Dr. Anuj Grover is the Associate Dean of Innovation, Research, and Development and an Associate Professor in the Department of Electronics and Communication Engineering at Indraprastha Institute of Information Technology Delhi (IIIT-Delhi). He also chairs the Institute Innovation Council and is a Level-3 Certified TRIZ Practitioner and frugal innovation enthusiast. Prior to joining IIIT-Delhi in February 2019, he worked at STMicroelectronics, India for about 18 years in different roles in the Embedded Memory Design team. Over the years he has led large teams on multi-million dollar projects. He has over 40 publications in peer-reviewed journals and conferences, 12 granted patents, and more than 10 invention disclosures in different stages of filing and granting. Dr. Grover’s main areas of research include low-power digital circuits and systems, embedded memory design, and reliable circuit design.

IIIT Delhi

What do you think should be the University’s top priority over the next 10 years?

IIIT-Delhi was established in 2008 by an act of the government of NCT of Delhi. In just about 15 years, IIIT-Delhi has shaped a great reputation for itself, as a premier research-led teaching institute. IIIT-Delhi has also contributed significantly to national and international missions like UIDAI (Aadhaar biometrics), National Health Mission (training ASHA workers), NREGA (IVR for illiterate participants), Wildlife Institute of India (sensing Snow Prestels in their nests, Tiger Census), AIIMS (Cancer Diagnostics, Patient management in ICUs), State Transport Corporations (route planning, ticketing, fleet management), etc. to name a few. 

A few of our technologies and open databases, like AI-driven antibiotic prescription engine, criminal identification engine, cuffless BP monitor, Biometric Quality assessment, hate speech detection, AI-driven cancer diagnosis, FlavorDB, etc. have found favor with numerous private, state, and security agencies. We have some of the best faculty and many of my colleagues are among the top 2% of research influencers in the world. Our students have joined some of the best universities and organizations across the world. 

IIIT-Delhi works closely with industry partners to convey training to its students so that they are set up and ready to work as they graduate from IIIT-Delhi. The median salaries offered to our students are amongst the best in the country. It is in the same league as the old IITs and far better than NITs and other State Universities across the country. Consequently, despite being a very young institute, IIIT-Delhi has quickly risen up in various national and international rankings. 

In a way, in these first 15 years, IIIT-Delhi has established a firm platform for itself. In the next 10 years, the institute has a wonderful opportunity to make a much bigger positive impact on the quality of life of billions of people around the world. Towards this, we have started to regularly assess our solutions on Technology Readiness Level (TRL) framework. This helps us to identify technologies that can be transferred to the government and/or industry for wider adoption and to influence more lives. It also encourages our students to go beyond the academic way of approaching problems into a zone where they understand the problem in its entirety and offer feasible mature solutions.

In my view, India has been a leading provider of software solutions to the world and has the potential and opportunity to provide System Level solutions as well. IIIT-Delhi can play a pivotal role in enabling this. Over the past years, we have established very vibrant research centers like the Center for Artificial Intelligence, the Center for Design and New Media, the Center for Sustainable Mobility, the Center for Digital Health, the Center for Quantum Technologies, the Center for LiFi (Light Fidelity), the Center for Technology in Policing – to name a few. These cross-disciplinary centers collaborate closely with the best in industry, government, and academia across the world to develop a holistic view of the problem and offer system-level solutions. As we move forward, more centers will be established with support from the government and the industry to support Industry 4.0, Electronic System Design ecosystem, Robotics etc. Technologies that these centers can enable will help India leapfrog into a league of countries with an efficient manufacturing ecosystem. 

When you first came to IIIT-Delhi, what was your vision for the Institute? Has it evolved over time, and how far along in implementing that vision are you?

I joined IIIT-Delhi after working in the industry for more than 18 years. It was my passion to teach and nurture young engineers that had driven me to leave a much higher-paying job for a job in an academic institution. I did not really have a vision for the institute at that time as I was concentrating on teaching. I was tentative about my own decision and not sure how an academic institution would accept someone who has worked in the industry for so long. In the past few years, it has become abundantly clear to me that I had made the right decision. 

IIIT-Delhi is a fantastic place for faculty members who wish to work on cross-disciplinary ideas in a very positive work environment. The institute has empowered me to participate in a very wide range of activities and influence numerous aspects of operation at IIIT-Delhi. I feel empowered that as a part of this institution I can carry a vision for it and the institute will enable me to work towards it to make it a reality. Personally, I think that IIIT-Delhi can become a household name for doing world-class applied research. IIIT-Delhi can positively impact billions of lives. Through international linkages, IIIT-Delhi can also bring more fame to higher education in India.

