SPEECH - LAUNCHING OF IIT RESEARCH ACADEMY
23 JULY 2014
Bel Air University campus
My
colleagues Hon Cader Sayed Hossen, Minister of Industry, Commerce and Consumer
Protection
Hon Seetaram, Minister of Business
Enterprise and Cooperatives,
Prof Shevgaonkar, Director of IIT
Delhi,
The Chairperson of the District
Council,
His Excellency, the High
Commissioner of India,
Members of the Diplomatic Corps,
Prof Koul from IIT Delhi,
Prof Ishtiaque, Executive Director
of the IIT Research Academy
The Chairman and Director of
Mauritius Research Council,
The Vice Chancellor and Directors of
public universities,
Distinguished guests,
It is my great pleasure to welcome
you today at the launching of the International Institute of Technology
Research Academy.
The idea of setting up an
institution of higher education based on the IIT model in Mauritius has been
inspired by none other than the Prime Minister, Dr Navin Ramgoolam under whose
leadership, the country is taking a great leap to modernity. He has undertaken
to transform our country into a wireless nation,
to have a high level of ICT literacy and a large panel of ICT professionals. In
2006, he initiated an accelerated and intense training on a massive scale
to create a computer literate population.
It is in this context, that during
my visit to India in 2011, I took the opportunity to discuss about the
possibility of setting up an IIT like institution in Mauritius and was very
pleased with the positive response from the Indian authorities. In February
2012, a five member high level delegation led by Professor Balakrishnan from
the Indian Institute of Technology Delhi came to Mauritius to
consider the feasibility of the
project. The feasibility report
recommended a two phased approach for the establishment of an IIT, with a first
phase of five years, consisting of
building a core research facility, including research infrastructure and
capacity. At the end of the fifth year,
six clusters will be implemented, with a total of 30 faculty members and some
50 research scholars.
After very intensive and sustained discussions
on the implementation aspects with the Director of IIT Delhi and his team, in
August 2013, the approval of Government was obtained and on 19 November 2013, a
Memorandum of Understanding for the setting up of the IIT like institution in
Mauritius was signed with the IIT Delhi.
The total investment for the project
over five years would amount to over Rs 1 Billion, including provision of Rs
228M over five years, the cost of infrastructure at Bel Air and the
construction of a new campus at Montagne Blanche, which will accommodate the
IIT eventually. Of course, the invaluable contribution of the IIT professors
and the transfer of knowledge through them are not quantifiable in monetary
terms.
The process has been long and quite
challenging because the IIT Research Academy is a pioneering initiative both
for us in Mauritius and for the IIT Delhi. This is the first time that such a
project is being implemented outside India.
But I am glad that we have now
reached the stage of the launching of the IIT Research Academy. This event
represents a memorable milestone for the development of science, research and
technology in Mauritius- a historical event for the people of Mauritius,
specially for the younger generations.
I would
like on this occasion to convey our thanks to the Government of India for this
new collaborative venture, which will stand as yet another symbol of the
special and unique bonds between our two countries.
Allow
me to also express our appreciation to the Prof Shevgaonkar and his staff, the
Board of Governors of IIT Delhi for their support to this new institution, which
should in the next decade become a flagship in this region.
We
have here in our midst eminent Professors from IIT Delhi, scientists of
international reputation. Let me briefly introduce them.
Prof Shevgaonkar, Director of the IIT Delhi
studied at IIT, Kanpur, IIT, Bombay and University of
Maryland, USA. He was a Scientist at the Indian Institute of Astrophysics and
Raman Research Institute and has been an active researcher in the area of
Optical communication, Image processing, Antennas, Microwaves, Radio astronomy
etc. He has published more than 150 papers in international journals and
conferences, and two books namely Electromagnetic Waves and Transmission lines
for Electrical Engineers.
Professor
Shiban K Koul. Deputy Director (Strategy and
Planning) at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi India, is the
author/co-author of 236 Research Papers, 7 state-of-the art books and holds 7
patents and 6 copyrights.
Professor S.M. Ishtiaque, who has been appointed as Executive Director of the IIT Research
Academy, has a long experience in
academia and a wide range of research publications.
Prof M.K Khare
is the Dean of Alumni affairs and International Programmes and an experienced
academic from IIT.
This is equally an opportunity to
pay tribute to the founders of the IIT’s. Known as“temples of modernity” and
symbols of prestige of Indian education, the IIT’s are closely linked to the
nationalist movement in India. Their creation was the outcome of the report of a
22-member committee, set up in 1945 to consider the establishment of institutions
modeled on the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). It is in fact, very
symbolic that the first IIT in Kharagpur was set up in a former centre used for
detention of political activists.
