Indian Institute of Information Technology, Srirangam

Indian Institute of Information Technology
Srirangam

भारतीय सूचना प्रौद्योगिकी संस्थान श्रीरंगम
Type	PPP(Public Private Partnership) based Institution
Established	2013
Dean	Dr. S Selvakumar
Director	Dr.Srinivasan Sundarrajan (Mentor Director)
Mentor Institute	NIT-Trichy
Location	Tiruchirappalli, Tamil Nadu, India 10°45′40″N 78°48′50″E / 10.7611°N 78.8139°E / 10.7611; 78.8139Coordinates: 10°45′40″N 78°48′50″E / 10.7611°N 78.8139°E / 10.7611; 78.8139
Acronym	IIITS
Website	www.iiitsrirangam.in

Indian Institute of Information Technology, Srirangam (IIITS) is one among the 20 IIIT’s proposed under Non-profit Public-Private Partnership (PPP) Model by MHRD. IIITS is an academic and research Institute fully funded by Govt. of India, Govt. of Tamil Nadu and Industry partners. Industry partners include Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), Cognizant Technology Solutions (CTS), Infosys, Ramco Systems, ELCOT, and Navitas (Take Solutions).^[1]

Campus

IIIT Srirangam started functioning in 2013 in the premises of Bharathidasan Institute of Technology (BIT) Campus, University College of Engineering, Anna University, Tiruchirappalli,Tamil Nadu but it was eventually shifted to National Institute of Technology, Tiruchirappalli in 2016. The Government of Tamil Nadu has lent a support to the institute by granting 62.97 acres of land in Sedhurapatti Village, Srirangam taluk, Tiruchirappalli – 620 012 for setting up the permanent campus.^[2][3]

Admissions and Academics

IIITS is currently offering three UG courses namely, B.Tech Computer Science and Engineering, B.Tech Information Technology and B.Tech Electronics and Communication Engineering from the academic year 2015-2016 with the intake of 60 students in each of the courses. The admission for UG courses is based only on JEE-Main. It also offers three PG courses namely, M.Tech Computer Science and Engineering, M.Tech Database Systems and M.Tech Software Engineering from the academic year 2013-2014 with the intake of 20 students in each of the courses. The admission for PG courses is based only on GATE and is through Centralized Counseling for M.Tech Admissions(CCMT). In IIITS, all the core theory courses are supplemented with laboratory exercises/mini projects/case studies. The curriculum is manipulated to make the students industry-ready, and is customized to suit the conditions prevailing in the industry by providing internal or external industry participation.^[4]

Change of Mentor institute and Campus

Undergraduate and Postgraduate students of 2015 batch started a campaign in october 2015 to change the mentor and campus of the institute.The students believed that their current mentor, being a state college, couldn't provide the facilities and environment required for an institute of national importance.They complained that the mentor institute had failed to rise up to the standards and was unable to provide the basic amenities and technical environment that the national-level institute needed. No other upcoming IIIT or national-level institute was being mentored by a State level institution. The IIIT, they pointed out, admitted candidates from throughout the country based on the national-level JEE main exam and it should be mentored by a national-level institute of high standards,according to media reports.They did several protests within and outside the institute including one outside the main entrance gate of the district collector office^[5] They were given several assurances by college authorities and officials from Directorate of Technical Education of Tamil Nadu that their demands would be communicated to MHRD.Students felt betrayed by college and local authorities as their demands were not met even after four months. Eventually the students abandoned their classes and on 24 February 2016 they started an indefinite strike outside the college entrance.Following this the college authorities imposed an indefinite closure on the institute which was lifted back after two days.^[6][7] The strike lasted for ten days and all students from PG and UG (including girls) stayed on the road outside the campus.Strike also caught the attention of local and national media.The Strike finally ended on 5th march 2016 when an MHRD official visited the students and assured an immediate action to address their issues.An RTI revealed that the demand for change of mentor institute was never communicated to MHRD until the final strike and that the institute received an amount of 5 crore from MHRD but the mentor director stated shortage of funds as the reason for poor facilities.^[8] In April 2016, in a landmark decision by MHRD, National Institute of Technology, Tiruchirappalli was declared mentor institute to IIITS and the campus was also shifted there.The institution remained closed for almost three months until the working resumed in the new campus at NIT-Trichy.^[9]

References