P.J. Narayanan
Director, IIIT-Hyderabad

An alum of IIT-Kharagpur and the University of Maryland, and former professor of robotics at Carnegie Mellon University, USA, Dr. P.J. Narayanan was appointed director of the International Institute of Information Technology, Hyderabad (IIIT-H) in 2013. IIIT-H is routinely ranked among India’s Top 3 private engineering institutions in the annual EW India Higher Education Rankings.

What are the major objectives set for IIIT-H until India’s Freedom Centenary in 2047?

IIIT-Hyderabad is only 27 years old but has made significant strides in teaching and research. It is ranked #1 in India in AI (artificial intelligence) and #100 globally. We want to be ranked in the Top 25 globally by 2047.

IIIT-H has 2,000 students today. While we don’t envisage becoming a large institution, we aim to double our student strength to 5,000 by 2047. Our objective is to develop competent, creative, and caring students who will emerge as leaders in technology and society. Our focus is on impact, not numbers.

How satisfied are you with your progress thus far?

IIIT-H has progressed well in a short time. Particularly since we have no guaranteed support from government or the private sector for operational or capital expenses. IIIT-H is the first and perhaps the only institution that has achieved such academic glory among non-government institutions. However, we are focused on the journey ahead, where we want to contribute towards transforming India into a global technology powerhouse.

What are your major initiatives to contemporise IIIT-H syllabi /curriculum?

Research-led education has been our curricula philosophy from the start. This objective makes every student a researcher. We believe this will make them experts in research, product development, and other professional activities.

How satisfied are you with your connect with Indian industry and business?

We have very good — if not the best — connection with industry among our peer institutions. This has resulted in sponsored projects, joint activities, upskilling, etc. However, there is potential to engage more deeply with industry. I believe IIIT-H can become the thinktank of Indian industry in computing.

R&D and innovation are widely perceived as Indian academia’s infirmity.  What’s your institutional response to create new knowledge?

The founding philosophy of IIIT-H is research. Therefore, there is a conscious effort to address the ‘infirmity’ you mention. One institutional objective is to transform our students into technology leaders by giving them research training, starting with undergrad B.Tech students. Our placements record is proof that industry acknowledges our students as problem solvers. This is unprecedented in Indian academia. Over 60 percent of our undergrads engage in R&D projects in our research centres and labs for two years.

How optimistic are you about India’s future growth and development?

Very optimistic about India’s potential. We are the world’s most populous country with the world’s largest child and youth population. However, society and government in particular must make substantial and strategic investments in research and development to fully realise our potential. Currently the funds we spend on research are very inadequate. Mechanisms for funding R&D are also confusing and riddled with elaborate processes. If we can’t address this problem quickly, we risk falling behind other nations.

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