IIT Delhi campus
In its latest statement, issued right after the IITs had dipped in both THE and QS Rankings this year, the premier institute said it will focus more on building an ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’ or ‘self-reliant India’. The statement said, “While such attributes are not captured by traditional ranking matrices, they certainly resonate with national development missions.”
“The present global scenario has raised a spectre of numerous challenges wherein the country’s emphasis on self-reliant India or Aatmanirbhar Bharat promises to bring out the best that we have to offer. It would catapult us in a league where we can be seen building a new and confident India,” it added.
Stating that it can contribute to India’s efforts towards self-reliance, the IIT claimed to be among the top 10 global institutes producing the most unicorn founders and being a leader in the number of startups created by its students and alumni and the total funds raised by these startups.
“The institute has invested over Rs 350 crore in the last few years to solve grand challenges by leveraging high-tech research facilities,” it mentioned. “The ongoing response to COVID-19 pandemic by researchers and start-ups at IIT Delhi to mitigate the many risks of the disease by developing and deploying diagnostic kits, PPEs, masks, etc, attests to the inherent strength of the institute to be able to rise to any challenge.”
Prof Ramgopal Rao, Director, IIT-Delhi commented, “Our goal at IIT-Delhi is to produce more job providers rather than job seekers. Every second student at IIT-Delhi is now dreaming of becoming an entrepreneur. The institute is supporting them in all possible ways. At least 10 initiatives we launched in the last four years are to support the entrepreneurship ecosystem on the campus. We are also helping our faculty to turn into entrepreneurs using the deep-tech research they carry out in their laboratories.”
Earlier this month, the THE Ranking had claimed that the “overall picture for India’s IITs (is) one of general decline amid increased regional competition”.