“Work on campus of Indian Institute of Information Technology (IIIT) in Dharwad, the foundation stone for which was laid by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2019, will be inaugurated in April this year,” Union Minister for Parliamentary Affairs, Coal and Mines Pralhad Joshi has said.
Speaking to presspersons after visiting IIIT-Dharwad campus on Itigatti Road in Dharwad, Mr. Joshi said that efforts will be made to invite the Prime Minister and Union Minister for Education, Skill Development and Entrepreneurship Dharmendra Pradhan to the inauguration programme.
“The Prime Minister laid the foundation stone for the permanent campus of IIT-Dh also. In all probability it will also be ready by April and the plan is schedule the inauguration at the same time,” he said.
Mr. Joshi said that the IIIT-Dharwad campus has come up in an area of 60 acres at a cost of ₹114 crore. The total built-up area on campus is 41,800 sq m comprising the administration block, academic block, health and fitness block, director’s residence and boys hostel with a capacity to accommodate 600 students.
Mr. Joshi said that the girls hostel with a capacity to accommodate 300 students has been funded by Infosys Foundation. “The campus is equipped with all modern amenities, including air-conditioned laboratories, naturally ventilated classrooms, indoor and outdoor WiFi network, underground electrical trenches and smart street lighting. A mega incubation centre to facilitate start-ups is part of campus,” he said.
He said that the Modi-led Government has given preference to setting up institutes of national importance such as IIIT, IIT and AIIMS and hoped that the IIIT-Dharwad will become a hub of innovations, gain entry to the top 100 list in the country and students will take the country to greater heights.
Mr. Joshi assured that he will make efforts to get additional funds for other facilities and asked the faculty to partner with IT companies for exchange of ideas and facilitate more student-industry interactions.
Director of IIIT-Dharwad Kavi Mahesh said that 834 students of the institute are being taught through online classes. And, offline classes will begin on March 15. He said that while around 400 students will be attending offline classes in March, others will join by mid-April.
Earlier, as the Minister arrived on campus, he was welcomed by Mitra, a humanoid robot developed by the Research and Development Centre of IIIT-Dharwad.
The Minister was accompanied by Deputy Commissioner of Dharwad Nitesh Patil, Hubballi Dharwad Municipal Corporation councillors Shivu Hiremath, Vijayanand Shetty, Jyoti Patil and others.
