Sky is the Limit

The progress in Information Technology (IT) has been very rapid: new concepts and technologies are constantly emerging and are leading to the development of new products and innovative applications. IT is also expected to fuel development of next generation technologies in other disciplines. IT has become a critical tool for economic, business and social development and will play a pivotal and catalytic role in our nation's progress.

The new technological developments will be inherently inter-disciplinary, as they will address all scientific, engineering and industrial applications. The research and development for both new technologies, as well as their effective deployment will require extensive collaboration from researchers from different areas to foster novel ideas. The innovations will require a partnership between researchers (academia), industry and user organizations.

Indian IT industry has achieved remarkable growth. From roughly Rs. 30 crores in 1988, the industry is worth Rs. 6,300 crores in 1998. The software industry expects to grow to Rs. 20,000 crores in the next five years and to Rs. 100,000 crores by 2010. Despite this remarkable growth, the Indian software industry continues to be a small fraction of the world software industry.

The industry has demonstrated its ability to undertake a variety of projects and deliver solutions. Today, the focus is on software services and contract software development, largely to fill the ever-widening manpower shortage. To sustain the growth projections of the software industry, the Indian IT industry faces several challenges. These include:

• Non-availability of senior development personnel (who can design and lead development of innovative applications by applying leading-edge technologies),
• Limited opportunities to track, assimilate and apply latest technologies (multimedia, work-flow, EDI, distributed component technologies, CAD/CAM, `smart' products, etc.), and
• Inability to focus on product development. The industry needs to develop new products and services to capitalize on high growth markets, and to apply the state-of-art technologies in multiple disciplines to user applications to obtain best results.

• Manpower trained in new technologies , techniques and methodologies to develop high-quality products,
• A channel through which they can enter into a partnership with experts to facilitate medium and long term research,
• A forum where their experience and the expertise of academic researches could be used to define products of the future,
• A flexible approach to continuous education,
• A channel to develop prototypes and assist the commercialization of product ideas,
• A channel where entrepreneurs can be promoted.

Usage of IT is growing in the government and industrial sector. The user industry is building its applications using the best-of-breed products in Database Systems, Data Communications and Networking, etc. They are integrating IT in their operations and decision making. Due to this exponential growth, computer user community is facing shortage of manpower, trained in developing quality solutions, and planning for long-term IT requirements. The need for human resources in the IT industry is being addressed at various levels. A large number of engineering colleges offer Bachelor degrees (BE) in Computer Science and Engineering. Here, the focus is on systems rather than applications and processes. The Master of Computer Applications (MCA) is also available at many universities. Although its focus is on entry-level applications, the programme lacks in depth where technology and processes are concerned. These two degree programs in the country form the main technical inputs to IT industry. However, their numbers are short in comparison to the projected needs of the industry. This gap is met by many private-training institutions. Some of these have countrywide network of training centres. It may be noted here that the focus of these training institutes is to provide junior programmers with skills on popular products.

There is thus a need for a sophisticated academic programme that will have the necessary depth and focus to meet needs of both the user and the IT industry. The need for training, research and development in IT and its applications suggests a formal yet flexible educational and research structure. This can be provided most effectively by the IITs.

• IITs already have an on-going interdisciplinary research based on its strong engineering research and education tradition in many of its departments.
• IITs have established a close collaboration with other R&D organizations and Laboratories.
• IITs closely work with Software developers and IT application developers.
• IITs can bring major user industries into IT planning and development.
• IITs can interest government agencies for planning and undertaking projects of national importance.
• IITs are well positioned to create sustainable relationships.
• IITs can set up business incubators to promote IT entrepreneurs.
• IITs can leverage the strong and influential alumni network in India and overseas.

IIT Bombay nurtures very good relations with the industry, research institutions, educational institutions and its alumni. However, in the past, this cooperation has been specific and at an individual level. By establishing an independent School of Information Technology, this relationship and expertise in related areas can be focussed. The School can grow into a major initiative with cross- organizational and sustained linkages with more breadth and depth. This will ensure that it can not only produce the required high profile IT manpower but also support innovative research and development in far reaching areas of IT. The School of IT, in effect, can be a source for advanced R&D, state-of-art education, and innovative applications to both the IT developers and users.

Core Values

• To create leaders, trend-setters for the next generation of the IT Industry.
• To carry out research and development in IT and its applications.
• To offer state-of-art information technology education, and imparting skills for building leading-edge and innovative IT applications.
• To train individuals who would contribute substantially to the ambitious IT goals of the country.
• To undertake joint R&D with IT industry in sharply defined focus areas to facilitate prototyping as well as tools and technology development.
• To contribute to large developmental projects in government and public sector, jointly with industry partners, to demonstrate application of IT and get rich experience that can go back into education and research.
• To help the industry to create infrastructure that would facilitate the Indian IT industry to experiment with new technologies and create next generation products and services that will have an international impact.