Archive · 3 Nov 2025
IIT Kharagpur Director Advocates for Job Creation and Holistic Education
Imagine IIT Kharagpur, a very old and important school for making engineers, is celebrating its 75th birthday.
Its main leader, Professor Suman Chakraborty, shared his thoughts on how the school can be even better.
He said that instead of just learning to get a job, students should also learn how to create jobs for others, like starting their own companies.
He also talked about how NPTEL, a program that offers online courses from IITs, is great for sharing knowledge, and they want to start offering these courses in different languages like Bangla, not just English.
Professor Chakraborty also mentioned that students face a lot of pressure from parents and society to get good jobs, which can affect their happiness.
So, the school is focusing more on helping students with their mental health and teaching them life skills.
He believes that even though IITs get money from the government, they have the power to make their own decisions and should use it to become even stronger.
IIT Kharagpur Director Prof Suman Chakraborty emphasized the need for IITs to transition from a job-seeking to a job-creating mindset.
NPTEL courses will be piloted in regional languages, starting with Bangla at IIT Kharagpur, to democratize education.
The institution is prioritizing student mental health and well-being, addressing parental pressure and societal expectations.
Prof Chakraborty highlighted the importance of academic and research autonomy for publicly funded institutions like IITs.
There is a recognized need for better career mapping for students to guide them towards suitable career paths beyond traditional placements.
- Who
- IIT Kharagpur Director Prof Suman Chakraborty
- What
- Discussed the need for IITs to shift from job seekers to job creators, improve pedagogical approaches, address student mental health, and foster academic autonomy.
- When
- In an Idea Exchange session, during IIT Kharagpur's 75th anniversary year.
- Where
- The Indian Express office (Idea Exchange session)
- Why
- To reflect on IIT Kharagpur's past achievements and chart a future course amidst technological advancements and societal pressures.
- Institution
- IIT Kharagpur
- Director
- Prof Suman Chakraborty
- Anniversary
- 75 years
- NPTEL
- National Programme on Technology Enhanced Learning
- Initiative
- Regional language pilot program (Bangla)
- Well-being App
- SETU app