IIT Mandi Exceeds Target for Female Enrolment in B. Tech. Program This Academic Year

Institute successfully achieves target for female enrolment by admitting 20.22% female students to B. Tech programme against projected target of 17% set for 2019-20 by JEE Apex Board Committee.

INN/Mandi, @infodeaofficial 

Indian Institute of Technology Mandi has successfully achieved the target of female enrolment in undergraduate courses by admitting 20.22 per cent female students to B. Tech programme for the Academic Year 2019-20. This compares favourably with the target of 17 per cent set by Joint Entrance Examination (JEE) Apex Board Committee for 2019-20.

A total number of 262 students were admitted to IIT Mandi this year in B. Tech courses, out of which 53 are girls and 209 are boys as compared to 38 girls and 158 boys last year. A total of 103 students have been admitted this year in the M. Sc. courses, of which 36 are girls and 67 are boys.

IIT Mandi is one of the best IITs for young women engineers in the making. The institute provides a merit scholarship including full tuition fee waiver and a monthly stipend of Rs.1,000/- in the first year irrespective of category and parent’s income. The merit scholarship will continue for four years of B. Tech. programs, subject to good academic performance of the candidate indicated by minimum SPGA criteria of 7.0 for the previous two semesters and no disciplinary action.

IIT Mandi welcomed the new batch of undergraduate students for the academic session of 2019-20, in its one-of-a-kind auditorium in the region with a seating capacity of 750, on 25th July 2019. The students and their parents were introduced to a special 5 Week Induction Programme (5WIP), which was started in 2016. The aim of this unique fully faculty-mentored Induction Programme is to provide training to the new students training to new students to help them in the transition from school to college, to improve their respective skills and proficiency, and to appreciate the significance of engineering’s societal connect.

Welcoming the new batch of students, Prof. Timothy A. Gonsalves, Director, IIT Mandi, said, “Disruptive technologies are taking the world by storm. Young engineers must embrace the change and be at par with this rapidly evolving world. IIT Mandi has launched three new B. Tech programmes in Data Science and Engineering, Engineering Physics and the Integrated dual-degree programme in Bio-Engineering starting this year. These rigorous programmes will emphasize on the integration of theory and practice. To provide an all–inclusive learning experience to the students, laboratories and practicums will be integral part of these courses.”

Further, Prof. Gonsalves said, “The goal of 5 Week Induction Program (5WIP) is to ensure that the new students understand engineering and how this course is interconnected with the society. This unique programme will motivate students towards the joy of learning and pursuing excellence through these four years with healthy competition,” while he introduced the students and their parents to the 5WIP.

The B. Tech. programme being offered by the institute has several additional features including Minor program, B. Tech. Honors, and so on. The Minor program will help students in gaining expertise in areas like Management, Intelligent Systems, Applied Physics, and German language, outside the major course discipline. Students can increase their credit score by opting B. Tech. Honors.

Highlighting the unique aspects of IIT Mandi’s curriculum, Dr. Pradeep Parameswaran, Dean (Academics), IIT Mandi, said,“IIT Mandi believes in challenging rigid disciplinary boundaries, and the broad-based UG curriculum emphasising practicum-based courses reflect our interdisciplinary outlook. The approach of having more practicum – based courses provides a strong foundation for the students to prepare them for a career in a rapidly changing technological environment.”

IIT Mandi has a unique course curriculum based on project-based and inter-disciplinary learning, and in the past two years, the Institute has launched six new Master’s programmes.

Increase in number of female students in B. Tech at IIT Mandi:

The 5 Week Induction Programme (5WIP):

In the 5 Week Induction Programme, students spend the first five weeks in an intense daily programme before the commencement of regular classes. Students are divided into batches of 20 and given personal attention by mentors to hone each student individually. This ‘Unique Pedagogical Experiment’ precedes the regular classes.

The components of the 5-week long induction programme are classified into four categories: Ø

Ø  Exploring Engineering Modules: Through interactive group-work, students are exposed to the excitement of real- world engineering. Faculty members from different engineering disciplines guide students to discover what exactly a career in engineering entails. Students are given carefully chosen projects to create and are encouraged to experiment with conceptual and material tools.

Ø   Academic Skills: The Academic Skills component is intended to bring all students up to a minimum level in skills essential for the rigorous classes. This includes English and Computer Proficiency modules. Each student, irrespective of his/her initial proficiency level, spend time acquiring or honing his/her English and computer skills. Other skills are acquired in the Communication and Soft Skills and Visual Thinking modules. Visual Thinking, a critical skill for engineers, is an activity-based module in which students learn the power of pencil sketches for engineering design.

Ø  Life Skills: In the Life Skills component, students are encouraged to explore the inter-connected worlds of self, family and society, i.e. human values. The idea is to equip students with the capacity to reflect on their decisions and actions, to develop their values and ethics, and to conduct themselves in society with maturity and finesse. The students participate in a variety of sports, including yoga and creative activities (theatre workshop, visual arts, music and so on.)

Ø  Inspirational Activities: The above-mentioned components are complemented by the Inspirational Activities. Here, eminent speakers from all walks of life are invited to address students

A break up of the B. Tech admission data has been given below:

The 5WIP treats all students as unique individuals with their specific strengths and weaknesses. It gives all the students a chance to acquire the critical skills  that will enable them to follow lectures with ease and gain the confidence to ask questions from their teachers, before their rigorous, grade oriented classes begin.  Emphasis on the creative arts and sports as well as for holistic development of the students is a unique feature of this program.