Chennai: Indian Institute of Technology Madras, on the occasion of its diamond jubilee celebrations, witnessed a year filled with momentous occasions.
During this year, IIT Madras bagged all top honours in National Institutional Rankings Framework (NIRF) 2019 and the very first edition of Atal Ranking of Institutions on Innovation Achievements (ARIIA). It has been ranked as the ‘Best Educational Institution’ in the country of NIRF 2019, which was released on 8 April 2019 by the Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD), a press release said.
IIT Madras was also recognised as an ‘Institution of Eminence (IoE)’ by Ministry of Human Resource Development.
Another momentous occasion this year was the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the convocation, where 2,585 students received their degrees.
In collaboration with Phoenix Medical Systems, IIT Madras launched India’s first indigenously-designed ‘Standing Wheelchair.’ Called as ‘Arise’ it enables a differently-abled person requiring a wheelchair to shift from sitting to standing position, and vice versa, independently and in a controlled manner.
IIT Madras researchers demonstrated the possibility of generating biocompatible lasers from carrots, exploiting a process first discovered by Sir C V Raman. This finding by the IIT Madras team, a first-of-its-kind development even globally, promises significant advancements in scientific and industrial research on optical spectroscopy and sensing, the release said.
The IIT Madras students have also won laurels both in India and abroad with their innovations. Among them is the Avishkar Hyperloop Team, which became the only Asian team to qualify for the finals of SpaceX Hyperloop Pod Competition 2019, a global competition organised by SpaceX, the American aerospace manufacturer and space transportationcompany.
IIT Madras launched several new centres and initiatives under which the faculty, researchers and students will be working with the industry to solve problems. Among them is the Advanced Manufacturing Technology Development Centre (AMTDC) launched this year, the release said.