Indian Institute of Technology Dharwad
Indian Institute of Technology Dharwad is an autonomous premier engineering and technology institute in Dharwad, Karnataka, India. IIT Dharwad started functioning from July 2016 in a temporary campus, previously of the Water and Land Management Institute in Belur village, on the outskirts of Dharwad city. It was formally inaugurated on 28 August 2016. For the academic year 2016-2017, the institute offered B.Tech courses in three branches, viz. Electrical Engineering, Computer Science, and Mechanical Engineering.
As part of the mentorship plan, IIT Bombay is the mentor institute for IIT Dharwad. The HRD Ministry has set up an IIT monitoring cell at IIT Bombay. The committee members were designated as officials on special duty to supervise the process of setting up IIT Dharwad.
History
The late Union Human Resources Development Minister S. R. Bommai had moved the proposal to the Centre seeking an IIT in Dharwad in the 1990s. In 1998, a committee headed by former ISRO chairman and space scientist Udupi Ramachandra Rao submitted its report recommending an IIT in Hubballi-Dharwad. In the 2015-16 union budget, an IIT was sanctioned for Karnataka state and the state government suggested three locations. The short-listed cities were Dharwad, Mysuru, and Raichur.The high powered committee appointed by the HRD ministry chose Dharwad city, after visiting the cities. Leaders from all political parties, plus a few prominent citizens, including a few ex-NRIs from Dharwad put a lot of effort to get this prestigious institute to Dharwad city, as there was much competition.
Campus and location
IIT Dharwad is initially functioning out of the campus of the Water and Land Management Institute in Dharwad near the Karnataka High Court Bench. A permanent building is coming up at Chikkamaligawad village.Around 500 acres belonging to KIADB near Mummigatti on the Pune-Bangalore National Highway off Dharwad was identified for the IIT campus, but that deal was cancelled due to legal hurdles. The State Cabinet decided to allot 470 acres of land at Kelageri village adjunct to Mammigahtti Industrial Area in Dharwad district. The historic Kittur Fort is 20 kilometers from the campus. The city also houses educational institutions like Karnataka University, Karnatak Science, Arts and Commerce College, University of Agricultural Sciences, SDMCET and Karnataka state Law University. Also, new institutes like the IIIT Dharwad are coming up in the twin cities of Hubballi-Dharwad. There is also the NTTF tool and die making educational institute at Dharwad.
There is an airport at Gokul Road, Hubballi, the twin city of Dharwad. The airport has air services connecting to Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Chennai, Hindon-Delhi, Goa, Hyderabad, Kannur, Kochi, Mumbai and Tirupati. There is a railway station at Dharwad through which trains from Bengaluru to Goa run. Hubballi Junction is the major railway junction which has train connections to Kochuveli, Bengaluru, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Varanasi, Howrah, Chennai, Hazrat Nizamuddin, Kolhapur, Solapur, Vijayawada and Vasco among others. Also Hubballi city is the headquarters of South Western Railway zone of Indian Railways.
Cultural and non-academic activities
The twin city of Hubballi-Dharwad offers opportunities to enjoy classical music, fine arts and theatre. The city is home to many literary personalities like Girish Karnad, D.R. Bendre, Vinayaka Krishna Gokak — all Jnanpith Award winners — to name a few. The twin cities of Hubballi and Dharwad have many theatres which show films in Kannada, Hindi and English languages. The Kali Tiger Reserve is 90 Kilometre from Dharwad. Many dams constructed across river Kali can be visited within this Anshi National Park. UNESCO World Heritage Sites Pattadakal along with historical sites like Badami and Aihole are 150 Kilometres from Dharwad.The twin cities of Hubballi and Dharwad host the manufacturing plants of Tata Motors, Kirloskar Electric and Elmeca, among others. Infosys has a campus near to Hubli Airport. Several sugar manufacturing factories are located in and around Dharwad. There are many small scale medium industries within Hubballi-Dharwad area. Kaiga atomic power plant run by NPCIL is 135 Kilometre from Dharwad. Indian Navy's naval base INS Kadamba at Karwar is 160 Kilometres from Dharwad. There are many casting and hydraulics industries at Belagavi which is 75 Kilometre from Dharwad by road.
Departments, centers, and schools
Forty seats each in the streams of Computer Science, Electrical, and Mechanical engineering are available at the institute. Classes began in 15 July 2016, along with the other IITs across the country.Academics
Programmes
The Institute conducts educational programs leading to the degrees of Bachelor of Technology, Master of Science and Ph.D. in the following areas:| Degree | Specialization |
| Bachelor of Technology | Computer Science and Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering |
| Master of Science | Computer Science and Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering |
| Ph.D. | Bio Sciences and Bio Engineering, Chemistry, Computer Science and Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Humanities and Social Sciences, Mathematics, Mechanical Engineering, Physics |