Indian Institute of Technology Delhi

The Indian Institute of Technology Delhi (abbreviated IIT Delhi or IITD) is a public research university located in Delhi, India. It was declared to be Institute of National Importance by Government of India under Institutes of Technology Act. IIT Delhi is one of the two educational institutes in India which have been listed in Quacquarelli Symonds’(QS) list of top 200 universities globally in 2015.



History

The concept of the IITs was first introduced in a report in the year 1945 by Sh. N.M.Sircar, then member of Education on Viceroy’s Executive Council. Following his recommendations, the first Indian Institute of Technology was established in the year 1950 in Kharagpur (namely Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur). The Government of India negotiated with the British Government for collaboration in setting up an Institute of Technology at Delhi. The British Government agreed in principle to such a collaboration, but were inclined initially to start in a modest way. It was therefore agreed that a College of Engineering & Technology should be established at Delhi with their assistance. A trust called the Delhi Engineering College Trust was established with the help of the UK Government and the Federation of British Industries in London. Later H.R.H. Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, during his visit to India, laid the foundation stone of the College at Hauz Khas on January 28, 1959.

Delhi Technological university's departments of Chemical Technology and Textile Technology were shifted out en-block to mark the beginning of IIT Delhi at its campus in Hauz Khas. The Delhi Technological University is thus the mother institution of IIT Delhi.

The College of Engineering & Technology was registered as a Society on 14 June 1960 under the Societies Registration Act No. XXI of 1860 (Registration No.S1663 of 1960-61). The first admissions were made in 1961. The students were asked to report at the College on 16 August 1961 and the College was formally inaugurated on 17 August 1961 by Prof. Humayun Kabir, Minister of Scientific Research & Cultural Affairs. The College was affiliated to the University of Delhi.

The College of Engineering & Technology established in 1961 was declared an Institute of National Importance under the “Institute of Technology (Amendment) Act 1963” and was renamed “Indian Institute of Technology Delhi”. It was then accorded the status of a University with powers to decide its own academic policy, to conduct its own examinations, and to award its own degrees.

Delhi Campus

IIT Delhi is located in Hauz Khas, South Delhi. The campus of 325 acres (132 ha) is surrounded by the beautiful Hauz Khas area and monuments such as the Qutub Minar and Lotus Temple. The campus is also close to other educational institutions such as the Jawaharlal Nehru University, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, National Institute of Fashion Technology, National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) and Indian Statistical Institute.

The inside of the campus resembles a city, with gardens, lawns, residential complexes and wide roads. The campus has its own water supply and backup electricity supply along with shopping complexes to cater to the daily needs of residents.

The IIT-D campus is divided into four zones:

• Student Residential Zone
• Faculty and Staff Residential Zone
• Student Recreational Area, that includes the Student Activity Center (SAC), football stadium, cricket ground, basketball courts, hockey field, lawn tennis courts and swimming pool
• Academic Zone that includes department offices, lecture theatres, libraries and workshops.

The student residential zone is divided into two main sectors—one for boys hostels and another for girls hostels.

Hostels

There are 14 hostels (11 for boys and 3 for girls), There are also apartments for married students. All the hostels are named after mountain ranges in India. These are:

Boys

• Jwalamukhi Hostel,
• Aravali Hostel
• Karakoram Hostel
• Nilgiri Hostel
• Kumaon Hostel
• Vindhyachal Hostel
• Shivalik Hostel
• Satpura Hostel
• Zanskar Hostel
• Girnar Hostel
• Udaygiri Hostel

Girls Hostel:

• Kailash Hostel
• Himadri Hostel
• New Kailash Hostel

The residential apartments are named after ancient Indian universities:

• Takshashila
• Nalanda
• Vaishali
• Indraprastha
• Vikramshila

Girnar House had the highest number of residents in 2011 with more than 700 students^{[citation needed]}. Each Hostel has its distinct culture of sports and cultural activities. Hostels compete in inter hostel events to bring home various trophies which include RCA and GC, which are the highest awards for cultural and sports accomplishments over a year by a particular hostel. RCA was claimed by Jwalamukhi in year 2010, Kumaon in 2011 while it was shared between Kumaon and Shivalik in 2012. Kumaon also won the 2011 and 2012 GC trophies, as well as the BHC trophies for both 2011 and 2012. Academic year ends with an annual function of hostels known as 'House day' in which the passing out batch and the freshers give various cultural performances and awards are distributed for outstanding contribution to various hostel activities.

