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Indian institute of Technology, Delhi
Indian institute of Technology, Delhi

The Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi, popularly abbreviated as IITD or IIT Delhi, is one of the oldest and most established public technical and research institutions, located in Hauz Khas, Delhi.

Established: 1961

Type: Public Technical University 

Other Name: IIT Delhi, IITD, IIT Hauz Khas

Location: Hauz Khas, New Delhi, Delhi, India

Campus: Urban

Website: www.iitd.ac.in

Chairman: Kumar Mangalam Birla

Director: V. Ramgopal Rao

Academic Staff: 654

Students: 8,703

History

The establishment of IIT Kharagpur, the very first IIT in India, was an idea suggested by Shri N.R Sarkar, the then member of Education on Viceroy’s executive council. On his recommendation to build more of such institutions in other parts of the country as well, Delhi emerged as its fifth franchise which was built with collaboration with the UK (which was one of the countries ready to offer help for the establishment of IITs across the country). 

On January 28, 1959, H.R.H Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, laid the foundation of the college in Hauz Khas, and the first admissions were made in 1961. The college got officially inaugurated on 17 August 1961 by Humayun Kabir, the then Minister of Scientific Research and Cultural Affairs. 

Before shifting to the Hauz Khas campus, the college was initially run in the Kashmiri Gate Campus of Delhi Engineering College. That college is now known as Delhi Technological University. Subsequently, IIT Delhi was accorded the status of a university and was renamed as Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi, which today is amongst the topmost technical institutions of the world.

IIT Delhi
IIT Delhi

Courses

IIT Delhi offers degree courses such as B.Tech programs in various fields as well as integrated courses such as B.Tech-cum-M.Tech programs, to which admissions are done through Joint Entrance Examination (JEE)– Advanced held every year.

IITD also offers postgraduate programs awarding M.Tech(by coursework), M.S (by research), M.Sc., M.Des.(Master of Design), and MBA under various departments and centres. The admission processes for different programs are: 

  • M.Tech – Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering (GATE),
  • M.Des – Common Entrance Examination for Design (CEED), 
  • M.Sc. – Joint Admission Test for Masters(JAM),
  • MBA – Common Admission Test (CAT).

In March 2018, IIT Delhi started a new Department of Design to boost the field of Research and Development.

Campus

The main campus of IIT Delhi is located in Hauz Khas, South Delhi, which is about 325 acres of land. Sonipat and Jhajjar are two of its satellite campuses. Famous monuments like Qutub Minar and Lotus Temple surround the main campus. Other public institutions like ISI, NIFT, AIIMS, IIFT, JNU and NCERT also surround the institute. 

Inside the campus, one would not face problems to tackle the daily needs because IIT Delhi has well-maintained residential complexes, wide roads, shopping complexes and gardens with its own uninterrupted water and electricity supply. The campus is further divided into four zones which are:

  • Student Residential Zone
  • Faculty and Staff Residential Zone
  • Academic Zone
  • Student Recreational Area
Indian institute of Technology, Delhi

The Student Residential Zone is divided into two parts – one for boys’ hostels and the other for girls’ hostels. There are 13 hostels in total, 11 of which belong to boys and the other two to girls. These hostels are named after the mountain ranges of India. For married students, the institute also provides five apartments which are named after ancient Indian universities.

Additional Features:

The hostels are quite active in all sorts of sports and cultural activities. Though every hostel has its own set of characteristic events, the hostels also compete in inter-hostel events, at the end of which, they are honoured with trophies such as the BRCA trophy for cultural activities and GC for sports. An annual function is also held at the end of the academic session in each hostel, which encompasses the talents and achievements of the hostlers. 

The academic zone includes department offices, lecture theatres, workshops and libraries. While the Student Recreational Area covers the Student Activity Center (SAC), the cricket ground, basketball courts, the football stadium, the hockey field, and lawn tennis courts. The SAC also includes a gymnasium, a swimming pool, squash courts, table tennis rooms, a badminton court, a robotics room, a music room, a fine art room and a committee room where quizzes and debates are organized. It also contains an Open-Air Theatre where concerts are held. The radio broadcasting facility which is not quite in use now is also located here.

Sonipat Campus

In April 2018, the Chief Minister of Haryana publically anounced the creation of the IITD-Sonipat campus at the Technopark at Rajiv Gandhi Education City, Sonipat. The campus in Sonipat focuses on Executive MBA and Faculty Development programs for the engineering and technical colleges of Haryana, along with design and development of advanced technology, and promoting more start-ups and industry collaborations.

IIT Delhi
IIT Delhi

Jhajjar Campus

The IITD-Jhajjar campus is set next to the AIIMS-Delhi’s Jhajjar campus at Badsa village in Jhajjar district of Haryana. IIT-Delhi and AIIMS are jointly setting up a biomedical research park at this campus, which includes a joint PhD supervision program and provision for adjunct faculty. IITD-Jhajjar is capitalized by IITD and managed by the Foundation for Innovation and Technology Transfer (FITT).

