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Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Guwahati has joined hands with the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) to develop solutions to problems of accessing water, electricity and internet for the AICTE-affiliated technical institutions in North East India.
IIT Guwahati and AICTE will work towards capacity-building in these institutions to promote Research and Development and enhance the quality of education in remote regions of the region.
Due to the hilly terrain, most institutions in the North East region are located in remote places where the supply of adequate power and safe drinking water are a challenge.
This project is the first of its kind in the North-East in which AICTE and IIT Guwahati facilitates financial and technical expertise to the institutions to provide infrastructure.
This includes solar energy installation depending upon the requirements of the institutes and installation or upgrading of facilities for safe drinking water with RO or iron remover.
Prof. T. G. Sitharam, Director, IIT Guwahati said, “the institute is continuously thriving to forge closer network with institutes in this region for providing knowledge-based support, skill development and technical expertise to improve the overall quality of education and sustainably supporting infrastructure."
The phase-1 project is scheduled to be completed this month (August 2022). Phase 2 of the project has just been initiated and will cover 33 new institutions where Internet connectivity would be provided in addition to solar and water facilities.
Solar power plants installed at these institutions will provide an uninterrupted power supply to operate computational laboratories and other essential academic requirements.
During the first phase of this project, 27 institutions received funding of Rs. 5.4 cr for the installation of solar power plants and 16 institutions received funding of Rs. 1.92 cr for water treatment facilities.
With the implementation of the Phase-I project, several concerns of these institutions related to power and water infrastructure were addressed.
Another major concern in the NER is digital connectivity which is being taken up in the Phase-2 project in which high-speed internet will be facilitated in various technical institutions of NE India.
Through Phase-1 and Phase-2 projects, IIT Guwahati also provides skill development in the preparation of the DPR, and development of research proposals. Therefore, the project has the unique benefit of creating a trained pool of faculties from these remotely placed institutions.
