Undergrads, study economics, design at IIT-B

Kanchan Srivastava @kanchanDNA

IIT Bombay has decided to offer an undergraduate course in economics for the first time.  Another undergraduate course, Bachelor of Design, is also on the cards. If things go as planned, both the courses will be launched from 2014 -15.  The move aims to meet the huge demand for these undergraduate courses, especially in the commercial capital. “The proposal will be placed in the senate for its approval,” said Prof Devang Khakhar, director of IIT-Bombay.  The details of eligibility, admission procedure and the number of seats for economics course are yet to be finalised. Discussions are on whether it should be a four-year undergraduate course or a five-year integrated PG course, said Prof Khakhar. “We need not create new infrastructure and faculty as we have the humanities department which runs many short-term courses,” he added. The IIT Bombay currently offers only post-graduate courses in design. For the four-year B Design course, the homework is almost complete. Prof Gaur Gopal Ray, head of the industrial design centre at IIT Bombay, said: “The course is high in demand among students as well in the industry. An IIT course would definitely have an edge.”  The curriculum for the course is ready. To finalise the admission process (test pattern), a committee of IIT-B, IIT Delhi, IIT Kanpur and ISc Bangalore will meet later this month to consider a proposal to incorporate a separate paper of Design at JEE (Advanced) to test the basic skills of students for this creative course. JEE (Advanced) is the second stage of the ‘One India One Test” (JEE) conducted by IIT for admission to their undergrad courses. Currently, IIT Guwahati is the only IIT which offers B Des and admission is done through a common JEE test. “IIT Guwahati has observed that some students take the course only because they failed to get the admission in engineering courses of their choice. We are evaluating a separate exam so that only those candidates who really aspire a future in design get admission,” said Ray. The lack of space might delay the course at IIT Bombay for another year. A new building is underway on the Powai campus. Source::::::: DNA, 11-04-2013, p.06, http://epaper.dnaindia.com/story.aspx?id=43319&boxid=16404&ed_date=2013-04-11&ed_code=820009&ed_page=6