Two IITs partner to open new opportunities for BS degree student

Chennai: Students pursuing online-based BS (Data Science) program offered by the prestigious Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IIT-M) will now be able to gain the experience of being in a campus by spending the final year of their four-year course at the IIT Ropar, Punjab.

The students will also get to pursue a MS program in IIT Ropar without having to appear for GATE ( Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering) if they perform exceedingly well in their final year of BS (Data Science).

The two institutes, on Wednesday, entered into a strategic partnership that will enable BS (Data Science) students to take campus courses at IIT Ropar, which was established in 2008, providing an alternate pathway for students to study at IITs in the country.

IIT-M launched the BS (Data Science) program in 2020 with multiple exit options and was a runaway success with about 30,000 students pursuing the course at various levels as admission to this course is based on a qualifier process without taking the Joint Entrance Examination (JEE).

“This partnership between IIT Madras and IIT Ropar is a classic example of how an old institute with expertise and a new institute with full of energy can come together to allow more students to join the IIT system. India is sitting on a landmine of data, and we should be the leaders in AI and data science,” Prof Rajeev Ahuja, Director, IIT Ropar, said.

Terming the BS (Data Science) program as a program “as important as a B.Tech degree”, IIT-M Director Prof V Kamakoti said the new arrangement will allow students of the four-year online program to study in an IIT campus for one year, which will open a floodgate of opportunities for them in the future.

“If the students do well, they will get enrolled for a MS program at IIT Ropar. They also pursue a Ph. D at IIT Ropar after successfully completing the PG degree. The agreement between the two institutes allows IITM BS students to apply for research programs, and pursue projects, and internships under IIT Ropar,” Kamakoti said.

The collaboration between the two institutes will allow IITM BS students who meet the eligibility criteria to complete their credit requirements by taking courses at IIT Ropar. “This is nothing but mainstreaming of the online BS program,” Prof Andrew Thangaraj, Coordinator, BS Degree, IIT-M, said.

Sayan Ghose, a final year student of BS (Data Science) program at IITM, told DH that the agreement signed on Wednesday will help him pursue a MS course at IIT Ropar. “It will certainly be a gamechanger for people like me. I can get into a PG course at IIT Ropar without appearing for GATE. Though the level of difficulty in clearing each semester will be the same as any course, a good performance in BS degree will help me reach an IIT and study there offline,” he said.