IIT Kharagpur and Indian Navy joins forces to drive innovation through research partnership

Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur and Indian Navy signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on 20th March, 2024 at Naval Headquarters, New Delhi, symbolizing their commitment to promote technology development, innovative solutions and joint R&D. Rear Admiral K Srinivas, Asst. Chief of Materiel (Dockyard & Refit) at Naval Headquarters and Prof. Rintu Banerjee, Dean, R&D, IIT Kharagpur signed the MoU in the august presence of Prof. Virendra Kumar Tewari, Director of IIT Kharagpur.

 MoU signing with Indian Navy : New Delhi

The spheres of studies include propulsion systems, systems and controls, instrumentation and sensors, industrial engineering and operational research, nanotechnology and MEMS, hydrodynamic study of fluids, computer aided design, study of mechanical design of systems & equipment, surface treatment, study of acoustics, reliability, quantum computing and quantum mechanics, AI, ML, Big Data Analytics, Mechatronics, Robotics etc. Other special developmental studies pertaining to Computational Fluid Dynamics for hull appendage interaction, hull sea inlet interaction, aerodynamic/plume trajectory, optimization of ship structure, steel technology etc. and other engineering disciplines will be included.

“This partnership will promote academic cooperation, enhance scientific understanding of technologies related to defence and undertake research in mutually beneficial areas including taking up research projects by Indian Navy sponsored students on the topics pertaining to areas of interest of Indian Navy,” said Prof. V K Tewari, Director, IIT Kharagpur

The strategic collaboration focuses on joint research and development initiatives involving teams from Indian Navy and IIT Kharagpur. The MoU will be co-ordinated by INS Shivaji, Lonavala. This alignment signifies a move towards a symbolic relationship between the Academia and the Military, fostering an environment conducive to innovation and knowledge exchange.

Media Coverage:

Indian Navy PIB Economic Times
The Hindu Telegraph Statesman
UNI Republic World India Today
The Print Deccan Herald News 18
Career 360 ETV Bharat The Bengal
Force India Bengal Post The News Agency
Humming Bird News KGP News Dainik Jagran

Dainik Jagran

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 Kharagpur ranked 5th in India in QS Asia University Rankings 2023

Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur (IIT KGP) ranked 5th in India as per the QS Asia University Rankings 2023. The premier institute overall ranked 61st in Southern Asia among its other peers. IIT Kharagpur is the national leader and Asia’s third-highest among the Universities with the indicator of maximum staff having PhD and featured among the top 8% in the QS Asia University Ranking 2023 with a total of 760 institutions.

The institute has also been named as one of the world’s top 100 universities for the study of 19 subjects, according to the world’s highest QS University Rankings. IIT KGP ranked 37th in 2022 compared to 44th in 2021 in Mineral & Mining Engineering & 80th rank in 2022, improving its rank from 90th in 2021 in Electrical & Electronic Engineering. In Engineering & Technology, it ranked 101st in the world and 3rd in India, as per the 12th QS World University Rankings by Subject, 2022. The Institute of Eminence featured in the top three in India for Agriculture & Forestry (1st rank), Statistics & Operational Research (1st rank), Mineral & Mining Engineering (2nd rank), Environmental Sciences (2nd rank), Economics & Econometrics (2nd rank), Engineering & Technology (3rd rank), Computer Science & Information Systems (3rd rank), Chemical Engineering (3rd rank) and Accounting & Finance (3rd rank). Overall, the institute leaped up to 10 places to secure 270th rank in the QS World University Ranking 2023 and improved its 2022 performance by 10 places and seen significant rise in academic and employer reputation. The Citations per Faculty has also seen a variable rise being the strongest indicator for the institute and fared among the top 19% in the QS World University Rankings.

Speaking on the QS Asia Rankings 2023, Prof. Amit Patra, Deputy Director, IIT Kharagpur remarked, “We are glad to see the consistent rise in our global ranking over the last decade. Being fundamentally a technology oriented institution we have the scope to make a major impact to the economy of the country. We are soon going to add medical education to our repertoire which would put us head-to-head with the world leaders like MIT & Stanford.”

