as declared to be an Institute of National Importance by the Government of India under

the Institutes of Technology Act.

Established in 1959 as one of the first Indian Institutes of Technology, the institute was created
with the assistance of a consortium of nine US research universities as part of the Kanpur Indo-
American Programme (KIAP).[4][5]

Contents
[hide]

1History
2Campus
o 2.1Noida Extension centre
o 2.2Helicopter service
o 2.3New York Office
3Admissions
4Student life
o 4.1National events
o 4.2Students' Gymkhana
5Rankings
6Academic bodies and activities
o 6.1Undergraduate
o 6.2New academic system
o 6.3Postgraduate
7Departments
8Laboratories and other facilities
o 8.1Computer Centre
9Students' research related activity
10Notable alumni
11See also
12References
13External links

History[edit]

Faculty Building, IIT Kanpur

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IIT Kanpur was established by an Act of Parliament in 1959. The institute was started in
December 1959 in a room in the canteen building of the Harcourt Butler Technological Institute at
Agricultural Gardens in Kanpur. In 1963, the institute moved to its present location, on the Grand
Trunk Road near the village of Kalyanpur in Kanpur district.
During the first ten years of its existence, a consortium of nine US universities
(namely M.I.T, University of California, Berkeley, California Institute of Technology, Princeton
University, Carnegie Institute of Technology, University of Michigan, Ohio State University, Case
Institute of Technology and Purdue University) helped set up IIT Kanpur's research laboratories
and academic programmes under the Kanpur Indo-American Programme (KIAP).[6] The first
Director of the Institute was P. K. Kelkar (after whom the Central Library was renamed in 2002).
Under the guidance of economist John Kenneth Galbraith, IIT Kanpur was the first institute
in India to offer Computer science education.[7] The earliest computer courses were started at IIT
Kanpur in August 1963 on an IBM 1620 system. The initiative for computer education came from
the Electrical engineering department, then under the chairmanship of Prof. H.K. Kesavan, who
was concurrently the chairman of Electrical Engineering and head of the Computer Centre.
Prof. Harry Huskey of the University of California, Berkeley, who preceded Kesavan,
helped[clarification needed] with the computer activity at IIT-Kanpur. In 1971, the institute began an
independent academic program in Computer Science and Engineering, leading to M.Tech. and
Ph.D. degrees.
In 1972 the KIAP program ended, in part because of tensions due to the U.S. support of
Pakistan. Government funding was also reduced as a reaction to the sentiment that the IIT's
were contributing to the brain drain.

Campus[edit]

IIT Kanpur panorama from Hall 7

IIT Kanpur is located on the Grand Trunk Road, 15 kilometres (9.3 mi) west of Kanpur City and
measures close to 420 hectares (1,000 acres). This land was donated by the Government
of Uttar Pradesh in 1960 and by March 1963 the Institute had moved to its current location.

PK Kelkar Library

The institute has around 6478 students with 3938 undergraduate students and 2540
postgraduate students and about 500 research associates.

Noida Extension centre[edit]

IIT Kanpur is to open an extension centre in Noida with the plan of making a small convention
centre there for supporting outreach activities. Its foundation was laid on 4 December 2012 on 5
acres of land allocated by Uttar Pradesh state government in the sector-62 of Noida city, which is
less than an hour`s journey from New Delhi and the Indira Gandhi International Airport. The cost
of construction is estimated to be about 25 crores. The new campus will have an auditorium,
seminar halls for organising national and international conferences and an International Relations
Office along with a 7-storey guest house. Several short-term management courses and refresher
courses meant for distance learning will be available at the extension center.News from. IITK.
Retrieved on 9 October 2013.

