Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati
Encyclopedia
Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati is an autonomous engineering and technology-oriented institute of higher education established by the Government of India
, located in Guwahati
, in the state of Assam
in India
. It is the sixth Indian Institute of Technology established in India.
IITG is officially recognised as an Institute of National Importance
by the government of India.
signed between the All Assam Students Union
and the Government of India
, which mentions the general improvement in education facilities in Assam and specifically the setting up of an IIT
.
IITG was established in 1994 by an act of parliament and its academic programme commenced in 1995. IITG admitted its first batch of students into its Bachelor of Technology programme in 1995. The selection process was the same as that of all IITs, i.e., through the Joint Entrance Examination
. In 1998, the first batch of students were accepted into the Master of Technology program through the GATE
.
and abuts the North Guwahati
town of Amingaon
.
The campus is on a 700 acres (2.8 km²) plot of land around 20 km from the heart of the city. It has the majestic Brahmaputra on one side and hills and vast open spaces on others.
The aforementioned departments of the Institute offer B. Tech., B. Des., M. Des., M. Tech., Ph.D.
, M.A (Development Studies) and M.Sc. programmes.
IIT Guwahati was also the first IIT to introduce design as one of the disciplines at undergraduate and Ph.D. levels. The Department of Design (DoD) at the institute awards the degree of B.Des. (Bachelor of Design), M.Des. (Master of Design) and Ph.D. on completion of the undergraduate and postgraduate academic programs respectively.
Presently there are about 2300 students on rolls, 215 faculty members and 300 support staff.
. In India, among engineering colleges, it ranked 10 by India Today
and 9 by Dataquest
. In the Mint
Government Colleges survey of 2009 it ranked 6.
All the students live in hostels on the campus. The hostels are named after rivers and tributaries of North-East India: Manas
, Dihing
, Kapili, Siang, Kameng
, Barak
, Subansiri
(girl's hostel), Umiam, Dibang and Brahmaputra
. Apart from these, there is a married scholars hostel for married postgraduates.
, Sonu Nigam
, Shaan
, KK, Bands like Eluveitie
, Swaratma, Parikrama and Raghu Dixit Project perform to huge audiences. The 2010 edition of Alcheringa, which took place between February 4 to February 7 was called the “Xtreme Edition” as the Swiss folk metal band, Eluveitie
, performed in India for the first time.
Besides these, Inter-IIT Sports Meet is held annually every winter among the Indian Institutes of Technology. The Meet is hosted by each of the IITs in turn. In 2006, IIT Guwahati hosted the 42nd Inter-IIT Sports Meet for the first time.
Government of India
The Government of India, officially known as the Union Government, and also known as the Central Government, was established by the Constitution of India, and is the governing authority of the union of 28 states and seven union territories, collectively called the Republic of India...
, located in Guwahati
Guwahati
Guwahati, Pragjyotishpura in ancient Assam formerly known as Gauhati is a metropolis,the largest city of Assam in India and ancient urban area in North East India, with a population of 963,429. It is also the largest metropolitan area in north-eastern India...
, in the state of Assam
Assam
Assam , also, rarely, Assam Valley and formerly the Assam Province , is a northeastern state of India and is one of the most culturally and geographically distinct regions of the country...
in India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
. It is the sixth Indian Institute of Technology established in India.
IITG is officially recognised as an Institute of National Importance
Institute of National Importance
An Institute of National Importance, in India is defined as one which serves as a pivotal player in developing highly skilled personnel within the specified region of the country/state. Institutes on the list are usually supported by the Government of India...
by the government of India.
History
The history of IIT Guwahati traces its roots to the 1985 Assam AccordAssam Agitation
The Assam Agitation was a popular movement against undocumented migrants in Assam between 1979 and 1985. It is regarded as one of the most vibrant democratic mass movements of independent India...
signed between the All Assam Students Union
All Assam Students Union
All Assam Students Union is a five-tier students' union in Assam, India.All Assam Students Union or AASU is a students' organization in Assam, India. It is best known for leading the six-year Assam Movement against alleged illegal immigrants from Bangladesh...
and the Government of India
Government of India
The Government of India, officially known as the Union Government, and also known as the Central Government, was established by the Constitution of India, and is the governing authority of the union of 28 states and seven union territories, collectively called the Republic of India...
, which mentions the general improvement in education facilities in Assam and specifically the setting up of an IIT
Indian Institutes of Technology
The Indian Institutes of Technology are a group of autonomous engineering and technology-oriented institutes of higher education. The IITs are governed by the Institutes of Technology Act, 1961 which has declared them as “institutions of national importance”, and lays down their powers, duties,...
.
