Who is Preethi Aghalayam, the first woman director of IIT?

New Delhi: Preethi Aghalayam has been appointed as the director in-charge of IIT Madras’s Zanzibar campus, the first offshore campus of the Indian Institute of Technology. Aghalayam, who is an alumnus of IIT Madras, has also become the first woman director of an IIT.

IIT Madras Director V Kamakoti said, “Aghalayama is the first woman to become the IIT Director. We will see many more encouraging things. We are following the Sustainable Development Goals and one important goal tells us that we need to bring gender balance. needed.” Press conference.

Preethi Aghalayam on becoming the first woman director of IIT, says it is a great honor

Reacting to the development, Preethi Aghalayam said that it is ‘such a great honour’ to be the first woman director of IIT.

“I am an alumnus of IIT Madras and it is a great honor to do such a great work for the institute and the country. Whenever we visited Zanzibar as part of the IIT Madras contingent, we saw that there was representation of women. Quite significant So, it was important that we do it judiciously,” Aghalayam said.

Aghalayam, who is also a marathon runner, completed his BTech in Chemical Engineering from IIT Madras in 1995. He then did his PhD from the University of Massachusetts Amherst in 2000.

He has also worked as a postdoctoral researcher at MIT, Cambridge, and as faculty at IIT Bombay.

Aghalayam joined IIT Madras in 2010, where she is currently a professor in the Department of Chemical Engineering.

She was recently recognized by the Office of the Principal Scientific Adviser as one of 75 Women in STEM.

#WomenInSTEM Known for her achievements, Professor Preethi Aghalayam, Department of Chemical Engineering, IIT Madras, has played a role in empowering other women. He has published more than 50 articles in international journals. He has been awarded INAE Young Engineer and Amar Die Chem award. pic.twitter.com/nYsc8vuULv– IIT Madras (@iitmadras) 17 March 2021

Zanzibar is the first IIT campus outside India

Zanzibar in Tanzania will have the first IIT campus outside India. Recently an MoU was signed between India and Tanzania, which is the last procedural step paving the way for this complex.

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, who visited Tanzania last week, described the move as a “historic step” that shows India’s commitment to the Global South.

The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) stated that the IIT campus in Zanzibar-Tanzania is envisioned as a world-class higher education and research institution with a broad mission of developing competencies in response to emerging global needs.

“It will serve as an example to the world of the ambitious qualities of Indian higher education and innovation,” it said in a statement.

beautiful standing #campus It will be spread over 200 acres on the island of Zanzibar. The admission process for the first academic year of 2023-24 has begun, and the classes are scheduled to begin in October 2023.@MoETanzania #IITMadras– IIT Madras (@iitmadras) 10 July 2023

Many IITs are receiving requests from Middle-East and South Asian countries to set up their campuses. While IIT-Madras is setting up its campus in Tanzania, IIT-Delhi is considering setting up a campus in the UAE.

IIT campuses in Egypt, Thailand, Malaysia and the UK are also in the pipeline.

First session at IIT Zanzibar campus to begin in October

First academic session at IIT-Madras’ Zanzibar campus Top officials said on Monday that the offshore campus is set to start in October with two full-time academic programs offered.

“Classes for the first academic year (2023-24) are scheduled to begin in October 2023, consisting of two full-time academic programs – a four-year Bachelor of Science in Data Science and Artificial Intelligence and a two-year Master of Technology in Data Science and in Artificial Intelligence,” IIT-Madras director V Kamakoti told reporters.

He added, “The total student intake will be 70, which includes 50 students for undergraduate and 20 students for masters courses. Applications for the 2023 batch are currently open.”

“Faculty will be appointed from IIT-Madras or recruited from across India in the early days of this campus. Activities to ensure that local talent is developed and employed as faculty are already underway,” he said. It’s going on.”

Kamakoti said, “The Zanzibar campus plans to create a structure with degree programs hosted by the schools. The first school is the School of Science and Engineering, which will host both planned degrees for the 2023-24 session.”

,@IITMadras Inviting applications from candidates across the globe. You will contribute to a world-class teaching and research program at the newly established campus in Zanzibar.

To know more, visit https://t.co/YaVUK9kYxo#IITMadrasZanzibarCampus #IITMadras #hiring pic.twitter.com/Gh21AYEVFP– Office of Global Engagement, IIT Madras (@ogeiitm) 10 July 2023

He added that a detailed development plan for the academic programs is being developed with inputs from expert members from India and Zanzibar. The courses will be open to foreign students from all countries including India.

Elaborating on the admission process, Kamakoti said, “The Office of Global Engagement, IIT-Madras, will coordinate the student admission process, which will include, according to the IITM Senate, a screening test developed by faculty experts at IIT-Madras and a Interview will be included. -Approved admission process for international students”.

The fee for Bachelors course will be USD 12,000 per annum while for Masters course it will be USD 4,000 per annum.

“Currently the institute will operate from a temporary campus in the Bwelo district of Zanzibar, while the permanent campus, spread over 200 acres, will be located on the island of Zanzibar, off the East African mainland and is being planned as a unique and game-changing Educational partnership between India and Zanzibar-Tanzania.

“The strength of the faculty will be based on the required teaching expertise and quality assurance of IIT-Madras, including but not limited to maintaining a strong faculty-student ratio,” Kamakoti said.