18 students from US polytechnic join IIT Mandi's ISTP programme

NEW DELHI: Eighteen students from Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) have joined the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Mandi's Interactive Socio-Technical Practicum (ISTP) programme for BTech students. The three-month programme is open to national and international students who are in the third year of their BTech degree.

The programme lasts one semester and includes 32 projects based on real-world problems.

The ISTP programme aims to produce socially responsible engineers and technocrats. For this, the intersection of technology, socio-economic conditions and environment is used to bridge the gap between theory and practice. The ISTP students are encouraged to design and innovate technical solutions to societal problems. To check the success of the designed solutions, ISTP partners with NGOs for their implementation.

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Rajeshwari Dutt, ISTP coordinator, said: “ISTP with its emphasis on projects that are at the cusp of society and technology allows our students to find innovative solutions to the pressing needs of local communities and work towards a sustainable society. As such, it is a project-based course that has the potential for real and long-term impact on society.”

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Since 2013, 160 WPI students have participated in ISTP. Ingrid Shockey, faculty in-charge and teaching professor of Global Studies, WPI, said, “The program encourages students to see community members as experts on their own lived experiences from the Himalayan regions. This is a unique opportunity for STEM students to understand the value of learning from local stakeholders about issues such as climate change, water resources, agricultural practices, and so forth.”