Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur

Infobox University
name = Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur
motto = _hi. योगः कर्मसु कौशलम्
( _hi. "Yoga Karmasu Kaushālam")
mottoeng = Perfection in action is Yoga


established = 1951
type = Education and Research Institution
director = Damodar Acharya
deputydirector = [http://www.iitkgp.ac.in/fac-profiles/showprofile.php?empcode=YVmdQ Madhusudan Chakraborty]
registrar = D Gunasekaran
ccw =
city = Kharagpur
state = West Bengal,
country = India
campus = convert|2100|acre|km2|1|abbr=on
undergrad = 2950 (approx)
postgrad = 2400 (approx)
faculty = 470
staff = 2403
alumni = 36,000 (approx)cite news |first=Suhrid Sankar |last=Chattopadhyay |url=http://www.hinduonnet.com/fline/fl1918/19180900.htm |title=A committed player |work=Volume 19 - Issue 18 |publisher="Frontline" |date=2002-08-30 |accessdate=2006-08-27]
website= http://www.iitkgp.ac.in/The Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur (", etc. [cite news
author = India Today
url = http://www.iitbombay.org/misc/press/indiatoday060203.htm
title = INDIA TODAY: TOP 10 COLLEGES -ENGINEERING
work = India Today – June, 2003 Issue
publisher = India Today (mirrored on IIT Bombay website)
date = 2003-06-02
accessdate = 2006-05-14]

IIT Kharagpur was established to train scientists and engineers after India attained independence in 1947. It shares its organisational structure and undergraduate admission process with sister IITs. The students and alumni of IIT Kharagpur are informally referred to as KGPians. Among all IITs, IIT Kharagpur has the largest campus (2,100 acres),cite web|url= http://www.iitkgp.ac.in/institute/history.php|title= Institute History |accessdate= 2008-05-02 |publisher= IIT Kharagpur] the most departments, and the highest student enrollment. IIT Kharagpur is particularly famous for its festivals: Illumination and Rangoli,Manzar, Spring Fest and Kshitij.

History

With the help of B. C. Roy (then Chief Minister of West Bengal), Indian educationalists Humayun Kabir and Jogendra Singh formed a committee in 1946 to consider the creation of "Higher Technical Institutions" for post-war industrial development of India. This was followed by the creation of a 22-member committee headed by Nalini Ranjan Sarkar. In its interim report, the Sarkar Committee recommended the establishment of "Higher Technical Institutions" in various parts of the country along the lines of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, with affiliated secondary institutions. The report urged that work should start with the speedy establishment of major institutions in the four quarters of the country with the ones in the East and the West to be set up immediately.

On the grounds that West Bengal had the highest concentration of industries at the time, B. C. Roy persuaded Jawaharlal Nehru (India's first Prime Minister) to establish the first institute in West Bengal. The first Indian Institute of Technology was thus established in May 1950 as the "Eastern Higher Technical Institute".cite book
last = IIT Kharagpur
year = 2002
title = Profile of a Trailblazer
publisher = IIT Kharagpur
location = India
pages = (i) ] The institute was initially located in Esplanade East, Calcutta, and in September 1950 shifted to its permanent campus at Hijli, Kharagpur located 120 kilometres southwest of Kolkata. When the first session started in August 1951, there were 224 students and 42 teachers in 10 departments of the institute. The class rooms, laboratories and the administrative office were housed in the historic building of the Hijli Detention Camp (now known as "Shaheed Bhawan"), where political revolutionaries were imprisoned and executed during the British rule. The office building had served as the headquarters of the Bomber Command of the U.S. 20th Air Force during World War II.

The name "Indian Institute of Technology" was adopted before the formal inauguration of the institute on 18 August 1951 by Maulana Abul Kalam Azad. On 15 September 1956, the Parliament of India passed the "Indian Institute of Technology (Kharagpur) Act" declaring it an "Institute of National Importance". Prime Minister Nehru, in the first convocation address of IIT Kharagpur in 1956, said :cite web
last = Kharagpur
first = Indian Institute of Technology
date = 2006-05-14
url = http://iitkgp.ac.in/institute/history.php
title = Institute History
accessdate = 2006-05-14]

The Shaheed Bhawan was converted to a museum in 1990.cite news
first = Suhrid Sankar
last = Chattopadhyay
url = http://www.hinduonnet.com/fline/fl1909/19090840.htm
title = Kharagpur's legend
work = Volume 19 - Issue 9
publisher = Frontline
date = 2002-04-27
accessdate = 2006-08-28] The Srinivasa Ramanujan Complex was incorporated as another academic complex of the institute with Takshashila starting operation in 2002 and Vikramshila in 2003.

