IIT Guwahati. The Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati (IIT Guwahati) is a public technical university established by the Government of India, located in Amingaon, North Guwahati, in the state of Assam in India. It is the sixth Indian Institute of Technology established in India. IIT Guwahati is officially recognised as an Institute of National Importance by the government of India. IIT Guwahati has been ranked 7th in Engineering and 9th in Overall category in NIRF Rankings 2024.

History
The history of IIT Guwahati traces its roots to the 1985 Assam Accord signed between the All Assam Students Union and the Government of India, which mentions the general improvement in education facilities in Assam and specifically the setting up of an IIT.

IIT Guwahati was established in 1994 by an act of parliament and its academic programme commenced in 1995. IIT Guwahati admitted its first batch of students into its Bachelor of Technology programme in 1995. The selection process was the same as that of the other IITs, i.e., through the Joint Entrance Examination. In 1998, the first batch of students was accepted into the Master of Technology program through the GATE.

Campus and geography

The campus of IIT Guwahati is on the northern bank of Brahmaputra and abuts the North Guwahati town of Amingaon. The campus is on a  plot of land around  from the heart of the city. It has the Brahmaputra on one side and hills and vast open spaces on others.

IIT Guwahati is a fully residential campus. All the students live in hostels on the campus. The hostels are named after rivers and tributaries of North-East India: Manas, Dihing, Kapili, Siang, Kameng, Barak, Subansiri (girls' hostel), Umiam, Dibang (currently not in use), Brahmaputra (largest hostel in all the IITs), Dhansiri (new girls' hostel), Lohit, Disang (Co-ed Hostel), Gaurang (new boys' Hostel). Apart from these, there is a married scholars' hostel for married postgraduates. Students at IIT Guwahati are mostly given a double occupancy room till the end of their second year. Each room comes equipped with requisite basic amenities. The toilets and bathrooms are shared (three of each for every ten rooms on average). Every hostel has a mess, a canteen, a juice centre, a stationery shop, a library, a TV room, a sports room (for indoor sports), and laundry facilities. The hostels are provided with 24-hour Internet facility.

Organisation and administration

Governance

All IITs follow the same organization structure which has President of India as visitor at the top of the hierarchy. Directly under the president is the IIT Council. Under the IIT Council is the board of governors of each IIT.
Under the board of governors is the director, who is the chief academic and executive officer of the IIT. Under the director, in the organizational structure, comes the deputy director. Under the director and the deputy director, come the deans, heads of departments, registrar.

Departments

IIT Guwahati houses the following departments:

Department of Biosciences and Bioengineering
Department of Data Science and Artificial Intelligence
Department of Chemical Engineering
Center of Excellence for Sustainable Polymers
Department of Chemistry
Department of Civil Engineering
Department of Computer Science and Engineering
Department of Design
Department of Electronics & Electrical Engineering (previously known as the Department of Electronics and Communication)
Department of Humanities and Social Sciences
Department of Mathematics
Department of Mechanical Engineering
Department of Physics

The aforementioned departments of the Institute offer B. Tech., B. Des., M. Des., M. Tech., M.A. (Development Studies),
(Liberal Arts), M.Sc. and Ph.D. programmes.

Academic centres
IIT Guwahati is home to nine academic centres.

 Centre for Disaster Management and Research                             
 Centre for Drone Technology
 Centre for the Environment              
 Centre for Indian Knowledge Systems 
 Centre for Intelligent Cyber-Physical Systems
 Centre for Linguistic Science and Technology
 Centre for Nanotechnology
 Centre for Rural Technology
 Centre for Sustainable Polymers
 Centre for Sustainable Water Research

Academic schools

School of Agro and Rural Technology
School of Business
Mehta Family School of Data Science and Artificial Intelligence
School of Energy Sciences and Engineering
School of Health Science & Technology
School of Humanities & Social Sciences

Extramural centres
IIT Guwahati is home to five academic centres.
Central Instruments Facility
Centre for Computer & Communication Centre                                                
Centre for Career Development
Centre for Creativity
Centre for Educational Technology

Academics
As of 15 August 2024, there are 8.533 students on rolls with 24.5% being female.  The number of faculty is 456, of which 12.1% are female.

