Centre for Muscular Dystrophy inaugurated at IIT Jodhpur on its 14th Foundation Day

Jodhpur : Indian Institute of Technology Jodhpur, celebrated its 14th Foundation Day today (2nd August 2021). On this occasion, Hon’ble Chief Guest, Dr. Ashutosh Sharma, Secretary, Department of Science and Technology, Government of India, inaugurated the Center for Muscular Dystrophy at the Institute. Dr. Sanjeev Misra, Director, AIIMS Jodhpur, graced the Foundation Day of the Institute as the Guest of Honor, along with Dr. R. Chidambaram, Chairman, Board of Governors of IIT Jodhpur presided over the event. The event was attended by the faculty and staff of IIT Jodhpur. During the event, the Institute honored its faculty for their outstanding achievements in research and teaching excellence.

 

The centre for Muscular Dystrophy will address the fundamental problems in DMD disease and develop multiple therapeutic leads for clinical trials in DMD patients in India. Funded by the Department of Science and Technology, and Science and Engineering Research Board (DST-SERB), India, IIT Jodhpur will carry out the research work in collaboration with AIIMS Jodhpur and DART Bangalore.

 

IIT Jodhpur has achieved many milestones and contributed immensely to the Scientific, technological, societal, and economic development of the country. Currently, the Institute is working on more than 200 sponsored research projects with a financial outlay of over Rs. 100 crores. Apart from this, IIT Jodhpur has imparted a major boost to the entrepreneurial aspirations of the youngsters through its Technology Innovation & Startup Centre (TISC). IIT Jodhpur is setting up a Technology Innovation Hub (TIH) with a funding of Rs. 115 Crore on Artificial Intelligence (AI). The TIH is also making tireless efforts to tackle Covid related problems by using AI.

 

Addressing the Institute during this grand occasion, Hon’ble Chief Guest, Dr. Ashutosh Sharma, Secretary, DST, Government of India, said, “Technological solutions to societal problems, scalability, acceptability are key to the development. I congratulate IIT Jodhpur for its progress in various aspects of research, innovation and technology to address these challenges. Multidisciplinary learning and research are the need of the hour to address global challenges. IIT Jodhpur is a center of great learning and it has the capability to address these challenges with innovative thinking and multidisciplinary outreach.”

 

“We should have a vision of not just a sustainable but an empathetic future. This is how our interdisciplinary learning and teaching at IITs should make a change”, added the Chief Guest in his address.

 

The guest of Honor, Dr. Sanjeev Misra, Director, AIIMS Jodhpur, appreciated the progress of the institute and its contribution to the local community. “IIT Jodhpur and AIIMS Jodhpur are two institutes of excellence working together to explore multidisciplinary research areas. As per the usual presumption, Engineers and Doctors work and think differently, but we believe the time has come for the Engineers and the Doctors to work together to address the upcoming global challenges. IIT Jodhpur and AIIMS Jodhpur are building these bridges for interdisciplinary research and learning. The unique collaborative Master’s Medical Technology Programme jointly offered by the two institutes is one-of-its-kind in the country, and with this, we are working on building a strong interdisciplinary foundation for the future, stated Dr. Misra.

 

Speaking during the occasion Prof. Santanu Chaudhary, Director, IIT Jodhpur, said, “IIT Jodhpur is now a leading technical education and research hub. We are a research-focused institute with high level of research and innovation activities with a focus to benefit Science, Industry, and Society. At present, the Institute’s faculty are involved in over 200 sponsored research projects worth over Rs. 100 Crores.”

 

In his Foundation Day speech, the Director highlighted various initiatives of the Institute. “IIT Jodhpur has multiple academic collaborations with other Institutes of excellence in the country. The unique Master’s Medical Technology Programme jointly offered by IIT Jodhpur and AIIMS Jodhpur is an example of the advanced steps taken by the Institute to lead and provide interdisciplinary learning and research. Along with this, some of the major initiatives in the field of research and innovation taken up by IIT Jodhpur include Space Robotics, Dependable Artificial Intelligence, Assurance and Provisioning of Clean Water, Nano-sensors for Internet of Things, 5G, and Quantum Technologies, among others”, added Prof. Chaudhury.

 

“In the IIT ecosystem, we should target building a Technology Superstructure and create new technologies and aspire to bring it to the world first. This is what will make us truly “Atmanirbhar Bharat”. IIT Jodhpur is a leader in the field of Data Science and Artificial Intelligence and I wish the Institute great success in the future.”, highlighted Dr. R. Chidambaram, Chairman, Board of Governors, IIT Jodhpur, during the event.

