This story is from August 28, 2018

Are old IITs still a preferred choice of students over the new ones

Intro - Lack of infrastructure, less-experienced faculty, and doubt over placement make students choose older IITs over new ones
Are old IITs still a preferred choice of students over the new ones
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Lack of infrastructure, less-experienced faculty, and doubt over placement make students choose older IITs over new ones
The admission process for 23 Indian Institutes of Technology (IIT) in the country is now complete and the latest figures reveal that the five old IITs, including IIT Kharagpur, Mumbai, Madras, Kanpur and Delhi, established between 1951-63, continue to be on the top of the wish list of most aspirants.

The first cut-off list revealed that crème de crème students in the top 100 list opt for IIT Bombay and Delhi, because of the popularity of computer science course. The lab facilities and the faculties in these institutes are equally advanced.
Among the new ones, IIT Hyderabad has seen a rise in students enrolment with admissions opening at all India rank (AIR) 445 in Computer Science, which has increased from AIR 522, in 2017.
Deputy Director of IIT Kanpur, Manindra Agrawal said, "It will be unfair to compare older IITs with the new ones. Old IITs are more than 50 years old, while the new ones are still establishing. The lack of infrastructure, paucity of faculty could be some of the reasons that students prefer studying in old IITs."
"The new IITs are doing their best to make a mark, like researchers from IIT Gandhinagar, recently developed a nanoparticle that can convert carbon monoxide into carbon dioxide, which can help in reducing pollution," he added.

A report in March 2018 revealed that IITs have a faculty shortage of 34% with IIT Goa topping the list with over 60% faculty shortage. Lack of basic facilities, limited connectivity, under construction college building and limited foreign collaborations are some of the reasons that new IITs are struggling for an identity.
A student of IIT Goa, seeking anonymity, said, "There is a lack of infrastructure and construction of new buildings is still underway. We have poor WiFi connectivity, labs are not fully equipped and the hostel rooms are not enough to accommodate new students." The student even claimed that the teaching staff consists of visiting faculties, who usually travel from Mumbai.
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A research by Sumit Kumar Banshal and Pranab Kumar Muhuri from South Asian University (Delhi), and Vivek Kumar Singh of Banaras Hindu University on 'Research performance of Indian Institutes of Technology' showed quality ofresearches carried out in old and new institutes are one of the main reasons that new IITs have not found space in any global ranking list. Bansal claims that the numbers of research papers released by old IITs are far more than what is released by old IITs.
IIT Bombay released 4680 research papers between 2010-14, while IIT Gandhinagar in the same period released only 147 papers, revealed the research.
The campus culture and lifestyle of old IITs is also different from the new ones. Old IITs have cultural clubs and hold youth festivals that help in the overall development of students.
IIT Delhi director V Ramgopal Rao said, "The campus culture of old IITs gives them an edge over the new ones. Old IITs have clubs dedicated to robotics and journalism to create a well-rounded personality."
"Alumni connect in old IITs is strong. In IIT Delhi, new students connect with alumni via a website dedicated for one-on-one interaction. They mentor them and help them with internships and placements," said Rao, adding that the new IITs will eventually make a mark globally, but it will take some time.
Meanwhile, Timothy Gonsalves, director, IIT Mandi, said, "With 23 IITs up from the original five, each IIT is carving its own unique identity. Students and faculty can choose an IIT that matches their interests. This competition between IITs for best students and faculty is resulting in improvement of all IITs. Starting from a clean slate, new IITs have an opportunity to experiment in innovative ways that are difficult in an old IIT with decades of legacy. At IIT Mandi, we have a pervasive inter-disciplinary culture in research. Our BTech programme has a unique Design and Innovation Stream that emphasises projects and learn-by-doing throughout the four years."
Sudhir K Jain, director, IIT Gandhinagar, said, "IITs are at different stages of life and comparing the older ones with new ones is healthy. I worked with IIT Kanpur for over 20 years and after I came to IIT Gandhinagar with a motive to make new generation IIT better than the older ones."
He added, "Though new IITs still need time to establish globally, we have an advantage over the older ones. The faculty here has studied from the best universities in the world and they are willing to accept new technologies and innovations."
RESEARCH PERFORMANCE OF IITS
Institute Total research paper (2010-2014)
Old IITs
IIT Kharagpur 5,871
IIT Bombay 4,680
IIT Madras 4,905
IIT Kanpur 3,789
IIT Delhi 4,574
IIT Guwahati 1,754
IIT Roorkee 3,452

New IITs
IIT Bhubaneswar 141
IIT Gandhinagar 147
IIT Hyderabad 501
IIT Jodhpur 87
IIT Patna 119
IIT Ropar 304
IIT Indore 389
IIT Mandi 152
IIT Varanasi 1,443

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