E-Paper
IIT Madras establishes Institute Advisory Board to incorporate global practices
The objective of the board is to encourage IIT Madras to accelerate research and development through international practices.
In a recent development, the Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IIT Madras) has established an ‘Institute Advisory Board’ (IAB) with eminent personalities from across the world. The members have been chosen from various fields, including business, academia and philanthropy. The Board is supposed to guide the institute on adopting the best global practices followed by renowned international institutes.
The aim of these international practices will be to encourage:
• Acceleration of research programmes
• Establishment and growth of world-class research centres
• Innovation and entrepreneurship
• Recruitment of top faculty members and students from across the globe
According to a press release, the objective of the IAB is also to help IIT Madras implement its Plan of Action outlined under the ‘Institution of Eminence’ (IoE) project of the Government of India. The initiative aims to provide financial aid to select public institutions through five years to be at par with the best international institutes. The aid will be up to ₹1,000 crore.
Apart from these, there are other key objectives behind the setting up of IAB. These include:
• Helping IIT Madras in continuing to raise an endowment of ₹ 2,000 crore
• Connecting faculty and students with internationally acclaimed researchers
• Strengthening industry connections with the institute
In the press release, Prof. Bhaskar Ramamurthi, Director, IIT Madras, said, “The members of the IAB bring with them a tremendous amount of experience and knowledge related to the nurturing of world-class universities. They share our dream that IIT Madras should grow and become one of the leading technical universities in the world, and are committed to doing everything they can to make this a reality. We are very grateful to them for their deep commitment to the Institute.”
Dr. Pawan Goenka, Chairman, Board of Governors, IIT Madras also expressed his expectations from the board. In the press release, he has been quoted saying, “We would request this Board to help us define bold strategic goals for the Institute and to help us go beyond what we think is reasonable and achievable today.”
The 10 external members of the IAB include Prof. Anantha P. Chandrakasan, Dean, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Shri M.M. Murugappan, former Chairman, Murugappa Group, Shri Rahul Mehta, Founder, Mehta Family Foundation, US, Shri D. Chandrasekhar, Founder and President, Madras Dyslexia Association, Shri Prem Watsa, Founder Chairman and Chief Executive of Fairfax Financial Holdings, Canada, Shri Gururaj ‘Desh’ Deshpande, Co-founder, Sycamore Networks Internet Equipment Manufacturer, Shri Girish Reddy, founder and Managing Partner of Prisma Capital Partners, US, and Member, Board of Trustees, Cornell University, US, Shri Senapathy ‘Kris’ Gopalakrishnan, Chairman, Axilor Ventures, Bengaluru, Shri V. Shankar, founder of CAMS, India and Shri Kamal Duggirala, CEO of Alpha Omega Financial Systems, US.
