'IIT-M for all': IIT Madras reports on researches, initiatives, placements, courses launched in 2022

NEW DELHI: Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IIT-M) releases a year-end report of its achievements and progress in 2022. The institute reports on its researches, initiatives and new courses launched, social impact, student innovation and IIT-M campus placements this year.

In 2022, India’s first 5G Call made on a trial network set up at IIT Madras using indigenously-developed technology by Union railways minister, Ashwini Vaishnaw. IIT-M also won the National Intellectual Property Awards for both the years 2021 and 2022. The awards were given out by the department for promotion of industry and internal trade, ministry of commerce and industry.

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'IIT-M for all'

The Institute has introduced various initiatives such as online courses on ‘Out of the Box Thinking’ for everyone in India and abroad. The ‘Anaivarukkum IITM’ (IITM for all) granted admission to 87 students from government and corporation schools in the bachelor of science programme. Further, IIT Madras also made the BSc in data science for students in classes 11 and 12. The Wharton-QS Reimagine Education Awards 2022 gave major recognition to digital education programmes at IIT Madras.

The NPTEL (National Programme on Technology Enhanced Learning), a joint venture of the IITs and India Institutes of Sciences (IISc) won the ‘Lifelong Learning Award - Gold’ and the IIT Madras BSc in data science and applications programme won the ‘best online programme - silver.’ IIT-M also retained the No.1 in the ‘overall’ Category for fourth consecutive year and No.1 in ‘engineering institutions’ category for the seventh consecutive year, in NIRF Rankings. It also maintained No. 1 spot in Atal Ranking of Institutions in Innovations Achievement.

IIT Madras' cutting-edge research

The Institute rapidly increased its research infrastructure. IIT-M launched the Sudha Gopalakrishnan brain centre to for a global project to map the human brain at the cellular and connectivity level focusing on high-resolution brain imaging. This centre aims to generate unprecedented human brain data, scientific output and technology tools. IIT Madras also plans to train hundreds of undergraduate and postgraduate students at the centre in neuroscience and computing, machine learning techniques on cutting-edge brain data.

In addition to this, the researchers from the institute developed an artificial intelligence (AI) tool, PIVOT that can predict cancer-causing gene mutations in an individual. The tool uses information on mutations, expression of genes, copy number variation in genes and changes in biological networks due to altered gene expression to make its predictions. The findings of the research have been published in a peer-reviewed journal, ‘Frontier in Genetics’.

IIT Madras, professor, R Krishna Kumar conducted a study at Panimalar Medical College and Research Institute by on a treatment for Covid-19. The researchers published a paper in a peer-reviewed journal paper Nature Scientific Reports showing the excellent efficacy of Indomethacin, a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug, as an antiviral agent in the treatment of mild and moderate COVID-19 patients.

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New courses at IIT Madras

IIT-M launched an interdisciplinary dual degree (IDDD) master’s programme in electric vehicles for the IIT Madras bachelor in technology (BTech) and dual degree students, this year. Students that enroll in the electric vehicle masters programme will be equipped with the necessary skills to begin their careers in the electric mobility sector. The institute also recently launched a new IDDD programme on ‘quantitative finance’ offered by departments of management studies, computer science and engineering and mathematics for BTech dual degree students.

IIT Madras placements 2022

Students at IIT-M recorded a total number of 445 offers at the end of Session 1.1 on day one of phase 1 of placements for 2022-23 academic year. This includes pre-placement Offers (PPOs) and is the highest ever recorded in IIT Madras placements history at the end of session 1.1. The offers this year are around 10% higher than last year’s figure of 407. A total of 25 offers with pay packages above of Rs 1 crore per annum have been received at the end of Session 1.1. In addition to this, a total of 15 international offers were received from four companies at the end of Session 1.1. The placements at the Institute will continue till May 2023.

IIT Madras' social impact

IIT Madras' TTK Center for rehabilitation research and device development, headed by Sujatha Srinivasan, launched India’s first indigenously developed Polycentric Prosthetic Knee that aims to improve the quality of life for thousands of above-knee amputees. ‘Kadam’ is a polycentric knee for above knee prosthesis developed in association with Society for Biomedical Technology (SBMT) and Mobility India.

The Institute has been developing technology-driven social impact on a range of themes in energy, education, agriculture, artificial intelligence, water to waste management, health, housing, centers of excellence to community development, among others. IIT Madras has collaborated with corporates, PSUs and various institutions under the the corporate social responsibility (CSR) Act on a range of technology-driven CSR projects. The institute has raised a sum of Rs 131 crore from alumni, donors and corporate firms during the financial year of 2021-22 for its philanthropic and social projects.

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IIT Madras Student Innovations

The ministry of railways greenlit the approval for funding of Rs 8.34 crore to IIT Madras Students Team Avishkar to participate in a collaborative project on Hyperloop technology. Union railways minister, Ashwini Vaishnaw handed the approval letter to IIT Madras earlier this year. IIT-M students also launched the first electric formula racing car, 'RF23' during a recent event in campus.

Recently, researchers at IIT Madras developed a robot, ‘HomoSEP’ to clean septic tanks without human assistance. Ten units of the device are planned to be deployed across Tamil Nadu and the researchers are in touch with sanitation workers to identify the locations.