Student Activity Center

The Student Activity Center or SAC is a part of the Student Recreation Zone in IIT Delhi. The SAC is for the extracurricular activities of the students. The SAC consists of a gymnasium, swimming pool, pool and billiards rooms, squash courts, table tennis rooms, a badminton court, a music room, a fine arts room, a robotics room and a committee room used to organise quizzing and debating events. The SAC also has an Open Air Theatre where concerts are hosted. Students can use the radio broadcasting facility (HAM) in the SAC although its use has declined over the years.

Student bodies

There are a number of student bodies in IIT Delhi, each with its own set of responsibilities. The highest student body in IIT Delhi is the Student Affairs Council (SAC). All the other student boards are included under the SAC, as listed below:

• Board for Student Welfare(BSW)

As the name suggests BSW works for the welfare of all the students of IITD.The BSW shall organise welfare activities from time to time and look in to other aspects of student welfare. The BSW shall provide financial aid to the needy students as per the decided rules. BSW has the responsibility of organising Speranza,the annual youth festival of IIT Delhi.

• Board for Recreational and Creative Activities (BRCA)

Under new structure, the BRCA consists of 9 clubs: Literary Club, Debating Society (DebSoc), Dramatics Club, Dance Club, Music Club, Photography and Films Club (PFC), Indoor Sports Club (ISC), Quizzing Club (QC), the Fine Arts and Crafts Club (FACC), in addition to the Society for the Promotion of Indian Classical Music And Culture Amongst Youth SPIC MACAY Delhi. Each club has a hostel representative working under the aegis of the hostel cultural secretary. The BRCA has the responsibility of organising the annual cultural festival of IIT Delhi, called Rendezvous.

• Board for Student Publications (BSP)

BSP is the student managed board responsible for all journalistic and creative publications at IIT Delhi, bringing out 4 magazines, the Inception, the Muse, Sync I and Sync II; and 4 newsletters, the Inquirer, annually. The BSP also conducts the IIT Delhi’s annual Literary festival – Literati each September, hosting a plethora of events that include panel discussions, guest talks, poetry recitations and literature quizzes. The Board serves both as a creative outlet, and as a platform to voice student opinion, organising numerous competitions and workshops throughout the year.

• Board for Sports Activities (BSA)

BSA is the Sports Board of IIT Delhi. It provides facilities for many sports such as Aquatics, Athletics, Badminton, Basketball, Cricket, Football, Hockey, Lawn tennis, Squash, Table-Tennis, Volleyball, Weight Lifting. The Board Council consists of President, Vice-President, Sports Officer, Sports Administrators. Also there are the posts of General Secretary and Deputy General Secretary, the candidates for which are elected from amongst the students by themselves. Besides this, there are 13 sports secretaries, one from each of the 13 hostels.

The Board monitors the sports domain of the institute. It is responsible for maintaining the sports grounds of different sports, conducting Inter Hostel sports competition, participation of IIT Delhi in InterIIT Sports Meet (the annual sports event of all the IITs). Apart from this, BSA is also responsible for conducting Sportech, the annual Sports Festival of IIT Delhi.

