Latest news with #Kedare
India Today
21-06-2025
- Business
- India Today
Engineering (Government) Regaining the tech edge
IIT Bombay reclaims its No. 1 spot with renewed focus on research, bold teaching shifts, and a campus revamp in full swing No. 1: IIT BOMBAY In a major shake-up at the top of the rankings, IIT Bombay has reclaimed the No. 1 position among government engineering colleges, overtaking IIT Delhi after a seven-year gap. This achievement underscores its growing edge in academics, research and campus development. With an intake of 1,128 students in undergraduate courses for 2025-26, and 750-plus full-time faculty members—including the highest number of women faculty (125) among all IITs—IIT Bombay continues to set national benchmarks. 'Having more female faculty not only brings greater representation,' says Shireesh B. Kedare, the institute's director, 'but also offers students inspiring role models.' A key priority now is a shift from traditional teaching to learning-centric pedagogy. From this summer, several courses across departments will adopt activity-based formats and problem-solving modules. 'Talking is not teaching—we want to focus on learning,' explains Kedare. In a first-year design course, for example, students access study material put online by the faculty in advance and use classroom time for discussion and assignments. Research and innovation remain core to the institute's mission. Projects span drone technology, CAR-T cancer therapy, 5G, AI tools and quantum sensing. IIT Bombay has a 99 per cent patent success rate in the past three years, with patents in solar cells, robotics, agri-sensors etc.—many of which have been licensed to industry. ROBUST COLLABS Consultancy and government collaboration are also robust. The institute has advised on infrastructure projects like Mumbai's Gokhale Bridge and signed MoUs with the Maharashtra government to align research with state priorities. On campus, IIT Bombay is undergoing a Rs 2,500-crore infrastructure overhaul, with the plan to add 24 new buildings by 2029. Expansion of its SINE incubator and research park is fostering entrepreneurship with new co-working spaces and mentorship hubs. For Shirish Deodhar, a serial tech entrepreneur from the class of 1980, the transformation is phenomenal. 'I am hopeful,' he says, 'that IIT Bombay will take its rightful place among the world's top universities.'
Hindustan Times
04-05-2025
- Business
- Hindustan Times
IIT-B to helm centre's ‘Pushpak' drone mission
MUMBAI: The Indian Institute of Technology Bombay (IIT-B) has been appointed to lead the central government's 'Pushpak – National Mission on Drone Technology', which promotes the development of indigenous drone technology across various sectors. The mission, launched by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), has a grant-in-aid of ₹82.7 crore and includes seven premier institutes, each with a specific focus area relating to drone technology. The mission officially commenced a few weeks ago and will span four years. In addition to IIT-B, the other participating institutions include: CDAC-Thiruvananthapuram, CDAC-Bengaluru, IIT-Gandhinagar, IISER-Bhopal, Veermata Jijabai Technological Institute (VJTI) Mumbai, and Kalasalingam Academy of Research and Education in Tamil Nadu. Designed to boost India's self-reliance in drone capabilities, Pushpak will integrate advanced Research and Development (R&D), strategic partnerships with industry, real-world testing facilities, and rapid commercialisation of drone technologies. The mission will operate under the guidance of a National Steering Committee (NSC), comprising senior government officials and domain experts. IIT-Bombay's focus area in the mission will be the development of hybrid drones, indigenous processors and unmanned aerial systems tailored for disaster management, coastal monitoring and other specialised uses. The institute will also facilitate the collaboration between academia and industry to build next-generation drone solutions. VJTI Mumbai has been tasked with developing secure embedded systems and drone communication security. According to sources, VJTI is in the process of establishing a dedicated drone security lab, which will also serve as a forensic unit for drones. This lab is expected to work closely to develop strategic applications to track drone flight patterns within India's aerial boundaries and enhance drone-related threat detection. The lab will also contribute to long-term solutions for drone cybersecurity, which could play a vital role in both civilian and defence applications. This marks a significant step in building a comprehensive drone security framework within the country. Kedare said the drone mission will help reduce dependency on foreign technologies, create jobs and enhance safety and security standards. He added that the programme would also focus on the development of core capabilities in AI integration, UAV traffic management, and indigenous drone manufacturing, suited specifically to Indian requirements. Pushpak is designed to fast-track technology transfer from labs to the market. It will also offer start-up incubation support and advanced training opportunities for students and researchers in drone-related fields.
