The Great R&D Debate

“There is hardly any worthwhile research from our IITs” says Jairam Ramesh. True. R&D in an academic context, means developing a new capability that has not been done elsewhere or being among the first few to demonstrate it.

Look at MIT, Princeton, Cornell, and Caltec etc. people say. They want the IITs to be in that league. This is indeed a truly laudable ambition. Is this realistic? Does India have the capital, resources and infrastructure they have? Is India wishing a champagne lifestyle on a beer budget?

Here is a reality Check.

India is playing catch up even in commercial areas by importing “Packaged Technology” for Mobile phones, Automobiles, Internet connectivity and even FMCG (Fast Moving Consumer Goods). Even the Tata Nano, an excellent engineering feat in its own right, has an imported engine design. Indians are conservative lot, risk averse and afraid to fail. Besides it is easier and faster time to money to buy working solutions rather than develop indigenously. The upside, India doesn’t have a “Not Invented Here” attitude.

Look at the once ubiquitous coin box. It was a magnificent and Herculean effort that brought phone connectivity to the remotest parts of India. What about a follow on to this? Technology changed, mobile phones appeared. Even the poorest of the poor have Mobile phones. India did not progress fast enough. Despite its phenomenal success, this telecommunication effort appears to be a “one trick pony”.

There are outstanding examples in Defense and Aero-Space. However, most of these accomplishments are replication of what has already been accomplished by US and Russia. The first moon probes were launched successfully in 1966. Russia was first with the US four months behind. India caught up with Chandrayaan I achieving what was accomplished over forty years before. At least here India is catching up.

The notable exception is Atomic Energy. India in some areas is at the forefront of nuclear technology. And yet Nuclear Power Plants are being imported. India’s first Test Fast Breeder Reactor which is based on a French Design at Kalpakam, Tamil Nadu attained criticality (i.e. success) in 1985. The follow on commercial prototype is yet to go into production more than 20 years later. India does not move fast enough.

Look at China! They are replicating what Japan did. Copy and sell cheaper. They have even copied the ubiquitous three wheeler auto rickshaw that plies Indian streets and roads. Why is India lagging in this arena?

Yes R&D is important, there is no argument. But the IITs and for that matter India needs to be prudent and place bets intelligently. Go for small successes and build upon them. Given the circumstances this is a long and arduous road that has to be taken.

This hue and cry about lack of research at IIT is an indication of a herd with Science and Technology blinders, wanting to vie with the Joneses with hollow drums that only make a lot of noise.

This may be heresy, in the short run; it is more efficient to facilitate the best minds going to where the research is being undertaken rather than waiting for research to come to the best minds. This is a fact, this is happening. People can moan, groan and lament. This is reality. Let it not be fought. India has more excellent minds than opportunity. Let these minds flourish elsewhere rather than rot in India. Indians have migrated to the West and the world has benefited by their efforts. This is working for India. India’s investment is in human resources and in developing great minds. It has paid rich dividends and has worked so far.

Trade and commerce is freer in this interconnected world where past walls have crumbled. The West has technology to sell; India should be in a position to buy. As long as India is in a position to buy, it can afford to be in this position.

The take away here is that India should continue to acquire technology and pursue import substitution. At the same time aggressively produce goods and services that the West will want to buy. To date the biggest successful export from India is Human Resources; both Brain and Brawn. Somewhere in the distant future, the laudable goal of being abreast in R&D with the world will become a reality.

Prescription for IIT:

India has a lot of catching up to do and it has to be done at an accelerated pace. India also needs to be active in new emerging areas to be in the lead. The IITs can play an important role in both these endevours by:

• Leveraging significant scientific discoveries that are proven in the lab
• Determine its relevance to Indian environment and needs
• Evaluate the feasibility of developing the technology to make the discovery commercially viable or meet a specific purpose.
• Acquire the licensing if applicable and build upon it.
•  License the outcome to generate a revenue stream

Becoming a resource to Industry is another area of importance. Graduating students and alumni are the best resources to establish links with industry. Programs should be launched to make it attractive for industry to engage with IIT on joint projects. Faculty should be encouraged to spend a portion of their time in industry and be allowed to retain part of the earnings resulting from their personal engagement.

