research – Page 2 – The KGP Chronicle

On the eve of National Doctor’s Day, IIT Kharagpur inks a MoU with AIIMS Kalyani on medical amenities and research collaboration

On the propitious occasion of National Doctor’s Day, Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur inked a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) Kalyani, a beacon of medical excellence under the aegis of the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, Government of India, created by an Act of Parliament under the initiative of the Pradhan Mantri Swasthya Suraksha Yojna (PMSSY). The MoU was signed in the august presence of Dr. Ramji Singh, Executive Director, AIIMS Kalyani and Prof. V K Tewari, Director, IIT Kharagpur along with Dr. Kalyan Goswami, Head, Department of Biochemistry and Dean, Academics, AIIMS Kalyani; Col. (Dr.) Ajay Mallick, Head, Dept. of ENT & Medical Superintendent, AIIMS Kalyani; Prof. Saswat Chakrabarti, Dean, Faculty of Bio-Technology and Bio-Sciences; Prof. Soumen Das, Dean, Dr. B. C. Roy Multi-Speciality Medical Research Centre and Prof. Debashish Chakravarty, Associate Dean, Alumni Affairs, International Relations & Branding.

The two premier Institutes in their respective domains have, in principle, agreed for institutional collaboration in education, research outreach programmes and medical services. The primary objective of this collaboration is to promote collective and collative teaching and research collaboration involving faculty members and students at IIT KGP and at AIIMS Kalyani to ensure teaching and research of highest medical standard, carry out joint academic and research programmes, joint supervision of masters and doctoral students as well as collaborative research projects.

On the lines of the above collaboration, Dr. Ramji Singh, Executive Director, AIIMS Kalyani remarked, “AIIMS Kalyani was conceived with the noble objective of bridging regional disparities in tertiary healthcare and fostering excellence in medical education promoting ground-breaking research. AIIMS Kalyani stands as a testament to India’s commitment to healthcare and aims to develop collaborative programmes with premier institutions in India like IIT Kharagpur where the undergraduate and graduate medical students, researchers, doctors and faculty members will rise up to the occasion to lead the healthcare system of India.”

Both the institutes agreed to share professional expertise for infrastructure development and academic resources along with collaborative activities concerning Dr. B. C. Roy Multi-specialty Medical Research Centre (BCRMMRC) at IIT Kharagpur after detailed evaluation by both institutions and the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare and Ministry of Education, Govt of India. Micro-Specialization and Micro-Credit Courses may be designed for the undergraduate and postgraduate students of the two institutions on a collaborative basis with a vision of appraising them about recent developments in advanced topics relevant to their respective domains of study and internships at respective institutes.

Prof. V K Tewari, Director, IIT Kharagpur remarked, “On this auspicious day of National Doctor’s Day, IIT Kharagpur joined hands with AIIMS Kalyani on the lines of establishing a research driven medical college, Dr. B. C. Roy Multi-Speciality Medical Research Centre (BCRMMRC) and a hospital, Dr. Syama Prasad Mookerjee Superspecialty Hospital (SPMSH) within its campus at Kharagpur. The upcoming medical college will be equipped with state-of-the-art teaching and research facilities embedding world standard technologies and IT connectivity in providing a stimulating academic environment for faculty members willing to stretch their clinical boundaries. The primary objective of this endeavour is to run Undergraduate and Postgraduate Medical programs and to nurture world class translational medical research in a multi-disciplinary environment in collaboration with allied academic partners like AIIMS Kalyani. The hospital in the first phase has started out-patient service, and the in-patient services with critical care and operation theatre to follow.”

Media Coverage:

Hindu Business Line	Times Now
News 18	Outlook India
Kolkata News	Latestly
Jantaserishta	Dainik Jagran

The Print

Career 360

The Bengal Post

Dainik Jagran Coalfield Mirror

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 inks MoU with HCLTech to Jointly Develop Innovative and Sustainable Solutions for Petroleum Industry

IIT Kharagpur inked a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with HCLTech, a leading global technology company on 31 May 2023, to collaborate in the field of petroleum engineering and earth sciences. HCLTech and IIT Kharagpur will jointly develop innovative and sustainable solutions to address critical challenges of the petroleum industry including reduction of carbon footprint and provide significant sustainable solutions towards net zero carbon emissions.

