Arenjungla Kichu Mokokchung | 23 August
Nagaland has proposed an Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) for the State, but there is still no concrete assurance or timeline from the Centre.
So, if Nagaland eventually gets an IIT, what would it actually mean for the State?
MT spoke to two Naga researchers with experience of studying and working in IITs to understand what such an institution could bring to Nagaland.
Dr Imlisongla Aier, a postdoctoral fellow at IIT Guwahati, and Dr Bongli Sangtam who studied at IIT and is currently a postdoctoral research fellow at Harbin Institute of Technology, Shenzhen, China, believe an IIT is more than just an instituion.
Aier, who has studied at Nagaland University and worked at IIT Delhi before joining IIT Guwahati, said, the biggest difference between an IIT and existing universities lies in the ecosystem surrounding research.
“The main difference is infrastructure,” she said, adding, “It is different from other Central Universities. IITs have full autonomy in the sense of fund release and allocation.”
According to her, because of good funding, they’re able to “set up the requirements that can enable students and professors to do good research and procure instruments that are even high-tech.”
Aier said IITs also place considerable emphasis on a candidate’s research publications, experience and proposed research rather than simply relying on conventional qualifications.
She recalled applying to several central and government universities after completing her PhD, but receiving interview calls from three IITs.
For her, this illustrates the kind of research-driven system an IIT could bring to Nagaland.
“The process itself is very defined,” she said, adding that this could help protect the institution from local interference if a similar system is maintained.
Sangtam made a similar distinction.
“IIT is not only an educational institute unlike our existing university. IIT is a research engine,” he said.
He pointed to the difference in funding and access to research networks, saying an IIT faculty member also has a higher possibility of collaborating with major universities abroad and attracting industry funding.
The two researchers said that an IIT in Nagaland could also turn research towards problems that are specific to the State.
Sangtam suggested that Nagaland should not simply reproduce the model of existing IITs.
“If we have to set up an IIT in Nagaland, we have to do a little something different from the other existing IITs,” he said.
Among the areas he suggested were bamboo engineering, disaster management, mineral processing technology and rural technology.
The reason, he said, is simple: Nagaland has its own environmental, geographical and economic challenges.
He pointed to the landslides in Mon as an example of a problem where research and technology could contribute to finding solutions.
Aier offered another example. She spoke about a researcher from North East India who developed a small hydrokinetic turbine designed to generate electricity even from low-velocity water flows.
Such technology, she said, could have directly benefitted Nagaland where small streams, rather than large rivers, are available and electricity connectivity are unreliable.
The researcher has since developed the technology into a startup and installed turbines in states including Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand, as well as for use by the Indian Army in isolated locations.
Aier said she could see clear uses for the technology in Nagaland, but it took years of work outside the State before the researcher was able to establish the necessary connections and funding.
Therefore, she said, such type of innovations and research could be conducted in Nagaland and would make easier connections, if there was an IIT based in Nagaland.
Aier also highlighted how IITs also work with small industries and artisans to develop machines and technologies that reduce labour and increase production.
‘This can be useful to Nagaland’s handicraft and artisan sectors,” she said.
She cited examples of IIT research being used to improve the production of traditional products and said similar work could be undertaken for Nagaland’s own crafts.
The objective, she explained, would be to reduce the labour involved in production, increase output and potentially bring down prices.
Meanwhile, Sangtam noted how “Nagaland has a lot of start-ups but we don’t have the ecosystem”.
However, neither researcher believes an IIT would stop Nagaland’s talented young people from leaving the State.
Aier explained how IIT graduates themselves often leave India for better research and career opportunities, so it would be unrealistic to assume that an IIT in Nagaland would retain everyone.
But she believes it could create something more important: a place to return to.
Aier herself chose IIT Guwahati over an opportunity in Mumbai partly because of its proximity to the Northeast and the possibility of working on issues relevant to the region.
She recalled wanting to conduct her doctoral research on clean cooking and biomass-related smoke exposure in Nagaland, but she had to shift her study to Uttarakhand because of difficulties including ethical clearance and the COVID-19 situation.
“For researchers who have spent years building expertise elsewhere, an IIT in Nagaland could provide a credible place to bring that expertise back,” she said.
Sangtam similarly believes some talent could be retained if the State develops the right ecosystem.
But he stressed that the foundation has to begin early in schools and colleges.
Nagaland has coaching centres for competitive examinations, he noted, but “very few” students from the State make it into IITs.
He said the State needs to strengthen the teaching of Science and Mathematics at the school and college levels if local students are to take advantage of an IIT when it eventually comes.
Sangtam also said that the State needs good roads, transportation and connectivity, along with hospitals and a supportive social environment.
“IIT just don’t need a campus. It needs an ecosystem where local people must also play a significant role,” he said.
Aier also identified road infrastructure and network connectivity as potential challenges.
The researchers also believed that the establishment of an IIT could itself push the Centre to improve infrastructure around the institution and also strengthen the existing institutions.
For Sangtam, the State should therefore think about what it wants an IIT to do for Nagaland rather than simply trying to fit into the existing IIT system.
“The question should not be how Nagaland will fit into the IIT ecosystem but how IIT Nagaland will contribute to Nagaland and the Northeast,” he said.
There is still no assurance that Nagaland will get an IIT.
But if the proposal does move forward, the two researchers believe the discussion should not stop at how many students it can educate.
For them, the bigger possibilities are in the research it can support, the technologies it can develop, the startups and industries it can help and whether it can create a place for some of Nagaland’s talent to return.