STATE TIMES NEWS
JAMMU: Minister of State for Education, Technical Education, Culture, Tourism, Horticulture, Floriculture and Parks Priya Sethi on Wednesday visited the interim campus for the Indian Institute of Technology, Jammu (IIT Jammu).
The minister was there to inspect readiness of the campus to host students for the upcoming session 2016-17, which will mark the beginning of operations of IIT Jammu.
Speaking on the occasion, Priya Sethi said that establishment of this IIT in Jammu has fulfilled a long pending demand of the region. “It was a lengthy process but with the consistent and stringent efforts of the government, Jammu finally has IIT campus which will help garner exposure to the local students” she added.
She further said that in time, various short term courses will be organised in the campus regularly for local students to enroll and learn from the expertise of the faculty and benefit from their knowledge and experience.
Remarking on the organisational structure of the institute, the minister said being autonomous public institute, it allows them to function freely, separate from the regional politics, student politics and bureaucracy. She further said that by making it compulsory for students to have to participate in one of the organizations like NCC, NSS, NSO, it helps develop them into responsible adults and encourage the sense of community and a spirit of nationalism.
Naming a few prominent IITians, Priya Sethi said that she is sure IIT Jammu will also produce remarkable students that will make our nation proud.
The minister was informed that the campus includes a total of 40,000 square feet built-up area which includes hostels, house class rooms, a seminar room, a library, a computer Laboratory, faculty offices, a cafeteria and recreational and creative facilities.
Focusing on the importance of over-all development of students and the need to encourage student participation in recreational sport and active lifestyle activities, Priya Sethi took a detailed survey of the facilities available to the students at the campus.
The Minister was informed that the campus is equipped with volleyball, basketball and badminton courts besides cricket nets are also being planned. Indoor sports facilities include table tennis, carom, chess and rooms for music, dance and other activities are also available.
Priya Sethi was happy to note that temporary campus of IIT Jammu will have all the facilities required for hassle-free academic environment.
The campus is scheduled to be inaugurated by the HRD Minister on 6th Aug’16. A total of 90 students have been enrolled at IIT Jammu – 30 each in computer science and engineering, electrical engineering and mechanical engineering.
The academic programme at IIT Jammu would follow the curriculum of IIT Delhi to begin with. The institute will evolve its own curriculum with time. Thus, in the first year, all students, irrespective of the branch, will undergo the same curriculum. In the first year, the students would do courses on basic sciences and basic engineering. In addition, non-graded courses on language, professional ethics & social responsibility and introduction to engineering are also included. The institute will follow a credit system and the performance in a course will be continuously evaluated. A relative grading system will also be followed.
