IIT-M to kick up plans on startups, enrolment ratio & sustainable development
IIT Madras has retained its no. 1 ranking in the Engineering category for the 10th consecutive year in the National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) 2025, conducted by the Ministry of Education;
Indian Institute of Technology, Madras (File Image)
CHENNAI: The Indian Institute of Technology Madras has announced its strategic priorities centred on innovation, entrepreneurship, venture capital funding, sustainable development, and increasing the gross enrolment ratio, said IIT Madras Director V Kamakoti on Friday.
"With over 12,000 students on campus and nearly 50,000 enrolled in online courses, IIT Madras continues to broaden its educational reach. Currently, online programmes are available for BS Data Science and BS Electronics, with plans to introduce courses in Aeronautics and Economics," Dr Kamakoti said.
IIT Madras has retained its no. 1 ranking in the Engineering category for the 10th consecutive year in the National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) 2025, conducted by the Ministry of Education. The institute also topped the overall category for the seventh consecutive year. It secured first place in the Innovations category, formerly known as the Atal Ranking of Institutions on Innovation Achievements (ARIIA), and held on to the second rank in the Research Institutions category from the previous year. The NIRF rankings cover 17 different categories in total.
"The evaluation criteria include teaching and learning resources, research and professional practice, graduation outcomes, outreach and inclusivity, and peer perception," Dr. Kamakoti added.
Notably, IIT Madras claimed the first rank in the newly introduced Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) category this year. The institute has also begun admitting students under the Fine Arts and Cultural Excellence (FACE) programme from 2025 onwards.
For the first time, IIT Madras incubated over 100 start-ups during the 2024-25 financial year and filed 417 patents in the same period.
In August 2025, the institute launched the School of Innovation and Entrepreneurship to develop a world-class ecosystem for deep-tech start-ups, aiming to place IIT Madras firmly on the global map of entrepreneurial universities.
In the QS World University Rankings (QS WUR) 2026, IIT Madras made a significant leap, improving its position from 227 last year to 180 this year.