Celebrating 15 Glorious Years of IIT Jodhpur
A journey beyond excellence

Kamaljit Rangra & Kshema Prakash

Today, as an institute of national importance, we stand at the gates of 16^th year of our journey. Doing so, we feel like looking at our journey until now starting from our inception in 2008 and relating it with our identity as IIT Jodhpur proudly represented by our logo and slogan. 

Jantar Mantar in the logo of IIT Jodhpur signifies a meaningful connection between the institute and the historical legacy of the state in which IIT Jodhpur is located. It serves as a powerful symbol that encapsulates the institute’s ethos of seeking knowledge, exploring the cosmos of ideas, and harnessing the power of science and technology to make a positive impact on society. Just as the instruments at Jantar Mantar were designed to calculate and measure the universe, the students and faculty at IIT Jodhpur are encouraged to be explorers and pioneers, seeking knowledge and understanding to navigate the complexities of the world, besides fostering a sense of identity and pride among the IIT Jodhpur community, reminding them of their roots and the journey they are embarking on. It serves as a reminder of the institute’s commitment to preserving India’s scientific heritage while forging a path towards an innovative and transformative future. Jantar Mantar in Jaipur is of immense cultural and historical importance, showcasing the advanced knowledge and ingenuity of ancient Indian astronomers and mathematicians. Its incorporation in the logo of IIT Jodhpur symbolizes the institute’s respect for its surroundings and its dedication to embracing the past while pioneering the future through knowledge, innovation, and scientific exploration. Further, the slogan त्वम् ज्ञानमयो विज्ञानमयोऽसि (a verse from श्री गणपति अथर्वशीर्ष) is a profound statement of identity, expressing the oneness of the individual (Atman) with the universal consciousness (Brahman). IIT Jodhpur’s adaptation of this ancient verse to its slogan conveys a powerful message related to knowledge and wisdom, which can be translated to be “You are Knowledge, You are Wisdom”. The significance of this slogan lies in its philosophical underpinning and its alignment with the core values and principles of IIT Jodhpur. It represents the institute’s commitment to fostering a culture of learning, knowledge acquisition, and wisdom through education and research. 

As IIT Jodhpur commemorates its momentous 15-year milestone, we reflect on the extraordinary journey of this esteemed institute that has surpassed the boundaries of excellence and continues to pave the way for a brighter tomorrow. In this Foundation Day Special Issue, we embark on a captivating expedition through time, exploring the evolution and transformation of IIT Jodhpur into a beacon of academic brilliance and innovation. 

At the outset, we are honoured to feature a heartfelt message from the esteemed Director of IIT Jodhpur, Prof. Santanu Chaudhury, through his insightful article. His visionary leadership and unwavering commitment have played a pivotal role in shaping the remarkable journey of our institute, which is now stepping into its prime. 

The pages of this issue are adorned with articles penned by our distinguished faculty and staff members, who trace the inception and growth of various academic and research units within the institute. “Evolution of the Academic and Research Units at IIT Jodhpur” offers an enlightening narrative that highlights the profound development of departments, schools, centres, and IDRP verticals, all of which have played an integral role in shaping the identity of this institute. The growth of academics and research activities is a testament to the commitment and dedication of the faculty and researchers. “Growth of Academics at IIT Jodhpur” and “Growth of R&D Activities @ IIT Jodhpur” delve into the efforts invested in creating a thriving academic environment that fosters innovation and knowledge dissemination. 

Intellectual property rights are paramount in an institute’s journey towards progress. In the article “IPR Landscape in IIT Jodhpur,” we gain insights into the institute’s endeavours to protect and promote its intellectual capital, making significant contributions to research and development. The global reach of IIT Jodhpur is evident through “International Relations, Career Development, Alumni Relations & Corporate Relations @ IIT Jodhpur: The Evolution”, where we explore the institute’s outreach and collaborations, nurturing a dynamic and diverse ecosystem. Innovation is the driving force behind every successful institute. “Innovation Ecosystem at IIT Jodhpur” sheds light on the thriving innovation culture that has become a hallmark of this institute, fostering ground-breaking ideas that shape the world. 

Our journey would be incomplete without reflecting on the heart and soul of IIT Jodhpur - its students. “IIT Jodhpur: A Place to be, to become the best version of yourself” encapsulates the transformative experiences of students, who continue to emerge as leaders and change-makers, poised to make a positive impact on society. The growth of infrastructure and central facilities is paramount to create an enabling environment for holistic development. “History and Development of Central Facilities at IIT Jodhpur” chronicles the institute’s progress in providing state-of-the-art facilities to nurture an enriching academic experience. 

As we celebrate this momentous occasion, we also commemorate the first convocation and share nostalgic memories of our esteemed alumni, in a special section “Down the memory lane” through their articles “First Convocation with the First Citizen” and “IIT Jodhpur: Then and Now - A Class of 2012 Alumnus Perspective”. 

Our journey continues with the IITJ@15 events, where we align with visionary thinkers from academia, technology, and industry to chart the course for our future endeavours. Through these years, we have nurtured a spirit of innovation, fostered an environment of collaboration, and instilled a passion for continuous learning. IIT Jodhpur stands tall, not just as an institute of academic eminence, but also as a beacon of progress, transforming dreams into reality. 

As we embark on the next phase of our journey, we express heartfelt gratitude to all those who have contributed to the success of IIT Jodhpur, and also to TechScape. Together, we embrace the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead, with unwavering determination to reach new heights of excellence. And, together we embrace the spirit of “कदम से कदम मिलाना” - stepping footstep to footstep, united in our pursuit of knowledge, excellence, and service to humanity. 

In this Foundation Day Special Issue of TechScape, we invite you to relish the remarkable stories of our growth, achievements, and the memories that bind us together. Happy Foundation Day to the IIT Jodhpur family - a journey beyond excellence and a future filled with promise! 

About the Authors

Future of Engineering Education

Prof. Santanu Chaudhury

Future of Engineering Education

Today, more than ever,  science and technology are the key drivers for  social and economic changes. Science and technology are now undergoing disruptive transformations. For example, Svante Pääbo’s (Nobel Prize winner in 2022) seminal research, by revealing genetic differences that distinguish all living humans from extinct hominins, has provided the basis for exploring what makes us uniquely human. Emergence of techniques for analysis of ancient genomes is revealing new details about the rise and fall of lost civilizations and the migrations of people around the globe, effectively rewriting history. Discovery of gravity waves and images from distant galaxies are changing our understanding of the universe. Continuously emerging AI and ML technologies are causing revolutionary changes in the nature of work, production and healthcare systems. Advancements in biotechnology, nanotechnology, quantum technology, and others, are reshaping industries, transforming economies, and redefining the fabric of society. These disruptive scientific advancements not only hold promise for addressing complex global challenges but also necessitate relook at the education, research and innovation ecosystem. We need transformations not only about the curriculum, learning delivery, student support and research but also  about the operating model. The institutions have  to be flexible, agile, deliberate and led by insights from the evidence.

Rethinking Teaching Learning Model

Given the changes in technology and experiences of pandemic academic institutions need to rethink its teaching-learning models. The model has two key players – students and teachers. The model defines a process which is fundamentally experiential – for both the players – students and faculty. Design of such a model needs to optimize the quality of experience for the students as well as teachers. However, such a model should also respect individuality of a faculty and diversity of the student population. Satisfaction of the partners engaged can only ensure success of a teaching learning model. An institution needs to create its unique experiential teaching-learning model with a methodology for quantitatively evaluate its operational efficacy.

Experiential engagement of a student with the institution has two parts. – learner experience and personal experience.  Learner experience is more curriculum centric. Personal experience is built around extra-curricular and co-curricular opportunities for exploring individual capacities and inclinations. We have outlived the traditional classroom model of instructions where faculty is on the podium delivering lecture with students in the class-room as passive listeners. We need a collaborative teaching-learning process. A course offered by a faculty would be an opportunity to explore new vistas of a subject through an active collaboration with the students. Flipped classroom can turn everything around, switching the time devoted to homework and class lectures. Course material may include video, mixed reality elements and simulations, with realistic 3D models, digital twins. Intelligent interactive apps may open up the possibility of personalized learning at scale, monitored by advanced learning analytics. We need to facilitate students to work in groups creating learning communities. Multi-disciplinary learning communities can explore new areas through guided engagements.

Academic institutions need to transform the pedagogy to respond to emerging information and knowledge consumption patterns and new technologies like AI, AR and HMI. Beyond learning experience, institutional support for capability and competence building through different options of learning by doing will enrich personal experience of the students and will make educational system vibrant and responsive to social dynamics. Besides promoting only physical experience, institutions will need to also explore options which will blend physical and remote educational experiences. There will be augmented learning environments in which attendance in the campus will be overlaid enabling deep experiences from remote premises. This will enable institutions to use its resources in more optimal fashion and address challenges of limited real estate.

We need to look at creating mechanisms for work integrated learning delivered through collaboration with industries. There will be more demand of such courses as, in the face of exponential change in technologies, industries will like to upgrade capability of their employees and employees will find such options useful for their future career. This will  integrate professional perspective into traditional academic experience. Not all students will wish to undertake full-service degrees. More students will be interested in micro-credentialing, competency-based education, micro-degrees and curated degrees. Flexibility in the system will be key for designing next generation post-graduate academic programmes. Stackable programmes will be preferred where students start with a certificate programme, upgrade to diploma and subsequently to a degree. Fueled by the disruption due  to new technologies and new ways of working, demand will be high for upskilling, reskilling and retraining. Number of adult learners who are older than the typical graduate will increase. There can be possibly a subscription model, whereby people will have access to a range of programmes of an institute thus potentially retaining the loyalty of the students across their lifespan.

Education institutions need to embrace teaching methods that rely on the science of learning. Real learning relies on principles such as spaced learning, emotional learning, and the application of knowledge. Institute’s may establish an Initiative for Educational Innovation to respond to emerging inputs from the science of learning and changing contour of higher education to enable bold experimentation, and develop tools and mechanisms to realize new education on campus and beyond.

Reimagining Research and Innovation Ecosystem

It is critically important for an academic institution  to create internal capacity to respond to rapidly changing landscape of science and technology. That can only happen if there exist a competitive academic environment which is well connected with the global scientific community and adequately funded.  Internal mechanism for encouraging such initiatives, in particular creating focussed groups, providing seed funding and space is essential. Identifying areas to focus on is also strategically important for an institute to create an impact. Internal capacity to create technology foresight and scientometrics data analysis is important for defining research agenda of an institute Today’s science can be considered as a complex, self-organizing, and evolving network of scholars, projects, papers, and ideas. Analysis of this dynamic system is the key to capture patterns characterizing development of new technologies, scientific discoveries and even emergence of new scientific fields. Ability of an institute to identify such trends will create competitive advantage for an institution. Creating collaborative groups  including geographically separated but thematically linked scientists can enhance significance of research endeavours in emerging areas. Identifying aspirational problems to create institutional research focus has the possibility of orienting research efforts on few but impactful areas which can create a niche position for the institute.

Institutes need to focus on creating a vibrant innovation ecosystem to complement discovery and invention activities of an institute. Most contemporary definitions of ‘innovation’, seen as an outcome of a process, rest on two defining characteristics, a degree of newness of a change and a degree of usefulness or success in application of something new. The concept of ‘new’ could mean new to world, new to a nation, new to a firm, etc. It is extremely important to assess and realize value through establishment of usefulness of an invention or creating something useful but new through combination of existing knowledge. Generation of vibrant innovation culture in an institution can happen not only through enabling provisions or infrastructure but more fundamentally by creating a robust training process for innovation. Institutes need to re-imagine its programmes. Programmes need to be designed to instill the spirit and excitement of creating something new but valuable for the participants. These programmes can be domain centric with direct linkage with incubators and funding agencies. With challenging technology driven innovations becoming key driver for growth of economy of a country, academic institutes have a greater role. Institutes as well as government needs to understand and appreciate these dynamics of emerging economies.

In days to come IIT Jodhpur may take more of these steps to emerge as a leading future driven institute in the country

IIT Jodhpur: The Glorious Journey of Fifteen Years and Beyond...

Kshema Prakash, Kamaljit Rangra, Preetinder Kaur

Stepping through its crystal year in 2023, the Indian Institute of Technology Jodhpur (IITJ) takes its place among the distinguished seats of learning in our country. Spanning for a decade and five years, the institute has marked its active presence in the research and innovation initiative landscape of the country. This article attempts to trace the history and evolution of IIT Jodhpur through 2008 till now.

As the metamorphosis of a butterfly undergoes a complete transformation, likewise IIT Jodhpur has undergone an intellectual evolution since 2008. In line with this development, Indian Institute of Technology Rajasthan was formally renamed to the Indian Institute of Technology Jodhpur in November 2009.

The beginning

IIT Jodhpur was established by an Act of Parliament in 2008. With the announcement of second generation IITs, IIT Rajasthan, now IIT Jodhpur, was inaugurated in its mentor campus IIT Kanpur by the then Minister of State for Higher Education Smt. D. Purandeswari on 2^nd August 2008 with 112 students taking admission in the first batch of B.Tech. The classes for the first academic session were held at IIT Kanpur, which had been designated as the mentor IIT for looking after the academic activities and to hold the classes for the 4-year B.Tech. programme in three branches, namely, Computer Science & Engineering, Electrical Engineering, and Mechanical Engineering, having a student strength of 40 in each branch. The mentor institute IIT Kanpur, through a logo design competition selected a logo for IIT Rajasthan, which was based on theme Jantar Mantar ‘the astronomical observatory at Jaipur (Rajasthan) to commemorate the scientific knowledge of medieval India.

In the month of November 2009 the location of IIT Jodhpur was decided to be at about 25 kms from Jodhpur city on National Highway 65 (now NH 62), which connects Jodhpur to Nagaur proposed to cover around 900 acres of land, around Jheepasni and Gharao villages.

The journey of this IIT began in its earnest with the plan to move to Jodhpur in the summer of 2010. With 2 batches of B.Tech. students, around 10 faculty members and 10 staff members, the institute shifted to the Sun City, Jodhpur. The transit campus was established with academics activities in Computer Science department buildings in MBM Engineering College (now MBM University) of Jai Narayan Vyas University, Jodhpur; residential accommodation in GPRA Kendranchal Colony on Pali Road, Jodhpur, and a little later in BSNL Colony, Shastri Nagar, Jodhpur. The academic activities became operational with classes in Academic Block 2 and central facilities in Academic Block 1 of the MBM campus. The faculty, staff and student strength was on growth track, now with 28 faculty, 18 staff. The M.Tech. and Ph.D. programs were announced in the three Centers of Excellence (CoE), namely, CoE in Energy, CoE in Information and Communication Technologies, and CoE in System Science.

Academic Block II where the classes were held at MBM Engg. College Campus, Jodhpur	First residential campus at GPRA on Pali Road, Jodhpur

Following the passing of 2011-12, with its first batch of undergraduate students having completed their program, Indian Institute of Technology Jodhpur continued to make its signatory mark in the academia worthy of a premier educational institute in India. In the years that followed, there was substantial progress. The number of students grew as the advantages of quality technical education were realized, while facilities were extended with respect to academics and research.

A new landmark for IIT Jodhpur in 2012-13

In 2012, IIT Jodhpur had five Centers of Excellence — in Energy, Information and Communication Technologies, Systems Science, Biologically-Inspired Systems Science, and Art, Culture & Heritage with the last two of these centers initiated in the academic year 2011-12. The government acquired 872 acres of land for the Institute and the construction of the boundary wall was completed, with the installation of 33 KV electric substation. Thereafter, the then Honourable Union Minister for Human Resource Development, Sh. M. Pallam Raju visited the Institute on 16^th April 2013 and laid the foundation stone for IIT Jodhpur’s permanent campus at Karwar Village.

That year also witnessed the first momentous occasion in the journey of IIT Jodhpur. The first convocation was held on 10^th July 2013. Honourable President of India Shri Pranab Mukherjee graced the occasion as the Chief Guest of the ceremony. The ceremony was also attended by Smt. Margaret Alva, Governor of Rajasthan, and Sh. Ashok Gehlot, Chief Minister of Rajasthan. The first two batches of B.Tech. Undergraduate students and the first batch of M.Tech. students received their degrees on this occasion. Sh. Pranab Mukherjee, on this occasion, also performed the ceremonious tree plantation ritual at the Institute’s permanent campus on NH 21 at Karwar Village. The First Convocation ceremony of IIT Jodhpur was attended by many dignitaries from in and around Jodhpur.

First Convocation of IIT Jodhpur and tree plantation by Late Sh. Pranab Mukherjee

Articles penned by the faculty and alumnus of IIT Jodhpur tracing down the memory lane that follow in this issue give a little more glimpse into this occasion.

 

 

A new era dawns for education at IIT Jodhpur in 2013

As for academics and research, in 2013, Focus Groups were formed in the disciplines of Computer Science & Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Biology, Chemistry, Mathematics, Physics, and Humanities & Social Sciences. The inception of Focus Groups in individual disciplinary subject areas in the year 2013-14, facilitated faculty members to engage in directed discussions for improving quality of education at IIT Jodhpur.

 

Envisioning the permanent campus

After the inauguration of the permanent campus of land at Karwar, the institute performed the groundbreaking ceremony of auspicious bhoomi poojan at its permanent campus at Karwar Village on 2^nd May 2014. This ceremony marked the beginning of our own, permanent campus construction activity, which went on till 2018.

 

A period of great change in 2015

In order to further streamline and harmonize the academic activities, in 2015, five new academic programs, three at the M.Sc. level in Chemistry, Mathematics, and Physics, and two at the M.Tech. level in Electrical Engineering, and Mechanical Engineering, were started, ensuring to position IIT Jodhpur against global benchmarks to attract the finest students and faculty. During 2015-16, a major step taken forward by the Institute was the launching of the Industry Immersion Program. Also, another special beginning made by IIT Jodhpur was the first successful defense of Ph.D. thesis; four students completed their requirements for the award of Ph.D. degree.

 

A watershed year in the history of IIT Jodhpur in 2017

Now, most of the buildings of Phase I construction were towards the completion stage. The migration was slated to take place during the months of July, August of 2017. The campus was envisioned to be an international exemplar of sustainability with strategies for ensuring NET ZERO ENERGY, WATER and WASTE. In line with the vision of the Institute, the Department of Biology has been renamed as the Department of Bioscience and Bioengineering. Also, IIT Jodhpur received GRIHA Exemplary Performance Award for its Masterplan under ‘Passive Architecture Design’. The Master Plan of IIT Jodhpur’s Permanent Campus was been awarded 5 Star Rating by the Green Rating for Integrated Habitat Assessment (GRIHA) Council under GRIHA LD V1 category.

 

 

New beginnings

Since 2019, the institute has embarked on an ambitious mission to establish itself as one of the top destinations in the country for a wholesome education with the right mix of flexible academics, cutting-edge research, curiosity-driven innovation and a curriculum built on technology foresight. Despite the CoVID-19 pandemic, the Institute has progressed on all fronts including infrastructure, academics, research, and technology development.

 

A turning point for education at IIT Jodhpur

Beginning 2019, the institute took a complete overhaul and revamping of its academic programmes, which resulted in an exponential growth in the number of new programmes, offered in different modes. Since July 2019, the Institute has been meticulously making efforts towards repositioning and revamping the undergraduate and post-graduate education. The existing programmes were thoroughly reviewed and revised, and a range of undergraduate (UG) and postgraduate (PG) programmes have been introduced for the first time. Based on the philosophy of outcome-driven education to build a strong foundation of knowledge, and to meet emerging technological challenges.

 

Presently the institute offers 4 undergraduate programmes and 17 postgraduate programmes. With continuous efforts over the last four years towards building an institute of national importance, the institute is presently offering 8 B.Tech. and 2 B.S. programmes; 2 The current student strength stands at 4058, while new admissions are underway. The complete description of the current academic and research landscape at IIT Jodhpur follows as an independent article in this issue.

 

The timeline of Institute’s growth

 

The description of the evolution of different academic units, such as, departments, schools, centres, and IDRP verticals at IIT Jodhpur follow as independent articles in this issue.

 Vision & Mission

Having completed more than a decade in its journey in nurturing talent and achieving excellence. The institute has experienced a significant growth in recent times and by 2025 the student strength is expected reach to close to 5000.  It is important for a technology institute to assess the changing landscape of the technology and other relevant factors to shape and tune its strategy to contribute significantly and meaningfully. There were several factors including New Education Policy, Exponential change in technology, Changing nature of Work and Job, New Financial Model, Expectations from the Society, and, the need for virtual mode of education along with the traditional brick and mortar model necessitate the need to expand the current Vision and Mission of the institute. Furthermore, high-quality education acquires unprecedented importance in improving the lives and future of the people/planet. The arena and scope of technological education also have to expand far beyond the 20th-century concepts. Technology institutes have to increasingly become more and more multi-disciplinary, and also contribute more directly to the application of emerging technologies for responding effectively to ever-changing challenges/opportunities. With this backdrop, an institute crafted its Vision for 2025. 

The new vision statement of IIT Jodhpur is “A future-driven institute for nurturing excellence of thought; generating, preserving and imparting knowledge; and using transformational technologies/interventions with multidisciplinary approach for responding to societal challenges and aspirations.”

It has adopted the following as the key mission

(i) Move towards a high quality, futuristic educational and research ecosystem.

(ii) Develop socially responsible faculty, students and future leaders, committed to create a self-reliant India.

 Institute vision reflects the proposed nature of the institute; it is envisaged as a future driven knowledge institute, with emphasis on the use of Transformational Technologies/ Interventions with a multidisciplinary approach. All Departments, Schools, Interdisciplinary Research Platforms (IDRPs) and Centres have created their respective vision documents. Vision, mission and goals of all these academic units are broadly aligned to the Institute Vision. Different academic units of the institute also have their respective specific missions and goals based on the path they have charted for their future. The institute brought out a comprehensive document consisting of the vision of all academic units and different sections, which was approved by BoG in March 2021. The Office of Planning & Resource Generation facilitates the implementation of this vision through a dedicated Vision Coordination Committee. Thus, the institute is working in a coordinated and a planned way to realize the Vision on all fronts.

 

Innovation Ecosystem

Powered by its vision of being a future-driven institute for nurturing excellence of thought, IT Jodhpur has created an innovation ecosystem that serves multiple stakeholders from students to startups. It has also created various paths for the innovation and entrepreneurship journey – from curriculum design to industry partnerships. As per technology readiness definition (originating from NASA and widely adopted in Indian R&D system) IIT J is creating multiple entry and actualization points in its innovation ecosystem. IIT Jodhpur has created different opportunities for UG/PG students, research scholars and faculty to get themselves involved in start-up’s, co-development of technology with industries or technology translation with the support of industry. IITJ Innovation ecosystem has following constituents:

(i)    IITJ TISC (technology Innovation and Start up Centre)

(ii)   IITJ Technology Park

(iii)  IITJ iHuB Drishti Foundation

(iv)  Jodhpur City Knowledge and Innovation Foundation.

 

Sustainability Initiatives

1. Eleven water purification units based on membrane assisted sorption process have been designed and installed with local participation in the rural schools of Jodhpur districts providing clean drinking water through Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) as a part of Scientific Social Responsibility (SSR).
2. Indo-German Research Collaboration: Signing of the Joint Declaration of Intent was carried out between JCKIC, IIT Jodhpur & Fraunhofer IGB, during the Indo-German Summit in Berlin 2022, to initiate and promote a scientific collaboration for future research and development projects in the field of Advanced Wastewater Treatment.
3. Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) Chair Professorship at IIT Jodhpur: Prof. Pradip K. Tewari has been appointed as JJM Chair professor with focus on Sustainability of Drinking Water Sources.
4. MoU between Military Station Jodhpur and IIT Jodhpur: Signing of MOU for “Sewage Water Management at Jodhpur Military Station” by the team of department faculty members for providing their consultancy services.
5. Aligned with the event theme ‘Canvassing Vicennial Sustainability’, Sandstone 3.0 abstained from the usage of plastic and adopted biodegradable materials wherever possible. Bleached papers and plastic pens were replaced by recycled paper and eco-friendly stationery, organic paints took the place of color prints over hampers and goodies. What started as gratitude towards nature is now a way of life for us. We hope our initiative was fruitful and that The Sandstone Summit 3.0 has sowed the seeds of Sustainability into the budding business minds.

Rewilding of Campus: Institute has also taken up the project of Rewilding of its six hectares of land. Rewilding is a set of interventions to restore the natural ecology of habitats that have been degraded or destroyed. It is about encouraging micro-organisms to re-inhabit the degraded soil and bringing back communities of plants that are perfectly adapted to particular soil conditions, climate and moisture regime. The Institute is looking to recreate the right conditions by facilitating the natural regeneration of desert plant species, and by reintroducing any such plant species that have disappeared.

Central Facilities @ IIT Jodhpur

The Institute, over the years has developed central facilities, like, Computer Centre, Library, Centre for Research & Development of Scientific Instruments (CRDSI), a Tinkering Lab, for supporting the teaching-learning activities of the institute. The journey of their development is traced in an independent article in the pages to follow.

Student life @ IITJ

Over the past decade, as IIT Jodhpur has experienced significant growth in terms of the number of students, disciplines, programs, and infrastructure, the campus life has shaped towards becoming vibrant, with different activities and celebrations that form the basic fabric of student life at the institute. The institute has a parallel student body structure, namely, SAC, ACAC, and Student Senate, that enable representativeness and participation in the institute’s policy-making processes and empowers the students to decide and organize various co-curricular and extra-curricular activities, under the able guidance of the faculty members. The article on student life at the institute gives a peek into the various activities of the student body and their close engagement with the institute, at large.

Connecting with Jodhpurites

IIT Jodhpur organizes an Open House “Padharo IIT” event aiming to provide students, parents, faculty members, researchers, professionals, entrepreneurs, industrialists, policymakers, and government officials with an opportunity to experience the ecosystem within IIT Jodhpur. Each department in IIT Jodhpur participates in this open house event to showcase the work undertaken by both faculty members and students. As part of the event, the School of Management & Entrepreneurship (SME), during 2022 Padharo IIT, organized a number of events that included a demonstration on case-based teaching, a workshop on Design Thinking, and poster presentation. The case-based teaching workshop gave the participants a glimpse of how real life case studies are used in management teaching. The Design Thinking workshop inspired the participants to think innovatively based on everyday events and objects. Finally, the posters presentations by the scholars and faculty of SME informed the participants about the cutting edge and industry-relevant research being conducted at the school.

The ever-evolving landscape

IIT Jodhpur has been able to position itself against global benchmarks to attract the finest students, faculty and staff. With  its sprawling campus spread over 852 acres of land and with a vision for a future-driven institute for nurturing excellence of thought; creating, preserving, and imparting knowledge; and using transformational technologies/ interventions with a multidisciplinary approach for responding to societal challenges and aspirations, the institute continues to grow in leaps and bounds with each passing year…!!

 

About the Authors

Evolution of the Academic and Research Units at IIT Jodhpur

(Multiple authors)

Evolution of the Department of Bioscience & Bioengineering

Mitali Mukerjee

Department with a transdisciplinary outlook

Initially established in 2012 as part of the Centre for Biologically Inspired System Science (BISS), this department underwent a transformation and eventually became a Focus Group dedicated to Biology. Subsequently, in 2017, it attained the esteemed status of the Department of Bioscience and Bioengineering (BSBE). The department’s relocation from the temporary campus (MBM, Ratanada, Jodhpur) to the permanent campus (Karwar, Jodhpur) occurred in 2018, initially being accommodated within the premises of the Chemistry department. In 2022, the department made its final move to the newly constructed BSBE building named Asima Chatterjee Bhawan in honor of the renowned scientist. It has grown to a strength of 16 faculties, 10 supporting administrative and technical staff, and 180 students.

 IIT Jodhpur has over the last years grown into a vibrant ecosystem that provides avenues for not only cutting-edge research but also translational possibilities. The institute has built Interdiciplinary Research Platforms (IDRP Smart Health), Schools (AIDE, SoLA) and Centres (CETSD, CETE) where the faculties of BSBE are affiliated and actively engaged. This not only enables them to be part of large inter and transdisciplinary initiatives but also connect to the stakeholder problems that are needed for sustainable development. Besides, through the Jodhpur City Knowledge Innovation Cluster (JCKIC) it has an outreach to diverse academic institutions, industry partners, NGOs and local community and together major problems of the local ecoregions are being addressed. The TISC, Technology Park and iHub Drishti allow the faculties and students to venture into start-ups as well as engage with industry partners.

 Academics : in-house to outreach

The department envisions to excel in developing bioengineering solutions for healthcare, food, energy and environment, through multidisciplinary research and developing a strong teaching/ learning ecosystem. At the BSBE we aspire to provide state-of-the-art domain knowledge and training to understand biological systems, provide innovative Bio-Tech solutions for applications in medical and environmental engineering domains. The curriculum is uniquely designed to provide foundational courses in biology, engineering, mathematics and computational sciences with a special focus on AI/ ML along with a large number of specialized courses in diverse areas of BSBE. Over the years, we have designed an innovative UG/ PG curriculum that allows graduates to develop interdisciplinary and entrepreneurial outlook.

 Currently, BSBE offers four different degree programs that include B.Tech., M.Tech., M.Tech.-PhD Dual Degree and Ph.D. programs. Our flagship B.Tech. Bioengineering program provides flexibility to students for a regular B.Tech. degree or develop capability linked bioengineering specializations by taking minors offered by other departments/ interdisciplinary research platforms like smart healthcare, artificial intelligence, science of intelligence, data science, management, robotics, mathematical and computation. Students also have the option to pursue a minor in engineering innovation, which offers them the opportunity to work in an industry setting towards a product/process development and a minor in entrepreneurship with the option of incubating in IIT-J’s Technology Innovation and Start-up Centre (TISC).

BSBE is extensively contributing to a unique medical technologies (MedTech) program at IITJ, which is offered jointly with AIIMS Jodhpur, providing opportunity to the team of medical doctors and engineers to work in teams for solving problems in the healthcare domain. This is enabled through the IDRP platform and JCKIF cluster memberships. BSBE is also intent on developing a scientific temper in the community and an early orientation to the field through different modalities. Through its outreach programmes BSBE, with support from India Bioscience Outreach grant, CETSD and JCKIF, is reaching out S&T to students in rural areas of Rajasthan to ignite a spark in the young minds for experimentation. They are exposed to practical applications of hygiene and local ecologies through home projects such as assembly of Foldscope (paper microscope) and “Winogradsky column” respectively. It has recently started to extend its support to children from remote border areas with the armed forces in their unique initiative of “Prakriti Sankrakshan” project. The department has also initiated a new citizen science program called ‘IITJ-BIOBLITZ’ where it creates awareness and engages the communities to participate in making and recording observations on local ecologies. In a recent move, the department faculties have also initiated unique certificate/diploma programmes that would enable capacity building in the areas of next generation technologies, AyurTech who would be equipped in handling next generation solutions in omics technologies as well as precision health and integrative medicine space.

Research Footprint

BSBE is at the core of the transdisciplinary and multidisciplinary research ecosystem at IITJ and has built capacity and strength in major thrust areas. Faculties are involved in developing knowledgebase, research tools and platforms for understanding neurodegeneration, cancer and metabolic disorders. This has paved way development of medical technologies like nano-sensors for early diagnosis of diseases and light activatable biomimetic nanoparticles as well models for new interventional possibilities for glioma, AMRs, biofilms, neurodegenerative conditions etc. Novel genomics based approaches have been recently instrumental in deciphering regulators of virulence in the hospital-associated pathogen Klebsiella pneumonia. Screening of chemical libraries has led to identification of novel chemical scaffold targeting microtubule dynamics in cancer cells. We have developed a platform for functional genomics in the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana and built a repository of 300 sequenced genotypes of Arabidopsis from diverse ecoregions of the world, paving the way for forward genetic screens (GWAS) to identify novel genes and mechanisms for abiotic stress tolerance. Sequence analysis of extremophile plants from the Thar Desert and biprospecting plant growth promoting bacteria from the desert rhizospheres also lead to the development of novel biofertilizers and tools for arid agricultural biotechnology.

We are also utilizing BioNEST incubators housed in IITJ to nurtures transdisciplinary entrepreneurs and deep-tech start-ups for indigenous development of medical devices and digital healthcare technologies.   BSBE is making concerted efforts in the area of integrative and precision medicine and drug discovery and repurposing through its collaborative network and transdisciplinary platforms. Some noteworthy efforts are in areas of precision medicine specifically Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy for development of affordable drugs (supported by DST) and an AYUSH supported Centre of Excellence in AyurTech in the School of Artificial Intelligence and Data Science. AyurTech aims to generate evidence-based ayurveda solutions in integrative health settings. The department is also contributing to environment initiatives by development of bio-electrochemical systems for microbial fuel cells and processes for bioremediation. In collaboration with engineering faculties from Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, and Civil & Infrastructure Engineering departments, industry level application for environmental remediation through carbon capture technologies have also been demonstrated. Another key initiative for sustainable development has been a programe called Thar-Designs (Desert EcoSystem Innovations Guided by Nature and Selection) a unique, collaborative initiative spear-headed by the department through the JCKIC. This aims to leverage omics technologies to understand the design principles of native biota that are adapted to the extreme conditions of arid desert and develop a knowledge grid of Thar ecoregion. In partnership with various members across JCKIF, the potential applications of this knowledge has been  demonstrated for novel bioprospecting solutions in drugs and environmental assessment, monitoring and restoration as understanding the genetic landscape of Thar natives for precision health in arid ecoregions. This initiative can be used to build predictive models that can guide policy for conservation and restoration of the ecosystem as well as knowledge systems of the Thar.

Achievements

The efforts of department stakeholders have been recognized in the form of many prestigious awards and recognitions. BSBE faculty members have received laurels in the form of awards like CSIR-Young Scientist Award, DBT-Young Women Bioscientist, Ramalinganswami Fellowship, DBT-Innovative Young Biotechnologist Award, BRNS-Young Scientist Research Award, Early Career Fellowship by the DBT/Wellcome Trust India Alliance, SERB-Science and Technology Award for Research, Haryana Vigyan Ratna Award and Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Award. Our faculty members are elected fellows and members of reputed academic organizations like National Academy of Sciences and Indian National Young Academy of Science, Furthermore, some of the faculty members are serving on the editorial board of journals of international repute. Our student alumni have secured scientist and faculty positions at prestigious national and international academic organizations. We have also generated a competent and uniquely skilled workforce for industry and government-funded institutes. Some of the noteworthy student’s achievements include, prestigious Mitacs Globalink research internship program at the University of Toronto and Prime Minister's Research Fellows fellowship.

Outreach and Collaborations for Sustainable Development Programmes

BSBE is actively involved in hosting several events, which provided networking opportunities. Noteworthy event includes, DST Vigyan Jyoti program-2018 to encourage female student participation in STEM; The Explorer Series-2019, a popular science talk series funded by Wellcome Trust/DBT India Alliance to inspire young students towards science; IndiaBioscience Regional Young Investigator’s Meeting in 2019; International Conference on “Data Science in Biology-2020, International conference on Bioengineering Solutions for Healthcare, Food, Energy and Environment-2021; AICTE Training And Learning (ATAL) academy sponsored Faculty Development Program-2021 on Multi-omics Data Science; Thar DESIGNS Jamboree-2022 in collaboration with JCKIC, a platform to present and discuss different aspects and perspectives on desert sciences around the world; We also initiated annual “Industry Day” event in 2022 to celebrated the interdisciplinary and innovative research ecosystem at the core of our vision. The department students and faculty members also participated enthusiastically in the IITJ open house “IITJ Padhaaro” events by showcasing many booths, designs and posters for the general public of Jodhpur and nearby regions.

Finally, we can say with confidence that BSBE@IITJ provides interdisciplinary, research and innovation-oriented ecosystem to its graduates, which has enormous opportunities in diverse industrial, academic and entrepreneurship background.

Prof. Mitali Mukerjee
Head, Department of Bioscience & Bioengineering
head_bsbe@iitj.ac.in

Evolution of the Department of Chemistry

Ramesh Metre

Development of Academics

The Department of Chemistry was established in 2015 at IIT Jodhpur. The Department offers M.Sc. (2 Yrs), M.Sc. (Chemistry)-M.Tech. (Materials Engineering) with specialization, BS in Chemistry with Specialization (4 years) and a Ph.D. program in chemistry. In addition, it offers core and elective courses in chemistry and allied areas for undergraduate B.Tech. Engineering Students in the Institute. The Department of Chemistry at IIT Jodhpur is striving to be acknowledged for excellence in teaching, research and outreach, at a distinctive locus of science and technology. Research is carried out in all major areas of chemical sciences. It has started its journey of making technology contributions in new materials for energy solutions, environmental remediation, water and healthcare. Alongside, focus is on the fundamental understanding of Chemical Dynamics, Computational Molecular Biophysics, Nuclear Magnetic Resonance, Organic Synthesis, Organometallics, Main Group Chemistry, Nanomaterials, Quantum Chemistry and Quantum Information.

The department has been actively involved in setting up an advanced research facility that houses various sophisticated equipment including HRMS facility and characterization tools for carrying out cutting-edge research. Department has access to various spectrometers for molecular characterization (NMR 500 MHz, temperature-dependent fluorescence and PL measurements, UV-Visible, FT-IR), Microscopy techniques (SEM, AFM, optical microscope) and structural characterization (P-XRD and Single-crystal XRD) and thermal characterization tools (TGA, DTA), Surface techniques (BET, Chemisorption, Contact Angle)

 Laboratories Development

Teaching Laboratories are where we teach our UG and PG level chemistry courses. Chemistry labs are two hours long, every other week. They are designed to complement and reinforce course material presented in lectures. Students are provided with a laboratory manual at the beginning of the semester. After completing a pre-lab assignment, students under the supervision of their teaching assistant complete the experiment and prepare a report, which is submitted for grading at the end of the lab period. PG students work individually or with a partner. UG students work in a group of 3-4 students. One can expect to see many different types of experiments including titrations, organic reactions, synthesis of nylon, electrochemical reactions, study of colour in complexes, fluorescence and functional groups identification using spectrometers, to name a few. The focus is on developing hands-on-skills required for solving various scientific problems.

