CHENNAI : Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IIT Madras) witnessed many historic achievements during the year 2024, with many more on the way in the days to come. The Institute not only excelled in research and academic pursuits but also in translational research that converts lab research into a product in the field, innovation, entrepreneurship and industrial consultancy.
Establishing a record that has not been witnessed in Indian Education History, IIT Madras retained its No. 1 ranking in the ‘Overall’ category for the Sixth Consecutive Year and in ‘Engineering’ Category for the Ninth Consecutive Year, right from the first edition of the Rankings in 2016.
The Institute also improved its position in QS World University Rankings (QS WUR) from 285 last year to 227 in QS WUR 2025.
Further, among the numerous firsts for the Institute, IIT Madras became the first ever IIT in the country to introduce admissions for sportspersons in its undergraduate programmes. The Institute introduced the ‘Sports Excellence Admission’ (SEA) from the academic year 2024-2025, under which it offers two supernumerary seats, of which one will be exclusively for female students, in each of its undergraduate programs for Indian Nationals.
This initiative is to recognize and reward talented students who have excelled in sports. This program encourages deserving students to pursue higher education while continuing to excel in their sports.
IIT Madras also became the first IIT in the country to introduce ‘Fine Arts and Culture Excellence’ (FACE) Admission to Undergraduate Programs from the Academic year 2025 – 26. The objective of FACE admission is to reward and encourage students who have achieved excellence in fine arts and culture. Two seats per Program will be allotted in all B.Tech. and B.S. programs of IIT Madras under this scheme. Of the two seats in each program, one seat will be female-only, and the other will be gender-neutral.
Outlining his vision for the Institute in 2025, Prof. V. Kamakoti, Director, IIT Madras, said, “Looking forward, 2025 is going to be a year of a lot of expectations and challenges. One of the biggest challenges that we have put in front of us is ‘Startup Shatam’ where we are looking at incubating 100 startups. We are also going to host the Pan-IIT, NIT, and top NIRF institutions in an invention fair called ‘IInvenTiv-2025’ in which these institutions will showcase some of their prominent inventions that could serve the society at large.”
Prof. V. Kamakoti added, “We have recently launched the School of Interdisciplinary Studies and also the School of Sustainability. With the growing demand for interdisciplinary research and inter-disciplinary skillset, I am sure the School of Interdisciplinary Studies will be extremely successful.”
Further, Prof. V. Kamakoti said, “We have a very exciting and challenging 2025 in front of us and I am sure that with all the hard work of the staff, the students, faculty, alumni and the industry partners, IIT madras will continue to lead and produce lot of things that will be extremely useful for the society at large.”
AWARDS AND RECOGNITIONS
For its unwavering dedication to education, research, and societal impact, and for standing as a beacon of progress, the CNBC-TV18 India Business Leader Awards 2024 (IBLA 2024) recently recognised IIT Madras for its Outstanding Contribution to the Indian Economy.
IIT Madras has also been awarded the ‘CII Industrial IP Award 2024’ at an event held at New Delhi recently.
Through initiatives like the Startups and Incubation Program and the Technology Business Incubator, IIT Madras has nurtured an entrepreneurial spirit among its students, supporting over 233 startups that tackle real-world challenges across diverse sectors
Two Professors from IIT Madras were also conferred ‘Rashtriya Vigyan Puraskar: Vigyan Yuva Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar’ Award during 2024 by the Hon’ble President of India Smt. Droupadi Murmu.
Prof. Prabhu Rajagopal, Department of Mechanical Engineering, IIT Madras, and Prof. Radhakrishna Ganti, Department of Electrical Engineering, IIT Madras, were selected for this award, formerly known as the ‘Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar’ Prize, in recognition of their outstanding work in science and technology.
Agnikul Cosmos, the IIT Madras-incubated start-u, launched the world’s first rocket with a single piece 3D printed engine from Sriharikota on 30th May 2024. This remarkable feat has been achieved entirely through indigenous design and development. ‘Agnibaan – SOrTeD’ Sub-Orbital Technology Demonstrator also has the unique distinction of having been launched from India’s first private launch pad called ‘Dhanush’ established by Agnikul. It is also India’s first semi-cryogenic engine-powered rocket launch.
The key purpose of this mission, which is also Agnikul’s first flight, is to serve as a test flight, to demonstrate the in-house and home-grown technologies, gather crucial flight data and ensure optimal functioning of systems for Agnikul’s orbital launch vehicle, the ‘Agnibaan’.
IIT Madras also became the First Research Organization in the world to release the most detailed 3D High-Resolution images of the fetal brain. This pioneering work from the Sudha Gopalakrishnan Brain Centre of IIT Madras pushes the frontiers of Brain Mapping Technology and places India in the global league of brain mapping science as this is first-of-its-kind work anywhere in the world
IIT Madras-incubated start-up Mindgrove successfully design, manufactured and booted-up India’s first commercial high-performance RISC-V based System on Chip (SoC) named ‘Secure IoT’. The Institute was granted 435 patents in Financial Year 2023-24 (FY24), more than double the preceding year and also filed for 378 Patents in FY24, exceeding its target of one patent a day
ALUMNI AND CSR SUPPORT
The Institute also raised Rs. 513 crore during 2023-24, from alumni, corporates, and the industry, which was the higher-ever in its history. This funding is utilized not only to ramp up institute infrastructure and get state-of-the-art facilities but also to provide scholarships for students from disadvantaged sections and convert lab research into real-world products and applications.
IIT Madras also received the largest single donation in its history of Rs. 228 Crore from its Distinguished Alumnus Awardee Dr. Krishna Chivukula (MTech, 1970). This donation is one of the largest ever made to an educational institution in India. This donation will be utilized for multiple purposes including supporting international students to study at IIT Madras through a Scholarship, Research Excellence Grant Program, an UG Fellowship Program for freshers at IIT Madras, Sports Scholar Program, Shaastra Magazine development and the Krishna Chivukula Block Maintenance, among other activities.
NEW DEPARTMENT OF DATA SCIENCE
Further, Mr. Sunil Wadhwani, A distinguished alumnus of IIT Madras and the Co-founder of IGATE, set up an endowment of Rs. 110 Crore towards setting up the Wadhwani School of Data Science and AI.
Mr. Wadhwani’s gift is one of the largest gifts given by an alumnus to create a School at an educational institution in India. With a vision to be among the top AI-focused schools worldwide, Wadhwani School of Data Science and AI also aims to advise the Government and policymakers on Data Science and AI-related policy areas.
