CHENNAI : Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IIT Madras) recorded a year of historic achievements and progress during 2022 in varied fields. The year saw the institute activities returning in-person to campus in full swing, after two years of pandemic. All students were brought back to campus.
The year began with new tidings for the Institute. Prof. V. Kamakoti, Department of Computer Science and Engineering and Associate Dean, Industrial Consultancy & Sponsored Research, IIT Madras, was appointed as the new Director of IIT Madras on 17th January 2022. His focus has been on making ‘IITM for All’ through initiatives that have a wide impact in the local community as well as the wider student community.
Among the numerous achievements of the Institute during the year, include India’s first 5G Call made on a trial network set up at IIT Madras using indigenously-developed technology by Shri. Ashwini Vaishnaw, Hon’ble Union Minister for Communications, Electronics, and Information Technology.
Shri Narendra Modi, Hon’ble Prime Minister, on May 17 2022 launched a 5G Test Bed, developed as a multi-institute collaborative project by a total of eight institutes led by IIT Madras.
The Institute also won the National Intellectual Property Awards for both the years 2021 and 2022. The Awards were given out by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade, Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Government of India.
Speaking about the achievements of 2022, Prof. V. Kamakoti, Director, IIT Madras, said, “The year 2022 turned out to be a year of challenges successfully addressed by IIT Madras. Returning to normalcy in the post-COVID era, the Institute students, staff and faculty have performed to their best to reach the top spots in every aspect, be it emerging technologies, research, innovation, entrepreneurship, or Intellectual Property. I wholeheartedly thank all of them for this massive cohesive effort and looking forward to an equally exciting 2023 ahead.”
‘IITM FOR ALL’
The Institute has unveiled a slew of initiatives such as Courses on ‘Out of the Box Thinking’ which were made available online for everyone in India and abroad. The ‘Anaivarukkum IITM’ (IITM for all) initiative saw the Institute grant admission to 87 students from Government & Corporation schools in the BS programme.
Further, IIT Madras also made the BSc Data Science open to all students in Classes 11 and 12, which will give them a big opportunity to later study at IIT Madras. Students should note that data analyst and data scientist job roles have been predicted to be at the top of the world by 2025. All courses are online and proctored exams conducted across India, Sri Lanka and UAE.
The Wharton-QS Reimagine Education Awards 2022 accorded major recognition to digital education programs of IIT Madras. The NPTEL (National Programme on Technology Enhanced Learning), a joint venture of the IITs and IISc, won the ‘Lifelong Learning Award – Gold’ and the IIT Madras Bachelor of Science in Data Science and Applications program won the ‘Best Online Program – Silver.’
Institute also retained the No.1 in ‘Overall’ Category for fourth consecutive year and No.1 in ‘Engineering Institutions’ category for seventh consecutive years, in NIRF Rankings. It also maintained No. 1 spot in Atal Ranking of Institutions in Innovations Achievement
CUTTING-EDGE RESEARCH
2022 also witnessed the Institute rapidly augmenting its research infrastructure. The Institute launched the Sudha Gopalakrishnan Brain Centre to power an ambitious global project to map the human brain at the cellular and connectivity levels, with a focus on high-resolution brain imaging. This state-of-the-art Centre aims to become a world-renowned research centre, generating unprecedented human brain data, scientific output and technology tools.
IIT Madras also plans to train hundreds of undergraduate and postgraduate students at this Centre in neuroscience and computing, machine learning techniques on cutting-edge brain data. The Centre is supported by IITM’s Distinguished Alumnus Awardee Mr. Kris Gopalakrishnan and Mrs. Sudha Gopalakrishnan.
Researchers from the Institute developed an AI tool that can predict cancer-causing gene mutations in an individual. Named PIVOT, the tool utilises information on mutations, expression of genes, copy number variation in genes and changes in biological networks due to altered gene expression to make its predictions. The findings of the research have been published in a peer-reviewed journal, ‘Frontier in Genetics’.
‘PIVOT,’ is part of personalised cancer care that has been growing all over the world. It has been found that conventional methods of treating cancer, including chemotherapy and radiation, kill non-cancerous cells, too, thereby causing severe side effects for the patients. Personalised cancer treatment looks at addressing a malignant tumour based on the needs and development of the disease in that particular patient.
