I'll need to hold your attention for a bit to make a point that I think is worth considering. Please stick with me:
These are the NIRF 2024 ranks of the 23 IITs (Link: https://www.nirfindia.org/Rankings/2024/EngineeringRanking.html)
1-5: Madras, Delhi, Bombay, Kanpur, Kharagpur,
6-8: Roorkee, Guwahati, Hyderabad.
10, 15: Varanasi, Dhanbad.
16, 18, 22, 28, 31, 34, 54: Indore, Gandhinagar, Ropar, Jodhpur, Mandi, Patna, Bhubaneswar,
61, 62, 64, 73: Tirupati, Jammu, Palakkad, Bhilai.
Not yet in first hundred: Goa and Dharwad.
If you look carefully, Hyderabad aside, there is still a stratification of 1st Generation IITs - 2nd Generation IITs - 3rd Generation IITs.
We need to break this so that (a) students as well as faculty applicants stop worrying about this hierarchy and make decisions on where to go depending on what interests them and feedback on systemic efficiencies and teaching & research culture and (b) the overall standard of all IITs goes up rapidly.
I think this can happen relatively quickly if we do the following two things:
1. Take the best practices from the 5 first generation IITs (these have been refined over decades and are time tested) and implement them in all others.
2. Incentivise a migration of faculty members from the 5 first generation IITs to the newer IITs (promotions, increments, research money, lab space, positions of responsibility). The only hitch is enabling a complete relocation of labs - and this is easily doable if the directors and funding agencies enable it. If this is done, I believe it will significantly impact not just the immediate academic standards, research collaborations, etc. of the newer IITs but also the quality of faculty applications these IITs receive.
I think my thoughts above have merit and invite you to think about them. Your opinions are always welcome!
Similarly:
I see a lot of senior academics hankering after Director-ships of "1st Generation IITs", while either refusing opportunities to lead the newer IITs or treating them as 2nd and 3rd options.
Doesn't make sense to me :) ...
You are already established academics and have already earned and enjoyed the social respectability that comes with being associated with high ranking institutes. Leading a newer institute is your opportunity to build something up, to create, why hold back? The older IITs already have a momentum, the newer ones need a generating of the same, the challenge is greater! Take it up :)!
I think folks invest too much, for too long, in being associated with brand names. Isn't there a stronger "kick" about taking up bigger challenges? I certainly would feel more fulfilled looking myself in the eyes that way:)!