 

COVID Preparedness and COVID Related Research from IIT Jodhpur

• Vaccination at campus: The Institute meticulously planned vaccination of students, faculty, staff and families residing on the campus with the support of the State Government, Private Hospitals, and AIIMS Jodhpur. Currently, 100% of the campus residents have been administered at least one dose of the vaccine.

• To reduce the risks of infection from airborne pathogens in the indoor environment, the Institute has developed a novel Cold-plasma Detergent in Environment (CODE) device using Cold plasma in combination with nanotechnology.

• Campus Rakshak, a tool to provide situational awareness to campus administrators, including mobility, hotspot insights, saves testing costs, explores scenarios for safe operation

• Artificial Intelligence of Things (AIOT) based bed occupancy detection in a hospital set-up and demonstrate the solution’s effectiveness by deploying a small prototype in the local hospitals.

• Smart health solutions for rapid mass diagnosis for COVID-19

 

Under the Scientific Social Responsibility (SSR) initiative, IIT Jodhpur has also developed a Water Purification and Wastewater Treatment Unit to ensure water resource management, water conservation, water purification, wastewater treatment, recycling and reuse. The developed unit has been installed in five schools in the rural areas of Jodhpur, Sirohi, and Jhunjhunu districts of Rajasthan.

 

Unique Multidisciplinary Curriculum

To address the emergence of interdisciplinary research and technologies globally, IIT Jodhpur offers eight flagship multidisciplinary B. Tech. courses. Along with this, Entrepreneurship Education has also been introduced in the IIT Jodhpur curriculum as a minor area which offers the students an enriching experience in innovation, prototyping, business model formulation, and market analysis.

 

IIT Jodhpur has also made significant progress in setting up strong post-graduate academic programmes. The Institute has started a School of Management and Entrepreneurship for MBA students to exploit exponential technologies like AI, IoT, and Industry 4.0 to effectively manage enterprises and business. IIT Jodhpur also has a School of Artificial Intelligence and Data Sciences.

 

Blended Learning

If the situation permits, IIT Jodhpur is planning to conduct academic activities in Blended mode in which around 50% of students may be allowed to return to the campus by rotation as per the given slot. Some of the courses and classes will be conducted in blended mode with students in the classroom as well as in online mode so that students who are not on the Campus can also take their classes along with students on the Campus simultaneously.

 

Mobility Grant Scheme to boost young faculty research and international collaborations

To support and boost the young faculty members of the Institute for their research and international collaborations, a special Mobility Grant scheme has been introduced by IIT Jodhpur. Under this scheme, the Institute will provide a funding of Rs. 10 Lac to its faculty members to host, visit or send students to the labs of their international collaborators for research purposes.

 

The attached annexure has information on the faculty awarded during the Foundation Day event of IIT Jodhpur along with other information on the Institute.

 

Distinguished Faculty Awards for Research Excellence

 

Distinguished Faculty Awards for Teaching Excellence

 

Dr. Vandana Sharma Memorial Award for Teaching Excellence (less than 40 years of age)

 

Mobility Grant Awardee

 

Distinguished Staff Awards

 

Recognition of Moonshot projects

The 20th century’s idea of ‘shaping the future by creating it’ has become a key strategy for holistic development in the 21st century. In this context, IIT Jodhpur has decided to embrace the ‘Moonshot Culture’ to foster grand innovations. ‘Moonshot’ inspires to look beyond the horizon of ‘possible future’ and empower us to innovate a holistic, equitable and prosperous future. A large number of faculty members from IIT Jodhpur submitted the entries for such ideas which were subjected to scrutiny by an expert committee and four such ideas were recognized for the award during the ceremony.

 Moonshot Project Ideas

 

Research Activities at IIT Jodhpur

To strengthen the research ecosystem, IIT Jodhpur has chartered the path of discovery, invention, and innovation. The institute supports research activities of faculty member through three approaches:

• Long-term research goals (through individual faculty centric participation in project calls by various government-funded agencies)

• Medium-term research goals (majorly use driven through participation in special calls by the government, ministries and industries)

• Short-term translational R&D (delivery oriented research with industry or research lab collaborations)

Student Activities at IIT Jodhpur

IIT Jodhpur has formed three parallel Councils for the students which aims for their holistic development. With this, students will be passionate about the nation’s scientific and technological developments and be compassionate about various social issues. These councils include:

• Academic and Cocurricular Activity Council (ACAC)

• Student’s Activity Council (SAC)

• Student Senate (SS)

ACAC and SAC are chaired by the Director and consist of Faculty, Staff and Student members. The Student Senate on the other hand is a complete student body chaired by the General Secretary of the Senate. This empowers the students to be part of major decision-making processes related to student’s academic, co curricular, extracurricular activities and campus life.