BHUBANESWAR:Two hostels for students of Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bhubaneswar were inaugurated on the institute’s campus at Arugul here on Monday. The hostel for boys - Mahanadi Hall of Residence - has a capacity to accommodate 800 boarders while the girl’s hostel - Subarnarekha Hall of Residence - is a 200-seat facility.
A community centre, a guest house and 40 staff quarters were also inaugurated by Chairman, Board of Governors, IIT Bhubaneswar SK Roongta and Director of the institute Ratnam V Rajkumar.
Speaking on the occasion, Rajkumar said the campus is equipped with water supply, electricity and other basic amenities and from Saturday, the students have been shifting into the hostels in phases.
First phase of construction of academic blocks will commence within a month and end before next academic session. “The institute’s incubation centre would be partially ready by the end of this year. The centre would be dedicated to augment research and development activities and design innovative systems,” Rajkumar said.
More than 80 per cent of the boundary wall of the 936-acre campus has been completed. There are around 100 faculty members in the institute and most of them have started taking possession of the staff quarters.
Efforts are on to ensure uninterrupted water and electricity supply, internal security and set up a police outpost here. A permanent canteen for students and staff and in-house civil and electrical maintenance wings would be ready in a month’s time, the Director said.
Addressing students, Roongta said trend of entrepreneurship among young graduates has surged in the recent past which is a welcome sign for the market and industry. He exhorted students to align their mindset with the global trends and focus on a practical and problem solving orientation.
“India is the second largest growing economy that boasts of a population which has 50 per cent people below 45 years of age. Blessed with a long coastline and a progressing bourgeoisie which is the primary consuming class, we would surpass China very soon,” Roongta said.