IIT Delhi all set to complete its curriculum review

economictimes.indiatimes.com:

Rangan Banerjee told ET. It's also planning an expansion to Abu Dhabi, where the institution will be «stepping outside its comfort zone and national boundaries,» he said.

Making courses in Artificial Intelligence (AI) mandatory at the undergraduate level is a decision pending before the curriculum review committee. IIT Delhi slid from 174 to 197 in the recently unveiled Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) world university ranking.

Acknowledging the disruptive nature of AI, Banerjee drew an analogy between the development of AI with that of the Manhattan Project, which led to the creation of the nuclear bomb. Much like how the Manhattan Project was met with the Pugwash movement-a series of conferences that sought to denuclearise the world-Banerjee believes in responsible AI, which must be regulated.

To this end, IIT Delhi is in the process of drafting a white paper on «India's strategy for AI.» Highlighting the fact that as an educational institution, the focus of IIT Delhi is on excellence in teaching, research and societal impact, Banerjee said, «Rankings are how others perceive us and we're not going to change our goals based on rankings, but we do need to improve on a variety of parameters.» Referring to the criteria adopted by QS as «black boxes,» he said, «We still have to figure out on what basis these are calculated to improve on them, but some of these are based on perception.» He brought to the fore the various problems that a smaller school faces in bettering its ranking. «If IIT Delhi takes 1,000 international students, it means 1,000 Indian students don't get the opportunity to study,» he said.