“We are pleased to work with HCLTech on this path-breaking initiative. Academia and industry need to forge such symbiotic partnerships that will be instrumental in advancing research and innovation in technology, besides creating a skilled workforce. Joint activities in research and knowledge development have tremendous potential for creating economic and social impact on society,” said Prof. Chandan Chakraborty, Dean (R&D), IIT Kharagpur.

Under the agreement, HCLTech will work to provide opportunities to students and research scholars from IIT Kharagpur to undertake projects and internships at the company, using state-of-the-art technologies to develop digital solutions in the exploration, drilling and production of hydrocarbons. Both IIT Kharagpur and HCLTech will initiate collaboration on programmes of sustainability that includes discussions, podcasts and joint presentations at international forums on transformative initiatives in the oil and gas sector.

“We are pleased to announce our partnership with IIT Kharagpur, which is focused on developing advanced solutions for the oil and gas industry using cutting-edge technologies such as AI/ML, IoT, Industry 4.0, digital engineering, and cloud computing. We aim to introduce eco-friendly solutions that promote innovation, optimize value and prioritize low-carbon sustainability within the industry,” said Ajay Bahl, Chief Growth Officer, Americas, Mega Industries, HCLTech.

Across the value chain, HCLTech provides solutions spanning complex engineering in the upstream and leverages its experience and capabilities in digital transformation, IoT, automation, analytics and artificial intelligence to help unlock value for organizations in their transformation journey.

HCLTech is a global technology company, home to more than 225,900 people across 60 countries, delivering industry-leading capabilities centered around digital, engineering and cloud, powered by a broad portfolio of technology services and products. We work with clients across all major verticals, providing industry solutions for Financial Services, Manufacturing, Life Sciences and Healthcare, Technology and Services, Telecom and Media, Retail and CPG, and Public Services. Consolidated revenues as of 12 months ending March 2023 totaled $12.6 billion. To learn how we can supercharge progress for you, visit hcltech.com.

Media Coverage :

Times of India	Telegraph	Economic Times
Business Standard	The Print	CNBC TV 18
Deccan Herald	Dainik Jagran	Hindi Bartaman
Devdiscourse	Edex Live

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
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Virtual Reality – The New Tool for SMART Education

iVAR Lab at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Kharagpur has joined hands with a Gurugram-based ed-tech startup iXRLabs to explore the use of VR as a pedagogical tool in higher education. Under this collaboration, iVAR lab will share students’ experience of virtual reality modules across branches such as Civil, Mechanical, Electrical and Chemical developed by iXRLabs.

The collaboration will enhance students’ learning experiences through immersive VR modules. The modules will cover a wide range of industrial settings which include machinery, plant tours, and experiments such as a jet engine, thermal power plant and universal testing machine. This will promote research and innovation in the field of virtual reality for educational purposes. Through this partnership, the two organisations are hoping to enhance students’ learning experience significantly.

Expressing his thoughts on the collaboration, Prof. Kaushal Kumar Bhagat, iVAR Lab, IIT Kharagpur stated, “The collaboration will facilitate and foster the research and innovation on the applications of virtual reality in education and training, which will pave the way for a new era of immersive learning experiences that can transform the way students acquire knowledge and skills.”

This will ensure the best use of iXRLabs’ VR modules by students so that real-time feedback and data can be gathered from the user experience. Further, the iVAR lab will provide inputs in the writing and development of a research paper/white paper based on the pilot project.

The collaboration between IIT Kharagpur and iXRLabs took place to promote and encourage research and innovation in the field of virtual reality for educational purposes. This development is a significant advancement of virtual reality technology in education and is expected to enhance students’ learning experiences significantly.

Commenting on the partnership, Nihar Madkaiker, Co-founder, iXRLabs said, “I am thrilled to announce our academic and research collaboration with iVAR Lab, IIT Kharagpur. Together, we look forward to pushing the boundaries of what’s possible and unlocking the full potential of this exciting technology. By combining our expertise and resources, we are poised to create a profound impact in higher education.”

The research focuses on interactive technologies like Augmented Reality/Virtual Reality/Mixed Reality in education and industrial training. iVAR lab aims to develop low-cost, portable, scalable, and user-friendly technology that can make teaching-learning more engaging, enjoyable, and effective. Technology can be a medium between school/university learning experiences and real-life experiences and can create authentic learning experiences by integrating technology into the classroom. It is also important to how teachers can use these contemporary technologies in their teaching. This is important to empower the teachers and instructors by giving regular and professional development training.

