The Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) will revamp their MTech and PhD curricula following a decision by the IIT Council to address underutilisation of postgraduate and doctoral programmes and to align engineering education with advances in artificial intelligence.

The decision was taken at a meeting of the IIT Council in August last year, the first in over two years. The council also discussed reforms to the JEE Advanced examination, recommending that it be explored as an adaptive test in which questions are adjusted in real time based on a candidate’s performance.

The council examined the impact of AI on curriculum design, teaching methods, assessment and research. It asked each IIT to develop concrete plans over the next two to three years to reshape engineering education in response to these changes.

According to the meeting minutes, limited specialisation options and lack of internship opportunities were cited as key reasons for low enrolment of BTech graduates in MTech programmes. The council recommended that industry internships be made a compulsory component of MTech courses.

It also proposed a dual-track MTech structure, with one stream focused on industry engagement and the other on research. The council further suggested multidisciplinary and blended-mode MTech programmes, as well as product-based MTech courses without mandatory publication requirements. All IITs have been directed to redesign their MTech curricula in line with institutional priorities within one year.

For doctoral studies, the council discussed repositioning PhD programmes as drivers of innovation and global competitiveness. IIT Ropar presented a reform proposal addressing long completion timelines, administrative delays, limited mentorship and underused infrastructure.

The proposal recommended a project-first PhD model with structured timelines, defined research goals and industry collaboration. It also suggested networked PhD programmes across IITs and with international universities to promote interdisciplinary research and global exposure.

The establishment of doctoral academies at each IIT was proposed to support mentorship, career development and international engagement, supported by upgraded infrastructure and digital laboratories.

All IITs have been instructed to form internal committees to assess the quality of incoming PhD students, improve administrative processes and map programme outcomes. Faculty performance in PhD supervision will also be monitored, with future student allocations linked to relative performance.

The council further recommended that the Ministry of Education constitute a sub-committee to develop a framework for promoting product-based PhDs and present its proposal to the IIT Council chairman within one month of its formation.

Inputs from PTI

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