Administration

IIT Kharagpur shares a common "Visitor" (a position held by the President of India) and the IIT Council with other IITs. The rest of IIT Kharagpur's organisational structure is distinct from that of the other IITs. The Board of Governors of IIT Kharagpur is under the IIT Council, and has 13 members that include representatives of the states of West Bengal, Bihar, Jharkhand and Orissa, in addition to other members appointed by the IIT Council and the institute's senate. Under the Board of Governors is the institute's director, who serves as the chief academic and executive officer of the IIT. He is extensively aided by the deputy director.cite web
authorlink = Public Information Officer
url = http://iitkgp.ac.in/rti/03.html
title = Powers and duties of Officers and Employees
publisher = Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur
accessdate = 2006-07-22] Under the director and the deputy director are the deans, heads of departments, registrar, president of the students' council, and chairman of the hall management committee. The registrar is the chief administrative officer and oversees day-to-day operations. He is the custodian of records, funds, and other properties of the institute. Under the charge of the heads of departments (HOD) are the faculty (full-time professors as well as those of associate and assistant status). The wardens of hostels are placed under the chairman of the hall management committee in the organisation.cite web
authorlink = Public Information Officer
date = 2006-03-03
url = http://iitkgp.ac.in/rti/stru1.html
title = Organisational Structure
publisher = Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur
accessdate = 2006-05-14]

IIT Kharagpur receives disproportionately more funding than other engineering colleges in India.cite web
authorlink = CURRENT SCIENCE, VOL. 86, NO. 3
date = 2004-02-10
url = http://www.iisc.ernet.in/currsci/feb102004/369.pdf
title = Performance based funding of IITs
format = PDF
pages = 3
publisher = IISc
accessdate = 2006-05-14] While the total government funding to most other engineering colleges is around Rs. 100–200 million (US$ 2–4.5 million) per year, IIT Kharagpur gets nearly Rs. 1,300 million ($ 30 million) per year.cite news
first = Yogesh K
last = Upadhyaya
url = http://us.rediff.com/money/2005/may/25iit.htm
title = New IITs: A long journey ahead
publisher = Rediff.com
date = 2005-05-25
accessdate = 2006-05-14] Other sources of funds include student fees and research funding by industry-sponsored projects. IIT Kharagpur subsidises undergraduate student fees by approximately 80% and provide scholarships to all M.Tech. students and research scholars to encourage them to pursue higher studies. The cost borne by undergraduate students, including boarding and mess expenses, is around Rs. 50,000 ($ 1,100) per annum. 35% of undergraduate students are given additional financial support based on personal need and economic background, with their annual expenses being nearly Rs. 25,000 ($ 550).cite book
last = IIT Kharagpur
year = 2002
title = Profile of a Trailblazer
publisher = IIT Kharagpur
location = India
pages = 13 ]

The academic policies of IIT Kharagpur are decided by its senate.cite web
url = http://iitkgp.ac.in/rti/15.html
title = Norms / Standards
publisher = IIT Kharagpur
accessdate = 2006-07-22] It consists of all professors of the institute, and administrative and student representatives. The senate controls and approves the curriculum, courses, examinations and results, and appoints committees to look into specific academic matters. The teaching, training and research activities of the institute are periodically reviewed by the senate to maintain educational standards. The director of IIT Kharagpur is the "ex officio" chairman of the senate.

IIT Kharagpur follows the credit-based system of performance evaluation, with proportional weighting of courses based on their importance.cite book
last = IIT Kharagpur
year = 2002
title = Profile of a Trailblazer
publisher = IIT Kharagpur
location = India
pages = 7 ] The total marks (usually out of 100) form the basis of grades, with a grade value (out of 10) assigned to a range of marks. For each semester, the students are graded by taking a weighted average from all the courses with their respective credit points. Each semester's evaluation is done independently with a cumulative grade point average (CGPA) reflecting the average performance across semesters. The medium of instruction is English.

Campus

IIT Kharagpur is located 120 kilometres (75 miles) west of Kolkata. The campus is located five kilometres away from Kharagpur's railway station. The layout of the present campus and the design of the buildings were carried out by a group of engineers and architects under the guidance of Werner M. Moser, a Swiss architect.cite book
last = IIT Kharagpur
year = 2002
title = Profile of a Trailblazer
publisher = IIT Kharagpur
location = India
pages = 6 ] The 8.5 km² (2,100 acre) campus is residence to about 20,000 inhabitants. In 2006, IIT Kharagpur had about 470 faculty members, 1,933 employees and approximately 5,500 students living on the campus.cite news |first = G.S.|last = Mudur|url =http://www.telegraphindia.com/1060518/asp/nation/story_6237271.asp |title = Faculty hitch in seat hike|publisher = The Telegraph|date = 2006-05-18|accessdate = 2006-08-27] The campus has a total of 55 kilometres (34 miles) of roadways.