IITG was established in 1994 by an act of parliament and its academic programme commenced in 1995. IITG admitted its first batch of students into its Bachelor of Technology programme in 1995. The selection process was the same as that of all IITs, i.e., through the Joint Entrance Examination
Indian Institute of Technology Joint Entrance Examination
The Indian Institute of Technology Joint Entrance Examination is an annual college entrance examination in India. It is used as a sole criterion for the Indian Institutes of Technology as well as other institutes.The exam is conducted by the various IITs by a policy of rotation...
. In 1998, the first batch of students were accepted into the Master of Technology program through the GATE
Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering
Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering is an examination administered and conducted jointly by the Indian Institute of Science and the Indian Institutes of Technologies on behalf of the National Coordination Board – GATE, Department of Higher Education, Ministry of Human Resource Development ,...
.
Campus and geography
The campus of IITG is on the northern banks of BrahmaputraBrahmaputra River
The Brahmaputra , also called Tsangpo-Brahmaputra, is a trans-boundary river and one of the major rivers of Asia. It is the only Indian river that is attributed the masculine gender and thus referred to as a in Indo-Aryan languages and languages with Indo-Aryan influence...
and abuts the North Guwahati
North Guwahati
North Guwahati is northern part of city of Guwahati and a town area committee in Kamrup district in the Indian state of Assam.This town which abounds in historical places and picnic spots. National Highway 31 passes through North Guwahati.-Geography:...
town of Amingaon
Amingaon
-Location:National Highway 31 passes through Amingaon. Nearest airport is Guwahati Airport.-External links:* *...
.
The campus is on a 700 acres (2.8 km²) plot of land around 20 km from the heart of the city. It has the majestic Brahmaputra on one side and hills and vast open spaces on others.
Academics
IIT Guwahati houses the following departments:- Department of Biotechnology
- Department of Chemical Engineering
- Department of Chemistry
- Department of Civil Engineering
- Department of Computer Science and Engineering
- Department of Design
- Department of Electronics & Communication Engineering(recently merged to EEE Department)
- Department of Humanities|Humanities and Social Sciences
- Department of Mathematics
- Department of Mechanical Engineering
- Department of Physics
- Department of Electrical & Electronics Engineering
The aforementioned departments of the Institute offer B. Tech., B. Des., M. Des., M. Tech., Ph.D.
Doctor of Philosophy
Doctor of Philosophy, abbreviated as Ph.D., PhD, D.Phil., or DPhil , in English-speaking countries, is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities...
, M.A (Development Studies) and M.Sc. programmes.
IIT Guwahati was also the first IIT to introduce design as one of the disciplines at undergraduate and Ph.D. levels. The Department of Design (DoD) at the institute awards the degree of B.Des. (Bachelor of Design), M.Des. (Master of Design) and Ph.D. on completion of the undergraduate and postgraduate academic programs respectively.
Presently there are about 2300 students on rolls, 215 faculty members and 300 support staff.
Rankings
Internationally, IIT Guwahati was ranked 551–600 in the QS World University RankingsQS World University Rankings
The QS World University Rankings is a ranking of the world’s top 500 universities by Quacquarelli Symonds using a method that has published annually since 2004....
. In India, among engineering colleges, it ranked 10 by India Today
India Today
India Today is an Indian weekly news magazine published by Living Media India Limited, in publication since 1975 based in Mumbai. India Today is also the name of its sister-publication in Hindi...
and 9 by Dataquest
Dataquest
Dataquest is India's oldest IT publication. A fortnightly, Dataquest is published by Cyber Media India Ltd, South Asia's largest specialty media group. The magazine targets senior IT managers in user organizations as well as the IT industry professionals in India.Dataquest has grown with the Indian...
. In the Mint
Mint (newspaper)
Mint is a business newspaper from HT Media Ltd, launched in collaboration with The Wall Street Journal on 1 February 2007. It is a premium business news publication aimed at decision makers and policy makers of the country and it is the first newspaper in India to be published in the Berliner...
Government Colleges survey of 2009 it ranked 6.
Research centres
IITG is home to six centres of research.- Centre for Educational Technology
- Centre for Nanotechnology
- Centre for Mass Media Communication
- Central Instruments Facility
- Centre for Energy
- Centre for the Environment
Student life and hostels
IIT Guwahati is a fully residential campus. The Gymhkana Club promotes the objectives of fostering extracurricular and co-curricular activities, welfare of students and their stay on the campus.All the students live in hostels on the campus. The hostels are named after rivers and tributaries of North-East India: Manas
Manas River
The Manas River is a transboundary river in the Himalayan foothills between southern Bhutan and India.It is named after Manasa, the serpent god in Hindu mythology.It is the largest river system of Bhutan, among its four major river systems; the other three are Amo Chu or Torsa, Wong Chu or Raidak,...