Boards And Clubs For Academic And Extracurricular Activities:

IIT Delhi looks forward to the development of its students not only in the field of academics but also in every other field which have even the slightest proximity to be a part of their lives in the real world. Their queries must be heard, and first be attempted to be solved among themselves; this is how they get the opportunity to learn, manage and organize their own issues by themselves.

IIT Delhi has a number of student bodies like:

Students Affairs Council (SAC):

The SAC is the apex student body in IIT Delhi. Its primary function is to look after the issues concerning the students of the institute. All issues related to student affairs, be it an administrative decision, infrastructural suggestion or grievance of any sort, is addressed here, and then directed to the concerned administration for restitution through the SAC framework. 

Student boards under the SAC are:

Board for Student Welfare (BSW) :

The BSW organizes for the welfare of these students and organizes regular welfare activities, provides financial aid to the students in need as per the amended rules, and conducts the annual youth festival, Speranza.

Board for Recreational and Creative Activities (BRCA): 

The BRCA consists of 10 clubs which are: Literary Club, Dramatics Club, Debating Society, Music Club, Dance Club, Drama Club, Quizzing Club, Indoor Sports Club, Photography and Films Club, Fine Arts and Crafts Club, Hindi Samiti and the Society for the Promotion of Indian Classical Music and Culture Amongst Youth Delhi (popularly known as SPIC MACAY). BRCA also conducts the annual cultural festival of IIT Delhi, Rendezvous. 

Board of Sports Activities (BSA):

BSA is the sports board of IIT Delhi which facilitates all the sports on the campus. The board has a very organized cabinet along with 13 secretaries, one from each of the 13 hostels. The BSA maintains the sports grounds, conducts inter-hostel sports competitions, manages the participation of IIT Delhi in Inter IIT Sports Meet, and conducts the annual sports festival of IIT Delhi, Sportech.

Board of Student Publications (BSP):

The BSP is responsible for all journalistic and creative publications at IIT Delhi. It produces four magazines – the Inception, the Muse, Sync I and Sync II, along with four newsletters annually. BSP conducts the annual literary festival at IIT Delhi, Literati every year in September. The board not only provides a creative platform to the students but also aims to put forward students’ opinions through organizing a number of events and workshops throughout the year.

Co-curricular and Academic Interaction Council (CAIC):

The CAIC deals with the academic and co-curricular activities of the students. The CAIC conducts the annual technical fest of IIT Delhi, Tryst. The co-curricular activities under the CAIC are:

  • Robotics Club
  • Automobile Club 
  • Technocracy
  • Entrepreneurship Development Cell
Main campus
Main campus

Technological organizations:

1- ACM Student Chapter: 

The Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) is an educational and scientific society at IIT Delhi. Its motto is “Advancing Computing as a Science and Profession”. Established in 2002, the Student Chapter of the ACM serves the needs of the IIT Delhi computing community. It aims at encouraging students to explore Computer Science. The society conducts workshops and seminars on different subjects by eminent speakers in this field.

2- Entrepreneurship Development Cell, IIT Delhi (EDC):

EDC aims to encourage and empower the ideas and efforts of aspiring engineers in the institute, to help them establish themselves. The motive of the cell is to create easily accessible opportunities for the entrepreneurs which include the students, mentors, professionals and investors, through educational sessions such as e-talks, start-up showcases, competitions and so on.

3- E-summit:

This summit is the platform for the union of the emerging entrepreneurs, eminent business professionals, venture capitalists and students to gather at one place to share their entrepreneurial ideas and experiences and take them to the next level. 

4- Technology Business Incubation Unit (TBIU), IIT Delhi:

The TBIU is the incubation cell at IIT Delhi, whose objective is to promote partnership with entrepreneurs having ideas based on advanced technology and start-up companies. Every year, startups get selected into the incubation program and are encouraged to start their companies.

5- Inter-disciplinary centres:

IIT Delhi is occupied with many multidisciplinary centres. Like the departments, the centres also offer programs, but only at the post-graduation level. The multi-disciplinary centres located in IIT Delhi are:

  • Centre for Applied Research in Electronics (CARE)
  • Computer Services Centre (CSC)
  • Centre for Energy Studies (CES)
  • Educational Technology Services Centre (ETSC)
  • Industrial Tribology, Machine Dynamics and Maintenance Engineering (ITMMEC)
  • Centre for Atmospheric Sciences (CAS)
  • Centre for Biomedical Engineering (CBME)
  • Sensors Instrumentation and Cyber-Physical Systems (SeNSE)
  • Centre for Rural Development and Technology (CRDT)
  • National Resource Centre for Value Education in Engineering (NRCVEE)
Campus
Campus

Externally funded schools:

IIT Delhi externally funds four schools, which function as a part of it. They are:

Scholarships Available:

1. Research Assistant-ship:

Students will be granted a fellowship of Rs.15,000/- per month. Students are expected to put in 20 hours of work per week.

