MAKING THE GRADE
The first institute to offer Computer Science education in India, IIT Kanpur (IIT-K) is known for its innovation and research. Started in 1959 in a room in the canteen building of the Harcourt Butler Technological Institute, the IIT is now an over-1,000-acre campus— with over 7,000 students and 500 faculty members. Developing sustainable research solutions for the nation and building bridges between academia, industry and society are among its goals.
Education at IIT-Kanpur empowers the students with a critical thinking-led approach, scientific temperament and knowledge in science, engineering, management and humanities to
solve problems that challenge humanity. Small individual-led groups spearhead research at IIT-K and there are also large interdisciplinary project teams.
The institute has a unique e-master’s programme for working professionals. This year, updated courses on Communication Systems, and Quantitative Finance and Risk Management, were launched, catering to the emerging trends in 5G and 6G domains, and the finance industry, respectively.
EndureAir, a startup founded by the Department of Aerospace Engineering, is revolutionising the drone industry, with their Vibhram and ORBIT drones.
The Med-tech Department, set up under the Centre’s Make in India initiative in 2019, makes innovative medical equipment for the healthcare sector.
The institute was the first to award SSI (self-sovereign identity)-enabled blockchain digital degrees to students last year. It was developed by CRUBN, a startup founded under the National Blockchain Project. The same technology was later used by several state governments for securing digital records, and by the ministry of women and child development for distributing certificates to the awardees of the Pradhan Mantri Rashtriya Bal Puraskar, 2022.
by Prashant Srivastava