ROURKELA: The National Institute of Technology - Rourkela (NIT-R) has seen a decline in its National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) ranking for 2024, slipping to 19th position in the engineering discipline. This drop is concerning, especially after the institute secured its best-ever 12th rank in 2017.
However, despite the setback in engineering, the institute has shown improvement in other areas. The institute advanced three positions to secure the 34th rank nationally in the ‘Overall’ category, earning the second spot among all 31 NITs.
Further, NIT-R was ranked 9th among the top 10 institutes in ‘architecture and planning,’ behind NIT-Tiruchirappalli (NIT-T), which secured 8th place. In the research category, NIT-R secured the 30th rank, placing it ahead of NIT-T and making it the top-ranked NIT in research. Notably, in 2022-23 the NIT-R had bagged sponsored research projects worth around Rs 15.27 crore and consultancy projects of about Rs 12.32 crore.
In the engineering discipline, NIT-R fell three spots from 16th in 2023 to 19th in 2024, trailing behind NIT-T (9th) and NIT-Surathkal (17th).
Since the introduction of NIRF in 2016, NIT-R had initially climbed to 12th place in 2017 but has struggled to maintain its upward trajectory, ranking between 15th and 20th in subsequent years.
Director, Prof K Umamaheshwar Rao, said the institute’s success in architecture and planning is a significant achievement. He emphasised the institute’s focus on multidisciplinary education and research, stating, “As the top-ranked institution in Engineering and Research in Odisha, we are now focused on accelerating our efforts to achieve even greater success on a national scale.”
Former NIT-R director, Prof SK Sarangi, stressed the need for transparency, teamwork, and active alumni engagement to help NIT-R aim for a top 10 ranking in Engineering. He urged the institute to leverage its alumni network globally for resources and ideas.