To see experience of students with VR, aspirants can check the official website — ivarlab.iitkgp.ac.in.

Media Coverage :

Indian Express	CNBC TV 18	Careers 360
CXO Today	Express Computer

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
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IIT Kharagpur inks MoU with University of Edinburgh

Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur signed a MoU (Memorandum of Understanding) with the University of Edinburgh on shared academic collaboration in promoting teaching, education curriculum, research and service to the community. Prof. Neil Robertson, Dean International Partnerships, College of Science and Engineering, University of Edinburgh signed the MoU in the presence of his counterpart Prof. Jayanta Mukhopadhyay, Dean Outreach & Alumni Affairs, IIT Kharagpur in the institute campus.

Prof. Jayanta Mukhopadhyay, Dean Outreach & Alumni Afffairs, IIT Kharagpur remarked, “This collaboration would orchestrate academic curriculum between both the universities in creating synergy with several academic and research facilities for the students as well as the faculties of the respective universities. Being the oldest IIT in the country, the internationalization of education curriculum to meet the global standards of academicians, technicians and professionals is the priority.”

The MoU, having a duration of five years, will not only increase activities like faculty visits and joint workshops manifold but also engineer new activities in research and academics by two renowned institutions.

Prof. Goutam Chakraborty, Associate Dean, International Relations stated, “With this association we need to expand our horizons into globalization of Indian education. The adoption of universal and inclusive academic ecosystem will enhance our ideation to approach future technological pursuits.”

Media Coverage :

PTI	Times of India	Statesman
Indian Express	Dainik Jagran	News 18 English
The Print	The Week	News 18 Bangla

NewsDrum

On Manorama

Neo Science Hub

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
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Sustainable Alternatives in Energy, Environment & Healthcare for Science & Society

INDO-US, INDO-AUSTRALIA AND INDO-CANADA INTERDISCIPLINARY WORKSHOPS AT IIT KHARAGPUR

The Bioprocess & Bioproduct Development Laboratory of the Department of Biotechnology, IIT Kharagpur along with the collaborators from USA, Australia, and Canada organized three days workshop under the Government of India’s Scheme for Promotion of Academic and Research Collaboration (SPARC) from 24th to 26th February 2023. The workshops were inaugurated by Prof. Amit Patra, Deputy Director, IIT Kharagpur in the august presence of Dr. Prachi Kaul, Director, Shastri Indo-Canadian Institute and Prof. Saswat Chakrabarti, Dean BTBS, IIT Kharagpur. The workshop saw a footfall of more than 80 participants from both within and outside the horizons of IIT Kharagpur. Sustainable Alternatives in Energy, Environment, and Healthcare for the well-being of Science and Society was the theme of the three different workshops that spanned across the institute.

Pic : Inaugural session of the Indo-US SPARC Workshop (L-R) – Professor Warren D. Seider from the University of Pennsylvania was present online; Prof. Amit Patra, Deputy Director, IIT Kharagpur; Prof. N. R. Jana, HOD, Department of Biotechnology and Prof. Ramkrishna Sen, Department of Biotechnology (Convener) were present physically for the inauguration ceremony.

The three day long programme witnessed 20 speakers from 10 National and International universities and institutes accompanied by eminent industry leaders. On 24th February 2023, the first of the series INDO-US workshop was initiated on ‘Algaeneering for Global Energy and Climate Challenge’, jointly organized by the Bioprocess and Bioproduct Development Laboratory (BBDL) at IIT Kharagpur and the University of Pennsylvania, USA wherein academia researchers and industry experts across India and the US discussed the challenges, avenues, and technologies in research, development & innovations and techno-commercial assessment of renewable energy sectors.

Prof. Warren D. Seider, a world-renowned Professor of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at the University of Pennsylvania delivered a plenary lecture. The other speakers at the workshop were Prof. K. K. Pant, Director, IIT Roorkee; Prof. Pinaki Bhattacharyya Emeritus Professor, Head, R&D, Chemical Engineering, Heritage Institute of Technology, Kolkata; Dr. Anindita Moitra, Chief General Manager, Indian Oil Corporation Limited; Dr. Sangeeta Srivastava, Executive Director, Godavari Biorefineries Ltd., Karnataka and Dr. Harshad R. Velankar, Chief Manager, Bioprocess Group, Hindustan Petroleum Green R & D Center, Bengaluru.

