Indian Institute of Technology Delhi is one of the six Institutes of
Technology created as centres of excellence for higher training, research
and development in science, engineering and technology in India, the
others being at Kanpur, Kharagpur, Madras Bombay and Guwahati. Established
as College of Engineering in 1961, the Institute was later declared
an Institution of National Importance under the "Institutes of
Technology (Amendment) Act, 1963" and was renamed "Indian
Institute of Technology Delhi". It was then accorded the status
of a deemed university with powers to decide its own academic policy,
to conduct its own examinations, and to award its own degrees.
HRH Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, laid the foundation stone
of the Institute on January 27, 1959. The Institute was inaugurated
by Prof.Humayun Kabir, the then Union Minister for Scientific Research
and Cultural Affairs on August 21, 1961. The Institute buildings were
formally opened by Dr.Zakir Hussain, the then President of India,
on March 2, 1968.
Location
IIT Delhi
is situated at Hauz Khas in South Delhi, which is a landmark place
in the colourful and chequered history of Delhi. Bounded by the Sri
Aurobindo Marg on the east, the Jawaharlal Nehru University Complex
on the west, the National Council of Educational Research and Training
on the south, and the New Ring Road on the north, the Institute campus
is flanked by Qutub Minar and the Hauz Khas monuments. Well connected
to the major city centres by open and wide roads, the Institute campus
is about 19 Km. away from the Delhi Main Railway Station, 14 Km. from
the New Delhi Railway Station, 21 Km. from the Inter-State Bus Terminal
and 10 Km. from Delhi Airport.
Campus
The campus
of the Institute extends to an area of 320 acres. With many topographical
features, imaginatively laid out with picturesque landscape, numerous
buildings of various nature and stature, and clean and wide roads,
the campus presents a spectacle of harmony in architecture and natural
beauty. The campus area has been divided into four functional zones
: (i) Residential zone for students; (ii) Residential zone for the
faculty and other supporting staff; (iii) Academic zone for academic
buildings and workshops; and (iv) Cultural-cum-social and recreational
zone for students. The site being longitudinal in shape, the last
two zones have been located mid-way between the two residential zones
in order to reduce walking distance. See IIT Campus Map
The main
academic building accommodates various teaching and research activities.
Though each department is a separate entity with a courtyard around,
all the departments constitute an integrated complex. Heavy engineering
laboratories are placed on the ground floor, light laboratories on
the first floor while the tutorial rooms, classrooms and project rooms
are located on the second floor. Separate offices have been provided
to every member of the teaching staff next to his laboratory. Large
lecture theatres with modern amenities and equipment for sound and
projection are located in the courtyards between departments for common
use. The campus also offers amenities like staff club, hospital, shopping
centre, bank, post office, telecom centre, community centre, stadium,
playing fields, etc.
The Students
Activities Centre provides all facilities for students' extra-curricular
and physical development. The central double-storeyed recreation block
with a swimming pool and a gymnasium hall offers amenities such as
squash courts, hobbies workshops, seminar rooms, music rooms and other
multipurpose rooms for reading and indoor games. The amphitheatre
constructed in modern style is an added amenity to the centre.
