Govt engg students get a shot at making IIT dream come true
Representational Image. AHMEDABAD: GTU will initially choose 10 meritorious students to study at IIT-Gn for a semester; students will experience diverse cultures on campus and learn from some of the best faculty members in the country without spending an extra paisa
Most aspiring engineers in India dream of getting admission to the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT). While they have to pass entrance exams to enter the Mecca of engineering education, Gujarat government is giving students in GTU-affiliated government engineering colleges a chance to study at Indian Institute of Technology, Gandhinagar for an entire semester. All they need is good grades.
What's even better is that these students will not have to spend a paisa to live on campus and learn from some of the best faculty members in the country.
Following IIT-Gn's Board of Governors' meeting on Thursday, the State Education department put a final stamp of approval on the proposal that will be implemented from this academic year.
The icing on the cake is that this experience is not going to cost students an extra paisa, said Principal Secretary (Education) Anju Sharma. She told Mirror, "While IIT-Gn will bear half of the tuition fee, the education department will bear the remaining half. The idea is to bring the best of every possible aspect of learning to the table for bright, deserving students.
"Initially, we will choose 10 students from government engineering colleges who will get to spend six months (an entire semester) at IIT-Gn, studying the branch of engineering they got admission to. We have begun the process to align semester and credits."
There are 16 government degree engineering colleges in Gujarat with intake of close to 9,000 students every year, said officials in the Education department.
Meanwhile, IIt-Gn welcomed students from 20 states to its 2019 BTech batch. The highest number of students were from Rajasthan (50), followed by Gujarat (44), and Maharashtra (32). Besides, 17 students came from Andhra Pradesh, 15 from Telangana, 12 from Madhya Pradesh, 11 from Uttar Pradesh, and 6 from Bihar, among others.
IIT-Gn Director Sudhir Jain said the institute already has a programme where students from engineering colleges spend a semester on their campus. "I had proposed this to the Gujarat government which is finally seeing the light of the day. When we induct government engineering students, they will study here as an IIT-Gn student. Not only they will study from the best of our faculty members, have access to laboratories, be part of research activities and projects, but they will also stay in our hostel, experience and learn from a diverse group of students on our campus," he said.
Jain added, "The project is even more significant as government engineering colleges do not have student exchange programmes with other institutes. If a student enrolled in LD Engineering College gets an opportunity to study at IIT-Gn, the culture is different from his/her college. It may not be superior, but the exposure to different cultures brings its own set of thrills and challenges. Also, completing a semester at IIT-Gn will boost the students' CV and give him/her advantage over fellow-students."
The IIT-Gn director said, "Our fee is approximately Rs 2 lakh per year. This comes to Rs1 lakh per semester. Of this, 50% will be paid by IIT-Gn from its endowment fund and the rest of it will be borne by the Gujarat government."
Sharma said the education department has put the proposal in the budget to make sure there's financial allocation for the same.
Officials working on the project to ensure a smooth transition for students said they plan to screen students in degree engineering semester 4, 5 and 6 in government engineering colleges. The proposal has been handed over to GTU officials to work out the nitty-gritty.
Nilay Bhuptani, principal of Vishwakarma Government Engineering College, said, "Engineering subjects are more or less the same. It is just that they may be taught in different semesters at both institutes. We are screening the syllabus to work out which semester students should be sent to IIT-Gn. Similarly, GTU courses beget 3 or 4 credits. This will be different at IIT-Gn. We are working to ensure that credits earned at IITGn fits into the GTU system well enough to help students," said Bhuptani.
He added that they have begun work on the proposal and plan to select 10 students to send to IIT-Gn next semester.
Most aspiring engineers in India dream of getting admission to the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT). While they have to pass entrance exams to enter the Mecca of engineering education, Gujarat government is giving students in GTU-affiliated government engineering colleges a chance to study at Indian Institute of Technology, Gandhinagar for an entire semester. All they need is good grades.
What's even better is that these students will not have to spend a paisa to live on campus and learn from some of the best faculty members in the country.
Following IIT-Gn's Board of Governors' meeting on Thursday, the State Education department put a final stamp of approval on the proposal that will be implemented from this academic year.
The icing on the cake is that this experience is not going to cost students an extra paisa, said Principal Secretary (Education) Anju Sharma. She told Mirror, "While IIT-Gn will bear half of the tuition fee, the education department will bear the remaining half. The idea is to bring the best of every possible aspect of learning to the table for bright, deserving students.
"Initially, we will choose 10 students from government engineering colleges who will get to spend six months (an entire semester) at IIT-Gn, studying the branch of engineering they got admission to. We have begun the process to align semester and credits."
There are 16 government degree engineering colleges in Gujarat with intake of close to 9,000 students every year, said officials in the Education department.
Meanwhile, IIt-Gn welcomed students from 20 states to its 2019 BTech batch. The highest number of students were from Rajasthan (50), followed by Gujarat (44), and Maharashtra (32). Besides, 17 students came from Andhra Pradesh, 15 from Telangana, 12 from Madhya Pradesh, 11 from Uttar Pradesh, and 6 from Bihar, among others.
IIT-Gn Director Sudhir Jain said the institute already has a programme where students from engineering colleges spend a semester on their campus. "I had proposed this to the Gujarat government which is finally seeing the light of the day. When we induct government engineering students, they will study here as an IIT-Gn student. Not only they will study from the best of our faculty members, have access to laboratories, be part of research activities and projects, but they will also stay in our hostel, experience and learn from a diverse group of students on our campus," he said.
Jain added, "The project is even more significant as government engineering colleges do not have student exchange programmes with other institutes. If a student enrolled in LD Engineering College gets an opportunity to study at IIT-Gn, the culture is different from his/her college. It may not be superior, but the exposure to different cultures brings its own set of thrills and challenges. Also, completing a semester at IIT-Gn will boost the students' CV and give him/her advantage over fellow-students."
The IIT-Gn director said, "Our fee is approximately Rs 2 lakh per year. This comes to Rs1 lakh per semester. Of this, 50% will be paid by IIT-Gn from its endowment fund and the rest of it will be borne by the Gujarat government."
Sharma said the education department has put the proposal in the budget to make sure there's financial allocation for the same.
Officials working on the project to ensure a smooth transition for students said they plan to screen students in degree engineering semester 4, 5 and 6 in government engineering colleges. The proposal has been handed over to GTU officials to work out the nitty-gritty.
Nilay Bhuptani, principal of Vishwakarma Government Engineering College, said, "Engineering subjects are more or less the same. It is just that they may be taught in different semesters at both institutes. We are screening the syllabus to work out which semester students should be sent to IIT-Gn. Similarly, GTU courses beget 3 or 4 credits. This will be different at IIT-Gn. We are working to ensure that credits earned at IITGn fits into the GTU system well enough to help students," said Bhuptani.
He added that they have begun work on the proposal and plan to select 10 students to send to IIT-Gn next semester.
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