Challenges in Creating a Premier Institute of Higher Technological Education in a Remote Area: A Case Study of IIT Mandi

Abstract

In 2009, a picturesque 500-acre campus in a remote Himalayan river valley was selected for an IIT. With a population of barely 200, beset by landslides and bitterly cold winters, the village of Kamand is 45 minutes from the modest town of Mandi, and 6-7 hours from the nearest major city, Chandigarh. Was it a foolish pipe-dream that a world-class member of the IIT system could rise in this bucolic mountain setting?

Six years later, IIT Mandi has earned the distinction of being the first of the 8 new IITs to start occupying its permanent campus in mid-2012, and is still the only one to have a fully functional residential campus. IIT Mandi has achieved many other significant milestones, in its long journey towards becoming a renowned IIT. It has graduated 3 batches of students who have started careers in India's leading companies, and in the best universities in India, North America and Europe. Over 90 faculty are active in experimental and theoretical research, with a productivity on par with the old IITs. They have won sponsored research projects from a variety of Indian agencies and from a few companies in the US.

In this talk, we will outline the challenges that we faced while conceiving and building IIT Mandi. These include the remote location, natural hazards, lack of urban ecosystems, etc. We will describe how we defined and implemented a strategy towards the vision of serving Indian society. This strategy involves several USPs, including a strong inter-disciplinary culture, a unique project-oriented BTech curriculum, and a vibrant social outreach programme.