Beyond the IIT shadow

HOW IIIT HYDERABAD IS BUILDING A SILICON VALLEY MODEL IN INDIA

- VIKRAM CHAUDHARY

IN THE 1990s, the landscape of technical education was different from what it is today. India had only six Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs), compared to 23 now. The International Institute of Information Technology Hyderabad (IIIT Hyderabad) was born in this era.

According to Prof Sandeep Kumar Shukla, director, IIIT Hyderabad, the genesis of the institute was not just about adding engineering seats, but about replicating a global engine of innovation. The concept was championed by N Chandrababu Naidu, the then-chief minister of Andhra Pradesh.

"During a trip to the US, Naidu realised how Stanford University acted as a prime mover for Silicon Valley, and how MIT and Harvard drove innovation in Boston," Shukla told FE. "He wanted to create a similar ecosystem in Hyderabad - an institution that would serve as the anchor for a local tech industry."

Thus, IIIT Hyderabad was born. While many IIITs established later are funded by the Ministry of Education, IIIT Hyderabad remains a self-funded, self-governed entity.

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