On the other hand, the fellowship for Teaching Assistantship is Rs. 8,000/- per month with an expected work-hour of 8 hours per week.

2. Institute Merit-cum-Means (MCM) Scholarships:

One-fourth of under-graduate students receive this scholarship. The recipient is also exempted from paying the tuition fee. The criterion of merit for first-year students is their All India Rank (AIR) in the JEE.

3. Teaching/Research Assistantship:

The non-sponsored students who are admitted on a full-time basis to M.S. (Research) programs are considered for the award of Teaching/Research Assistantship, under which they shall be paid Rs.12,400/- per month. They would be required to provide assistance of 8 hours/week to the department.

Student Life

IIT Delhi is a place where one shall not be measured in terms of his academic abilities only. This place demands one to be better than the rest in all the aspects. The fact that the aura of this place also contains competition in it is undeniable. And this leads to the transformation of a normal student into a multifaceted one, who manages his time better, and stands to face the world with a well-built personality, as soon as he passes out of IIT Delhi.

The institute constantly focuses on proffering opportunities for students to learn, participate and develop their skills and talents, which they might not have had acknowledged before. It ensures full security of the students inside the campus and ensures their safety and well-being. The students, along with the faculty, the technical and the non-teaching staff, are persistently looked upon to address one another with utmost respect and empathy. A student steps out from here with a persona that resonates the world in all its terms.

Placement

Since the past few years, IIT Delhi has been witnessing recruiters from some of the best companies, not only in India, but also abroad, who put their trust in the departments and the students and have taken them to greater heights. The maximum package goes above 1.5 crores, while the minimum being 14 lacs, and the average being 18 lacs per annum. Our alumni have acquired prestigious positions in almost every field from engineering to finance to management to arts. They have also performed as epitomes of socially responsible beings and have weaved their own grandeur as well as of the institute. Out of the many renowned and established companies, here are a few enlisted:

Placements
Placements
  1. Apple
  2. Facebook
  3. Flipkart
  4. General Electric 
  5. Indian Oil Corporation 
  6. Mercedes-Benz Research and Development India Pvt.
  7. Microsoft 
  8. Oracle US
  9. Reliance Industries Ltd.
  10. Royal Bank of Scotland 
  11. Samsung, South Korea 
  12. Rubrik
  13. Nykaa
  14. Uber India Systems Pvt. Ltd.
  15. Yahoo Japan

Ranking

In the QS World University Rankings of 2020, IIT Delhi ranked 182 being the top university in India, while it was ranked 40 in Asia in 2019. In 2018, India Today ranked it first among government engineering colleges in India. Among the IITs, IITD oscillates between the 2nd and 3rd position in the list almost every year.

Alumni

The alumni of IIT DELHI have served and have been serving the country as well as the world with magnificence in all sectors. Their work is notable and worth the appreciation it receives today. Some of the very renowned personalities of the alma matter are:

  1. Kiran Bedi– IPS Officer
  2. Raghuram Rajan– Indian Economist and former RBI Governor 
  3. Chetan Bhagat- Renowned Author 
  4. Sameer Gehlaut- Chairman of Indiabulls
  5. Amol Parashar- Actor
  6. Binny Bansal- Co-founder of Flipkart 
  7. Yogesh Chander Deveshwar– Chairman of ITC Ltd.
  8. Sachin Bansal– Executive Chairman of Flipkart
  9. Vinod Khosla– Co-founder of Sun Microsystems, LS9, Inc and the founder of Khosla Ventures 
  10. Padmasree Warrior– Former CEO of NIO U.S 

Frequently Asked Questions 

Which range of rank in JEE Advanced is required to secure a seat at IIT Delhi?

IIT D is one of the top 5 IITs in India. Though the cutoff for every IIT keeps on changing according to the performance of the applicants, it usually settles for ranks within 2000.

Is there unlimited Wi-Fi access granted to students in IIT Delhi?

IIT Delhi has strict internet policies. All data is monitored here. Though the Wi-Fi is free, it is limited to a certain extent according to the courses you take. While it is available up to 12 GB per week for M.Tech students, it is only 10 GB for B.Tech students.

About the author

Education Writer at Edunify

An undergraduate in Economics at Ravenshaw University, Cuttack. Poems, people and stars fascinate me. Empathy and gratitude is what I look for, within and around me.


Ankita Mohanty

An undergraduate in Economics at Ravenshaw University, Cuttack. Poems, people and stars fascinate me. Empathy and gratitude is what I look for, within and around me.

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