IIT Delhi reviewing curriculum to give students 'flexibility in learning'

Top engineering college making concept note for 'encouraging learning by doing', says its director

The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi has set up a committee to review its curriculum after almost a decade, seeking to offer students flexibility in learning.

"When you look at a curriculum, there are core subjects and then there are electives. The question is whether we should decide or should we let the students decide. The needs of students and academia are completely changing, including making students excited about academics," IIT Delhi director Rangan Banerjee told 'Business Standard'.

How the revamped curriculum will shape up is unknown, but the committee is likely to look at skills that would make students future ready. It could train students to work in teams and teach them soft and hard skills across disciplines.

With sources of information and content available in plenty, the committee is likely to look at putting together multiple teaching methods and then give students flexibility to choose.

"We have to give people the ability to pick and choose things that are required for them to be future ready. This is because dimensions of what they will require is changing rapidly in today's world," Banerjee said.

"We are looking at how to integrate multi-disciplines, provide more flexibility, and encourage learning by doing. The committee is making an overall concept note and will be having stakeholder consultations. We will have a document ready in a month or so and then look at consultations from external stakeholders such as teachers, students and industry. We have looked at curriculum across the country as well as across the world for the review," Banerjee said.

Banerjee, in an earlier interview with news agency Press Trust of India (PTI), had said technology is rapidly changing and the curriculum has to keep up.

"We are going through a complete review of our curriculum so that we can enhance the student experience. The exercise is being conducted after over a decade. Over the last several years, IITs have moved from being predominantly undergraduate and engineering institutions to full-fledged universities offering a wide range of courses," Banerjee, a former faculty member at IIT Bombay, told PTI.

IITs, including Delhi, have new academic programmes in medical sciences, artificial intelligence (AI), data science and electric mobility. Disciplines too have expanded over the years to include management, humanities, medical sciences and social sciences.