The Organic and Inorganic Chemistry Laboratory, which is a multi-use laboratory that provides a number of resources to assist undergraduate, graduate and Ph.D. students in planning their professional careers after completing their academic program at IIT Jodhpur, aims to train students in scientific methods that would solve real problems at the frontier of our understanding of the matter. This laboratory maintains a broad spectrum of state-of-the-art instrumentation.

The Analytical and Physical Chemistry Laboratory has been newly set up in the academic year 2018-2019, and houses equipment such as UV-visible spectrometers, FTIR Spectrometers, Fluorescence Spectrometer, Electrochemical Workstation, Contact Angle Meter, Polarimeter for carrying out state of the experiments in Analytical and Physical Chemistry. This laboratory accommodates upto 40 students together for carrying-out group experiments.

A number of thematic Research Laboratories have also been set-up by the department for advanced experimental research activities for B.S. and M.Sc. students, Ph.D. scholars, project staff and Post-Doctoral Researchers. These laboratories are - Asymmetric Catalysis & Continuous Flow Chemistry Laboratory, C-H Functionalization & Photoredox Catalysis Laboratory, Transition Metal & Organometallic Chemistry Laboratory, Spectroscopy & Biophysical Chemistry Laboratory, Advanced Functional Materials Laboratory, Energy and Environmental Catalysis Research Laboratory, CC Computational Chemistry, Gas Phase Reaction Dynamics, Computational Molecular Biophysics, and Quantum Information and Computation. 

Research Footprint

Department of Chemistry at IIT Jodhpur presently emphasizes on five primary research areas of Inorganic Chemistry, Organic Chemistry, Physical Chemistry, Material Chemistry and Computational Chemistry covering various thematic research areas of the department. The importance of the department’s research contribution can be is exemplified by the department’s recent research output that can be seen through the accolades the faculty receive, like awards, namely, Best Emerging Young Scientist Award, for instance; and recognitions such as being nominated at capacities such as Members of Editorial Boards, Advisory Boards of Chemistry agencies at national and international levels. Also, the sponsored and consultancy research projects that the faculty are engaged in, and their research publications in popular journals, often with high impact factor speak highly of their research achievements.

With these contributions and achievements, the department looks forward to becoming a buzzing hub of chemistry teaching and research among its peers.

Dr. Ramesh K. Metre
Head, Department of Chemistry
head_chemistry@iitj.ac.in

Department of Chemical Engineering

Pradip K. Tiwari

The inception of Chemical Engineering Department at IIT Jodhpur took place in the year 2020 with the admission of first batch of undergraduate students and postgraduate students in four different academic programs (B.Tech, M.Tech., Ph.D., and M.Tech.-Ph.D. Dual degree). Through the academic programs, the department is making a conscious effort to establish itself as a leading institute in a new genre of chemical engineering education, in line with national education policy. The program involves traditional courses, emerging areas and specializations such as process engineering intelligence, molecular engineering and sustainability. With Industry 4.0 transforming the chemical industry, AI and IOT for chemical engineering forms an integral part of the curriculum. Chemical Engineering program at IIT Jodhpur has been formulated to produce future ready chemical engineers capable of meeting new industrial challenges. It is full of opportunities and flexibility for the students. Department is also been keen on collaboration with industry and academia world-wide. The evolution of the department in the following areas took place as below:

 Development of Academics

The growth of student’s admission in various academic programs of the department has increased steadily over the past 3 years with a cumulative total of 193 students till date. Department has grown with current strength of 14 faculty members having expertise in diverse conventional and contemporary research areas in the field of chemical engineering and allied interdisciplinary areas.

Establishment of UG Experiment labs:  Fully functional UG teaching labs for core chemical engineering courses have been established with various equipment facility in Mass transfer, Reaction engineering, Process control, Fluid mechanics and Heat transfer labs.

Establishment of PG Research labs: Various thematic PG Research lab such as Electro-hydrodynamics, soft matter and rheology Lab; Electrochemical energy conversion and storage Lab; Photocatalysis Engineering Lab; Biochemical Engineering Lab; Polymers for Advanced Manufacturing and Sustainable Development Lab; Membrane Technology Lab and Computational Molecular and Macromolecular Design Labs have been established and equipped with several basic and sophisticated high-end equipment’s.

 Research Footprint

Department has research interest in both core chemical engineering and, emerging areas. With the advent of Industry 4.0, artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML), data analytics, internet of things (IoT), molecular engineering and nano-composites, the research efforts in department are focused towards various research groups focus on several areas such as Advanced Water Treatment Technologies; Molecular Engineering; Polymers; Electrochemical Engineering; Heterogeneous Catalysis & Reaction Engineering; Process Systems Engineering & Sustainability; Fluid & Interfacial Engineering; Biochemical Engineering & Biomolecular Engineering.

In a short span of time, this young department has seen numerous achievements in terms of awards and recognitions for the faculty and students, and reaching out to the society in terms of scientific social responsibility initiatives. A few of the notable contributions and achievements are:

• Scientific Social Responsibility through Canara bank CSR Funds: Thirteen water purification units based on membrane assisted sorption process have been designed and installed with local participation in the three rural schools of Jodhpur districts providing clean drinking water as a part of technology transfer under Scientific Social responsibility.
• Application of AI-ML Based Models to Process Industries: Deployment of First Machine Learning Software developed by researchers at Department of Chemical Engineering for predictive maintenance of Heat Exchangers at IOCL Mathura Refinery.
• Pradip K Tewari being elected as Fellow of Indian Chemical Society
• MSRI Prize to Nirmalya Bacchar for best paper published in Bulletin of Material Science by Material Research Society of India.
• Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) Chair Professorship at IIT Jodhpur: Pradip K. Tewari has been appointed as JJM Chair professorship with focus on Sustainability of Water Sources.
• Young Scientist Award to Dr. Angan Sengupta on International Scientist Awards on Engineering, Science, & Medicine, 2021
• Pradip K Tewari joined as Member of Sectional Committee of Indian National Academy of Engineering (INAE) and INAE-DAE Consultative Committee
• Ambuja Young Researchers Award to Ph.D. Students Mr. Goga Ram and Mr. Rahul Painuly at Chemcon-2023.

besides some best paper presentation awards.

 Alongside of the above activities, the department actively networks and collaborates with industry and academia at national and international level, regularly. A few significant ones are - Research Collaboration with University of Buffalo for a joint research work on ML based Computational Material Design for CO₂ capture with the scientist team at UB; Indo-German Research Collaboration leading to the signing of the Joint Declaration of Intent between JCKIC, IIT Jodhpur & Fraunhofer IGB, during the Indo-German Summit in Berlin 2022, to initiate and promote a scientific collaboration for future research and development projects in the field of Advanced Wastewater Treatment; L&T- IITJ Industry- Academia Collaboration resulting in an MoU between IIT Jodhpur and L&T to initiate several joint research projects in the area of Water Technology Research, an MOU with Military Station, Jodhpur, for Sewage Wastewater Treatment Plant Automation; to name a few.

The department aspires to connect more deeply with the community, bringing to the fore Chemical Engineering solutions for the societal problems.

Prof. Pradip K. Tiwari
Head, Department of Chemical Engineering
head_che@iitj.ac.in 

Department of Civil and Infrastructure Engineering through 2020-2022 

Ranju Mohan

 Introduction

The Department of Civil and Infrastructure Engineering, IIT Jodhpur (Figure 1) was established in the academic year 2019-2020 with a vision to be an internationally renowned centre of excellence in education, research, and innovation with a major focus on sustainability and digitalization of infrastructure. With this vision, since 2020, the department offers unique academic programs that incorporate and integrate the elements of conventional civil engineering with advanced transformative technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), cyber-physical-systems (CPS), digital twins (DT), and automated management and information systems. A major thrust is also planned on the design, implementation, and maintenance of large-scale integrated infrastructure systems across different domains. The focus areas of the department include Energy and Environment, Building Sciences, Safety, and Services, Applications of AI, IoT, and CPS in Civil and Infrastructure Engineering, Smart and Integrated Infrastructure, Urban Architecture and Planning, Construction Technology and Management, Transportation Engineering, Structural Engineering, Geotechnical Engineering, Water resources Engineering, and Engineering Geology. Current students' strength in the department is 203 including 21 research scholars. We currently have fourteen regular faculties and four adjunct professors in the department.

Academics

The department offers undergraduate program (B.Tech.) in Civil and Infrastructure Engineering with multiple branching options for students during their final years. Students joining for a regular B.Tech. program can opt for specialisation programs in Smart infrastructure or Environmental Engineering. The department offers a dual-degree program in Environmental Engineering and facilitates dual-degree in Infrastructure Engineering with Specialization in Energy in collaboration with Mechanical Engineering department as visible from the schematic below. First batch of our undergraduate program is running in its final year.

The department offers interdisciplinary postgraduate programs (M.Tech.) in Infrastructure Engineering with specialisations in Environmental Engineering and Energy. First batch of PG program graduated in 2022 with a strength of seven and eleven respectively in the Energy and Environmental Engineering specializations. Average placement percentage for these batches is sixty-five excluding those graduates opted for higher studies.

Research program (Ph.D.) in the department is interdisciplinary and is aligned with our vision. Active research areas in the department are spread in the domains of Environmental Engineering, Geotechnical Engineering, Geology, Hydraulics and water resources, Pavement Engineering, Structural Engineering, and Traffic and transportation planning.

 Development of laboratories

Environmental Engineering (water and air quality), Transportation Engineering, Structural Analysis, Advanced structural Analysis, Reinforced concrete Design, and Geotechnical Engineering laboratories are currently functioning in the department. All the laboratories meet 85-100% requirements as per UG and PG curriculum.  Additionally, Fluid Mechanics (Water Resources Engineering), Geological Engineering, Smart Infrastructure Engineering, and Wind Turbine and Field Design laboratories are under development. The above laboratories are well equipped with sophisticated machines and equipment that meet the research requirements up to 50-100%.

As shown below, the Geotechnical Engineering laboratory in the department has conventional soil testing equipment and Cyclic triaxial apparatus

The department had ongoing research, focuses on rock mechanics of cryogenic fracking, dune migration mitigation measures for solar parks, and water filter using rock powders,  sustainable pavement materials, Development of a two-way interactive driving simulator, Dynamic traffic assignment and modelling dynamics of space choice for multi-class traffic lacking lane discipline, Accident prediction using surrogate safety measures, and live identification of traffic rule violation, interaction between soil and structures under both static and seismic loads, employing physical and numerical modelling techniques to study geotechnical structures, aeolian soil stabilization, investigating the soil structure interaction of monopile foundations, sand dune migration and mitigation in the Thar Desert, and soil improvement using geosynthetics, computational mechanics and simulation with various applications in Fire Safety, Structural fire engineering, multi-physics analysis, discrete mechanics, building information modelling and digital twins,

Current research in steel focuses on testing, finite element modelling, and design of Structural Steel members, including High Strength Steels. Another key area of research is on reliability analysis, uncertainty quantification and structural health monitoring. Research in Environmental Engineering majorly span into air and water quality, treatment, and analysis. Another ongoing research is the source apportionment study, emission inventory and carrying capacity for Indian cities. In the water domain one primary research ongoing is understanding the upscaling effect and evaluation of long-term fate while in-situ remediation. A real-time monitoring of drought and flood, reliable sub-seasonal to seasonal forecast of hydrological extremes, hydrological processes under changing and anthropogenic climate, the effect of changing climate on hydrological extremes, and mitigation strategies for climate change research areas are being focussed under Hydraulics and Water Resources research group.

The figure below shows the journal publications by faculties till date.

Achievements

In a short span of just two years, the faculty members and students of the department have recoded noteworthy achievements.

Networking & Collaborations

The faculty members of the department have made praise-worthy efforts in establishing networks and collaborations for joint publications and projects, academic supervision, etc. within and outside India. A representative image of these efforts is as under.

Collaborating network

Ongoing research and consultancy projects

The faculty members in the department are actively engaged in sponsored R&D projects. A non-exhaustive graphical representation of these projects is as under.

Outreach activities

The department has taken up several outreach activities during these two years. A pictorial representation of these activities is as under.

Over the coming years, the department, though relatively new, projected to exhibit significant expansion and is poised for substantial development.

Dr. Ranju Mohan
Head, Department of Civil & Infrastructural Engineering
head_cie@iitj.ac.in 

Department of Computer Science and Engineering@IITJ15

Richa Singh, Suman Kundu, Dip Sankar Banerjee

The Department of Computer Science and Engineering at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Jodhpur has undergone significant development and growth over the past 15 years. The department started under the umbrella of Information and Communication Technology in 2008 and was inaugurated as an independent department in 2014. The department has witnessed remarkable progress in terms of faculty, infrastructure, research output, and student achievements, and has evolved into a thriving center for education, research, and innovation. The faculty comprises highly qualified and experienced professors and research scholars who are dedicated to imparting quality education and conducting cutting-edge research. The department has also attracted renowned visiting professors and industry experts, further enriching the academic environment.

 One of the key factors contributing to the department's development is its strong emphasis on research. Over the last decade, the department has been actively involved in a wide range of research areas, including artificial intelligence, machine learning, data science, computer vision, natural language processing, algorithms, VANET, IoT and software engineering, among others. The faculty and students have made significant contributions to these domains, publishing research papers in reputed national and conferences. The department has also received numerous research grants and collaborations with leading industries and research institutions.

In terms of infrastructure, the department has expanded its facilities significantly.  State-of-the-art laboratories equipped with the latest hardware and software tools have been established to facilitate practical learning and research. The department also boasts a well-designed data center with top-notch computing resources. It has hosted the institute's first AI supercomputer, DGX2, since 2019. Apart from different thematic laboratories the department also hosts several teaching laboratories.

The department has been proactive in promoting industry-academia collaborations and fostering an entrepreneurial spirit among its students. It has established strong ties with leading companies, organizing guest lectures, industrial visits, and internships for students. The department also encourages students to participate in hackathons, coding competitions, and research projects, providing them with opportunities to apply their knowledge to real-world problems.

In terms of student achievements, the department has consistently produced talented and accomplished graduates. The students have excelled not only in academics but also in various national and international competitions, winning accolades and recognition for their technical skills and innovative ideas. The department has also been successful in placing its graduates in prestigious companies (including Google, Microsoft, IBM) and research institutions, both in India and abroad, showcasing the high quality of education and training imparted.

The growth of the department was all round starting from the student and faculty strength, academic program, outreach activities, research and infrastructure development to awards and recognitions. Following part of the article highlights these in detail.

Academics

The department has come a long way since its humble beginnings in 2008. Initially established at the transit campus, it offered two programs, namely B.Tech. CSE and PhD. Over the years, the center grew in prominence, and in 2015, it attained the status of a full-fledged department. The department's journey towards excellence continued, marked by significant milestones. In 2017, it celebrated the graduation of its first PhD student, a testament to the rigorous research and academic environment fostered within its walls. In subsequent years, the department expanded its academic offerings, introducing M.Tech. programs in Computer Science and Engineering in 2018, followed by M.Tech. in AI and the flagship M.Tech.-PhD dual degree program both in CSE and AI in 2019. One of the department's recent endeavors was the joint launch, in 2020, of B.Tech. in AI, in collaboration with the Department of Mathematics. This interdisciplinary program allows students to explore AI, opening new avenues for innovative research and technological advancements.

Recognizing the growing demand for AI education among working professionals, the department commenced the first batch of M.Tech. in AI for working professionals in December 2019. The program's success paved the way for subsequent batches, with the department currently running its fourth batch, empowering professionals to enhance their expertise in the field. In addition to program expansion, the department has made significant strides in faculty strength, growing from 10 members in 2020 to 22 currently. This growth reflects the department's commitment to attracting and retaining exceptional academic talent, ensuring a vibrant and enriching learning experience for its students. Started with merely 40 students, the department has now reached almost 1000 students.

As the department continues to evolve, it remains dedicated to pushing the boundaries of knowledge and nurturing the next generation of computer scientists and engineers. With its diverse programs, strong faculty, and a thriving academic community, the department is poised to make significant contributions to the ever-expanding field of computer science and artificial intelligence.

Research Footprint

The department has actively engaged in pursuing research and development across the broad spectrum of pure computer science and engineering along with multiple interdisciplinary endeavors. Department has more than 2100 peer reviewed publications and 19 patents filed (including 10 granted). The department consistently improved its CS Ranking within India starting from 14th in 2017-18 to 8th in 2022-23 (All areas of CSE, source: https://csrankings.org)  

The department has been successful in securing significant research grants and funding from various government agencies, such as the Department of Science and Technology (DST), Ayush Ministry, the Defense Research and Development Organization (DRDO), and the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR). In 

addition to the aforementioned fundings, the Department has also secured funding from renowned industry players, including Johari Digital Pvt. Ltd, Microsoft R&D, Google, Meta and Accenture Labs, among others. These grants acknowledge the department's research potential and its ability to address critical societal challenges through innovative technological solutions.

The Department encompasses four major themes, each hosting multiple research labs dedicated to advancing knowledge and innovation. These themes are Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning, Vision and Augmented Reality (AR) & Virtual Reality (VR), Systems & Software, and Theoretical Computer Science. The research labs within the department collectively form a vibrant ecosystem for groundbreaking research, innovation, and knowledge dissemination. These labs play a pivotal role in advancing the frontiers of computer science and engineering, fostering interdisciplinary collaboration, and nurturing the next generation of talented researchers and technologists.

Within the Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning theme, the department houses four prominent labs that serve as hubs for research and collaboration. These labs include the Knowledge Management and Language Technology Lab, Trusted AI & Biometrics Lab, the Cognitive and Social Analytics (CSA) Lab, and the Visual Interaction and Understanding Lab. These facilities are shared among several esteemed faculty members, fostering interdisciplinary research and technological advancements

The Vision and AR & VR domain has witnessed significant external funding from Samsung, leading to the establishment of the state-of-the-art Samsung AR-VR Innovation Lab. This lab serves as a center for cutting-edge research in augmented reality and virtual reality technologies. Additionally, the department features two more labs in this field: the Trusted AI & Biometrics Lab and the Visual Interaction and Understanding Lab. Together, these labs facilitate groundbreaking research in computer vision, human-computer interaction, and immersive technologies.

In the Systems & Software domain, the department houses a total of four labs. The Vehicular Ad-Hoc Networks (VANETs) Lab, made possible through HEFA funding, focuses on researching and developing vehicular communication systems. The Software Innovation Lab serves as a hub for exploring novel software development methodologies and innovative solutions. The Systems for Intelligence, Networking, and Communications (SINC) Lab conducts research on intelligent systems, networking protocols, and communication technologies. Lastly, the Ubiquitous Systems (UbiSys) Lab specializes in the design and implementation of ubiquitous computing systems that seamlessly integrate into everyday life.

Achievements
The department has been at the forefront of technological advancements and academic excellence. Over the past 15 years, the department has made remarkable progress, earning prestigious awards, recognition, and fellowships that underscore its commitment to innovation, research, and teaching. This section highlights some of the notable accolades and honors received by the department during this period.

In recognition of its significant contributions to cutting-edge research, the department has been honored with multiple research awards such as DST IMPRINT II Award, Facebook Award for Ethics in AI in India, BRICS Young Scientist Award, REYA Award for Academic and Research Excellence, outstanding reviewers at CVPR, ICCV, and IEEE Senior Member Award. The department has consistently demonstrated excellence in research through the receipt of several best paper awards at renowned international conferences such as Best Student Paper Award at IEEE Conference on Biometrics: Theory, Applications and Systems, Best Paper Runner-Up Award at EUMAS, Best Paper Award in IEEE/IAPR International Joint Conference on Biometrics, etc. These awards reflect the quality and impact of the research publications produced by the faculty and students, showcasing their innovative ideas and contributions to the field of computer science and engineering. Student teams have actively been participating in coding competitions like ACM ICPC at national and international levels, in addition, many of them have been selected for competitive fellowships like MITACS.

Faculty members of the department have been recipients of prestigious fellowships granted by reputed national and international bodies. These fellowships serve as a testament to the department's exceptional research capabilities and the individual achievements of its faculty members. The department is home to fellows like IEEE Fellow, IAPR Fellow, AAIA Fellow, Fellow from the Diverse Intelligences Summer Institute, DST Inspire fellow, Young Faculty Research Fellow (YFRF) of Visvesvaraya, Verisk AI Faculty Fellow, Swarnajayanti Fellow, and more. Students enrolled in the department have been awarded notable fellowships including IBM PhD fellowship, Prime Minister Research Fellowship, Diverse Intelligences Summer Institute Fellowship, and others.

Networking & Collaborations, Outreach

Over the past few years, the Department of Computer Science and Engineering has organized a number of national and international conferences and workshops. These events have all aspired to bring together young researchers and scientists of repute. These have not only provided a platform for the former to showcase their research, but have also encouraged discussions on the effective pursuit of a career in research. Some of these events are IEEE International Conference on Automatic Face and Gesture Recognition (2021), 12th Indian Conference on Computer Vision, Graphics and Image Processing (2021), ACM-W India Grad Cohort (2022), Winter School - Algorithms for Graphs and Games (2022), Winter School - Responsible AI (2022).

Faculty members collaborate extensively with academia and industries across genres (like trusted AI, health, biometrics, digitization, defense, IoT) towards solutions for real-world problems. These collaborations not only extend to organizations in the country but reach out to those all over the world. We continually strive to build a robust theoretical and applied research-ecosystem. Some major industry and academic alliances are:

Industry and Government Supporters and Collaborators includes: Accenture, Aethrone Aerospace, BRICS, DigitID, Duckietown Foundation, DYSL-AI Lab, Genius Solutions, Google, IEEE Biometrics Council, IUSSTF, Mastercard, Meta, Microsoft, NVIDIA, Swiggy, Novealthy Innovations, TCS Research, DRDO, DST, MEiTY, Ministry of Ayush, Ministry of Home Affairs, SERB, NSF, NITI Aayod, and many more. There is a strong academic collaboration with many institutes and universities.

Faculty of the department serve on the editorial boards of a number of reputed international journals and conferences like  IEEE T-PAMI, IEEE T-BIOM, CVIU, PR, Information Fusion, IEEE Transactions on Medical Imaging, IEEE Transactions on Image Processing, Neural Networks, etc., along with reviewers of major conferences and journals. Our faculty have also received ‘Outstanding Reviewer’ awards in Conferences. Some major positions held are: Vice President Publications: IEEE Biometrics Council, NITI Aayog and World Economic Forum Committee for Responsible AI, Expert Committee Member: DIGIYatra NITI Aayog and AAAI 2021, Associate Editor-in-Chief: Pattern Recognition, Area Editor of the Elsevier journal ‘Ad Hoc Networks’, to name a few.

Looking ahead, the department of Computer Science and Engineering at IIT Jodhpur is poised for further growth and success. It will continue to adapt to the rapidly evolving field of technology, ensuring that its curriculum remains up-to-date and relevant. The department will strive to attract top-notch faculty and students, foster research collaborations, and provide a conducive environment for creativity and innovation. With its strong foundation and relentless pursuit of excellence, the department will continue to contribute significantly to the field of computer science and engineering in the coming years.

Evolution of the Department of Electrical Engineering

Ajay Agarwal & Anil K. Tiwari

The Indian Institute of Technology Jodhpur is one of the young institutions to join the IIT Family in 2008. For the first two years until April 2010, the Institute was functioning at IIT Kanpur, with three BTech programs, namely Electrical Engineering, Computer Science and Engineering, and Mechanical Engineering. In 2009, the Center of Excellence for Information and Communication Technology (CoE – ICT) was established with the objectives of promoting multidisciplinary research in ICT to harness the potential of technological advances and applied research to solve socioeconomic and environmental problems. Among several other objectives, the development of low-cost technologies for Health care, education, energy, and water/agriculture was the focus. Besides the focused research towards these objectives, the centre was also engaged in providing administrative and other necessary support to the BTech (EE) and BTech (CSE) programs.

 In August 2010, the Institute moved from the IIT Kanpur campus to the MBM college campus in Jodhpur. At that time, the name of the Institute was “Indian Institute of Technology Rajasthan”. In 2011, the centre also started MTech in ICT program, which continued until 2014. In spite of only three faculty members from CSE backgrounds and eight faculty members from EE backgrounds, the centre was able to cater to the needs required for these academic programs – BTech (EE), BTech (CSE), and MTech (ICT) - to run. There were about four hundred students in the year 2014. At the beginning of the year 2014, for improved academic engagement, a focus group of Electrical Engineering was created. The primary research focus of this group was Communications and Networking, Device Technology, Multimedia and Software Systems, and Power Systems and Control.  During these times, our visibility improved, and because of this, the University of British Colombia (UBC) expressed interest in sending their students, particularly those belonging to Electrical Engineering, as summer interns to IIT Jodhpur. Realizing that the Institute is young and nothing important is missed during this small span of the academic journey, the Academic Peer Review of the Center was done in April 2014 by highly accomplished and experienced three experts who provided very pertaining inputs. In this review, the curriculum of EE and CSE were reviewed.

 The Department of Electrical Engineering came into existence in the first quarter of 2015, and the responsibilities of the focus group were subsumed by the Department. In the same year, the Department started M. Tech in Electrical Engineering. To doubly ensure that all academic components of the Department are appropriately placed in all respects, the curriculum of BTech (EE) was again reviewed by four experts from three established IITs in November 2015. The curriculum of MTech (EE) was also reviewed at the same time. With these carefully examined academic programs, we were confident of being on the right path in academics and continued teaching-learning on the MBM campus till August 2017. The department was also sensitive to encouraging all stakeholders for their contributions. As an example, we celebrate Research Student Day each year. With a low faculty number, about 12, we got a mixed response to our progress efforts.

 In August 2017, the Department moved to the permanent campus. Among the academic units, only the Department of CSE and Chemistry buildings were built, along with the basic laboratory building. Hostel accommodations and faculty houses were built to meet the residency requirement of that time. Department buildings of EE and ME were under construction, and the Department took a challenge to become functional on the permanent campus. As the Department building was under construction, faculty colleagues were sitting in different Departments. All of them were committed to starting academic activity on the permanent campus. We got two physical laboratory spaces in the Basic laboratory building, and we had to run all the UG laboratories in these two spaces, although some research laboratories could not be shifted from the MBM campus to the permanent campus. In the given situation, research students were commuting between the permanent campus to the MBM campus as the experimental research facility could not be shifted. These students were highly committed and did not allow their research acumen to get diluted. The Department feels proud to mention that all the laboratories of that semester were offered in these two laboratory spaces, with no shifting of any lab to the subsequent semester. Not only this, the batch size of 1st-year students, who were coming for Basic Electrical Engineering laboratory experiments, was also reduced for improved interactions. Further, the Department could accommodate one of the laboratory sessions of another Department too. Further, the Tutorial sessions were also made of smaller sizes with appropriate time multiplexing. All these could happen with a lot of dedicated efforts by all the stakeholders – students, staff, and faculty members.

By the beginning of the second semester of the academic year 2017-18, the static infrastructure was reasonably established. We had four laboratory spaces in the Department building and two such spaces in the Basic laboratory building. However, the number of faculty members and technical staff members, and, also the administrative staff were one of the major bottlenecks for the expansion of academic programs and research was the number. At that time, there were about twelve faculty members - all Assistant Professors, four technical staff members - mostly JTA, and one regular administrative staff - JA shared between two Departments. There were some research/teaching areas where there was only one faculty member for many years. As a result of this, faculty research times were not wholly dedicated to research, but they were also engaged in resolving trivial tasks sometimes. The BTech student strength was increased from 40 to 60, and this continued in AY 2018 also. The Department was successfully working under these constraints with a high spirit of good research and teaching learning.

 The beginning of the year 2019 was really a year of great changes. The SWOT analysis, which is a framework for identifying and analyzing the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats, was done in January 2019. This was done on 1. Research and Development Ecosystem, 2. Academic Programs, 3. Human Resource Management, and 4. Administrative Support System. This helped with a structured approach to addressing the challenges in each of the mentioned areas. As a result of these efforts, seven of the existing eleven faculty members became Associate Professors in the first quarter of this year. More faculty recruitments took place, and in the third quarter of this year, the Department faculty strength rose to double – twenty-four faculty members. Further, the Department initiated curriculum review again; the earlier one was in the year 2015, and started three dual degrees (MTech and PhD) programs in CPS, sIoT, and Communication Engineering; and two MTech programs – MTech (CPS) and MTech (sIoT). Recently, in the year 2022, another MTech program was started with the name MTech (Intelligent Communication Systems).  The program structures and the course contents were thoroughly reviewed. Most of the course contents were reviewed by no less than two experts, including experts from industry. In this year, four teaching excellence awards were announced, and the Department bagged three of these awards - indicating the commitment of the Department colleagues towards teaching-learning.

In the year 2020, a lot of flexibilities were brought into the UG curriculum with the aim of attracting highly motivated students who are interested in cutting-edge technologies in the broad discipline of electrical engineering and wish for a flexible program to consider a variety of career paths through capability-linked specializations of their choice. The Departmental specializations introduced are (1) Cyber-Physical Systems, (2) Intelligent Communication & Networking, (3) Communication Engineering, (4) VLSI Systems, (5) Visual Computing, (6) Socio-Digital Reality, (7) Nano and Flexible Electronics, (8) Smart Grid, and (9) Artificial Intelligence of Things. In addition to this, minors in Entrepreneurship or Management are also available. Besides the Departmental specializations, interdisciplinary specialization was also made available to the students. These specializations are (1) Smart Healthcare, (2) Artificial Intelligence, (3) Robotics and Mobility. In addition to this, a double BTech program (B.Tech. Electrical Engineering and Engineering Science) was also introduced this year. The concept notes, course contents and the program structure were reviewed by about thirty experts from the Institutes of National Importance. The department always believed in the inclusive approach and the names of the experts were finalized in consultation with the colleagues in the respective domain. The Department had put massive efforts in curriculum review in May 2020 (COVID time). As we are aware, the year 2020, after March, there was COVID-19 pandemic, and colleagues were bravely and safely working towards their professional duties. The Institute, with AIIMSJ, had started a few programs - Master in Medical Technology (MMT) and the Department colleagues were voluntarily taking classes in Physical mode too for want of improved teaching learning. This year also, as in 2019, two teaching excellence awards were received by the faculty members of the Department. This continued in the year 2021 too.

Summary of the Department evolution

In the initial years up to 2015, the B. Tech student intake was 40, which rose to 60, and then finally, now the intake is 80 students. With the rise in the number of MTech and Dual-Degree programs, the PG student intake also rose to about 60 students. The faculty strength increased to thirty-three, which is threefolds of its number in 2018. As a result of this, PhD intake also increased significantly. Since there is a good representation of faculty members in all major fields of Electrical Engineering faculty, the Department’s footprint also started appearing in these fields. Currently, the Department focuses research in (a) 5G and Beyond Communication, (b) Signal Processing & Interpretation, (c) Cyber-Physical Systems, (d) Nanoelectronics and Integrated Circuits, (e) Smart Grid, (f) Embedded computing and SoC, (g) Artificial intelligence and Things. Additionally, faculty members from the Department are engaged in challenging interdisciplinary research in collaboration with faculty members across various departments and disciplines through the Institute's Interdisciplinary Research Platforms (IDRPs).

The laboratory facility infrastructure from 2010 to 2016 was mainly for teaching purposes, but this facility has now been much improved. Department now has many laboratories, namely, (1) Cyber-Physical System Modelling Laboratory, (2) Control and Computing Laboratory, (3) Basic Electronics Laboratory, (4) Electrical Machines and Energy Conversion Laboratory, (5) Electronics Circuit Simulation and VLSI System Laboratory, (6) Image Processing and Computer Vision Laboratory, (7) Internet of Things (IoT) Laboratory, (8) Microelectronics Laboratory, (9) Microgrid and Real-Time Simulator Laboratory, (10) Signal Processing Laboratory, (11) Smart Grid Laboratory, (12) Wireless and Microwave Laboratory, (13) Wireless Communication and Navigation Laboratory, (14) Lightwave Technology Laboratory, (15) Power Electronics and Drives Laboratory, (16) Microwave Circuits and Systems Laboratory.

The laboratory infrastructure and increase in the faculty number started paving the way for external funding and enhancement in publications. The number of sponsored projects from 2015 onwards is about sixty, with a total cost of about eighteen crores, while the number of consultancy projects is five, with a total sanctioned cost of about fifty lakhs. Peer-reviewed research papers with IITJ affiliation also increased significantly from about a hundred in 2014 to about five hundred fifty in 2022. Placement of the registered UG student also improved from about 80% in 2014 to 100% in 2022, with a few exceptions of low placement in the year AY 2016-2017 and AY 2017-2018.

Prof. Ajay Agarwal
Head, Department of Electrical Engineering
head_ee@iitj.ac.in

Prof. Anil K. Tiwari
Professor, Department of Electrical Engineering
akt@iitj.ac.in

Evolution of Department of Mathematics through 15 years of IIT Jodhpur

Puneet Sharma

Development of Academics at Mathematics

The Department of Mathematics was established at IIT Jodhpur in December 2015 to promote mathematics for key technologies. The department was formed with a vision of not only to promote fundamentals of core mathematics but also to provide foundations for analysis of key principles behind modern and emergent technologies. Right from the beginning, the department is very active in research in the thrust areas of mathematics. The faculty members always focus on publishing high standard articles in different journals/proceedings/books of international repute.  The department also aimed to explore modern aspects of mathematics coupled with computational capabilities to develop a workforce specialized in mathematical aspects of key technologies. With this inclination, the department initiated an M.Sc. (Mathematics) program to address the mathematical needs of both industry and academia. Currently, the department offers various programmes, namely, a two-year M.Sc. program in Mathematics, a four-year M.Sc-M.Tech. program in Mathematics-Data and Computational Sciences, a two year M.Tech. program in Data and Computational Sciences, an M.Tech-Ph.D. dual degree program in Data and Computational Sciences and a Ph.D. Program with specialization in different areas of Mathematics and Data and Computational Sciences. The department has also been mentoring B.Tech. (System Science) and M.Tech. (System Science) students during the initial years of its inception. The department also offers a Minor program in Data Science for the UG students of the institute and also offers a large number of compulsory and elective courses for B.Tech., M.Tech., M.Sc. and PhD students coming from various departments across the institute. Further, many faculty members of the department are actively engaged in online teaching through various platforms as well.

Currently, the department has seventeen faculty members who are actively working in different areas such as Algebra, Mathematical Physics, Scientific Computation, Numerical Analysis, Optimization Techniques, Partial Differential Equations, Topological Dynamics, Low Dimensional Chaos, Dynamical Systems, Renormalization in Low-dimensional dynamics, Wavelet Analysis, Fractional Transform Theory, Image Processing, Financial Risk Analysis, Categorical Data Analysis, Reliability Theory, Financial Mathematics and Applied Probability. The department has all necessary research infrastructures including a very friendly research environment. Currently, the department has more than forty Ph.D. and M.Tech.-Ph.D. students who are actively engaged in generating high standard research outputs. The department also hosts a computational facility for its Masters and Ph.D. students.

Research Footprint

This section gives a peek into the research footprint of the department over these years. With 15 Ph.D. students graduating from the department, there are currently, 40 Ph.D. students in the department working on their research topics.

The cumulative number of papers Published by the faculty/ student of the department, along with one patent, and the total citations for the papers published by the faculty members of the department are depicted here.

Achievements

Some notable achievements of the department’s faculty members can be traced as below:

Dr. Nil Kamal Hazra was appointed as an associate editor for - the journal “OPSEARCH”, published by Springer in January 2021, and the journal “Communications in Statistics”, published by Taylor & Francis in July 2023. Dr. Sukhendu Ghosh has been associated as a review editor for Dynamical Systems Section at the Frontiers in Applied Mathematics and Statistics, while Dr. V.V.M.S. Chandramouli has been a Mathematical Reviewer, at the American Mathematical Society since January 2021. Dr. Tuhina Mukherjee is serving as a Reviewer for Mathematical Reviews for MathSciNet of the American Mathematics Society (AMS) since November 2021. Dr. Puneet Sharma has been serving as a Reviewer for for MathSciNet of the American Mathematics Society (AMS) since August 2015.

 Dr. Moumita Mandal received International Research Mobility Grant Award from IIT Jodhpur in 2021; and she is the member of various societies such as  Allahabad Mathematical Society (Al.M.S.), American Mathematical Society,  Indian Mathematical Society, and Ramanujan Mathematical Society, besides being a Reviewer of Mathematical Reviews of AMS since 2019.

Prof. Gaurav Bhatnagar received the Young Researcher Award at IIT Jodhpur in 2022, besides receiving the Young Scientist Award from the International Academy of Physical Sciences (IAPS) in 2015. Also, he was listed in the World Ranking of Top 2% Scientists in the area of Artificial Intelligence & Image Processing in 2019, 2020 and 2021, in both career long and individual year categories.

Among the notable student scholarships are - Mr. Gurubachan and Mr. Bikram Adhikary, who received the highly prestigious Prime Minister's Research Fellowship (PMRF) under the Lateral Entry Scheme, in Cycle 10; and Ms. Sushmita Chandel and Mr. Parakala Vishnu Bayari, who have been selected for ACM India Anveshan Setu Fellowship 2021.

Our alumni also make our proud. Many of our Ph.D. graduate students are placed in various units of academia such as TIFR, IIT Indore, Amity University, GLA University, and Banasthali Vidyapeeth and King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Saudi Arabia. Many of our M.Sc. Graduates are pursuing their Ph.D. from various institutes of international repute such as Iowa State University, Uniwersytet Jagielloński, IIT Delhi, IIT Bombay, IIT Guwahati, IIT Roorkee and IIT Jodhpur.

Networking, Collaborations, and Outreach

The faculty members of the department have active collaborations across various institutes within India and abroad. In particular the faculty members have collaborations with institutes such as  Stony Brook, USA, Purdue University, University of North Florida,  Universidade Federal Fluminense, Brazil, National Taiwan University, Taiwan, Aston University,  University of Saskatchewan, Canada, University of Quebec in Outaouais, Canada, Carleton University, Canada, University of Windsor,  University of Ottawa, Canada, Military University of Technology, Warsaw,  University Libre de Bruxelles (ULB), Belgium, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, Naval Postgraduate School, USA, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, China, University of Paris VIII, France, IISc Bangalore, IIT Bombay, IIT Kharagpur, IIT Hyderabad, IIT Roorkee, ISI Kolkata, NIT Patna,  IIIT Vadodara,  IIITM Gwalior, VIT Chennai, University of Calcutta, Jodhpur Institute of Engineering and Technology, Gangadhar Mehar University, West Bengal, University of Petroleum and Flame University. 