The 18 student hostels are located on either side of Scholars Avenue, which extends from the institute gate to the B. C. Roy Technology Hospital. The three earliest halls—Patel, Azad, and Nehru—together constitute the PAN loop or Old Campus, which is located just next to Scholar's Avenue. There are seven hostels for undergraduate male students and one for undergraduate female students. Another hostel for women has quite recently been constructed. In addition, there are a few post-graduate students' hostels including two for women and a separate hostel for scholars from the armed forces. The Jnan Ghosh stadium and Tata Sports Complex host large-scale sports competitions. The "Tagore Open Air Theatre" has a capacity of 3,000 people, and is used to host cultural programs. The Science and Technology Entrepreneurs' Park (STEP) provides infrastructure facilities to alumni who want to become entrepreneurs but lack infrastructure to start their own corporation.cite book
last = IIT Kharagpur
year = 2002
title = Profile of a Trailblazer
publisher = IIT Kharagpur
location = India
pages = 23 ]

In addition to the main campus at Kharagpur, the institute has an extension centre at Kolkata to provide venues for continuing education programmes, distance learning courses, and guesthouse accommodation. The institute plans to expand the Kolkata extension centre at Rajarhat, and use it to offer full-time undergraduate and postgraduate courses from the 2008 session onwards.cite news
author = Arnab Mallick
url = http://www.business-standard.com/bsonline/storypage.php?&autono=215800
title = IIT Kharagpur to expand Kolkata campus
publisher = Business Standard
date = 2006-02-20
accessdate = 2006-07-22] The 10 acre Rajarhat campus will house 2,500 students, and will eventually expand to 250 acres (1 km²).cite news
author = Statesman News Service
url = http://www.thestatesman.net/page.arcview.php?clid=22&id=150474&usrsess=1
title = IIT in Rajarhat by 2008
publisher = The Statesman
date = 2006-07-13
accessdate = 2006-07-22] The institute's plan for a similar branch campus of 200 acre (0.8 km²) in Bhubaneswar was scrapped following rejection by the Union Human Resource and Development ministry.cite news |first = Chetan |last = Chauhan| url = http://www.hindustantimes.com/news/181_1938858,0008.htm| archiveurl = http://web.archive.org/web/20070523095136/http://www.hindustantimes.com/news/181_1938858,0008.htm| archivedate=2007-05-23 |title = IITs plan for expansion scrapped|publisher = Hindustan Times|date = 26 February 2007|accessdate = 2007-03-10]

Academic buildings

IIT Kharagpur has 100 academic departments, 80 multi-disciplinary centres/schools, and 130 schools of excellence in addition to laboratories and central research facilities. Apart from the main building in the central academic complex, the "Srinivasa Ramanujan Complex" also has common academic facilities. In the S. R. Complex, the Takshashila building houses the G. S. Sanyal School of Telecommunication, the School of Information Technology and the Computer and Informatics Centre; and has facilities for conducting lecture classes as well. Vikramshila is another academic building in the S. R. Complex, having four lecture halls, several seminar rooms, and Kalidas Auditorium, which has a seating capacity of 850.cite web|url=http://www.iitkgp.ac.in/enews01/expansion.html?t=623 |title=Expansion At IIT Kharagpur|accessdate=2006-08-21|author=Kgp Konnexion Writeup Team|date=2006-08-17|work=Kgp Konnexion e-newsletter|publisher=IIT Kharagpur]

The main building houses most of the administrative offices of the institute. It has numerous lecture halls, and two big auditoriums on either side. The tower of the main building has a steel tank with 10,000 imperial gallons of water capacity for emergency supply needs. The Netaji Auditorium in the main building is used for official functions and events, and doubles as a cinema theatre on weekend nights, showing movies to the IIT community at subsidised rates.

IIT Kharagpur's first library was located in a small room of the institute's NEW Building ("Shaheed Bhawan"). At the time of its opening in 1951, the library had a collection of 2,500 books. Now located in the main building of the institute, the Central Library is the biggest technical library in Asia.cite news
author = India Today
url = http://www.iitbombay.org/misc/press/indiatoday060203.htm
title = INDIA TODAY: TOP 10 COLLEGES -ENGINEERING
work = India Today – June, 2003 Issue
publisher = India Today (mirrored on IIT Bombay website)
date = 2003-06-02
accessdate = 2006-05-14] Its collection includes over 350,000 books and documents, and it subscribes to more than 1,600 printed and online journals. The library has six halls and a section exclusively for SC and ST students. The library's collection consists of books, reports, conference proceedings, back volumes of periodicals, standards, theses, micro-forms, CD-ROMs, floppies, and audio-visual material. The library's transaction service is automated and online searches are possible through an Online Public Access Catalog (OPAC). The Electronic Library section has a collection of databases, video lectures and miscellaneous other resources.

The Nehru Museum of Science and Technology has over a hundred indoor exhibits that include technical models collected from various institutions across India. The park outside the museum contains 14 open-air demonstrations and outdoor exhibits, including a hunter plane and a steam engine. The museum also has an archive room, showcasing documents relating to the history of the institute and West Midnapore district.cite book
last = IIT Kharagpur
year = 2002
title = Profile of a Trailblazer
publisher = IIT Kharagpur
location = India
pages = 24 ] The Rural Museum, located in the Rural Development Centre of the institute, has a collection of exhibits in local culture.

