IIT-M and Purdue University to Jointly Offer Doctoral Degree Supervision

The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras recently signed an agreement with the Purdue University through a memorandum of understanding in which there would be joint supervision among the doctoral candidates of the two institutions. The partnership which would begin with supervision could ultimately lead to a joint PhD programme later, as expected by the representatives of the MoU.

According to the understanding, the Purdue University faculty has the right to advice doctoral students at IIT-Madras and so do the IIT-M students at Purdue. At present more than a dozen faculty members who are from various departments at IIT-M are involved in collaborative research along with their counterparts in Purdue and it has almost 1,500 Indian students who are studying there.

The two heads of the respective institutions have talked about the reforms that could be taken so that the students can learn about the recent requirements of the job market and can remain in the same. Mitch Daniels who is the President of Purdue University has made it clear that he is eyeing for at least one of the university’s college to get transformed into a project-based mode college so that students with their respective potentials can move along easily and adjust with the courses. Degrees to these students would get awarded to their performances in not only classroom examinations but through demonstrated mastery of concepts and skills in the practical world.

Mitch further added, “This will help foster international experience for students at the two universities, with student visas to the other university. There will be a co-adviser from another country.” The two institutes are giving a though to the concepts of flip classrooms and embedded learning. They are in discussion with the traits of student’s involvement in the classrooms or taking notes and the prospect of removing the same by introducing the project-based learning programs and interactive exchanges.

IIT- Madras director, Bhaskar Ramamurthi pointed out that this opportunity would offer flexibility to students who can learn on their own and would come in consultation with the faculty only when they needed them the most.