Pic : Inaugural session of the Indo-AUS SPARC Workshop (L-R): Prof. Saswat Chakraborty, Dean BTBS, IIT Kharagpur; Prof. D. N. Singh, IIT Bombay; Prof. N. R. Jana, HOD, Department of Biotechnology and Prof. Ramkrishna Sen (Convener) in the inauguration ceremony.

Under the aegis of SPARC, the second day of the INDO-AUSTRALIA workshop scheduled on 25th February 2023 focused on ‘Bioinspired Solutions for Natural & Built Environment: Science, Society & Wellbeing.’ The Australian collaborators under the SPARC program from the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Curtin University; Prof. Abhijit Mukherjee and Dr. Navdeep Dhami joined hands with the experts from India, Prof. Devendra Narain Singh, D. L. Shah Chair Professor for Innovation, Department of Civil Engineering, IIT Bombay; Prof. Brajadulal Chattopadhyay, Professor, Jadavpur University; Mr. Ramananda Adhikari, Deputy General Manager, Hindustan Copper Limited, Kolkata and Dr. Santanu Dasgupta, Senior Vice President, Reliance Technology Group, Reliance Industries Limited, Mumbai put forth a series of insightful talks.

Pic : Dr. Santanu Dasgupta, Senior Vice President, Reliance Technology Group, Reliance Industries Limited, Mumbai, India delivering his plenary talk online

A multidisciplinary concerted effort and partnership between educational institutions and industries was deemed to be instrumental in advancing research and development was highlighted in these workshops through the active participation of three PSUs including Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited (HPCL), Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL) and Hindustan Computers Limited (HCL) and two private industry market players Reliance and Godavari Biorefineries. These industry experts visited algal biomass production facility, a demo park created under the ambit of IMPRINT-IIA scheme (DST-SERB) between IIT Kharagpur and HPCL.

The INDO-CANADA workshop was held on 26th February 26, 2023 with the funding supports from Shastri Indo-Canadian Institute (SICI) and SPARC on the theme ‘Green/Bio-polymers as renewable and sustainable alternatives to Petro-plastics: Energy-Environment-Healthcare Nexus’ with the active involvement of Prof. Sudip Kumar Rakshit, Canada Research Chair Professor, Bioenergy & Biorefining Research Institute, Lakehead University, Canada and Prof. Satinder Kaur Brar, James & Joanne Love Chair in Environmental Engineering, Lassonde School of Engineering, York University, Canada. Enthralling talks were also delivered by Dr. Santanu Dasgupta, Senior Vice President, Reliance Technology Group, Reliance Industries Limited, Mumbai, India; Prof. Prashant Mishra, Former Head, Department of Biochemical Engineering & Biotechnology, Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi; Prof. Dipankar Chattopadhyay, Former Head, Department of Polymer Science & Technology, University of Calcutta, and Dr. Krishna Chattopadhyay, Jadavpur University and Anchor, DD Bangla, Doordarshan Kendra, Kolkata. Dr. Santanu Das Gupta gave virtual demonstration of their state-of-the-art biorefinery facility, highlighting the challenges and mentioning the need and scopes of Industrial-Academia collaborations.

Pic : Prof. Sen demonstrating the high-rate algal pond, one-of-its-kind facility to capture the industrial emissions and valorize towards biofuels and healthcare products.

Participants delivered oral presentations of their research work in the three day workshops where Prof. Sen’s doctoral students, Mr. Romit Mitra and Ms. Ankita Debnath presented their work on algal biorefinery and bio-cementation perspectives, respectively.