Outreach activities of the Department

The Department of Mathematics, IIT Jodhpur, is the only center in Rajasthan to conduct written test since 2021 for NBHM and Master’s scholarship.  Through workshops, keynote talks, and research presentations, the Mathematics Department aims to promote awareness, and create creative and innovative thinking among the students. Dr. Dilpreet Kaur, Dr. Moumita Mandal, Dr. Puneet Sharma, Dr. Sukhendu Ghosh, K. R. Hiremath, Dr. Gaurav Bhatnagar, Dr. V.V.M.S. Chandramouli, has contributed alot in sharing their knowledge with the students through invited talks, workshops and seminars.

As the Institute passes through its crystal year of existence, we at the Department of Mathematics align ourselves with the Institute’s Vision to grow and progress for a illustrious future.

Dr. Puneet Sharma
Head, Department of Mathematics
head_ma@iitj.ac.in

Evolution of the Department of Mechanical Engineering

Suril V. Shah

Development of Academics and Laboratories

The Department of Mechanical Engineering (ME) at IIT Jodhpur was formally established in 2015. Prior to that, the undergraduate (UG) program in B.Tech. Mechanical Engineering was offered, while the postgraduate (PG) programs in M.Tech. Energy and Ph.D. Energy were offered by the Center of Energy. In 2015, the department began offering M.Tech. and Ph.D. programs in Mechanical Engineering, in addition to the existing B.Tech. program. In 2019, a major curriculum revision was undertaken across the institute. Various capability linked opportunities in the form of minors and specializations were introduced for B.Tech. in ME. The M.Tech. program was revamped to offer two specializations: Thermo-fluid Engineering (TFE) and Advanced Manufacturing and Design (AMD). The curriculum revision not only enabled students to excel in the broad areas of Mechanical Engineering, but also to explore emerging interdisciplinary areas such as artificial intelligence (AI), the internet of things (IoT), cyber-physical systems (CPS), augmented reality and virtual reality (AR/VR), data science (DS), robotics, and so on.

The Department of Mechanical Engineering at IIT Jodhpur has state-of-the-art laboratories that are equipped to meet the needs of both teaching and research. The labs offer training in a wide range of areas, from traditional fields such as workshop processes and turbomachinery to emerging areas like Industry 4.0 and microtechnology. Some labs that are currently available in the department are Advanced Manufacturing laboratory, Central Workshop, Industrial Engineering laboratory, Metrology laboratory, Dynamics of Machine laboratory, Helicopter laboratory, Mechatronics Laboratory, Robotics laboratory, Vibration Laboratory,  Fluid Mechanics and Turbomachinery Laboratory, Heat Transfer Laboratory, Energy Conversion Laboratory, Automotive Propulsion, Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Laboratory, Gas Dynamics Laboratory, Microtechnology laboratory etc.

Research Footprint

Department faculties are working on the niche and emerging research directions predominantly in the three broad areas, namely, Thermo-fluids, Manufacturing and Mechanical Design.

Thermofluids Engineering: Thermo-fluids engineering combines the fundamentals of thermodynamics, heat transfer, fluid mechanics, and combustion with applied engineering applications. Thermo-fluids group at IITJ is working on a wide range of thematic areas such as Energy Management, Water Technologies, Combustion, Fluid-Structure Interaction, Supersonic flow, Computational Fluid Dynamics, Microfluidics and Sensor Systems,  Solar Thermal Applications, machine learning based fluid mechanics etc.

Advanced Manufacturing: Manufacturing contributes to the rapid advancement of technologies from the stage of conception, design, and development to manufacturing. Faculty members in the Smart Manufacturing group at IITJ are working on micro-machining, welding, conventional and non-conventional manufacturing processes, etc. The current research has a strong interdisciplinary focus on industrial and recent research trends such as Smart Manufacturing, Industry 4.0, the Internet of Things (IoT), and Artificial Intelligence.

Mechanical Design: Mechanical Design group at IITJ is involved in a wide range of projects in the areas of embedded systems and IoT, mechanics of solids, mechanical vibrations, robotics, autonomous unmanned vehicles, design optimization, acoustics and noise control, control systems, rotor dynamics, micro-nano materials, and applications, etc., to name a few. The group strongly emphasizes interdisciplinary research in the emerging areas of smart designs and concepts. There are focused groups working on Vibrations and Acoustics, Nonlinear dynamics, robotics, Soft Active Materials and Structures (SAMS), and Manned/Unmanned Aerial Vehicles.

In addition to these broad areas, the faculty members in ME are also associated with several IDRP divisions such as Space Science and Technology, Robotics & Mobility, Smart Healthcare etc. IIT Jodhpur has forged a unique collaboration with AIIMS Jodhpur under the Smart Healthcare IDRP, where faculty from both institutions are jointly working on several exciting projects. The collaboration so far has realized two technology transfers from ME dept. to AIIMS in the area of jaw rehabilitation. Other projects focused on product development in neonatal care and exoskeletal rehabilitation are currently being pursued by doctoral students admitted under the “Medical Technology” PhD program.

Achievements

The department’s faculty and students have made significant contributions to the advancement of technology. Their work has been recognized at various prestigious forums.  Students have received PMRF fellowship, SERB Fellowship, SITARE GYTI Appreciation Award and many more. Faculty has also received various awards, to name a few, SERB (SIRE), DST INSPIRE Faculty Fellowship, SERB International Travel Support (ITS) award, Women Involvement in Science and Engineering Research” award 

Networking & Collaboration

The Dept. of Mechanical Engineering has made significant advances in forging connections with the industry and prestigious academic institutions worldwide. IIT Jodhpur established an Industry immersion program (IIP) in collaboration with its industry partners TVS, L&T, Mahindra, Tata Motors, and Tata Power. Through internships under this program the ME undergraduates got an opportunity to work on several cutting-edge projects such as self-stabilizing two-wheeler, solar power automobiles and vehicle dynamics. Several projects in collaboration with the Defense Lab Jodhpur (DLJ) in the areas of thermal storage, computational gasdynamics and unmanned vehicles have been undertaken by the department. The faculty members in the department are actively involved in consultancy with industries such as GE, TCS Innovation Lab, RAMA Reflection Pvt. Ltd., ASTE Bangalore, DRDO, ABC Transformers Pvt. Ltd, Johari Digital Healthcare Pvt. Ltd., Rajasthan Renewable Energy Corporation Ltd., National Oil Companies Foundation, Central Waqf Council, HEFA-CSR. The department conducts frequent lecture series and seminars in thrust areas. The department has successfully organized many workshops, Symposiums, GIAN Courses and socially relevant events from time to time.

With these focused activities taking place at the department and several different initiatives taken by the members of the department, be it faculty or the students, only shows their concerted efforts towards making the department a desirable destination for prospective students and faculty to join us and grow with us.

Prof. Suril V. Shah
Head, Department of Mechanical Engineering
head_me@iitj.ac.in

Department of Metallurgical and Materials Engineering

Ravi, K. R.

About the Department

The Department of Metallurgical and Materials Engineering at IIT Jodhpur was established in 2017, and the Department is committed to high-quality education and research in the broad area of Materials Engineering. The Department continuously strives for excellence in teaching and research through innovative pedagogy and curriculum, by undertaking interdisciplinary projects, and through active collaborations with industries, R&D labs, and academia. By enabling the students to think independently and equipping them with relevant skill sets, our goal is to encourage the graduates to innovate and address present-day materials challenges to meet the needs of the country. At present, the Department has 15 faculty members and offers M.Tech., M.Tech.-Ph.D. dual degree, and Ph.D. programs. The Department’s teaching and research activities cover four major streams- structural materials, functional materials, computational materials engineering, and process metallurgy. From structural materials to semiconductors, we attempt to understand the processing, composition and structure, properties, and performance of materials for deriving novel, effective, and sustainable alternatives. Currently, efforts are being made to introduce advanced concepts such as smart materials, additive manufacturing, artificial intelligence and machine learning, sensor materials, etc. as a part of solving interdisciplinary problems requiring Materials Engineering knowledge.

Laboratories and equipment        

The following laboratories are functioning in the Department of Metallurgical & Materials Engineering:

• Materials and Mechanics Laboratory
• Heat Treatment Laboratory
• Mechanical Testing Laboratory
• Computational Materials Engineering Laboratory
• Structural Materials Research Laboratory
• Functional Materials Research Laboratory

Outreach Activities

The following outreach activities are being undertaken by the faculty members of the department.

• Saurabh Nene is continuing the official collaboration with Prof. M.H. Tsai, Associate Professor, Department of Materials Science and Engineering, National Chung Hsing University (NCHU) Taichung, Taiwan to work in the field of High Entropy Alloy (HEA) Design; with Prof. Sheng Guo, Chalmers University of Technology, Sweden to work in the area of defect induced plasticity in HEAs; and with Prof. Satyam Suwas, IISc Bangalore to work in the area of alloy design and texture modification.
• Abir Bhattacharyya is continuing the official collaboration with CSIR-National Metallurgical Laboratory in the area of multiaxial fatigue, and residual stress measurement; and with Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research (IGCAR), DAE in the area of low cycle fatigue of nuclear steels.
• Jaiveer Singh is mentoring the Churu district, Rajasthan under Unnat Bharat Abhiyan (UBA) RCI IIT Jodhpur besides continuing the official collaboration with Prof. Shi-Hoon Choi, Sunchon National University, Suncheon, Korea in the area of formability behavior of Mg alloys and recrystallization of high entropy alloys; and with Hindustan Zinc Limited (HZL) subsidiary of Vedanta Limited in the area of design and development of Mg/Cu based alloys.
• Srijan Sengupta is continuing the official collaboration with Dr. Anindita Chakraborti of TATA Steel R&D in the area of electrodeposition and coating.

 Research Footprint

Collaborations

• CSIR National Metallurgical Laboratory (CSIR-NML)
• Indira Gandhi Center for Atomic Research, Kalpakkam (IGCAR, Kalpakkam)
• Metallizing Equipment Co. Pvt. Ltd. (MECPL)
• Defence Metallurgical Research Laboratory, Hyderabad (DMRL, Hyderabad)
• National Institute for Interdisciplinary Science and Technology, Trivandrum (NIIST, Trivandrum)
• Vectraform engineering & solutions pvt ltd, Coimbatore
• Oil India Limited, Jodhpur

Glimpses of state-of-the-art facilities

These are glimpses of a few facilities at Functional Materials Laboratory and Structural Materials Research Laboratory in the department.

Dr. Ravi, K. R.
Head, Department of Metallurgical & Materials Engineering
head_mt@iitj.ac.in

Department of Physics

Ashutosh K. Alok & Reetanjali Moharana

Academics

The Department of Physics at IIT Jodhpur came into existence in February 2015 with six faculty members. By the year 2022-23, Department of Physics grew to a strength of 18 faculties, two Inspire Faculties and 2 administrative staff members.  The Department started the Ph.D. program in physics in the academic year 2013-14, with the motto of “outstanding research in fundamental Physics blended with its applications.” Further the Department offered M.Sc. Physics program in October 2014 whereas the M.Sc.-M.Tech Dual Degree in Physics and Materials Engineering started in 2019-20 jointly with the Department of Metallurgical & Materials Engineering. The students also have options of joining the M.Sc.-M.Tech Dual Degree in Physics and Materials Engineering (Specialization in Functional Materials) and M.Sc.-M.Tech Dual Degree in Physics and Materials Engineering (Specialization in Computational Materials Engineering). A unique undergraduate program, B.S. in Physics with Specialization (4 years program), started in 2021-21 aiming at imparting theoretical foundations and practical skills in fundamental and applied physics for engineering innovation. The goal is to acquire new knowledge of physics and integrate with engineering concepts to create new and innovative technologies for current and future applications with emphasis on Advanced Energy Materials, Photonics, Quantum and Plasma Technologies.The BS students also  have the option of BS+M.Tech dual degree (5 years program) in their area of specialization. At present, MTech options followed by the BS program in department of physics are offered in the following areas:

• Advanced Energy Materials
• Photonics
• Quantum Technologies
• Plasma Technologies

In addition, the Department offers core and elective courses in Physics and Engineering based Physics courses for the undergraduate B.Tech. Engineering and MTech Students in the Institute.

On the research front, with the joining of new faculty members, the profile of the department has started showing a new look wherein there is an excellent blend of young as well as experienced faculty members having varied domain expertise. Efforts have been made to consolidate the expertise available in the department by forming certain cohesive and focused research groups to pursue their research in broad areas. The focused group research areas have implications for the technology. Thus, the formation of the focused group was helpful for the department in multiplying its academic and research outputs in terms of quality and quantity. 

Focused Research Areas

Development of Laboratories

Teaching Laboratories: The Department of Physics puts a strong emphasis on experiential learning aspects as an integral part of its curriculum both at UG and PG level. The lab experiments are designed in such a way that the students can comprehend the theoretical concepts taught in the class room and develop the skill sets which will enable them to excel in their future professional endeavours. Following are the laboratories for teaching:

Basic Physics Lab (UGBL-202): In the B.Tech. laboratory the students learn the systematics of performing experiments including setting up of experiment, proper recording of observations, performing calculations, analysing the results.

PG Level Labs

• Electronics Lab -The rapid growth in technology across the world has been hugely impacted by the development of Electronics. The Electronics Lab is being offered in parallel with the theory classes the first semester of the M.Sc. Physics Program to correlate with what's being taught in the theory course.
• Condensed Matter Physics Lab - Condensed Matter Physics is a branch of physics that gives opportunities for highly advanced research leading to a wide range of technological applications both in civil and defence sectors. The experiments in this lab are designed in such a way that students can apply the knowledge in aspects of design and develop electronic devices such as solar cells, thermoelectric devices, etc.
• Atomic and Nuclear Physics Lab - Atomic and Nuclear Physics Laboratory, being offered in the 2nd Semester of M.Sc. Physics program introduces students to the basic and essential aspects of modern experimental physics.
• Optics and Laser Lab - The experiments provide the conceptual understanding of geometrical & wave optics, and Lasers.
• Computational Lab - The lab aims to strengthen the fundamentals of computational physics for students from physics, chemistry, mathematics, engineering and related disciplines.

Thematic Laboratories: In order to facilitate globally competitive cutting edge research and breakthrough technologies it is imperative to develop an atmosphere wherein the students and faculty members have free access to research facilities not only within the department but across all the departments of the institute. With this philosophy in mind, the department is operating various thematic research labs wherein any student or faculty member can carry out his/her research.

1. Thin Films and Device Lab: The lab is equipped with various thin film fabrication instruments including in-house developed low-cost solution processing techniques such as spin coater, dip coater, and hydrothermal cells together with more advanced and sophisticated DC and RF magnetron sputtering system for single and multilayer thin film depositions, and thermal chemical vapor deposition system to fabricate thin-film nanostructures in different geometries.
2. Multiscale Characterization Lab: This lab houses several state-of-the art characterization facilities viz. Scanning Tunneling Microscope, Physical Property Measurement System, SQUID Magnetometer, Multiferroic measurement systems, etc.
3. Functional Materials Processing: The lab is equipped with several advanced equipment such as High Energy Ball Milling, Pressure Machine, Plasma Etcher, a wide range of Furnaces, Glove Box, etc.
4. Functional Materials Design Lab: This lab is developing into a state-of-the-art facility with dedicated instrumentation for the synthesis of new functional materials for high efficiency photovoltaic devices and batteries, single-molecule electronics devices.

1. Nonlinear optics and Photonics Lab: Nonlinear optical effects in the materials due to high-intensity laser pulses drive the research towards a deep understanding of light-matter interactions and development of novel photonic and nano electronics devices.
2. Computational Physics Lab: The Computational Physics laboratory is being developed with several state-of-the-art HPC workstations. A number of computational and simulation programs including LAMMPS, GROMACS, QUANTUM-ESPRESSO, VMD, MATLAB®, and Mathematica® will be made available to the users of Computational Physic Laboratory.
3.  Cold Plasma Lab: A cold plasma applications lab is being developed to create a niche of high science and high technology by retaining the leadership achieved and aiming at global leadership in the area of non-thermal and non-equilibrium cold plasmas for a range of food, health, energy, medicine, and agricultural applications.

New Technologies developed in the Department of Physics

1. IITJ’s Advanced Photocatalytic Oxidation Sterilization System for Disinfection of N95 Filtering Face-mask Respirators for Reuse.
2. IITJ’s APCOC Technology Transferred to M/s Porte Automation Pvt. Ltd. Noida on the 27th January 2021
3. IITJ’s Novel CODE Device useful for Better Indoor Air Quality and COVID-19 Pandemic (transferred to M/s Divya Plasma Solutions Pvt. Ltd. -A start-up company, September, 2021)

Awards & Recognitions

1. Dr. Ram Prakash received the Year-2022 Jaidutt Saraswati Sodha PSSI Plasma Award for significant contributions to low-temperature plasma applications particularly for clean air, water purity, environmental safety, and efficient energy systems. The award is given to Indian Scientists annually by the Plasma Science Society of India, below the age of 50 years, who have made significant research contributions through publications in reputed journals in plasma physics (ranging from fundamental phenomena to novel applications, thermonuclear fusions, etc.).  
2. Dr. Subhashish Banerjee got elected as the Fellow of National Academy of Sciences, India (NASI)
3. Dr. Shahab Ahmad’s collaborative research work on Lanthanide-doped Nanocrystals for Bright Triplet Excitons is highlighted in Phys.org

[https://phys.org/news/2020-11-lanthanide-nanocrystals-brighten-molecular-triplet.html]

1. Dr. Somnath Ghosh received the Research Excellence award of IIT Jodhpur 2020.
2. Dr. Subhashish Banerjee received the Research Excellence Award of IIT Jodhpur 2020.

Several students of our department have also won various awards and recognitions.

Outreach

All the faculty members of Department of Physics besides being involved in delivering invited talks at national and international conferences are actively engaged in the following outreach activities, just to name a few:

1. Physics Lab Visit of School Children of Rudiya Village on 07.09.2019 under Unnat Bharat Abhiyaan (UBA), IITJ (Departmental Coordinator: Dr Prabhat Jaiswal).
2. Demonstrated several popular physics experiments, showcased research and academic activities in video presentations during the Open House of the Institute on 20 April 2022 (Coordinator: Dr. Santosh Mogurampelly)
3. Prabhat K. Jaiswal delivered an FDP Lecture as an Eminent Speaker on "Modeling and Simulation of Phase-Separating Mixtures in an “Online FDP on Advances in Computational Science and Technology" at School of Applied and Life Sciences, Uttaranchal University, Dehradun during 17-23 May 2022.
4. Shahab Ahmad supervised an e-intern, Mr. Janmesh Kumar Samariya, under the Knowledge Augmentation through Research in Young Aspirants (KARYA) Programme, Department of Science & Technology-Rajasthan on project entitled “Niobium Tungsten Oxide for Fast Charging Li-ion Batteries” for duration of 3 months (Completed in Feb 2022).

Seminars/ Workshops/ Conferences organized – a glimpse

• Quantum Information and Computation-2019 (QIC-2019) QIC- 2019 Organized by Quantum Technology group at IITJ.
• Departmental webinar series “Diving Deep Into Physics” talks were conducted online with eminent speakers from India and Abroad.
• 7^th National Plasma Symposium (Plasma-2022) will be organized during 12-14 Dec. 2022
• Ram Prakash coordinated an advance workshop on “Intellectual Property, Technology Transfer and Licensing” at IIT Jodhpur during 16-18 Jan 2020 with the financial support of the Department of Science & Technology Govt. of Rajasthan. There were around 70 registered participants attended the workshop.

Prof. Ashutosh K. Alok
Head, Department of Physics
head_physics@iitj.ac.in

Dr. Reetanjali Moharana
Associate Professor, Department of Physics
reetanjali@iitj.ac.in

School of Management and Entrepreneurship

Sangeeta Sahney

The evolution

The School of Management & Entrepreneurship (SME) started in the Financial Year 2019-20 as a forward-looking bold experiment to create and deliver a novel value proposition in the management and entrepreneurship education sector in India. On account of fast-paced technological changes, the era of stable paradigms in the industry which could be exploited through traditional business models, has come to an end. The future will belong to those who are comfortable with technologically dynamic business models, derived from continual expression of entrepreneurial energy exhibited by organizational members. To this end, SME has created its flagship MBA Technology program which integrates technology, management and entrepreneurship through an institutional framework which leverages various engineering disciplines, interdisciplinary programs, innovation and incubation center, and school of liberal arts apart from management faculties.

From June 2023, SME is also home to the Center of Excellence (CoE) on Intellectual Property (IP). The CoE will function as a focal point for the exploration of avenues for inter-institutional synergistic collaborations in human resource and capacity building programs to enhance the value of the combined creative potential and output of these institutions.  The core focus would lie on issues about IP management, viz., patent search, patent technologies, patent analysis, patent landscaping, and commercialization. The CoE would indulge in academic and applied research in the area of IPR.

Development of Academics

Currently, the School offers five academic programs: MBA Technology, MBA, MBA in FinTech & Cyber Security, Minor in Management, Minor in Entrepreneurship, and Ph.D. The following graph shows yearly enrolment in different programs offered by SME (enrolment for the first batch of MBA in FinTech & Cyber Security enrolment are still on at the time of writing).

In terms of Faculty and Staff strength, SME has remained consistent over the years. However, with the new program (MBA in FinTech & Cyber Security) and a Centre of Excellence in IP coming in, faculty and staff strength is expected to rise.

During Academic Year 2022-23, SME established a scholar hub for its PhD students, equipped with a state-of-the-art AV facility, and a working space for 34 students, looking forward to having 35 computer systems to be installed in this Scholar hub.

Research Footprint

SME has a strong research footprint with its faculty members publishing and presenting in reputed national and international journals such as IEEE journals, Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Asian Journal of Business Ethics, Qualitative Market Research: An International Journal, to name a few. The following graph shows the papers and citations from SME faculty (2023 data up to May).

Achievements

In a short span of time, our students have displayed their mettle by participating and winning several competitions. A few of such competitions that are mention-worthy: Product Management Case Competition organized by BITS Pilani, Brand-O-Mania by KJSIM, Mumbai, where our students Chandreyee Bhattacharjee, Sai Shanmukh, Richik Mukharjee, and Sagnick Panda were respective winners.

Networking & Collaborations

The School has tie-ups with some of the leading business schools in the world. Specific arrangements have been made to offer SME IITJ students dual degree options. The SME students would do their MBA core courses in the first-year at SME, IIT Jodhpur, and thereon would study specialized courses in the second year at a partner institution abroad. The students in this program would earn an MBA degree from IIT Jodhpur and a specialized Master’s degree from the partner B-School. SME IITJ has partnerships with George Washington University, Business School, SUNY Albany, and Brandeis International Business School, in the USA. The students can pursue dual degree options as listed below:

From Academic Year 2023-24, IIT Jodhpur has also started an MBA in FinTech and Cyber Security, in partnership with SUNY Albany. The program is offered both in the Full Time (Mode 1 and Mode 2), and in the Part Time (Online) mode for working executives. Under Mode 1, students complete two-semester coursework at IIT Jodhpur and joins SUNY Albany from the third semester. Following this pathway, the student will acquire two degrees – MBA in FinTech & Cybersecurity from IIT Jodhpur, and MS in Cybersecurity and Digital Forensics from SUNY Albany. Under Mode 2, Students complete all four semesters at IIT Jodhpur. Following this pathway, the student will acquire an MBA in FinTech & Cybersecurity from IIT Jodhpur.

Outreach

The school organized IIT Jodhpur’s I^st online Management Doctoral Colloquium in the year 2023. As part of the Padharo IIT event, SME organized a number of events that included a demonstration on case-based teaching (conducted by Dr Jitesh Mohnot), a workshop on Design Thinking, led by Dr. Nimish Vohra, and poster presentation by the scholars and faculty of SME IIT Jodhpur.

Many courses were developed by faculty members, Prof Sangeeta Sahney has developed various courses for SWAYAM linked NPTEL portals and was nominated as Expert Committee member by UGC to frame the Credit and Curriculum Framework for the Master's programme as per National Education Policy 2020.Dr. Anuj PAl Kapoor organised the first TEDx IIT Jodhpur Event. Dr. Deepak Saxena delivered a keynote in the International Social Sciences Congress held during 3-5 May 2023 by Social Sciences İnstitute and UFUK University at Ankara, Turkiye.

As part of its admissions campaign, SME conducted a series of online masterclasses to raise awareness of the role of technology in management and the management of technology. More than 15 masterclasses were conducted on topics ranging from Digital Platforms, Digital transformation, the Role of Technology in Management, Technology foresight, Changing Landscape of E-Commerce and Last-Mile Logistics etc.

Prof. Sangeeta Sahney
Head, School of Management & Entrepreneurship
head_sme@iitj.ac.in

School of Artificial Intelligence & Data Science at IIT Jodhpur

Neeraj Jain

The evolution

Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Data Science (DS) are impacting progress of diverse disciplines of natural sciences, different fields of engineering and medicine, social sciences, and economics. In order to be at the forefront of this emerging technological frontier, School of Artificial Intelligence and Data Science (AIDE) was established and inaugurated at IIT Jodhpur in December 2020, by Prof. Geoffrey Hinton, Turing Award Winner,.

Vision

Advancing the field of AI and Data Sciences for good of humanity

Mission

• To be at the fore-front of Artificial Intelligence and Data Science research in all dimensions: theoretical research, application directed research, and locally relevant research for meeting regional needs
• To play a leading role in the delivery of Artificial Intelligence and Data Science education in formal and informal sectors at all levels.
• To become a globally coveted destination for Artificial Intelligence and Data Science technology development and entrepreneurship.

Introduction

The School aims to play a leading role in research, teaching and training in AI and its applications. The School also focuses on developing AI based technologies aligned to the locally and nationally relevant problems and challenges.

AIDE School brings together faculty from diverse disciplines with shared interests in fundamental challenges in AI and Data Science to make significant contributions in this field. Currently there are 53 faculty in the School which includes 45 affiliated faculty from 10 different departments and schools. Additionally, there are 4 adjunct faculty from different national and international institutes.

AI&DS Education

Drawing upon its multi-disciplinary faculty strength, the School is offering courses on AI and AI applications for students of all branches at all levels promoting the philosophy of AI education for All, which is the need of the day. These courses are running various levels like at Undergraduate, Post-graduate, Doctoral, Post-doctoral, and at Continuing Education Program level.

Focus of Research at the School of AIDE

Currently the School of AI and Data Science has four transdisciplinary Centres of Excellence. High-end laboratory equipment is avaialble for the research activities.

1. Brain Science and Applications
2. Mathematical and Computational Economics 
3. Intelligent Infrastructure
4. AI based Precision Health

The following Centers of Excellence are envisioned in the next phase:

1. Language Technology
2. Human Centered AI 
3. Guarantees for Machine Learning
4. Ethics of AI 
5. Quantum AI

Centres of Excellences and the Current Research Work

1. Centre for Brain Sciences & Applications

Centre for Brain Science and Applications (CBSA) envisages bringing together practitioners of diverse disciplines to work on understanding the brain, developing technologies to study the brain, and developing brain inspired AI and other technologies. This interdisciplinary centre brings together biologists, physicists, engineers, mathematicians, psychologists. The neurobiologists interrogate the brain at the microscale (connectivity and functioning of individual neurons), mesoscale (network of groups of neurons such as a single sensory system or multiple sensory systems) and mega scale (the entire brain and interactions of brain in the context of inter-individual interactions). Other groups develop tools for data analysis and visualization, and work on next-gen AI and hardware architecture inspired from the knowledge of the brain structure and function. Use of knowledge from research on sensation, perception, intelligence, cognition and consciousness and how these relate to functional architecture of the brain would lead to development of, for example, brain inspired machines, intelligent technology for prediction and diagnosis of diseases, brain-computer interface devices, intelligent prosthetics. One of the major goals of this Centre is to work at the interface of neuroscience and AI dedicated to the study of human cognition and develop brain-inspired algorithms to design cognitive machines. Teaching and training at the graduate and undergraduate levels is an important component of the Centre’s activities.

The ongoing research activities of the centre are as follows:

• Cognitive flexibility and healthy aging using signal processing techniques applied on EEG/MEG/fMRI data
• Developing theoretical models based on the principles of dynamical systems and Bayesian theories to track developmental changes, cognitive flexibility, and brain network dynamics
• Comparative Mapping of Common Mental Disorders over lifespan
• Understanding psychology of wisdom
• Role of sensory modality in enhancing spatial cognition for STEM education
• Computational modelling of value-based decision-making
• Understanding internal and external directed cognition
• Atypical Brain Network Development and Impact on Theory-of-Mind
• Psychobehavioral plasticity in Cognitive Performance and its Influence on Fluid Intelligence among Healthy Aging Adults in India
• Computational models of curiosity and creativity - drawing inspiration from brain mechanisms
• Understanding effects of sleep on cognition
• Machine learning approach for kinesthetic perception
• Virtual and Augmented reality and applications for multimodal perception

Developing strategies that can modulate inhibitory control over our actions and thoughts

2. Centre for Mathematical and Computational Economics

The Centre for Mathematical and Computational Economics (CMCE) is a specialized centre dedicated to improving our understanding of the evolving nature of economics in the internet era. CMCE is an interdisciplinary unit that combines knowledge across the disciplines of computer science, engineering, mathematics, and statistics. It is a specialized unit for the research and teaching of economic theory combined with the use of modern tools of artificial intelligence and specializes in the following areas: Decision theory, Social and Economic Networks, Mechanism design, Social choice theory, Auction theory, Optimization theory, Operations Research, Game Theory, Artificial Intelligence, reinforcement learning and mechanism design, Computational social choice, Algorithmic game theory, Big data and consumer choice, Applications of Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence in economics, AI for social good, macroeconomic theory, Growth theory and Political Economy. The teaching programmes are aimed to inculcate the interdisciplinary nature of economics with mathematics, statistics and computer science and prepare students for both academia and industry.

Current on-going research projects include:

• Measuring manipulability of social choice functions
• Defining fairness in a two sided matching markets and investing the compatibility of this axiom with usual notions of stability
• Using multi-objective optimisation techniques to unify efficient and Rawlsian auction schemes
• Understanding the roots of child health inequities in India using Machine Learning.
• Studying the nexus of poverty and health expenditure using Machine Learning
• Game-theoretic models in last-mile logistics management
• Product attributes and inter-firm competition
• Choice behaviour and Games with Graphs
• Belief structures and uncertain games
• Political budget cycles in New Keynesian framework
• Focal Points and Median Voters
• Modelling Exchange Rate Return
• Overlapping Generation Model and the market for Insurance

 3. Centre for Intelligent Infrastructure

The Centre for Intelligent Infrastructure (CII) is a transdisciplinary research centre to foster research in smart, sustainable, and resilient infrastructure. CII is established to advance the vision of IITJ to nurture a vibrant ecosystem equipped with a highly qualified workforce with novel ideas and innovative research. The prime focus of the centre is to integrate artificial intelligence and machine learning (AI & ML), big data analytics, automation, and finance into the life-cycle assessment, performance prediction, risk analysis, and resilience of infrastructure systems. Following are some of the research areas with major thrust on AI & ML based research.

• Climate Change Sustainability and Resilience
• Cyber-physical systems
• Cyber-Security
• Digital Twins
• Intelligent Transport Systems
• Smart Cities
• Smart Infrastructure Finance

4. Centre of Excellence in AI based Precision Medicine

There is a continuous rise in the prevalence of common and complex diseases with a substantial reduction in health longevity during the lifetime of an individual, which poses a considerable economic and social burden on the families and the country. In the precision medicine era, there has been a paradigm shift in healthcare wherein we are moving from a reactive to more proactive management with a precision component in all aspects of P5 (Predictive, Preventive, Personalized, Participatory, Promotive) medicine. Traditional medicine systems such as Ayurveda provide a system’s understanding of an individual wherein individual-specific health baselines inform about response and trajectory in geo-spatio-temporal dimensions for pre-emptive management of lifestyle and nutrition. Disease trajectories assessment and treatment are individual centric manners and are dealt with as moving targets. There are also unique therapeutic modalities such as Panchakarma, multicomponent single and poly herbo-metallic formulations along with different preparations and modes of administration for diverse therapies. Thus, multiple options are now available from modern and traditional AYUSH systems for the management of diseases. However, due to limited cross-talk, most often a patient who has the least expertise self-evolves an integrative approach to the management of health.

AyurTech: A formalized framework that allows one to assess outcomes and enables crosstalk between traditional systems and modern medicine through a common interface could increase individuals' health and disease management options and provide affordable healthcare solutions. At the transdisciplinary Centre of Excellence in AI-based Precision Healthcare a Centre of Excellence in AyurTech supported by the Ministry of AYUSH has been recently established. Through this centre, we aim to create a first-of-its-kind unique initiative of combining Functional Genomics, Nanotechnology, Electronics, Digital health, and AI for realizing evidence based Ayurveda solutions. This has the participation of collaborators from JCKIC network institutions Dr. S. R. Rajasthan Ayurved University Jodhpur and AIIMS Jodhpur. This is a transdisciplinary program that also has the participation of faculty from diverse engineering sciences from IIT Jodhpur which includes bioscience and bioengineering, computer science and engineering, electrical engineering, and chemistry. This is a unique initiative combining electronics, Digital health and AI & multiomic technologies for realizing “Evidence based Ayurveda” solutions. The broad objectives of the CoE-AyurTech include four thematic areas and capacity building as an integrative approach are described below:

• Computer-based phenomics, IoT-based digital devices & AI-powered Prakriti assessment and Vikriti diagnosis
• Interoperable platform for unifying ontologies
• Devices & systems for Ayurveda drug standardization and quality control
• Drug-disease networks compendium for drug signatures & Ayurveda based formulations for poly-pharmacology & repurposing
• Capacity Building

Projects have been initiated in the following areas:

• Digital devices integrated with IoT, AI and computer vision for rapid, objective and accurate assessments of Ayurveda parameters and tailoring interventions.
• Blockchain powered highly secure and privacy preserving smart phone platforms, for large scale Ayurveda parameter screening, health and intervention monitoring
• Laboratory and Point-of-Care (PoC) deployable sensors/ devices, systems and frameworks will be developed for Ayurveda drug standardization.
• Open source platforms of drug-disease networks using a compendium of molecular signatures of drugs, medicinal plants and Ayurveda based formulations for discoveries, poly-pharmacology and repurposing.
• Ontological frameworks based on Natural Language Processing for integration of knowledge base of Ayurveda with contemporary terminologies and description

AI&DS Innovation Ecosystem

The innovation ecosystem at the School of AIDE is based on the following axes:

1. Initiating Industry-School-End user Partnerships
2. Promote AI and DS based entrepreneurship
3. Hosting and Managing Technology Innovation Hubs
4. AI standards and Regulatory Framework

The school thrives on the buzzing academic and research activities happening round the year, including active outreach initiatives in terms of invited talks, conferences, seminars and workshops. Thar Talk Series: AI and Beyond, in collaboration with Jodhpur City Knowledge and Innovation Foundation (JCKIF) of IIT Jodhpur, is one such successful activity.

Prof. Neeraj Jain
Head, School of Artificial Intelligence & Data Science (AIDE)
head_aide@iitj.ac.in

A Vibrant and Incredible Journey:

 Reflections on the First Anniversary of the School of Liberal Arts

Farhat Naz & Rachel Philip

The sociologist C Wright Mills memorably noted that ‘Neither the life of the individual nor the history of a society can be understood without understanding both’. This idea was at the heart of his eponymous and highly influential book, ‘The Sociological Imagination’ (1959). Mills argued that cultivating a sociological imagination would enable individuals to always consider the context of their individual decision-making as well as the decisions made by others, thereby leading to wise choices. We seek to extend this idea of the ‘sociological imagination’ to reflect on the institutional trajectory of the School of Liberal Arts (SoLA), i.e., its genesis and evolution over the past year. In the contemporary global context, transdisciplinary research that drives technological development and social empowerment cuts across the traditional divide between arts, sciences, social sciences and humanities. This important aspect is also recognized by the National Education Policy (2020), which recognizes the ‘Liberal Arts’ as spanning the best of the great academic traditions of India’s past as well as charting its path to the future. Inspired by the futuristic geist or spirit of our times and seeking to implement NEP’s recommendations in this direction, IIT Jodhpur paved the way for the Department of Humanities and Social Sciences to evolve into the School of Liberal Arts. In this piece, we take you through our journey from being a traditional Department of Humanities and Social Sciences to becoming the School of Liberal Arts.

The School of Liberal Arts: Our pathway

Our story begins prior to the formation of the Department of Humanities and Social Sciences (HSS). Initially, faculty members were first associated with various Centers and then with the focus group of Humanities and Social Sciences in 2013, before formally becoming the Department of Humanities and Social Sciences in 2015. In light of the National Education Policy 2020’s vision of ‘liberal arts’ as spanning the best of India’s rich academic history in the past as well as its path to the future, the Board of Governors approved the conversion of the Department of Humanities and Social Sciences into the School of Liberal Arts on 17 June 2022. 

This change was not just in name. It also reflects a fundamental change in orientation. Major twentieth- century thinkers like Bruno Latour had already made a case for understanding ‘action’ and ‘actors’ through the notion of ‘actants’, bringing together a focus on the networks that bind the human, the non-human and the planetary together. The School of Liberal Arts represents an intellectual space that recognizes and amplifies the diverse possibilities and potentials of human-technology interfaces as both agents and sites for social change. That is why the School’s vision is to break the barriers created by traditional disciplinary boundaries and adopt a novel, open, futuristic, trans-disciplinary and inclusive liberal humanist approach. Our goal is to equip and enable our students for the challenges of the future, nurturing them as global citizens and able thinkers who are simultaneously aware of the needs and demands of contemporary society. As the following sections on the academic teaching and research at SoLA will demonstrate, the School pursues this holistic and experiential strategy through all its activities.

