About Madras Institute of Technology (MIT)
Newly independent India needed to establish a sound technical basis for proper industrial advancement of the country and a number of Engineering Institutions were established by several State Governments, Mr. Chinnaswami Rajam, with his characteristic pioneering spirit, patriotic fervor and unwavering enthusiasm came up with a munificent donation of Rs. 5 lakhs through the sale of his house and founded the MIT, with the blessings of the Sage of Kanchi, the Jagadguru Sankaracharya Swamigal. In this noble effort, Mr.Rajam enjoyed the inspired assistance of a few distinguished citizens, notably Subbaraya Aiyar, M.K. Ranganathan, L.Venkatakrishna Iyer, K.Srinivasan and C.R. Srinivasan and also generous donations from the public and industries.
Thus, Mr, C. Rajam, founded Madras Institute of Technology (MIT) in 1949 under the University of Madras and established it as an All India Technological Institution with the two-fold objectives of providing:
1. Engineering education of University standard in specialised fields and
2. Facilities for research in these and allied fields, free from regional limitations both in regard to its staff and students.
At a time when all other Engineering Institutions were offering conventional courses in Civil, Mechanical and Electrical Engineering at the Under-graduate level, it was the rare innovation and foresight of Mr. Rajam that impelled him in the eve of his life to launch on a bold experiment of introducing for the first time in our country, totally new areas of specialisation in Engineering, viz. Aeronautical Engineering, Automobile Engineering, Electronics Engineering and Instrumentation Technology, the entrants to these disciplines being Science graduates. This was a pioneering step in engineering education in India. This is clearly evident from the striking growth that India has made in road transport and in the manufacture of road vehicles of all types; in the progress of civil and military aviation and the manufacture of military aircraft; and in the enormous growth in the applications of electronics and the electronics manufacturing industry. Instrumentation and Control which form the bedrock of industry did not exist in India as a subject of study in 1949; even the name was still below the horizon. Now this branch of applied science and technology has become all important in every industry, small or big, light or heavy.
How useful and relevant the trained manpower in these fields has been, is borne out by the fact that a significantly large number of the past students of MIT are now holding key positions in research and development organisations, manufacturing industries and educational institutions within the country and abroad. The broad-based curriculum at the MIT has indeed proved to be particularly advantageous with the ever-increasing need for engineers adequately equipped to handle a wide range of problems.
Today, Madras Institute of Technology, is a reputed and leading engineering institute located in Chromepet, Chennai. It is one of the four autonomous constituent colleges of Anna University. It was established as the first self-financing engineering institute in the country and later merged with Anna University. The institute was among the first educational institutions in India to offer new areas of specialization, such as aeronautical engineering, automobile engineering, electronics engineering and instrumentation technology. Madras Institute of Technology was the first self-financing institute opened in India. It is also among the institutes in India that offer postgraduate courses in Avionics and Mechatronics. The institute has a unique practice of "T numbers" that facilitates mentoring of students by their respective seniors.
MIT initially offered three-year diploma courses (DMIT) in Engineering for Science graduates (B.Sc.). After Anna University was established in 1978, Madras Institute of Technology became one of the constituent institutions of the university. Post this merging, three-year B.Tech. Degree courses were offered to B.Sc. graduates. Over the years, the institute has expanded its original programmes. Presently, it provides undergraduate and postgraduate courses in Production Engineering, Rubber and Plastics Technology, Computer Science Engineering and Information Technology. Since 1996, the institute has accepted students who have passed the 12th board examinations for its four-year undergraduate programme.
Over seventy years hence, while it continues to be a pioneer in courses that it gave birth to, it is already renowned for producing the crème de la crème of the scientific community in more nascent courses such as Computer Science and Information Technology. MIT has produced great scientist like Dr.A.P.J.Abdul Kalam, versatile genius like Sujatha and many more. The broad-based education, coupled with practice-oriented training in their speciality, has enabled the students of MIT to handle with skill and success a wide variety of technical problems. The Madras Institute of Technology has developed into an important centre of engineering education and earned an excellent reputation both in India and abroad.MIT had received many awards which includes an award for the Best Overall Performance, awarded by Indian Society of Technical Education (ISTE) during the year 1999.
The Institute owes its present stature to the unstinted efforts and dynamic leadership of its Founders, Chairmen and Members of the Governing Council, Directors, Staff and Alumni and also, in no small measure, to the quality and character of its students during the last 50 years. MIT is a constituent college of Anna University and is governed by the Chancellor, Vice Chancellor and Registrar of the varsity. The varsity has a syndicate. The Dean is the head of the institute and oversees day-to-day administration. Each department is led by a Head of the Department (HOD). The hostels are headed by assistant executive wardens placed under an executive warden with Dean as the ex-officio warden.
The academic policies are decided by the course committee that is headed by a chairman. All the professors and student representatives are its members.
Madras Institute of Technology follows the credit-based system of performance evaluation and student-teacher relation, with proportional weighting of courses based on their importance. The total marks (usually out of 100) form the basis of grades, with a grade value (out of 10) assigned to a range of marks. Each semester, the students are graded by taking a weighted average of all the courses with their respective credit points. Each semester's evaluation is done independently with a cumulative grade point average (CGPA) reflecting the average performance across semesters.
Currently, the admission to the institute is through the Tamil Nadu Engineering Admissions process based on a Unified Single Window Admission System for the first year of undergraduate courses. Till 2006, TNPCEE was also a mandatory qualification examination along with the Higher Secondary examination.
Madras Institute of Technology has active National Service Scheme, National Sports Organisation (India) and Youth Red Cross chapters on its campus. Each chapter is headed by a faculty member. Membership and active participation in one of these organizations are mandatory for first-year undergraduate students. There are also various events conducted in a regular interval of time to ensure student participation and coordination. The Box Office a.k.a TBO is the brain child of a group of pre-final year students who took the help of one of the most instrumental Professors, Dr. A.R.S. Jayanth, and established the institute's first official dramatics club. MIT continues to motivate and inspire the youth of today to pursue their dreams in Engineering and Technology and turn out to be well-polished and shining stars of tomorrow.
Some Highlights of MIT:
| College name | Madras Institute of Technology |
|---|---|
| Also Known as | MIT |
| Established Year | 1949 |
| Location | Chennai |
| Institute Type | Public |
| Affiliated to | Anna University |
| Accreditation / Recognition | NBA, NAAC, NIRF, AICTE |
| Courses | 5 Degrees and 33 Courses |
Exam | TNEA, JEE, TANCET, GATE |
| Campus Size | 60 Acres |
| Website | https://www.mitindia.edu/ |
