IIT Ropar

Indian Institute of Technology Ropar

File:Logo IIT Ropar.jpg
Former names	Indian Institute of Technology Punjab
Type	Public, Education and Research Institution
Established	2008 (2008)
Dean	B. K. Dhindhaw
Director	M. K. Surrapa
Undergraduates	326
Doctoral students	22
Location	Rupnagar , Punjab , India 30.975374°N 76.537752°E / 30.975374; 76.537752
Campus	Main - Spread over 520 acres (2.1 km2), Transit - Spread over 25 acres (0.10 km2)
Website	www.iitrpr.ac.in

The Indian Institute of Technology Ropar, or IIT Ropar, (Template:Lang-hi) sometimes also referred to as Indian Institute of Technology Punjab (IIT Punjab) is one of the 8 new IITs which have become functional between 2008 and 2009. The bill for the addition of these eight IITs and the conversion of Institute of Technology, Banaras Hindu University to IIT was passed in the Lok Sabha in March 24, 2011 and is still to be adopted by the Rajya Sabha.

IIT Ropar was set up by the Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD), Government of India, to expand the reach and enhance the quality of technical education in the country. This institute is committed to providing state-of-the-art technical education in a variety of fields and also for facilitating transmission of knowledge in keeping with latest developments in pedagogy. These two areas of focus will enable students to gain exposure to recent trends in their chosen domains of study and gain practical experience through a wide variety of activities the institute facilitates in its own campus and arranges for in collaboration with industry and other institutes.

History

This new institute was established by MHRD in year 2008. The classes for academic session 2008-2009 were held at IIT Delhi. The Institute started functioning from its transit campus in Rupnagar in August 2009.

Campus & Location

IIT Ropar is located at Rupnagar (formerly known as Ropar) town of the district Rupnagar. Rupnagar was founded in the 11th century and named after Rup Sen son of Raja Rokeshar. Recent excavations and explorations conducted at Rupnagar indicate that the first settlements here were the Harappans, who reached the upper Satluj towards the close of third millennium B.C. The district has rich historical and religious significance.

Rupnagar town, the district headquarters is 42 km. from Chandigarh, the state capital. Rupnagar is well connected by road on National Highway NH-21. The Delhi-Ambala-Una railway line passes through Rupnagar and provides good rail connectivity. The nearest airport is at Chandigarh at a distance of about 60 km. The Satluj river passes close to Rupnagar.

The climate is characterized by its general dryness, except during the south-west monsoon season, a hot summer and a cold winter. The winter is from mid-November to February, summer from March to June and the monsoon from late June to mid-September. The average annual rainfall in the district is about 776 mm with about 78% in the period of June to September.

Permanent Campus

The location for permanent campus of IIT Ropar is Birla Seed Farms, Ropar (Rupnagar), district headquarter of Ropar (Rupnagar) near to Chandigarh. The Institute is expected to be operational from its permanent campus by 2013. The Government of Punjab has already approved land for permanent campus of about 525 acres (2.12 km²) in Rupnagar. Foundation stone for permanent campus of IIT Ropar was laid down on 24 February 2009 by former Union HRD Minister Mr. Arjun Singh.

Temporary Campus

The temporary campus of IIT Ropar is former Women's Polytechnic, Rupnagar. The academic and administration buildings have been completely renovated to accommodate all the requirements of the Institute . It has all the basic infrastructure to run Academic programmes specially designed by IIT Delhi. The transit campus is equipped with state of art lecture halls along with well maintained playgrounds to nurture the bright minds and enhance their overall development. Special emphasis has been laid to set up advanced laboratories to help students gain practical insight of the courses that are a part of their curriculum. The current temporary campus is a brief 1 km walk from Rupnagar railway station and the permanent campus is about 4–5 km from it.

Academic system

The curriculum followed at IIT Ropar provides for a science-based engineering education, with a view to produce quality engineer-scientists. If facilitates broad-based knowledge acquisition and, simultaneously, nurtures a temper for life-long learning and exploration. Students are encouraged to go beyond the classroom to conduct and carry out independent work by means of research projects, guided reading, and by allowing them to join the research activities undertaken by faculty members. The idea behind such a fashioning of the curriculum is the belief that classroom activities must be supplemented by independent study and also by individual research that broadens one's horizon and provides for opportunities to bring one's ideas to fruition.

