In the 1990s, the landscape of Indian technical education was vastly different from what it is today. The country had only six Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs), compared to the 23 now. It was in this era of scarcity and digital ambition that a new idea took root – one that would grow into the International Institute of Information Technology Hyderabad (IIIT Hyderabad).
According to Prof Sandeep Kumar Shukla, director, IIIT Hyderabad, the genesis of the institute was not just about adding seats for engineering students, but about replicating a global engine of innovation. The concept was championed by N Chandrababu Naidu, the then-chief minister of Andhra Pradesh.
“During a trip to the US, Naidu realised how Stanford University acted as a prime mover for Silicon Valley, and how MIT and Harvard drove innovation in Boston,” Shukla told FE. “He wanted to create a similar ecosystem in Hyderabad – an institution that would serve as the anchor for a local tech industry.”
Thus, IIIT Hyderabad was born, distinct from its government-funded counterparts. While many IIITs established later are funded by the Ministry of Education, IIIT Hyderabad remains a self-funded and self-governed entity, a status that has allowed it to craft a unique academic identity.
Specialist education
While IITs cover a gamut of disciplines – from aerospace and civil engineering to mechanical – IIITs were designed to be specialists.
“We are focused on computer science, IT, and all things related to computing,” Shukla said. “We have programs in VLSI, embedded systems, and cyber-physical systems. We do not go into areas like civil or mechanical engineering.”
This specialisation has allowed IIIT Hyderabad to disrupt the traditional structure of engineering education – it doesn’t have standard departments, but is organised as a cluster of research centres.
UG researcher
IIIT Hyderabad has a unique approach to undergraduate education. In most engineering colleges, research is the exclusive domain of PhD scholars. At IIIT Hyderabad, it is integrated into the UG curriculum.
“Every student, from the second year onwards, becomes associated with a research centre,” Shukla said. “If a student is interested in robotics, she can start a research assistantship in a lab and work alongside master’s or PhD students.”
This system transforms students from passive learners into creators. By the time they reach their third or fourth year, they possess practical exposure to innovation. Shukla attributed the institute’s stellar placement records to this rigorous training.
Indian or international
The branding of the institute carries an interesting history. Initially, the acronym IIIT stood for ‘Indian Institute of Information Technology’. But when the central government, led by then-HRD minister Murli Manohar Joshi, introduced a Bill to create government-owned IIITs, a conflict arose regarding the nomenclature.
Questions were raised on how existing self-governed IIITs could call themselves ‘Indian’ if they weren’t truly government bodies. Since the acronym had already become popular, Prof Raj Reddy – the governing board chairman and a Turing Award winner – suggested IIIT keep the acronym, but change ‘Indian’ to ‘International’.
This flexibility is evident elsewhere, too; for instance, IIIT Delhi is called the Indraprastha Institute of Information Technology.
Perception vs reality
Despite its academic rigour, IIIT Hyderabad faces a unique challenge in national rankings. In the NIRF rankings, while it scores highly in the Engineering component (ranked 38th), it lags significantly in the ‘Perception’ category, scoring just 22.58 out of 100, while top IITs score above 90.
Shukla believes this is due to the deep-seated ‘IIT psyche’ of the Indian public. “Every parent wants their kid to go to an IIT; it’s part of our culture,” he said. Furthermore, the proliferation of over 20 new IIITs has caused brand confusion in the public mind. But the reality is that IIIT Hyderabad often admits students who have rejected IIT seats for its specialised computer science programmes.
A friendly rivalry
With Hyderabad now hosting both an IIT and an IIIT, comparisons are inevitable. While maintaining a diplomatic stance – noting his friendship with IIT Hyderabad’s director – Shukla is clear about where his institute holds the edge.
He points to the institute’s language tech lab, which spearheaded the government’s Bhashini project, a massive multi-language translation system. Additionally, the institute boasts a Smart City Living Lab, a project where the entire campus is connected via sensors and dashboards to simulate smart city infrastructure – a facility Shukla doubts many other technology schools possess.
“I am now building a cybersecurity centre here, and even though IIT Hyderabad has one, we have an edge,” Shukla said. “Robotics is another area where we lead.”
From a vision inspired by Stanford to a research-led reality, IIIT Hyderabad has carved out a niche that goes beyond the traditional engineering mandate. By turning undergraduates into researchers and prioritizing specialization over generalization, it continues to validate the Silicon Valley dream that led to its creation nearly three decades ago.