Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee, Administration, Academics, Research

Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee also called IITR, known as the University of Roorkee from 1948 to 2001 and from 1853 to 1948 it was named Thomas College of Civil Engineering. It was established by the Lieutenant Governor Sir James Thomas at the time of British rule in India in 1847. Thus in 1949 it was ranked and given status as a university and thus called the University of Roorkee. In 2001 the University of Roorkee was converted into an Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee thus IIT-Roorkee becomes the seventh IIT to be established in India.

Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee contains 21 academics departments that almost cover Engineering, Applied Science, management programs and human & social sciences programs with a big aim of education on scientific and technological research education. The IIT-Roorkee has a great culture with many of the famous personalities given from the university who have done great works in the field of technology and social ventures and have played a very big role in the progress and development of India.

Many of the alumni are joined in the main sectors of govt. Departments such as Indian Railway Board, Telecom Regulatory Authority of India, many of them are in the secretary-level officers in the Govt. of India and much more. The Padma awards are won by the ten alumni, and the Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize for Science and Technology are won by at least 25 alumni. Thus the IIT-Roorkee has a great record of alumni.

Many of the alumni are joined in the main sectors of govt. Departments such as Indian Railway Board, Telecom Regulatory Authority of India, many of them are in the secretary-level officers in the Govt. of India and much more. The Padma awards are won by the ten alumni, and the Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize for Science and Technology are won by at least 25 alumni. Thus the IIT-Roorkee has a great record of alumni.

History of IIT Roorkee:

In 1845 a school was started to train the local youth in the field of engineering to help in the public works in the beginning, and it was officially established in 1847. In 1854 it was renamed the Thomason College of Civil Engineering by Sir James Thomason who co-founded the college and who was Lieutenant Governor of British rule in India at that time. In 1852 Rai Bahadur Kanhaiyalal was the first Indian to graduate from Roorkee College. During the British period, the college in the engineering department of the upper department was for only Europeans, and the lower department was for the Indians only.

It was a reputed college of the time that the students of engineers were directly recruited by the Public Works Department (PWD). The students of engineering college were surely guaranteed a post in the PWD Irrigation department. The University of Roorkee has given a great number of alumni who also played a great role in the development of civil fields such as the construction of dam and irrigation projects like Bhakra Nangal, the Rajasthan Canal, the Aswan Dam on the Nile in Egypt and the construction phase in Chandigarh.  The Indian Army Corps of Engineers got trained at the Thomason College of Engineering between 1934 to 1943.

In the Thomason college, the Civil Engineering Department has launched in the year 1847, and in India, it was the oldest engineering department. The Electrical Engineering Department has launched in the year 1897, and in India, it was one of the earliest specializations in the globe. The Architecture Department was launched in the year 1969 and was the first in India to institute a Master’s degree course in Architecture (M. Arch). The Institute of Paper Technology Saharanpur collaborated with the University of Roorkee in the year 1978, and the Institute of paper technology was launched as School of Paper Technology by the Govt. of India in 1964 with help from the Royal Swedish Govt. The Institute of paper technology was renamed as the Department of Paper Technology in the year 1992.

Administration of IIT-Roorkee:

The Indian Institute of Roorkee IITR is an independent institute that is controlled by the Institute of Technology ACT. The IIT-Roorkee is controlled by the IIT Council which is an independent body selected by the govt. Of India. The chairmen of the council are the minister of human resources and development, Govt. Of India.

In IIT-Roorkee the academic policies are decided by the Senate which is selected by the election of the universities and all professors of IIT and student representatives. The Senate approves and controls the courses, examination, results and appoints a committee to look after the specific universities matters. To maintain the educational and university standard, the Senate looks after the teaching and research programs of the Institute. The ex-officio Chairman of the Senate is the Director of an IIT.

The main person in the institute’s activities is the Director and Deputy Director who are helped by the Dean who is from the Ministry of Research and Development, Dean who is from Planning Department, and Dean who is from Student Affairs and the head of all department and the centers of universities.

Academics of IIT Roorkee:

IIT-Roorkee has many of the academic programs in the field of Engineering, Technology, Applied Sciences and Management courses. The selection of undergraduate students to the B Tech and Dual Degree at IIT-Roorkee are done through the Joint Entrance Examination(JEE) of the IIT’s. The JEE Entrance Exam will be conducted by the IIT-Roorkee in 2017. The selection of the five-year integrated Master of Arts (MA) program is done through the Humanities and Social Sciences Entrance Examination (HSEE) by the IIT-Roorkee.