Admission
Admission in IIT Guwahati for UG Courses is done through JEE Advanced for Engineering. Until 2015, admissions in UG Design Course was happening through JEE Advanced. It now happens through UCEED.
Admission in PG is done through IIT-JAM, GATE score, and through CEED for Designing, while through Ph.D-NET examination or Ph.D. entrance examination and/or interview one can get admission into Ph.D. Courses.

Rankings

Internationally, IIT Guwahati was ranked 384 in the QS World University Rankings of 2023.  In India, among engineering colleges, it was ranked 7th by the National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) in 2024 and 7 among government colleges by Outlook India in 2022.

Param Ishan
IIT Guwahati hosts Param-Ishan which is the fastest and most powerful super computer in northeastern, eastern and southern regions of the country.

Placements 
The BTech in Computer Science Engineering (CSE) program at [IIT Guwahati] aims to provide students with strong technical skills and industry exposure, preparing them for successful careers in the field of software development and technology. The program has a dedicated Placement Cell that works closely with students and recruiters to facilitate job placements.

Computer Science and Engineering Placement 
For the academic year 2022-23, the average package (including domestic & international offers) for Computer Science and Engineering (CSE) students stood at Rs 42 lakh per annum (LPA), a significant increase from the previous year's average of Rs 36.88 LPA. This upward trend demonstrates the industry's high demand for skilled software engineers. Moreover, the highest package offered to a CSE student reached an impressive Rs 2.4 crores per annum, reflecting the exceptional talent nurtured by the program.

Branch-wise Placements 
For placement statistics of other branches, including branches like Electronics and Communication Engineering (ECE), Mechanical Engineering (ME), and others, students can refer to the Centre for Career Development at [University/Institute Name]. The Centre for Career Development serves as a valuable resource for students, providing them with information, guidance, and assistance throughout the placement process. The center collaborates with various industries and organizations to facilitate placements across different sectors.

Student life

Annual festivals
Every year the students and administration of IIT Guwahati come together to organize a number of festivals and competitions. The major festivals include Alcheringa, the annual cultural festival, Techniche, the annual techno-management festival, Udgam, the annual entrepreneurship summit and Research Conclave. Apart from these the Students of IIT Guwahati participate in the annual Inter IIT Sports Meet. Apart from these the General Championship (GC) is widely celebrated across the hostel communities in the institute, the combined score in the inter hostel meets Kriti (Tech), Manthan (Cultural) and Spardha (Sports) is used to decide the winning hostel.

Alcheringa

Alcheringa, popularly known as "Alcher", is the annual cultural extravaganza of the IIT Guwahati. It started in 1996 as a student-run nonprofit organisation catering primarily to the youth of the nation. Held for three days and four nights, Alcheringa's 2018 edition witnessed an estimated footfall of 1,00,000 people.

Techniche

Techniche is the techno-management festival of IIT Guwahati. Techniche is held in September every year over three days. Techniche hosts various events, competitions, exhibitions and workshops.

Techniche conducts Technothlon and provides students from schools and colleges across India a platform to interact with many experts in subject areas through its lecture series. It has been attended by R. Chidambaram, Kiran Bedi, H. C. Verma, Mike Fincke, John C. Mather and others.

The Guwahati Half Marathon is hosted by Techniche a week before the event.

Udgam
Udgam, is the annual Entrepreneurship Summit of IIT Guwahati. Organized by the institute's Entrepreneurial Cell, it aims to inspire young students and graduates of North-East India to embrace entrepreneurship. Apart from a series of talks by eminent entrepreneurs there are plethora of workshops and networking sessions which happen during the festival. It is usually held as an annual three-day summit in January.

Prayatna
Prayatna is the annual socio-welfare fest of the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Guwahati. The topics covered at Prayatna include: social justice, recognizing privilege, and exploring identity.

Collaborations 
IIT Guwahati has partnered with National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) to design and develop a highly energy-efficient plant for capturing  from power plants. This plant was developed by a research team led by Prof. Bishnupada Mandal, Department of Chemical Engineering, IIT Guwahati. This project is stands to benefit the petroleum industry, as well as strengthen the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). IIT Guwahati collaborates with initiatives like the National Level Common Entrance Examination (NLCEE) to inspire underprivileged students. Selected students visit the campus to experience research facilities, attend seminars, and interact with faculty, fostering aspirations for higher education.

See also
UCEED
Sukumar Nandi
List of universities in India
List of institutions of higher education in India
Education in India

References

Guwahati
Engineering colleges in Assam
Educational institutions established in 1994
1994 establishments in Assam