IIT Madras alumnus donates one crore to set up a Robotics Lab

Chennai: An Indian Institute of Technology Madras Distinguished Alumnus awardee from Chennai has donated a sum of Rs. one crore to establish a state-of-the-art 'Robotics Research and Teaching Laboratory' in the Department of Engineering Design. The laboratory will provide hands-on learning experience for students and will enable teaching and research in robotics field.

This Robotics Facility is expected a fill a gap in the robotics education in India, promote learning and increase research output in this field. Considering the growth in robotic technology and applications, this facility is expected to attract highly motivated students and enhance the overall standing of IIT Madras in the field of robotics teaching and research.

Speaking about the importance of this upcoming facility, Prof. T. Asokan, Head, Department of Engineering Design, IIT Madras, said, "We thank the donor immensely for this support and we are confident that the research and teaching facility in robotics will make a large impact in the long run and the students and the faculty will be hugely benefitted."

Thanking the Distinguished Alumnus Awardee, who has requested anonymity, for this generous gesture, Prof Mahesh Panchagnula, Dean (International and Alumni Relations), IIT Madras, said, "Alumni have made a big difference to several of our research and teaching initiatives at IIT Madras. This interdisciplinary lab on robotics will help train several generations of students for our emerging high- tech workforce."

There is a lot of enthusiasm and interest amongst the students towards robotics and there has been many formal and informal programs related to robotics. In order to provide a formal academic program completely devoted to robotics, IIT Madras started the Interdisciplinary Dual Degree program in Robotics in 2017, which is open to students from various departments across the Institute.

The objective of the programme is to nurture and develop the next-generation professionals in the area of robotics who can contribute in the design, development, and implementation of robotic systems in the industry and help the industry to improve their productivity, leading to the overall economic growth of the country.

The Department of Engineering Design is the implementing department for this program and all the necessary infrastructure for the program are being established with the help from the Institute as well as private industries.