IITs to revamp curriculum for MTech and PhD courses

The MTech and PhD courses in the prestigious Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) are set to be revamped following a meeting of the IIT Council, with officials claiming that opportunities being offered by these programmes are underutilised. The IIT Council, the apex coordination body of the 23 premier engineering institutes, took the decision in their meeting in August last year, after a gap of over two years.

In a move aimed at making the JEE Advanced exam “a better and less stressful assessment,” the IIT Council also recommended exploring the possibility of making the test adaptive, where questions are dynamically generated and adjusted in real-time depending on the candidate’s ability.

The council discussed the impact Al will have on the curriculum, pedagogy, assessment and research in IITs.  They discussed rethinking the education system in light of advancements in AI and suggested that each IIT should explore the goal of developing concrete steps to reshape engineering education accordingly, over the next 2-3 years.

“One of the major reasons as to why BTech graduates are not inclined to pursue MTech in India due to the limited availability of specialisations. Another reason is the lack of internship opportunities,” according to minutes of the meeting. The Council emphasised the need to make industry internships a compulsory component of the MTech programmes.

“The Council also discussed the benefits of creating a dual-track MTech programme, with one stream dedicated to industry engagement and the other to research, to better align academic pathways with both national research objectives and private sector demands and to consider multidisciplinary MTech programmes and blended mode MTech programmes, in greater measure and product based MTech programmes without the need for publishing papers,” it added.

They also directed all IITs to revamp or redesign the MTech curriculum in line with their specific needs and vision, within the next one year. The Council also deliberated upon the need to reposition IIT PhD programmes as engines of innovation, leadership, and global competitiveness.

IIT Ropar proposed a comprehensive reform of doctoral education in IITs to address persistent challenges such as prolonged PhD durations, administrative delays, limited mentorship and under-utilised infrastructure.

“A shift to a Project-First PhD model was recommended, emphasising structured timelines, predefined research goals, and industry collaboration. To foster interdisciplinary research and global exposure, the concept of networked PhD programs across IITs and with international universities was introduced,” it said. “The establishment of doctoral Academies at each IIT was also proposed to support mentorship’ career development’ and international engagement, backed by upgraded infrastructure and digital labs,” it added.

All IITs have been directed to set up an internal committee that would survey the baseline quality of incoming PhD students, process improvement in the administration of PhD and mapping ofoutcomes.

“IITs have been asked to initiate reforms to monitor the relative performance and dedication of faculty in their PhD guidance and future assignment of a number of PhD students based on relative performance in this regard,” the minutes said.

“A sub-committee may be formed by MoE to deliberate upon and propose a detailed framework to further promote product-based PhDs in IITs along with the existing and make a presentation to the Chairman, IIT Council within 1 month from its constitution,” the minutes said.