Civic amenities

The institute campus has six guest houses, a civic hospital, four nationalised banks, four schools, a railway reservation counter and a police station within its limits. The campus has its own water pumping station, electrical sub-station, telephone exchange, a market, six restaurants, and a garbage disposal section for the daily needs of the residents. Construction is going on for another guest house and a convention centre having a capacity of 2,000. The institute draws its supply of water from wells near the Kosai river (located 112 kilometres away from institute) by harnessing sub-surface water. Three deep wells near the institute supplement the supply from the river. The water is supplied by a convert|16|in|mm|sing=on pipeline to 12 tanks in the campus with a total capacity of 2,800,000 litres (615,000 imperial gallons).

IIT Kharagpur is located just outside the town of Kharagpur, in the Hijli village. The civic amenities provided to the campus of IIT Kharagpur make it nearly self-sufficient with regards to the basic needs of the residents. As Kharagpur is a small town, there is limited direct interaction between the campus community and the town. There is also little opportunity for the employment of family members of the faculty. Unlike some other IITs (such as IIT Bombay), IIT Kharagpur does not restrict outsiders' entry into the campus.cite web|url= http://www.educationworldonline.net/eduworld/article.php?choice=prev_art&article_id=10&issueid=1|title= Stormy weather for India's most famous education brand|accessdate= 2006-07-29|year= 2006|month= January|publisher= EducationWorld] IIT Kharagpur provides much of its benefits to the local community through the Rural Development Centre (RDC) located in the campus. Established in 1975, the RDC helps the local community by developing customised technologies.cite web|url= http://iitkgp.ac.in/departments/home.php?deptcode=RD|title= Rural Development|accessdate= 2006-07-29|publisher= IIT Kharagpur] The RDC also co-ordinates the National Service Scheme (NSS) programs in IIT Kharagpur, with the members of NSS taking part in weekly community service activities such as sanitation, road construction, teaching and building educational models.

Beginning in 2005, IIT Kharagpur started construction of a boundary wall for the security of the campus. Restrictions to entry are planned once the construction is complete. This was opposed by the local community as it would hinder their access to amenities provided by the institute. The local community also opposes the construction of a flyover from the railway station to the campus, as it would lead to substantial losses of opportunity for the shops along the roads.cite news
author = Saibal Sen
url = http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/msid-1491157,prtpage-1.cms
title = Beyond the IIT wall, a world apart
publisher = The Times of India Online
date = 2006-04-15
accessdate = 2006-07-23] The construction of the 1052.69 m long flyover has been approved by the Indian Railways and West Bengal state government. It will be formally called Hijli Road overbridge, and will be constructed for estimated cost of Rs. 237 million ($ 5.3 million).cite news
author = Chandreyee Chatterjee
url = http://www.telegraphindia.com/1070414/asp/nation/story_7646380.asp
title = IIT gets its flyover, finally
publisher = The Telegraph - Calcutta
date = 2007-04-13
accessdate = 2007-04-15]

Admissions and academics

Admission to most undergraduate and postgraduate courses in IIT Kharagpur is granted through written entrance examinations. Admission to M.S. and Ph.D. programmes is based primarily on a personal interview, though candidates have to take written tests as well.

Admission to undergraduate programmes in all IITs is tied to the Indian Institute of Technology Joint Entrance Examination, popularly known as IIT-JEE. Candidates who qualify for admission through IIT-JEE can apply for admission in B.Tech. ("Bachelor of Technology"), Dual Degree (Integrated "Bachelor of Technology" and "Master of Technology") and integrated M.Sc. ("Master of Sciences") courses at IIT Kharagpur. The admissions to postgraduate programmes (M.Tech.) are made primarily through the Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering (GATE). Other prominent postgraduate entrance exams include Joint Admission to M.Sc. (JAM) for M.Sc., and Joint Management Entrance Test (JMET) for management studies.

As per the rules of admission to IIT Kharagpur, 15% of the seats are reserved for students belonging to Scheduled Castes (SC) and 7.5% for Scheduled Tribes (ST).cite web
authorlink = JEE Chairman
url = http://jee.iitm.ac.in/reservation.php
archiveurl = http://web.archive.org/web/20060926000807/http://jee.iitm.ac.in/reservation.php
archivedate=2006-09-26
title = Reservation of Seats for Joint Entrance Examination, 2006
publisher = Indian Institute of Technology Madras
accessdate = 2006-05-14] As of 2008, 27% separate reservation exists for the "Other Backward Classes".

