IIT, Kharagpur will provide its students with opportunity to study in some of the top universities of the world for one semester even before they complete their degrees.
The senate of the IIT-KGP has given its nod to the 'Semester Away Programme' (SAP), allowing students to avail of the facility from the middle of this year, Prof. PK Das, dean of post-graduate programme, said today.
This initiative is very different from the students exchange programmes offered by other institutes in India, including the IITs, Das explained.
A student will be able to choose an institution in India or abroad and the courses offered by them and the foreign institution will not have to be necessarily the ones IIT (KGP) has signed MoUs with.
"They would choose the courses, take the approval of the faculty and apply. The university does not necessarily have to be the ones with those we have MoUs. If chosen, they will be able to go and study there for one semester or for a maximum of two semesters," Das said.
He said for UG, all the students who have completed their 4 semesters of study, with CGPA (Cumulative Grade Point Average) score 7, no backlog and pending Disciplinary Committee actions are eligible to apply.
For PG, all the students who have completed their 2 semesters of study - 4 Semesters for MMST (microelectronics manufacturing science and technology) again with a CGPA 7 and no academic backlog and pending Disciplinary Committee action are similarly eligible to apply.
He said the third year B.Tech students and second year M.Tech students with CGPA (score of 7 or above) will be able to apply for SAP.
"On successful completion of SAP, these students will stand the chance of getting their credits at IIT-KGP waived against the credits earned through SAP. It will depend on the courses they opt for," Prof. Sriman K Bhattacharyya, deputy director of IIT-KGP, said.
"If a student opts for a course for which he cannot get his credits waived off he would be allowed to complete the pending semester at IIT-KGP within an additional six-month period," Bhattacharyya said.
The course fee for the SAP will have to be arranged by the students or scout for scholarships.
The deadline for the Autumn Semester will be March 31 while for the Spring Semester it will be July 31.
To a question, Das said the tuition fee may be waived for a few specific universities with whch IIT (KGP) has MoUs.
Disclaimer: No Business Standard Journalist was involved in creation of this content