Today, every Mauritian has every
reason to be proud of our partnership with one of the IIT’s which are ranked as institutions of national importance, have the President
of India as the ex officio Visitor. Let me also mention that IIT’s count among its alumnus people of the caliber of Narayana Muthy
founder of Infosys, Vinod Khosla (co-founder, Sun Microsystems),three Senior Vice Presidents at
Google, several high level scientists at NASA and CEO’s of international companies.
IIT’s have their own culture with stringent faculty recruitment
procedures, industry collaboration and highly selective student recruitment. Bill
Gates has stated “ it's hard
to think of anything like IIT anywhere in the world. It is a very unique
institution. It is harder to get into an IIT
than into Harvard or the Massachusetts Institute of Technology”.
This collaboration with IIT comes at
the right time. As Mauritius is striving
to move from the upper-middle income status into the category of high-income
status countries, it needs more capacity for innovation. According to figures
released on 18th July 2014 by the World Intellectual Property
Organization, Mauritius is ranked first among 33 countries of Sub-Saharan
Africa on the Global Innovation Index 2014 and 40th among a total of
143 countries in the Global Innovation Index. The greatest strength of
Mauritius is in institutions, where it performs above the average score of the
high-income economies. The Global Innovation Index has observed that Mauritius
is closing the gap in both business sophistication and in knowledge and
technology outputs.
This solid collaborative foundation
with one of the most prestigious institutes of technology in the world is expected
to further boost science, technology and innovative thinking and to gear the
country towards becoming a knowledge and service provider of excellence.
The
IITResearch Academy will be a research based institution where key concepts of
the IIT ethos of education will be transmitted, including the renowned IIT culture. It will introduce a new research culture,
create more orPhD’s with high level of scientific achievement.
I am pleased that the two research
clusters selected for the initial years are Computer Science & Engineering
and Electrical & Electronic Engineering, organized around disciplines such
as :
· Computer
Science: Algorithms/data structures, Cloud computing, Machine learning, Big
data;
· Electrical
Engineering: Communication & DSP, VLSI, Optics & Photonics, Sensors
& Instrumentation, RF & Microwave;
· Common
areas between Computer Science and Electrical Engineering: Vision and image
processing, Embedded systems.
The
IITRA will provide opportunities to existing public universities by :
· encouraging
enrolment of staff and students without PhD from Tertiary Education
Institutions (TEIs) to enroll in the IITRA research programs;
· welcoming
teaching opportunities by the faculty of IITRA in programs of the TEIs;
· welcoming
joint PhD supervision with TEIs where possible; and
· encouraging
joint research proposal submission with TEI faculties for grant application.
The call for applications will be
launched in August. There will be a marketing strategy to give the opportunity
to African students also to enroll at the academy. I have to underline that the
recruitment of faculty members, the enrolment of students and the award of
qualifications will be made by the IIT Delhi and that the same stringent
procedures will be followed. The project will be implemented under the strict
guidance of IIT Delhi which will provide academic leadership and support.
I have also to mention that the
first five years will be guided by the IIT Delhi faculty staff to enable the
institution to have sufficient number of high level faculty members and to be
equipped with modern laboratories with the latest technologies. At the sixth year, it will become a
full-fledged IIT and operate on its own with its own legislative framework and
awarding powers through an International Institute of Technology Bill .
Let me highlight five most important
ways in which the IIT will transform our higher education sector –
(i)
the IIT Research
Academy would become a research platform, capable of attracting the best
students from Mauritius, Africa and Asia in the field of scientific and
technological research.
(ii)
it will create a
new platform for scientists to develop their ideas;
(iii)
it will provide
employment opportunities; and
(iv)
it will place
Mauritius in the international forum as a provider of higher education of IIT
standards.
As I mentioned earlier,
bringing an IIT outside India is a
first-time, exceptional event. It is a life time opportunity for the Mauritian
students, researchers and scientists. Previous attempts made
in 2005 to develop such
collaboration had failed. We should make
every possible effort to ensure the success of this new institution.
I would like to
conclude with a statement made by the Prime Minister, in a speech delivered in
2006 – “ The future of Mauritius depends
on our ability to innovate, to deliver quality and to deliver it reliably and
consistently. My government will make available to the people the technology
and infrastructure and the legal regulatory framework that will allow us to
become a First World Country. We are embarked on a great adventure, fraught
with peril but full of promise. With vision, courage and hard work, we will
succeed.“
Thank you.
