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Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology (IIST) is a government-aided institute and deemed university for the study and research of space science, located at Valiamala, Nedumangad, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala. It is the first university in Asia to be solely dedicated to the study and research of Outer space. It was inaugurated on 14 September 2007 by G. Madhavan Nair, the then Chairman of
ISRO The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO; ) is the national space agency of India, headquartered in Bengaluru. It operates under the Department of Space (DOS) which is directly overseen by the Prime Minister of India, while the Chairman ...
. IIST was set up by the
Indian Space Research Organisation The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO; ) is the national space agency of India, headquartered in Bengaluru. It operates under the Department of Space (DOS) which is directly overseen by the Prime Minister of India, while the Chairman ...
(ISRO) under the
Department of Space The Department of Space is an Indian government department responsible for administration of the Indian space program. It manages several agencies and institutes related to space exploration and space technologies. The Indian space program und ...
, Government of India.
A. P. J. Abdul Kalam Avul Pakir Jainulabdeen Abdul Kalam (; 15 October 193127 July 2015) was an Indian aerospace scientist and statesman who served as the 11th President of India from 2002 to 2007. He was born and raised in Rameswaram, Tamil Nadu and studied phy ...
, former President of India, was the Chancellor of IIST. IIST offers regular engineering undergraduate, postgraduate and doctorate programmes with focus on space science, technology and applications.


History

Envisioned to fulfill the requirements of scientists and engineers in the Indian Space Program, by offering undergraduate and postgraduate education and research programmes in space science and technology, the institute started functioning from the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC) campus, Thiruvananthapuram, on 14 September 2007 with an initial investment of and annual recurring cost of by the
Department of Space The Department of Space is an Indian government department responsible for administration of the Indian space program. It manages several agencies and institutes related to space exploration and space technologies. The Indian space program und ...
. It is the only institute of its kind in India, which offers a BTech degree in Space Technology, and subjects exclusive to the arena of space science and technology.
B. N. Suresh Byrana Nagappa Suresh (born 12 November 1943) is an Indian aerospace scientist. He is presently the Chancellor, Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology (IIST) at Thiruvananthapuram and Honorary Distinguished Professor at ISRO HQ. He w ...
, former director of Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre, is the founding director of the institute. On 14 July 2008, the Union Human Resource Development Ministry, on the advice of the University Grants Commission (UGC), conferred deemed university status, under a ''new'' category, to the institute for a period of five years.


Campus

At its inception, the institute started functioning at the ATF Campus, under Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre, Thiruvananthapuram (Trivandrum), Kerala. Modern environmentally friendly buildings of unique architecture merge well with the thickly wooded campus of 100 acres situated on the foothills of Sahyadri. A state-of-the-art residential campus built near Liquid Propulsion Systems Centre in Valiamala, Nedumangad, Thiruvananthapuram was inaugurated by
Dr. Manmohan Singh Manmohan Singh (; born 26 September 1932) is an Indian politician, economist and statesman who served as the 13th prime minister of India from 2004 to 2014. He is also the third longest-serving prime minister after Jawaharlal Nehru and Indir ...
, the then Prime Minister of India on 25 August 2009. The institute started functioning in its new campus from 15 August 2010. The campus has an extension in the picturesque
Ponmudi Ponmudi (the Golden Peak) also known as Kashmir of Kerala is a hill station in the Peringamala gramapanchayath of Trivandrum District of Kerala in India. It is located 22km west of Vithura town, 53 km north-east of Trivandrum City, 78&n ...
Hills, Thiruvananthapuram, for an observatory.


Academics

IIST offers undergraduate ( BTech), master's ( MTech) and PhD programs in
space science Space is the boundless three-dimensional extent in which objects and events have relative position and direction. In classical physics, physical space is often conceived in three linear dimensions, although modern physicists usually consider ...
and technology, and also serves as a research centre. Doctoral programs in basic sciences and post-doctoral programs are also offered. Till 2013 batch, three different courses in BTech were offered, namely BTech in Aerospace, Avionics and Physical Sciences. As of 2014 admissions, a new 5-year Dual Degree (BTech + MTech/M.S) in Engineering Physics replaced the existing Physical Sciences branch. The MTech/M.S can be done in any of the following – M.S. in Astronomy & Astrophysics, MTech in Earth System Science, MTech in Machine Learning and Computing, MTech in Geoinformatics, MTech in Aerodynamics & Flight Mechanics, MTech in Structures and Design, MTech in Thermal and Propulsion, MTech in Control Systems, MTech in Digital Signal Processing, MTech in RF and Microwave Engineering, MTech in Power Electronics, MTech in VLSI and Microsystems, MTech in Material Science and Technology, MTech in Solid State Physics and MTech in Optical Engineering. The seats are limited to 20 in the dual degree program from the existing 36 in Physical Sciences. 60 students each are admitted to the Aerospace and Avionics branches.