IIT Kharagpur is a member of LAOTSE, an international network of universities in Europe and Asia exchanging students and senior scholars. The institute has been ranked as India's best engineering institute by "India Today" in 2001, 2002, 2003 and 2007. In the Shanghai Jiao Tong University's Academic Ranking of World Universities (2006), IIT Kharagpur was the only engineering school from India listed among the top 500 universities worldwide.cite web
authorlink = Institute of Higher Education, Shanghai Jiao Tong University
date = 2006-08-15
url = http://ed.sjtu.edu.cn/ranking2006.htm
title = Academic Ranking of World Universities - 2006
publisher = Shanghai Jiao Tong University
accessdate = 2007-03-07]

Undergraduate education

IIT Kharagpur offers a number of degrees as part of its undergraduate programmes. They include Bachelor of Technology (B.Tech.), Bachelor of Architecture (B.Arch.) and the 5 year integrated Master of Science . The B.Tech. degree is the most common undergraduate degree in IIT Kharagpur in terms of student enrollment. It is based on a four-year programme with eight semesters. The first year of the B.Tech. curriculum has common courses from various departments. At the end of the first year, an option to change departments is given to meritorious students on the basis of their performance in the first two semesters.

From the second year onwards, the students take up courses offered exclusively by their respective departments that are known as "depth" courses. In addition to these, the students have to take a number of inter-disciplinary courses known as "breadth" courses. Separate courses from the humanities and social sciences (HSS) department, and management and information technology are also required. At the end of the third year, the B.Tech. and Dual Degree students undertake mandatory industrial training for a minimum period of eight working weeks as part of the undergraduate curriculum.cite book
last = HMC, IIT Kharagpur
first = Chairman
year = 2005
title = Information Brochure
publisher = Hall Management Centre
location = India
pages = 6–7 ] In the final year of their studies, most of the students are offered jobs in industries and other organisations through the Training and Placement (T&P) section of the institute.cite web|url= http://iitkgp.ac.in/tnp/introduction.php|title= Introduction to Training and Placement Section|accessdate= 2006-09-26|publisher= IIT Kharagpur] Some students opt out of this facility in favour of higher studies, or to take up jobs by applying to recruiting organisations directly. In addition to the major degree as part of the undergraduate education, students can take up additional subjects from other departments, and by demonstrating knowledge of a discipline based on performance parameters and course objectives set by the department, earn a minor in that department.

Postgraduate and doctoral education

IIT Kharagpur offers a number of postgraduate programmes including Master of Technology (M.Tech.), Master of Business Administration (MBA), and Master of Sciences (M.Sc.). Some specialised graduate programmes offered by IIT Kharagpur include Postgraduate Diploma in Information Technology (PGDIT), Master in Medical Science and Technology (MMST), Master of City Planning (MCP), Postgraduate Diploma in Intellectual Property Law (PGDIPL), and Postgraduate Diploma in Maritime Operation & Management (PGDMOM). IIT Kharagpur offers the Doctor of Philosophy degree (Ph.D.) as part of its doctoral education programme. The doctoral scholars are given a topic of academic interest by the professor, or sometimes work on the consultancy projects sponsored by various industries. The duration of the programme is usually unspecified and depends on the specific discipline. Ph.D. scholars have to submit a dissertation as well as conduct an oral defence of their thesis. Teaching assistantships (TA) and research assistantships (RA) are provided based on the scholar's academic profile. IIT Kharagpur offers an M.S. (by research) programme; the M.Tech. and M.S. being similar to the US universities' non-thesis (course-based) and thesis (research-based) master programmes respectively.

IIT Kharagpur (along with other IITs) offers Dual Degree programs that integrate undergraduate and postgraduate studies in selected pairs of branches and specialisations. Most of the Dual Degree programs involve specialisation in the major field of education of the student. But for a dual degree involving an MBA from Vinod Gupta School of Management, the selection is made on the basis of an aptitude test of students across all engineering streams. The Dual Degree program spans a period of five years as against six years in conventional B.Tech. (four years) followed by an M.Tech. or MBA (two years).cite web|url= http://www.cags.ca/conference/2005/pdf/2005_Natarajan_R.pdf|title= The Evolution of Postgraduate Engineering Education and Research in India|accessdate= 2006-08-27|last= Natarajan|first= R|format= PDF|work= CAGS 2005 Conference|publisher= Canadian Association for Graduate Studies|pages= 6] IIT Kharagpur has a management school (Vinod Gupta School of Management) and a law school (Rajiv Gandhi School of Intellectual Property Law) on its premises. The Rajiv Gandhi School of Intellectual Property Law has been opened in collaboration with George Washington University.cite news
author = Business Standard Bureau
url = http://www.business-standard.com/bsonline/storypage.php?&autono=213744
title = IIT-K to host school on IPR Law
publisher = Business Standard
date = 2006-02-02
accessdate = 2006-07-22]