Pic : Group photo at the valedictory session on Day 3

Prof. Ramkrishna Sen, Department of Biotechnology, IIT Kharagpur & Convener of the workshops remarked, “All the workshops were well organized by the members of the Bioprocess & Bioproduct Development Laboratory, Department of Biotechnology, IIT Kharagpur which acknowledges Mr. Satyanarayana Reddy Battula, Dr. Chinmay Hazra and Dr. Debasree Kundu for their tremendous efforts and ground level coordination. Financial supports accorded by SPARC, an initiative of the Ministry of Education, GoI as well as the Shastri Indo-Canadian Institute (SICI) thus, paved the platform for developing an exciting research ecosystem through cohesive academic and research collaborations was well received by the overwhelming participants. “

Input By : Prof. Ramkrishna Sen, Department of Biotechnology, IIT Kharagpur
Email: rksen@bt.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

Follow us on: Facebook – IIT Kharagpur; Twitter – @IITKgp; Instagram – @iit.kgp; LinkedIn – Indian Institute of Technology
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IIT Kharagpur ranked 5th in India in QS Asia University Rankings 2023

Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur (IIT KGP) ranked 5^th in India as per the QS Asia University Rankings 2023. The premier institute overall ranked 61^st 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 37^th in 2022 compared to 44^th in 2021 in Mineral & Mining Engineering & 80^thrank in 2022, improving its rank from 90^th in 2021 in Electrical & Electronic Engineering. In Engineering & Technology, it ranked 101^st 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 (1^st rank), Statistics & Operational Research (1^st rank), Mineral & Mining Engineering (2^nd rank), Environmental Sciences (2^nd rank), Economics & Econometrics (2^nd rank), Engineering & Technology (3^rd rank), Computer Science & Information Systems (3^rd rank), Chemical Engineering (3^rd rank) and Accounting & Finance (3^rd rank). Overall, the institute leaped up to 10 places to secure 270^th 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
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IIT Kharagpur ranks 6th in NIRF Ranking 2022

Since Independence, India has made reasonable progress in providing accessible ‘Education for All’, strengthening higher education. With the increase in the number of higher education institutions across the country, the quality of education has continued to remain a serious concern specially when the entire country was suffering because of the pandemic that still lives with us. As per UNICEF’s report 2020, more than 376 million students worldwide suffered because of the pandemic. Remote/Online Education became the only source of education followed by a technological transition that turned the entire world into a ‘Global Village’. The education institutions faced many challenges to manage and pace up with the new era of engaging digital knowledge, enhancing the wide spectrum of e-learning. The National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 which outlines the vision of the new education system of India with a comprehensive framework for elementary education to higher education as well as vocational training in both rural and urban India, aims to increase the Gross Enrollment Ratio in higher education including vocational education from 26.3% in 2018 to 50% by 2035.

In order to recognize the higher education system in India, National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) was launched in November 2015. National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) is a methodology adopted by the Ministry of Education, Government of India, to rank institutions of higher education in India. NIRF Ranking 2022 of top performing colleges in India has been released by the Honorable Union Minister of Education Shri Dharmendra Pradhan on July 15, 2022. The list includes top 100 ranking colleges and Universities in the field of Engineering, Management, Medical, Dental, Law and Architecture. Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur has secured an overall 6^th ranking in the latest National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) 2022. The institute ranked 5^th in Engineering, 6^th in Law and 12^th in the Management discipline. IIT Kharagpur is placed 5^th as a Research Institution. The Architecture department of the Institute ranked 3^rd among all its native peers in the country. The top engineering college rankings are mostly dominated by the IITs in the country.

Every higher education institution in the country will now be rated by the National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF), said the Union Education Minister Shri Dharmendra Pradhan while stressing on the fact that the MoE is attempting to unify institutional accreditation by next year. Robust and unified system for assessment, accreditation and ranking will play a major role in enhancing the quality of higher education. The minister added that going forward the NIRF accreditation system will expand to include every single school in India. This accreditation procedure will be mandatory. He also asserted that self declaration and transparency will be the basis of this particular assessment and accreditation. The Hon’ble Minister remarked, “By next year, we will unify institutional accreditation, which is presently done by the National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) and the programme accreditation which is presently done by the National Board of Accreditation (NBA).”

While the NIRF is of recent origin, its importance can be determined by the fact that only universities and colleges with NAAC grading or NIRF ranking are eligible for inclusion in the University Grants Commission list for receiving financial assistance. The Indian Institute of Technology (IITs), the group of prestigious engineering institutes across India, continued to dominate the top 25 ranks in the Engineering category. For the third consecutive year, 14 out of the top 25 engineering institutions belonged to the IIT ecosystem. Moreover, seven of the first 10 places were held by the IITs.

