IIT Mandi exceeds target for female enrolment in BTech this academic year

Indian Institute of Technology Mandi (IIT Mandi) has successfully achieved the target of female enrolment in undergraduate courses by admitting 20.22% female students to BTech programme for the Academic Year 2019-20. This compares favourably with the target of 17% 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 BTech 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 MSc 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 BioEngineering 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 BTech 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 BTech 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 interdisciplinary learning, and in the past two years, the Institute has launched six new Master’s programmes.