India as an emerging global player in Information Technology sector and has grown steadily since the 1990s, the requirement of manpower also increased. Education and information technology training are important prerequisites for the purpose of expanding the manpower for various sectors of the knowledge economy. To address the challenges faced by the Indian Industry, the Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD), Government of India made a scheme to establish Indian Institute of Information of Information Technology across India. Started with four IIITs directly under MHRD in 1997 and 2000, the scheme is extended to 25 IIITs on a Not-for-Profit Public Private Partnership (N-PPP) basis. To contribute significantly to the global competitiveness of key sectors of the Indian economy and industry, MHRD also approved to set up IIITs in State level and Kerala is also one among others started in the year 2000.
Indian Institute of Information Technology and Management-Kerala, IIITM-K, is a non-profit making autonomous institution registered under Section 8 old Section 25 Companies Act 2013 under Government of Kerala and the management of the Institute is vested with a Board of Directors comprising eminent industrialists, academicians and senior Government officials appointed by the Government of Kerala. With the great leadership of K P P Nambiar and the eminent and well known members F.C. Kohli, V Rajaraman, Vijay Bhatkar, T K A Nair all visionary thoughts to establish IIITM-K as a Company, made IIITM-K into a difference, that made a unique culture to think out of the box, that to focus more on innovation, entrepreneurship and Industry- academia collaboration and also to closely working with Government and central Government agencies to deliver various IT based services.
Indian Institute of Information Technology and Management Kerala (IIITM-K) is an autonomous premier educational institution established by Government of Kerala in the year 2000. IIITM-K is a multidisciplinary premier postgraduate institute conforming to the needs of building capacity at advanced levels of Computer Science and IT by realizing the dreams of students for higher knowledge with great emphasis in Science and Technology. IIITM-K acts as a center of excellence in Information technologies to enhance its scope to provide a holistic learning environment on various facets of Knowledge economy. Development and application of digital technology for social good is the underlying theme which drives the activities of the Institute. Located in the majestic Techno Park Campus in Trivandrum, IIITM-K has an enviable academic ambience. The institute offers, post-graduate programmes such as MSc Computer Science with various specializations, MPhil, PhD and PG Diploma in E-Governance for Government officials. During the last 20 years, the institute has made significant contributions in advancing the information technology research and practice in the country by working with national and international agencies like MeiTY, DST, ICMR, ICAR, Niti Aayog, Ministry of Earth Sciences (MOES), Melinda Gates Foundation, Coffee Board, Rubber Board, IBM, Intel etc. IIITM-K’s training and research activities are mainly in niche areas of digital technologies and allied fields like AI and Machine Learning, Cyber Security, Language Technologies, Geospatial analytics, Data Analytics, Biocomputing, Agri-Informatics, IOT, Robotics, Digital Humanities etc. IIITM-K is closely working with different departments of Government of Kerala, by implementing various eGovernance projects of Government of Kerala. IIITM-K conducts a full time Post Graduate in eGovernance (PGDeG) course for Government sponsored officials for the last 10 years. The course is a full time one year programme and more 300 officials have been trained in e-Governance and they are mostly placed in the IT cell of various departments for e-Governance support.
The institute hosts several research centres in areas like Data Engineering, Machine Learning, Data Security,etc. and a centre named Kerala Blockchain Academy for spearheading its activities in the fields of data intelligence and blockchain technology. The institute also serves as a nerve centre for many activities of the professional bodies like IEEE and ACM in the area of intelligent ICT systems. The institute also established Maker Village, largest electronic hardware incubator and ESDM facility in the country, which is a pioneering startup initiative of Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, Government of India with Indian Institute of Information Technology, Trivandrum as the implementation agency and Kerala Startup Mission as the supporting partner.
To steer Kerala into a leadership role in emerging knowledge economy, Government of Kerala has promulgated an ordinance upgrading IIITM-K as “Kerala University of Digital Sciences, Innovation and Technology”. The University was set up by Government of Kerala vide Ordnance No. 9 of 2020 dated 18 January 2020 and started functioning from the new campus of IIITM-K in Technocity.
