"WE WANT TO CREATE 100 STARTUPS A YEAR"

IIT Madras shows remarkable agility in altering its curriculum to address the country's needs. Director V. KAMAKOTI shares the objectives in detail.

- Meha Mathur

INDIAN Institute of Technology, Madras (IIT Madras) has reinvented the B.Tech curriculum to help its students meet the demands of modern and technological developments. The hallmark of this curriculum is flexibility. Students can choose about 40 per cent of their courses, which enables customisation and personalisation. The changes are focused on preparing students for jobs, driving research and innovation and encouraging entrepreneurship.

The institute has implemented the recommendations of its Curriculum Task Force, introducing more interdisciplinary learning, hands-on projects and entrepreneurship opportunities from the second year of the B.Tech programme. This change aims to provide students with a more comprehensive and practical education.

V. Kamakoti, Director of IIT Madras, explains the significance of these changes in the context of Industry 4.0. He says, "Curriculum should align with industry requirements and the current needs of the nation. In the wake of Covid, Industry 4.0 and 5G, there have been certain fundamental changes in the basic building blocks of technology. And that warrants a new outlook on what we need to do and how to do it. Keeping this in mind, we have started doing certain exploratory things. It's students' careers that we keep in mind." One of the key changes is that only 60 per cent of the total credits will be core subjects.

The remaining 40 per cent, students are free to choose. "When choices are being made, students should make informed decisions about what they are doing. But that is not happening.