Indian Institutes of Technology: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 15:36, 26 August 2006

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[[Image:IIT-locations.svg|right|thumb|270px|Location of IITs]]

The '''Indian Institutes of Technology''' ([[Hindi]]: भारतीय प्रौद्योगिकी संस्थान), or IITs, are a group of seven autonomous engineering and technology-oriented institutes of higher education established and declared as ''Institutes of National Importance'' by the [[Government of India]].CBS 60 Minutes claims that a degree from IIT "is more sought after than Harvard, Stanford and Yale combined". These institutes were created to train scientists and engineers, with the aim of developing a skilled workforce to underpin [[India]]'s economic and social development after independence in 1947. The students and alumni of IITs are colloquially referred to as ''IITians''.

The seven IITs are located at [[Kharagpur]], [[Mumbai]], [[Chennai]], [[Kanpur]], [[Delhi]], [[Guwahati]], and [[Roorkee]], established in that chronological order. Some of these IITs were established with financial assistance and technical expertise from the [[UNESCO]], [[Germany]], [[United States]], and the [[Soviet Union]]. Each IIT is an autonomous university, linked to the others through a common IIT Council, which oversees their administration. They have a common admission process, using the [[Indian Institute of Technology Joint Entrance Examination|Joint Entrance Examination]] (popularly known as IIT-JEE) to select around 4,000 candidates a year. About 15,500 [[undergraduate]] and 12,000 [[graduate student|graduate]] students study in the seven IITs, in addition to research scholars. IITians have achieved success in a variety of professions, resulting in the establishment of the widely recognised ''IIT'' brand.<ref name="congress resolution">{{cite web