The Indian Institute of Information Technology, Allahabad (IIIT-Allahabad), is a public university located in Jhalwa, Prayagraj district, in Uttar Pradesh. It is one of the twenty-five Indian Institutes of Information Technology listed by the Ministry of Education (India), and is classified as an Institute of National Importance.
History
In 1998, the Human Resources Development (HRD) Ministry announced the establishment of the second "Indian Institute of Information Technology" of the country in Allahabad, which was the hometown of the then HRD Minister, Murli Manohar Joshi.
The institute was established in 1999 and designated a "deemed university" in 2000. In 2014 the IIIT Act was passed, under which IIIT-A and four other Institutes of Information Technology funded by the Ministry of Human Resource Development were classed as Institutes of National Importance.
An extension campus of the institute was opened in Amethi in 2005, but was closed down in 2016.
M. D. Tiwari was the first director of the institute, and he remained in that position until December 2013, when the Allahabad High Court asked him to step down, dismissing Tiwari's plea who had challenged the chancellor's order to relinquish the post upon completion of tenure.
IIIT-A hosted seven science conclaves from 2008 to 2014, which were attended by Nobel laureates like Claude Cohen-Tannoudji, Douglas D. Osheroff, Ivan Giaever, and many others.
Academics
The curriculum of the institute lays focus on information technology, electronics and communication and related fields such as computer vision, human computer interaction and their interdisciplinary applications across other domains.
Programs
The institute has four departments, viz. Department of Applied Sciences, Department of Electronics and Communication Engineering, Department of Information Technology, and Department of Management Studies; which offer the following academic programs:
Bachelor of Technology (Information Technology) Bachelor of Technology (Electronics & Communication Engineering) Bachelor of Technology (IT specialization in Business Informatics) Master of Technology Master of Business Administration Ph.D. Under the National Education Policy 2020, the institute will offer major degrees in information technology and electronics & communication, along with minor degrees in Indian knowledge system, entrepreneurship development, psychology, and legal knowledge. There will also be an option of multiple exit and entry for the students. If a student studies in the BTech program for one year, they will be given a certificate. Diploma will be awarded on two years of study and BS (Bachelor of Science) degree on three years of study. Finally, the BTech degree will be given on completion of four years of studies.
Rankings
Internationally, IIIT-Allahabad was ranked 551–600 in Asia in the QS World University Rankings of 2023.
In India, IIIT-Allahabad was ranked 103 among engineering colleges by the National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) in 2020.
It was also ranked 10 by India Today and 24 by Outlook India in 2020.
Campus
The 100-acre campus of IIIT-A is situated in Devghat, Jhalwa, on the outskirts of Prayagraj.
In 2000, 10 rooms located on the ground floor of the Nehru Science Complex in Allahabad University were given to IIIT-A following a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the two institutes. At NSC, IIIT-A had five laboratories, eight computer labs, five lecture halls, and a library; which they vacated in 2011. Since the first phase of construction of the current campus which started in 2001, academic buildings were designed on the basis of "Penrose geometry", styled on tessellations developed by the mathematical physicist Roger Penrose.
Within the Penrose layout for the campus, a central zone was marked out for the academic core consisting of an administrative building, lecture theatre complex, electronic library, computer laboratories and research facilities, as student intake increased in 2009–2010.
Computer Center III or CC-III, also known as C. V. Raman Bhavan, is a six-storied structure which was designed as a "micro campus" in itself, having classrooms, faculty rooms, research areas and computer labs under one roof. The campus also has a state-of-the-art auditorium, and a sports complex that comprises a football ground with a pavilion, a swimming pool, and basketball, tennis, and squash courts. The Student Activity Centre (SAC) has a table tennis facility and a billiards room, and has clubrooms too for various student societies.