Branching out to the avenues of Medical Engineering and Bio-medical Studies with an amalgamation of technological advancements and nano technology, importance is given to medical education including biomedical sensing research, an interdisciplinary R&D work at School of Medical Science and Technology (SMST), at IIT Kharagpur has been initiated to promote MEMS and Biosensor activity that encompasses design, fabrication and engineering of biomedical & microfluidic devices for its electro-physiological characterization. For the evaluation of electrical and physical properties of biomolecules and cells using suitable micro-fluidic devices, appropriate fabrication of polymeric coated bio-MEMS are being investigated and its utility are evaluated under different microscopic and electrical impedance study. The School has collaborated with some of the best medical research institutes and medical industries from all over the world and introduced an interdisciplinary 3 years Masters Program in Medical Science and Technology (MMST) – the first of its kind in the country. The school also offers a 4 semester M.Tech program in Medical Imaging & Informatics along with PhD programs. Prestigious awards and fellowships like Nehru-Fulbright, Khorana, DAAD scholarships etc. were bestowed on several students.

The institute is also gearing up to expand its horizons in the field of medical science in the form Dr. Syama Prasad Mookerjee Institute of Medical Science and Research Forum & by establishing a medical college the B. C Roy Multi-Speciality Medical Research Centre which is a major boost for setting the dawn of a new era in the IIT system in Medical Education & Research for community welfare. IIT Kharagpur is the first IIT in India to have expanded its horizon to providing medical education in both MBBS and Post-graduate programs and healthcare services. The new Super Speciality Hospital in the name of Dr. Syama Prasad Mookerjee has started its OPD with initial 14-visiting specialists. Many of the Alumni of IIT KGP have also donated beds for the hospital.

Speaking on the QS Rankings by Subject 2022, Prof. V K Tewari, Director, IIT Kharagpur remarked, “IIT Kharagpur stands out from other IITs with its multi-disciplinary mandate to transform its education curriculum to a knowledge economy along with the focus on skill development and entrepreneurship.”

Along with modern sciences, the genesis of traditional knowledge systems known as the Centre of Excellence for Indian Knowledge Systems (CoEIKS) entail in a knowledge transfer of indigenous knowledge systems offering a value proposition which can be naturally assimilated, making learning more engaging and delightful. The Indian Knowledge System that transfuses the relevance of traditional knowledge systems & ancient wisdom in contemporary times and their role to synergise modern scientific knowledge with Indian art, architecture, sociology, culture, language etc. has created a resource of connecting our basic knowledge with our existence. It has opened ways. The young talents of the post-pandemic world would be more in need of interdisciplinary  and more integrated learning programs. Education in mother tongue follows the same line of thoughts to make learning more accessible by enabling students to grasp the knowledge in the same language as they speak. The diversity of the institute with Centre of Excellence for Indian Knowledge Systems, the Centre of Excellence for Classical and Folk Arts, Leadership, Science of Happiness, Law, Management, Safety Analytics etc. will generate multidisciplinary mandate implementation.

Being the oldest IIT in the country, the activities of IIT Kharagpur is aligned to serve national interest and seeks to provide broad-based education, helping students hone their professional skills and acquire the best-in-class capabilities in their respective disciplines, infusing a spirit of entrepreneurship, innovation and socialism among students. The institute has unique innovations like Deekshak e-classroom software, Ultra High Corrosion Resistant Stainless Steel for Indian Space, Painless Needle, Cell patterning, 2G Ethanol, AI based low-cost meteorological inspection system, Robotic systems to detect and treat plant disease, novel technique to trace ancient seasons and climate change etc. which thrust ahead the Institute among its global peers.

Associations with GIAN, SPARC, DST, C-DAC has been a complimentary asset to project IIT Kharagpur’s growth trajectory on a front foot with the nation where people are aware about its initiatives towards excellence in innovations, technological developments, research, community service, leadership and entrepreneurial skills, social impact, nation building, social welfare, and professional accomplishments. Centre for Artificial Intelligence, Paramshakti Supercomputing Mission for Param-Vidya, Safety in Engineering & Analytics along with Quality, Reliability, Availability, Maintainability & Safety (QRAMS) stands out with its inclusive efforts to become a global benchmark for education, training, consulting and research. As an Institute of Eminence, IIT Kharagpur has always been popular choice for Internationalization in Higher Studies with the neighbouring countries. Contributions to community welfare in the fields of Education and Outreach, Affordable healthcare, Clean drinking water, Food and Nutrition, Rural Development, Sustainable Livelihood, Environmental Sustainability and several other areas under the ambit of CSR has been developed to serve the neighbouring community.