The academic programme at the institute follows a semester-based credit system. The prominent feature of the credit system is the process of continuous evaluation of a student's performance and the flexibility to allow a student to progress at an an optimum pace suited to his/her ability or convenience, subject to fulfilling minimum requirements for continuation. A minimum Grade Point Average (GPA) is necessary for satisfactory progress and continuation in the programme.

Academic programmes

In its first year, i.e. academic year 2008-2009, three undergraduate programmes were offered. Admission to these programmes is through the JEE and students are admitted after completing 10+2 (high-school level) schooling.

• Bachelor of Technology in Computer Science and Engineering
• Bachelor of Technology in Electrical Engineering
• Bachelor of Technology in Mechanical Engineering

IIT Ropar also offers admissions for Ph.D. in Computer Science and Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Physics, Chemistry, Mathematics and Philosophy.

Academic information

The institute's transit campus developed almost fully by the winter semester of academic session 2009-2010. The first half of academic year 2009-2010 was overseen by faculty from IIT Delhi. IIT Ropar has also been in talks with three of the United Kingdom's best universities.

The UK institutes, with being quite impressed by the state of art facilities at IIT Ropar, have extended their support by signing MoU's in various directions. The Director of the institute, Prof. M.K. Surappa, along with HRD minister Mr. Kapil Sibbal formally visited the universities in UK to share experiences, with their response reciprocated by a senior official from UK visiting the campus in the month of February.

Students of the 2008 batch have had a great opportunity to explore their academic abilities under the able guidance of collaborated UK universities in the months of May–June, 2010. The students of the 2008 batch are currently (for the summer period of 2011, May-July) undergoing Industrial Training & Research at various leading industries, companies and other research institutes (such as Microsoft, Bell Labs, Aston University-UK, CSIO-India, Bharti Airtel, Hero Honda, Maruti Suzuki, etc.) in their respective fields. The 2009 batch, now moving to their third academic year (2011-2012) are pursuing their interests through research programmes in various institutes (including Aston University, UK) for the same summer period.

Collaborations in hand and the future plans

IIT Ropar is keen to start collaborative ventures with universities, industries, and other research institutes (both in India and outside India). In sequel to the agreement signed between the Prime Minister of India and its counterpart in UK in June 2008, a number of universities and their consortia have expressed keen interest in collaborating with IIT Ropar. In the last few months, the Director, Prof. Surappa, has signed a number of MOUs with his counterparts in various universities in the United Kingdom. They have also had several visitors from universities abroad with a view to establish partnership in research and teaching.

Research or inspiration from the innovation

The institute, apart from establishing robust teaching environment, is keen to facilitate and support cutting-edge research in a variety of areas. This aspect will enable the students to acquaint themselves with latest development in their respective areas of study and pursue their own research interests. This would also result in a constant revision of the contents of courses that are being taught.

The institute encourages its faculty members to initiate research work and provides an initiation grant and also the basic facilities for its sustenance. It also encourages faculty members to establish collaborative research ventures with other research lab and industry. In this regard, the institute is keen to establish Central Research Facility. The institute has already started its PhD programme, so that the research environment is further augmented, expanded, and made even more vibrant.

Rural Technology Action Group (RuTAG)

The IIT-Ropar is the first among the new IITs in the country with a Rural Technology Action Group (RuTAG) Center on its campus. RuTAG is conceptualized, initiated and sponsored by Principal Scientific Adviser Dr R Chidambaram, Government of India, to encourage rural technologies.

Dr Chidambaram will inaugurate RuTAG on May 3. Such centers have been running in the older IITs. RuTAG will help develop a network of government agencies and NGOs that will aid in research and development intervention in the rural sector.

The aim of RuTAG is to upgrade rural systems to effective levels for boosting rural economy. will identify new problem areas in the rural sector and provide research and development intervention whenever necessary.

Also, the study of nuclear astrophysics is bound to get a momentum with the setting up of a nuclear physics instrumentation lab at the institute. This lab would help in radiation detection and high-spin isomeric state studies. The IIT is also setting up a high-performance computation lab with a virtual reality cave environment.

Going a step ahead in international collaborations, the IIT-Ropar is setting-up a bio energy research center in collaboration with Aston University, UK. It is working on a project which envisages producing power from bio fuel. The project is so modeled as to help at least three households produce their own power from bio fuel. The first prototype plant utilizing agri-waste to produce energy shall be inaugurated in early September.