The new University will strive to be an international benchmark in conducting cutting edge research and nurturing budding minds in center for promoting and implementing modern technological interventions in disruptive technologies. The University is aiming to create capacity building in post-graduate and doctoral level in the areas of Artificial Intelligence and Natural Language Processing, Internet of Things, Electronic Systems and Automation, Imaging Technologies, Data Analytics and Big Data, Cyber Security, Blockchain, Ecological Informatics, Geospatial Analytics etc. State-of-the-art labs with professional training programmes, consultancy and implementation solution to support Government will be continued for the benefit of society.
The Father of the Nation, Mahatma Gandhi, once said “true education must correspond to the surrounding circumstances or it is not a healthy growth”. The Kerala University of Digital Sciences, Innovation and Technology (Digital University) is conceived to realize the true education that corresponds to the needs of the surroundings which are getting rapidly transformed due to technological changes. Throughout the human history, adoption of technology has played a significant role in changing the nature of work and life of people. Over the years, the major technologies like steam engines, electricity, automobiles, computers, internet etc., have drastically changed many of the vocations, disrupted many enterprises and drastically altered the ways of life. Different geographical regions which proactively adopted these changes in a holistic manner could enhance the economic wealth and led to overall growth and development. With the evolution of the new wave of digital technologies, it is imperative that proactive measures have to be adopted to support people in all walks of life to adopt the technologies to redefine their jobs so as to excel in the emerging world of IV Industrial Revolution. Digital University is formed with the aim of driving this Digital Transformation.
The industrial era of last century had progressively replaced physical labour of humans with mechanical machines which could do the same job much more effectively at scale. This has resulted in emergence of large factories and exponential growth in wealth of industrialized nations. While industrial era was fuelled by availability of physical resources, the excellence in digital world, characterized by knowledge technologies, would depend primarily on the quality and availability of human resources that develop and deliver knowledge products and services throughout the world, removing the handicap of time and space of yester years. This necessitates the need to develop abundance of high quality human resources with a deep sense of purpose and qualified to lead the knowledge era in a comprehensive manner. This defines the role of the Digital University.
Digital University aims to be the prime mover of knowledge revolution in the country by focusing on research and education in science, technology and humanities relevant to the digital world. Keeping in view of the rapid pace of adoption and change, University is expected to provide a flexible learning path to each of the learner so as to discover themselves to excel in the new world. The University would strive to develop capability and purpose in its stakeholders, enabling them to find innovative solutions to large problems faced by the society, through adoption of appropriate pedagogies and learning environment. Focusing on knowledge creation, dissemination and application, Digital University would play a significant role in an effective transformation and growth of the society at large. The five schools of the University- School of Computer Science and Engineering, School of Electronics Systems and Automation, School of Informatics, School of Digital Sciences and School of Digital Humanities- will focus on development of high quality talent, research on issues of larger interest and to develop and implement solutions to hasten the pace of digital transformation.
India, due to its resource handicaps and other reasons could not lead during the past three industrial revolutions. Fourth Industrial Revolution that is driven by human intellect and cognition poses a great opportunity for our country abundant with human resources. As Gandhiji said “the future depends on what we do in the present”. I welcome all of you to be a part of Digital University to do right things today for discovering a bright future.
We at Digital University Kerala catalyzes technical advances that promote societal welfare and address systematically unfulfilled needs.
If you would like to study in the university in the heart of the city that focus on changing the world for better tomorrow, you’re choosing the right place. We do not use special formulas to select students. We look at every single applicant’s application, academic and personal, to select students who suit to our community with a full range of backgrounds.
DUK’s academic environment encourages tight integration across disciplines, couples fundamental research with practice, and supports societal and commercial ventures alongside research and education. In addition to world-class academic work, a distinguishing characteristic of our research is that it engages deeply with external communities, organizations, and industry to address real-world problems and contexts that amplify the direct societal and commercial impact of our research.
Our programs and our organization combine the action-orientation of business and the reflective nature of academia. We expect our academic programs to evolve and iterate rapidly, and our faculty and students to pursue startup companies, social ventures, and high-impact partnerships with companies, nonprofits and government agencies. An entrepreneurial mindset is important in any size digital-age company or organization.
