Delhi CM lays foundation stone for IIIT at Okhla

New Delhi, Oct 11 (UNI) Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit today laid the foundation stone for the Indraprastha Institute of Information Technology (IIIT) at Okhla Industrial Estate Phase-III, to serve as a permanent campus for the IIIT-D presently operating from a temporary campus in Dwarka.

The IIIT-D was made operational in August this year with release of its Admission Brochure for the year 2008-09 by the Chief Minister in a press conference at Delhi Secretariat.

IIIT-D had started functioning from this academic year itself, temporarily using facilities provided by NSIT in Dwarka, Delhi.

Its permanent campus is now being constructed in Okhla, Delhi.

The uniqueness of IIIT Delhi will be its focus on specific domain areas and on software products. Leveraging fully its location advantage, IIIT, Delhi will look at IT in relation to areas like E-governance, Defence applications, life sciences, technology-led education, finance, automobile engineering, and mobile computing.

It will be a research-led institute with B Tech, M Tech, and Ph D programmes. Its endeavor will be to prepare its students to innovate and create new products for and from the country.

Speaking after laying the foundation stone for the new campus, the Chief Minister said her government has been giving top priority to promote Information Technology.

Ms Dikshit said the setting up of IIIT in Delhi would give fillip to acceptability of IT, which has ensured transparency and helped in developing new work culture.

''The Delhi Government is committed to helping IIIT-D become a truly world-class institute, one that the whole country can be proud of and one that will attract faculty and students from across the world. This Institute would soon gain International status,'' the Chief Minister said at the function where local MLA Parvez Hashmi, Secretary (TTE) Dr G Narendra Kumar and Board of Directors of IIIT were also present.

Over the years, the technical education system has grown rapidly, but quality and employability of most of the graduates has, of late, become an issue. These inadequacies and growing demand has led to tens of thousands of our young people spending thousands of crores of Rupees to get education abroad.

It is in response to these needs that the Delhi Government has undertaken the bold initiative of setting up the Indraprastha Institute of Information Technology (IIIT Delhi). This institute will enhance Delhi's position as a major educational hub, and elevate it to world standards.

To drive this path-breaking initiative, the Delhi Government has, through an Act, created an institution that can function with full autonomy. Accordingly, it has created an independent, empowered Board that will guide and oversee the setting up and functioning of IIIT-D. The Board is Chaired by Kiran Karnik, a well known and respected personality in IT and India, and the Institute will have, as founding Director, Prof Pankaj Jalote, who is a globally respected Computer Science Professor from IIT Delhi, with many published International books and research papers to his credit. The Board includes Mr Pheroz Vandrevala, Mr R Chandrashekar, Prof S Sadagopan, Prof Ranjit Roy Choudhary and two Principal Secretaries from the Delhi Government.

UNI AR MIR NS1926