EXERCISES IN INTROSPECTION

Every educational institute has a style and emphasis of its own. The undergraduate programme at IIT Kanpur is known for the broad based education it provides, flexibility of the content and structure of courses, and the serious commitment of faculty members to teaching, especially core courses.

There are five components of the undergraduate curriculum, each fulfilling its own vital function: 1. Mathematics and Basic Sciences, 2. Technical Arts, 3. Engineering Sciences, 4. Humanities and Social Sciences, and 5. Professional courses. Mathematics and the basic sciences are the foundations on which engineering and technology are built. IIT Kanpur has maintained that a true insight into scientific or technological developments is not possible without a basic understanding of these subjects. The technical arts courses familiarise students with various fabrication techniques and graphical methods of engineering communication. The engineering sciences introduce students to the "engineering science paradigm," building upon the knowledge of the basic sciences and engineering, and transforming it to applications in technology and creative engineering practice. An exposure to humanities and social sciences is considered necessary in order that students develop a broader perspective of life and an understanding of human society in all its complexity. The professional courses are, naturally, designed to train students in their chosen area of work.

Maintaining a balance among these five components is a challenging task. Today young entrants to IIT already have many years of rigorous academic work behind them. This is usually at the expense of their non-academic learning and education. To compensate for this, it seems essential to include courses in the curriculum that would contribute to the students' all-round development. Very often, however, there is a demand from industry, alumni and the students themselves that more professionally relevant courses be taught, and if necessary, the number of "irrelevant" courses be reduced. It is impossible to deny the importance of providing a technological orientation to the engineering education at IIT Kanpur. Professional courses, and practical hands-on experience are essential. An ability to deal with new technologies cannot be acquired without an appreciation of the existing technology and its associated problems.

However, from the beginning, IIT Kanpur recognised that technology changes rapidly. Within existing constraints, it is impossible for an academic institute to change, especially its undergraduate programme, at the same pace. Thus, since its inception IIT Kanpur did not aspire to become a 'factory', producing the "latest models" of technologists and engineers, who may soon become obsolete! Instead, the philosophy has been to help students develop an insight into the basic principles of science and engineering, equip them with effective problem-solving techniques, and inculcate in them a capacity for continued learning. An ability to continue learning is perhaps one of the most important skills that an undergraduate student at IIT Kanpur acquires. The Institute trains its students in a way that they are capable of working in areas which might not have existed at the time of their graduation.

IIT Kanpur puts great thought and care in the designing of its undergraduate programme. Approximately every ten years, a review of the undergraduate curriculum is carried out. The review committee makes an in-depth assessment of the ongoing programme. Comments and suggestions are invited from the academic community, including students, alumni and faculty members. These suggestions are consolidated and discussed by the committee over a period of a few months. The committee then submits its report, along with its recommendations. Discussions are then held at the department level and at the Senate, before the recommendations are approved for implementation.

Over the years, the review committees have comprehensively addressed issues related to the undergraduate academic programme. Course contents and structure are finalised, the issue of flexibility in both teaching and learning are discussed, examination and grading systems are evaluated, guidelines for conducting the programme are given, and, often, innovative solutions are suggested to overcome specific inadequacies. Some of these ideas, such as the introduction of open electives in professional years, have been implemented, and are now integral to the programme; some ideas, as the Pass-Credit Option, are implemented, but withdrawn after review; other ideas, like the Interim Terminal Degree, are adopted for their potential value, but rarely used. And thus, the effort to improve the undergraduate programme continues.

So far, this painstaking exercise has been conducted three times in IIT Kanpur - in 1971, 1980 and 1992 [see box]. The fourth Undergraduate Review Committee has been constituted in 1998, and it's report is expected by the end of 1999. The first review committee was an initial exercise in formal introspection made by the Institute. The major mandate of the second review committee was to fit the five year undergraduate programme into four years. This, incidentally, was a task little to the liking of the committee members, who saw in it a lowering of academic standards: " . . . no matter how hard we try, a four year programme, in our opinion, will be inferior to a five year programme, and we can only hope to minimize the deficiencies." The task of the third committee was, among other things, to further "minimize the deficiencies" of the four year programme.

And now, we embark on the fourth effort to re-shape the undergraduate education at the Institute, hopefully to prepare our graduates for their final job rather than their first job. We invite you to send in your thoughts on the directions into which you would want to steer the undergraduate curriculum at IIT Kanpur. All correspondence may be addressed to:

Professor A. K. Mallik

Chairman, UGRC

Department of Mechanical Engineering, IIT Kanpur

Kanpur 208016.

e-mail: akmallik@iitk.ac.in

[back] [next]