IIT-Kanpur sets up office in New York in search of faculty

NEW DELHI: With Indian Institutes of Technology facing up 40 shortage of faculty, IIT-Kanpur has opened an office in New York to interact with IITians in the US willing to undertake teaching assignments at their alma-mater.

According to IIT-Kanpur director Indranil Manna, their alumnus Sanjeev Khosla will act as their brand ambassador in the US and interact with IITians interested in helping IIT-K in meeting its faculty shortage.

Khosla, who has been appointed to his role for three years from September 1, will not only tap IITians willing to come to India but also others in US institutions.

According to Prof Manna, many people teaching in US institutions have expressed willingness to help IIT-Kanpur to meet its teaching staff shortage.

Prof Manna said IIT-Kanpur is, in fact, working on a plan to invite its former students and foreign faculty on a regular basis.

The IIT-Kanpur director also didn’t mince words about the latest QS World University Rankings under which IITs failed to make even to the Top 200. The ranking system is based on research , teaching, employability and internationalization of the institution.

Calling global ranking of educational institutions a business, Prof Manna alleged that today QS rankings come with the paying capabilities of an educational institution, not on the basis of teaching standards, research and job placements of any institution.

In the QS World University Rankings released on September 10, IIT-Delhi ranks 222, IIT-Bombay 233, IIT-Kanpur 295, IIT-Madras 313 and IIT-Kharagpur 346. Calcutta University, one of the oldest in India, ranked even below 700.

MIT remains at the top followed by Harvard and Cambridge.