The other student council is the Co-curricular and Academic Interaction Council (CAIC). which deals with the academic and co-curricular activities of the students. There are 45 student representatives to the CAIC: 22 from the UG students and 23 from the PG students, apart from 2 representatives from each co-curricular body. The co-curricular activities under the CAIC are:

• Robotics Club
• Entrepreneurship Development Cell
• Technocracy (consisting of Astronomy Club, Economics Club, Electronics Club and Tech Workshops)
• Automobile Club (consisting of Formula SAE, Mini Baja, and HPV)

The annual technical festival of IIT Delhi, Tryst is organised by the CAIC.

Sonipat Campus

This campus will be located in the Rajiv Gandhi Education City, Sonipat. The Campus in Sonipat will be focusing on Executive MBA and Faculty Development programs and is under construction.

Academics

IIT Delhi, like all other Indian Institutes of Technology, conducts various programs including bachelor's degree in Technology, the Dual Degree Bachelor-cum-Master of Technology program and an Integrated Master of Technology Program. It also offers postgraduate level programs like Master of Technology, Master of Science, Master of Science (Research), Master of Business Administration, Master of Design (Industrial Design). Finally it also offers a PhD program for research in basics sciences such as biological sciences, chemical sciences, physical sciences as well as interdisciplinary research including but not limited to nanoscience and nanotechnology, biomedical sciences and bioengineering etc. The admission criteria for all these programs is very competitive and depends on the particular program.

The academic year is organised around the semester. There are two semesters in a year, however, there is an additional summer semester also running a few courses. IIT Delhi follows a 10-point CGPA scale, with a rigorous examination procedure consisting of two mid-semester examinations called Minor Examinations and an end-semester examination called the Major Examination. Apart from that, the courses may involve short projects, term-papers, self-study assignments, and regular surprise quizzes help to keep students on their toes and never let them catch their breath.

Undergraduate programs

IIT Delhi offers a Bachelor of Technology in nine areas that include:

• Biochemical Engineering and biotechnology
• Chemical Engineering
• Civil Engineering
• Computer Science and Engineering
• Electrical Engineering
• Engineering Physics
• Mathematics and Computing
• Mechanical Engineering
• Production and Industrial Engineering
• Textile Technology.

Undergraduate-cum-postgraduate dual programs

The dual degree B.Tech-cum-M.Tech program is offered in following areas:

• Biochemical Engineering and Biotechnology,
• Chemical Engineering,
• Computer Science and Engineering, and
• Electrical Engineering.(Discontinued from 2013)
• Mathematics and Computing (Integrated M.Tech.)

The admission to these programs is done through Joint Entrance Examination (JEE) which is an all India entrance examination. Admissions to the IIT programs are done on the basis of merit list of JEE-Advanced (second phase of JEE). Roughly about a million students take this exam every year with only few thousands of them actually crossing the bridge.

Postgraduate programs

IIT Delhi offers many postgraduate programs (M.Tech(by coursework), M.S.(by Research), M.Sc., M. Des., MBA under various departments and centres. The school of MBA in IIT Delhi is Department of Management Studies. The admission to M.Tech and M.Des programs are carried out mainly based on Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering (GATE). M.Sc. admissions are through Joint Admission Test for Masters (JAM) and MBA admissions are through Common Admission Test (CAT). Students securing very good scores in these exams are called for personal interview.

Rankings

Internationally, IIT Delhi was ranked #179 in the QS World University Rankings in 2015 and at 38 in the QS Asian Rankings of 2014. IIT Delhi has responded to being ranked 176 on the QS Worldwide University Rankings, with an appeal for more "investment in - and support for - the faculty."

In 2014, the University ranked 4th in top higher education institutions in India, 59th in top 100 higher education Institutes in Asia. In 2015, it ranks four in Careers 360 (Magazine) Top Universities in India 2015 and ranks at 56th in BRICS and Emerging Economies by the Times Higher Education World University Rankings 

In India, among engineering colleges, it ranked first by India Today in 2013, first by Outlook India in 2013, and third byDataquest in 2011.In the Mint Government Colleges survey of 2009 it ranked 3.