Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IIT Madras) has established an ‘Institute Advisory Board’ (IAB) comprising eminent alumni and well-wishers from across the world. The Board will provide guidance to the Institute on the best global practices followed by renowned international institutions, enabling it to emerge as one of the top educational and research institutions in the world. The distinguished members are drawn from various fields including business, academia and philanthropy.
It will also help develop plans that will enable IIT Madras to achieve this goal and implement its Plan of Action outlined under the ‘Institution of Eminence’ (IoE) project of the Government of India. A key aspect of the IoE initiative is that public institutions selected for this recognition will be provided a financial assistance of up to Rs 1,000 crore, over a period of five years to become on part with the best institutes at global level.
Among the key goals of the Board will be to help devise strategies to implement global best practices that enable acceleration of research programmes, establishment and growth of world-class research centres, encouragement of innovation and entrepreneurship, and recruitment of top faculty members and students from across the world, among others.
Highlighting the global nature of this board and the extraordinary expertise it will bring to the Institute, Prof. Bhaskar Ramamurthi, Director, IIT Madras, said, “The members of the IAB bring with them a tremendous amount of experience and knowledge related to the nurturing of world-class universities. They share our dream that IIT Madras should grow and become one of the leading technical universities in the world, and are committed to doing everything they can to make this a reality. We are very grateful to them for their deep commitment to the Institute.” Other key objectives and outcomes envisaged from the Institute Advisory Board include advising IIT Madras on global best practices, helping IIT Madras in continuing to raise an endowment of Rs. 2,000 crore, connecting faculty and students with internationally acclaimed researchers and strengthening industry connections with the institute.
Alluding to the performance of IIT Madras being the number 1 ranked institution for five years in a row in NIRF ranking, IAB member and Chairman of Fairfax Holdings Mr. Prem Watsa, said, “I would like to congratulate Director Prof. Bhaskar Ramamurthi for building a terrific record at IIT Madras. The best years of my life (were spent at IIT Madras).” All the members expressed a deep connection to the institute and a unanimous wish to help IIT Madras in any way possible.
Interacting with the Institute Advisory Board, Dr. Pawan Goenka, Chairman, Board of Governors, IIT Madras, said, “We would request this Board to help us define bold strategic goals for the Institute and to help us go beyond what we think is reasonable and achievable today.”