Entrepreneurship Cell

With the goal to foster innovation within industry, academia and government bodies in the state of Punjab IIT Ropar has launched a prototype development and innovation fund (PDIF). The PDIF has been established to address the technology gap between research labs and commercial products. The PDIF will fund projects that would validate the commercial potential of a technology and projects that serve the immediate technological needs of the nation in general and the regional industry in particular. Typical project would be a partnership between the industry and the academia with a strong case for commercialization of the technology based on the prototype to be developed in the project.

Campus life/Infrastructure

Hostel Facilities

The Institute campus houses four hostels: three for boys and one for girls. The hostels are well equipped for comfortable lodging and boarding of approximately 380 students. All hostels are provided with water coolers and RO systems. Each hostel has a common room that provides facilities for indoor recreation and games. The hostel complex also includes four shops that cater to the basic needs of the residents, and also a few washing machine facility. High speed internet is available via wireless internet (spread in the complete campus area) and LAN connections provided by BSNL. The day-to-day management of hostels is taken care of by a committee consisting of student representatives, faculty members and administrative staff. Each hostel has a warden, who guides the students to manage the affairs of the hostels. Institute has its own independent post office opened for the staff and students of the institute. SBI (State Bank of India) has a well operational branch inside the campus premises, with talks of ATM being introduced in near early future.

Medical Facility

The institute has allocated a separate building, which adjoins the hostel complex, for its medical facility. A doctor and a nurse have been appointed to attend to medical emergencies of the campus residents. In addition the institute relies upon a few super-speciality hospitals in the city of Ropar for providing medical care to its members.

Sports Facilities

The currently enrollled three batches (2008 entry, 2009 entry and 2010 entry) of students are, apart from showing excellent academic progress, keen to pursue their interests in sports and games. To nurture these interests, the institute has several facilities. At present, the institute has cricket field, three tennis courts, a football field, a hockey field, a gymnasium, a basket ball court and also a number of facilities for several athletic events. The institute also encourages its students to participate in inter-IIT sport events and other competitions. The appointment of a coach has further augmented sports-related activities in the campus. The Students Activity Centre(SAC) has a well equipped gymnasium and supports a music room, available for the students.

Central Library

The Central Library functions as the primary information resource and repository for all teaching and research activities at the institute. Apart from textbooks and recommended reading material prescribed for each course offered at the institute, the library houses a growing collection of research monographs, reports, multi-volume reference works, dictionaries, encyclopedias, handbooks, and so on. In addition, the library also facilitates access to a number of journals through its participation in consortia such as INDEST-AICTE. At present, users can consult more than 4000 books (available on shelves) and hundreds of journals (through electronic subscription).

Security

The institute has ensured that its campus and residents are safe and secure. To accomplish this, a security agency has been entrusted with the task of providing security to its personnel and resources.

The beautiful campus has a peaceful environment.

Extra Curricular Activities

Societies & Clubs

There are various societies being run by the student body at the institute to promote extra currulicular and co-curricular activities. These clubs ensure participation from the students in different institute level activities & competitions, and prepare them for inter-college competitions. The Music Society, The Dance Club, LitSoc- The Literary Society, The Chess Club, The Athletics Club, The Creative Writing Club, Science and Technology Club, etc. are managed by the respective student representatives and a secretary.

Zeitgeist

Zeitgeist is the annual cultural fest of IIT Ropar. It is typically held in autumn(Sept/Oct) and aims at being one of the biggest student festival in Punjab. It took birth in the year 2010, when students of the institution came together to organise the event in September. The theme for the first edition of the festival was 'The Spirit of the Times' (the meaning of Zeitgeist) and the fest attracted participation from colleges in far-off places such as Delhi, Roorkee, Mandi and from many places in Punjab and Haryana. The title sponsors for the event were Hero Honda and the star performers were Faridkot, The Band. The fest encouraged spread of Indian culture through its events, with a Spic Macay event being a part of the inaugural ceremony. The student body at IIT Ropar aims to bring back the festive mood to Punjab and the adjoining states in the coming September, 2011.

See also

• List of universities in India
• Indian Institutes of Technology
• Education in India

External links

• IIT Ropar (Punjab) official site