In Kargil, a committee of IIT directors met with authorities and students to discuss fellowship opportunities for students from the Union Territories at various IITs.
A high-level team of IIT directors visited the district on Monday to examine the possibility of setting up an engineering college in the district, officials said. The team includes Professor V Ramgopal Rao, Director, IIT Delhi; Professor Shubhashis Chowdhury of IIT Bombay and Professor Abhay Karandikar of IIT Kanpur. The team has approached officials and students to explore fellowship opportunities for students from Union Territories at various IITs, the spokesperson said.
Addressing the meeting, Professor Rao said that Lieutenant Governor Ladakh RK Mathur had discussed the possibility of setting up an engineering college in Kargil during his recent visit to IIT Delhi. “The purpose of the team’s visit is to know the realities of the possibility of establishing an engineering college in the district and to assess the interest of students in the field of engineering,” he said.
M Balakrishnan, Professor, Department of Computer Science and Engineering, IIT Delhi, spoke about the challenges that students face in remote areas and stressed that students need to go out to study to gain exposure and more opportunities.
While answering the questions of the students, the director of IIT Bombay spoke about the various branches of engineering and the prospects of a career there. Professor Karandikar spoke about the Annual Fellowship Program at IIT, the Incubation and Innovation Program, and the internship with IITs for students in Ladakh.
Later, the team of directors also visited the Government Degree College in Kargil, where the Vice-Principal briefed them on the overall functioning of the college and its various courses. He said the college currently has about 2,000 students enrolled and 30 permanent and 23 contract teachers are providing their teaching services in the assistant college.
The team contacted college students and the Government Polytechnic College in Kargil and briefed them on various aspects of the fellowship material, officials said. They wanted feedback on their interest in fellowship programs, he added.
Earlier, the chief education officer of Kargil informed the team about the enrollment of school children in the district. He said 32,000 students are studying in different schools of the district, out of which 3,000 students are studying in science.
The CEO further said that at present there are 22 government and two private higher secondary schools in the district. Officials said IITs are partnering with the Department of Higher Education, Ladakh, to review various aspects of technical education to enhance employment opportunities for entrepreneurs and entrepreneurs in the Union Territory.
The partnership aims to explore ways to promote innovation and entrepreneurship with a focus on local ecosystems, skills development to enhance employment opportunities, enhance the quality of education to enhance higher education opportunities and establish a quality engineering institution in Ladakh, he said.
They said that an ‘expression of interest’ which would be finalized based on the outcome of various meetings with stakeholders, is expected to be signed between IIT and Ladakh’s higher education department in the presence of the Lieutenant Governor of Ladakh. 22 September. Further action plans, including a timeline, will be developed based on the signed EoI, officials said.
(PTI)