Continuing education

IIT Kharagpur offers the Continuing Education Programme (CEP) for qualified engineers and scientists to learn new technologies and developments in their academic disciplines. As part of CEP, the institute offers formal degree programmes (M.Tech. and Ph.D.) and an Early Faculty Induction Programme (EFIP)cite web |url=http://www.efip.iitm.ac.in/welcome.htm |archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20070202155147/http://www.efip.iitm.ac.in/welcome.htm |archivedate=2007-02-02|title=Early Faculty Induction Programme|accessdate=2006-08-19|date=2006-03-28|publisher=IIT Madras] under the Quality Improvement Programme (QIP), short-term courses supported by the All India Council for Technical Education, self-financed short-term courses supported by course fees, and certificate courses conducted as distance education. In addition to conducting educational courses, the CEP develops model curricula for engineering education. As of 2006, the CEP has facilitated publication of 103 course curriculum books. The CEP administers SIMAP (Small Industries Management Assistant Programme) and STUP (Skill-cum-Technology Upgradation Programme) on behalf of IIT Kharagpur; the institute being a corpus institute of SIDBI (Small Industries Development Bank of India).cite book
last = IIT Kharagpur
year = 2002
title = Profile of a Trailblazer
publisher = IIT Kharagpur
location = India
pages = 14 ]

ponsored research

The institute received 171 research projects—generating revenue worth Rs. 417 million ($ 9.25 million)—and 130 consultancy projects in the 2005–06 session. The institute transferred 15 technologies to industry during the same session. The institute has filed 125 patents so far and 25 of them have been granted. This does not include patents obtained by individual professors or students. During the same session, the value of the international projects was Rs. 9.9 million ($ 220,000), and the revenue from transferred technologies was about Rs. 2.5 million ($ 55,000). The institute earned Rs. 520 million ($ 11.5 million) from research projects in the 2005–06 session. Major sponsors for research include the Indian National Science Academy, Ministry of Human Resource and Development, Defence Research and Development Organisation, Microsoft Corporation, Department of Science and Technology, and Indian Space Research Organisation.cite book
last = IIT Kharagpur
first = IIT Press
year = 2002
title = Souvenir (Golden Jubilee Edition)
publisher = IIT Kharagpur
location = Kolkata ] IIT Kharagpur has had a separate cell known as the SRIC (Sponsored Research and Industrial Consultancy) cell since 1982. It handles sponsored research projects and industrial consultancy assignments, and has the infrastructure to simultaneously administer 600 R&D projects.cite book
last = IIT Kharagpur
year = 2002
title = Profile of a Trailblazer
publisher = IIT Kharagpur
location = India
pages = 15 ]

Institutes and departments

One recently established department is the Centre for Ocean, River, Atmosphere and Land Science (CORALs). It is an academic and research department in earth sciences.

tudent life and culture

IIT Kharagpur provides on-campus residential facilities to its students, research scholars and faculty.cite web
authorlink = Assistant Registrar(R)
url = http://iitkgp.ac.in/topfiles/faculty_openings_new.php
title = Faculty Openings
publisher = Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur
accessdate = 2006-07-22] The students live in hostels (referred to as "halls") throughout their stay in the IIT.cite book
last = HMC, IIT Kharagpur
first = Chairman
year = 2005
title = Information Brochure
publisher = Hall Management Centre
location = India
pages = 5 ] Undergraduate students must choose between National Cadet Corps (NCC), National Service Scheme (NSS) and National Sports Organisation (NSO) for their first two years of study.cite news
first = Suhrid Sankar
last = Chattopadhyay
url = http://www.hinduonnet.com/fline/fl1909/19090880.htm
title = In pursuit of excellence
work = Volume 19 - Issue 9
publisher = Frontline
date = 2002-04-27
accessdate = 2006-08-28] IIT Kharagpur has common sports grounds for cricket, football, hockey, volleyball, lawn tennis, badminton, and athletics; and swimming pools for aquatic events. Most of the hostels have their own sports grounds.cite book
last = HMC, IIT Kharagpur
first = Chairman
year = 2005
title = Information Brochure
publisher = Hall Management Centre
location = India
pages = 19 ]

The students of IIT Kharagpur compete among themselves in various events held under the purview of open-IIT and inter-hall events, and the results of the latter contribute to the overall tally of points that determine the winner of "General Championship". The four broad categories in which General Championships are decided are Sports, Social & cultural activities, Technology, and Hall affairs. The women's hostel together participate as a single team in all events with the exception of sports, where women's team do not participate at inter-hall level. IIT Kharagpur participates in the Inter-IIT Sports Meet, held annually in one of the IITs by policy of rotation.cite book
last = HMC, IIT Kharagpur
first = Chairman
year = 2005
title = Information Brochure
publisher = Hall Management Centre
location = India
pages = 23 ] The students of IIT Kharagpur choose their representatives by elections held under the purview of the Technology Students' Gymkhana. The highest-ranking student representative chosen by the elections is the Vice-President of the Gymkhana, and represents the students in the senate. All halls nominate two representatives for the senate. The Gymkhana publishes an annual magazine called "Alankar". A fortnightly newsletter called The Scholar's Avenue, named after the avenue common to the student halls, is also published by an independent student body.cite book
last = HMC, IIT Kharagpur
first = Chairman
year = 2005
title = Information Brochure
publisher = Hall Management Centre
location = India
pages = 22 ] Individual halls organise "Hall day" — an annual event that involves lighting and decoration of the organising hall, with a social gathering of students from all halls — during the month of March. The event is also used by the halls to popularise their candidates for student body elections.