Admissions

The admissions to the undergraduate ( BTech) programmes for 2013 to 2016 were made through the All India Rank List prepared and published by the Central Board of Secondary Education ( CBSE), based on the Joint Entrance Examination (JEE) – Main. Previously, IIST admitted students through the
IIT-JEE The Joint Entrance Examination (JEE) is an engineering entrance assessment conducted for admission to various engineering colleges in India. It is constituted by two different examinations: the JEE-Main and the JEE-Advanced. The Joint Seat ...
rank lists from 2007 to 2009, and conducted its own entrance exam called ISAT from 2010 to 2012. However, applicants will need to qualify the JEE Advanced exam, and marks obtained in the same will be used in determining the eligibility of the candidate IIST offers 140 seats for admission to its
B.Tech. A Bachelor of Technology (Latin ''Baccalaureus Technologiae'', commonly abbreviated as B.Tech. or BTech; with honours as B.Tech. (Hons.)) is an undergraduate academic degree conferred after the completion of a three to five-year program of stud ...
programmes in
aerospace engineering Aerospace engineering is the primary field of engineering concerned with the development of aircraft and spacecraft. It has two major and overlapping branches: aeronautical engineering and astronautical engineering. Avionics engineering is si ...
, avionics and engineering physics. The BTech branch of physical sciences was replaced with a dual-degree (BTech and MTech) engineering physics branch starting from the batch which joined in 2014. Over 100,000 aspirants applied for these seats in ISAT 2012 making IIST one of the most selective institutes in India. From 2017 onwards, the admissions are based on JEE Advanced scores. The applications for admission to MTech courses are invited directly and students are shortlisted based on undergraduate academic performance,
GATE A gate or gateway is a point of entry to or from a space enclosed by walls. The word derived from old Norse "gat" meaning road or path; But other terms include ''yett and port''. The concept originally referred to the gap or hole in the wall ...
score, interview and projects undertaken by them.


Departments


Science

# Department of
Mathematics Mathematics is an area of knowledge that includes the topics of numbers, formulas and related structures, shapes and the spaces in which they are contained, and quantities and their changes. These topics are represented in modern mathematics ...
# Department of Physics # Department of
Chemistry Chemistry is the science, scientific study of the properties and behavior of matter. It is a natural science that covers the Chemical element, elements that make up matter to the chemical compound, compounds made of atoms, molecules and ions ...
# Department of Earth and
Space science Space is the boundless three-dimensional extent in which objects and events have relative position and direction. In classical physics, physical space is often conceived in three linear dimensions, although modern physicists usually consider ...
s


Technology

# Department of
Aerospace Engineering Aerospace engineering is the primary field of engineering concerned with the development of aircraft and spacecraft. It has two major and overlapping branches: aeronautical engineering and astronautical engineering. Avionics engineering is si ...
# Department of Avionics


Humanities

# Department of Humanities


Rankings

Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology was ranked 33 by the National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) engineering category 2020.


Observatory

IIST also has a small observatory on campus equipped with an 8-inch Newtonian telescope. A 14-inch telescope will replace the 8-inch telescope in the near future. The telescope is housed in a dome on top of the Science academic block. The dome is powered by two sets of solar panels.


Student activities


Student projects

VYOM ('sky' in Sanskrit) is the Sounding Rocket designed by the BTech students of IIST. Vyom had its maiden flight on 11 May 2012 when it took to the sky from
TERLS Thumba Equatorial Rocket Launching Station (TERLS) is an Indian spaceport established on 21 November 1963. Operated by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), it is located in Thumba, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, which is near the souther ...
. and the mission was a total success. The objective of the launch was to flight-test the solid rocket motor and the accelerometer payload developed for the project. Vyom is the first student made sounding rocket in Asia and the Vyom Mk II was planned for launch in 2015. IIST also runs a student satellite project, which is also slated for launch in 2014–2015 on board the PSLV.