Equipping Students for the Future

Carrying forward a legacy from the time from which the IITs were established, an education in the humanities and social sciences has always been considered necessary to cultivate a holistic and reflective attitude in its graduates. With new global paradigm shifts brought about through Industry 4.0 and the unprecedented capacity for intelligent learning in machines, the School of Liberal Arts has an important pedagogic role in enabling students, especially undergraduates, to reflect on their role as producers and consumers of technology. The School offers a tremendous diversity of courses, ranging from compulsory non-graded courses, bouquet courses for BTech Students, Open Electives and PhD courses in areas stemming from interdisciplinary critical humanities and social sciences. These courses expose students to the processes of knowledge generation in various disciplines and invite them to consider the connections between various fields of study. In his book Thinking Like An Engineer, philosopher Michael Davis argues that this is a crucial contribution that the humanities and social sciences can make in the preparation of young engineers as ethical practitioners. In training students to explore and assess information from various standpoints, they are also initiated into practices of critical thinking that are essential in an age where pre-curated content and misinformation pose tremendous challenges to unbiased decision-making.

SoLA’s path-breaking Masters Programs merit special mention at this juncture. The School’s flagship program, the Masters in Computational Social Science (MSc CSS), commenced in July 2022 and is among the first of its kind in the Indian context in general and in the IIT ecosystem in particular. This unique program seeks to develop highly-skilled graduates equipped with theoretical, technical, and application-oriented knowledge that will enable them to construct, improve, analyse and apply theoretically informed models to understand processes and phenomena. Bridging disciplines and technical expertise, this program is also in line with the NEP (2020), and with the Government of India’s Vision 2047 which seeks to create future skill sets for a future ready society. From August 2023, SoLA plans to expand its portfolio with two more trail-blazing programs. The MDes in XR Design is a response to the industry’s rising requirements for developing practical, entertaining, and socially important experiences that either extend the real world or exist fully in the virtual, in fields like healthcare, entertainment, and education. SoLA will also be commencing a novel MS by Research in fields of (i) AI and Creative Art (ii) Mixed Media Art.

The quality of our academic programs would not be possible if they were not also supported by state-of-the-art research facilities, which are described below.

 (a) Multimedia Language Lab: The Language Lab located within the Central Library at IIT-Jodhpur provides access to the best digital tools and hands-on training towards developing competency, fluency, and agility in the use of English for all the institute’s students and staff from disciplines ranging across the engineering, sciences, humanities, and social sciences. Using specialised SANAKO software to enhance language learning for non-native English speakers, English Language Instructors in the lab assist students in developing effective communication skills based on the LSRW model (Listening, Speaking, Reading, and Writing)

(b) Psychology laboratory: This laboratory promotes research in the domain of Positive-Cognitive Psychology, oriented towards understanding, intervening and promoting the well-being and excellence of human beings. At present, research is being conducted on Decision-making, Social Cognition, and Wisdom. The laboratory is equipped with tools and software like EEG Neurofeedback System, E-prime, Speech recognition software, Wisconsin Card Sorting Test, IOWA Gambling Task, Stroop Test, SPM, NEOPI-R, Emotional Intelligence Questionnaire, and Social Responsiveness Scale etc.

 (c) Social Science Lab

The SoLA has an advanced Social Science lab that caters to the needs of faculty and students who work in the experimental, social, and behavioural science domains. The lab enables the analysis of large-scale data sets to determine social/economic relationships through techniques such as automated text analysis, network analyses, machine learning, data visualisation etc. Software that aids in both quantitative (R, SPSS. Tableau, Scaler, Orange) and qualitative data analysis (NVivo, MAXQDA), etc are available.

Intellectual Capital and Research Culture

An important conviction that drives research at SoLA is that the School should have its own distinct public voice, one which resonates in the kinds of multi-, trans- and interdisciplinary research carried out by Faculty members and students. The major research groups in the School are focused along the following research tracks, including (a) Literature, Linguistics and Cultural Studies (b) Philosophy (c) Psychology (d) Sociology (e) Economics (f) Performance studies (g) Public Health (h) Arts and Culture. Apart from this, SoLA’s Center for Excellence in Arts and Digital Immersion (ADI) explores the intersections between art and digital technologies, such as art analytics, content development for newer art forms, social history, and sociological analysis of the newer art forms.

SoLA faculty and students have maintained a culture of producing high-quality publications in top journals and conferences in the respective disciplines. The rich intellectual capital we have in the form of faculty members is also clearly visible in the steady growth of our publications as well as sponsored research projects.

The vibrant research culture at the School is also promoted through a series of academic events. Under the SoLA Seminar Series, we have hosted several nationally and globally reputed speakers from academia, industry and government who have delivered talks on their specific subject areas. The Graduate Seminar Series offers an opportunity for our doctoral students to routinely showcase their work as well as invite critical and constructive feedback. It is a matter of pride that we organized a first- of-its-kind Winter School on Computational Methods for Social Sciences from December 6-7, 2022. Participants were introduced to Behavioural Science, Data Science, Technology and Social Science, Machine Learning, Data Visualization, Agent Modelling, Hands-on with STATA etc. The School also conducted its First Graduate Research Meet (24-25 March 2023) on the topic "Emergent Trends for a World in Transition." Presentations covered various intersecting areas such as ethics and AI, gender studies, development studies, environmental humanities, film studies, digital humanities, etc.

SoLA’s Centre of Excellence on Art and Digital Immersion (ADI) organized its first international workshop on 29^th April, 2023, titled “AI and Creative Arts”. Distinguished speakers graced this event such as eminent scholar, Prof. Sarah Kenderdine, artist Jenny Bhatt, and digital humanist Dr. Padmini Ray Murray.

SoLA’s consistent investment in promoting a culture of research and open dialogue has borne fruit in the quality of research output, the global recognition of our faculty’s mettle as well as the laurels earned by our students. Faculty have been recipients of coveted international fellowships like the Fulbright Awards as well as national Early Career fellowships, competitive research awards, and institute-level recognitions such as the Young Researcher Awards and Senior Researcher Awards as well as the Moonshot Awards. Faculty also serve as Research Ambassadors for international agencies like the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD). Faculty Members of SoLA have delivered many Invited Lectures and Talks, have participated as Resource Persons for Faculty Development Programmes and occupy Visiting and Adjunct Faculty positions at reputed International and National Institutes. Other forms of academic collaboration include invitations as PhD Examiners at National and International Universities, Question-paper setters for National Level Examinations, Editorial Members and Reviewers of reputed journals, Members in Grant Review Committees, etc. 

Faculty have strong relationships with collaborators both at the national and international level and undertake diverse academic activities including publications, research projects, co-supervision, etc. The following map captures the global network footprint of SoLA Faculty Members.

Our doctoral students have also distinguished themselves by actively producing journal publications, presenting their work at prestigious international and national conferences and giving invited talks. 

Our Social Engagement and Commitment

SoLA continuously engages with local communities through projects/research, talks and interactive sessions at local schools and engineering college in Jodhpur, Capacity Building programmes and other types of engagement with local and national/international NGOs and undertaking consultancy for cultural and heritage preservation hosting visits and exposure programmes for school children. At IIT Padharo 2.0, SoLA- showcased its research activities to the public. Additionally, the School of Liberal Arts put up a creative booth displaying posters with faculty and student publications, achievements, research projects, and the eventful life at SoLA during the inauguration of IITJ’s quindecinnial celebration. Faculty and Students of the School of Liberal Arts, IITJ, interacted with Dr. S. Chandrasekhar (Secretary, Department of Science & Technology, Government of India). The significant footfall of visitors in both outreach activities speaks to our success in connecting with and representing SoLA’s vision and work to diverse audiences.

SoLA @ IITJ Padharo 2.0                                                 SoLA Exhibition at the Launch of IITJ@15

In the end, we would like to conclude by stating that becoming SoLA was a stepping-stone in our continual pursuit of academic excellence and holistic development. Embracing the underlying vision behind this transition as SoLA, faculty and students from diverse academic backgrounds collectively work together as a team in pursuing research, teaching, and other allied outreach activities of national importance, thereby transforming the notion of ‘Sociological Imagination’ from mere theory to practice. As we move into our second year as the School of Liberal Arts, we invite you to be part of our journey as we foster humanitarian values, diversity, inclusiveness, a passion for learning and building a culture of excellence in education and research - Jai Hind!

Dr. Farhat Naz
Associate Professor of Sociology and Head, School of Liberal Arts
head_hss@iitj.ac.in

Dr. Rachel Philip
Assistant Professor, School of Liberal Arts
rachel@iitj.ac.in

S.C. Bose

Engaging students and helping them to develop knowledge, insights, problem solving skills, self-confidence, self-efficacy, and a passion for learning are common goals that educators bring to the classroom, and interdisciplinary instruction and exploration promote realization of these objectives. An interdisciplinary programme emerges when multidisciplinary initiatives for a problem require an integrated approach through fusion of knowledge from multiple fields. The boundaries among disciplines get diffused. With the passage of time the interdisciplinary platform(s) may lead to the establishment of ransdisciplinary academic school(s)/centres. In the institute, a division of Inter-Disciplinary Research has been established since the academic year of 2019-20 with the following objectives:

• To create an environment to support interdisciplinary research platforms (IDRPs) in the contemporary areas of research and innovation.
• To develop an ecosystem for competitive and cutting-edge research.
• To encourage innovation and technology development in interdisciplinary fields
• To have a structured process for conducting Ph.D and Post-Doctoral Research Programmes in interdisciplinary areas of IDRPs
• To establish partnership with relevant industries and research organisations in the areas of mutual interest

The administrative structure of the division is depicted as below:

It started with seven following platforms popularly known as IDRPs under the division:

1. Digital Humanities (DH),
2. IoT and Applications (IoT),
3. Quantum Information and Computation (QIC),
4. Robotics and Mobility (RM),
5. Science of Intelligence (SoI)
6. Smart Health Care (SHC) and
7. Space Science Technology (SST).

Initially, only PhD students were admitted to some of the platforms. IDRP-SoI nurtured the vision similar to that of AIDE school and hence got merged with it in 2021. Division, therefore, at present has six platforms:

In the year 2021, each platform headed by one Coordinator formulated its vision and mission for next 4 years aligned with that of the division. The visions of each platform are as follows: 

DH: To create a flourishing and innovative interdisciplinary research platform that attends to knowledge production, circulation, and dissemination in the digital age with a focus on epistemological questions and ontological positionalities.

DH program involves student projects on topics such as e-governance, ICT, app design, AI-based design, digital banking, VR-based e-learning, digital healthcare, human-computer interaction and digital social reading, archiving, digital heritage, documentation of traditional art and algorithmic accountability etc.

IoT: To establish an interdisciplinary research and innovation ecosystem for developing IoT technologies to meet the current and futuristic industrial and societal needs.

The group is focussing on use of Internet of Things technology for different application areas like water, wildlife, medical devices, energy, transport etc. Fabless chip design is one of the important activities. The group primarily focus on the design, development and analysis of the next generation communication technologies for various IoT applications. The group is responsible for establishment and smooth running of AIOT (Artificial Intelligence of Other Things) Fab for which an MoU has been signed among IIT J, JCKIF and Rajasthan Government.

QIC: To achieve a global position in interdisciplinary research in Quantum Information and /Computation for strategic sector and societal needs.

The group is actively pursuing the theoretical and experimental research in Open Quantum System, Impact of noise on non-classical states and their implications, Quantum communications including error corrections, Analysis of QKD protocols, Quantum State Engineering, Quantum State Tomography, Higher entangled state generation using Lasers, Single Photon Generation.

RM: Advance the Interdisciplinary fields of robotics and mobility systems through development in modelling, control, multimodal perception, communication, AI/ML, and energy management system to solve technological challenges in civil and military sectors to develop state-of-the-art applications.

RM group is pursuing indigenous research to cultivate technological solutions addressing growing demands in electric vehicles, autonomous vehicles, and drones.

SHC: Emerge as an Interdisciplinary platform achieving excellence in devising smart healthcare solutions for diagnostics, therapeutics, and remote healthcare through multidisciplinary research and teaching, bringing disruption in the conventional healthcare regime.

The group is trying to design and develop new technologies and products pertaining to healthy living, clinical care and rehabilitation through ‘Medical Technology’ programs (in collaboration with AIIMS), AI & Ayush, UG specialization and doctoral programs in Smart healthcare. Also, it is strengthening infrastructure for smart healthcare research through various institutional ventures such as Centre for Bio-design, Bionest, AI and Ayush, Med Tech park, Jodhpur City Knowledge and Innovation Cluster (JCKIC). It also encourages its associated faculties and students to establish start-ups and ‘bio-incubations’ through active collaborations with the industry and other organizations.

SST: To grow as a Centre of Excellence for Research and Learning in Space Science & Technology

SST group has four research subgroups (i) Space Propulsion, (ii) Space Sensor, (iii) Remote sensing and (iv) Micro/Nano Satellite. The first subgroup focuses on conventional rocket propulsion for heavy space vehicles to electric propulsion systems for micro satellites: the second one looks after various sensors for space mission applications, space environment measurements, space observations and development of 2D material based sensors for health monitoring system for astronauts; the third subgroup concentrates upon various sensors for space mission applications, space environment measurements, space observations etc. The last subgroup focusses on realization of space deployable mini satellites.

In addition to PhD program, Master program in DH (M.Sc. in DH); Master, Master-PhD, PhD in Medical Technology (MMT) which is a part of IDRP-SHC started in 2020 and M Tech in Robotics and Mobility started in 2022. M. Tech in Quantum Technologies is starting in the academic year 2023-24.

Initiating and running Medical Technology (MMT) academic program jointly with AIIMS, Jodhpur is an important achievement of IDRP-SHC. This is a unique such joint program between an engineering technology institute (IIT) and a medical institute (AIIMS). Faculties from both the institutes are involved in teaching and guiding the theses. The first batch of students of M.Sc (DH) and Masters of MMT program graduated in 2022.

Inter-Disciplinary Research Division is an academic entity having no academic boundary. Around 120 faculties of various primary departments are associated with the division through their secondary affiliation and are encouraged and supported for interdisciplinary projects with both internal and external financial support. The faculties associated with different platforms of IDRP have several projects from various external funding sources over last three years. Though many projects are registered under respective departments, PIs intend their project to be included under IDRP. Cumulative total budget of the projects registered under IDRP is about Rs. 545 Lakh out of Rs. 1900 Lakh. The faculties associated with QIC, SHC and SST also offer specialisation and minor under different courses. There have been good publications with IDRP affiliation. Students of MMT have also incubated their companies under TISC which is in pocket B of the institute. The students own several national and international laurels like PMRF, membership of different societies, winning Hackathon etc.

The division, as such, has no separate building. In the year 2021, formally the Head of the Division was nominated, and its office has been functioning on the first floor of west Chanakya Building, initially with a temporary staff and subsequently with one permanent staff in 2022. The office takes care of all administrative activities of the division in sync with other administrative units of the institute. The division has been allotted four (4) units of Berm (W11 to W14) for setting of research laboratories. IDRP-IoT and IDRP-QIC intend to occupy W11; W12 and W13 has been occupied by IDRP-DH and IDRP-SST respectively. IDRP-RM has established laboratory for M. Tech in RM in Berm W14, which will also house some other activities related to RMS.

Dr. S. C. Bose
Head, IDRP Division
head_idrp@iitj.ac.in

Center for Emerging Technologies for Sustainable Development

Anand Krishnan Plappally

Evolution of the Sustainability Center

From 2019, IIT Jodhpur declared its commitment to making Western Rajasthan one of the most sustainable desert regions in the world by setting up the Center for Emerging Technologies for Sustainable Development (CETSD). Shri Anurag Goel (ex-IAS) and Prof Santanu Chaudhury encouraged the need for such a centre and also guided this initiative. The different programs and events that it has taken up in the last several years are related to putting its vision on the ground and adapting its missions to achieve this thought. For that it needs us to understand its vision, which is “To be a partner in tapping the potential of emerging technologies for creating a sustainable and prosperous future India.”

The missions to achieve this vision were:

1. To provide a platform for non-governmental and governmental collaborators to work together to apply emerging technologies for finding and implementing solutions towards achieving SDG targets.
2. To help develop scientific temper societies to understand technologies that are sustainable or technologies that are using sustainability aspects.
3. To innovate solutions towards challenges in location specific problems related to energy use, education, water management, infrastructure, traditional livelihood skills, and health.
4. To perform applied research in areas such agriculture, environment, healthcare, waste management, pollution, livelihood and rural development.
5. To make synergistic policy suggestions to handle issues in energy use, agriculture, water management, local pollution in a region and its influences on health.

In Practice…

Mission 1: To Provide

1. MoU with government partners such as NIRD&PR has enabled guidance on a Doctoral research work on geospatial sciences for interventions to incorporate sustainability in waste management and water and soil quality in Kota City, Rajasthan.
2. MoU with CSR institution partners such as HEFA CSR has enables safe drinking water in several rural government schools of Jodhpur District. Here IIT Jodhpur utilizes UF filters to provide safe potable water.
3. MoU with NGOs such as Arpan Seva Sansthan has enabled reach of water conservation technologies such as G Filter for drinking water filtration and Sub-Surface Porous Vessels for irrigation developed by IIT Jodhpur. This also led IIT Jodhpur to enable Arpan Seva Sasthan to win the First Prize in the 4^th National Water Awards category of Best NGO for the year 2022, given away by the incumbent Vice President Shri Jagdeep Dhankar. For more information, please browse here.
4. Under the MOA with cGanga, IIT Jodhpur shouldered research on Jojari river and its geospatial expanse within the Jodhpur city.

Mission 2: To Help

1. As a Regional Coordinating Institute (2021-2026) of the Unnat Bharat Abhiyan (UBA), a flagship scheme of the Ministry of Education, IIT Jodhpur is partnering with several participating academic institutions in 11 districts of Western Rajasthan and National Coordination Institute IIT Delhi.  Some of the recent projects accomplished were

2022. Awareness on CoVID 19 in the adopted village at Rudiya under the research project titled “Volunteer based education for CoVID 19 prevention and care in villages through the UBA SEG projects in 2022.
2023. CETSD hosted three day faculty development program partnering with HRDC of the Jai Narayan Vyas University for institutions across the nation on sustainability awareness and MGRNCE, Hyderabad imparting sustainability knowledge to more than 20 participants.
2024. CETSD also supported with Science Fair at Poddar College through this scheme.
2025. Mathlab developed by Prof Sandeep Yadav (Department of EE) and Dr. Vivek Vijay (Department of MA) was disseminated to various rural schools to enable easy mathematics education to our younger generations.

1. Campus Sustainability Projects (CSP) were initiated by the center to make the society at IIT Jodhpur campus to practice sustainability and make IIT Jodhpur a sustainable campus. The awareness was spread through Hola and SEE projects with partnership from Office of Infrastructure Engineering of the Institute.
2. CETSD hosted the 3^rd International Rural Technology Design and Delivery conference of the Rural Technology Action Group (RuTAG) for the year 2022. Its saw participants from various parts of the world, NITs/Universities across India and other RuTAG centers in India.

Mission 3: To Innovate

1. The CETSD also hosts the Science and Technology Innovation (STI) hub project under the SEED division of the DST to enable innovation in livelihood and artistic skills and their dissemination under the SC sub plan. Here local natural fibre rope making, Equus and other native animal waste management, G filter and sub-surface irrigation technologies are being taught.

1. Under the UBA-SEG project for CoVID-19, a low cost ventilator was innovated for people by Prof Mahesh Kumar with difficulty to breath during the pandemic time. Further, a team of faculty innovated the ceramic masks –a reusable low cost ceramic mask which can be easily baked back for reuse and prevention of air borne pathogens.
2. Under the Aspirational Districts program, Sirohi District was mentored on Silicosis and Tuberculosis disease distinction and Water Management Projects.
3. CETSD also takes up direct requests from the farmers: A recent work at CETSD in collaboration with UN volunteers put in a water wheel based irrigation pumping system on River Sajnam, flowing through Lalitpur district in the state of UP.

Mission 4: To Perform

1. CETSD also is a CRDT since 2020 as per the decree of setting up rural development center or CRDT at every IIT. This helps CETSD to put appropriate technologies on the ground in rural locations of the nation. It performs applied research in several areas and has faculty with expertise in the emerging technologies in the area of Sustainability of Water, Waste Management, Urban Planning, Ecological Sciences, and ESG, Public Health and Geospatial sciences respectively.

2021. In this regard, CETSD initiated the proposal from IIT Jodhpur for the Jal Jeevan Mission Chair Professor with the Jal Shakti Ministry, Government of India, on the basis of the initial work done by IIT Jodhpur. The Chair Professorship was awarded to us in 2021. The new Core Faculty under the area of Sustainability of Water are - Dr Kirti Sankhala, and Dr N. Chandana. Their profiles and research areas can be found on the website of CETSD.

1. Through RuTAG research projects, CETSD has embarked upon participatory research on resolving local challenges namely:

1. Truncated Unglazed Percolative Clay Ceramic Ware as a Modified Pitcher Irrigation System.
2. Mound based Sub-Surface Irrigation, Jodhpur, Rajasthan.

1. Sustained Financial Support Generation using Emerging Technologies and CSR: CETSD carried out a project titled “GPS Survey of Rajasthan Waqf Board Properties & Updating in WAMSI Under "Qaumi Waqf Board Taraqqiati Scheme" of the Central Waqf Board, Ministry of Minorities, Government of India. This project brought in almost Rs 1.1 crores to IIT Jodhpur for performing survey of almost 20000 properties. Further another financial assistance to showcase IITJ’s scientific social responsibility for providing potable water trickled form the HEFA-CSR in 2021. This project costed almost Rs. 40 Lakh.

Mission 5: To make policy suggestions

1. CETSD being a registered HESI (Higher Education Sustainability Initiative) under the UN organizations volunteers to provide its teachings, suggestion and advice to the district administration as and when required. 
2. CETSD was involved with the teaching of newly selected Village Development Officers or Gram Sewaks in the state of Rajasthan. The recent training workshop by the District Administration was conducted at Rohat, Jodhpur, Rajasthan, India.
3. CETSD is also a Technical Agency for the SFURTI scheme of the KVIC from 2021. Here it provides guidance in artisan cluster creation and proposal submission to the KVIC schemes. Dr. P. Tribhuvan heads the nodal office of the TA at CETSD, IITJ.
4. IIT Jodhpur is a living laboratory and interdisciplinary platform with following specialization areas: 1. Ecosystem Science, 2. Sustainable Development 3. Geospatial Sciences, 4. Sustainability Auditing or accounting/ESG Financing/Risk Mitigation), 5. Public Health, 6. Human Ecology, 7. Sustainable Urban Planning 8. Natural Resource Management (including Net Zero goals), 9. Sustainability of Water
5. CETSD hosts the popular ETSD seminar series which in the last two years has hosted more than 25 speakers in different subject areas.

Sustainability Using Application of Emerging Technologies: Some examples

• Non Renewable Energy and Carbon Foot Print

Aim: To use renewable source for energy production and practice it in a sustainable manner on the field. Implemented Example Case Studies:

1. Onsite capture and utilization of exhaust CO2 for algae biomass production: The adaptability of micro algae to capture carbon dioxide was showcased. The algal growth can help in biofuel production. This is project practiced on campus at IIT Jodhpur and led by Prof Meenu Chhabra.
2. Managing Carbon Foot Print of IITJ Campus: A six-month long study as a requirement towards the completion of B. Tech degree of two students was performed under the guidance for Prof Sudipta Das, Professor of Practice from FutureStation Advisors LLP and Office of Infrastructure at IIT Jodhpur. The report can be accessed here.
3. INTPART Project: "Collaborative Research Based Education for Optimized Performance of Wind Farms” is a major project running at the CETSD, IITJ. This project is led by Prof Monika Tanwar.

• Preservation of Flora and Fauna: Ecological Conservation

Aim: To preserve the wealth of biodiversity present on campus and in the region. Implemented Example Case Studies:

1. Biodiversity mapping project under the campus sustainability projects: development of Prakriti1.1 app

• Waste Management

Aim: To manage waste using Rethink, Reuse, Refurbish, Rot, Recycle, Refuse, Redesign, Reduce and Recover strategies on Campus and at locations of intervention by IIT Jodhpur. Implemented Example Case Studies:

1. The Office of Students and Office of Infrastructure Engineering collaborated to put Khamba Composters across different locations on campus and source segregation of waste.

• Teaching Sustainability and Research

Aim: To undertake research that is related to sustainability of technologies and technologies towards sustainability which help in achieving the SDG at CETSD, IIT Jodhpur. Implemented Example Case Studies:

1. Rolling advertisement for PhD in Sustainability and Technology at CETSD from 2022: Total 5 students as of July 2023
2. MS (Research) in Sustainability and Technology for self-financing students from 2023.

Some noteworthy publications with CETSD affiliation

1. Ahmad, M., and Plappally, A. K., 2021, Emerging Technologies in Teaching and Learning Processes, in Mapping Innovations- An Outlook of Stakeholders, NSD 2021 BLR- Collection of Award winning and Selected Essays, Sanchi Foundation , TechfizInc Publishers, Bengaluru, India
2. Pankaj Jakhar, Deepak Kumar Yadav, Sunil Duhan, S. Sunitha, Anand K Plappally, Growth Analysis of Cassava in Semi-Arid region using Novel Subsurface Porous Vessel Irrigation Method, 5th International Agronomy Congress 2021, Vol. 3, Agri-Innovations to Combat Food and Nutrition Challenges 23-27 November 2021, PJTSAU, Hyderabad, Telangana, India.
3. Ravi Bhandari and Anand Krishnan Plappally, Affordable ICT Solutions for Water Conservation Using Sensor-Based Irrigation Systems for Use in Arid Agriculture in Thar Desert Region of India, Chapter 8 of Smart Agriculture for Developing Nations Status, Perspectives and Challenges, 2023, Advanced Technologies and Societal Change Series, Springer, Centre for Science and Technology of the Non-aligned and Other Developing Countries, 95-118. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-19-8738-0_8
4. Himanchal, Aman Meena, Sunil Duhan, Meraj Ahmad, Pankaj Jakhar, Aswathy Puthukkulam, Vinayak Shedekar, Asmita Murumkar, AnandPlappally, 2021 Modeling of Jojari river in semi-arid western Rajasthan, India using the geospatial techniques and 1D flow model analysis, BRICS NUs: Water Resource and Pollution Treatment, WRPT-21, 6th-8th July, 2021, IIT Kanpur and NIT Rourkela.

Prof. Anand Krishnan Plappally
Head, Centre for Emerging Technologies for Sustainable Development
head_cetsd@iitj.ac.in

The Journey of Center for Technology Foresight and Policy @ IITJ

Krishnakumar Balaraman

The inception and growth

The Center for Technology Foresight and Policy (CTFP) came into existence on 14 January 2020 with a vision “Foresight Advocacy for Technology and Policy Impact”. The center plans to focus on evolving areas of technology - such as metaverse, quantum technologies, future of mobility – with an aim to provide future roadmaps and policy recommendations. The center also plans to promote foresight and its methodologies in the public and private sectors. 

The rich eco-system of IIT Jodhpur aids in creating technology foresight-based research agendas and view of alternate futures. CTFP has been building its resources and relationships the past year. CTFP is developing by creating focus groups involving faculty from multiple disciplines such as the Future of Cities and Metaverse focus groups. 

Academics @ CTFP

Two faculty members with interest in technology and foresight have been selected to join the centre to start their association from June 2023. The centre also offers academic programs and has also launched a call for post-doctoral positions at the center and the MS by research program in Foresight. 

Networking & Collaborations

CTFP has launched certain focus groups such as the Future of Cities group to act as a hub of interdisciplinary research. The group has about 20 faculty members from various disciplines involved in the effort. A team from IIT Jodhpur presented the concept of future cities to the Chief Secretary of UP and his team in March 2023. CTFP is also engaging with NCRPB (National Capital Region Planning Board) to discuss foresight in the context of 2041 draft plan. This engagement has enabled officers of NCRPB and AMDA (Association of Municipalities and Development Authorities) to attend a short-term program on Digitalization of Infrastructure. Further, the team from IIT Jodhpur is looking at creating a digital twin project in support of the NCRPB 2041 draft plan. 

Discussions are ongoing with organizations such as Technology Information, Forecasting and Assessment Council (TIFAC), DRDO, and Central Detective Training Institute, Jaipur (part of BPR&D) for collaborations. IIT Jodhpur is soon entering into an MoU with CDTI / BP(R&D) for academic and research interactions.  CTFP members visited CDTI, Jaipur on July 27, 2022 for a roundtable to discuss “Technology Infusion in Policing”. Discussion points that need to take forward include an MoU with CDTI/BPR&D, field research on impact of community policing, and a joint conference on Metaverse. There is also interest in conducting futuristic programs involving predictive methods for policing. CTFP also anchored the collection of position papers for S20 subtheme of “Science for Society & Culture”. Dr. Krishna Kumar Balaraman was invited to participate in a National Webinar on Technology Foresight in Police conducted on 7^th September 2022.

Scenario planning activities with TIFAC are ongoing for help in technology@2047 for India, and in climate change related technology discussions as part of Conference of Parties (COPs) 2023 efforts. The futuristic focus of CTFP is in line with the needs of these organizations and discussions in May 2022, July 2022 and May 2023 indicate areas of mutual synergy. CTFP also plans in the future to look at future roadmaps, applications, and policy implications of technologies such as terahertz, photonics, cyberwarfare, hypersonic systems.

Research Footprint

A team from IIT Jodhpur conducted a study on “Impact analysis of Community Policing Program: Rajasthan Kabir Yatra's (RKY) Taana  Baana” in September – October 2022. The centre anchored Moonshot 2022 that took place in two stages, and the Moonshot 2023 is now underway. The results of the first round of the 2022 edition were announced on the Institute’s Foundation Day on 2^nd August 2022. There were 21 submissions of which 6 have been selected to proceed to the next stage. The entries top entries will receive the prize money of Rs 5000. These qualified teams submitted a foresight-based technology feasibility roadmap of the idea and impact analysis by November 05, 2022. The top 2 teams received a prize of Rs 20000. Results were announced in a special event on the eve of IITJ convocation (2022).

The centre plans for research projects in the area of digital twin for cities, launching research projects as part of the MS by Research program, and creating more active focus groups such as in Metaverse and Quantum Computing. CTFP also plans to increasingly become a hub for futuristic technology policy thinktank. By using foresight principles and methods in bringing together technology, society, and policy aspects, CTFP is progressing well on its way to achieving its vision.

Dr. Krishnakumar Balaraman
Head, Centre for Technology Foresight and Planning
head_ctfp@iitj.ac.in

Centre for Education & Technology for Education (CETE)

A new centre @ IITJ

Prof. Bijnan Bandhopadhyay

Introduction

In the efforts towards achieving UN’s Sustainable Development Goal #4 on Quality Education, that targets to ‘ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all’, education technology and educational innovation would continue to play a significant role, especially in the post-CoVID-19 era, to facilitate hybrid and blended learning across different levels of education. 

Education institutions and policymakers around the globe have begun to embrace immersive teaching-learning technologies that will enable most students to attain optimal educational achievement levels. The Education Technology vertical of IIT Jodhpur was set up under the Centre for Emerging Technologies for Sustainable Development (CETSD) in 2021 to work towards research and delivery, services and training, and social outreach in the area of education technology and educational innovation. In October 2022, the vertical has been merged into the newly formed Centre for Education & Technology for Education (CETE).  

The scope of this Center includes

• Educational Services: Pedagogical Innovation in blended and hybrid education;
• Professional Development Continuing Education with upgradation of knowledge and pedagogical skills of Engineering Faculty
• Technology Development for Teaching-Learning needs, Assessment and Evaluation, Laboratory / Hands-on Instructions
• Instructional Design

The Center has started its PhD program from July 2023. 

Events

As a nascent unit, a few events that the Centre has organized are:

• Timothy Savage and Dr. P. J. Wall from Trinity College Dublin (a QS Top 100 University) visited IIT Jodhpur during 20-24th Feb 2023. Trinity delegation interacted with the Head and the affiliate faculty members of Centre for Education & Technology for Education (CETE). They shared their experience and commended IIT Jodhpur for taking such an initiative integrating Education, Pedagogy, and Education Technology.
• On May 02, 2023, CETE organized a Workshop on Pedagogy & Assessment for faculty members of IIT Jodhpur. Prof. Santanu Chaudhury, Director IIT Jodhpur, elaborated on Academics@IITJ: A Consequentialist Perspective. Dr. Rajlaxmi Chouhan, Assistant Professor, Department of EE discussed designing assessments using Bloom’s Taxonomy.

Prof. Bijnan Bandhopadhyay
Head, Centre for Technology & Technology for Education
head_cete@iitj.ac.in

Centre of Excellence on Art and Digital Immersion (ADI) @ IIT Jodhpur

Natasa Thoudam, Tonisha Guin, Romi Banerjee and Chhanda Chakraborti

The Centre of Excellence on Art and Digital Immersion (CoE on ADI), the School of Liberal Arts (SoLA) is the first Center of SoLA. It is envisioned as a futuristic research hub exploring the intersections between Arts and emerging Digital Technologies while enhancing their immersive experiences.

On 19^th September 2022, the centre of excellence was inaugurated by the Director, IIT Jodhpur, Prof Santanu Chaudhury; the legendary Hindustani classical singer Padmabhushan Pandit Ajoy Chakrabarty; and the eminent scientist and Bhatnagar awardee Professor Ashutosh Sharma (C. V. Sheshadri Chair Professor, IIT Kanpur; President, INSA; and former Secretary, DST). The School of Liberal Arts has entrusted Prof Chhanda Chakraborti with the Co-ordinatorship of the CoE on ADI. 

The centre has recently launched its flagship programme M S (By Research) with two specializations, namely AI and Creative Arts and Mixed-Media Arts. The flexible, interdisciplinary, futuristic, and collaborative programme is the first of its kind in India.  To promote this programme, masterclasses were planned and conducted during May and June 2023, where faculty affiliated with the Centre sensitized the participants with information about path-breaking research in the field.. CoE on ADI also organized an international workshop on AI and Creative Arts on 29 April 2023. Eminent speakers from this emerging field delivered lectures in the workshop, such as Professor Sarah Kenderdine, the Director, EPFL Pavilion, EPFL, Geneva; Dr. Padmini Ray Murray, founder, Design Beku; and the new media artist Jenny Bhatt.

The centre seeks to build upon ongoing and completed research activities of faculty members and students at IIT Jodhpur in this area. The output of one such effort is a music appreciation app developed by B Tech students of IIT Jodhpur under the guidance of Prof Chhanda Chakraborti. 

Faculty members of the institute associated with this centre are: Chhanda Chakraborti (Coordinator, CoE ADI), Amrita Puri (Mechanical Engineering), Angan Sengupta (Chemical Engineering), Bhaswati Sarma (SoLA), Manish Narwaria (Electrical Engineering), Natasa Thoudam (SoLA), Nimish Vohra (SoLA), Parichay Patra (SoLA), Prasenjeet Tribhuvan (SoLA), Rajdeep Konar (SoLA), Rajendra Nagar (Electrical Engineering), Romi Banerjee (Computer Science and Engineering), Sangeeta Sahney (School of Management and Entrepreneurship), Shrutidhara Sarma (Mechanical Engineering), Srijan Sengupta (Metallurgical and Materials Engineering), Sunil Lohar (SoLA), Amit Bhardwaj (Electrical Engineering) and Tonisha Guin (SoLA).

Inauguration of ADI by Director, IIT Jodhpur, Professor Santanu Chaudhury, Legendary Hindustani classical singer Padmabhushan Pandit Ajoy Chakrabarty, and Eminent scientist and Bhatnagar awardee Professor Ashutosh Sharma (C. V. Sheshadri Chair Professor, IIT Kanpur; President, INSA; and former Secretary, DST)

Poster: Novel international workshop on AI and Creative Arts on 29^th April 2023

Dr. Natasa Thoudam
Assistant Professor, School of Liberal Arts
natasa@iitj.ac.in

Dr. Tonisha Guin
Assistant Professor, School of Liberal Arts
tonisha@iitj.ac.in

Dr. Romi Banerjee
Assistant Professor, Department of Computer Science & Engineering
romi@iitj.ac.in

Prof. Chhanda Chakraborti
Visiting Professor, School of Liberal Arts
chhanda@iitj.ac.in

Growth of Academics at IIT Jodhpur

Somnath Ghosh, Suril Shah, Atul Kumar

The institute has revamped its academic programmes since 2019 and has seen exponential growth in the number of new programmes being offered in different modes. In the academic year 2018-19, the institute offered 4 undergraduate programmes and 17 postgraduate programmes. With continuous efforts over the last four years towards building an institute of national importance, the institute is presently offering 8 B.Tech. and 2 B.S. programmes; 25 Master’s programmes including M.Sc., M.Tech., MBA, M.Des., 3 unique M.Sc.-M.Tech. dual degree, 7 M.S. by research programmes, 2 Master’s and Master’s-Ph.D. and 38 M.Tech.-Ph.D. and Ph.D. programs in all academic units. 

B.Tech. Programmes at IIT Jodhpur focus on building up strong foundations, enabling flexibility, continuous learning, inter-disciplinary breadth, design thinking, and imbibing creative & critical thinking, social responsibility and professional ethics, and sustainability as distinct thematic commitments. In addition, the present innovation-oriented Masters and Masters-Ph.D. programmes in medical technologies are the first of their kind in the country. The doctoral programmes being offered in interdisciplinary areas are becoming increasingly popular due to their unique character, design, and implementation. There are 38 doctoral programmes including the M.Tech.-Ph.D. dual degree options. Moreover, there is a postgraduate diploma and certificate programme in Data Engineering and Cloud Computing. Hence, there has been more than a fourfold increase in the total number of undergraduate and post-graduate programmes being offered by the institute in the last four years. The newly introduced technology-oriented B.S. programs- with specializations in emerging technology domains including an opportunity for a dual degree- are top options of the aspirants. These programmes provide opportunities for multiple career growth. 

