Kharagpur: The IIT Kharagpur will restructure under-graduate and post-graduate programmes in near future, IITKGP director Professor Partha Pratim Chakrabarti said on Sunday.
"We are going to completely restructure under-graduate post-graduate programmes to offer very specified course having the core competence but retaining large flexibility," Chakrabarti told reporters after the 63rd annual convocation of the institution.
"In the modern times people require just not one discipline competence but multi-disciplinary competence. We are redefining the curriculum and it will start from 2018," he said.
Asked what he meant by redefining curriculum, Chakrabarti said, "We plan to reduce the core part and have add-on degrees for not just making the programmes attractive but to create programmes that are relevant."
"With advent of topics like artificial intelligence and advanced electronics, the whole concept has changed and the next generation requires new abilities. We will be setting up some unique centres of excellence in our institutions to form the basis (of such courses)," he explained.
The IITKGP Director was asked to comment on the convocation address of chairman of the convocation and eminent scientist and Padma Vibhusan recipient Prof. Man Mohan Sharma, who said, "Branding is required for IITKGP."
"....We also need to restructure some of our academic disciplines, Say in Chemistry, in agriculture, food engineering etc. We are aware of the fact that students want to study certain disciplines in certain institutions. And sometimes streams become more important than an IIT," he commented.
Earlier at the Convocation the Director referred to the five-year programme Vishwajeet, a five-year programme aimed at improving IITKGP's world university status substantially.
Under this programme the Institute envisages to develop six world class technology centres of excellence on transporation technologies, digital convergence technologies, affordable next generation healthcare technologies, geo-science innovation for the future of earth and innovation infrastructure design, he said.
He also said that four trans-disciplinary mega projects had been proposed in the areas of sustainable food security, science and heritage, signals and systems for life science and future of cities.
Union HRD minister Prakash Javadekar in a video message to the IITKGP students and faculty said, "There is place for private engagement and alumni contribution to grow" for IITs including the IITKGP.