Student festivals

The following student festivals are organised at IIST every year.


Conscientia

Conscientia is the Annual Astronomy and Technology Festival of IIST. Conscientia offers various challenging events in different fields of engineering and science, including astronomy, aerospace engineering, electronics, computer science, mechanical engineering, robotics, etc. In the year 2010, the astronomy festival ''Aparimit'' has been incorporated into Conscientia. The 2010 edition was inaugurated by IIST's Chancellor,
A. P. J. Abdul Kalam Avul Pakir Jainulabdeen Abdul Kalam (; 15 October 193127 July 2015) was an Indian aerospace scientist and statesman who served as the 11th President of India from 2002 to 2007. He was born and raised in Rameswaram, Tamil Nadu and studied phy ...
, former President of India. In just a few years, Conscientia has evolved to become the largest technical festival in the state of Kerala. The 2014 edition of the festival is going to start on 28 February 2014. The official website of the festiva


Dhanak

Dhanak is the Annual Cultural Festival of IIST. Named after the Urdu word for 'rainbow', it stands for the splash of colour and sunshine that this festival brings with it. It spans all facets of cultural activity, including dramatics, fine arts, literature, quizzing, music, dance, film-making, and photography. The most awaited moment at Dhanak is the ''pronite'', in which a DJ/Band is invited to perform. Dhanak 2015 witnessed DJ VH1 Supersonic. Progressive Brothers from DJ Sunburn gave their performance in 2016 and Masala Coffee, South India's largest band performed in Dhanak in 2017. Dhanak also features themes every year based on which the whole campus is decorated. The theme for 2018 was "comicolours".


IIST Model United Nations (IIST MUN)

Started as an intra-college event in March 2012, IIST MUN has now become a national inter-college Model United Nations with United Nations General Assembly council held successfully in September 2012, 2013, October 2014 and April 2015. It has become an annual event, with the 2019 event to be held in April.


International collaborations

IIST has signed a number of memorandums of understanding (MoUs) with international universities and Institutions for joint research, and exchange of students and faculty. These include Caltech-USA, Jet Propulsion Laboratory-USA, University of Colorado, Boulder-USA, Technion-Israel, University of Cambridge-UK and
Nanyang Technological University The Nanyang Technological University (NTU) is a national research university in Singapore. It is the second oldest autonomous university in the country and is considered as one of the most prestigious universities in the world by various inte ...
-Singapore. A number of other collaborations are under discussions. The Satish Dhawan fellowship at California Institute of Technology was announced by Dr. K. Radhakrishnan, Chairman, ISRO on 3 June 2013. The fellowship provides an opportunity every year starting from the winter session of the academic year 2013–14 to one meritorious graduating student from the Aerospace Department of IIST to be sponsored by the
Department of Space The Department of Space is an Indian government department responsible for administration of the Indian space program. It manages several agencies and institutes related to space exploration and space technologies. The Indian space program und ...
, Government of India to pursue master's degree in aerospace engineering at the California Institute of Technology.


See also

* List of engineering colleges in Kerala * List of universities in India *
List of autonomous higher education institutes in India The higher education system in India includes both private and public universities. Public universities are supported by the Government of India and the state governments, while private universities are mostly supported by various bodies and societ ...
*
Department of Space (India) The Department of Space is an Indian government department responsible for administration of the Indian space program. It manages several agencies and institutes related to space exploration and space technologies. The Indian space program und ...
*
Indian Space Research Organisation The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO; ) is the national space agency of India, headquartered in Bengaluru. It operates under the Department of Space (DOS) which is directly overseen by the Prime Minister of India, while the Chairman ...
*
Indian Institutes of Technology The Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) are central government owned public technical institutes located across India. They are under the ownership of the Ministry of Education of the Government of India. They are governed by the Instit ...
* Indian Institute of Science * Indian Institute of Astrophysics * National Institutes of Technology


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Indian Institute Of Space Science And Technology Space technology research institutes Aerospace engineering organizations Space programme of India Indian Space Research Organisation facilities Deemed universities in India Science and technology in Kerala Universities in Kerala Colleges in Thiruvananthapuram Research institutes in Thiruvananthapuram Educational institutions established in 2007 2007 establishments in Kerala Research institutes established in 2007