Helicopter service[edit]
Being a major industrial town, Kanpur has a good connectivity by rail and by road but it lags in
terms of air connectivity. IIT Kanpur was suffering significantly in comparison to IIT Delhi and IIT
Bombay due to this reason as far as visiting companies and other dignitaries are concerned On 1
June 2013, a helicopter ferry service was started at IIT Kanpur run by Pawan Hans Helicopters
Limited. In its initial run the service connects IIT Kanpur to Lucknow, but it is planned to later
extend it to New Delhi. Currently[when?] there are two flights daily to and from Lucknow Airport with
a duration of 25 minutes. Lucknow Airport operates both international and domestic flights to
major cities. IIT Kanpur is the first academic institution in the country to provide such a
service.[8][9] [10] The estimated charges are Rs. 6000 (USD $100) per person. If anyone would like
to avail the facility he/she have to contact Student Placement Office (SPO) at IIT Kanpur, since
the helicopter service is subject to availability of chopper rights. The campus also has airstrips
which allows flight workshops and joyrides for students.[11]

New York Office[edit]

The Institute has set up an office in New York with alumnus Sanjeev Khosla designated as the
overseas brand ambassador of the institute. It is located on 62, William Street, Manhattan. The
office aims to hunt for qualified and capable faculty abroad. The New York Office also tries to
amass funds through the alumni based there. A system that invites students and faculty of
foreign institutes to IIT Kanpur is also being formulated.[12]

Admissions[edit]
Undergraduate admissions until 2012 were being done through the national-level Indian Institute
of Technology Joint Entrance Examination (IIT-JEE). Following the Ministry of Human Resource
Development's decision to replace IIT-JEE with a common engineering entrance examination, IIT
Kanpur's admissions are now based on JEE (Joint Entrance Examination) -Advanced level along
with other IITs.
Postgraduate admissions are made through the Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering.[13]

Student life[edit]
National events[edit]
Antaragni:[14] Antaragni is a non-profit organisation run by the students of IIT Kanpur. It was
funded entirely by the Student Gymkhana of the university it began. Today the budget is
almost Rs 1 crore, raised through sponsorship. It began as an inter-collegiate cultural event
in 1964, and now draws in over 30,000 visitors from 300 colleges in India Annual
[culfest|cultural festival] held over 4 days in October. The festival includes music, drama,
literary games and quizzing.It has a 100,000+ liked fan page on Facebook.[15] There is a
YouTube channel dedicated to the festival with 1,000+ subscribers.[16]
Techkriti:[17] It was started in 1995 with an aim to encourage interest and innovation in
technology among students and to provide a platform for industry and academia to interact.
Megabucks (a business and entrepreneurship festival) used to be held independently but
was merged with Techkriti in 2010. Notable speakers at Techkriti have included APJ Abdul
Kalam, Vladimir Voevodsky, Douglas Osheroff, Oliver Smithies, Rakesh Sharma, David
Griffiths and Richard Stallman. It has a 50,000+ liked fan page on Facebook[18] and a
YouTube channel dedicated to the festival has 250+ subscribers.[19]
 Udghosh:[20] Udghosh is an annual inter-college sports meet held in September. UDGHOSH
involves students from all over India competing in the university's sports facilities. The
festival includes Motivational Talks, Mini Marathon, Gymnastic Shows and Sport Quizzes to
various sports events like:
Vivekananda Youth Leadership Convention:[21] Vivekananda Samiti, under Students
Gymkhana, on behalf of the IIT Kanpur, has undertaken the celebration of 150th Birth
Anniversary of Swami Vivekananda from 2011-2015. The convention has included Kiran
Bedi, Bana Singh, Yogendra Singh Yadav, Raju Narayana Swamy, Arunima Sinha, Rajendra
Singh and other personalities from different fields in previous years.
E-summit:[22] It started in 2013. The first E-Summit was scheduled for 16-18 Aug, 2013.
These three day festival by Entrepreneurship Cell, IIT Kanpur on the theme Emerge on the
Radar included talks by eminent personalities, workshops and competitions.
Students' Gymkhana[edit]
The Students' Gymkhana is the students' government organization of IIT Kanpur, established in
1962.[23]
The Students' Gymkhana functions mainly through the Students' Senate, an elected student
representative body composed of Senators elected from each batch and the five elected
executives:

President, Students' Gymkhana.

General Secretary Cultural Council.
General Secretary Films and Media Council.