IIT Kharagpur wants to set up an engineering institute in Malaysia as part of a plan to go global, said the premier engineering college’s Director V K Tewary.

While speaking at the 68th Convocation of IIT Kharagpur, Tewary said the institute is aiming to be among the top 10 institutes in the world.

“IIT Kharagpur aims to become the world-wide benchmark in education excellence by establishing IIT Malaysia, which will be a major step for the institute to set its global footprint in the international domain,” he said.

However, he did not give any timelines for the establishment of the new college in Malaysia nor whether it would be a joint venture with any other institute.

The IIT Director also said the institute had compiled a compendium of 75 innovations, wrought by its staff and researchers.

Listing the project innovation success stories of IIT Kharagpur in the past two years, he said while the Covirap diagnostic kit for coronavirus was sold at Rs 6.7 crore, many other successful new devices were sold at prices of more than Rs one crore.

“We are supporting 25 identified innovations,” he said, adding the institute has also set up the 260-bed Syama Prasad Mookerjee Institute of Medical Sciences.

“From Vinod Gupta to Sunder Pichai, many ex-IIT KGPians, numbering thousands, brought laurels to the institute,” he added.

The Chief Guest of the Convocation, Peter Chan, Chief Executive Officer of Herons Bonsai Ltd, an IIT alumnus having passed in 1962, said that he feels proud to have been moulded by IIT Kharagpur, an ‘institute of eminence’.

Stating that the future is bright for multidisciplinary higher education, he said that in future IITs should also introduce degrees in climate change.

“You cannot stand still, please move with the times. Don’t be held back,” he told both the students and the institute asking them to opt for courses like space science.

Nine life fellows of the institute were awarded on the occasion along with 40 distinguished alumni.

Nine students were handed over gold medals in their respective fields of study while 26 silver medals were also given on the occasion.

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