The Indian Institute of Technology Bombay (abbreviated IITB or IIT Bombay) is a public engineering institution located in Powai,Mumbai, India. In the QS World University Rankings 2014, IIT Bombay was ranked as India’s top university It is the second-oldest (after Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur) institute of the Indian Institutes of Technology system.
IIT Bombay was founded in 1958. In 1961, the Parliament decreed IITs as Institutes of National Importance.[4] A high-power committee of Government of India recommended in 1946 establishment of four higher institutes of technology to set the direction for the development of technical education in the country. Planning for the Institute at Mumbai began in 1957 and the first batch of 100 students was admitted in 1958. Since its establishment in Powai, the institute has physically expanded to include more than 584 major buildings with a combined area of more than 2.396 gross square feet (550 acres or 2.22 km²).
IIT Bombay has a comprehensive graduate program offering doctoral degrees in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics. Currently IIT Bombay has a total of 14 academic departments, six centers, one school, and three interdisciplinary programmes. Over the last 53 years, around 39,000 engineers and scientists have graduated from the institute. Educational programmes here extend beyond the physical sciences and engineering into humanities and social sciences such as Economics,English, Philosophy, Psychology and Sociology and into management studies.Over the years, the institute has also created a niche for its innovative short-term courses through continuing education and distance education programmes.
History
IIT Bombay was the second IIT to be established in 1958 with assistance from UNESCO and with funds contributed by the Soviet Union. UNESCO agreed to provide equipment and technical experts mainly from the Soviet Union, while the Government of India accepted the responsibility for all other expenses including the cost of the building project and recurring expenses. The site chosen for the institute was Powai, eighteen miles (29 km) from the city of Mumbai (then Bombay), with an area of 550 acres (2.2 km2) which was given by the thenBombay State Government. While construction was being completed, the first academic session of the Institute opened on 25 July 1958, in its temporary home at the Synthetic and Art Silk Mills Research Association (SASMIRA) building in Worli, Mumbai with 100 students. These students were selected from over 3,400 applicants for admission to the first year undergraduate engineering programmes ofAerospace, Chemical, Civil, Computer, Electrical, Engineering Physics, Energy, Mechanical, Metallurgical Engineering and MSc Chemistry. One of the main objectives of establishing the Institute was to develop facilities for studies in a variety of specialised engineering and technological sciences. The need for establishing adequate facilities for postgraduate studies and research was kept uppermost in mind in the founding years.
While the Institute was functioning provisionally at Worli, an effort was made to expedite the progress of the building project at its permanent location and Jawaharlal Nehru laid the foundation stone of the Institute at Powai on 10 March 1959
Departments, centres, and schools
IIT Bombay has 17 departments, 13 multi-disciplinary centres, and 3 schools of excellence. The academic departments in IIT Bombay include the following:
- Aerospace Engineering
- Applied Mechanics
- Biosciences and Bioengineering
- Chemical Engineering
- Chemistry
- Civil Engineering
- Computer Science & Engineering
- Earth Sciences
- Electrical Engineering
- Energy Science and Engineering
- Urban Studies and Planning
- Humanities & Social Science
- Industrial Design Centre
- Mathematics
- Mechanical Engineering
- Metallurgical Engineering and Materials Science including Corrosion Science and Engineering
- Physics
The following multi-disciplinary centres are located in IIT Bombay:
- Computer Aided Design Center
- Centre for Research in Nano-Technology and Sciences
- Centre for Aerospace Systems Design and Engineering
- Computer Centre
- Centre for Distant Engineering Education Programme
- Centre for Environmental Science and Engineering
- Centre of Studies in Resources Engineering. Established 1976, the center is involved in developing Remote Sensing technology and its application to natural resources management and Environmental monitoring.
- Centre for Technology Alternatives for Rural Areas
- Centre for Formal Design and Verification of Software
- Sophisticated Analytical Instrument Facility
- Centre of Excellence in Nanoelectronics
- National Centre for Photovoltaic Research and Education
- Society for Innovation and Entrepreneurship
The three schools of excellence in IIT Bombay are:
- School of Biosciences and Bioengineering
- Kanwal Rekhi School of Information Technology (KReSIT)
In addition to above, IIT Bombay also offers three inter-disciplinary programs:
- Educational Technology
- Industrial Engineering and Operations Research
- Systems and Control Engineering
Rankings
Internationally, IIT Bombay is ranked overall 202 globally and 46th among Asian institutes in the QS World University Rankings(Quacquarelli Symonds) for 2015. IIT Bombay featured in top 400 in the ranking by the Times Higher Education World University Rankings of 2015-16. In India, among engineering colleges, it was ranked second by Outlook India in 2015. Among universities in India, it ranks second in Careers 360 (Magazine) Top Universities in India 2015. Amongst government engineering colleges, it was first by Mint in 2009