Speaking on the NIRF Rankings 2022, Prof. Amit Patra, Deputy Director, IIT Kharagpur remarked, “Overall IIT Kharagpur has retained its positioning as an Institute that imparts technical education with multidisciplinary mandate as envisioned in NEP 2020. However, we need to improvise our strategies to prioritize our lab to market propositions and sharpen our research focus to initiate and engage in industry-academia collaboration. Also, there is a need to acknowledge study and explore different genres that inculcates a sense of responsibility towards societal development.”

NIRF Rankings are released annually by the Ministry of Education, Government of India assessing the quality and performance of higher educational institutions in India. The overall ranking is prepared based on the parameters such as Teaching, Learning, Resource Quality, Research, Professional Practice, Graduation Outcomes, Outreach, Inclusivity and Peer Perception. There has been a rise in total institutions applying for the NIRF rankings since 2016. As per the government, 4,786 institutions applied for rankings under the overall category-specific and domain-specific rankings this year. The number of institutions applying for rankings has increased by over 97 per cent – from 2,426 in 2016 to 4,786 in 2022.

Media Coverage :

Hindustan Times	The Hindu	Times Now
Zee News	Deccan Herald	Mint
Telegraph	TV9 Hindi	News 18
Indian Express	Navbharat Times	Times of India (Education)
Business Today	Free Press Journal	The New Indian Express
Business World	Jagran Josh	Business Standards
Jagran (English)	The Print	Business Today
Gadgets Now	One India	Pragativadi
News Careers 360	Moneycontrol.com	Statesman
News D	Ommcom News

Content Writer : 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
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IIT Kharagpur inks an MoU with ORMAS

Rural Technology Action Group (RuTAG) of IIT Kharagpur signed an MoU (Memorandum of Understanding) with Odisha Rural Development and Marketing Society (ORMAS) to facilitate rural technological innovation for the growth of Producers’ groups and Producers’ companies providing technological solutions to improve the efficiency of production along with value addition. Both the institution will entail to identify technological needs of the product-based livelihood and engage in relevant R&D to upgrade the existing technology by modifying, redesigning and standardization of the users at grassroots level.

Prof V K Tewari, Director, IIT Kharagpur stated – “The intent of this MoU is to create awareness about the rural problems by offering proper guidance and financial support with solutions at the grassroot level. With this collaboration we intend to assess the existing technology backed up by relevant research and development to expand, upgrade and adapt expertise for the cause of the society.”

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

Initiation of 1st Chair Professorship in E&ECE Dept.: Benevolent act of IIT Kharagpur alumnus helps in the materialization of the process

IIT Kharagpur has established the “Prithviraj Banerjee and Swati Banerjee Chair Professorship” with an endowment of $ 81,082, received from its eminent and distinguished alumnus, Dr. Prithviraj “Prith” Banerjee (1981/B.Tech./E&ECE/Azad).

In this regards, virtual signing ceremony of Memorandum of Understanding between IIT Kharagpur and Dr Prithviraj Banerjee was arranged on July 02, 2021, where Prof Virendra Kumar Tewari, the Director of IIT Kharagpur and Dr Prith Banerjee, the Chief Technology Officer of ANSYS had signed the MoU in the presence of Prof Amit Patra, the Deputy Director; Prof Jayanta Mukhopadhyay, the Dean Outreach; Prof Surjya Kanta Pal, the Associate Dean of Office of Alumni Affairs and Branding; Prof Anandaroop Bhattacharya, Associate Dean of International Relations and Ranking and Prof Mrityunjoy Chakraborty, the Head of the Department of Electronics and Electrical Communication Engineering (E&ECE), IIT Kharagpur.

Thanking Dr Prith Banerjee for his avidity of giving back to his alma mater, Prof Virendra Kumar Tewari, “We are highly overwhelmed by his act of generosity. We are grateful and privileged to be blessed by all the donours for the selfless charity, which have created wonders in many ways than one. Being closely associated with Dr Banerjee in the form of this Chair, has been a great achievement for all of us. Dr Banerjee has become the first donor to institute the Chair Professorship in the Department of Electronics and Electrical Communication Engineering (E&ECE)”.

The Chair Professorship has been established to carry out State-of-the-art teaching, research, and industrial collaboration in the Department of E&ECE. The aim of instituting this chair professorship is to encourage top faculty members to participate in research and industrial collaboration in the Department of Electronic and Electrical Communications Engineering.

