IIT Delhi open house showcases AI projects, Abu Dhabi stall, live experiments, seminars

NEW DELHI: In the 17th edition of the open house at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), around 3,500 to 4,000 students from 58 schools and colleges across the Delhi-NCR region, along with their teachers and members of the general public. The event showcased research works, student projects, and the several advanced facilities and laboratories available at IIT Delhi.

Around 250 innovative research projects were on display at the open house. IIT Delhi faculty and students showcased their work to the visitors through live demos, posters, and three-minute research presentations. The programme featured live demonstrations of various projects in areas such as AI in healthcare, quantum technology, and semiconductor advancements.

IIT Delhi open house highlights

Among the main highlights at the open house were:

• AI-based project for detecting gallbladder cancer from ultrasound images, aimed at saving lives through early, non-invasive diagnosis
• Laser-based solid-state lighting system for efficient white light, a smart walking stick enhancing mobility for the elderly
• Portable microscopic air quality monitoring and bioaerosol imaging system for real-time environmental monitoring.
• 5G authentication and key agreement protocol on XBee for secure communications
• Rapid testing kits for food and environmental applications
• ‘Atoms at Play: Molecular Dynamics Simulations’ to explore atomic interactions
• ‘Mapping our Galaxy from Within’ to understand cosmic structures

Another major attraction was an IIT Delhi-Abu Dhabi stall at which students and public were informed about the IITD-AD admission procedure, hostel facilities, ongoing UG and PG courses, associated lab facilities, scholarships, and travel allowances. In 2025, new academic programmes are expected to be launched along with several research initiatives at IIT Delhi-Abu Dhabi, the institute’s first international campus.

Also read IIT Placements 2024: No ‘highest package’ data this year to reduce students’ stress, decides all-IIT Panel

Talks, seminars

Chief Guest Randeep Guleria, former AIIMS Delhi director, inaugurated the Open House and delivered a talk titled ‘Healthcare: A Look Back, a Look Ahead’. Professor Guleria talked about the way science is going to progress. He said: “We have to come out of our silos, in the future, it is not going to be engineering, computation, mathematics, humanities or medicine, all of them will merge to one bigger area, and if you start thinking outside your silos, you will have better ideas to serve humanity.”

At the open house, guest of honor, Rajat Mishra, director and CEO, EFKON India Group, delivered a talk titled ‘Children: The Agents of Change'. Mishra, a 1989 batch IIT Delhi alumni, a dedicated social entrepreneur with a deep passion for initiatives in education, road safety, and environmental sustainability. He is also currently serving as the president of the Manava Bharti Society, a non-profit organization, which supports over 17,000 children across India. He is the one responsible for FASTag, Atal Setu & Atal Tunnel projects of the government and encouraged children to have passion, with dreams out of box and not to be afraid of failure to become a leader and never say die.

Professor Rangan Banerjee, Director, IIT Delhi, said: “We started with a focus on science and engineering, we continue to have that focus on science and engineering, but we are also doing things for healthcare, social sciences as well. We are collaborating with AIIMS and currently we are starting a centre of excellence for AI in Healthcare. Our goal is to create the future generations who will transform the country and the world and we also want to make the impact through our research”.

IITD Open House: Reactions of students, teachers

Visitors shared their excitement about the event. Mohammad Asif, a Class 11 student from Ramjas School, expressed, “My experience at IIT Delhi has been great, particularly the optics experiment that was demonstrated—it was very interesting, and the professors who delivered the seminar were also excellent.”

Another student, Akansha Nayak of Class 11 from MCLSBM School, remarked, “The exhibition at IIT Delhi is a fabulous experience. Seeing such models, which were so informative and creative, allowed me to appreciate the creativity of others and the level of the models presented. The new topics and the information provided about the models were extremely helpful for me. I hope to motivate myself from this experience to do much better in life. These model exhibitions inspire students because they encourage us to practice, work hard, and perform activities that explore the reality of life.”

Also read In a first, IIT Madras has admitted 5 students through sports quota

Teacher Ajay Malhotra from Rukmani Devi Public School added, “The Open House provided my students with a glimpse of science beyond textbooks, showing them its real-world applications and inspiring them to think about their future.”

IIT Delhi professor Bhaskar Kanseri of the physics department delivered talks titled ‘Quantumania: The Power of Quantum Communication’. He introduced the scientific and technological aspects of quantum communication and the mysteries associated with revolutionary technologies of quantum entanglement and quantum teleportation.

Professor Tapan K Gandhi (Electrical Engineering Dept.) discussed his work in the field of neuroscience and AI, entitled “NeuroAI: Science of Intelligence” demonstrating how interdisciplinary research can have a significant societal impact and inspire the development of intelligent machines for future applications.