IIT Roorkee Establishes Standards Clubs in 14 Departments

IIT Roorkee, in collaboration with BIS, has set up standard clubs in 14 departments to create a culture of standardization, safety, and quality in engineering and technology education. This initiative has been taken with the aim of providing comprehensive knowledge on the theory and practice of national and international standards on standardization to students with the aim of bridging the gap between academia, research, and industries.

Prof. Kamal Kishore Pant, Director, IIT Roorkee, lauded the initiative, stating, “Being the first IIT to establish Standards Clubs across 14 departments underscores IIT Roorkee’s commitment to excellence in education and research. This initiative will not only equip students with industry-relevant skills but also strengthen India’s position in global standardisation efforts.”

Departments actively engaged include Civil Engineering, Hydrology, Electronics & Communication Engineering, Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, Earthquake Engineering, Earth Sciences, Electrical Engineering, Metallurgical & Materials Engineering, Water Resources Development and Management, Design, Chemical Engineering, Polymer and Process Engineering, Hydro and Renewable Energy (HRED), and Computer Science and Engineering. Interdisciplinary coordination is going to further widen the gap in and spread the principles of standardization well in other areas of technology.

Pramod Kumar Tiwari, IAS, and Director General, BIS said: “IIT Roorkee’s forward-thinking approach to standardization sets a high standard for academic institutions. In academic institutions/schools, standard clubs are being established by BIS with an objective to sensitize young members of society about the importance of standards in improving quality of life. By involving students from diverse disciplines, the initiative fosters a comprehensive understanding of standards as a driving force for innovation, quality enhancement, and economic growth.”

On 10 December 2024, BIS officers visited IIT Roorkee to meet the students and guides, giving a scintillating insight about the crucial role standardization play in research, academia, and industry. The Standards Clubs shall be organizing workshops, technical sessions, and hands-on exercises, and shall encourage students to interactively engage with the increasingly pivotal arena of standardization.

This venture contextualizes the value of the practice of standardization into a role within higher education for the normalization of the principles, thereby allowing future engineers and technologists to maintain and improve quality and safety in their respective fields. The partnership holds significant promise as an important step towards mainstreaming the values of standardization in the tertiary sector so that future technologists and engineers, maintaining and enhancing quality and safety, will adequately address the needs of the economic and personal health of the nation and its capacity to bring forth leading innovation.