IIT-Delhi keen to become ‘knowledge partner’ of the Parliament

IIT-D director Rangan Banerjee said the institute wants to provide inputs to parliamentarians across party lines on several pressing issues, including climate change and artificial intelligence.

The Indian Institute of Technology in Delhi (IIT-D) wants to be the “knowledge partner” of Parliament, the premier institution has told the education ministry, which has welcomed the proposal.

Speaking at the closing ceremony of IIT-Delhi’s diamond jubilee celebration on Saturday, education minister Dharmendra Pradhan also mentioned IIT-D’s plan of establishing a campus in Abu Dhabi. (Vipin Kumar/HT PHOTO)

“A few days ago, the IIT-D director asked us how the institute can work closely with the Parliament of India. I asked them to write a letter and they did. I have forwarded that letter to the speaker,” education minister Dharmendra Pradhan said at the closing ceremony of IIT-D’s diamond jubilee celebration on Saturday.

Educational institutions like the IITs should become the “knowledge partners” of the “temple of democracy”, the minister said. “We must work together to further strengthen academia, industry and policymaker connect to realise 21st century aspirations and make India the number one economy in the world,” he said

Explaining the idea behind the proposal, IIT-D director Rangan Banerjee said the institute wants to provide inputs to parliamentarians across party lines on several pressing issues, including climate change and artificial intelligence.

“We basically feel that it is our responsibility to engage with parliamentarians and make them aware of what is happening in various fields. Our faculty colleagues at IIT-D are working on several important aspects of technology. If we want to look at knowledge going to society we need to interface with Parliamentarians,” Banerjee said. “Parliamentarians are very rooted and they can also give their inputs on various issues. It will be a win-win situation.”

The ministry has in principle agreed to the proposal, Banerjee said. “We have got a group of faculty to work out how to get ahead. We will start with some engagement initially. We can see such a strong interface between academia and policymakers and parliamentarians in many European countries. We have studied those models, but we have to work out our own model,” the director said.

During the event, Pradhan also mentioned IIT-D’s plan of establishing a campus in Abu Dhabi. “It is a matter of great pride that today many developed countries are evincing interest towards establishing and hosting offshore IIT campuses in their countries. This is a reflection of the prowess, strength and quality of our prestigious IITs,” he said.

IIT-D had started consultations with the department of education and knowledge in Abu Dhabi after the government asked it to explore the possibility of setting a campus in the United Arab Emirates, HT had reported last month.

During the jubilee celebrations, IIT-D’s research and innovation park was inaugurated by President Droupadi Murmu. “The research and innovation park will further add momentum to amplify the societal impact of R&D at IIT Delhi,” Pradhan said.