Students who violate the code of conduct of the institute have to defend themselves in front of the Hall Disciplinary Committee (HDC), which investigates the case and prescribes punishment if necessary. Students may appeal against the punishment to the Appellate-cum-Liaison Committee known as Inter Hall Disciplinary Committee (IHDC). The IHDC submits its recommendations to the Senate, which finalises the punishment. Extreme cases of indiscipline are referred directly to the IHDC. The IHDC is empowered to give punishments to students for acts of indiscretion committed anywhere in India.cite book
last = HMC, IIT Kharagpur
first = Chairman
year = 2005
title = Information Brochure
publisher = Hall Management Centre
location = India
pages = 13 ] IIT Kharagpur has strict provisions dealing with physical and mental harassment of junior students (ragging). There are separate halls for first year undergraduate male students, which are off-limits to senior students. Students found harassing their juniors are suspended from the institute, without going through the Disciplinary Committee.cite news |first = Nandini|last = Guha|url = http://cities.expressindia.com/fullstory.php?newsid=139196|title = Led by IIT, engg colleges tighten anti-ragging rules|publisher = Kolkata Newsline|date = 2005-07-15|accessdate = 2006-08-09]

Festivals

IIT Kharagpur organises a techno-management festival known as Kshitij.It is biggest techno-management festival of Asia with a total budget of around 50 lakh. An annual techno-management festival organised in January or February, it receives participation from other colleges as well. Events include technical workshops, seminars, and competitions. Robotix, the annual robotics competition held by IIT Kharagpur, is organised during Kshitij. The cultural festival, Spring Fest, is held in January. Spring Fest includes numerous cultural competitions in addition to stage shows (known as "Star-nights") by noted singers and performers.cite book
last = HMC, IIT Kharagpur
first = Chairman
year = 2005
title = Information Brochure
publisher = Hall Management Centre
location = India
pages = 22 ] The Star-nights are the main attraction of Spring Fest; often more than 10,000 people pack into the "Tagore Open Air Theatre", built with a capacity of 3,000 people. The event attracts participation from colleges across India.

Illumination festival, popularly known as "Illu", is a festival unique to IIT Kharagpur. It is inspired from the day of Diwali (the festival of lights) and is usually held on the day of Diwali itself. It is held as a competition among student halls.cite book
last = HMC, IIT Kharagpur
first = Chairman
year = 2005
title = Information Brochure
publisher = Hall Management Centre
location = India
pages = 22 ] As part of the Illumination festival, all halls build vertical panels of bamboo (called "Chatais") on which thousands of lamps ("diyas") are mounted forming outlines of people or things; illustrating an event, or a place of importance. The "chatais" may reach a height of 6 m (20 ft), with nearly 20,000 lighted lamps. The lamps on the chatais are lighted with all other light sources switched off, to showcase the art-panels made by the flickering lamps. On the same day as Illumination, the Rangoli Competition is organised as an inter-hall event. Rangolis of exquisite detail and shading—measuring around 3.5 m (12 ft) long by 3.5 m wide—are constructed using coloured powders, crushed bangles, and pebbles. Interplay of light and shadow and ambient music are part of the display.

