Gandhinagar: Indian Institute of Technology Gandhinagar (IITGN) celebrated 15 glorious years of its foundation and an extraordinary journey of academic innovations, remarkable achievements, and building a vibrant green campus on August 05, 2023. The Foundation Day celebration was graced by Ms Rita Teaotia, IAS (Rtd) and former Chairperson, FSSAI, as Chief Guest.
Moreover, Prof Manoj Choudhary, Vice Chancellor, Gati Shakti Vishwavidyalaya; Dr Pankajray Patel, former in-charge Vice Chancellor, Gujarat Technological University; Prof Shailendra Saraf, Director, National Institute of Pharmaceutical Education and Research, Ahmedabad; Smt Sonal Bhatawadekar, Director, Software Technology Parks of India; Shri Rajesh Kumar Gupta, Director, UIDAI Gujarat State Office; Shri Sumit Sengar, Head, Bureau of Indian Standards, Ahmedabad branch; Inspec-tor General A K Harbola, Commander, Coast Guards region (North-West); Prof M R Patel, former Principal, Vishwakarma Government Engineering College, Ahmedabad; Prof Namit Mahajan, Physical Research Laboratory, Ahmedabad; Mr Dilip Patil, Engineering Leader, Ingersoll Rand; also joined the event as distinguished guests.
The event captured and reminisced the journey of building and nurturing IITGN by all its visionaries and stakeholders, who have contributed to turning it from an expedition to now an experience. Fifteen years ago, in 2008, IITGN embarked on its journey with humble beginnings, admitting its first batch of BTech students in the temporary campus at Vishwakarma Government Engineering College, Chandkheda, Ahmedabad. Since then, the Institute has grown by leaps and bounds, and today, it proudly stands with a vibrant student community of over 2200 in the sprawling and picturesque zero-waste campus spread across 400 acres on the banks of the river Sabarmati. The Institute is recognised as a leader in educational innovations, which have been lauded nationally and internationally. IITGN is now ranked among the top 20 Higher Educational Institutes in the country in the NIRF’s India Ranking 2023 and has won numerous other awards in the areas of academics and campus development. These achievements stand as a testament to the unwavering dedication and hard work of its leadership, faculty and staff members, students, alumni, various stakeholders, partners, and well-wishers of IITGN.
Delivering her IITGN Foundation Day address, Ms Rita Teaotia lauded the immense work done by its visionaries in transforming a distant dream of having a full-fledged IIT in Gujarat into a reality of a sensitively designed beautiful campus and congratulated the Institute for charting its own path over the years. Urging young minds to focus on two significant points, MS Teaotia said, “All of you are going to shape the future of this country as professionals, and hence, it is important that you understand the urgent need for climate-resilient development and make the right choices and decisions as engineers and professionals to shape the world around you. We have inspiring examples of how sustainable designs can transform cities and industries. Renewable energy solutions, waste reduction initiatives, and eco-friendly urban planning do not only mitigate environmental damage but can be economically viable as well.”
Making her second point, Ms Teaotia underscored the need for pairing engineering education with liberal arts discipline with deep commitment and said, “To make our graduates equipped with required skills for employment, the National Education Policy recommends the integration of liberal arts education because it prepares one not only for their first job but also for their entire career. With the coming of the fourth industrial revolution and the rapidly-changing employment landscape, liberal arts education is more important and useful for one’s employment than ever before. The enhancement of critical and creative thinking, the capacity to exercise one’s imagination, and cultivating subjective ways of thinking about social realities are some of the greatest benefits of providing liberal arts education to our engineers so that they can create technologies that enhance lives, design sustainable solutions, and communicate their ideas persuasively.”
On this occasion, Prof Rajat Moona, Director, IITGN, recalled and acknowledged the support extended by all the stakeholders in the early years of IITGN that has made the Institute reach where it is today. He said, “15 years back, a new era was born when IITGN was established. The entire journey of this Institute has been remarkable and has culminated in such a way that today we can talk of IITGN as an example to others. Our education is inclusive and student-oriented. And as Prof Sudhir Jain had once envisioned in one of his Foundation Programme speeches, that time has already started for IITGN when students join the Institute by choice rather than by the compulsion of their scores. IITGN takes pride in ensuring that our students grow not only to be engineers but also sensible human beings.”
Prof Rajat Moona unveiled a calendar with iconic images of the IITGN campus that take its users down the memory lane. The event also included an exhibition gallery that highlighted the transformation and growth of the Institute over the last fifteen years through an interesting display of posters, photographs, and rangolis. The student cultural council of IITGN and its clubs organised various other activities for the community, including competitions for short stories, slam poetry, art, and meme-making. The evening ended with enthralling dance, musical, and theatrical performances presented by students as well as faculty and staff members of IITGN.
