We all heard of technology and revolutionary products being made. Some examples include Pacemakers, LCD screens, MRI machines, fluoride toothpaste, insulin, cyclotron, Unix, and electrostatic precipitators.

It is interesting to note that all of them originated from the universities of the US. However, the good news is that just like the top US institutions, Indians can currently expect the IITs to contribute considerably to the economic development of India through their Research and Development activities. It would be interesting to see how the IITs take up this challenge. There are various sectors which saw Indian contribution like defence, information technology, transportation, or renewal energy; however, the contribution has not really been vital.

The main challenge that IITs will face is when they have to overcome the significant technology gap that exists between India and therefore the technologically-advanced countries (TAC) within a reasonable timeframe like ten years.

It is important to note that faculty starts their analysis usually by extending the research problem they worked on throughout their PhD or post-doctoral fellowship or in allied areas. Furthermore, the issues faced during research are typically identified by finding gaps in the literature. Academics so need to balance their flights of fancy with their country’s needs.

Image Credit: Asad K electro / CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Image Reference: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:IIT_Delhi_Entrance.jpg