What would you like people to know about your university they may not know?

While IIIT-Delhi has established a good name for itself, what many people may not know is the flexibility of our curriculum. This is one of the major reasons that enables our students to shine. At IIIT-Delhi, around 35%-50% of the program curriculum is choice-based. Students from any program can also work on projects with faculty from any department. So, while I am in the ECE department, I have students from almost all programs working simultaneously with me. Similarly, students from ECE and EVE departments can work closely with faculty from HCD or CSE or any department for their projects. 

We have already piloted many NEP proposals and successfully implemented them long before NEP was even formulated. IIIT-Delhi is a progressive institute and a leader in adopting the best teaching and learning practices from around the globe. Our students start to work on individual and group projects as a part of courses in the first semester itself. Working together is important to learn how to collaborate, synergize and achieve far greater results than what anyone can individually achieve. As the students move through these course projects, they learn several soft skills like time management, planning, conflict resolution, negotiation, empathy, teamwork, creativity, and so on. In essence, we are nurturing the next generation of leaders at IIIT-Delhi. 

Another unique accomplishment of IIIT-Delhi is that we have three incubation facilities at IIIT-Delhi. While it is hard to keep even one incubation center alive, IIIT-Delhi has a thriving and fully functioning strong entrepreneurship ecosystem. We have the IIIT-Delhi Incubation Center; Electropreneur Park; and Technology Innovation Hub TiH-Anubhuti, all located within the IIIT-Delhi campus. While the Incubation center nurtures technology start-ups, the Electropreneur Park enables electronics hardware-based start-ups. The TiH-Anubhuti is a part of the National Mission on Cyber-Physical Systems and incubates start-ups in the domain of Cognitive Sensing. 

We also have a vibrant student body, an entrepreneurship cell (eCell) that conducts events every week with the aim of encouraging risk-taking and promoting entrepreneurship in our students. Our students can take a series of formal courses on different aspects of entrepreneurship and graduate with a minor specialization in entrepreneurship. Students can also pursue B.Tech projects in Research, Engineering, or Entrepreneurship tracks. IIIT-Delhi gives students the freedom to try their hands at start-up ideas. Two start-ups of our alumni that have been incubated at IIIT-Delhi’s Incubation Center have also been featured on Sharktank and received funding offers.

What do you see as IIIT-Delhi’s greatest strengths?

IIIT-Delhi shines the way it does because of a few key strengths. I already mentioned our excellent faculty members with degrees from the most reputed international and Indian universities. More than 70% of my colleagues have international work or study exposure and they bring the best ideas from across the world. To add to it, we have some of the best engineering students studying at IIIT-Delhi. When a student is willing to learn and experiment, it has a multiplying effect on the outcomes that a teacher can deliver.

IIIT-Delhi has a very healthy faculty-student relationship that is nurtured by a learning ecosystem that consists of a highly agile student affairs office, a student-friendly academic and library team, meticulous facilities and support staff, dynamic placement office, supportive research and development office, progressive HR office, and a buzzing innovation and entrepreneurship culture. Each of these factors together ensure an enriching experience for students and faculty and helps IIIT-Delhi to shine.

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What are some of the biggest challenges you see, both for higher education in general and for IIIT-Delhi specifically?

IIIT-Delhi is a very reputed and coveted engineering Institute, and only the best students get to study with us. These students are star performers and high achievers who are accustomed to success right from school days until their admission to IIIT-Delhi. They have almost no experience in handling failures and disappointments. However, when these brilliant students work and study alongside equally brilliant minds, a consistent school topper may get an average grade in a class despite putting their best efforts. This can be heartbreaking. Many students struggle to handle this change, and few even get depressed. As an academic institution, we have a very strong support system to help students manage the transition from school to college. Every incoming student is associated with a student mentor who regularly interacts with and helps the student handle new situations better. When needed, these mentors also encourage the student to approach the institute's Well-Being cell which has a team of clinical psychologists for more professional help. Our students can also avail services of yourdost.com that’s a leading 24x7 online counselling service.

Any suggestions you would like to give to the current youth and the aspiring students?

A vast majority of the brilliant students that join the premier institutions in the country come from families that can afford coaching institutes that prepare them for the competitive entrance exams. In their formative years, when these students should be exploring the world, understanding the dynamics of relationships, getting acquainted with themselves, and pursuing their interests and passions they are single-mindedly sitting in front of screens and books, completely cut off from the world. These students are ‘directed’ to operate their life in supposed “best practices” manner. 