The M.Tech. programme in augmented reality and virtual reality (AR&VR) focuses on advanced training and state-of-the-art knowledge of technology.  Institute has also introduced a new M.Tech. programme in quantum technologies to meet the demands of the Quantum 2.0 revolution. Traditionally, research-based academic programs emphasize scholarly publications. In order to recognize other forms of contributions i.e., patents, technology development, entrepreneurship, etc., as outcomes of research initiatives, the Institute is starting MS by Research programs in cross-disciplinary, multi-disciplinary as well as application directed areas. Most of these programmes are being offered by the centers of excellence established by the institute. The philosophy of the master’s programme in XR design and its innovative pedagogy makes the programme customized to cater to the needs of the industry. The institute introduced the MBA- Tech as a unique offering for management aspirants and is now an attractive choice for many. MBA in FinTech and Cyber Security is another distinctive initiative of the institute to meet the need for highly skilled resources in the sector. The objectives of this programme are to equip students with knowledge and skills in the field of FinTech based business management and to impart actionable knowledge on issues surrounding the impact of cyber security and related risks to businesses and governments. The M.Sc. programmes in digital humanities and computational social science are also uniquely placed with their distinctive features. The institute is also starting a diploma with a certificate option in Next Generation OMICS technologies and applications. This program was introduced to cater to the ever-increasing demand for upskilling in the domain. As per the philosophy of academic programs at IITJ, innovation and entrepreneurship are integral components of all academic programmes. In summary, presently each undergraduate and post-graduate programme being offered by the institute is innovative in nature, futuristic in direction, and catering to emerging science and technology. Overall, the academic programmes cover the entire spectrum of demand for disruptive technologies, scientific breakthroughs, innovation and society. 

Curriculum Design, Development, and Revision

Since July 2019, the institute has been meticulously making efforts towards repositioning and revamping the undergraduate and post-graduate education. The existing programmes were thoroughly reviewed and revised, and a range of undergraduate (UG) and postgraduate (PG) programmes have been introduced for the first time. Based on the philosophy of outcome-driven education to build a strong foundation of knowledge, and to meet emerging technological challenges, the institute has introduced these programmes with a delicate blend of a strong foundation of knowledge and the development of the targeted skill set relevant to the industry using the state-of-the-art infrastructural facilities and cutting-edge research platform. In continuation of its mission to deliver quality education, the institute has also comprehensively reviewed and repositioned the curriculum of the previously existing programmes. An overview of the curriculum design/ review process is shown below:

The societal challenges of the 21^st century are profound and wide-ranging. Basic needs such as energy, food and water, housing, mobility, and health will become even more acute as the world population exceeds 9 billion. The demands for sustainable development will require redefined and innovative engineering talent and leadership. The emergence of a connected, competitive, and entrepreneurial global economy, in which successful engineers increasingly need technical competency and professional skills that differ from what worked in the past. These reasons build up a clear case for disruptive revision of the undergraduate curriculum. To meet these demands, the attributes expected of modern engineers are identified as - flexibility to understand and manage rapidly evolving technologies; ability to identify, define as well as solve problems; proficiency in theory and applications; skill for handling out-of-the-box engineering challenges; capability of creative thinking; experience of entrepreneurship; and understanding of public policy implications. Further, the creative function of engineering is expected to be viewed and understood in the broader context of the new patterns of knowledge creation across disciplines obliterating traditional boundaries between science, humanities and social sciences, arts, and engineering. In order to achieve this objective, IIT Jodhpur pursued a newer structure of programmes in addition to classical programmes to address these opportunities with the task of defining a novel instructional paradigm and content plan to address the modern demands of professional education (as outlined above) based on the philosophy of outcome-based education. 

The curriculum emphasizes the fundamentals of basic and engineering sciences to give learners a broader multi-disciplinary perspective for the specialization being pursued. Early design courses are introduced that focus more heavily on conceptual design methods and less on discipline-specific artefacts. Avenues were created to engage students continuously in these intellectual processes throughout the curriculum and at an increasingly sophisticated level through design credits. Options have been created for pursuing co-curricular and extra-curricular creative interests as an integral component of the curricular content by introducing nongraded courses on social connect, performing arts, and communication skills. Entrepreneurship education is introduced in the B.Tech. curriculum as a minor option which gives students a solid experience in product design and development, prototyping, technology trends, and market analysis. Options of Department Area Specialization leading to five-year B.Tech. + M.Tech. allows students to pursue an in-depth study of the topics of interest belonging to the programme. Department Area Specialization in Engineering Innovation aims to make students Industry Ready by offering a five-month practical project jointly with an Industry or R & D organization. Students get real-world experience working for an industry or R & D organization on a project that complements their academic experience. Emphasis is laid on developing technical skills in interdisciplinary areas and upcoming fields by introducing various Interdisciplinary specializations such as AI, CPS, IoT, Robotics, Smart Healthcare, etc. With evolving patterns of knowledge creation across disciplines and obliterating traditional boundaries between science and engineering, a capability linked to Double B.Tech. with a second degree in Engineering Science is introduced to pursue newer structures of programmes in addition to classical programmes to provide the ability to apply diverse knowledge and skills flexibly in novel situations.  

Master’s programmes in sciences are aimed at motivating and training the young generation to contribute towards the academic society and pursue research and development careers in frontier areas of sciences. The aim is to build a strong foundation of knowledge, pursue excellence in academics and enhance creativity in an intellectually stimulating environment and match with the current pace of advancement of technology by a coherent backup of basic science education together with basic and applied research. The emphasis is laid on scientific reasoning and the development of analytical problem-solving skills for future breakthroughs in new frontiers of interdisciplinary areas of science and to address technological challenges. The unique structure of the Master's programmes in sciences is two-pronged and motivated by a special emphasis on delivering a foundation along with advanced knowledge in the discipline. To meet the professional opportunities presently available, the programmes provide academic rigor and innovation, not extreme specialization, but rather flexibility and comprehensive knowledge with micro-specialization. 

In this direction, the Master's programmes in technologies are aimed to motivate, train, and expertise the young generation to contribute towards next-generation technology-based solutions addressing the societal problems and challenges related to future needs. The programmes will not only provide a foundation in core branches of the respective disciplines but also aim to encourage the candidate to develop new technological solutions in the form of a product. The programmes cover a wide range of upcoming topics with a strong industry focus. The emphasis is laid on the development of advanced technical skills in new frontiers of interdisciplinary areas and emerging domains. 

To introduce additional opportunities in the programmes as dual degree Master’s programmes in sciences and Master’s programmes in technologies, the institute has started offering M.Sc.-M.Tech. programmes for providing industry-oriented career opportunities to science graduates. 

The institute has also judiciously augmented a range of unique M.Tech.-Ph.D. dual degree programmes in specialized areas as well as in some areas where there are recent technology disruptions.

As the first of its kind, the institute has started a joint Master’s programme, a joint Master’s-Ph.D. dual degree programme and a doctoral programme in medical technologies with AIIMS Jodhpur from September 2020. The programmes in Medical Technologies, being jointly offered by IIT Jodhpur and AIIMS Jodhpur, are uniquely placed wherein one of the major objectives is to produce a pool of Medical Technologists in the country who shall develop need-based and competitive Medical and Healthcare Technologies to address the current as well as emerging challenges of the future. These programmes will also have desired emphasis on translational R&D, innovation, technology management, and entrepreneurship aspects to work upon for realizing the deployable techniques, technologies, devices, and systems in medical and healthcare domains in line with “Atmanirbhar Bharat” and “Make in India”. 

Moreover, to establish its international presence and enrich its competitive research ecosystem, the institute is offering new joint doctoral programmes. There are dual degree programmes being offered by the School of Management and Entrepreneurship in collaboration with foreign universities. 

Towards a significant boost in impactful interdisciplinary research and education on campus, the institute has created a division of interdisciplinary research to offer interdisciplinary post-graduate programmes. IIT Jodhpur is one of the pioneering institutes in the country currently to offer interdisciplinary Master’s, and doctoral degrees in Digital Humanities, doctoral degrees in Space Science and Technology, Quantum Information and Computation, Robotics and Mobility Systems, Science of Intelligence, Smart Healthcare, and Internet of Things and Applications. These doctoral programmes offer unique opportunities to redraw conventional disciplinary boundaries among science, technology, humanities, and social science. The M.Sc. programme in digital humanities is one of its kind being offered by an IIT with a unique and futuristic curriculum. The programme produces graduates with new multi-dimensional skills as well as a specialized skill set. 

The institute has also set up a school of liberal art (SoLA) with a vision to emerge as a forerunner in Liberal Arts education in the country. The SoLA will have a broader vision, seeking to break the silos created by disciplinary boundaries and reimagining the educational structure. Through an open approach it will strive to equip and enable students for the challenge of the future, while turning them into global citizens and able thinkers with an awareness of the needs and demands of contemporary society. The first of its kind, Centre of Excellence on Arts and Digital Immersion (ADI) has been set up under the vision of SoLA.

The School of Management and Entrepreneurship started functioning in the academic year 2020-21 with a focus on Tech-MBA. The design philosophy of this unique Tech-MBA programme has been distinctive and disruptive. The innovative curriculum and pedagogy have placed this programme in the elite league in management education in India. 

The institute has taken special initiatives to introduce compulsory non-graded courses like technical communications, Innovation and IP management, Systems Engineering and Project Management, and Ethics and professional life in the curriculum of M.Tech., M.Tech.-Ph.D. and Ph.D. programmes to enable students in the domains beyond the curriculum. Emphasis on entrepreneurship has been an integral part of the curriculum design and pedagogy of the institute. 

Online Education, Executive Education, and Continuing Education

The Office of Executive Education at IIT Jodhpur offers a range of executive programmes to cater to the professional development needs of working professionals. These programmes are designed to provide advanced knowledge and skills in various areas of technology. This summary provides an overview of the executive programmes offered by the Office of Executive Education. 

The Executive Programmes in M.Tech. in Data and Computational Sciences (DCS), M.Tech. Executive in Robotics and Mobility Systems (RMS) and M.Tech. Executive in (AR/VR) are specialized programs offered by the institute through its Office of Executive Education. Several of these programmes conducted in collaboration with Cognizant, aim to provide working professionals with advanced knowledge and skills in the field of data science and computational sciences, Robotics and Mobility systems, and Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality.  This summary highlights the significance of these Executive M.Tech. programmes and how the Office of Executive Education at IIT Jodhpur is making a difference by offering such programmes.

The Executive M.Tech. programmes span the academic years 2021-22, 2022-2023 and are presently being offered. These programmes provide a comprehensive curriculum that covers both theoretical concepts and practical applications, enabling participants to gain a deeper understanding of cutting-edge technologies and techniques. These programmes address the growing demand for skilled professionals and with the rapid expansion of big data, artificial intelligence, and machine learning, organizations require professionals who can effectively analyze, interpret, and apply data-driven insights. These programmes equip participants with the necessary skills and knowledge to meet these industry demands, bridging the skills gap and fostering career growth. These programmes also foster networking and collaboration among participants, enabling them to learn from each other's experiences and build professional connections. The diverse backgrounds represented in the programme create an environment that encourages interdisciplinary discussions and the exchange of ideas. 

The Post Graduate Diploma in Data Engineering and Cloud Computing was conducted in the academic year 2022-23 at the Indian Institute of Technology Jodhpur through the Office of Executive Education. This programme aimed to equip working professionals with advanced knowledge and skills in the areas of data engineering and cloud computing. The programme was designed to address the growing demand for professionals who can effectively manage and analyze large volumes of data in cloud-based environments. The segment of Data Engineering provided participants with a comprehensive understanding of data engineering concepts, tools, and techniques. This knowledge empowered participants to design robust data architectures, implement data integration and processing workflows, and ensure data quality and security. This programme also focused on cloud computing concepts, platforms, and services, enabling participants to leverage the full potential of cloud infrastructure for data engineering tasks. Participants gained expertise in cloud-based storage, computing, and data management technologies, allowing them to develop scalable and reliable solutions for handling large datasets. 

The Data Analytics and Fundamentals of Machine Learning (ML) for Process Modelling course, was offered as a short-term programme in the academic year 2022-2023 at the institute, through the Office of Executive Education, aimed to provide participants with comprehensive knowledge and practical skills in data analytics and machine learning techniques for process modeling. This programme addressed this growing demand by equipping participants with essential skills in data analytics and machine learning specific to process modelling and developing the necessary expertise to perform data-driven process modelling and make informed decisions for process optimization. It also aimed to bridge this skill gap by providing participants with hands-on experience in applying analytical tools and machine learning algorithms to real-world process modelling problems. 

The Executive M.Tech. and Post Graduate diploma programmes, conducted through the Office of Executive Education at IIT Jodhpur, have emerged as a significant initiative in the field of Artificial Intelligence (AI). This programme is a postgraduate programme designed for working professionals seeking to enhance their knowledge and skills in the field of AI. The programme has been running for three consecutive academic years 2021-2022, 2022-2023, and 2023-2024. It combines theoretical knowledge with practical applications to equip participants with the necessary expertise to tackle real-world AI challenges. The courses are designed to provide participants with a comprehensive understanding of AI algorithms, tools, and techniques. The programme also includes hands-on projects, case studies, and industry interactions to foster practical learning experiences and help bridge the gap between academic knowledge and industry requirements. The compulsory campus immersion component of the executive programmes is a distinctive feature being offered by the institute. Participants gain practical experience through projects and industry interactions, enabling them to apply their skills directly to real-world scenarios. 

The dedicated office of Executive Education at the institute plays a crucial role in creating a difference through the Executive programmes and similar initiatives. The office focuses on the following aspects:

1. The Office of Executive Education designs and delivers specialized programmes tailored to the needs of working professionals. These programmes take into account the participants' prior knowledge and experience, providing them with advanced knowledge and skills to enhance their professional growth and meet the industry's evolving requirements.
2. The office engages experienced faculty members who possess deep domain knowledge and research expertise. These faculty members bring a blend of academic excellence and practical experience to the classroom, enabling participants to receive high-quality education and mentoring. 

The executive programmes at IIT Jodhpur's Office of Executive Education had 1734 students across various programmes. These programmes address the skills gap, enhance professional competence, foster networking, and promote industry-academia collaboration. The office's efforts in designing and delivering customized programmes for working professionals, forging industry partnerships, engaging experienced faculty, and providing continuous support contribute to its success in creating a difference in executive education. 

Implementation of NEP and action taken by IIT Jodhpur

There are various components of National Education Policy 2020 and IIT Jodhpur has constantly focused on implementing its recommendations targeted toward Higher Educational Institutions like IITs. The IITs were designed for delivering engineering education with a broader perspective where basic sciences and humanities and social sciences formed integral components. IIT Jodhpur is no exception. IIT Jodhpur emphasizes science-based technology education with ample opportunities for the students to get engaged in solving real-life problems with interdisciplinary teams as part of curricular requirements. 

The Institute has recently undergone a thorough curriculum review involving eminent experts from academia and industry as elaborated above. Moreover, specialized, interdisciplinary, multidisciplinary, and transdisciplinary courses/programmes have been introduced with flexible curricula. The new curriculum focuses on the holistic development of students and creates strong internal systems for supporting diverse student cohorts in academic, industrial, and social domains both inside and outside the formal academic interactions of the classroom. Design thinking has been imbibed in the curricula and pedagogy for the overall growth of students. Hands-on sessions, seminar courses, industry-linked projects and modular fractalized credit structures have been introduced in the programmes. The new programmes provide a foundation in core branches in respective disciplines and aim to encourage the candidate to develop new technological solutions in the form of a product. Compulsory non-graded courses have been introduced as part of the curricula to develop skills oriented towards professions. Unique programmes have been started where a student can design his/her curricula based on interest. Humanities and Social sciences form a very significant component with a mandatory course on professional ethics.  Extra-curricular (like Sports, performing arts, and literary activities) and Co-curricular activities (like robotics, hackathons, and entrepreneurship) have been made integral parts of students' experiential learning journey at IIT Jodhpur. Hence, the curricula of IIT Jodhpur are aligned withw education policy. 

Aligned with the spirit of NEP, the institute offers B.Tech. programmes with multiple options and opportunities embedded in it. A B.Tech. student has the capability and performance-linked opportunity to take additional credits in an area that is complementary or different from his parent discipline (minor area) or take advanced courses in a specific sub-domain of his parent discipline (specialization). The curriculum has been structured in such a way that there is a core B.Tech. programme of 150 graded credits, and if a student opts, he/she can do an additional 10 credits for a minor or specialization add-on to his/her degree. For example, someone doing a B.Tech. in Civil and Infrastructure engineering can do a minor in Artificial Intelligence. Similarly, students can opt for Entrepreneurship as an option for minors and engage in an innovative product or process conceptualization as part of their B.Tech. programme. They can even continue for one additional year and get an M.Tech. degree in the area of their minor or specialization. In the case of Entrepreneurship, minor area students can continue their entrepreneurial journey as part of their M.Tech. and move to an incubator for a start-up – aligned with NEP recommendation of integrating and promoting entrepreneurship as part of a formal academic structure. Another interesting feature is that, instead of a structured minor or specialization programme, a student can opt for a one semester-long industrial or academic research project even at an off-campus location as a capability-linked option in their B.Tech. programme. As an option, students can also switch to a broader Engineering science B.Tech. Programme after the first year. A student pursuing B.Tech. in Engineering science can curate the program with a meaningful combination of courses from disciplines in Engineering, Sciences and Library Arts. Faculty advisors assist the students in making their selection of useful courses. 

In line with NEP 2020 regarding the Promotion of Regional Languages, Arts and Culture, the Undergraduate Teaching Assistant scheme has been implemented for special tutorials for academically weak students. The Institute also created a provision of teaching in regional language for a section of students in the first year of UG programmes. Further, students can pursue regional language, arts and culture as a part of various activities in the Student Activity Center (SAC) and Academics and Co-curricular Activity Council (ACAC). ACAC has also created opportunities for students to learn by practice. 

The Institute has brought in different aspects of NEP recommendations in its postgraduate programmes as well. In collaboration with AIIMS Jodhpur, IIT Jodhpur has started three transdisciplinary innovation-oriented joint programmes as Masters, Masters’-Ph.D. and Ph.D. programmes in Medical Technologies aligned with the national objective of achieving self-reliance in medical equipment manufacturing. 

The curriculum of our MSc programmes has been revised with a philosophy of providing academic rigor and innovation, not extreme specialization, but rather flexibility and comprehensive knowledge with micro-specialization, which is in line with NEP 2020. Moreover, the curriculum of M.Tech. Programmes being offered in frontiers of interdisciplinary areas and upcoming fields by IIT Jodhpur has a strong industry focus and multidisciplinary approach towards technology development. With the present PG programmes, IIT Jodhpur has created many opportunities for multiple exits and entries. A student can join an M.Tech. Programmes through stand-alone M.Tech., M.Sc.-M.Tech. dual degree, B.Tech.-M.Tech. dual degree, and B.S.-M.Tech. dual degree options. Similarly, for Ph.D. programmes, a student can join the programme through stand-alone Ph.D., M.Tech.-Ph.D. and converting M.Tech. to M.Tech.-Ph.D. options. A student admitted to an M.Tech. programme who has at least completed the minimum credit requirement of the first semester can keep the studentship alive while he/she is pursuing any professional activity, by opting for Registration Kept Alive in subsequent semesters. The Institute has recently created exit policies for M.Tech. and Ph.D. students. The M.Tech. and Ph.D. students can exit with a Diploma and M.S. (Research) degree. The Institute has introduced a PG Diploma in Data Engineering and Cloud Computing programme from A.Y. 2022-23. The programme has multiple exit options in the form of certificate, diploma, and degree. For the M.Tech. and Ph.D. programmes, unique courses on professional ethics, systems engineering and project management, and intellectual property management have been made integral elements of these programmes. Doctoral candidates need to do patent landscaping as a mandatory part of their literature survey to decide on their problem so that their research output becomes industry relevant and advances state of art. 

In line with NEP 2020 policy, the institute has initiated following new programmes based on the industry requirements from AY 2023-24, these are - M.S. by research programme in different center of excellences, MBA programme in FinTech and Cybersecurity, in which students would have the option to pursue a joint MS degree programme with foreign universities in their second year, M.Des. XR Design, M.Tech. in Quantum Technologies, M.Sc.-M.Tech. in Chemistry and Materials Engineering. 

In line with NEP 2020, the institute has also allowed casual students to earn credits and enabled students earning/transferring of credits from other institutions through the grade equivalence and credit transfer committee. For Online and Digital Education, executive programmes are being offered in a synchronized online mode of delivery with a compulsory immersion component. M.Tech. Executive programme in Artificial Intelligence, Cyber Physical Systems, Data and Computational Science, Robotics & Mobility Systems, Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality (AR & VR), Intelligent VLSI Systems. 

IIT Jodhpur decided to strongly promote interdisciplinary research and set up an interdisciplinary research division that supports six interdisciplinary research platforms. The division also offers inter-disciplinary Ph.D. and post-graduate programmes. Currently, a unique M.Sc. programme in Digital Humanities and M.Tech. in Robotics and Mobility is run by the division other than the Ph.D. programmes. Aligned with the NEP recommendations, IIT Jodhpur has broadened its sphere of operation by setting up the School of Management and Entrepreneurship and initiating an MBA programme (dual exits including dual degree options) and Ph.D. in Management. Moreover, in the same direction of NEP 2020, IIT Jodhpur has also set up the School of Liberal Arts, which aspires to be a forerunner in Liberal Arts education and research, which is currently offering M.Sc. in Computational Social Science for providing opportunities in holistic education. The first of its kind, the Centre of Excellence on Arts and Digital Immersion (ADI) is set up under the vision of SoLA and offering a unique M.S. by research programme. The School of Artificial Intelligence and Data Sciences has also been established with this interdisciplinary vision. This school of AI and Data Sciences has established centers of excellence in - Brain Science and Applications, Computational and Mathematical Economics, Intelligent Infrastructure, AI and Ethics, and AI for Integrative Precision Medicine which runs a Centre on Ayur-Tech – for technology initiatives in Ayurveda, supported by the Ministry of Ayush. The school on AI and Data Science has also started a unique M.Tech. Programme on Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR) in collaboration with other IITs supported by the innovation hub at IIT Jodhpur on Computer Vision, AR and VR – iHUB Drishti, funded by the National Mission on Cyber-Physical Systems of DST. IIT Jodhpur has also initiated offerings of standalone certificate and diploma programmes. Moreover, a modular postgraduate diploma programme is being offered to have multiple exits with certificate(s), and diploma. A transdisciplinary joint certificate programme on digital healthcare systems is being offered by IIT Jodhpur and AIIMS Jodhpur. 

Convocations of the institute

Indian Institute of Technology Jodhpur was established in 2008, to foster technology education and research in India. A future-driven institute for nurturing excellence of thought; creating, preserving, and imparting knowledge; and using transformational technologies/interventions with a multidisciplinary approach for responding to societal challenges and aspirations. IIT Jodhpur functions from its sprawling residential Permanent Campus of 852 acres. This campus is meticulously planned and envisioned to stand as a symbol of academics – simple, but deep. The Institute is committed to an inter-disciplinary approach to technology development as elaborated above with its innovative programmes and pedagogy. Hence, it has established state-of-the-art laboratories for basic research, technology development and interdisciplinary innovation. As of now the Institute has conducted eight convocations and a total of 2482 students have graduated. 

• First Convocation

The Honorable President of India was the chief guest of the first convocation held on July 10, 2013 at IIT Jodhpur Permanent Campus premises. Guest of Honors were Smt. Margaret Alva, Hon'ble Governor of Rajasthan and Shri Ashok Gehlot, Hon'ble Chief Minister of Rajasthan. The Institute awarded degrees to 237 students in different programs.

• Second Convocation

Dr. V. K. Saraswat, Former Director General, DRDO was the chief guest of the Second Convocation held on July 16, 2014, at Town Hall, Jodhpur. The Institute awarded degrees to 326 students in different programs.

• Third Convocation

Dr. Arvind Panagariya, Vice Chairman, NITI Aayog, Government of India   was the chief guest of the Third Convocation was held on December 8, 2016, at Auditorium, All India Institute of Medical Science (AIIMS), Jodhpur. The Institute awarded degrees to 157 students in different programs.

• Fourth Convocation

Dr. Srikumar Banerjee, DAE Homi Bhabha Chair Professor, Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Mumbai   was the chief guest of the Fourth Convocation was held on August 25, 2018, at Lecture Hall 110, IIT Jodhpur. The Institute awarded degrees to 388 students in different programs.

• Fifth Convocation

Prof. S. C. Dutta Roy, INSA Honorary Scientist, Formerly Professor and Head, Department of Electrical Engineering, IIT Delhi was the chief guest of the Fifth Convocation was held on December 17, 2019, at Lecture Hall 110, IIT Jodhpur. The Institute awarded degrees to 224 students in different programs.

• Sixth Convocation

The 6^th Convocation ceremony of the Institute was held on 6 December 2020 in an immersive 360-degree mixed-reality environment. Chief Guest for the ceremony was Professor Geoffrey E. Hinton, Turing Award Winner, popularly known as the 'Godfather of Deep Learning', Emeritus Distinguished Professor, Department of Computer Science, University of Toronto, Canada. The Institute awarded degrees to 232 students in different programs.

Also, a total of 57 B.Tech. students were conferred with specialization/minor area certificates in Artificial Intelligence, Design, Engineering Innovation, Thermofluid Engineering, VLSI and minors in Entrepreneurship and Management along with their degrees.

• Seventh Convocation

Dr. Rajesh Gokhale Secretary, Department of Biotechnology, Ministry of Science & Technology, Government of India, was the chief guest of the Seventh Convocation was held on December 19, 2021, at Lecture Hall 110, IIT Jodhpur. The Institute awarded degrees to 402 students in different programs.

Also, a total of 59 B.Tech. students conferred with specialization/minor area certificates in Artificial Intelligence, Internet of Things, Thermofluids Engineering, Robotics and minors in Entrepreneurship and Management along with their degrees.

• Eighth Convocation

Eighth convocation of Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Jodhpur was held on November 12, 2022, degrees were awarded to 516 students of B.Tech., M.Sc., M.Tech., Masters, MBA, MBA-Tech and Ph.D. programs. For the first time since 2009, more than 500 students were awarded degrees at IIT Jodhpur. The chief guest of the function was Dr Kris Gopalakrishnan, Chairman, Axilor Ventures, and the guest of honor was Dr Ashish Lele, Director, CSIR National Chemical Laboratory, Pune.

Also, a total of 66 B.Tech. students were conferred with specialization/minor area certificates in Artificial Intelligence, Communication and Signal Processing, Cyber Physical Systems, Engineering Innovation, Robotics, Smart healthcare, Thermofluid Engineering, VLSI and minors in Entrepreneurship and Management along with their degrees. 

Looking forward to the Ninth Convocation

Ninth convocation of the Institute is tentatively scheduled on 18-19 November 2023 (these dates are proposed and yet to be finalized), 796 (tentative) may graduate from different programs i.e. B.Tech., M.Sc., M.Sc.-M.Tech. Dual Degree, M.Tech., Masters, MBA, MBA-Tech and Ph.D.

About the Authors

Growth of R&D Activities @ IIT Jodhpur

Team R&D

Sir C. V. Raman, the great Indian Physicist and Nobel Laureate once memorably remarked, ‘Ask the right questions and nature will open the door to her secrets’. In pursuit of this hope, the faculty and students of IITJ have been posing questions of both depth and breadth across various fields as they engage in cutting- edge fundamental as well as translational research directly focusing on human development and technological advancement. As the institute crests the milestone of completing 15 years, the Office of Research and Development has played a quiet but significant role in supporting, enabling and facilitating the research aspirations and endeavors of both students and faculty. A major part of this role includes providing specialized administrative and managerial support for the operations of all sponsored research projects, consultancy projects and other related Research and Development (R&D) activities of the institute. 

The importance of the environment is one of the first things that students learn when the concept of ‘ecosystem’ is introduced in school. The Office of R&D plays an indispensable role in the creation, maintenance and rejuvenation of the academic and research environment of the whole institution, connecting a multitude of internal and external stakeholders.  The smooth execution of projects and the acceleration of research and IP activities require a thoughtful policy framework and guidelines, which are readily available for all faculty. Our newly launched R&D booklet provides general information as well as relevant institute norms pertinent to different types of activities. In the case of projects, we recognize that PIs require both autonomy as well as support to execute projects. Therefore, we have delegated powers with flexibility for PIs as well as streamlined the various functions associated with the process of moving files, the hiring of project staff and providing loan support against sanctioned projects. The digitization of R&D Project Files, the implementation of eOffice functionalities, adopting the online tracking mechanism (JIRA) and setting up a Single Point Contact (Helpdesk-R&D) has also improved matters in this direction. Another significant set of initiatives adopted by the Office of R&D are with respect to the vital domain of the protection of Intellectual Property. In 2019, the Institute IPR policy was framed. We have also empanelled four expert IP Attorneys of national renown to support inventors in the filing of patents, copyrights etc. Our office has recognized the importance of supplementing such support with additional awareness programmes. For instance, an Awareness Programme on Intellectual Property Rights (under the NIPAM Scheme of the Government of India) was organized during May 2022.Our efforts in supporting Industry-Academia connections, especially with regard to the signing of MoUs also merit mention. A specialized Sign Desk facilitates this process, reducing time as well as cost. The state-of-the-art and tastefully designed R&D offices as well as an inviting R&D Board Room also promote professionalism and ease of conducting meetings for the multifarious purposes associated with the tasks and activities described above. 

An ecosystem perspective on research has been one reason why we have been able to facilitate the submission of a large number of research projects to various funding agencies, resulting in faculty winning significant research grants, despite the Covid Pandemic. This is a clear mark of the rapid growth of the institute since 2019. Our highly talented faculty have received numerous sponsored projects, consultancy projects, prestigious fellowships, several award grants, conference & workshops support and strong support from industry in collaborative projects, in addition to publications in highly reputed journals and conferences, as well as significant patents. 

The following section will showcase this significant growth in greater detail. 

Sponsored Research Projects

The upward trajectory of R&D @IITJ during the last five years is evident in the fact that we have received 757 sanctioned projects with a total sanctioned grant of INR 408.51 crores from various funding agencies.

IITJ, through the office of R&D, has initiated multiple schemes to support faculty for their career growth as well as to recognize significant research contributions. Firstly, the Institute encourages new faculty members to gain a headstart on research activities by providing a research initiation grant (Seed Grant) during the first two years of their joining. As of now, 107 Seed Grant Projects with a total outlay of INR 25.69 Crores have been sanctioned to faculty members. Apart from supporting their research activities, this money may also be used by them in setting up initial / primary research labs. The outstanding research contributions of faculty members have been recognized on the occasion of the Institute Foundation Day through ‘Institute Awards for Research Excellence’ since 2020. A total 14 faculty members have been awarded Research Excellence Award in the category of Young Researcher Award and Senior Researcher Award in the fields of Science and Engineering, as well as Humanities, Social Sciences and Management. In the year 2021, the Institute has launched the International Research Mobility Grant (IRMG) for International research and collaboration between IITJ and International Institutes of repute (top QS ranking).  The International Research Mobility Grant provides opportunities for young faculty members to pursue international collaborations with reputed global organizations and researchers. This grant, which possesses a rigorous two-stage peer review process, provides financial support upto 10 lakh rupees. A total 7 faculty members have been awarded IRMG with a total sanctioned amount of Rs. 64.27 Lakhs. 

The office of R&D has also facilitated the seamless filing patents for protecting inventions as well as provided financial support in this process. Beginning from the stage of IP evaluation, IP filing and its commercialization, administrative support from our Office has been an asset for faculty members and student-faculty teams.  Of a total 50 IP applications that have been filed so far, 8 have been granted. Other applications are at various stages of this process. These IP applications include Patent, Design, Copyrights, etc. At the institutional level, administrative support from the office of R&D played an important role in 2022 in applying for the creation of IPR Chairs at IITJ (which were sanctioned in April, 2023)  under the Scheme for Pedagogy and Research in IPRs for Holistic Education and Academia (SPRIHA) under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry.  These efforts also contributed to the creation of the Center of Excellence on Intellectual Property (IP) under the School of Management and Engineering (SME) in April 2023. 

It is our great pleasure to highlight major projects and centers from 2019:

1. Jodhpur City Knowledge and Innovation Foundation: Jodhpur City Knowledge and Innovation Foundation (JCKIF), is a Section-8 company (Non-Profit Organization) established on 31^st March 2021, under the Companies Act, 2013, to carry out and sustain the activities of Jodhpur City Knowledge and Innovation Cluster (JCKIC). JCKIC is one of the six clusters sanctioned by the Office of the Principal Scientific Adviser (PSA) to the Government of India with an outlay of Rs. 9.49 Crore.
2. IITJ iHuB Drishti Foundation: The TIH (Technology Innovation Hub) at IIT Jodhpur, named iHub Drishti, focuses on building cyberphysical systems for Computer Vision (CV), Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR). It is a Section-8, Not-for-profit organisation promoted by and at IIT Jodhpur under National Mission on Interdisciplinary Cyber physical System (NM-ICPS) of Government of India.
3. Ayurtech: A Centre of Excellence in Ayurtech supported by the Ministry of Ayush with an outlay of Rs.10 Cr. has been established recently at the Institute under the School of Artificial Intelligence and Data Science.
4. Deep-Tech Biodesign Centre for Medical Technology: To bring innovation in medical technology to our country, IIT Jodhpur in collaboration with AIIMS Jodhpur has established a Multi-disciplinary Biodesign centre, funded by Department of Biotechnology, Government of India, to train, nurture and transform clinicians and engineers into the Deep-Tech innovators in the field of Medical/Health Technology.
5. IIT Jodhpur - Jal Jeevan Mission Centre for Sustainable Drinking Water: In January 2022, National Jal Jeevan Mission, Department of Drinking Water & Sanitation, Ministry of Jal Shakti has conveyed the sanction of the President of India to set up JJM-Professor Chair on 'Sustainability of Drinking Water Sources' in IIT Jodhpur at a total cost of Rs 6.02 crore for five years duration.
6. MeITY Centre for Advanced Security Technology Development in Cyber Physical Systems: Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MEITY) has funded the setting up of a Centre for Advanced Security Technology Development in Cyber Physical Systems in March 2022 with a sanctioned grant of Rs. 5.92 Crore.

The detailed list of major projects received are tabulated below:

Research Excellence

Our faculty members have been the recipients of various prestigious recognition such as DST Swarnajayanti Fellowship, INAE-Abdul Kalam Technology Innovation National Fellowship, SERB-STAR Award, Wellcome Trust/DBT Early Career Award, SERB-Women Excellence Award, Google India Research Award, Ethics in AI - Facebook Award, Verisk AI Faculty Award, DBT Innovative Young Biotechnologist Award, SERB-SIRE Fellowships, DST Inspire Fellowships and IGSTC WISER Award, etc.

Another indicator which reveals the research excellence of faculty members is the annual institutional growth of publications.

To conclude, we wish to end on the note struck by the management expert Lawrence Miller, who insightfully reminds us, ‘Excellence is not an accomplishment; it is a spirit, a never-ending process’. We do not rest on our laurels or accomplishments. We strongly believe that the office of R&D will achieve higher targets in subsequent years and work with the support of all faculty members, staff members and our extremely talented students to continuously nourish this thriving research ecosystem. Jai Hind!

About the Author

IPR Landscape in IIT Jodhpur

Prabuddha Ganguly & Anil Tiwari

IIT Jodhpur now in its teens, has evolved into an enabling ecosystem for creative and comprehensive human resource development in science, technology, management, liberal arts and entrepreneurship. The ethical knowledge edifice in the institute integrates all facets of a sustainable “learning value chain” lacing together knowledge access, generation, application and sharing including value realization. This dynamic 360° vision and engagement of the IIT Jodhpur community fuels quality education and excellence in science & technology with strong grassroots links to communities, preparing students and faculty to face the challenges of the future with purposefulness and realism.

Realising that the “learning value chain” remains incomplete without an appropriate indulgence of the relevant “Intellectual Property Rights (IPR)” and its execution, IIT Jodhpur seeded its institutional IPR Policy in December 2019. The IPR policy provides a facile route for IIT Jodhpur and its collaborating Institutions including participating stakeholders to protect their creations using a judicious combination of various tools of IPR such as patents (for inventions), design registrations (shapes, ornamentation and aesthetics of products), copyright (creative expressions), trademarks (distinctive logos, words and their combinations to differentiate products & services) and trade secrets (confidential information of business value). The IPR Policy also sets an operating framework for the commercialisation of the protected creations with fair and equitable benefit sharing arrangements for the creators, their institutions, and participating stakeholders of the IPR.

Groundwork for the IPR Policy was initiated in March 2019 with a National Conference on AI Innovation and IP Trends followed by two workshops on IP Landscaping for Technology Development in April 2019 to understand from experts the pitfalls and best practices in IPR. An area of weakness in our educational system has been the lack of appreciation of the significance of accessing and assessing IPR literature contextual to identifying and defining a research problem. An extensive “hands-on workshop” on Patent Search and Technology Landscaping Workshop was held in the campus in March 2020 with a participation of over 180 students and faculty. A handbook on “Patents Search” was developed post the workshop and was uploaded onto the IITJ Website with open access so that students and faculty in IIT Jodhpur and elsewhere could freely download it for personal use. A novel “Innovation and IP Management” one credit course (compulsory for all post graduate students) is being conducted since January 2020. A one-credit course “Innovation and IP Management” is a compulsory non-graded component of the Executive M. Tech program for industry professionals. To date, over 200 such students have benefited from this course.

These multiple dimensional efforts were augmented by the setting of the Institute Intellectual Property Management Group (IIPMG) to enable the identification of creations and process them for IPR protection in real time. A Technology Transfer Group (TKTG) has also been set up to facilitate knowledge and technology transfer with the associated IPR to industries and / or to facilitate startups for commercialisation of the institute creations.

Impact of these seeding and nurturing initiatives since 2019 are illustrated in the adjoining figures. 

The monthly project reviews with the research teams followed by the submissions of IPR proposals to the IIPMG for assessment coupled with the speedy feedback from the committee and processing of the applications by the designated panel of IPR Attorneys, has accelerated the filing of IPR applications. A significant feature is the number of interdepartmental and interorganisational (with DRDO and AIIMS) filings. The novel interorganizational course between IITJ & AIIMS Jodhpur in the field of medical technologies open new vistas for innovation and IPR.

