The objective was to help both students and parents to adjust to the campus. The institute encourages students to develop their overall personality and skills, rather than just the academic knowledge. A total of 863 students have been admitted to IIT Madras this year in the B Tech and B Tech - M Tech Dual Degrees programmes and 46 have been admitted to the five-year M A program. The orientation programme for the new students began on July 24, 2018. It included a presentation on the academic credit system and a session on the mental health counselling programme among other things.

 Addressing a joint session of new students and parents, Bhaskar Ramamurthi, Director, IIT Madras, said, “As students, you will get lot of opportunities to learn from various walks of life, here at IIT Madras. As long as you can balance academics with co-curricular activities and manage your time, you will do well. There are many agencies and helping hands available at the institute. In case, you face any difficulty, just reach out to them.” 

Urging the parents to be supportive of their children, Bhaskar Ramamurthi said, “You must allow your wards to find what interests them and encourage them to immerse themselves in it. Give your children, freedom to discover themselves.” The students were also taken on a tour of various facilities such as Central Workshop, Central Library and Computer science and various laboratories.  

Highlighting the unique initiatives taken by IIT Madras, M S Sivakumar, Dean (Students), IIT Madras, said that the Institute wants to sensitise parents and students to the style of living and learning on IIT Madras campus, “Parents now have to realize that their role will gradually shift from being a parent to a friend as their ward goes through the phase of adolescence to adulthood.”