When they enter college, the ‘directing’ coaching institutes and well-meaning parents no longer exercise the same influence on them. In the absence of having explored the world independently and making their own decisions, they struggle to handle the freedom that comes with a university education. When they make mistakes, they simply don’t know how to handle failure. The fear of failure stops them from taking risks. While on the one end, this generation of students is fascinated by entrepreneurship, they are also risk averse. Concepts like dummy schools are detrimental to the development of social skills. The students don’t get to learn how to empathize with others and appreciate their problems which is a significant disability when it comes to working in teams or identifying solutions in entrepreneurial ventures on the career front and ensuring joyful relationships later in life. 

My single piece of advice would be that while studying hard is extremely important, it should not come at the cost of learning to navigate life situations. Create the time to build healthy relationships with your family, peers, and friends. Ignoring this investment in the teen years can result in a lifelong disadvantage.

What are some plans that you’re currently (or will be) designing for IIIT-Delhi, international affairs, and/or students?

Besides my duties as the Associate Dean IRD, I am also leading the International Affairs Office at IIIT-Delhi. When we started to work towards it, about 4% of our students were from international backgrounds. Over the past 3 years, we have steadily increased this to about 8% of the total student population. We have students from more than 18 countries studying at IIIT-Delhi and we are continuously working towards increasing diversity on campus. We are opening our doors to the world and also building linkages with our academic partners worldwide to increase student mobility and bring additional opportunities for international exposure to our students. We are in the advanced stages of launching joint and dual degree programs with partners worldwide. Existing students will also have the option to transition into those programs and earn degrees from IIIT-Delhi and our partner institutions. We expect to release more news on this soon.

With the competition so high, how do you guide your students to survive in such a competitive scenario?

One of the biggest challenges that the education system in the country is facing today is the paucity of good learning ecosystems. Places like IIIT-Delhi are few and therefore only limited students get the opportunity to experience such dynamic learning environments. The scarcity of resources breeds cut-throat competition. Our children are taught to compete against their peers. However, in the world, and in nature, collaboration delivers far greater results. Symbiotic relationships and synergy are key to success in adverse conditions. 

One of the biggest challenges that I see, as an academician, is to help the students come out of a scarcity mentality with which they enter our higher education institutions by assisting them to learn collaboration and teamwork. At IIIT-Delhi, we encourage students to collaborate in project teams and these are the norms for even the most basic courses at IIIT-Delhi. Gradually, as students experience the benefit of collaboration, they are encouraged to explore and experience synergy on their own.

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How does the curriculum of your department/college ensure the best practice of the industry?

One of the guiding principles of IIIT-Delhi is to be industry-facing and socially relevant. Every program that is introduced in the Institute goes through a rigorous evaluation process which also involves taking feedback from experts in the industry and academia. Our board is constituted of numerous industry stalwarts and veterans. Many of my faculty colleagues have lengthy work experience in the industry. IIIT-Delhi has also established formal processes which enable experts from the industry to join IIIT-Delhi as Professor of Practice and bring experience-based industry knowledge to our students. We have hired three professors of practice in the past year alone. 

We regularly invite experts from the industry to conduct guest lectures in the courses, review and guide course projects, and even conduct courses as Guest Faculty. Our B.Tech and M.Tech students can go for semester-long internships, in addition to summer exposure internships with industry partners. We also do joint research with collaborators in the industry, we have industry-sponsored Centers of Excellence and agreements with industry partners to enable flipped internships in which industry mentors define and guide students' projects with IIIT-Delhi faculty.

Industry partners also sponsor PhD students and I currently have three PM Fellowship Awardees in my research lab. Furthermore, we have about 8 to 10 PM Fellows in our institute. The faculty members can take sabbaticals to work in industry and keep themselves abreast with the latest technology and developments. This is how our students are industry-ready when they graduate and are paid amongst the best salaries in the country.

What valuable advice would you like to the students for them to have a prosperous career ahead?

In the past 23 years, after I graduated with a B.Tech degree and having spent 18 to 19 years in the industry, I have come to realize that we taste success and experience joy in our work only when we are actively and fully involved in it. Half-hearted efforts, shortcuts, and the use of dubious means only yield short-term results. Those who are sincere and work hard, who persevere in the face of failure, and who keep the organization’s interests above their personal gains can build a long-term sustainable career for themselves while inspiring others to follow in their footsteps and become natural leaders. Information and knowledge are available at our fingertips today, the leaders of the future will have to demonstrate strengths in skills like teamwork, communication, and creative problem-solving. Institutions like IIIT-Delhi help you develop these skills organically and prepare you for a long-term successful career.