Commercialisation of the IPR protected innovation has just begun. As an example, contribution based on the Indian Patent titled “Automatic Speech Generation” (Patent No. 380040), has won this year’s Indo-Sweden Healthcare Competition and is being considered for possible funding by some industry partners as part of the Indo-Sweden program. Similarly, the technical know-how associated with the Indian Patent application titled “Indoor Air Purifying Device” (Application No. 202211042187), has been transferred to M/s Divya Plasma Solutions Pvt. Ltd - a start-up company incubated at IITJ-TISC. The first product was launched on 2nd August 2022 as part of the Institute Foundation Day proceedings.

The IPR vibrance has now paved the way for the establishment of the Centre of Excellence (COE) in Innovation and IPR in the School of Management and Entrepreneurship to coordinate all the IPR related activities in IITJ. The COE is also linking with various institutions, industry associations and local crafts Persons associated with Jodhpur City Knowledge and Innovation Foundation (JCKIF) to provide a set of services to the cluster in Jodhpur. Presently, the human resource in the COE has been enriched with the appointment of adjunct faculty and professor of practice with expertise in IPR Management.

The recent interactions of the COE with JCKIF institutions have opened vistas for productive and unique sustainable collaborative models. Currently, protection of selected creative designs of local crafts persons as industrial design registrations is underway so that they get an enhanced commercial value for their design registered creations.

Recently, the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), Government of India has allotted an IPR Chair to IIT Jodhpur under the Scheme for Pedagogy & Research in IPRs for Holistic Education & Academia (SPRIHA).

IPR activities in IIT Jodhpur is in its infancy. Initiatives in the last few years have given a glimpse of the horizon that lays ahead.  IIT Jodhpur will have to continue on the rugged path ahead in mission mode remembering the immortal voice of Swami Vivekanand, “Arise, awake, and stop not till the goal is reached”.

About the Authors

International Relations, Career Development, Alumni Relations & Corporate Relations @ IIT Jodhpur: The evolution

Surajit Ghosh, Gaurav Bhatnagar, Shankar Manoharan, Anuj Pal Kapoor

International Relations

IIT Jodhpur is focusing on internationalization by fostering partnerships with foreign universities and institutions to collaborate in the areas of mutual interests in R&D and academic collaborations. Since its inception, the Office of International Relations (IRO) has worked proactively to establish international partnerships by facilitating the drawing up of MoUs and agreements between IIT Jodhpur and international institutions. Additionally, IRO has developed proposals for collaboration and provided the necessary administrative and institutional support to operationalize these partnerships and collaborations. Moreover, IIT Jodhpur has enrolled international students from Indonesia, Syria, Nepal, and Bangladesh through various initiatives of the Government of India, such as the ASEAN Fellowship Program, Study in India, ICCR, and mutually agreed exchange programs with foreign institutes. The Institute has collaborated with institutions from various countries including the USA, France, Russia, Germany, and Australia. 

The key activities of the Office of International Relations are:

1. We arrange the exchange programs for students, faculty, and researchers to promote cooperation in education and research and also facilitate academic visits.
2. We regulate the admission of international students to various academic programs at the Institute.
3. Visits of international academic and diplomatic delegations to the Institute, as well as visits of the Institute's delegations to foreign universities to strengthen existing collaborations and forge new partnerships are arranged mainly by our office
4. We undertake the formulation and execution of MoUs and agreements between IIT Jodhpur and partner institutes/organizations. 

So far, the Office of International Relations and Outreach has signed more than 20 MoUs, with 10 foreign universities, including Universite De Technologie De Troyes, France; University of Western Australia; National Research Lobachevsky State University of Nizhny Novgorod, Russia; LA Trobe University; Deakin University; Ecole Pour L'Informatique ET Les Techniques Advances, France (EPITA); Universite Polytechnique Hauts-de-France, UPHF; The University at Albany, State University of New York, USA; University at Buffalo; Institut Polytechnique De Grenoble; TU Munich; and Drexel University College of Engineering, Philadelphia, USA. These collaborations focus on research collaboration, academic collaborations, the development of dual degree courses, degrees and programs, academic publications, and other areas of common interest. Some universities, such as UTT and EPITA France, offer student exchange programs that provide students with new exposure. Certain universities have also signed MoUs intending to pursue a Dual Degree Program, such as the Joint PhD Program with University at Buffalo and University at Albany. In this program, students complete one year at their home university and the next year at the host university, obtaining the advantage of two degrees from both universities upon successful completion of the course. The Institute has also collaborated with the University at Buffalo for the IITJ-UB Centre of Excellence in AI and Data Science, which aims to advance long-term multi-institutional and international collaboration in the educational and research fields that align with the vision and mission of each institution. 

Furthermore, the Institute has collaborated with Sharman Foundation, USA, a US-based non-profit organization founded by Dr Vinay Jain and his family, to provide funding support for students in India who are in need and pursuing education in technical fields. The foundation has been providing funding support to many undergraduate students at various IITs for the past few years. 

The Office of IRO has hosted numerous foreign delegates for mutual collaborations and has facilitated the conduct of multiple Institute Lectures delivered by the renowned personalities. 

Career Development

The Career Development Cell at IIT Jodhpur takes immense pride in the successful completion of Final Placements for 2023 passing out batch. Our institute been successful in attaining 92 % placement of UG students. We at CDC sincerely acknowledge every effort and contribution made by everyone who paved the way in raising the placement graph of IIT Jodhpur during the time of global slowdown. Foremostly, we would like to express heartfelt gratitude to our loyal recruiters who have continued to lay faith in the capabilities of our students. This placement season, the campus saw an overwhelming increase in the number of new recruiters and PPOs offered owing to the merit and diverse demography of the students. 

The CDC would also like to thank its team for their continuous guidance and support throughout the Placement Season. We owe the success of the placements to the outstanding cooperation and tireless efforts of each member of the institution. We remain committed to strengthening stronger relationships with our recruiters and continue to nurture future engineers and managers and leaders of society through a common platform for corporate-academic collaboration. 

We at IIT Jodhpur continue our efforts to develop programmes and course pedagogy, providing both academic rigour and industry relevance. Over a period of time our institute has become one of the preferred choices for recruiters owing to inter-disciplinary and industry aligned courses. Career Development Cell (CDC) partners with students and industry to succeed in finding life-long career fulfillment. The roles and profiles offered to students during this placement season are a testament of the diversified and relevant courses offered at IIT Jodhpur. In addition, we have successfully built coherent relationships with our campus partners and strive to improve the students’ as well as the recruiters’ experience year after year.

The Institute has designed a curated capability programme to prepare students for the campus placement process. Throughout the year, the CDC at IIT Jodhpur organizes career development workshops, mock interviews, leadership talks, soft skill training and personality development activities. 

The Career Development Cell (CDC) aspires to provide comprehensive career counseling to IIT Jodhpur students’ during their academic involvement and even after graduation. CDC performs various individual and collective activities relating to training and placement process planning, career development, counseling, competence/skill assessment, decision making. CDC fosters students’ abilities, competencies, interests and assists them in developing professional skills, knowledge, and positive attitude to manage their career path.

This year, the placement season was conducted in hybrid mode with more than 230+ companies participating in the Placement Season 2022-2023. CDC continuously builds symbiotic relationships with a broad spectrum of reputed MNCs, Core companies, Governmental organizations including PSUs, IIT alumni through social networking, workshops, invited talks, industrial visits, etc. Several renowned industries like American Express, Paytm, Warner Brothers, VE Commercial Vehicles, BEL, Maruti Suzuki, Mercedes Benz, Royal Enfield, Tata Technologies, HCL, Infosys, TCS, L&T, EXL, Kotak, Deloitte, Cognizant and many more visited IIT Jodhpur for both internship and placement opportunities.

Our ever improving placement record added following feathers in the cap in the 2022-23 season

• 230+ companies participated in Internship and Placement
• Total Number of offers – 450+
• Total no. of students placed- 419 (B.Tech. – 249, Students, M.Tech.- 80 Students, M.Sc.- 28 student, MBA- 62)
• Tech. Placement percentage – 92%, M.Tech. –72%, M.Sc. -59%, MBA- 93%
• Average salary offered to the B.Tech. Students – 21 Lakhs, MTech. – 14 Lakhs, MBA -Rs.13 Lakhs

These are some of the activities we undertook to achieve the success above 2022-2023

• Internship and placement planning
• Preparing Placement and Activity Calendar
• Individual/Group Career Counselling
• Interaction Sessions with industry professionals
• Effective Job Search Strategies
• Soft Skills Training Sessions
• Welcome/Introduction Sessions
• Mock Interview Sessions
• Industrial visit
• Sessions on Career Guidance

IIT Jodhpur continues its endeavour to develop programmes and course pedagogy, providing both academic rigour and industry relevance. It has, over a period, become one of the preferred choices for recruiters owing to inter-disciplinary and industry aligned courses. Career Development Cell (CDC) partners with students and industry to succeed in finding life-long career fulfillment. The roles and profiles offered to students during this placement season is a testament of the diversified and relevant courses offered at IIT Jodhpur. In addition, we have successfully built coherent relationships with our campus partners and strive to improve the students’ as well as the recruiters’ experience year after year. The Institute has designed a curated capability programme to prepare students for the campus placement process. Throughout the year, the CDC at IIT Jodhpur organizes career development workshops, mock interviews, leadership talks, soft skill training and personality development activities.

Alumni Relations @ IIT Jodhpur

At IIT Jodhpur, the relationship between the institution and its alumni holds immense value. Alumni are the living embodiment of an institution's legacy, and their successes reflect on the quality of education and experiences they received. IIT Jodhpur has always taken proactive measures to maintain and strengthen these connections. In April 2012, IIT Jodhpur constituted the Alumni Relations Committee (ARC) to foster lifelong relationships between the Institute and its Alumni. The ARC of the Institute envisions building a mutually beneficial relationship with the Alumni of the Institute through purposeful engagement. The ARC enables and facilitate activities that (1) Benefit our Alumni (2) Foster mutual trust and (3) Promote professional and technical excellence. By these activities, the Institute seeks to nurture and support its Alumni into strong and dependable partners in its goal of Nation building.

The IIT Jodhpur Alumni hub was one of the first efforts undertaken by the Institute to connect the Alumni among themselves, with current students and with the Institute. This web portal available at www.alumni.iitj.ac.in, allows users to access the database of IIT Jodhpur Alumni and instantly connect with any user. Soon after, the Institute helped the Alumni come together and establish the IIT Jodhpur Alumni society, aimed at bringing together the IIT Jodhpur Alumni community. Since then, the Alumni society has been collaborating actively with the Alumni relations committee in the organization of various events. The first formal Alumni day of IIT Jodhpur was organized on 25 January 2020, where Alumni returned to the Institute and reminisced their days on campus. Since then, IIT Jodhpur has been organizing Alumni days annually to allow Alumni to network among themselves and also reconnect with the Institute. Such programs also host distinguished Alumni of other IITs to build the networks of our Alumni. IIT Jodhpur Instituted the Recognition of Excellence in Young Alumni (REYA) award to be conferred in five categories i.e. Technology Development, Entrepreneurship, Social Contributions, Academics & Research and Managerial Excellence. Six Alumni of the institute have been conferred with the REYA award in various categories till date. On the completion of 10 years since their graduation, the Classes of 2012 and 2013 were recently hosted on campus in Dashak – The 10-year reunion, where Alumni interacted not only with their batchmates but also rekindled their nostalgia by reliving their student life in the hostels and by interacting with the Faculty & Staff members of IIT Jodhpur. 

We value our Alumni as partners in the overall development of its students. To this effect, Alumni are frequently invited to interact with current students and share their experience in the real world. Particularly, the Alumni relations committee organizes orientation sessions for fresh UG and PG students featuring prominent IIT Jodhpur Alumni as well as Alumni of other IITs. Several Alumni townhalls and ‘Ask and Alumnus’ sessions have also been organized for the benefit of current students. IIT Jodhpur Alumni are spread across the world and are progressing forward in diverse career trajectories. The first US-based Alumni Meet took place in Washington DC in May 2022. Our Director, Prof. Santanu Chaudhury, along with a delegation of Faculty members and Mr. Ron Gupta, President, Pan-IIT, USA met with and interacted with Alumni in the area. A key announcement made during the event was the announcement of the IIT Jodhpur Alumni Association - North America chapter. 

IIT Jodhpur hosted an Alumni outreach event in Bangalore, where over 70 IIT Jodhpur Alumni reconnected with the Institute and with each other. The Bangalore chapter of the IITJ Alumni society was formally announced during this event. The Institute also actively engages with the Alumni of other IITs through umbrella organizations such as PanIIT Alumni and IITACB for mutual development. As a part of such initiatives, we recently accepted the offer of 10 incubation seats reserved for IIT Jodhpur at IIT Alumni Centre Bengaluru (IITACB). The Institute, together with iHub Drishti Foundation (a Section 8 company promoted by IIT Jodhpur), will utilize the seats for potential incubatees. We hope to attract Alumni and startups who are located in Bengaluru which will help us to gain access to the entrepreneurial ecosystem in Bengaluru, which is fondly called the "Silicon Valley of India". Overall, the Institute has and continues to undertake conscious and proactive steps to build and maintain Alumni relations.

Corporate Relations

Office of Corporate Relations (OCR) was created to augment the Institutes corporate relations, linkages and outreach. OCR is entirely dedicated to building up strong Connect with Industry, connecting with Industry organisations, developing collaborative R&D programmes, developing Industry specific continuing education programmes, involving professionals from Industry in co-guiding students, finding Industry linked fellowships and scholarships etc. The Institute has set up the Corporate Relations Committee (CRC) to strengthen the corporate relations of the institute, represent their respective units and act as point of contact for Department level of Corporate Relation activities. 

The office has been instrumental in the signing collaborative agreements with different companies and organizations for Research and other collaborations. A total of more than 40 agreements / MoU’s has been signed with organizations as below.

Some of the key collaborating partners include Nirmata Technologies India Private Limited, Bundl Technologies Pvt. Ltd. (Swiggy), Vedanta Ltd, Codechef, Tata Consultancy Sevices limited, Confederation of Indian Industry, GE India Industrial Private Limited, Sahai Research Labs (OPC) Private Limited, IFFCO, Tata Steel, Microsoft India Pvt Ltd etc. These collaborations are mainly focused on R&D projects, Internships, student and faculty exchange etc. Under the initiative of the office, IITJ has signed a MoU with the Confederation of Indian Industries (CII) through which IITJ is partnered with selected CII member companies to foster and mentor strong and sustainable Industry-academia collaboration.

The office also organizes Industry Days every year with an objective to establish links between industries, academic and research programs. During such events, delegates from Industries actively participate as mentor/ speaker as well as key speaker to share their overall sectorial expertise with the participants.

About the Authors

Innovation Ecosystem at IIT Jodhpur

K. K. Roy, G. S. Toteja, Sushmita Jha, and Krishnakumar Balaraman

Powered by its vision of being a future-driven institute for nurturing excellence of thought, IIT Jodhpur has created an innovation ecosystem that serves multiple stakeholders from students, faculties to startups. It has also created various paths for the innovation and entrepreneurship journey – from curriculum design to industry partnerships. As per technology readiness definition (originating from NASA and widely adopted in Indian R&D system) IITJ is creating multiple entry and actualization points in its innovation ecosystem.  

Framework of Innovation at IIT Jodhpur

IIT Jodhpur (IITJ) has multiple nodes and participants as part of its ecosystem. Students and faculty form an important core and there are different channels such as academic and research programs, innovation centers, and R&D projects that connect the core to the innovation ecosystem. The layers of IITJ’s innovation ecosystem also provides for actualization of ideas through incubation and Industrial Partnership (Fig 1)

The various components of the innovation ecosystem are connected so that there can be different entry and exist points for the participants (Fig 2). Few of the important nodes is described briefly further in this document.

Conforming to its' mission and vision, IITJ stablished various Special purpose Vehicles (with autonomous functionalities but closely linked to the institute) to attain the cherished goals, and also set up various administrative bodies (with specified charter of activities) to shape a dynamic ecosystem conducive to appraisal of inventions, commercial value addition through Incubation and nurturing/promoting Innovations.   In subsequent sections, (i) the roles played by such intermediaries in harnessing the institute policies/directives for supporting / promoting incubation & innovation, and (ii) few results, impacts; are elaborated. 

1.  IITJ Technology Innovation & Start-up Centre (TISC)

TISC has been promoted by IITJ as a legal entity - a Section 8 company, functionally independent but closely linked to the institute and endowed primarily with functions contributing to the extension activities of IITJ viz. enabling the reach-out of the knowledge / knowledge workers with the appropriate value addition in the service of the society. TISC plays a vital role in IITJ’s vibrant entrepreneurial ecosystem by enabling freedom to innovate through R&D intensity, industry interaction, IP protection, partnerships with various actors in startup ecosystem and institutional set up to hand hold entrepreneurs. It houses incubation projects supported by the Ministry of MSME and Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY). It also implements the BioNest programme of BIRAC, DBT. 

TISC has been set up with the intent to create an environment of critical thinking and entrepreneurial education, to build competent hands to innovate products, give fellows immersive experience and cutting-edge training they require to thrive in building enterprises. The infrastructure lent by IITJ to TISC and the MoU established between them, enables the nurturing of an ecosystem conducive to innovation, incubation and techno- entrepreneurship wherein academic experts/infrastructure can be leveraged by students, faculties, industries, R&D Institutions and budding entrepreneurs / start-ups towards the synergistic outcome. 

TISC has established norms for project implementation - particularly those addressing technology development for new products, process, or service.  Such projects shall be taken up in association with the academics in IITJ - as the primary investigator, along with investigators from other organizations, if needed, with industry as the collaborator or the end-user. TISC works in close association with various student fora as well including the Board of Innovation and Entrepreneurship in activating / motivating the student community in adopting Entrepreneurship as a Career option.  

Programs/ workshops by domain experts are organized for incubatees / pre-incubatees. Regular sessions are conducted on IP awareness and capacity building of the incubatees/ applicants for filling relevant patents. Various awareness programs are continuously conducted in association with the Institution Innovation Council and Entrepreneurship Cell of IITJ. 

IITJ Faculties involved as inventors and innovators in various projects get appropriate opportunities for incubation at TISC. IITJ has the Faculty Entrepreneurship Policy in place which encourages various faculties for promoting their start-ups through incubation. Policy documents for start-up activities by student entrepreneurs during the academic tenure i.e. Students Entrepreneurship Policy is also in the process of adoption/implementation. Also, based on the field of work Faculties are associated with student-led start-ups incubated at TISC as Faculty mentors. For initiating and executing various programs and projects funded by external agencies IITJ faculties are associated as Principal Investigator (PI) and give their valuable inputs and efforts till the completion of such programs/ projects. In addition to these, Faculties are associated in various training programs, certificate courses, entrepreneurship awareness program, and Hackathons being conducted by TISC from time to time. Engagement of the faculties in various initiatives being taken through the Institution Innovation Council (IIC) and Board of Innovation and Entrepreneurship is also acting like a bridge for bringing potential ideas for preincubation/ incubation at TISC. 

1.1 Management of Intellectual Property

While the ownership of the Intellectual Property generated as the outcome of academic activities in the institute shall rest with IITJ, the institute may outsource the interfacing process of managing the Intellectual Property viz. registration, maintenance, renewal, licensing, assignment etc. to TISC on a mutual beneficial basis. TISC shall play the role of an interface organization - assisting IITJ in the process of empaneling Patent Attorneys, engaging Attorney for specific IP registration for cases recommended by the Institute IP Management Group (IIPMG), executing License/Technology Transfer Agreements for licensing of Technology / knowledge recommended by the Technology / Knowledge Transfer Group (TKTG) in IITJ, custodian of proceeds of licensing / technology transfer and distribution thereof among the beneficiaries. TISC will play a key role in commercializing IP’s generated by faculty and students in the Institute and various Special purpose Vehicles (SPVs) in the Institute. 

1.2 Management and Operation of the Technology Business Incubator

TISC manages and operate the Incubator for incubating ventures leveraging IITJ developed technologies, IPs licensed out to ventures – led/ promoted/ mentored primarily by IITJ academicians/ graduates/ alumni and /or entities closely linked with the institute, are subject to   exploration of new knowledge-based business. TISC supports incubation of tech.-based start-ups - both in the physical and the virtual based. TISC also accommodates student/faculty entrepreneurs in pre-incubation of an innovative product/process idea so as to work out a Business Plan for a MVP which can be subsequently taken up for incubation through the start-up route. 

1.2.1    Current status of Incubation progress at TISC Incubator:

TISC provides all the common infrastructure facilities during the incubation /pre-incubation period like Work stations, lab benches, meeting rooms, conference hall, common area, cafeteria, and printing facilities. The complete building is WiFi-enabled. The start-ups - at the instance of the faculty mentor in each, are allowed usages of institute facilities, library etc. 

M/s Divya Plasma Solutions, a IITJ Faculty promoted start-up has launched a product on cold plasma based indoor air purification which has been shown to eliminate microbial and virus load from standard environment through testing in NABL accredited labs. This is now going through end user trials. 

Pre-incubation of Innovative ideas by Faculties/ Students

1.3 Sourcing of Funds for Incubator and Incubatees

TISC leverages various government promoted schemes for funding and submit bids in the right earnest as one of the priority activities. Towards this end, TISC has already leveraged the fundings from BIRAC - a unit of the Department of Biotechnology, Govt. of India; in the setting up the BioNest (A Biotechnology Incubator) in the Institute campus for incubating start-ups leveraging technologies in the applications sectors - healthcare, agriculture, environment, medical devices and related areas.  This Incubator is the first of its' kind in the state of Rajasthan and is of great support for budding entrepreneurs in the state, regions within - cutting across the entrepreneurial ecosystem developed and expanding by IITJ The incubator is equipped with the state-in-art equipment for supporting the resident incubatees The incubator so established out of the government funding, will now render TISC eligible for the beneficiary of corporate CSR funding for the activities mandated in the Companies Act 2013 Eligible students in institute may undertake preincubation of technology-centric development pursued in their PG/PhD work. TISC is simultaneously gearing up the entrepreneurs within the institute in isolation or in association with other stakeholders in the ecosystem, for seeking funding on carefully ideated projects in various Call for Proposals under various funding schemes of DBT, DST and other institutions. There are number of Government agencies/schemes offering financial grants for the start- ups/entrepreneurs e.g., MSME, MeitY, NIDHI PRAYAS, BIG & SIBRI (BIRAC scheme) besides grants under various Grand challenges offered from time to time. These activities are pursued relentlessly round the year for promoting TISC as the destination for aspiring incubatees / entrepreneurs from the alumni and other members of the society in the region/nation - besides members in the academic community of IITJ.  

1.4 Collaborating with Stakeholders in the Ecosystem

Student fora: TISC works closely with various student fora linked to entrepreneurship in the Institute viz. Board of Innovation and Entrepreneurship (BIE), Institute Innovation Council (IIC) and the likes to open formal communication channels through discussion, brainstorming sessions for a focused dissemination on the various facets of entrepreneurship viz. Business Plan, Intellectual Property, Angel/Venture funding, start-up as a career option, value offerings at TISC etc. 

Alumni Association: TISC is setting up a close link with the Alumni Association of IITJ for frequent interactions, seeking inputs from each other on programs of respective entities. Alumni entrepreneurs and Alumni holding senior positions in industry units are reckoned as valuable stakeholders in various programs of TISC like incubator membership, CSR funding on specified technology-leveraged affordable products/processes by incubatees in TISC, Workshops & seminars etc. 

Other Sec 8 companies in the IITJ system: TISC leverages the mandates of other Section 8 companies in the IITJ system (JCKIF, Technology Innovation Hub (TIH)) on a win-win basis - be it the operation of Endowment fund, or operation of Technology Park or Research translation / Technology Development activities. 

Institutes and R&D organizations in the neighborhood: TISC participates in various bids - on careful appraisal of the scope and deliverables, for specified projects/program from third parties within/outside the country in a collaborative/consortium mode - involving faculties from IITJ, together with faculties/Technologist/scientists from other institutes, industries, R&D setups. TISC responds to such calls in consultation or at specific instances of IITJ faculty(ies) after careful appraisal of such Request For Proposals with due care for the IP issues and the commercialization prospects. TISC front-ends all such bidding exercises including the contract execution, project implementation, fund management, IP & technology Transfer issues - in case of a bid success. 

1.5 Homology with other SPVs in the Institute

IITJ along with AIIMS Jodhpur and other stakeholders including RIICO are exploring the setting up of a Medical Technology (MED-TECH) Industrial Park in the neighborhood of Jodhpur. In a limited scale IITJ has already set up and operationalized a Mini Technology Park on the campus. This is poised to be the destination of startups incubated at TISC including the BioNEST-Bioincubator. Besides, other established industries - on selected criteria, are allowed to setup Centers-of-Excellence in this Tech-park to take advantage of the IITJ ecosystem. The MED- TECH park will assume the premise that good in-house scientific facilities can help manufacturers reduce the manufacturing costs by 40-50 % easily in India. Medical technologies combined with IoT and Artificial Intelligence for new generation medical technology in the state is the need of hour. It will encourage local manufacturing and reduce the country’s dependence on imports. The park eco-system will help small enterprises in all the Technology verticals including MedTech to be taped into the expertise of larger companies. At the Tech Park, companies will access to engineering services, laboratory facilities, rich IITJ & other partner institutions knowledge resources, quality control units, import and export facilitation centers, regulatory offices, etc. 

1.5.1 Incubation for technologies originating from Jodhpur City Knowledge and innovation Cluster (JCKIC): Six cities — Jodhpur, Bhubaneswar, Chandigarh, Pune, Ahmedabad and Hyderabad are being developed as City Knowledge and Innovation Clusters. The project is led by the office of the Principal Scientific Advisor (PSA) on a priority basis and IIT Jodhpur has been chosen as a leading organization for Jodhpur City Knowledge and Innovation Cluster. This cluster will provide a connection between the existing research and knowledge setups at the nearby institutions and various industries that exist in the city Jodhpur in particular and Rajasthan State in general. 

1.5.2   Incubation for start-ups promoted on technologies from i-HUB Drishti Foundation (TIH): TIH is an autonomous Section 8 company promoted by IIT Jodhpur for implementing the National Mission project of the Government on the Cyber-Physical Systems as per a tripartite agreement between IITJ, DST and TIH.  TISC has executed a MoU with TIH for incubating start-ups promoted / supported by TIH on various technology domains for the technology commercialization.

1.5.3 Bid for a Generic Technology Park with DST/MHRD: The Technology Park will encompass all other entrepreneurial programs and parks in specified technologies practiced / setup in the past and will also include host of programs from the DST, Govt. of Rajasthan as well. 

1.5.4   Leveraging Delhi Mumbai Industrial Corridor (DMIC): TISC shall look for opportunities for association/collaboration in the forthcoming Delhi Mumbai Industrial Corridor (DMIC):

• DMIC is World's largest infrastructure projects investment ~ USD 90 billion
• A high-tech industrial zone spread across six states is foreseen.
• Proposed investment regions development in the first Phase includes Khushkhera- Bhiwadi-Neemrana and Jodhpur-Pali-Marwar (in Rajasthan), which is very well aligned with IITJ-TISC

2.  Innovation council (IIC) and Board of Innovation & Entrepreneurship (BIE)

The Innovation council (IIC) is the flagship MoE (Ministry of Education) initiative for HEIs. It has been established as an enabling mechanism for startups and for promoting local innovation ecosystem by scouting ideas and facilitating pre-incubation of ideas. IIT Jodhpur has its own IIC. The charter of the student body, Board of Innovation & Entrepreneurship established in 2021 is closely aligned with the IIC mandate. IITJ aims to progress towards national prominence in the domain of innovation and entrepreneurship by the year 2027.

•     Goals

     IITJ’s IIC, in conjunction with BIE aims to achieve the following metrics by 2027:

1. On an annual basis, 3% of students taking up opportunities related to M Tech (Entrepreneurship) or pre-incubation through programs like MMT or forming startups on their own
2. On a cumulative basis, 4% of institute faculty members founding startups and working actively on them.
3. Improving Innovation Score in NIRF and ARIIA Ranking.

•     Team structure

            IIC has faculty member representative from each department and student members.

•     Activities

            BIE plans to have 6 verticals with roles and responsibilities symbiotically aligned amongst each other.

1. Events and Competitions
2. Corporate relations
3. Media and Publicity
4. Website and other interface development
5. Incubation and Funding
6. IIC Bridge

   2.1 Key Activities worked out and in the process of implementation.

1. Inviting inspiring speakers, sharing insights from such engagements with larger institute denizens (one speaker every week)
2. Conducting Hackathons, Pitching Competitions (at least one every month) in collaboration with TISC.
3. Propagating information about various external competitions (developing database of such competitions and tracking participation of IITJ students in the same)
4. Building relationships with corporates, inviting customized competitions, funding, and internship opportunities with start-ups.
5. Building relationships in startup ecosystem for interaction and internship opportunities
6. Promoting BIE activities, achievements, insights through various social media handles (Minimum one post every day)
7. Interfacing with various departments and local stakeholders to promote entrepreneurship through case studies etc. (once every fortnight)
8. Development of tools (chat bot, apps) and interfaces to engage with various stakeholders.
9. Active engagement with angel investors and grant providing bodies (network of 15 – 20 angel investors in association with TISC). Sharing of possibilities with student and faculty body
10. Skill development workshops for potential incubatees (at least once every fortnight in association with TISC)
11. IIC reporting and compliance (achieving 5 stars)
12. Tinkering Lab development and its' promotion among students

3. MedTech Joint Programs, MedTech Ecosystem and its Outcomes

Healthcare has experienced an explosion of innovations designed to improve life expectancy and quality of life due to improved diagnostic and therapeutic options. Healthcare organisations, despite these changes, face unprecedented challenges in scaling up to improve quality, improve access, increase efficiency, eliminate waste, and lower costs. The COVID pandemic years are the perfect example of the need for healthcare innovations.  There had been rapid changes in healthcare, from personalised care - tailored specifically to a patient’s genetic profile and needs to an efficient and proactive technology-enabled care models from genomics and organ replacements to medical imaging, sensors, and robotics. Additionally, creative technology-enabled options for effective health encounters (e.g., patient-to-provider, provider-to-provider, and patient-to-patient) are evolving rapidly. 

IITJ suitable changed its' curricula to reflect the need. The Master’s, Master’s-PhD and PhD programs in Medical technologies run jointly by IITJ and AIIMS Jodhpur aim to provide a common platform for doctors and engineers, fostering knowledge sharing and innovation leading to the development of indigenous healthcare devices and systems through the process of incubation and entrepreneurship. This is a Multi-disciplinary program to produce deep-tech innovators in the field of Medical Technologies fuelled by the need for disruptive healthcare technologies, interdisciplinary breakthroughs, the global and

 national need for healthcare innovation, and a fast pace of technology development for self-reliance in the spirit of Atmanirbhar Bharat, Digital Health Mission and Make in India.  

The Medical technologies programs offered jointly by IITJ and AIIMS Jodhpur aim to generate manpower with multi-dimensional capabilities of creative thinking, deep knowledge & strong sense of business.   These programs were launched in 2020 and have been designed to be open and evolve to create a synergy between the skill sets of technologists and medical practitioners.  The coursework consists of core courses in medical informatics and signal processing for the medical graduates taught by IIT Jodhpur faculty and core courses in physiology and anatomy for the engineering graduates taught by AIIMS Jodhpur faculty.  All students attend immersion at the In-Patient and Out-Patient (IPD and OPD) departments of AIIMS Jodhpur to identify problems to be solved. Students create teams  (typically an Engineer and a Doctor) delving deeply into one or more (maximum three) specific clinical areas by direct immersion in relevant inpatient and outpatient settings. Over the course of several weeks, the students document their clinical observations with the goal of creating a list of needs. The next step in the process is developing a need statement carefully crafted to capture the essence of the need. 

In effect, it is a mission statement, serving as the driving force behind the team’s efforts to solve the identified need. This learning is supplemented by courses offered by the School of Management and Entrepreneurship at IIT Jodhpur to train in business models and management.  The state-of-the-art infrastructure at IIT Jodhpur and AIIMS Jodhpur, along with the mentorship of faculty from both institutes, build cross-disciplinary understanding.  

Since 2020, students have been working in diverse, interdisciplinary areas ranging from dentistry, Maxillofacial implants, Neonatal support, Machine Learning Classifiers for Disease Diagnosis, Point of care devices for screening/triage diseases, Nano Sensors for early Diagnosis of Diseases, Light activatable biomimetic nanoparticles, Mixed Reality for Surgery, Bio-printed materials, AI & Robotics assisted Hybrid Ultrasound Image Acquisition System, Prevention/Control of Bedsores/Pressure Ulcers in ICU/CCU, Three-Dimensional Bioprinting and effective cartilage regeneration. Each project has a defined technology outcome submitted for patent and may be incubated at  TISC for exploring commercial opportunities.  

3.1 The Scope of the Joint Medical Technologies Programmes:

3.1.1. The programs provide opportunities to assimilate cutting-edge knowledge in the domain of medical and technological science to address the current and future challenges in the global problems of healthcare sectors

3.1.2. The program also encourages health-techno innovators to initiate a start-up and venture into entrepreneurship.

3.1.3. The program encompasses broad areas related to but not limited to: bio-device development, imaging-based diagnostics, deep-tech solutions, and telemedicine

3.1.4. The program utilizes the individual interests of students and tailor make the course work to enable the doctors and engineers to work jointly to meet the challenges of healthcare.

4. Jodhpur City Knowledge and Innovation Foundation (JCKIF)

Jodhpur City Knowledge and Innovation Foundation (JCKIF), is another Special Purpose Vehicle (a Section-8 company) promoted by IITJ to carry out and sustain the activities of Jodhpur City Knowledge and Innovation Cluster (JCKIC).   JCKIC is one of the six clusters sanctioned by the Office of the Principal Scientific Adviser (OPSA) to the Government of India on the recommendation of the Prime Minister’s Science, Technology and Innovation Advisory Council (PM-STIAC) to create an Atmanirbhar Bharat through Science & Technology. IITJ is the nodal agency for JCKIC. 

JCKIF acts as a facilitator for Jodhpur Cluster to create strong linkages among Academic Institutions, R & D Institutes, National & State Research Laboratories, Government Agencies and Industries of the city of Jodhpur and its surroundings. Faculty members of IITJ are associated with JCKIF in the capacity of PI or Co-PI for different projects under six verticals, namely Medical Technologies, Handicrafts and Handlooms, Water and Environment, I-Governance, AIoT Innovation Hub and Thar DESIGNS 

Various Initiatives towards enriching the Institute Innovation ecosystem

4.1 Projects: JCKIF has prioritized / supported  following projects:

• Smart Graded-Water Supply Grid: In this project, the objective is to develop and collect essential data related to the water supply system of IIT Jodhpur, and use AIoT based smart management to maximize water utilization at minimum expenditure.
• Jodhpur Urban Air Quality Monitoring Project (JUMP): In this project, the objective is to study the indoor and ambient air quality in different micro-environments of Jodhpur and assess the level of awareness about air pollution among the residents of Jodhpur.
• Thar Designs: Towards integrated study of the desert ecosystem to propel discoveries, inventions and innovation for mitigating water and health challenges and catalyzing growth of industry and agriculture for sustenance and livelihood to evolve strategies for sustained management of natural resources, ecological development and integrative precision health in arid regions. A pilot study of project “Ecosystem phenomics inspired solutions for one health” has undertaken various objectives related to Bioprospecting, Bioinspiration, Biological Soil Crusts (BSCs), Ecosystem phenomics and Citizen Science of Thar.
• Handicrafts and Handlooms: Partnered with a private company to develop AR-VR (Augmented and Virtual Reality) based Web Portal, E-Commerce and Digital Museum for the upliftment and promotion of local artisans and their crafts.
• I-Governance: Involved in co-development with a private company towards providing smart traffic management solutions for the City of Jodhpur.

4.2 JCKIF Impact so far on the Innovation Ecosystem

• Masters, PhD and Masters-PhD Programs in Medical Technologies (MMT) jointly offered by IIT Jodhpur & AIIMS Jodhpur was initiated in FY 2020-21 with 25 students. Further 19 more students have joined the program in FY 2021-22 taking the tally to 44 students registered under the program.
• 44 registered students, 03 pre-incubatees, 8 Patent applications submitted
• JCKIF is providing financial support to some MMT students as stipend and for procurement of glassware, chemicals etc.
• A series of 12 lectures titled “Thar Talk Series: AI and Beyond” was organized jointly by the School of Artificial Intelligence and Data Science (AIDE), IIT Jodhpur and JCKIF.
• JCKIF in collaboration with NIFT Jodhpur and IIT Jodhpur had organized in the year 2021 a couple of Need Assessment Workshop Series “Crafts, Tourism and the Pandemic – gauging the current status”,
• Few lectures under “Biodesign Talk series” were organized under the joint programs in Medical Technologies by IIT Jodhpur and AIIMS Jodhpur.
• Few Startups incubated at the TISC Incubator in the area of Medical Technologies.
• JCKIF has signed MoUs with following entities (Academic institutes, Research organizations, and Industries.) for reinforcing the collective leaderships / resources in promoting innovations in Jodhpur and the regions surrounding.
• All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS),
• Defence R&D Organization (DRDO),
• Central Arid Zone Research Institute (ICAR-CAZRI),
• National Institute on Implementation Research (ICMR-NIIRNCD),
• Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan Rajasthan Ayurved University Jodhpur,
• Sampurnanand Medical College (SNMC),
• Jodhpur Industries Association (JIA),
• Rao Jodha Park,
• Podar Educational Institutions,
• Rajasthan State Industrial Development & Investment CorporationLimited (RIICO),
• RajCOMP Info Services Pvt. Ltd. (RISL).

5. TIH - iHub Drishti Foundation

The TIH (Technology Innovation Hub) at IITJ, incorporated as a Section 8 company (under the companies Act 2013) in the name of iHub Drishti Foundation,  focuses on building cyber-physical systems for Computer Vision (CV), Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR). It was promoted by and at IIT Jodhpur in the year 2020 under the National Mission Project  on Interdisciplinary Cyber physical System (NM-ICPS) of the Government of India. 

