India's first prime minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, set up the first campus in 1950 to churn out engineers to build big public-works and infrastructure projects. That first school was housed in a former British jail. Today, six sprawling tree-lined campuses are spread across the country. Living conditions, spartan by Western standards, are better than at other Indian universities. More than 100 students share the two common phones in each residence hall.
Professors live on campus, too, creating an intense, if insular, educational experience.
When Shenoy entered graduate school at the University of Connecticut, he was quickly assigned to teach math to a group that included some of his graduate student peers. Indeed, the institute has become so respected that it now risks falling victim to its own success. But the institute and its determined graduates are fighting back. Alumni have started raising money for faculty perquisites and expanded programs. Meanwhile, IBM and Indian software companies have set up offices at some schools, allowing faculty and students a chance to make some extra cash without leaving the campus.