IIT-Ropar inducts faculty from overseas universities

Six Indian-origin teaching staff selected from institutions in UK, Canada and US; total faculty strength rises to 95

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The Indian Institute of Technology, Ropar conducted an offshore recruitment of faculty and selected six Indian-origin candidates, who wanted to return to their roots.

A team of delegates headed by Sarit Kumar Das, Director, IIT-Ropar, travelled to UK, Canada and the US in June this year to select faculty from among the Indian diaspora to further improve the educational quality the institute.

Electrical Engineering, Computer Science, Mechanical Engineering and Civil Engineering were some of the departments which were selected for recruitment of overseas faculty. Out of 14 candidates screened for Electrical Engineering, Computer Science  and Mechanical Engineering, a total of six were selected, while two were recommended for final evaluation and two more were identified as probables. After the induction of the new faculty, the total number of faculty is 95.

The number of students at IIT-Ropar is 850 and the number of seats is expected to increase to 2,500 in three years. The institute will shift to its new campus by next summer and is operating from a makeshift campus in Ropar at present.

For the first time, a delegation has gone abroad on invitations from foreign universities to forge collaborations in the field of research. MoUs for faculty and student exchange programmes with Cardiff University, UK; University of Ontario, Institute of Technology, Canada and State University of New York, Binghamton, US were signed. This will establish research collaboration & joint projects on areas like biomedical engineering, energy, agriculture, and manufacturing.

The team also visited Cambridge University, McMasters University, Perdue University, UCLA and MIT to initiate dialogue on Research collaboration.Speaking about the tour, Sarit Kumar Das, Director, IIT Ropar said, "The purpose of the visit was three-fold - to attract meritorious faculty, to reach out Indian Diaspora seeking support for the growth of IIT Ropar and to forge research collaboration with reputed universities.

"On all counts, the visit was extremely successful. We have got some brilliant youngsters as faculty. There was an overwhelming response from non-resident Indians particularly Punjabi diaspora who have promised to serve IIT-Ropar in all possible ways and we also have a number of reputed universities showing tremendous interest in collaborating with IIT Ropar," said Das.