, Dihing
Dihing River
Dihing or Burhi Dihing is a large tributary of the Brahmaputra in Upper Assam. The river originates in the Eastern Himalayas in Arunachal Pradesh and flows through Tinsukia and Dibrugarh Districts in Assam to its confluence with the Brahmaputra at Dihingmukh. The Dihing has created number of...
, Kapili, Siang, Kameng
Kameng River
The Kameng River in the eastern Himalayan mountains, originates in Tawang district from the glacial lake below snow capped Gori Chen mountain , on the India-Tibet border in South Tibet and flows through Bhalukpong circle of West Kameng District, Arunachal Pradesh and Sonitpur...
, Barak
Barak River
The Barak River is one of the major rivers of southern Assam and is a part of the Surma-Meghna River System. It is the biggest and the most important of all the rivers in the Manipur hill territory, from where it originates....
, Subansiri
Subansiri River
The Subansiri River is a tributary of the Brahmaputra River in the Indian states of Assam and Arunachal Pradesh, and the Tibet Autonomous Region of China. The Subansiri is long, with a drainage basin large. The Subansiri is the largest tributary of the Brahmaputra. Its maximum observed discharge...
(girl's hostel), Umiam, Dibang and Brahmaputra
Brahmaputra River
The Brahmaputra , also called Tsangpo-Brahmaputra, is a trans-boundary river and one of the major rivers of Asia. It is the only Indian river that is attributed the masculine gender and thus referred to as a in Indo-Aryan languages and languages with Indo-Aryan influence...
. Apart from these, there is a married scholars hostel for married postgraduates.
Annual festivals
Every year the students and administration of IIT Guwahati together organize and number of festivals and competitions. Techniche and Alcheringa are the conducted on a very large scale and are growing in terms of participation and sponsors.Techniche
Techniche is an annual techno-management festival of IIT Guwahati. Techniche is held in September every year over three days. Techniche provides students from schools and colleges across India a platform to interact with many experts in subject areas through its lecture series. It has been attended by P. Chidambaram, Kiran Bedi, H. C. Verma, Mike Fincke, John C. Mather and others. Techniche ’10 was held from September 2 to September 5.Alcheringa
Alcheringa is the annual cultural festival of IIT G, usually held during the first week of February. The festival is the largest cultural festival of the region. People from all over the country attend this festival and take part in events. The highlights are the “Pro-Nites” where popular artists and bands like Shankar-Ehsaan-LoyShankar-Ehsaan-Loy
Shankar–Ehsaan–Loy are an Indian musical trio consisting of Shankar Mahadevan, Ehsaan Noorani and Loy Mendonsa. Record producers, musicians and multi-instrumentalists, they have composed music for over fifty soundtrack across four languages...
, Sonu Nigam
Sonu Nigam
Sonu Nigam is an Indian playback singer whose songs have been featured in numerous Hindi movies, as well as films in Assamese, Punjabi, Bengali, Marathi and Kannada language. He has also released numerous Indi-pop albums and acted in a few Hindi feature films...
, Shaan
Shaan (singer)
Shaan , is an Indian playback singer, and television host. He hosted the shows Sa Re Ga Ma Pa, Sa Re Ga Ma Pa L'il Champs, Star Voice of India and "Star Voice of India 2"...
, KK, Bands like Eluveitie
Eluveitie
Eluveitie is a folk metal band from Winterthur, Switzerland. The band formed in 2002 and their first EP, Vên came out in 2003. The band then released a full-length album, Spirit in June 2006. In November 2007, Eluveitie was signed by Nuclear Blast....
, Swaratma, Parikrama and Raghu Dixit Project perform to huge audiences. The 2010 edition of Alcheringa, which took place between February 4 to February 7 was called the “Xtreme Edition” as the Swiss folk metal band, Eluveitie
Eluveitie
Eluveitie is a folk metal band from Winterthur, Switzerland. The band formed in 2002 and their first EP, Vên came out in 2003. The band then released a full-length album, Spirit in June 2006. In November 2007, Eluveitie was signed by Nuclear Blast....
, performed in India for the first time.
Other festivals
- Manthan, the annual inter-hostel cultural festival
- AlfaazAlfaazAlfaaz is the annual literary festival of the Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati , Guwahati, India. The word Alfaaz means words and accordingly consists of literary competitions,panel discussion, lectures, demonstrations, video conferences and workshops...
, the annual literary festival - Kriti, the annual inter-hostel technical festival
- Spardha, the annual inter-hostel sports fest
- Performing Arts Festival (PAF), the annual performing arts festival
Besides these, Inter-IIT Sports Meet is held annually every winter among the Indian Institutes of Technology. The Meet is hosted by each of the IITs in turn. In 2006, IIT Guwahati hosted the 42nd Inter-IIT Sports Meet for the first time.