# Vellore Institute of Technology

Vellore Institute of Technology or VIT is a private deemed university in Vellore, Tamil Nadu, India.
The institution offers 66 Undergraduate, 58 Postgraduate, 15 Integrated, 2 Research and 2 M.Tech. Industrial Programmes. It has campuses in Vellore and Chennai and three sister universities as distinct state private universities in Amaravati, Bhopal, Bengaluru in India and an international campus in Mauritius.

## History

VIT was founded in 1984 as Vellore Engineering College, as a self-financing engineering college under Anna University by its founder G. Viswanathan. In 2001, It became Deemed university.

## Administration and Organization

The university has board of management, academic council and Finance committee. G. Viswanathan is the founder-chancellor of VIT and all its sister universities. The campus spans over 372 acres.

## Academics and research

VIT's academic disciplines is divided into 20 Schools of Study in its Vellore and Chennai campus.
VIT implements the Fully Flexible Credit System (FFCS) which gives the students the freedom to choose and make their own timetables by choosing the subjects and faculties for the next semester.
33 Professors of VIT are among the top 2% of scientists in the world, as shown in a survey conducted by Stanford University, USA in 2021.

## Rankings

Internationally, VIT was ranked 1001–1200 in the QS World University Rankings of 2023 and 173 in Asia. It was ranked 801–1000 in the world by the Times Higher Education World University Rankings of 2023, 251–300 in Asia in 2022 and 301–350 among emerging economies. It was ranked 601–700 in the Academic Ranking of World Universities of 2022.
The National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) by the MoE ranked VIT 19th overall in India in 2024, 10th among universities and 11th among Engineering institutes.
VIT was ranked first among private engineering colleges in India by Outlook India in 2022. India Today ranked it 20 among engineering colleges in 2020.

## Accreditation

VIT has been accredited with the following:
* A++ grade by NAAC, it has completed 4 cycles of accreditation and is going for the 5th cycle.
* It is preparing for the third round of accreditation by the NBA.
* It is accredited by the International accrediting agency ABET.
* ACBSP has accredited the VIT Business School.
* ACCA has accredited the BBA program.

## Culture and Fests

| Campus | Cultural & Sports | Technical |
| Vellore | Riviera | GraVITas |
| Chennai | Vibrance | technoVIT |
| Bhopal | Aarambh | AdVITya |
| Andhra Pradesh | Vitopia | VTAPP |

## Controversies

In October 2013, two female students were suspended after they helped organize an online opinion survey of female VIT students, focusing on issues of safety and inequality. Commenting on the issue, VIT vice president Sekar Viswanathan said: "The students started a campaign based on the misplaced notion that the university discriminates against women, which is false. They were taken home by their parents". An American professor who was working at the institute at the time was reportedly fired for supporting the two dismissed students via a Change.org petition. Reports citing students, rules require male and female students at VIT to live in strictly segregated facilities, in addition to imposing restrictions upon the women that the men are not burdened by."
In March 2024, VIT organized an athletic event to promote gender equality. However, there was a social media outrage because the college initially asked men to run 10 kilometers and women to run 5 kilometers. The event poster was later redesigned.
In July 2022, the Madhya Pradesh government initiated an inquiry into Vellore Institute of Technology (VIT) in Sehore after allegations that the institute fined students for reciting the Hanuman Chalisa in their hostel. The students reportedly recited the prayer to protest poor amenities in the hostel, but complaints from security staff and noise concerns led to fines for seven students. MP Home Minister Narottam Mishra condemned the fines, ordering that they be revoked and instructing the Sehore collector to investigate. The incident sparked political reactions, with BJP legislator Rameshwar Sharma threatening further protests if the fines were not withdrawn.
In November 2024, The Madhya Pradesh government has launched an investigation into disciplinary actions taken by VIT-Bhopal after complaints from ABVP, which alleged unjust punishments for students involved in a social media controversy. A probe committee will review allegations related to the disciplinary measures, course and fee structures, and other campus issues. VIT-Bhopal has defended its actions, asserting the right to manage internal affairs and criticizing external interference. Academic experts have questioned the commission’s characterization of VIT as "dictatorial" prior to completing the investigation.
The social media controversy at VIT-Bhopal began with rumors of a viral video purportedly showing female students bathing in a hostel. Although the existence of such a video was unconfirmed, these rumors spread among students, leading to unrest on campus. Some students were disciplined by the university, which allegedly included suspensions lasting from six months to a year. The Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), a student organization, claimed that VIT penalized the students without a proper investigation and demanded further inquiries into the university’s handling of course-related matters, fee structure, and other campus issues.

## Notable alumni

* Soumith Chintala, lead creator and maintainer of PyTorch, a software framework for deep learning in artificial intelligence
* Utkarsh Dwivedi, IAS, Rank 5 in the UPSC
* Atulya Kaushik, co-founder and CEO, PrepInsta Prime
* Papias Malimba Musafiri, Rwandan Minister of Education
* Bindu Madhavi
* Anand Prakash, Indian ethical hacker
* Kaveri Priyam
* Poornima Ravi, Actress and YouTuber
* Indhuja Ravichandran, a Model and Actress
* Dhyan Sreenivasan
* Shubhangi Swaroop, first female pilot in Indian Navy