The selection of Post-graduate students to the M-Tech and MS program is done through the (GATE) Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering. The selection of the two-year M Sc. Program, B Sc program, an MBA program are done through the (CAT) Common Admission Test. For the Joint Admission Test to M Sc. Are done through (JAM). The IIT Roorkee also has an interdisciplinary program in the field of computer applications leading to a degree in Master of Computer Application (MCA). For the admission of the MCA course, the applicant has gone through the JAM entrance exam.

Departments & Centers of IIT Roorkee:

IIT-Roorkee is one of the best institutes in the country which consists of the biggest number of Academic Departments. The Academic Departments of IIT Roorkee are given Below:

Departments of Engineering & Applied Sciences:

1. Applied Science & Engineering
2. Architecture & Planning
3. Biotechnology
4. Chemistry
5. Chemical Engineering
6. Computer Science & Engineering
7. Civil Engineering
8. Earth Sciences
9. Earthquake Engineering
10. Electronics & Communication Engineering
11. Electrical Engineering
12. Hydrology
13. Humanities & Social Sciences
14. Mechanical & Industrial Engineering
15. Management Studies
16. Metallurgical & Materials Engineering
17. Paper Technology
18. Polymer and Process Engineering
19. Packaging Technology
20. Physics
21. Water Resources Development & Management.

Sciences:

1. Mathematics
2. Chemistry
3. Physics

Business:

• Management Studies.

Humanities:

• Humanities & Social Sciences.

Academic Centers:

1. Center of Excellence
2. Center of Nano Technology
3. Alternate Hydro Energy Center
4. Center for Transportation System
5. Center of Excellence in Disaster & Management.

Academic Service Centers:

1. Center for Integrated Sciences
2. Center for Nanotechnology
3. Center for Transportation Systems
4. Center for Research & Innovation
5. Mahatma Gandhi Central Library
6. Center of Excellence in Disaster Mitigation & Management
7. Information Super Highway Center
8. Continuing Education Center
9. Institute Instrumentation Center
10. Institute Computer Center
11. Intellectual Property Rights Cell
12. Quality Improvement Program
13. TIFAC Core

Supporting Service Centers:

1. Institute Hospital
2. Educational Technology Cell

Library of IIT Roorkee:

The Academic Service Center has been ISO 9001:2008 Certified in 2015. The IIT-Roorkee campus has a Library in the unique place of academic structure and is named as Mahatma Gandhi Central Library. It was established in 1848 with a very few books collections which were donated by others, but now it has more than 3,50,000 collections of books and documents. The main focus of the library is to provide information through e-sources. The library is fully air-conditioned and has accommodation of around 90,000 square feet that can accommodate at least 500 readers at one time. It also has an 80 seater open reading room and is connected with the WiFi facility also.

Research in IIT-Roorkee:

In IIT-Roorkee the researchers are arranged by the central office of sponsored research and industrial consultancy. All the research is funded by several ministers and from the several departments of the Govt. of India such as the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy and Ministry of Communications and Information Technology and many others.

Many of the other major research institutes who have awarded projects works to IIT-Roorkee such as the Indian Space Research Organization and the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research are also funding to the IIT-Roorkee research. In Dehradun, the State Emergency Operation Center is soon planning to collaborate the project of earthquake early warning system which is developed by the IIT-Roorkee which would come as a great establishment by IIT-Roorkee.

Academic collaboration by IIT-Roorkee:

There are many universities in India and Abroad to which the IIT-Roorkee has collaborated programs and done joint research activities. Their names are given below:

ABROAD:

1. The University of Waterloo in Canada
2. University of Western Ontario in Canada
3. New Jersey Institute of Technology in the USA
4. University of Texas USA
5. Institute National des Telecommunication in France
6. Technische Universitat Munchen in Germany
7. Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Switzerland
8. Royal Institute of Technology in Switzerland
9. The National University of Singapore in Singapore

INDIA:

1. Aryabhatta Research Institute of Observational Sciences in Nainital
2. Indian Institute of Petroleum in Dehradun
3. Department of Atomic Engineering in Bombay
4. Intel Technology India Pvt Ltd in Nainital.