Jai Hind!

Mission IIT

IIT is frequently in the cross hairs of controversy. Recently the first salvo was fired by Jairam Ramesh, who claimed that the faculty at IIT is not world class¹ and that they are excellent because of the quality of the students. This was followed by Narayan Murthy’s claim that IIT graduates are not up to snuff and that coaching classes was one of the reasons responsible for this situation². Anand Kumar, who founded Super 30, countered that the coaching classes are geared to crack the JEE³. Representatives of the faculty weighed in with observations of their own and echoed Murthy⁴.

The biggest asset the IITs have created is Intellectual Capital. This has benefited the Nation and the World. Brand IIT is internationally acclaimed. Looking ahead Mission IIT is to increase this asset with the right mindset that serves India’s National Interest both nationally and internationally. 

A desire expressed by many is that the IITs should rank among the world’s best universities, in the same league as MIT, the Ivy League, and Stanford etc. The closest IIT comes to is MIT. The MIT curriculum includes Anthropology, Economics, and Political Science etc. The Ivy Universities have broader and more diverse majors. Therein lies a clue! Expecting the IITs in its current Avatar, to rise and rank among these Universities is like asking a Leopard to change its spots.

The issue that surfaces occasionally is that the IITs should serve India’s National Interest. This is cast as an Excellence Vs Relevance debate. Excellence is a given. The debate centers on Relevance. The Govt. of India is a major stakeholder by way of its investment in the IITs.  That makes the citizens of India major shareholders. The IITs must serve the National Agenda of Inclusive Growth and bridging the Urban-Rural Divide. In that respect, achieving World Class should be an outcome, not a goal. The goal ought to be to establish an Iconic category of Excellence with respect to serving the National Agenda. This could very well result in the IITs becoming a role model for other institutions across the world to follow.

Performance to Date:

The output of the IIT i.e. the “Product” comprises of the Graduates, Post Graduates, Relevant Research and Industry Engagements. The Nation has benefited from the accomplishments of the B.Tech students and the role the faculty has played in shaping the minds and capabilities of these students. The institution has produced numerous PhD, M.Tech and MSc graduates. Their contribution to the Nation is either unrecognized and at present not as significant as the contribution of the B.Tech graduates.

No one could have foretold the fact that the Nation (the US and the World) benefited from the combined efforts of graduates (both from IITs and other colleges) who migrated to the US, who together with graduates working in India brought about the Software Revolution as well as other technological advances. The much maligned and lamented Brain Drain morphed into Brain Gain.

As far as Research and Industry engagements is concerned? “There is hardly any worthwhile research from out IITs” says Ramesh.

However, past performance does not guarantee future results and there is general agreement that changes are required to generate the appropriate output for the future.

Mr. Murthy’s claim in the absence of valid data is conjecture. However, it could very well portend a trend that may be real. An important first step is to do a detailed analysis of the opportunities graduates are pursuing and feedback on their performance from Industry.

Focus on Technology:

Technology is a phase in a product life cycle between a Scientific Discovery being demonstrated in the lab and the discovery being part of some capability/utility that is reproduced reliably using Engineering methodology. That is to say Science is involved in discovering “something”. Technology is involved in demonstrating that this “something” can be reproduced and provides the platform for the Engineering phase which is involved in this “something” being part of a solution that has some broad or narrow utility.

With this in mind, the Excellence Vs Relevant issue would be to focus Excellence in Technology with Relevance being a target.

Expectations:

The expectation of the IITs is that it provides excellent technologists, technologists with business acumen, technologists with managerial and leadership skills, Innovators and Entrepreneurs. The goal is to contribute to the Technological Intellectual Capital of India. The country needs more individuals who will provide thought leadership and become change agents, the likes of Nandan Nilekani, Naraya Murthy, Jairam Ramesh and Arvind Kejriwal.

