ARIIA 2021: IIT Madras retains first position three years in a row

Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras retained the top spot among the Centrally-Funded Technical Institutions (CFTIs) for the third consecutive year at the Atal Rankings of Institutions on Innovation Achievements (ARIIA).

Minister of state for education Subhas Sarkar announced the ARIIA 2021 results on December 29, in the presence of Rakesh Ranjan, additional secretary (technical education), ministry of education, Government of India; Anil D Sahasrabudhe, chairman, All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE); M P Poonia, vice-chairman, AICTE; Rajive Kumar, member secretary, AICTE; and Abhay Jere, chief innovation officer, innovation cell, ministry of education, Government of India, among others.

Congratulating all the top performers in various categories, Sarkar said, “We need to give a huge push to innovation and entrepreneurship within our educational institutions and ARIIA is one major initiative in that direction. The ARIIA ranking will prepare our higher educational institutions to position themselves in major international educational rankings and I would like to see ARIIA rankings go global as innovation and entrepreneurship has become an integral part of the education system across the globe.”

He further added that innovation and entrepreneurship on campuses should be linked to commercialisation and technology transfers. More than quantity, the institute should focus on the quality of innovations and research.

Speaking about this recognition being accorded to IIT Madras, the institute’s director Bhaskar Ramamurthi said, “We are delighted to be adjudged the Most Innovative Institute for the third time in a row since the inception of the Atal Rankings on Innovation. IIT Madras places a lot of emphasis on innovations among its students and faculty, which has resulted in a very successful and fast-growing deep technology startup ecosystem in the country.”

The rankings for technical and non-technical institutions have been divided into seven sub-categories.

Among government technical universities, state-run and deemed, Punjab University has secured the first position.

College of Engineering, Pune has bagged the top rank in ARIIA 2021 in the government and government-aided technical colleges category.

Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology (KIIT) tops ARIIA 2021 in private technical universities for innovation rankings.

GH Raisoni College of Engineering in Maharashtra is at the top of the list of private technical institutions or colleges.

In the non-technical Institutes of National Importance and CFIs category, Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) was selected as the best, while Entrepreneurship Development Institute of India won the best in the non-technical general category.

A total of 1,438 higher education institutions (HEIs) (including all IITs, NITs, and IISc, among others) participated in the third edition of ARIIA Rankings as compared to 674 HEIs in 2020. This edition has a special framework for non-technical institutions that will further strengthen the innovation and entrepreneurial ecosystem in our education institutions.

The rankings have assessed participating institutions under nine parameters:

• Developing an innovative and entrepreneurial mindset through a series of activities.
• Teaching and learning: Academic programmes related to innovation and entrepreneurship (I&E) and IPR offered by the HEI.
• Dedicated infrastructure and facilities to promote innovation and entrepreneurship at HEI.
• Generation of innovations/ ideas with the support of HEI and recognition received.
• Ventures established with the support of the HEI and recognitions received.
• Angel and VC fund/investment mobilized to support innovation and startups incubated at HEI, Promotion of collaboration for and co-creation of I&E initiatives.
• Intellectual Property (IP), generation and commercialization.
• Annual budget on promoting and supporting I&E activities: Total expenses towards I&E and IPR support activities, total revenue generated by HEI from incubation services to startups and commercialization of IP and innovations.
• Participation of HEI in I&E initiative of MOE