The Global School ; a Washington Dc Conference Provides a Stage for the Indian Institutes of Technology (Iits) to Reinforce Their Global Standing.

Summary

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In the world's strongest economy, the three-letter abbreviation that symbolises India best isn't UPA or NDA but IIT. This was evident at the third global Pan-IIT conference held at Washington dc in the third weekend of May. Pan-IIT is a not for-profit umbrella organisation that merges the various chapters of the IIT family. And the run-up to this, the third conference, had been perfect: the us Congress had bestowed it an official pat on the back (see Time For Recognition), the state governments of Maryland and Virginia followed suit, and then, there were the speakers scheduled to speak at the meet: Larry Summers, Jack Welch, C.K. Prahalad and the like.

The 1,200 alumni who gathered for the conference from all parts of the world networked heavily, partied hard and managed to strike a blow for the IITs. The government of India did enough to suggest that it was well on track to initiating measures to address some of the issues and challenges facing India's best-known technology schools. "The IITs are now aspiring to become international research institutions," said Arjun Singh, India's minister in charge of Human Resource Development in a written speech that was read out (he had to skip the Washington do). "For this ambitions transformation, we need the help, support and contributions of all, including alumni." His speech then proceeded to list some of these measures (coincidentally, the same as the recommendations suggested by the Rama Rao Committee that the government set up to study the challenges facing the IITs; the recommendations have just been submitted): allowing alumni to directly route funds to their alma mater without routing them through the Bharat Shiksha Kosh, a fund set up by the previous HRD minister Murli Manohar Joshi; permitting the schools to recruit adjunct faculty from other countries; and allowing faculty members to consult with companies in other countries. While none of these translates into the government relinquishing control, each is just the kind of thing the IITs have been clamouring for. In many ways, the third conference marks the culmination of one phase, and hopefully the beginning of another, of the IIT story that began, in the month of May, without much fanfare 55 years ago.

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The Global School ; a Washington Dc Conference Provides a Stage for the Indian Institutes of Technology (Iits) to Reinforce Their Global Standing.

How It All Began

The first Indian Institute of Technology came up at Kharagpur. The construction of the institute began in May, 1950, at the site of what was the Hijli Detention Camp, where political prisoners, including Jawaharlal Nehru, India's then Prime Minister, were incarcerated by the British. The institute was formally inaugurated on August 18, 1951. In fact, the prime minister was around when the first convocation was held in 1956. At that time Nehru had remarked, "Here in the place of that Hijli Detention Camp stands this fine m...

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