Graduates are expected to possess attributes critical to be successful in today’s environment, such as excellent presentation and inter-personal communication skills, be well versed in group dynamics, have the practical skills required to solve real world problems that go beyond just the theoretical realm. This underscores the importance of multi-dimensional skills and creative thinking.

With the above in mind, the following recommendations are made:

Recommendation #1:

Tune and refine the JEE. Improve it to filter in the best technical mind set. Maybe add sections that test analogies and logical thinking. A focus on English is a red herring. The JEE could be translated into regional languages and that would still work. Coaching will always be focused on cracking the Test in whatever Avatar it takes. 

Recommendation #2:

Expand the curriculum to include new majors in other areas like MIT – Economics, Political Science, Social Science etc. Set up separate JEEs to filter in students with excellent multi-dimensional skills. Use the real estate of the IITs effectively to build new departments. Make English proficiency an important criterion for these majors. New coaching classes will emerge. 

Recommendation #3:

The students enter as rough gems. The professors play an important role in shaping and polishing them. The rigor of the academic program acclimatizes students to deal with and perform under stress. The theoretical knowledge is the fabric for procedural thinking that provides the framework of solving real world problems. But that is not all. Ask any successful IIT graduate and they will assert that hostel life and experience gained outside of academics played a major role in their careers and lives. Each year assign a sizable number of the inter-disciplinary freshmen to a select set of hostels and let them be together till they graduate. Each year a different set of hostels can be selected.  Hostel 8 had the max number of IITB-75 graduates, which has emerged as the most successful batch of all IIT’s thus far. Hostel life fosters bonding and camaraderie that lasts for life and is stronger between batch mates and less so between different batches. If this sounds like Social Engineering, it is. Empirical evidence supports it. Extra-curricular activities are important and should be allowed to foster. This by far is probably the most important aspect of IITs. A healthy mix of academics and extra-curricular activities are key in shaping these precious stones into polished gems. The environment is analogous to that of a Petri Dish. Put the right mix of minds together, allow them to grow and progress. The results will be outstanding

Recommendation #4:

Rural India is trailing and it will take many years to catch up to assimilate advanced technologies that are prevalent in developed countries. What IIT can do for Rural India is an enigma at this time. However, making a six month rural residency requirement for all students of government aided institutes (not just IITs) will go a long way in bridging the "mind set" gap, between Urban and Rural India. In the initial stages the focus would be to build the infrastructure (toilets, living, and dining quarters). With comfortable living conditions this would be a wonderful experience for students of all disciplines to converge from all over the country. It will promote national integration and another level of bonding. As part of this exercise, graduates should be instilled in the notion of Nation Building.  IITians, collectively can play a major force in improving the Quality of Life for all segments of society, both Urban and Rural.  

Concluding Thoughts:

Globalization is nothing new. It has existed for centuries. What has changed is the velocity at which capital, goods, manufacturing and services move across international borders. India is playing “catch up” and currently importing “packaged” technology for applications such as, mobile telephones, internet connectivity and even automobiles. The IITs have to play a significant role in fostering Innovation and Entrepreneurship. Competing in the Global environment; to lead India to be a contender in the World Economy, requires people who have Quantitative and Qualitative expertise. The IITs are one of the institutions that have to play a major role to address this challenge as well.

References:

1. Jairam on IIT faculty:

http://www.ndtv.com/article/india/iit-iim-faculty-not-world-class-jairam-ramesh-107764

2. Murthy on IIT:

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/tech/careers/education/NR-Narayana-Murthy-Quality-of-students-deteriorating-IITs/articleshow/10217630.cms

3. Ananth Kumar’s response:

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/IIT-exam-panel-behind-poor-student-quality-Super-30-founder/articleshow/10241241.cms

4. IIT faculty echo Murthy:

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/IIT-heads-echo-Narayana-Murthy-on-dipping-quality/articleshow/10296730.cms