NITs to offer dual-track M.Tech programmes, industry-led PhD; aim for NBA accreditation for all courses

The National Institutes of Technology are planning to introduce “dual-track” MTech programmes requiring students to choose from two pathways, industry and research. They are also looking to integrate hands-on learning, via internships, projects and hackathons, into the MTech syllabus, completing the curriculum reforms within six months.

The NITs are also planning widespread reforms in PhD, to align research programmes with “national priorities” and industry needs. To that end, they aim for 5% of PhD admissions to be industry-funded and 10% industry-led. The NITs have been given 12 months to implement the “360-degree PhD reforms”. Both the MTech and PhD reforms are intended to improve research quality, industry collaboration and innovation.

The reforms were discussed at the last National Institute of Technology, Science Education and Research (NITSER) Council, held in January; the minutes were published in July. Chaired by the education minister, the NITSER Council is the top policy body for the NITs and Indian Institutes of Science Education and Research (IISER).

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The council also decided to increase the number of deans in NITs from six to 10 and resolved that all NITs and Indian Institute of Engineering Science and Technology (IIEST) Shibpur will have their courses evaluated by the National Board of Accreditation (NBA). As reported earlier, the council also discussed widespread reforms in the undergraduate BTech programmes at the NITs.

NIT: Dual-track MTech, industry-linked PhD

According to the minutes of the NITSER Council meeting, the NITs’ MTech programmes will now have separate industry and research-focused streams. They envision “multidisciplinary, blended-mode and product-based MTech programmes ”.

“Industry internships, projects”, “experiential learning”, “innovation labs, hackathons, and start-up internships with credits assigned” to be included in the curriculum, the minutes state.

For PhD programmes , the council recommended creating a portal for faculty to list research openings “vetted by expert committees” and for students to submit proposals. The goal is to work toward “industry-funded” and “industry-led” PhD, “allowing coursework simultaneously with research”, “short-term industry immersion” and “entrepreneurship and start-ups”, and monitoring scholars through six-monthly external reviews, the minutes read. Many of the proposed changes mirror reforms planned by the Indian Institutes of Technology .

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The council also recommended flexible PhD supervision based on faculty performance, additional fellowship support for eligible women scholars, and greater emphasis on research impact and innovation rather than count of publications.

AI-enabled multilingual learning

The council decided that all NITs and IIEST should develop academic models to provide language support, particularly in the first semester. Institutes have been asked to provide language support, allowing students to learn or revise concepts in the language of their preference. The NITs have been asked to explore AI-based transcription and translation tools to generate multilingual videos of lectures.

Institutes have also been asked to explore translating selected study materials and reference books into regional languages based on requirements.

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NIT Courses: NBA accreditation, professors of practice

All NIT courses will be NBA-accreditated. But the council also decided to constitute a sub-committee of NIT and IIEST Shibpur directors to assist the NBA in developing criteria suited to Institutions of National Importance (INI), including NITs. Progress on accreditation will be reviewed periodically by each institute’s board of governors.

The council also recommended that all NITs appoint professors of practice in numbers equivalent to “5% to 10% of their total faculty strength” with the goal of strengthening industry-academia collaboration and improving “industry readiness” of engineering graduates.

Currently, 12 NITs employ PoPs and their numbers remain limited, the council minutes said.

NIT Recruitment: Deans, deputy directors

To address growing administrative and academic responsibilities of staff, the council approved increasing the permissible number of deans in NITs and IIEST from six to 10.

The council noted that despite the NIT statutes being amended in 2017 to provide for deputy directors, only NIT Jamshedpur had actually appointed one. The minutes show that the remaining 30 NITs and IIEST Shibpur were directed to immediately start on appointments.

The NITs are also considering reforming the recruitment process with several members observing that the existing credit point system needs review and alignment with practices at the Indian Institutes of Technology (IIT) and Indian Institutes of Management (IIM).

The council also discussed the report of the committee chaired by Dr DB Phatak on faculty recruitment in NITs and IIEST. The committee examined issues related to faculty recruitment, including eligibility criteria, credit point computation and maintaining uniform standards across institutions.