Hon’ble Education Minister Shri Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’ Inaugurates International Faculty Visitors’ Accommodation at IIT Kharagpur
“I am sure IIT Kharagpur will take the Indian education standards to a new unparalleled level:” Shri Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank, Hon’ble Education Minister
In an initiative towards attracting more faculty from prestigious foreign universities, the Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur has constructed new International Faculty Visitors’ Accommodation. The Institute is looking forward to hosting nearly 100 international faculty members for short-term and long-term teaching besides for Research and Development.
A video of the new facilities that were inaugurated can be downloaded from the following link – https://fromsmash.com/IIT-Kharagpur-Fuction-Video
Shri Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank,’ Hon’ble Minister of Education, Government of India, inaugurated the new International Visitors’ Accommodation at a virtual event on Thursday (15th October 2020) in the presence of Shri Sanjay Dhotre, Hon’ble Minister of State for Education, Government of India, Prof. V.K. Tewari, Director, IIT Kharagpur, and other faculty and staff from the Institute. Shri Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’ also laid the foundation stones for two new halls of residence for students during the occasion.
Addressing the inauguration function, Shri Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank,’ Hon’ble Minister of Education, Government of India, said, “I would like to ask the students to progress keeping a strong vision and make it their mission to achieve their goals. We are prominently becoming a global education hub and the National Education Policy 2020 is making sure the academicians will study in India and stay in India. Soon, India will teach the world; and the world will come to India to learn.”
Further, Shri Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’ said, “With the strong foundation pillars of Quality, Quantity and Access, National Education Policy 2020 is inclusive and will help education reach international standards. I am sure IIT Kharagpur will take the Indian education standards to a new unparalleled level. On this occasion, I congratulate Prof. V.K. Tewari, Director, and his team at IIT Kharagpur and Shri Sanjay Dhotre. Naming the new infrastructure facilities after Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, Shri. Atal Bihar Vajpayee, Bharat Ratna awardees and the legendary Smt. Savitri Phule will inspire students for sure to become leaders.” He laid particular emphasis on the importance of physical infrastructure to achieve our goals of excellence in the global scenario.
The A.P.J. Abdul Kalam International Visitors Residential Complex features fully-furnished studio apartments with modern amenities intended for full-time and part-time international faculty. Apart from 12 regular international faculty, the Institute also hosts international faculty from other foreign universities during the year for short-term courses under Global Initiative of Academic Networks (GIAN), Scheme for Promotion of Academic and Research Collaboration (SPARC) and other programs of the Ministry of Education and Government of India. The Institute also hosts faculty for long-term programs as well. Close to 50 such faculty visited in 2019-2020.
Speaking earlier, Shri Sanjay Dhotre, Hon’ble Minister of State for Education, Government of India, said, “I congratulate IIT Kharagpur on unveiling the news infrastructure facilities. The Institute houses many world-class facilities and I am sure the Institute will be creating a new cutting-edge road map through the National Supercomputing Mission. I am happy about the unveiling of these new residence facilities. Naming the hostels on these eminent personalities will surely inspire the students.” He further emphasized the need for excelling in domain-specific studies and expressed his confidence that every IIT would select a few domains where they can become global leaders.
Foreign Faculty bring in many advantages and unique benefits to the Institute. Some of the key benefits for IIT Kharagpur Faculty and students include:
- Multi-institutional Academic and Research exposure
- Cross-cultural experience and increase in diversity
- International faculty drive the global consciousness at educational institutions. They not only contribute to academia but bring internationalization to the industry by means of developing Intellectual Property
- International faculty spearhead the overall globalization of institutes by attracting more international students, collaborations and branding, besides leading the institutes further towards excellence.
Speaking on this occasion, Prof. V.K. Tewari, Director, IIT Kharagpur, said, “I am happy to announce today (15th October 2020) the unveiling of three new infrastructure facilities at IIT Kharagpur. The Institute already has 23 halls of residence named after luminaries. Along with this, we are naming the new boys’ residence of the hall after Shri Atal Bihar Vajpayee and girls’ residence of the hall after Smt. Savitri Phule.”
Further, Prof. V.K. Tewari said, “The Institute is working progressively on the lines of new National Education Policy 2020. The Institute has constituted a task force of 23 faculty members who are making sure that the policy is implemented in the best way possible at IIT Kharagpur. The Institute has also worked tirelessly during the COVID-19 times. Our faculty and researchers developed a rapid portable diagnostic test, painless drug delivery needle, and a physical distancing device, among other innovations and research.”
During this event, foundation stones were laid for two new students Halls of Residence having a capacity of 500 each. IIT Kharagpur already has 23 hostels with a combined capacity of 13,000. These new G+7 facilities will have central airconditioning, a food court and modern firefighting system along with elevators and ramps.
Student strength growth (as of 14.10.2020)
| |
2018-19 |
2019-20 |
2020-21 |
| UG |
7034 |
6988 |
5780 +1556 (expected from JEE Advanced) |
| PG |
2573 |
2558 |
2885 |
| RS |
3164 |
3278 |
3705 |
| TOTAL |
12771 |
12824 |
13926 |
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ABOUT IIT KHARAGPUR
Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur (IIT Kharagpur, IIT KGP) is the first IIT and an Institute of National Importance set up in 1951 under a parliamentary act of the Govt. of India. It has also been awarded the status of the Institute of Eminence by the Govt. of India 2019. IIT Kharagpur is known for its wide and diverse academic disciplines (19 departments, 13 schools, 17 centres and 25+ R&D units), and a range of UG, PG and Doctoral programs in areas including Engineering & Technology, Basic Sciences, Biosciences, Earth Sciences, Medical Science & Technology, Social Sciences and Humanities, Management, Law and Entrepreneurship. Currently, the Institute has close to 13000 students and more than 750 faculty members. The Institute has a very high research focus with an annual research output of 2000 publications with 40000 citations, 50-100 patents, and 30 technology incubations as startups.
The Institute conducts several joint degree programs with Indian and foreign institutions with students from over 15 countries enrolled with the Institute as full-time or short-term foreign students. Each year more than 2500 students graduate from IIT Kharagpur who are rated highly employable in the industry. The alumni include stalwarts who have excelled as industry leaders, award-winning academicians, politicians and public figures, sports personalities and even creative professionals. The Institute has been ranked among the top 5 in the NIRF rank for Engineering, Management, Law and Overall and the best in the country in Architecture. Apart from academics and research, IIT Kharagpur has made a considerable impact in community outreach through its socially relevant projects in areas of Education, Malnutrition, Water and Sanitation, Energy and Environment, Affordable Healthcare, Rural Livelihood and much more.
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The participation from USA, Australia and UK witnessed highest visits covering close to 65% of the international faculty visitors in 2019-20. The slump in 2020 though was expected, work was carried out through online conferences. In one such initiative, IIT Kharagpur organized the International Conference on ‘Emerging Trends in Healthcare Technology in Post-COVID-19 Era’ with expert participation from USA, UK, Australia, Sweden, South Africa, The Netherlands, India and Shri Amit Khare, Secretary, Dept. of Higher Education, Govt. of India.