MANDI, 31st December 2021: Indian Institute of Technology Mandi witnessed another year filled with achievements in diverse sectors ranging from R&D, academics, entrepreneurship, and innovations. 2021 saw a significant increase in the number of sponsored research projects and funding for IIT Mandi. The total number of projects sanctioned in the year 2021 are 32, with the sanctioned amount of over Rs. 14.41 crores. Along with this 45 research scholars graduated this year.

Speaking about IIT Mandi’s growth in the past one year, Prof. Ajit K. Chaturvedi, Director, IIT Mandi, said, “In spite of the challenging times, in the year gone by IIT Mandi has shown remarkable growth in terms of infrastructure as well as developing new academic programs. It has now a fully functional vibrant residential campus with good infrastructure in terms of academic buildings, functional research laboratories and faculty housings. This year IIT Mandi has also received 308 acres of land after clearance from the forest department. Further, we have reached a faculty strength of 134. Two new academic programs - M. Tech in Computer Science and Engineering and M.Tech in fluid and thermal science have also been launched. With this growth trajectory, we welcome the new year with renewed energy and enthusiasm to contribute to the development of the Himalayan region and India as a whole.”

IIT Mandi is overseeing the integration of science, technology, and innovation to build a sustainable future in India. Various research projects ranging from tracking the Covid-19 spread in India via social networks, to the development of catalysts to generate hydrogen using sunlight, from enhancing the power output of piezoelectric materials to development of algorithms to predict the functioning of vehicular Internal Combustion Engines, among others.

Recently, Prime Minister Narendra Modi reviewed the Landslide Monitoring and Early Warning System developed by IIT Mandi during his visit to Mandi, Himachal Pradesh. The device reduces landslides by predicting the soil movement in advance and is a one-of-a-kind system in the world.

The Governor of Himachal Pradesh Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar visited the Institute and took a tour of the recent developments at IIT Mandi. He also sought interventions from IIT Mandi on the prevention and mitigation of landslides in the state.

Even during the pandemic, IIT Mandi witnessed some of the top MNCs in the world participating in the placement drive this year. These include Google, Microsoft, Samsung Bangalore, Adobe, Walmart, Sprinklr, Paytm, Amazon, Indeed, Cashfree, Nference, Flipkart, Mindtickle, Texas Instruments, Nvidia, Qualcomm, Ceremorphic, Addverb, L&T, ZS, Deloitte, Viscadia, Capgemini, KPMG, TCS, Reliance Jio, and LTI.

Speaking about the placements, Prof. Tushar Jain, Advisor, Career and Placement Cell, IIT Mandi, said, “This year’s placement drive at IIT Mandi can be seen as the benchmark drive with respect to the previous years. In this drive, the institute has noticed a significant growth in terms of the number of offers and an increase in participation from the diversified companies, which has become possible due to practicum-based and industry-oriented curriculum. The pandemic has also changed the recruitment process entirely from in-person to virtual mode, which offered new ways and means of interacting to explore among the students and companies.”

On boosting the entrepreneurial culture in Himalayan region, IIT Mandi’s Technology Business Incubator, Catalyst, hosted ‘HST Startup Grand Challenge’ – a start-up pitch competition with a winning cash prize of Rs. 5 lakh and up to Rs. 50 lakhs funding opportunity.

It is also notable that in its short journey, IIT Mandi Catalyst has supported over 160 start-ups across sectors like clean energy, healthcare, enterprise management, agriculture, manufacturing, biotech, education, and consumer internet. Catalyst has hosted over 100 such programs to date. Further, the funding needs of start-ups in the early stages are also met through the funding schemes hosted at Catalyst. Catalyst, to date, has disbursed or committed over INR 6 Cr for prototyping and commercialization purposes to the startups.                       

Industry Connect and International Collaborations are two crucial aspects of IIT Mandi’s engagement with the wider world. The Institute hosted a first-of-its-kind International Colloquium on Technology Readiness for High Volume Chip Manufacturing (FAB) 2021 (ICTFAB-2021) with Dr. V K Saraswat, Hon’ble Member NITI Aayog, GOI, as the chief guest. The International event facilitated the setting up of Advanced Semiconductor FAB facilities in India, and to develop its ecosystem to enable the Indian semiconductor industry to meet in-country demands and to participate as  a globally competitive entity for comprehensive Electronics System Design and Manufacturing.

Recently, IIT Mandi also collaborated with the All India Institute of Medical Science (AIIMS) Bilaspur on Research and Academic Activities. The two institutions signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) aimed at conducting joint research activities and academic exchange activities. 

Key initiatives of this collaboration include:

●     Joint international conference, workshop and seminar of medical and public health

●     Exchange of information on teaching and other literature relevant to educational and research programs

●     To link both sides of medical industry, device and equipment, based on mutual agreements, and as per existing laws

IIT Mandi is working progressively to the future scope of technology translation in collaboration with industry partners to ensure that the benefits of research being done at the Institute reach the society at large.

Currently, IIT Mandi has four schools:  School of Computing and Electrical Engineering focusing on the key technologies of the Information Age; School of Basic Sciences which includes Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry and Life-Sciences;  School of Engineering offers teaching and research activities under the broad disciplines of civil, mechanical, materials and environmental engineering; and  School of Humanities and Social Sciences that seeks to provide a good understanding of language, culture, sociology, economics, management and ecology.

IIT Mandi concludes the year on a positive note and wishes everyone a brighter, healthier and successful new year 2022.

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