Progressive change comes from progressive minds, that is the work the Institute fosters to implant as Policy Makers, as Academicians, as Societal Reforms and as one of the premier and oldest institute of the country.

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 Kharagpur Researchers Develop Painless Drug Delivery and Vaccination Device

Hindustan Times News18 India Today
Hindustan Times Bangla News18 Bangla Anandabazar Patrika
Navbharat Times Amar Ujala Jagran
The Week Economic Times Health The New Indian Express
Outlook Deccan Herald Yahoo News
Republic TV Millennium Post Inshorts
Odisha Bytes NDTV Khabar AsiaNet

Do invasive medications make you anxious because of the pain? You may not have to worry anymore – microneedles and micropump developed by IIT Kharagpur will enable your medications to be administered in a painless way. Researchers at the Institute’s Dept. of Electronics & Electrical Communication Engineering have developed a micropump and microneedle which are integral parts of transdermal drug delivery systems capable of administering large and viscous drug molecules in a painless way.  The innovation will further enable transdermal application of COVID-19 vaccine.

Painless transdermal drug delivery has been a success story for decades in the USA and several other countries. In recent years, in order to expand its scope, the scientific community has been working towards developing microneedles with diameters smaller than a hair strand. The hollow microneedles operate by means of a pressurized and controlled micropump delivering the drug through the skin. The micropump pushes out the drug in the reservoir through the microneedle array. The microneedles are painless as they are too small to touch the nerves in the skin and induce pain reactions.  

The innovation by IIT Kharagpur has not only reduced the diameter size of the microneedles but has also increased the strength so that they do not break while penetrating the skin.

Prof. Tarun Kanti Bhattacharyya, Dept. of Electronics & Electrical Communications Engineering

Explaining the novelty of the innovation, lead researcher Prof. Tarun Kanti Bhattacharyya said, “We have fabricated high strength glassy carbon microneedles which can withstand the skin resistive forces. Added to this is our designing of the ionic polymer metal composite membrane based micropump which increases the flow rate of the drug molecules in a controlled and precise manner. We have further integrated this microneedle and micropump to achieve controlled drug delivery.” [Contact Researcher]

3d printed integrated drug delivery device test structure

The microneedles are fabricated using SU-8 precursor and converting them by means of Carbon Microelectromechanical (C-MEMS techniques to glassy carbon microneedles with outer diameter 55 micrometre, inner diameter 35 micrometre. This process further enhanced the quality, strength and biocompatibility of the product with eight-times increased hardness, 4.8 times increased mechanical stiffness (Young’s modulus), 418 times higher compressive strength and 363 times higher bending strength than the skin resistive forces. It showed a flow rate of 0.012 microlitre per second of deionized water at 8 kilopascal. The other segment of the device, the micropump, has been designed as a flat-walled nozzle diffuser made from ionic polymer metal composite membrane with gold coating. This micropump achieved a flow rate of 30 microlitre per minute at 5V square wave at 0.1Hz.

Vaccine applicator

“The device would find extensive use in any form of transdermal medication. A typical use could be achieved in insulin delivery or medication for diseases of the lymphatic system, skin including some forms of cancer, or even COVID-19 vaccine” remarked Prof. Bhattacharyya.

The drug delivery device has been successfully tested with animals as per medical protocol. The researchers have also filed for a patent in India and published the research in IEEE and Nature journals. The research for this innovation was funded by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MEITY) and Dept. of Science of Technology, Govt. of India.

Jet issuing out of microneedle at 8 KPa

“The more we engage in multidisciplinary R&D, the better we would be able to produce customized microneedle based effective delivery systems,” he further added, hoping to transform the drug delivery system from the current syringe based one to a painless but effective experience for the patients.


Project Information: Prof. Tarun Kanti Bhattacharyya, tkb@ece.iitkgp.ac.in

Institute Related: Prof. B N Singh, registrar@hijli.iitkgp.ac.in;

Media Outreach: Shreyoshi Ghosh, shreyoshi@adm.iitkgp.ac.in;

More News:: https://kgpchronicle.iitkgp.ac.in/;

Follow IIT Kharagpur on Social Media: Facebook:@IIT.Kgp; Twitter: @IITKgp; Instagram: @iit.kgp