What it does: The Indian Institute of Technology Madras is known both nationally and internationally for excellence in technical education, basic and applied research, innovation, entrepreneurship and industrial consultancy.
Vision: To be higher technical institutions and research in some branches of Engineering on the lines of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology - better known as MIT. To provide for instruction and research in some branches of Engineering and Technology, Science and Arts for the advancement of learning and dissemination of knowledge in specific branches.
Size and presence: IIT Madras is a residential institute with nearly 550 faculty, 8000 students and 1250 administrative & supporting staff and is a self-contained campus located in a beautiful wooded land of about 250 hectares.
Best known for: A faculty of international repute, a highly motivated and brilliant student community, excellent technical and supporting staff and an effective administration have all contributed to the pre-eminent status of IIT Madras. The Institute is proud to bear the laureate of being the No.1 engineering university in India. More recently, IIT Madras has been given the title of Institute of Eminence.
It all began in 1956, when Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, Prime Minister of India, was on an official visit to West Germany and was offered assistance by the Government of the Federal Republic of Germany, to set up a higher technological institute in India. This resulted in the signing of the first Indo-German Agreement in Bonn in 1959, for the establishment of an Indian Institute of Technology at Madras. The first Indo-German agreement provided for the services of German professors and five foremen, training facilities for 20 Indian faculty members and the supply of scientific and technical equipment for the establishment of the Central Workshop and 20 laboratories at IIT Madras.
In 1959, the Institute was formally inaugurated by Prof. Humayun Kabir, Union Minister for Scientific and Cultural Affairs. Dr A. Lakshmanaswamy assumed office as the first Chairman of the Board of Governors and Dr B.Sengupto as the first Director of the Institute. In 1961, the Institute was declared as an 'Institute of National Importance by the Parliament of India.
IIT Madras has a wide variety of career opportunities other than faculty positions. Opportunities are there in Administrative and Technical roles as well. Administrative roles may be in sections such as Academics, Establishment, Store & Purchase, Finance & Accounts, Engineering Unit, and Academic Departments, to name a few. Technical roles may be in Academic Departments, Central Workshop, Computer Centre, Labs, and Research Centres. The pay-scale and remunerations are as per Government of India guidelines.
IIT for Villages (IViL) was started with the vision to leverage the unique and vast resource base in the Institute for a wider audience. IViL is a discussion forum and an active platform for students to implement their thoughts for rural India. The forum has a dozen projects, ranging from setting up an accessibility lab for visually challenged students to bridging the gap between farmers and agriculture experts to teaching the children of mess workers on campus. They undertake frequent visits to villages on the outskirts of Chennai and engage with students and the community through various events.