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After ten years, the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Roorkee has updated its undergraduate program. On February 22 of this year, the Institute Senate, the highest academic governing body, approved the new curriculum. According to IIT-Roorkee, the new curriculum will be made available to students who are accepted into all BTech, BArch, BS-MS, and Integrated MTech programs.
The institute has implemented ideas that distinguish its curriculum from others in the nation, requiring courses in subjects like data science, tinkering and mentoring, talent enhancement baskets (TEB), entrepreneurship, environmental science and sustainability (ESSC), community outreach (CORE), soft skills, and more.
Additionally, students will have the chance to explore projects based on design thinking, minor specializations based on themes, and much more.
According to a statement released by IIT-Roorkee, the curriculum was created with consideration towards NEP 2020 standards. The new curriculum was created with the philosophy of “STEPS” (Science, Technology, Entrepreneurship, Project-based education, and Societal commitment), which increases the flexibility of the framework. After careful thought, the institution has decided to place more focus on students’ general growth according to their interests than forcing them to take pre-programmed courses.
The number of credits necessary for core courses has been decreased, but the emphasis on entrepreneurship, community service, humanities and social sciences, and other elective program courses has increased.
The curriculum gives students flexibility, such as the option to pursue a minor specialization in another department, graduate with honors in their parent department, earn two degrees (a Bachelor’s and a Master’s), continue their studies for an additional year, or leave the five-year BS-MS programs with a four-year BS degree.
Students in all programs will take classes on soft skills, math, physics, computer programming, tinkering and mentorship, and engineering science in their first semester as part of the new curriculum.
Students’ entire personalities, including their communication, presentation, and group discussion skills, will be improved by the soft skills course. Tinkering and mentorship have been introduced to foster an interest in project-based learning and to raise knowledge of pertinent professional/ethical/career development.
Through a required course, all undergraduate students will learn about the importance of the conventional Indian knowledge system. The course will give students a thorough understanding of the long-standing contributions of the Indian knowledge system and its applicability to contemporary technology and society. A team of professors will instruct the course, and they include nterdisciplinary research background.
IIT-R asserts that another innovation to the curriculum, the Talent Enhancement Basket, is a first for the nation. Students will have the chance to advance their specialized abilities in their chosen fields. The pupils will be able to use their skills in this way.
The new curriculum gives students the option to choose between a project, entrepreneurship, or an internship. Different Environmental Science and Sustainability courses will be taught with the goal of enhancing knowledge of the environmental problems related to many disciplines and preparing the students to develop solutions to environmental concerns in their relevant domains.
In order to develop innovation and fulfill the 17 Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations, many departments are brought together to promote multi-stakeholder partnerships.
Additionally, a course on community outreach (CORE) will be required for the degree at IIT Roorkee. Students will participate in a project, either individually or in a group, as part of this course that focuses on local societal issues. This will improve both a sense of social duty and the social connection between the institute and society.
Source:IE