5.1 Contributions to the Innovation Ecosystem

5.1.1    By the FY 2021-22, iHub Drishti has developed 20 technologies as part of RAKSHAK (Remedial Action, Knowledge Skimming, and Holistic Analysis) initiative of DST. The hub has translated some of these technologies into products/ databanks:

5.1.1(a) Campus Rakshak: A product bouquet consisting of technically astute components to cater: (i) A badging system that enables the real-time implementation of interventions for COVID. (ii) The app that builds an anonymous contact graph, which can aid contact tracing. (iii) A novel smart pooling scheme to quantitatively screening resulting in considerable savings in screening cost. (iv) Simulator that tracks the spatial movement of agents which enables rich visualisation of activity on campuses. Pilot commercial run has been done at IIIT Hyderabad and IIT jodhpur campuses.

5.1.1(b) Smart Health Solution for Rapid Mass Screening using Integrated Telemedicine for Homecare: Monitoring SpO2, heart rate, temperature of human body. Web and Android Application for video conference and chat support. The telemedicine solution is supported in Hindi, Bangla and English. The solution has been deployed at IIT Jodhpur Primary Health Center, and at a village in Sundarban area, West Bengal.

5.1.1(c) Other prototypes/products are: (i) AI-based platform to monitor and identify smell, taste and key COVID-19 therapeutic hotspots. (ii) Lakshman Rekha - A biometric smartphone App for strict post-COVID home quarantine management. (iii) Social distance alert - a wrist band for COVID based on RFID and Bluetooth technology.

5.1.1(d)   Databanks: 4 databanks have been created under RAKSHAK program: (i) Chest CT scans data of Indian COVID-19 patients, (ii) Radiology data for SARS nCov- 2, (iii) Speech and Coughing breathing sound data, (iv) 5 lungs diseases chest X-Ray dataset.

5.1.2    Other Contributions

• iHub Drishti has co-hosted IEEE International Conference on Automatic Face and Gesture Recognition 2021. It has co-organised SRS 2022 in collaboration with ACM student chapter IIT Jodhpur. It has also organised a hackathon in collaboration with Prithvi.AI (Industry Partner).
• A MOU has been signed and five projects initiated in collaboration with DRDO CAIR: (i) Real-time 3D scene reconstruction and localization of autonomous ground vehicles in unknown environments, (ii) Seeing through occlusions, (iii) Visual intelligence generation from wide area sensing, (iv) TrustMe: Explainable adversarial attack detection and mitigation for object recognition algorithm, (v) Human-in-loop control for semi-autonomous system under presence of multimodal sensing and actuation delays.
• Following projects initiated through Open Call: (i) Game development with ASI, (ii) India Anatomy Project Umbrella, (iii) Improving doctor-patient communication using VR, (iv) Haptics based medical simulators for palpation and tele-diagnosis, (v) Content creation solution for AR VR, (vi) Digital museum development with Rajasthan Government.
• iHub Drishti has installed and commissioned an AI System built on NVIDIA A100, NVIDIA DGX A100 which is the universal system for all AI workloads and offers unprecedented compute density, performance and flexibility in the world’s first 5 petaFLOPS AI system.

6. IIT Jodhpur Technology Park

A mini version of IIT Jodhpur Technology Park has been established at the Innovation Centre in the Pocket-B of the main campus. With a few Centres of Excellence in the contemporary technology verticals, this mini version of the Technology Park at the Innovation Centre is envisaged for the creation of a thriving techno- entrepreneurial ecosystem. This is expected to boost the Industry-Academia interactions through collaborative projects, generation of new IPs, creation of new age technology ventures and directly contribute to the capacity building for emerging industries. Presently the industries associated at IIT Jodhpur Technology Park are as follows.

6.1  Johari Digital Healthcare Limited (JDHL), Jodhpur – one of the first MDSAP and US FDA certified GMP audited manufacturing company in India working on design, development, engineering and production of electronic healthcare devices to be distributed worldwide, has set up a Centre of Excellence for Medical Technologies at the Innovation Centre powered by JDHL. The Centre of excellence was established on the 3rd January 2022. The company is since working on a few innovative devices / development for application in the healthcare sector. 

6.2  Rajasthan Solar Association (RSA) launched the Centre of Excellence for Renewable Energy (CERE) at the Technology Park in January 2022. The MoU established between IIT Jodhpur Tech Park and RSA aims at supporting research and development work for renewable energy.   Few R&D projects are being worked out through CSR funds of RSA industries.  RSA has also submitted bids for few projects with the govt. departments for implementation in collaboration with IIT Jodhpur.

Some of the focus areas of research envisaged in this collaboration:

• Advanced electronics
• Remote monitoring
• Trackers and inverters
• Automatic cleaning systems
• Solar, thermal and wind-solar
• Interventions in solar panel technologies
• Research on polysilicon and entire value-chain
• AI and deep learning

6.3 WhizHack Technologies Private Limited came in an agreement with IIT Jodhpur Tech Park and a Centre of Excellence (CoE) in Cyber-Physical-Systems Security has started functioning with effect from 1st June 2022 to encourage and promote cooperation for developing jointly branded Advocacy, Training programs and Product Development in the mentioned areas. WhizHack Technologies is the first Indian product engineering and human capital development company for managing complete value chain of secured cyber environment.

6.4  M/s KritiKal Solutions Pvt. Ltd signed an MoU on 2nd August 2022 to start a Research and Development Centre at IIT Jodhpur Technology Park. The unit - in close association/collaboration with the institute, plans to promote and facilitate the imparting of education and knowledge, and to develop, create and enhance technological innovations in the field of emerging technologies particularly in Vision, Embedded, and upcoming software technologies. 

It is now proposed to setup an on-campus a Technology Park with larger capacity. One major thrust area planned for promotion at the technology park is the Artificial Intelligence of Things (AIoT) fab-lab.  Proposed infra/facilities shall include common facilities (having provisions for design, simulation and fabrication of AIoT products) to support industrial research and pilot plants at the Technology Park. Other thrust area shall be MedTech and devices leveraging AI/ML in partnerships with industries. The Technology Park shall also have Acceleration and advanced facilities for matured start-ups to reside and leverage the state-in-art infra and industry association. 

 In collaboration with AIIMS Jodhpur, IITJ is working on development of innovative medical devices. The proposed Technology Park shall have a MedTech innovation Centre set up in collaboration with AIIMS Jodhpur with the requisite facilities. The infra development in the Technology Park will

• Have a Common Research and Technology Development Hub (CRDH) providing access to hardware and software facilities for end-to-end research, prototype development and pilot production of products for AIoT space.
• An industrial level digital fabrication facility
• Facilities for testing and calibration of medical devices
• Provide an interface for industries to collaborate with faculty and students of IITJ and other research and academic organizations in the country and Jodhpur in particular.
• Enable interface for mentors and investors including government agencies to work with MSME and start-ups.

7. IITJ Marudhara Foundation

IIT Jodhpur Marudhara Foundation was set up as an independent entity - a Section 8 company (under the Indian Companies Act 2013), essentially as a fund raising company to support IIT Jodhpur on the following objectives:

• To encourage, promote and facilitate education and research and other activities of the Indian Institute of Technology Jodhpur.
• To encourage dialogue with industries for research and consulting projects

 The above summarizes the various intermediaries in the Institute innovation system and the nodal activities of each. IIT Jodhpur is continually monitoring, reviewing the innovation ecosystem to ensure an environment conducive to create future technopreneurs by providing the facilities and opportunities through its academic program and immersive experiences. The various interventions described above are available to various stakeholders in the IITJ ecosystem – students, faculty, alumni, industry partners, etc. IITJ is forging ahead with its support towards (i) an Atmanirbhar Bharat focus of the country and (ii) enabling the emergence of successful entrepreneurs and Technology leaders of the future.

About the Authors

IIT Jodhpur: A Place to be, to become the best version of yourself

Ankita Sharma, Samanwita Pal, Indranil Banerjee

The changing landscape of vibrant student activities at IIT Jodhpur

Over the past decade, IIT Jodhpur has experienced significant growth in terms of the number of students, disciplines, programs, and infrastructure. From the initial days, the institute has provided on-campus accommodation to students enrolled in various programs. Till 2015, students used to stay on temporary residential campuses, namely the GPRA Residential Campus and the BSNL Residential Campus. BSNL, in particular, provided on-campus accommodation to married students. In 2017, at the time of shifting to its permanent campus in Karwar, the Institute housed approximately 850 students in three boys' hostels and one girl's hostel. The campus offered one dining facility and a canteen service for students. The entire hostel management, along with student activities at that point in time, was managed by the Council of Wardens, consisting of the Chairman, Wardens Committee, and wardens. Apart from hostels, student activities were managed through various student boards under the supervision of the faculty in charge (FIC). The entire student management, including hostels, was taken care of by the Coordinator, Students.

In 2015-16, student gymkhana comprised seven student societies, namely the Academic, Research, and Management (ARM) Society, the Media, Arts, and Design (MAD) Society, the Nurturing-Understanding Technology and Science (NUTS) Society, the Sports, Adventures, Games, and Explorations (SAGE) Society, and the Writing, Awareness, Vocals, Entertainment, and Social (WAVES) Society, which organized various student activities on campus. Students of IIT Jodhpur participated in a number of national-level competitions and organized student cultural, technical, and social events during this period. The major achievement of the students was to organize IGNUS, the flagship event of student societies and one of its kind in Western Rajasthan. Since then, the student activities have gone through several upscaling processes. In 2017, the student gymkhana went through a major restructuring with the formation of the first-ever student constitution. The constitution clearly laid out the responsibilities and processes of the student bodies. The general secretary of Student Gymkhana was elected, and the creation of five societies was accomplished, namely cultural and literary; sports and games; design and arts; science and technology; academics and careers; campus life; and student regatta (including hostel students’ representatives). For the proliferation of student activities and smooth management of various student affairs, the position of Associate Dean of Student Affairs was created in 2018. Hostel wardens and FIC, Student societies, and dedicated staff members carried out various student activities and hostel management under the guidance of the Associate Dean, Student Affairs. Further, to augment the hostel facilities, in 2021, the position of Associate Dean, Hostel Affairs was created.

During 2019-2020 a major revamping of student affairs was initiated with the inception of integrated hostel management and the restructuring of the student constitution. The integrated hostel management aimed to provide hostel facilities, housekeeping, security, and dining services through a single point of contact. On the other hand, student activities were restructured through the introduction of the student constitution, which allowed the representation of student bodies at each level of Institution administration. Amidst COVID-19, the Institute experienced a major change in student hostel management as well as student gymkhana. In late 2020, the Student Gymkhana was dissolved. In 2021, a new constitution was drafted, and as per the constitution, a new organizational form of the student body emerged with three distinct functional modules: the Student Activity Council (SAC), the Academic and Co-curricular Activity Council (ACAC), and the student senate. In 2022, general elections for student representatives took place.  Under these councils, different boards have now been created that are organizing various events and activities throughout the year.

IIT Jodhpur is constantly engaging itself in improving student life on campus by building new hostels and various other student amenities, including dining halls, food courts, sports grounds, and student activity areas. Over the last five years, the campus has seen tremendous growth in student facilities, including a total of 14 new hostels, indoor and outdoor sports complexes, tinkering labs, designated student activity areas, student common areas, an open-air cafeteria, and night canteens. SAC and ACAC have come up with separate cultural and technical events, namely IGNUS and Prometeo. Students are also involved in organizing national and state-level events such as VIRASAT (SPIC-MACAY classical festival), FRAMED (an art and photography exhibit), SPANDAN (intra-hostel cultural events), VARCHAS (inter institute Sports festival), and AFTAAB (a literary festival).

Empowering the students: Constitution of the Student Council

IIT Jodhpur has a parallel student body structure (SAC, ACAC, and Student Senate) that enables representativeness and participation in the institute’s policy-making processes and empowers the students to decide and organize various co-curricular and extra-curricular activities. The councils aim to empower students to actively contribute towards a harmonious academic, social, and cultural ecosystem at IIT Jodhpur. These councils are the key instrument for coordination and cooperation between various sections of the student community. The Student Senate is the ultimate representation of the general student body, acts as a bridge between the student community and the institute administration, and ensures effective coordination between the two.

Fabric of IIT Jodhpur Student Life

IIT Jodhpur provides a vibrant learning environment for the students with opportunities for excelling in curricular, co-curricular, and extracurricular activities. The campus life at IIT Jodhpur enables the students to pursue educational, professional, and personal ambitions and dreams by fostering a holistic, inclusive, transformative, and supportive environment and inspiring them to become compassionate, influential, and socially responsible citizens of the global community. The creation of such an environment happened over the last five years through a series of focused transformations at the organizational, functional, and aspirational levels, supported by the planned development of infrastructure for the student’s living and activities.

• A conducive learning environment and supporting ecosystem for academic, co-curricular, and extracurricular learning.
• Student participation in decision-making at various levels of institutional administration through elected student representatives and institutionally recognized and empowered student bodies
• Implementation of a progressive, future-centric, student-empowering constitution for student representation at various levels, including class, hostel, and administration
• Complete experiential learning beyond the classroom by blending academic and co-curricular activities and events.
• A calendar full of vibrant, creative, thoughtful, and engaging student events at inter- and intra-institutional levels covering the entire spectrum of co-curricular and extracurricular activities.
• A structured but compassionate support system of peers and seniors for students with any vulnerability or difficulty.
• Existence of an open, progressive, and multi-ethnic cultural milieu for inclusive growth
• Personal ‘space’ and cross-cultural exchanges in the hostel and mess for the healthy development of young minds
• Awareness, connections, and contributions to the societal cause to make the student responsive to the social cause
• Connection with alma maters for life-long learning advice and support for professional and personal growth

Hostel life at IIT Jodhpur

Hostel life at IIT Jodhpur is an integral part of student life. The Institute provides on-campus hostel accommodation to all registered students. Presently, the institute has a number of state-of-the-art hostels inside the campus, which were built over the last few years. Architectural excellence helps these buildings maintain a comfortable indoor temperature throughout the year, even during the hot summer. Furthermore, all the hostel rooms are air-conditioned. All the hostels have a lift (elevator) facility and a ramp at the entrance. The student community of IIT Jodhpur is comprised of diverse cultural, ethnic, demographic, and religious backgrounds. The dining services of IIT Jodhpur cater to this pluralistic community throughout the year. There are two large dining buildings comprising four big halls that are used for dining services. Both dining buildings have central air conditioning. The institute is presently running centralized dining facilities where vegetarian and non-vegetarian food is served separately in different dining halls. This centralized dining facility is an excellent place for cross-cultural exchange among students irrespective of gender, discipline, age, or background.

Vibrancy of life

Life at IIT Jodhpur is very vibrant, with different activities and celebrations. There are four major Inter-Institute fests that are hallmarks of IIT Jodhpur students’ activities. These are Ignus: The Cultural Fest, Varchas: The Sports Fest, Prometeo: The Technical Fest, and Aaftab: The Literature Fest. In addition to festivals, students have year-long activities, including intra-institute competitions such as Spandan: a cultural and literary festival; Kridansh, Kridansh: Sports festival; and Intellia: an inter-department festival, musical nights, and celebrations of commemorative days. Other initiatives like Ek Bharat, Shrestha Bharat, and Viraasat (SPICMACAY) enrich the lives of students. Students celebrate a number of traditional festivals, such as Holi, Janmashtami, Diwali, etc., in the hostels with joy and a spirit of cultural harmony. Celebration of such festivals involves cultural competitions, exhibitions, joyful events, and pujas. Residents of the hostels are also enthusiastically participating in different intra- and inter-hostel sports competitions, both indoor and outdoor. The most amazing part of these events and activities is that they are organized by the student body under the supervision of faculty members. Thereby giving students a chance to learn planning, decision-making, financial management, marketing, etc.

Glimpses of Milkha Singh Sports Complex @ IIT Jodhpur

About the Authors

History and development of Central Facilities at IIT Jodhpur

Samanwita Pal , Jayita Sarkar , Suman Kundu, Kshema Prakash & Team

Centre for Research & Development of Scientific Instruments 

Samanwita Pal and Jayita Sarkar  

The state-of-the-art central instrumentation facility of IIT Jodhpur, which was established in the year 2018 as Centre for Advanced Scientific Equipment (CASE), has been re-designated as the Centre for Research & Development of Scientific Instruments (CRDSI) with the following aims:

1. Advanced scientific instrumentation service to researchers from both academic and industrial organizations.
2. R & D for advanced scientific instrumentation.
3. Technology development and innovation in the area of scientific instrumentation and
4. Encouraging start-ups for scientific instrumentation

 At present, a total number of 93 high-end instruments are under the CRDSI facility. Currently, the space allotted for CRDSI facility (Room No. 111 & 112, ground floor, Chemistry building) houses 22 equipment including various sophisticated instruments such as 500 MHz NMR, Single Crystal XRD, Powder XRD, AFM, SEM, PPMS Dynacool, SQUID, Surface area analyzer, DSC, TGA etc. The rest of the instruments under the facility are located in various departments. The overall day to day activities and the policy of the Centre is determined by a committee of faculty of this institute. Dedicated technical staff members under the guidance of a scientific officer are available at the center for smooth management of the facilities. The center at present is looking forward to expand its resources both in terms of infrastructure and manpower. The institute has allotted a new building for housing a series of newly procured sophisticated instruments. Further, under the HEFA scheme of MOE the center is in the process of procuring high end equipment for augmentation of multi-disciplinary research endeavors of the Institute.

The policies in place

The main objective of CRDSI is to offer users of IIT Jodhpur as well as external users a smooth access to various high-end equipment for their research activity in the multidisciplinary field. To fulfill this objective CRDSI facility provides its users a transparent and well-maintained booking system through which users can book slots for measurement on any equipment under the facility persuasively. CRDSI, IIT Jodhpur is registered with the I-STEM portal of the Government of India, and manages an external booking system allowing users from various parts of India to use the instruments. The CRDSI committee appointed a faculty in charge for each of the instruments for smooth running and maintenance the equipment. Moreover, CRDSI has an endeavor to provide hands-on training for students of IIT Jodhpur as well as external users by arranging training program and workshops on various sophisticated instruments for their professional growth. Faculty in charges organize training program periodically on various equipment such as NMR, Raman spectrometer, SEM etc. for internal students. In addition to this CRDSI has organized a DST funded week long (8^th August-14th August, 2022) workshop “Synergistic Training Utilizing the Scientific and Technological Infrastructure” (STUTI) on instrumentation to provide training towards the underprivileged students from all over the country. It was inaugurated by The Director, IIT Jodhpur Prof. Santanu Chaudhary on 8^th August, 2022. A total number of 45 students were shortlisted for participating in this program from the 300 students registered online for STUTI. Students from twelve different states of the country namely Tamil Nadu, Delhi, MP, Maharashtra, Bihar, UP, Kerala, Rajasthan, Haryana, Uttrakhand, Gujrat and Panjab participated in the program. By providing such opportunity towards the external users CRDSI facility is thriving to extend its service to all national institutes and R & D organizations across the country for accessing this facility on a minimal chargeable basis.   

Future prospects

The center plans to come up with academic training programs, PG diploma and certificate courses for creation of dedicated manpower for handling, repair and maintenance of high end equipment. In future the center will plan to organize several short term workshops and training programs on specific instruments for the region to popularize the use and handling of sophisticated equipment. The center will also register govt. funded projects owned by faculty and staff associated with the center. At present one DST-SERB funded project entitled “Crafting Potential Broad Spectrum Antimicrobial Leads from Pyrophosphate Moiety of Lipid-II Precursor of Bacterial Cell Wall Peptidoglycan” is registered. 

The remarkable journey of Computer Center at IIT Jodhpur 

Suman Kundu 

The Computer Center of the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Jodhpur stands as a testament to the institution's commitment to cutting-edge research, innovation, and technological development. As a pivotal hub for computing and information technology, the Computer Center has played a crucial role in shaping the academic landscape and the advancement of the institute. Since its inception, the Computer Center has undergone remarkable development and growth, aligning itself with advancements in the field of computing. Equipped with state-of-the-art infrastructure and a team of highly skilled professionals, the center has fostered an environment conducive to research and learning. 

The center’s primary objective is to provide computational resources, technical support, and expertise to students, faculty members, and researchers across various disciplines. Its advanced computing facilities include high-performance computing clusters, AI supercomputers, specialized software, and a robust network infrastructure. These resources empower the IIT Jodhpur community to undertake complex computational tasks, simulate intricate models, and conduct data-intensive research. 

The Computer Center hosts a modern data center that is capable of hosting more than forty 42U server racks.  That is, the data center has ample capacity to accommodate future growth and expansion. The data center is equipped with precision cooling systems that ensure optimal performance and reliability, and redundant power backups that guarantee uninterrupted operations. The data center already houses an array of virtualization clusters, which are used for all automation (ERP, eOffice, etc.) needs at the institute. This cluster is powered by seven modern servers and a 250 TB storage system. 

The Computer Center serves as an epicenter for academic and technical training programs. It enables its faculties to offer workshops, seminars, and training sessions on different technologies and tools. Further, the Computer Center engages students of IIT Jodhpur in challenging hands-on projects that provide exposure to different modern technologies at the data center. Through this initiative, the Computer Center established its OpenStack cluster and data center monitoring and tracking system. These initiatives not only enhance the knowledge and skills of students but also promote innovation. 

In terms of its current status, the Computer Center of IIT Jodhpur continues to evolve and adapt to the changing technological landscape. It developed infrastructure to remain at the forefront of research and development, addressing challenges in areas such as artificial intelligence, data science, cybersecurity, and high-performance computing. Furthermore, the center places a strong emphasis on open-source software and promotes its usage across the institute. It encourages students and faculty members to use and contribute to the open-source community, fostering a culture of sharing and collaboration. The future vision for the Computer Center of IIT Jodhpur is to enhance its capabilities, such as upgradation of HPC and new software, are under procurement. 

It has been a remarkable journey for the computer center, from a mere Computer Laboratory with two technical staff members to a fully equipped Data center managed by 20 experts. The following figure expresses the journey in one picture before going into exact detail on the following pages.

The inception

During the inception days of IIT Jodhpur, the institute operated from the IIT Kanpur campus. All the Computer Center’s needs were met at IIT Kanpur’s Computer Center. In the academic year 2010–2011, the institute moved from the IIT Kanpur campus to the city of Jodhpur. The MBM Engineering College Jodhpur building served as the temporary campus for the institute. On this temporary campus, the institute established a well-equipped Computer Center that initially relied on 100 Mbps of internet bandwidth on a 1 Gigabit LAN network. In the following academic year, it was upgraded to the NKN network with 1 Gbps bandwidth. The Computer Center built a computation lab with 100 terminals offering both GNU/Linux and Windows operating systems. Several licensed software programs, including Matlab, Mathematica, Cadence, Mentor Graphic, Ansys, PSCAD, Solidworks, etc., were made accessible through. Both the residential campus at GPRA and the academic campus at MBM Engineering College had 802.11/b/g/n Wi-Fi enabled. 

Early years at the Temporary Campus

In order to meet its high performance computing needs, IIT Jodhpur purchased its first HPC cluster from Fujitsu in 2011 with 6 TF of computing power and 520 CPU cores. Additionally, six Dell Power-Edge R810/R910 servers were purchased to house networking services and on-campus web servers. In order to expand the institute's online services, more servers (Fujitsu RX600-S6 and Celsius R920) were purchased during the 2012–2013 academic year. The automation team hosted automation software on these systems. PG Admission, Transit Hostel Booking, Faculty and Student Leave, Student Bonafide, Vehicle Booking, and other functions are among the early automation software developed-in-house and being used extensively.

Days of Permanent Campus

IIT Jodhpur relocated to its permanent campus in July 2017 from its temporary campus. On the ground floor of the Library building, a new computer center with a data center and a laboratory of 90 terminals went into operation. Computer Center purchased all major networking equipment, including firewalls, core switches, distribution switches, servers, and SAN storage, along with an IP phone-based communication system. In 2019, the center expanded its laboratory spaces. There are currently two labs, each with 80 and 90 terminals, respectively. In 2019, Computer Center procured WebEx Meeting Licenses, Cisco Webex Room 70 Dual, Webex Room 55 Single, and Webex Board 55: 1 each for boardroom and classroom use, as well as to host online meetings and events. Meanwhile, the institute has also upgraded to a 10 G backbone network.

Last three years of rapid growth

The Computer Center went through major changes in infrastructure starting in 2020. In 2020, the center expanded to a new building, making its modern data center operational. The second phase of the network was established in the same year. A new Wireless Controller has been added to the appliances in the Computer Center. Two new ILL services were added to cater to all internet requirements during COVID time. The center is now running with a 4 Gbps uplink from three different ISPs. Two new NVIDIA AI supercomputers, the DGX A100, were added to the computing infrastructure. A CPU-CPU HPC of 20 Compute nodes powering a 70 TF computation capability was added to the Computer Center.

This HPC is powered by AMD/Lenovo. The HPC comprises 3072 CPU cores, 400 TB of storage, and 7 TB of RAM. Computer Center also upgraded its network security appliance by adding a new UTM from Fortinet. It can provide seamless protection from any cyberthreat.

A new virtualization cluster with seven servers was also added for production software. This cluster supported the digitalization of the institute. The institute moved aggressively into digitalization, and the Computer Center supported it end-to-end in this process. The virtualization cluster hosts eOffice systems from the National Informatics Centre, library software, and other automation software. A Jira Service Desk based ticketing system has been introduced for better support from the Computer Center. This is the period when the computer center hosted different services powered by open source technologies. To name a few, Mattermost for discussion, Gitlab and Github for version control, OwnCloud for cloud storage, Moodle for LMS, and VPL for programming assignments. The institute signed an MoU with IIT Kharagpur for the deployment of their ERP at IIT Jodhpur in 2021, and the same is now hosted at the data center of the Computer Center. 

Teamwork

The Computer Center, which was started with a few technical members from the Department of Computer Science and Engineering, has grown to more than 20 technical members. The team is young and dynamic and well versed in different aspects of the ICT and data center, including system administration (3), network (5), software development (9), event management (2), and lab management (2). 

 In conclusion, the Computer Center of IIT Jodhpur stands as a symbol of technological excellence. It has played a pivotal role in the development and advancement of the institute, providing a robust platform for research, learning, and collaboration. With its state-of-the-art infrastructure and focus on cutting-edge technologies, the Computer Center continues to propel IIT Jodhpur towards greater heights in the realm of computer science and technology. 

Watering the Seeds of Learning: a library memoir

Kshema Prakash, Kamlesh J. Patel, Chunni Chhatwani, Amit K. Soni

A library, particularly, of an academic institute, is considered to be at the heart and soul of learning. It heartening to share the journey of a 2^nd generation IIT library through this memoir. The library of IIT Jodhpur was started by the mentor institute’s library, i.e., P. K. Kelkar Library of IIT Kanpur, in their campus. The library collection, and services, were offered to the IIT Rajasthan students, by their library staff members, initially from P. K. Kelkar library, and shortly after, from the top floor of their Helicopter research building where a space was set aside for the library. Alongside, the highly equipped multi-storeyed P. K. Kelkar Library with digital archiving and on-line reference was also made accessible on special terms of usage for IIT Rajasthan students and faculty, for the purpose of borrowing books and referring to journals. 

It was April 2010 when the first library staff member joined the IIT Rajasthan team in IIT Kanpur campus, and took charge of the library. Soon, in the month of May, the mentee IIT relocated to Jodhpur and the library started setting up its operations in the MBM Engineering College premises. The first couple of months were spent in the basement of what came to be known as the Administration Building in the MBM Campus, setting up the library management system, establishing networks with libraries of other IITs, the sister-IITs and the big brother-IITs, and other CFTI libraries in the country to seek ideas, and support in terms of establishing a new library, finding resources.                 

Soon after, as the library materials arrived from the Kanpur campus, a space was identified and allocated on the ground floor of the Academic Block 1 (1001) to house the library collections and start regular functioning, as the Institute was taking next steps to admit the third batch.

The library books arrived along with a couple of computers. Within a week’s time, the physical setting up of the stacks and data entry of precisely, 3,064 books into the library database was completed, and library acquisitions and transactions were completely automated and used barcode for circulation transactions. Supporting the Open Source initiatives in the field of library management, the IIT Jodhpur library consciously chose to adopt an Open Source Library Management Software for the purpose. As a matter of fact, IIT Jodhpur’s library has always functioned with full automation, since its very inception. The contribution of the mentor institute in previous automation efforts are gratefully acknowledged. 

The first library committee was constituted, acquisition of books were initiated and access to journals were started, through the erstwhile Indian National Digital Library in Engineering, Sciences & Technology (INDEST) Consortium, which was operated from IIT Delhi. The third year students were given a summer project of developing the first website for IIT Jodhpur library. In the beginning of 2011, another library staff member joined and it became a team of two, besides an ad-hoc help. The basic library services that were offered during 2010-2012 were library acquisitions & subscriptions, circulation and member services, inter-library loans & document supply.

In 2012, another hall across the library space, was allocated to develop a digital library facility in AB1-1011. By 2012, the acquisitions and subscriptions started to grow. The institute community could access many journal resources in the areas of engineering and sciences, such as, ACM Digital Library, American Chemical Society, American Institute of Physics, American Physical Society, ASME Digital Library, Elsevier’s Science Direct, IEL Online, IMechE, Institute of Physics, Nature, Springer Link, Taylor & Francis, Wiley Online Library, JStor, EBSCO Academic Search, Mathscinet, Scopus, and Scifinder, to name a few. Also, a branch library was started in the residential premises at GPRA on Pali Road, Jodhpur, for the students who wished to study during the late hours. By 2014, the library increased the seating space for students by adding a reading parlour, by enclosing the adjacent space. Two more members were added to the library team, and the collection grew to 12,000 volumes. Besides the regular services, we scaled-up the Orientation & User Education, Reference & Information Service, and Current Awareness Service. Subscriptions increased to include plagiarism detection tool and remote access tool.

In 2015, the library moved to integration of digital payment gateway for students, library vendor management web-app for library acquisitions, development of institutional repository, theses repository, institute communications repository, which were major milestones. The library norms were in place.

The Epic Campus Exodus

After spending two years in the mentor campus, and seven years in the transit campus, the final migrations into the permanent campus began in July 2017. IIT Jodhpur library is the first among all second-generation IIT libraries to relocate into its own building. Also, another milestone in 2017 is approval of the first Vision Document of the library and formal renaming of the library as The Learning Hub by the Board of Governors of IIT Jodhpur. The Learning Hub on the permanent campus of the Institute is sited pre-eminently at the entrance of the academic area of the Institute, stands as the tallest structure on the campus scaling over 15m from the ground; keeps time for the entire campus with a 4-way clock at the clock tower, only the third in the city of Jodhpur. 

Once the great movement took place, there was no looking back. The library spread its wings and expanded its collection, services and facilities. Taking cognizance of presence of a large number of young readers on campus and to promote reading habit in them, a Children’s Library was started under the umbrella of The Learning Hub, for the children of IIT Jodhpur fraternity. This facility continues to be a major attraction to the children on campus. Library crossed another milestone in 2019 by launching biometric-enabled RFID system of access authentication, self-service and inventory.

Surmounting the challenges that CoVID-19 has posed and drawing positivity through negative times, the library marched ahead confidently by intensifying the collection development in terms of eBooks so that both teachers and the taught can access their required learning material from the safe comfort of their homes. Having renamed in the honour of the Father of Library Science in India as The S. R. Ranganathan Learning Hub, the library has expanded and accelerated its activities. In 2020, the library team has launched its flagship activity, The Learning Hub Workshop Series, wherein regular user education workshops and training sessions are organized that help the users in making most of various resources and tools that the library acquires licenses. Alongside of the author workshops, the library regularly provides research support services to the institute community and the management. Today the library collection stands close to 15,000 print books, 3000 eBooks and 75 journal resources, academic and research support tools.

Aligning with the lofty Vision of IIT Jodhpur, as a part of IITJ@15, the S. R. Ranganathan Learning Hub, has initiated The Learning Hub Webinar Series from July 2023, wherein library experts from universities in India and abroad are invited to speak on topics of importance and benefit to the library user community. Sharing and exchange of ideas on these trending topics is seen to be of great advantage from a global stand point, especially for those students who aspire to pursue their careers in academics and research. Two such events have already taken off covering the topics of scholarly publishing, ethics, research integrity, and (mis)use of AI tools. This initiative has been very successful and highly applauded, both by the institute community and by the students from higher educational institutes in the city of Jodhpur.

In closing…

Users are the reason why we exist. Their satisfaction speaks volumes of our success. And, our services are driven by the strength of our team, propelled by the guidance of the Library Committee, and the motivational support of the institute authorities.

Garden of knowledge

In the garden of knowledge, we sow the seeds,

Tiny whispers of wisdom, fulfilling our needs.

With tender care, we nurture each young sprout,

Watering the seeds of learning, without a doubt.

A gentle stream of curiosity flows,

Quenching the thirst for knowledge, it bestows.

The droplets dance, a symphony of grace,

Enchanting minds in this sacred space.

From the fertile soil, ideas take flight,

In the warmth of the sun’s radiant light.

With every drop, the roots delve deep,

Into the earth, their secrets to keep.

The saplings rise, reaching for the skies,

In pursuit of truths, they start to rise.

Their leaves unfurl, like pages unturned,

As the quest for understanding is yearned.

With each passing day, the garden grows,

A vibrant tapestry of wisdom that shows.

Branches intertwine, forming a canopy,

Where seekers of knowledge wander free.

From ancient texts to the digital domain,

The garden of learning knows no chain.

For in the water’s flow, we find the key,

To unlock the doors of curiosity.

Let’s tend this garden with care,

Let the seeds of learning dare,

To blossom into a world inspired,

Where the thirst for knowledge is never tired,

And the poet remains retired.

Fifteen Years of Campus Development

Anand Padegaonkar, Vinay Yadav, Amitava Mitra

Inception of IIT Jodhpur

Indian Institute of Technology Jodhpur is one amongst the Second Generation IITs and it was established in 2008, to foster technology education and research in India. It was initially started in IIT Kanpur with the name -IIT Rajasthan under the directorship of Prof. Prem Kumar Kalra (2008-13).  The Institute was shifted to Jodhpur in the year 2010 and renamed as Indian Institute of Technology Jodhpur. It started its academic activities from its temporary campus at Mugneeram Bangur Memorial (MBM) Engineering College, Jodhpur which is a very renowned engineering college under the Jai Narain Vyas University, Jodhpur. For residences of Students, Faculty & Staff quarters at General Pool Residential Accommodation (GPRA) and BSNL Campus were arranged. 

Establishment of the Permanent Campus

The land (852 acres) on which the permanent campus was developed was the part of the three villages- Karwar, Jheepasani and Gharao situated on the northern side of the Jodhpur city and along the northwest direction near the Karwar Police Station at Nagaur Road on NH-62. It was acquired in 2011 and presently identified as Pocket-A (650 Acres): the Main Campus (Academic & Residential Complex), Pocket-B (192 Acres): Innovation Complex and Technology Park and Pocket-C (10 Acres): Commercial and School complex. The foundation stone of the permanent campus was laid by Shree Ashok Gehlot (Hon’ble Chief Minister of Rajasthan), Dr. Mangapati Pallam Raju (Hon’ble Minister of HRD, Govt. of India) and Smt. Chandresh Kumari Katoch (Hon’ble Minister of Culture, Govt. of India) on 16^th April 2013.

Bhoomi poojan and Inauguration of the First Building of IIT Jodhpur

The Institute performed the groundbreaking ceremony of auspicious bhoomi poojan at its permanent campus at Karwad Village on 2^nd May 2014. This ceremony marks the beginning of the permanent campus construction activity. The first building of the Institute that was constructed at the pocket-B was the ‘Project Building’ and presently used for Kendriya Vidyalaya. On the occasion of the 69^th Independence Day of India on 15 August 2015, the First Building at the Permanent Campus of IIT Jodhpur was inaugurated by the three youngest members of the IIT Jodhpur family.

Bhoomi Poojan	Inauguration of First Building

Foundation Stone	Project office Building

Planning of Campus Infrastructure Development

The Campus Master Plan was finalized and the construction of the main campus was started during the directorship of Prof. C. V. R. Murty (2013-18). The Project Management Consultant for the campus development was Central Public Works Department (CPWD). The campus Master Plan of IIT Jodhpur’s Permanent Campus was selected for “Exemplary Performance Award” in the ‘Passive Architecture Design’ category by the Green Rating for Integrated Habitat Assessment (GRIHA) Council of the Ministry of Urban Development, Government of India. The campus was developed in two Phases namely Phase I & Phase II.

Some special features of the campus design

• Service tunnel of size 4m x 4 m about 3.1 Km long and network of trenches and sub-trenches to accommodate HVAC, Water supply, Fire-fighting, Data Networking, LV cables, LT cable services etc.
• Double walls with thermal insulation- External walls of all the buildings are double walled with 65 mm XPS thermal insulation board in between  for thermal insulation. The terrace is also thermally insulated. This reduces the heat load and saves electrical energy to the extent of 20%.
• Berm- Campus is surrounded by Berms on the South West side of height ~14-15 m to prevent entry of hot winds in buildings during summers. Front Berms have been covered with plants and space below are being utilized for Substation, A.C. Chillers, Services Centre, Bank, Offices, Laboratories, Museum, Activity rooms etc.
• Decentralized Wastewater Treatment System (DWTS) - Using settling tanks for primary treatment and anaerobic treatment through Baffled Wall Reactors and aerobic treatment through planted filter beds as secondary treatment. Recycled water being presently used for Horticulture and planned to be used for both horticulture and for flushing in toilets.
• Rain water Harvesting- All hostels are designed with an underground tank for rainwater harvesting and the surface runoff is collected in natural baori through the network of swales.

Present status of the buildings

Phase-I: The Phase-I of the construction work was completed in March 2018. The major buildings that were built under this phase were Chanakya Complex (Administrative Building), SR Ranganathan Learning Hub (Library), S.S. Bhatnagar Bhawan (Basic Lab), Jnan Chandra Ghosh Lecture Hall Complex, Rangaswamy Narasimhan Bhawan (Computer Sc. & Engg.), Acharya P. C. Ray Bhawan (Chemistry), J.C. Bose Bhawan (Electrical Engg.), G. Doraiswamy Naidu Bhawan (Mechanical Engg.). Moriya community Centre was also developed in Phase -I. The faculty quarters were constructed to accommodate about 60 faculty members and their families. Single seated AC accommodation was created for ~950 students in Phase-I of construction along with a centralised dining hall facility. The shifting of facilities from the temporary campus to the permanent campus started from the year 2017 in a phased manner. 