Alumni

The alumni of IIT Kharagpur have achieved prominence in various fields. Sushantha Kumar Bhattacharyya was awarded the CBE, a knighthood,cite news |first = Paul|last = Hayter|url = http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/ld200304/minutes/040609/ldminute.htm |title = Minutes and Order Paper - Minutes of Proceedings|work = Publications on the internet; Minutes and Order Papers|publisher = House of Lords, UK|date = 2004-06-09|accessdate = 2006-09-21] and Padma Bhushan; and V. C. Kulandaiswamy was awarded Padma Shri and Padma Bhushan.cite news |author = Special Correspondent|url = http://www.hinduonnet.com/2002/01/26/stories/2002012605040100.htm|title = Padma Vibhushan for Rangarajan, Soli Sorabjee|publisher = The Hindu|date = 2002-06-26|accessdate = 2006-09-21] Mani Lal Bhaumik invented the excimer laser. Srikumar Banerjee became the Director of the Bhabha Atomic Research Centrecite web|url= http://www.barc.ernet.in/dirbarc.html|title= Barc: Director BARC|accessdate= 2006-09-21|author= Scientific Information Resource Division B. A. R. C.|date= 2006-05-10|publisher= Computer Division B.A.R.C] and Kirit Parikh was the founder director of Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research (IGIDR) and a member of Union Planning Commission of India. In the corporate world, Suhas Patil founded Cirrus Logic, Arjun Malhotra co-founded HCL Technologies, Vinod Gupta founded InfoUSA, Ajit Jain became president of Berkshire Hathaway's Reinsurance Group, and Arun Sarin became the CEO of Vodafone.cite web|url= http://www.vodafone.com/article/0,3029,CATEGORY_ID%253D30201%2526LANGUAGE_ID%253D0%2526CONTENT_ID%253D231551,00.html|archiveurl= http://web.archive.org/web/20070325210329/http://www.vodafone.com/article/0,3029,CATEGORY_ID=30201&LANGUAGE_ID=0&CONTENT_ID=231551,00.html|archivedate=2007-03-25 |title= About Vodafone |accessdate= 2006-09-21|publisher= Vodafone Group] R. Gopalakrishnan is the Director of Tata Motors and Tata Power. [cite web|url= http://www.tata.com/0_about_us/management/gopalakrishnan.htm |title= R. Gopalakrishnan |accessdate= 2006-09-21 |date= 2005-04-26|publisher= Tata Sons Ltd] Prith Banerjee has been appointed as the worldwide director of HP Labs, the research wing of Hewlett-Packardcite news |first = Palo|last = Alto|url = http://www.hp.com/hpinfo/newsroom/press/2007/070502d.html |title = HP Names Dean of University of Illinois at Chicago, Prith Banerjee, as Director of HP Labs|publisher = Hewlett-Packard Development Company|date = 2 May 2007|accessdate = 2007-07-03] .

The Vinod Gupta School of Management and Rajiv Gandhi School of Intellectual Property Law were established with donated funds from Vinod Gupta. Other centres built by funding from alumni include the G.S. Sanyal School of Telecommunication and VLSI-CAD laboratory. The IIT Foundation, started by Vinod Gupta in 1992, is the alumni association of the institute having chapters in many cities in India and abroad.cite web
url= http://www.alumni.iitkgp.ernet.in/newsite/alumnichapters.php
title= Alumni Chapters
accessdate= 2006-07-27
publisher= Global Alumni Network] The alumni association publishes the quarterly newsletter "KGPian" for the alumni.cite web|url=http://www.alumni.iitkgp.ernet.in/newsite/kgpian.php |title=KGPian|accessdate=2006-08-22|work=KGPian archives|publisher=IIT Kharagpur] The institute also publishes a monthly e-newsletter titled "KGP Konnexion" for alumni. [cite web|url=http://www.iitkgp.ac.in/enews01/about.html|title=About KGP Konnexions|accessdate=2006-08-22|year=2006|month=August|work=KGP Konnexions e-newsletter|publisher=IIT Kharagpur] IIT Kharagpur has a dean for alumni affairs to manage liaisons with alumni. The institute organises an annual alumni meet in January.

The US-based alumni of IIT Kharagpur have started the "Vision 2020" fundraiser, intending to provide infrastructure (like labs and equipment) and attract and retain faculty and students. The objective of Vision 2020 is to raise a US$200 million endowment fund by the year 2020 for technology education, research and innovation related growth of the institute.cite web|url= http://www.iitfoundation.org/giving/|title= Vision 2020: Give to IIT Kharagpur|accessdate= 2006-09-25|publisher= The IIT Foundation]

References

Further reading

*cite book
last = Deb
first = Sandipan
year = 2004
title = The IITians
publisher = Penguin Books
location = India
id = ISBN 0-670-04986-7
*cite video
people = Students of IIT Kharagpur
year = 2004
title = [http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=4299417943110283378&q=IIT Introduction to IIT Kharagpur]
medium = Documentary
location = India
publisher = TSG
*cite news
first = Suhrid Sankar
last = Chattopadhyay
url = http://www.hinduonnet.com/fline/fl1918/19180890.htm
title = Enabling industrial progress
work = Volume 19 - Issue 18
publisher = Frontline
date = 2002-09-13
accessdate = 2006-07-29
*cite news
first = Suhrid Sankar
last = Chattopadhyay
url = http://www.hinduonnet.com/fline/fl1918/19180900.htm
title = A committed player
work = Volume 19 - Issue 18
publisher = Frontline
date = 2002-08-30
accessdate = 2006-08-27

External links

* [http://www.iitkgp.ac.in/ Official website]
* [http://iitkgp.ac.in/map/mapfull.html Map of IIT Kharagpur]
* [http://maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8&z=15&ll=22.313873,87.310452&spn=0.019097,0.043259&t=h&om=0 Map of IIT Kharagpur on Google Maps]
* [http://www.som.iitkgp.ernet.in/ Vinod Gupta School of Management]
* [http://www.iitfoundation.org/ Alumni Association of IIT Kharagpur]
* [http://www.iitfoundation.org/iit/tour/ Photo tour of IIT Kharagpur]
* [http://iitkgp.wikia.com/wiki/Main_Page IIT Kharagpur wiki]