparison scores of IIT Kharagpur with those of the Top ten Universities in each of the QS ranking parameters will reveal that we have to go long way. We have to improve our score in each of the parameters. A strategy and actionable plans with time bound implementation schedule have to be developed. To identify the action set, we have to learn from our bench mark Institutes. The process is not sequential. One has to attack from all fronts. Two most important ones will be the teaching-learning process and research. Both will require a paradigm shift in our approach and allocation of resources for faculty, students, infrastructure and money.

Prof. Acharya at a session at the Computer Science and Engineering Department when he was Director, IIT KGP

If you were to be the Director of IIT Kharagpur today, what is the immediate thing you would have liked to concentrate on?

Answer: If I were the Director today, to improve ranking I would select bench mark Institutes and bench mark departments to understand how they have done so well. For instance NTU Singapore, which achieved a QS ranking of 11 in a short period of 33 years, will be my bench mark Institute. Georgia Tech will be my bench mark for the Mechanical Engineering.

The Institute and each of the departments will have to develop the road map on how to come nearer to their benchmark Institute and Department in teaching-learning and research. Targets for five years, 10 years, 20 years and 25 years shall be set.

  • The teaching-learning process has to be totally changed. The Institute has to change to outcome-based learning and use flipped class room, active learning, collaborative learning and experiential learning pedagogy to replace chalk and talk and ppt based delivery. Research will form an integral part of undergraduate and postgraduate education.
  • Focused research on a few areas with global and national relevance has to be initiated with the clear objective of becoming a reference Department in that area,
  • Attracting world class faculty and retaining them will be the other focus.
  • Innovation and entrepreneurship culture has to be strengthened.
  • Performance-based incentive system ought to be introduced.

Can you please share with us some anecdotes related to your time as Director of this institution?

Answer: I have been a workaholic and a private person throughout my life. In spite of my taking many path-breaking initiatives and doing work of long term value to the Institute, I was often misunderstood as a strict disciplinarian and insensitive person during my tenure. Frankly, I am just the opposite. My only limitation was that I am outspoken and did not know how not to tell a spade a spade. I was so deeply involved in work that I could not devote time for socializing. Therefore, I do not have many anecdotes to quote except the criticism I have faced for obvious reasons I do not want to quote and which I shall prefer to forget.

 

 

From the Desk of the Director

Prof. Virendra Kumar Tewari, faculty member and former Head of the Dept. of Agricultural and Food Engineering has been appointed as the Director of Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur effective from December 31, 2019, for a period of five years.

Brief Bio:

Prof. Tewari grew up a campus boy and went on to become an alumnus of the Institute. He completed B.Tech. (Hons.) in Agricultural and Food Engineering from IIT Kharagpur in 1979, M.Tech. in Farm Machinery and Power Engineering in 1981 and Ph.D. in Engineering in 1985. 

Prof. Tewari joined the Institute as a faculty member in 1990 where he rose to the rank of Professor in Farm Machinery and Power Engineering in the Dept. of Agricultural and Food Engineering. He was associated with JEE from 2003 – 2006 and was the All India Organizing Committee Chairman of JEE from 2005 – 2006. Many of his pioneering initiatives such as the design of question papers are being followed even now.

Prof. Tewari’s core research areas include Tractor system design, Ergonomics and industrial safety, Design of agricultural machines, Precision agriculture and Machinery system management. Among his key research projects, the Centre of Excellence for Digital Farming Solutions for Enhancing Productivity by Robots, Drones and AGVs National Agricultural Higher Education Project (NAHEP) deserves special mention. In addition, he is leading several projects by Central Institute of Agricultural Engineering, Indian Council of Agricultural Research, Ministry of Agriculture and Farming Welfare, Department of Agriculture, Cooperation and Farmers Welfare, Govt. of India. 

Prof. Tewari has been conferred with several awards accolades by Indian Society of Agricultural Engineers, Indian Society for Technical Education, National Research Development Corporation. To name a few ISI Gold Medal, Jawaharlal Nehru Award for his contributions in the field of agricultural mechanization.

In a brief interaction, Director Tewari shared his vision about IIT Kharagpur for the next five years.

His Vision:

The foremost initiative would be to form an advisory committee comprising former Directors of IIT Kharagpur. The panel would advise the administrative body on various issues which will be the top focus areas in the coming five years.

“The aim is to involve all stakeholders and we shall also engage with alumni, students, faculty, staff members and other associates in this endeavour,” he asserted.

Among the thrust areas which will immediately be under consideration are institutional ranking, water consumption management, waste management, rural development projects, technology commercialization and cultural exchange among students within the Institute and beyond.

Dwelling on the issue of institutional ranking Director Tewari said, “Our goal should be to compete with the top ten universities in the world to climb the ladder of global ranking. However, institutional ranking is a sum reflection of holistic performance and impact created by any higher educational institution. The past Directors’ advisory group will engage extensively towards this goal.” 

“The alignment with projects funded under national mission schemes like Unnat Bharat Abhiyan, will be reviewed,” remarked the Prof. Tewari. 

Research Focus:

IIT Kharagpur has been a leader in the area of rural technology innovation and livelihood development. We have not only developed technologies in our domain but also trained farmers and associated workforce towards the implementation of technologies. Further, the Department of Agricultural and Food Engineering had been conducting skill development workshops for economic empowerment in several other areas under the Rural Development Centre and Science and Technology Entrepreneurship Park. 

In similar lines, the Director has been mulling on a strategy to deliver market-ready innovative products and processes by every academic unit. The goal of this initiative would be to mentor student entrepreneurs and create a pathway for technologies from lab to land.

The Campus

The 2100 acre which resembles self-sustained mini-township has been aspiring for self-reliance in water and electricity consumption. 

Director Tewari said, “We have the Kangsabati river in the neighbouring region which can be a direct source of our freshwater requirement. We will be completing a project to create another direct pipeline from the river. Further to this we are reviewing the management of solid and other forms of waste including e-waste to align with the environmental norms of Govt. of India and Swachh Bharat Abhiyan. Several of our faculty members who are working in these areas will be consulted to develop avenues of a waste management system which will not only be at par with global methods but also suited for Indian conditions.”

The Institute has undertaken concrete steps towards restricting the use of single-use plastic. 

People of IIT KGP:

On the front of human resources on the campus, last week the Director met the non-teaching staff of the Institute. Quick decision-making at the level of the staff member and managing activities and challenges with a people-centric approach were two key points discussed during my address to the non-teaching staff members of the Institute today. 

In his first address to the faculty members at IIT Kharagpur, the emphasis was on the individual strength of each faculty member be it innovation and market-oriented research or excelling in teaching and learning methods or industry outreach.

He said, “teaching and learning methodologies constantly need to be reinvented through recognition of faculty members excelling in teaching and evolving the new pedagogy to suit changing needs and attitudes of students.”

“To strengthen our teaching and learning at the departmental level we should take better advantages of initiatives like GIAN and Professor of Practice to boost expertise from industry and abroad. Of course, we would first have to build the required infrastructure needed to host them,” he added.

Talking about student interaction and improving relations with the student community, the Director suggested devising creative ways through personal and informal interaction at hostels and beyond the usual platforms of teacher-student interactions.

Outreach

To strengthen student interactions the Institute will give a significant boost to the cultural exchange through the ‘Ek Bharat Shrestha Bharat’ program with extending its scope to nearby areas in the Railways and Kalaikunda airbase. Outreach to corporate houses and schools and programmes on a larger scale and efforts will be formulated to help the last man of the society.