Phase-II: The major development activities of the campus was executed in the Phase-II under the directorship of Prof. Santanu Chaudhury (2018- continuing). In the Phase-II development work, the academic buildings that were constructed are Bibha Chowdhuri Bhawan (Physics), Asima Chatterjee Bhawan (Bio Science & Bio Enginering), A Ramakrishna Bhawan (Civil & Infrastructure Engineering), T.R. Anantharaman Bhawan (Metallurgy & Materials Engineering and Chemical Engineering), Srinivasa Ramanujan Centre (Computer Centre), PC Mahalanobis Bhawan (AI & Data Science), G N Ramachandran Centre for Advanced Scientific Equipment and APJ Abdul Kalam Innovation Complex (Incubation and Innovation Complex). Shalihotra Animal House, Jivaka Primary Health Centre and Jodhpur Club was also constructed in Phase II development. Two porta cabins complexes- Aruna Asaf Ali Complex (School of Management & Entrepreneurship) and Iravati Karve Complex (School of Liberal Arts and Mathematics) were also created to accommodate the growing academic activities of the institute. The Kaushambi Housing Complex was created for the accommodation of 84 families of staff members. The faculty quarters, Sravasti Housing Complex was also expanded to accommodate a total 132 families. The Capacity of Hostel accommodation was increased to 2511 with the construction of 08 more hostels of single occupancy and additional one dining hall was constructed for Mess facilities. The project as per DPR was completed on 31st July 2021 with a total cost of 1158.22Cr with a built up area of 2,32,328 Sq. m. Besides expenditure from the HEFA loan, the Institute also spent its own resources to meet the rapid growth of the institute.

The new pre-cast technology was also introduced to build one hostel (327 seater capacity) and one transit accommodation (for 48 families) to reduce the construction time and to meet the growing need of accommodation of students and faculties. With the construction of one more hostel presently, the institute can provide accommodation for 3,077 students.

The art works in the campus

(a) Sculptures within the Campus

1. Circle of Success: The institute has developed various theme-based artworks within the campus. Just after entering the main gate one will find the Circle of success. This sculpture represents the circular dance of knowledge like the cosmic dance of Nataraja - an interplay of the circles of creation, preservation and destruction - besides the balletic form of the compass upon a drawing board releasing ripples in the form of circles. Science itself is a tool giving expression to thought and imagination. The circle is a universal symbol representing perfection, eternity. The circular form is also used to represent the Zero, which was first used in India as a value on its own.

2. Brain Tree Circle: The major landmark of the institute is the ‘Brain Tree Circle’. This sculpture employs the motif of the circuit as seen on a printed circuit board. It is contoured to take the form of the brain. It suggests the overlapping of human and artificial intelligence, leaving the possibilities to the imagination. This is not only about the potential of neurotechnology but the potential of leveraging machine intelligence with the purpose of enhancing the human experience, through establishing connections in the same way that a PCB connects electronic or electrical components, to perform a function of value.

3. Friendship Fountain: The Water Fountains are developed to enhance the beauty of the campus in front of Chanakya Complex (Administrative Building). It is named as Friendship Water Fountain. Friendship Fountain is a sculpture made from steel and decorated with Jet Brown Granite boundary.

(b) The Murals on the Berm outer Surface:  To enhance the beauty of the IIT Jodhpur campus, berms had been painted thematically with 5 different elements i.e. Earth, Air, Water, Fire, and Sky/Space over a linear length of more than 1265 m and a garden is also developed over the berms of stretch ~ 500 m long. The Institute has also set up façade lighting at the Berms, which provides sensational feeling in the evening hours. In the daytime, the Berm facade gives a feeling of a grand fort while in the evening it gives a glimpse of Roman pillars with the facade lighting.

Shamiyana: The Institute Café

Apart from the two dining facilities for Mess and Canteen, the Institute has also come up with the vibrant and colourful food court “Shamiyana: The Institute Café”. The main objective of the Shamiyana is to have a unique and colourful cafeteria at the IITJ for the students, faculty, staff members and guests where different varieties of food is available from 8 am to 2 am. People can come together informally, interact, share ideas and relax along with enjoying the delicious food.

Sports Facilities

Milkha Singh Sports Complex is a separate Sports Zone developed to provide excellent Indoor and Outdoor Sports Facilities to the students, Faculty and Staff Members. The playing facilities presently developed outdoors are Cricket Ground with separate practice pitches, Football Ground, Hockey Ground, Synthetic Basketball Courts, Synthetic Lawn Tennis Courts, Synthetic Athletic Track, Volleyball Courts and Kabaddi Courts. The Indoor Stadium (Aakash Complex) houses the facilities of Badminton Courts, Table Tennis Courts, Squash Courts (Single & Double) and Gymnasium.

On October 16, 2020, Dr. Ramesh Pokhriyal “Nishank”, Hon’ble Shiksha Mantri, Government of India, inaugurated two facilities, namely, Innovation & Incubation Centre and Sports Complex in the Permanent Campus of IIT Jodhpur. The sports facilities are open to the campus community at night also with the recent commissioning of floodlights.

Flora and Fauna

The campus is very rich in flora and fauna. Very large number of different species of birds can be seen in the campus. Chinkaras, Rabbits, Porcupine, Snakes, Indian Monitor Lizards, Peacocks, etc. are easily visible. The institute has taken up the rewilding process to restore the local flora damaged due to the development work in the Campus. Initially, on an experimental basis the Institute took up a project of Rewilding of its 06 Hectares of land and it is planned to soon go for the rewilding of another 06 hectares of forest lands.  

The Campus sustainability

The institute has installed and commissioned a 01 MW solar plant at the rooftop of the academic buildings for reduction of carbon footprints. Further, a 1 MW rooftop solar plant is planned which will further reduce the carbon footprints.

The use of efficient fixtures, recycling and reuse of the water from the Decentralised Wastewater Treatment System to irrigate the lawns, gardens and entire sports field adds to the sustainability. 

The on-going infrastructure development

Institute is further expanding its infrastructure and started the Phase 3A development of its Campus with a total estimated cost of Rs. 350.47 Crores. To meet the urgent need for student accommodation, the three hostel blocks of total 980 capacity were planned to be constructed using precast technology. The two hostel blocks of total 654 capacities have been completed within seven months of construction which was possible only due to the use of precast technology of construction. Besides hostels, the other facilities that are under construction are:

1. 01 Academic Block (G+5) 
2. 06 Residential Blocks for faculties for total accommodation of 96 families
3. 05 residential Blocks for staffs for total accommodation of 80 families
4. AIoT Fab Facility and its ancillary buildings

About the Authors

First Convocation with the First Citizen

Hari Narayanan

It was July 10, 2013—a dream was coming true for the small community of IIT Jodhpur. The First Convocation of the Institute was held with the President of India, Sh. Pranab Mukherjee, delivering the Convocation Address. The occasion was graced by the presence of the two highest functionaries of the state—the then Governor Smt. Margaret Alva and the Chief Minister Sh. Ashok Gehlot. 

The Institute was just five years old with the first batch of B.Tech. students getting admitted in 2008. Both 2012 and 2013 pass-outs were to be given degrees. The Institute started functioning from its temporary campus in Jodhpur only in 2010. Though the land for permanent campus was acquired, buildings were all in the planning stage. But it was clear that the first convocation could not be held at anywhere other than the permanent campus site. By the end of May 2013, it was confirmed that the President has agreed to deliver the Convocation Address. Everyone was excited; though, given the scarce human resources the Institute had at that time, organizing a convocation itself looked daunting; let alone one with the President of India as the Chief Guest. 

There was only one month left for preparation. It was not just a matter of organizing an event that attracted wide attention, but it was more about starting a tradition and culture for the decades to come. The President was to inaugurate the Innovation and Incubation Center at the temporary campus in addition to delivering the convocation address at the permanent campus. That means, both sites were to be made ready to receive the first citizen of the country. 

The preparations for the convocation at the permanent campus site started in full swing in the beginning of June. With no precedent to fall upon, everything appeared to be starting from the scratch. Meticulous planning went on at each stage. Officials from IIT Kanpur pitched in to help in the academic formalities. The whole community, whether it be faculty members, staff members, or students, worked enthusiastically to ensure that the historic event gets completed successfully by all standards. A huge plantation drive was also planned to kickstart the greening of the future campus. 

A permanent stage was built on the campus and a huge make-shift hall was erected to conduct the proceedings. The infectious enthusiasm and the guidance of the then Director, Prof. P. K. Kalra and the constant engagement of Dr. Vivek Vijay, the Convenor of Convocation Committee, ensured that everyone  sufficiently felt motivated to do their bit for the grand success of the event. As the convocation day approached, everyone was on their toes. A few of us were to be there in the temporary campus for the inauguration of the Innovation and Incubation Center. As the temporary campus was in the heart of the city, the district administration had to make huge efforts to ensure security. 

Though the event was to be held in the afternoon, the permanent campus site was brimming with activity from morning onwards. Students and their parents arrived much earlier to ensure their seats. The whole campus area, otherwise looking deserted, appeared ready for the grand ceremony. A whole new gate was constructed overnight by CPWD engineers as per the demands of the security personnel. People from the surrounding villages such as Karwar and Jheepasni too appeared to be ready to welcome the First Citizen to their place. The spirit of Khamma Ghani was all in the air. 

As the cavalcade of the President started arriving, the whole hall reverberated with enthusiasm. Students and parents were excited about receiving the degree from the President of India, making the most important event in their life much more memorable. After planting trees, the dignitaries reached the stage as part of the academic procession. 

When the cavalcade of the President departed, though the event got over, many of us felt that a lifetime of hard work is left for each one of us to traverse through the path he laid out. Thus, the event, though organized without much paraphernalia, amounted to a giant leap as far as the Institute is concerned. 

After a decade of the event, it is evident that Institute has made tremendous progress in walking through the path laid out in those days. The permanent stage erected for the first convocation still exists, overshadowed by the numerous buildings that have come up over the years--symbolizing the growth the Institute on the foundation made on that day.

About the Authors

IIT Jodhpur: Then and Now - A Class of 2012 Alumnus Perspective

Nirmal Kumawat

Back in 2008, when the Great Recession hit hard globally, every student, who had cleared IIT JEE was in a dilemma on what would happen next! Every student was confused about what engineering stream they should choose and which IIT they should go to. No one could have predicted the future. But many students followed their inner passion, a few took guidance from their loved ones to choose a stream of study, and others chose a stream as their All-India Rank (AIR) allowed. 

It was in the same year, 2008, when I qualified for IIT JEE with an AIR 1771. I wanted to pursue Computer Science Engineering but with my allotted rank, it was very tough to make that happen. Something miraculous happened that year and the Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) announced a higher education expansion programme, which included establishing 8 new IITs and 7 new IIMs. 

Being a native of Rajasthan, the news of the opening of a new IIT in Rajasthan amazed me. The Rajasthan government was yet to finalize a city or a site to establish IIT in Rajasthan. Meanwhile, the erstwhile Ministry of Human Resources Development (currently Ministry of Education) announced that a few old IITs would mentor the new IITs during the initial years and IIT Rajasthan would be mentored by IIT Kanpur. Since the city was not determined in the early years, IIT Jodhpur was referred to as IIT Rajasthan. 

IIT Rajasthan initially offered only three major engineering programs - Computer Science & Engineering (CSE), Electrical Engineering (EE) & Mechanical Engineering (ME) and each program would accommodate a maximum of 40 students per year. Luckily, I was able to get into the Computer Science & Engineering program. A total of 108 students (100 boys & 8 girls) combining all three programs were enrolled in the year 2008 and I became the opening rank holder among all of the students during that year. We, the graduating batch of 2012, proudly call ourselves the pioneer batch of IIT Rajasthan. Being small in number, we quickly became acquainted with each other and most of us became friends for life. 

 It seems strange that one works really hard to crack the JEE and aims to achieve the best of engineering facilities, faculties, programs, and cultures but you choose an IIT where the premises were yet to be built, processes were yet to be cultivated, cultures were yet to be established, faculties were yet to be recruited and many other things which existing old IITs would have offered.

All such thoughts are genuine but become trivial when you become a part of the pioneer batch and get a chance to establish the cultures and processes in a new IIT. You become the first torch bearer of a very well-reputed engineering organization which would live forever. It was challenging for each and every one of us to make this happen but I was amazed to see the energy and enthusiasm brought by every one of us to shape the culture of IIT Rajasthan and make it future proof. 

Our mentor, IIT Kanpur, helped a lot in shaping our culture and helped us understand what a well-established IIT should look like. If we talk about a student's life at an existing well-established IIT such as IIT Kanpur, then it would mean that every student would be allotted a room which is either private or shared between two students in a hostel (or known as 'Hall' at IIT Kanpur), a 'mess' where everyone can take their meals, world-class sports facilities, lecture halls, libraries and many other things. However, it wasn't the exact same for us during our stay at IIT Kanpur as we were from a new IIT. 

We (just 100 boys) were divided into groups of 15 students and each group was allotted a two-storey house whereas 8 girls were allowed to stay in existing girls' hostels within IIT Kanpur premises. It was interesting for a group of 15 students to stay together in a two-storey house but it actually helped us bond more closely and helped create relationships for life. 

In addition to accommodations, there were many other facilities provided to us by IIT Kanpur with a couple of them being shared between both IITs. A separate premise for lectures was provided to us. New faculties were recruited but a few were shared from IIT Kanpur. A separate ‘mess’ was established. Existing sports complexes and activities were shared with us. Existing laboratories which are essential for every stream were shared with us. During our stay at IIT Kanpur, we witnessed the charm of the IIT Kanpur library, one of the biggest libraries in India. Most of us still have a few reminiscing memories of late-night hangouts and snacks at IIT Kanpur’s Hall-4 canteen. 

Along with the existing infrastructure & premises, we witnessed IIT Kanpur’s inter-college cultural event ‘Antaragni’, tech innovation event ‘Techkriti’, and various Inter & Intra IIT sports activities. These events helped us understand why they are important to build a long-standing culture. We also understood that these events not only helped us grow in the engineering field but also taught us a few management and organization skills on how to conduct events on a massive scale where tens or hundreds of national level colleges would participate with thousands of students. 

IIT Kanpur was well equipped with a few tens to hundreds of clubs like dance club, music club, programming club, poker club, book club, gaming club, movie club and many more. Such clubs helped students to develop their knowledge and grow in other non-engineering career paths. I, personally, was very much involved in playing volleyball, and practicing fine arts and music. Being a part of 6 main players of the volleyball team from IIT Rajasthan, we participated in various sports tournaments conducted within and outside IIT Kanpur premises. 

With all such various activities, clubs, events offered by IIT Kanpur, we understood the need to establish our own student body, a Gymkhana, having a president and multiple clubs where each club would have its own secretary. With this thought, we established our first student body and later formed multiple clubs. 

In the year 2009, IIT Kanpur was the host of the inter-IIT Sports Meet. We participated in almost every sport that we could. We still were able to win a few medals even though we were a new IIT with a small size of participants. I still remember the slogans from our friends “IIT Rajasthan ka tempo high hai” while celebrating our first victory and embracing the joy. It was a very proud moment for us to shine, for IIT Rajasthan to shine. Since then, IIT Rajasthan started marking its presence in the list of IITs in various fields. 

Two years passed quickly at IIT Kanpur. While we were adopting their culture, we were also building the IIT Rajasthan culture in parallel. We adopted the ‘Bapu’ or ‘Amma’ culture from IIT Kanpur. During our stay at IIT Kanpur, boys and girls were allotted a ‘Bapu’ (a one-year senior to us from IIT Kanpur) and ‘Amma’ respectively. They were more like guardians to us like our parents or guardians. If we had any questions regarding the processes, cultures, technical, non-technical, etc., we could go to our Bapu or Amma for clarifications. They were the first primary contact for us to reach out to if we needed any help. 

In the summer of the year 2010, we moved to Jodhpur and hence, IIT Rajasthan was renamed as IIT Jodhpur. In Jodhpur, we were given accommodation at GPRA complexes, which were in the city outskirts and for lectures and other academic facilities, a part of MBM Engineering College, located in the city, was utilized for a few years. New faculties were recruited. A few more programs were added along with the existing CSE, EE and ME. Student count started to grow, which increased the events and activities within the Institute. 

Within a few months after moving, most of us already started to miss IIT Kanpur and its huge campus, facilities and other offerings but a few of us were also highly motivated to build our foundation in Jodhpur and establish the processes at the new place. Very soon, we started conducting our own national level sports (Varchas) and cultural (Ignus) events and many other intra-college activities. 

The pioneer batch’s convocation was pushed to 2013 so that IIT Jodhpur’s first convocation ceremony could be held at the actual site where the IIT Jodhpur campus would be built. It felt nostalgic to meet our batchmates during our convocation. At the same time, it felt great to witness the growth of our campus, one brick at a time!

 Although being an alumnus, I never got a chance to visit the new campus built in Jodhpur since 2013.  On 18 March 2023, IIT Jodhpur celebrated Dashak, a 10 year reunion organized for the Classes of 2012 and 2013. Alumni from 2012 & 2013 were hosted on campus. It was an honor to visit the campus after 10 years and relive some of the beautiful memories we experienced. IIT Jodhpur campus looked like a pearl in the desert. I was just awestruck with the campus’s massive entrance and architectural design of all the buildings including hostels, lecture halls, mess and massive sports complex. The building premises were designed in such a way that they can fight against the hot and windy climate of Jodhpur while maintaining a comfortable indoor temperature. It was amazing to see how IIT Jodhpur has emphasized multiple aspects of a student's growth. Be it technological innovation, sports enthusiasm, entrepreneurship or thought leadership capabilities, the new campus offered it all. My friends and I were amazed to see immense efforts that were put towards sports facilities, which included a large football ground, several racing tracks, multiple volleyball & basketball courts, badminton and table-tennis courts, weight-lifting and many more.

 During the ‘Dashak’ event, the current Director Prof. Santanu Chaudhury welcomed all the alumni from the classes of 2012 & 2013 and inaugurated the event. He shared a few key insights on how IIT Jodhpur has transformed itself into a future-driven Institute, pursuing a vision of excellence. 

We witnessed that IIT Jodhpur

• Now offers 8 B.Tech, 2 B.S, along with a MBA and multiple M.Tech. / M.Sc. programs compared to the 3 B.Tech. programs it used to offer in 2008
• Has transitioned from an under-construction campus to a very well-established campus of about 850 acres including built up area of ~4 lakh square meters.
• Currently has a strong Student body of 4000+ as opposed to108 in 2008
• Faculty Strength of grew to 240+
• Has established the required facilities for sports and cultural activities within our own campus.
• Has hostels that are well equipped with all the basic necessities along with air-conditioning and a several amenities.
• Has a proactive leadership that is continuously implementing new initiatives that are essential for an all-round growth of a student. 

During the event, I got a chance to speak with a few of the current students and answer their questions related to the latest trends in the technology and software domain. I shared insights from my own career journey and answered questions about their own aspirations and goals. I talked about the importance of innovation, and stepping outside of one's comfort zone to achieve something useful for mankind. It was inspiring to see the passion and drive of these young minds and I was happy to be able to offer guidance and support. 

The ‘Dashak’ event was well organized with good hospitality, delicious meals and entertainment with folk music with delicious dinner. I appreciate the institute’s efforts to recognize and award a few outstanding alumni every year with the Recognizing Excellence in Young Alumni (REYA) award. During this year’s Alumni day, one of my friends Alok Yadav was presented with the REYA award for Social Contributions and the rest of the Class of 2012 and 2013 alumni were felicitated with a token of the Institute’s bond with them. I got a chance to meet with a few faculty members during the event and was impressed with the vision they bring to this Institute while keeping up with the latest trends in the world. 

 I am grateful for the opportunity to give back to my alma mater and to help shape the next generation of leaders during my short stay at the campus. It is amazing to see how much has been accomplished in the past decade and I cannot wait to see what the future holds for this incredible institution. 

Congratulations to my alma mater for completing its 15 years and producing several alumni who are excelling in engineering, technology, business and entrepreneurship all over the world. Many more are yet to come and will be celebrated.

About the Authors

Establishment of New Centres and Facilities

Centre for Education & Technology for Education 

Bijnan Bandhopadhyay, Deepak Saxena, Rajlaxmi Chouhan 

Introduction

Education technology and educational innovation continues to play a significant role, especially in the post-Covid era, to facilitate hybrid and blended learning across different levels of education. Education institutions and policymakers around the globe have begun to embrace immersive teaching-learning technologies that will enable most students to attain optimal educational achievement levels. The Education Technology vertical of IIT Jodhpur was set up under the Centre for Emerging Technologies for Sustainable Development (CETSD) in 2021 to work towards research and delivery, services and training, and social outreach in the area of education technology and educational innovation. In October 2022, the vertical evolved into the newly formed Centre for Education & Technology for Education (CETE). It is a matter of great pleasure for us that the vertical that started off as a small group of 3-4 members, now as a Center comprises a diverse interdisciplinary group of 15+ members. 

The scope of this Center includes

• Educational Services: Pedagogical innovation in blended and hybrid education,
• Professional Development Continuing Education with upgradation of knowledge and pedagogical skills of engineering faculty,
• Technology Development for teaching-learning needs, assessment and evaluation, laboratory/ hands-on instructions, and
• Instructional Design 

The Journey of CETE

Looking back over the past couple of years, the trajectory of the group has been soaring upwards with significant developments, activities and distinction. Before the pandemic, the group came together by informally conducting workshops on teaching-learning tools. During the pandemic, in the form of the EdTech vertical, the took lead in online education by organizing a 2-day Online Teaching-Learning Workshop 2.0 on Blended Learning in July 2021 for the Institute’s faculty members. This workshop included offering assistance in terms of various online tools and techniques for online classes, innovative pedagogical strategies, such as flipped classroom, online assessment tools, and avenues for creating an immersive learning environment to break the monotony of video conferencing classes. 

In the same month, the EdTech vertical organized a multi-speaker Panel on ‘Sustainability for Education’ as a part of the ETSD Seminar Series with Shri Anurag Goel, IAS (Retd.), Advisor, IIT Jodhpur, and Prof. P. D. Jose, Professor and Chair, Strategy, IIM Bangalore. In September 2021, the EdTech vertical formally launched into the national foray by organizing its first online Workshop on Next-Generation Education Technology: Trends and Opportunities in Education 4.0. This workshop witnessed participation from members of several nearby engineering colleges, and invited speakers from academia, industry, and NGOs, both national and international. 

It is noteworthy that during the Institute Foundation Day of 2021, the Institute set up the Dr. Vandana Sharma Memorial Award for Teaching Innovation to honor the memory of Late Dr. Vandana Sharma, Assistant Professor, Department of Mathematics, and her invaluable contributions towards online teaching–learning at the Institute. Though we tragically lost Dr. Sharma to Covid in May 2021, before we could formally establish the EdTech vertical, she contributed wholeheartedly, along with other early members of the group, towards designing the Concept Note on Education Technology and shared our dream of one day evolving into a full-fledged Center. 

By August 2021, the students had started returning to the campus, and the edtech vertical contributed towards setting up hybrid classrooms in the Lecture Hall Building, by assisting the Office of Academics in proposing setups, testing them, and conducting hands-on sessions for faculty members. In the same month, the vertical organized a session on NPTEL Course Creation by Dr. Ramkrishna Pasumarthy, Associate Professor, Department of Electrical Engineering, IITM, Coordinator, NPTEL, IIT Madras, Ms. Lakshmi Priya and Ms. Kamala Ramakrishnan, Project Officers, NPTEL. 

In November 2021, as a part of the National Education Day Celebration, the vertical organized an EdTech Talk on Making Virtual Reality Real for K12 Education by Aditya Vishwanath, Cofounder, Inspirit & Knight-Hennessy scholar at Stanford University, US. 

As the Center for Education and Technology for Education (CETE) formally came into existence in October 2022, it received remarkable interest from many faculty members of various departments. One of the first events as a full-fledged center was welcoming the delegation from Trinity College Dublin. Prof. Timothy Savage and Dr. P. J. Wall from Trinity College Dublin (a QS Top 100 University) visited IIT Jodhpur during 20-24th Feb 2023. This delegation interacted with the Head and the affiliate faculty members of Centre for Education & Technology for Education (CETE). They shared their experience and commended IIT Jodhpur for taking such an initiative integrating Education, Pedagogy, and Education Technology. 

In May 2023, the  CETE organized a Workshop on Pedagogy & Assessment for faculty members of IIT Jodhpur. Prof. Santanu Chaudhury, Director IIT Jodhpur, elaborated on Academics @ IITJ: A Consequentialist Perspective. Dr. Rajlaxmi Chouhan, Assistant Professor, Department of EE discussed designing assessments using Bloom's Taxonomy. 

More recently, the Center organized a 5-day Online Faculty Development Program on Pedagogy and Technology-enabled Learning during 19-23 July, 2023, that brought together speakers from diverse areas of global academia and industry to provide the attendees a unique perspective on pedagogy and technology-enabled learning. The program was particularly beneficial for new faculty members and doctoral students interested in pursuing a career in academia. The Resource Persons for the event included speakers from academia and industry from India and abroad. A total of 12 speakers conducted 17 sessions for 100+ participants over 5 days on a wide range of topics such as learning sciences, pedagogical strategies, interactive learning environments, innovative ways of integrating technology in the classroom, technology-enhanced learning through AR-VR and gamification, effective assessment strategies, instructional design, and educational data analytics. These sessions were deeply interactive in nature and engaged the participants in concepts, applications, as well as related activities. The Center also organized a Workshop on NEP Implementation in July 2023 that brought together several institutions of higher education and schools from Jodhpur for discussion on progress and challenges in implementation of the NEP 2020. 

Over the years, members from our group, and now the Center, have been active in outreach programs, conducting sessions on innovative pedagogies such as blended learning, online teaching, and game-based learning in organizations. Over the past few years, our outreach in terms of invited sessions during workshops, FDPs, etc. have covered engineering organizations from Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Rajasthan, Gujarat, and Chattisgarh. With our new PhD Program commencing in July 2023, we aim to continue to grow and venture into new areas of edtech such as technology-enhanced learning, innovative pedagogies, experiential learning, education policy, STEAM education, inclusive and accessible education, National Education Policy, ERP and cloud computing applications for education, open and distance education, and more.

Rishabh Centre for Research and Innovation in Clean Energy 

Deepak M. Fulwani 

Rishabh Centre for Research and Innovation in Clean Energy at Indian Institute of Technology Jodhpur is being set up by Rishabh Instruments Ltd. and Ivaan Foundation. The Centre will facilitate focused basic and applied research by utilizing the knowledge base of faculty and researchers at IIT Jodhpur and also engage with other academic institutions and technology Centers, startups and industries. The Centre will enable collaborative research through different academic programs and using other avenues to develop new technologies as per the research & technology roadmap of the Centre. The Centre will have close linkage with respective industries and leverage the robust innovation ecosystem of IIT Jodhpur for the technology translation and product development. One of the objectives of the center is to conduct and promote basic and/or applied research and innovation, nurture entrepreneurship, support startups and MSME in identified areas of Clean/ Green Energy Technologies.

To establish the necessary infrastructure and various research laboratories in the center, Rishabh Instruments Ltd and Ivaan foundation will provide financial support around Rs. 70 crores in next 3-5 years. The center will admit M.S. (by Research) students in AY 2023-24. The main research verticals of the center are:

• Microgrid, Power Quality and future Grid research
• Electric Vehicles [including DC Solar Energy to directly charge modern age EVs (without going through AC mechanism)]
• Solar Thermal with Thermal storage
• Fuel Cells and Hydrogen as energy source
• Study the feasibility of carbon geo sequestration
• Storage of Solar Energy in cells / batteries
• improve efficiency of Solar cells and invertors 

Several faculty members from various academic units will contribute will affiliate with the center. The center will also host many visiting faculty members and scholars to forward its agenda. The Centre will strive to become the global destination for research and product / process development in the different areas of Green and Clean Energy in close collaborations with industries, start-ups and other stakeholders. 

DRDO-Industry- Academia Center of Excellence (DIA-CoE) 

Ravindra Kumar

IIT Jodhpur, a premier research and education institute of national importance has signed an MoU with Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), a premier organisation under Ministry of Defence, Govt. of India, which is a premier R&D organisation engaged in developing cutting edge technologies and systems for defence applications, on October 6^th, 2022. Under the MoU, a DIA-CoE has been established at IIT Jodhpur, to pursue directed basic and applied research in identified following three verticals to develop futuristic technologies and products to meet defence requirements:

1. Desert Warfare Technologies
2. Futuristic Omni Mobile System
3. Artificial Intelligence in Information and War gaming

The Centre will collaborate with researchers/ faculty at IIT Jodhpur and other academic institutions, start-ups, industries of the country in facilitating and progressing advanced technology research. The Centre endeavours to become a world leader in identified areas by engaging talented young minds of faculty and students of IIT Jodhpur and academic institutions, start-ups and industry with the support of DRDO’s vast pool of scientists and R&D infrastructure available in large number of laboratories across the country. DRDO will finance all research projects undertaken by the Centre. The Centre will facilitate interaction of IIT Jodhpur faculty with different DRDO laboratories to identify areas of research, guiding to prepare project proposals, oversee their sanctioning by DRDO HQ and coordinate its execution.

Interested faculty can contact: 

Center of Excellence in AI and Data Science 

Surajit Ghosh & Gaurav Bhatnagar 

IIT Jodhpur and University of Buffalo have inked a pact by signing a MoU on March 19, 2023, for establishing a joint Center of Excellence in AI and Data Science. The collaboration advanced by launching of the joint Center will be implemented by:

• Exchange of students and researchers
• Coordination for collaborative education, research and training programs
• Mechanism of internal support for such exchange and coordination
• Exchange of scholarly and pedagogical materials
• Collaboration in applying  for research  funds from both national  and international sources
• Co-organization of International conferences and thematic workshops
• Collaboration in seeking support from industry, private foundations  and  alumni  to ensure a sustainable joint Center 

This joint IIT Jodhpur-UB Center of Excellence in AI and Data Science will be co-directed by Professor Neeraj Jain, Head, School of Artificial Intelligence & Data Science at IIT Jodhpur, and Professor Venu Govindaraju, SUNY Distinguished Professor, Department Computer Science and Engineering & Vice-President of Research and Economic Development, at the University of Buffalo.

Centre of Excellence on Art and Digital Immersion 

Natasa Thoudam, Tonisha Guin, Romi Banerjee and Chhanda Chakraborti 

The Centre of Excellence on Art and Digital Immersion (CoE on ADI), the School of Liberal Arts (SoLA) is the first Center of SoLA. It is envisioned as a futuristic research hub exploring the intersections between Arts and emerging Digital Technologies while enhancing their immersive experiences. 

On 19^th September 2022, the centre of excellence was inaugurated by the Director, IIT Jodhpur, Prof Santanu Chaudhury; the legendary Hindustani classical singer Padmabhushan Pandit Ajoy Chakrabarty; and the eminent scientist and Bhatnagar awardee Professor Ashutosh Sharma (C. V. Sheshadri Chair Professor, IIT Kanpur; President, INSA; and former Secretary, DST). The School of Liberal Arts has entrusted Prof Chhanda Chakraborti with the Co-ordinatorship of the CoE on ADI. 

The centre has recently launched its flagship programme M S (By Research) with two specializations, namely AI and Creative Arts and Mixed-Media Arts. The flexible, interdisciplinary, futuristic, and collaborative programme is the first of its kind in India.  To promote this programme, masterclasses were planned and conducted during May and June 2023, where faculty affiliated with the Centre sensitized the participants with information about path-breaking research in the field.. CoE on ADI also organized an international workshop on AI and Creative Arts on 29 April 2023. Eminent speakers from this emerging field delivered lectures in the workshop, such as Professor Sarah Kenderdine, the Director, EPFL Pavilion, EPFL, Geneva; Dr. Padmini Ray Murray, founder, Design Beku; and the new media artist Jenny Bhatt. 

The centre seeks to build upon ongoing and completed research activities of faculty members and students at IIT Jodhpur in this area. The output of one such effort is a music appreciation app developed by B Tech students of IIT Jodhpur under the guidance of Prof Chhanda Chakraborti.  

Faculty members of the institute associated with this centre are: Chhanda Chakraborti (Coordinator, CoE ADI), Amrita Puri (Mechanical Engineering), Angan Sengupta (Chemical Engineering), Bhaswati Sarma (SoLA), Manish Narwaria (Electrical Engineering), Natasa Thoudam (SoLA), Nimish Vohra (SoLA), Parichay Patra (SoLA), Prasenjeet Tribhuvan (SoLA), Rajdeep Konar (SoLA), Rajendra Nagar (Electrical Engineering), Romi Banerjee (Computer Science and Engineering), Sangeeta Sahney (School of Management and Entrepreneurship), Shrutidhara Sarma (Mechanical Engineering), Srijan Sengupta (Metallurgical and Materials Engineering), Sunil Lohar (SoLA), Amit Bhardwaj (Electrical Engineering) and Tonisha Guin (SoLA).

ANVISA - A Novel Innovation Space 

IIT Jodhpur proudly inaugurates its state-of-the-art Tinkering Lab: ANVISA, A Novel Innovation Space, aimed at fostering new ideas in science, technology, and entrepreneurship. The lab was developed under the supervision of Director IIT Jodhpur, Prof. Santanu Chaudhury, as part of Academic and Co-curricular Activity Council. The lab is equipped with cutting-edge facilities, including the latest advancements in AI, to empower students and provide them with a conducive environment for innovation. Here is an overview of the lab’s features:

1. AI Infrastructure
2. 3D Printers and Robotic equipment
3. Interactive Conference Rooms
4. Robotics and Electronics Equipment
5. Working Area

This tinkering lab at IIT Jodhpur aims to empower students with the necessary resources and tools to explore emerging technologies, spark innovation, and cultivate an entrepreneurial mindset. This cutting-edge facility will serve as a hub for interdisciplinary collaboration, where students can bring their ideas to life and contribute to the advancement of science and technology.

Realization of Wigner function using Balanced Homodyne Detection

Tomis, Roy Philip George K A, Subhashish Banerjee, V. Narayanan

Balanced Homodyne detection (BHD) measures the quadratures of a well-defined electro-magnetic (EM) field mode with high efficiency and minimal thermal noise. The quadratures are the real and imaginary parts of the complex time varying electric field of an EM wave. These are the result of describing EM waves using the formalism of the harmonic oscillator and therefore must have some quantity analogous to conjugate position and momentum of the harmonic oscillator. BHD is important because until recently, there was no other method to directly measure these quantities as the electric field  ( in visible region)  varies at a rate much faster than modern day electronics can sample and most devices measure the average field value at best. 

In BHD, a signal field mode with an unknown state is allowed to interfere with a frequency matched reference mode called the local oscillator on a 50:50 beam splitter (see the experimental layout). The two output modes from the beam splitter are then detected using normal square law detectors, the outputs of which are sent to a difference current circuit. The difference photocurrent yields a direct measure of the generalized quadrature of the signal field in the state . The process compares a weak optical signal to a strong and coherent quadrature reference (LO), where the specific quadrature to be measured is selected by tuning the relative phase between the LO and signal beams. Repeated measurements of the generalized quadrature for an ensemble of identically prepared states enables the estimation of the conditional quadrature probability density. 

The square law detectors are usually identical photodiodes, the difference photocurrent from which is directly proportional to the signal quadrature. The phase difference between the LO and signal can be experimentally controlled by introducing a path difference between the LO and signal optical paths. The phase difference needs to be simultaneously recorded with the difference current values to complete the measurement. 

The homodyne circuit (differential current measurement) will extract the difference current from a pair of near identical photodiodes and the output is directly proportional to the quadrature values of the signal field. This data, along with phase information can be used to reconstruct the quantum state of the system in phase space using a quasi-probabilistic representation called the Wigner function. The Wigner function is equivalent to the density matrix in the sense that it can completely represent a quantum state in terms of conjugate variables. It is quasi-probabilistic because unlike a probabilistic distribution, the values of the Wigner are not restricted to positive numbers; in fact, the utility of the Wigner function is its ability to act as an indicator of quantumness. It assumes negative values for states that are quantum.

Experimentally, the Wigner function is derived from the difference current and phase data obtained from the balanced homodyne measurements by performing a binning operation on the data.  This gives the marginal distributions of the data; the marginal distributions are basically projections of the Wigner function on a vertical plane. These projections are combined into the Wigner function using the Radon transform. Thus, the Wigner functions, which bear some resemblance to phase space distribution functions, “quasi-probability distribution functions”, have proven to be of great use in the study of quantum mechanical systems. The Wigner function provide insights into the connections between classical and quantum mechanics. The reason for this latter point is that quasi-probability distributions allow one to express quantum mechanical averages in a form, which is very similar to that for classical averages

The Wigner distribution W(x,p) of a pure state is defined as

where ψ is the wavefunction, and x and p are position and momentum, but could be any conjugate variable pair (e.g. real and imaginary parts of the electric field or frequency and time of a signal). It is symmetric in x and p:

where ⟨x|ψ⟩ = ψ(x). This Wigner transformation (or map) is the inverse of the Weyl transform, which maps phase-space functions to Hilbert-space operators, in Weyl quantization. The representation of a quantum state in phase space is to examine the connection between quantum and classical mechanics. Quantum mechanics inherently deals with probabilities, while classical mechanics deals with trajectories in phase space. If we wish to compare the two, we can consider ensembles of trajectories in phase space for the classical case and density distributions in x and p or Wigner functions for the quantum case. 

Wigner function has been useful in describing various domains of physics including quantum optics, atomic & nuclear physics, particle physics, chaos and decoherence. It is also finds its importance in signal processing in the domain of electrical engineering. In recent years, it finds its relevance in quantum communication & computation and also, it has been an inseparable tool to test various nonclassical states (quantum states) under the broad umbrella of Quantum Technologies.

References:

1.) E. P. Wigner, Phys. Rev. 40, 749 (1932)

2.) S.F. Jacobs, Optical heterodyne (coherent) detection, American Journal of Physics 56, 235 (1988);

3.) Barrios Barocio, Design and characterization of wideband balanced homodyne detectors for quantum homodyne tomography, University of Calgary (2012)

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