Currently, Dr Prith Banerjee is the Chief Technology Officer at ANSYS where he is responsible for leading the evolution of ANSYS’ Technology strategy and champions the company’s next phase of innovation and growth. He also serves as the board member at Cray and CUBIC. He has also joined the Board of Directors of PanIIT USA as a Prominent Alumni. Dr. Banerjee founded AccelChip and BINACHIP in the domain of electronic design automation.

He received his B.Tech degree in Electronics and Electrical Communications Engineering in 1981 (President’s Gold Medallist), and M.S. & Ph.D. degrees in Electrical Engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign in 1982 and 1984 respectively. He spent more than 20 years in academia as a Professor, Department Chairman, and Dean at the University of Illinois and North Western University, and about 15 years in senior corporate roles as Director of HP Labs, and Chief Technology Officer of ABB, Schneider Electric and Ansys. He is the Fellow of IEEE, ACM, AAAS, and Distinguished Alumnus of IIT Kharagpur as well as University of Illinois.

Dr Banerjee said, “I would like to show my gratitude to my Alma Mater in establishing the Chair Professorship in the E&ECE Department. I am pleased to work with the department in the journey towards excellence through this small donation. I feel that I owe my academic and career success to the finest education I received at IIT Kharagpur, and to the excellent professors I had at IIT KGP, such as Prof S K Lahiri, Prof N B Chakrabarti, Prof G S Sanyal, and many others.”

At the end of the ceremony, on the behalf of the E&ECE Department, Prof Mrityunjoy Chakraborty offered sincere appreciation to Prof Banerjee for his generous contributions towards establishing a unique Chair Professorship in the name of his and his wife which would bring significant opportunities to the department towards new heights.

Media Contact: Prof Surjya Kanta Pal, Professor

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Higher Risk in Concentrated Business Control – VGSOM Researchers

Award-Winning Research from IIT Kharagpur’s Vinod Gupta School of Management Indicate Higher Risks with Family-controlled Firms

In an award-winning research study conducted by faculty and alumni at IIT Kharagpur’s Vinod Gupta School of Management, the researchers have found that family and family control ownership is negatively related to firms’ profitability due to lags in management.

The study is based on decadal data from 2007 to 2017 of 421 listed firms in emerging markets which have at least 5%-20% of the equity capital is owned by a family group including concert promoters. The results show that family-owned firms dominant with concentrated ownership pay lower dividends leading to lower valuation and higher idiosyncratic risk.

“While the firms undertake significant trading in the stock market, high-risk tendencies and lower dividend payouts are the outcomes of ineffectiveness in managerial decision-making and policies. Our study points to the concentration of ownership as the primary reason rather than to the information asymmetry,” explained Prof. Arun Kumar Misra.

The researchers used three measures of firm profitability, namely, return on assets (ROA), return on equity (ROE), and earnings per share (EPS).

“The results on the relationship of firm profitability with ownership structure (family and non-family firms) are consistent across all three measures in the context of the list of Indian firms in our sample,” said Prof. Abhijeet Chandra.

“Our findings are in line with the uncertainty and signaling theory, suggesting that (a) dividend is preferred over uncertain capital gains by investors, and (b) higher dividends signal superior health (lower risk) of a firm. The payment of low dividends negatively influences the firm-specific risk,” he further added.

The study has been named for the ‘Emerald Literati Award 2020 for Highly Commended Paper’. The paper titled ‘Impact of ownership structure and dividend on firm performance and firm risk’, has been published in the international journal of Managerial Finance by Emerald Publishing Ltd. UK. The authors included Dr. Abhinav Kumar Rajverma, Former PhD Scholar, VGSoM (2015-2018), currently Faculty (IRMA, Anand, Guj.), Dr. Arun Kumar Misra, Associate Professor, VGSoM, Dr. Sabyasachi Mohapatra, Former PhD Scholar, VGSoM (2011-2015), currently Faculty (IIM Bodh Gaya) and Dr. Abhijeet Chandra, Assistant Professor, VGSoM. The editorial team said that it is one of the most exceptional pieces of work they saw throughout 2019.

Citation: Rajverma, A.K., Misra, A.K., Mohapatra, S. and Chandra, A. (2019), “Impact of ownership structure and dividend on firm performance and firm risk”, Managerial Finance, Vol. 45 No. 8, pp. 1041-1061. https://doi.org/10.1108/MF-09-2018-0443