Union Minister of Human Resource Development Prakash Javdekar inaugurated Indian Institute of Technology, Goa on Saturday, July 30th. He also laid the foundation stone for IIT Goa Students’ Hostel. The newly set up IIT Goa shall function from temporary campus at Goa Engineering College, Farmagudi and will be mentored by IIT Mumbai. Speaking on the occasion Union HRD Minister stated that IITs are recognised world over as premier institutes of academic excellence. He also stated that the Ministry is working towards increasing the perception of IITs so that IITs are ranked top in world rankings. He also congratulated the students who made into the IITs and described them as the cream of the country. The Minister also promised that the permanent campus at Loliem will be completed within thousand days. The Minister also mentioned about the IIT-PAL platform in which prospective IIT students can be coached from the best professors across the country through online, TV and other new media so that they can clear the IIT Entrance Examination.
The Minister also mentioned how the IITs can use Government of India’s Uchhatar Avishkar Yojana (UAY) in which industries can give specific research request to IITs and co-partner in technological development. The Minister also commented on Global Initiative of Academic Networks (GIAN) in which the best practices of foreign countries can be implemented in India through idea exchange. The Minister emphasised on Innovation, Make in India, and promised that Government will extend all support in making IITs as of Start Up hubs. Speaking on the occasion, Union Defence Minister Shri Manohar Parrikar, told that the summer internship programme of IIT students can be conducted at various defence research establishments and will add value to their curriculum. He also mentioned about a programme in which scientists from DRDO will act as visiting faculty members to various IITs. The proposed campus for NIT Goa will be established at Cuncolim removing all the bottlenecks.
The campus for the Indian Institute of Technology Goa (IIT Goa) will be developed at Loliem, a quiet town in Canacona taluka in the southernmost tip of Goa. It is bounded by Galgibag River in the North, village of Poinguinim along the East, Uttar Kannada district of Karnataka state in the South and Arabian Sea to the West. Historically, Loliem was a village of metallurgical artisans who made idols of gods and goddesses using aluminum and iron during the reign of the Kadambas of Banavasi (345 – 525 CE) and was, therefore, called Lohahalli. Subsequently, when Goa became a Portugese colony, the name of this important village was changed to Loliem and it had a chekpost for road transit to other parts of India until 1961, when Goa was incorporated into the Indian Union. Loliem has a unique mix of the rolling hills of the Western Ghats, the slice of the coast, and an interior hilly, plateau region. The 300 acre new IIT Goa campus is expected to come up in a couple of years and is located about 88 km south of the capital city of Panaji. The interim campus of IIT Goa is located at Goa Engineering College (GEC) at Farmagudi, which is about 78 km away from the proposed IIT Goa Campus site. The temporary campus of IIT Goa at GEC is fully equipped with class rooms, laboratories and modern hostel buildings. This campus is expected to serve the needs of IIT Goa for the first couple of years.
Mentored by IIT Bombay, the academic activities of IIT Goa are well tuned to expose the student to a vibrant academic culture and bring out the best in every student. The contribution of this Institute would be to educate young people to solve the real problems faced by our countrymen using the technical knowledge they are imparted during their formative years. Chief Minister of Goa Shri Laxmikant Parsekar, Deputy Chief Minister, Francis D’Souza, PWD Minister Shri Ramakrishna Dhavlikar, MP South Goa Shri Narendra Sawaikar and Prof. Devang Khakhar, Director, IIT, Mumbai graced the occasion.