Brand India spins out another brand BRAND IIT. Good for the coaching classes, US and also for some of the students. Nation's misfortune! It doesn't benefit in any way. All hopes pinned by the Nation on the superbrats have been belied. Additionally, it serves to give a needless handicap to far better trained students from other (some of them older) Engineering institutes. If the things continue the way they are India will win all the spelling bees contests round the world as neighboring countries like China thrash India in every other sphere of life like space travel, supercomputers, energy, economy ... the list is endless. When will the wise men of govt. learn that performance is more important than hype and innovation is superior to marks and the ability to solve 12th standard problems FAST?
I wonder what is the achievement of IITs in India. As a common man, I have a question about the scientific achievement of IITs and its impact on common people as well as on India as a country. Compare to US and European research institutes, IITs did not produce a single Noble laureate. And most of the IIT graduates move to western countries for better jobs and money. Jai Ho
Re: What is the from IIT to India
by R Chakravarti on Aug 21, 2012 10:44 AM
Nobel prizes are not given for engineering achievements, only for sciences (and economics, and the peace prize). Like most of middle class India, the IIT graduates are money minded. If the best ones had chosen to work in the IITs, things would have been different in the IITs and in India as a whole.
Re: Re: What is the from IIT to India
by Ujwala Kulkarni on Aug 21, 2012 12:46 PM
IITs have Science departments also. Although they were expected to play only a supporting role to the Engg depts. initially, the JEE hype soon made them look superior to Science departments from more established universities.
Even if one accepts for a moment that IITs are supposed to do Engg and not science where are the Engg. achievements?
One cannot talk of Nobel prizes all the time. Many a great scientists have never got the Nobel prize. That doesn't demean their achievements. Several ordinary scientists have ended up getting the Nobel as serendipity plays a far more important role in new discoveries than scientific ability. Secondly, Nobel prizes are also awarded by human beings. As there can no objective criteria for choosing the awardees, they suffer from the same drawbacks as any other award.