IIT Madras Prof. R. Krishna Kumar conceptualised and coordinated a study conducted at Panimalar Medical College and Research Institute by Dr Rajan Ravichandran, an Adjunct Faculty at IIT Madras and Director Nephrology at MIOT hospitals on a treatment for Covid-19.
The researchers published a paper in a peer-reviewed journal paper Nature Scientific Reports (https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-022-10370-1.) showing the excellent efficacy of Indomethacin, a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug, as an antiviral agent in the treatment of mild and moderate COVID-19 patients.
NEW COURSES
With a view to preparing students for the next generation of transportation technology, the Institute launched an interdisciplinary dual degree (IDDD) Master’s programme in electric vehicles for the IIT Madras BTech and dual degree students, year this year. Students who enrol for the electric vehicle masters programme will be equipped with the necessary skills to begin their careers in the electric mobility sector.
IIT Madras also recently launched a new Interdisciplinary Dual Degree (IDDD) program on ‘Quantitative Finance.’ This course would be jointly offered by Departments of Management Studies, Computer Science and Engineering and Mathematics for B.Tech dual degree students. The course has been designed to enable students to more easily adapt to new developments in finance and bridge the gap between the application of modern product and process technologies and state-of-the-art finance. It requires relatively extensive use of quantitative methods and theoretical reasoning.
PLACEMENTS
IIT Madras students recorded a total number of 445 offers at the end of Session 1.1 in Day One (1st December 2022) of Phase 1 of placements for 2022-23 Academic Year. This figure, which includes Pre-Placement Offers (PPOs), is the highest ever recorded in IIT Madras Placements History at the end of Session 1.1. It is around 10% higher than last year’s figure of 407.
Many companies that were earlier recruiting only in Phase I of placements, have this year opted to give PPOs also, which are the result of a robust internship program at IIT Madras. A total of 25 offers with pay packages in excess of Rs. 1 crore per annum have been received at the end of Session 1.1. A total of 15 International Offers were received from Four Companies at the end of Session 1.1. The placements at the Institute are expected to continue till May 2023.
SOCIAL IMPACT
The Institute’s TTK Center for Rehabilitation Research and Device Development, headed by Prof. Sujatha Srinivasan, launched India’s first indigenously developed Polycentric Prosthetic Knee, which aims to improve the quality of life for thousands of above-knee amputees. Called ‘Kadam,’ this ‘Made in India’ product is a polycentric knee for above knee prosthesis developed in association with Society for Biomedical Technology (SBMT) and Mobility India.
Kadam makes it possible for above-knee amputees to walk with a comfortable gait. Not just mobility, it also aims to improve the quality of life of users through increased community participation, access to education, livelihood and overall well-being.
IIT Madras has emerged as a market leader in the unique space of leveraging technology to drive social impact through its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) collaborations. The Institute has been pioneering technology-driven social impact on a range of themes, from energy to education, agriculture to artificial intelligence, water to waste management, health to housing, centers of excellence to community development, among others.
IIT Madras collaborates with corporates, PSUs and various institutions falling under the gamut of the CSR Act on a range of technology-driven CSR projects. Our CSR project collaboration opportunities pan across the UN-SDGs (United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals). The institute has raised a historic all-time high sum of Rs. 131 crore from alumni, donors and corporate firms during the financial year of 2021-22 to further its philanthropic and socially-relevant projects.
STUDENT INNOVATIONS
The Ministry of Railways, Government of India, accorded approval for funding of ₹8.34 crore to IIT Madras Students Team Avishkar to participate in a collaborative project on Hyperloop technology. Union Railways Minister Sh. Ashwini Vaishnaw handed over the approval letter to IIT Madras during his visit to the institute earlier this year.
IIT Madras students also launched the first electric formula racing car to come from the institute during a recent event in campus. Built completely by students Team Raftar, the formula car ‘RF23’ is the result of a one-year-long process in which the team undertook the Design, Manufacturing, and Testing. In terms of performance, the students expect to see significant improvements in speed and lap times compared to the earlier Internal Combustion Engine model due to the higher power delivered by an electric drive
In their latest technological innovation, researchers at the IIT Madras have developed a robot to clean septic tanks without any human assistance. Named ‘HomoSEP,’ ten units are planned to be deployed across Tamil Nadu and the researchers are in touch with sanitation workers to identify the locations.
