Ambani Institute for nationwide presence, eyes tie-ups in US

The Dhirubhai Ambani Institute of Information and Communication Technology (DA-IICT) will soon set up a network of institutions across the country.

To begin with, institutions will be set up in West Bengal and Jammu & Kashmir, said Mukesh Ambani, chairman, board of governors and president, DA-IICT, in Gandhinagar, on Saturday.

The DA-IICT president, who handed over degrees to students at the first convocation ceremony of the institution, stated that the institution will foster tie-ups with leading US universities to be equipped with latest developments in the fields of information and communication technology.

The foundation stone of the autonomous institution was laid on December 28, 2000, the birth anniversary of Dhirubhai Ambani and commenced educational programmes in 2001.

The institution was conferred with the status of a university in 2003. It offers degrees including Bachelor of Technology in Information and Communication Technology (B Tech, ICT), Master of Technology in Information and Communication Technology (M Tech, ICT), Master of Science in Information Technology (MS IT), MS IT in Agriculture, Masters in Multi Media Design and doctorate programmes.

Mukesh Ambani, who is also the chairman and managing director of Reliance Industries, said DA-IICT will nurture other institutions and act as the focal point for all efforts.

In his report, DA-IICT director Arvind Kudchadker, said in the past three years, DA-IICT has become a research-led institution. "As many as 32 dissertations were completed in May 2004 and these will be invaluable inputs for further research," he said.

Kudchadker added that this year onwards DA-IICT will host a mega festival, which will highlight both cultural aspects as well as growth in the ICT sector.

As many as 95 students of three different disciplines of the DA-IICT were conferred with degrees at the convocation ceremony.

The list of graduating students included 30 from the M Tech 2002 programme, 47 students of the MS-IT 2002 programme and 18 students of the MS-IT-Agriculture 2002 programme. While DA-IICT president Mukesh Ambani handed over the degrees to students of the three programmes, chief guest and union minister Kapil Sibal handed over gold medals to the toppers of the disciplines.