Indian Institute of Space Science and

Technology
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Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology

Motto विद्या सन्धि: प्रवचनम ् सन्धानम ्। (Sanskrit)

Type Deemed University[1]

Established 2007

Chancellor B. N. Suresh[2]

Director V. K. Dadhwal

Location Thiruvananthapuram

, 

Kerala

, 

India

Campus 100 acres (0.4 km2)[3]

Affiliations Department of Space, Indian Space Research

 Organisation

Website www.iist.ac.in

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.[1] It was
inaugurated on 14 September 2007 by G. Madhavan Nair, the then Chairman
of ISRO.[4] IIST was set up by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) under
the Department of Space, Government of India.[5] A. P. J. Abdul Kalam, former
President of India, was the Chancellor of IIST. [6] IIST offers regular engineering
undergraduate, postgraduate and doctorate programmes with focus on space
science, technology and applications.

Contents

 1History
 2Campus
 3Academics
 4Admissions
 5Departments
o 5.1Science
o 5.2Technology
o 5.3Humanities
 6Rankings
 7Observatory
 8Student activities
o 8.1Student projects
o 8.2Student festivals
 8.2.1Conscientia
 8.2.2Dhanak
o 8.3IIST Model United Nations (IIST MUN)
 9International collaborations
 10See also
 11References
 12External links

History[edit]
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 ₹270 crore (equivalent to ₹656 crore or
US$92 million in 2019) and annual recurring cost of ₹40 crore (US$5.6 million) by
the Department of Space.[7] 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.[8][9] B. N. Suresh, 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. [10][11]

Campus[edit]
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 foot hills 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, the then Prime Minister of India on 25 August 2009. [12] The institute started
functioning in its new campus from 15 August 2010. The campus has an extension in
the picturesque Ponmudi Hills, Thiruvananthapuram, for an observatory which is
under construction.
IIST Campus

The old IIST Campus at ATF Area

 

View of IIST Library

 

IIST at Ponmudi Hills
  

View of IIST student hostels at the Valiamala campus

Library building as seen from the way leading to Aerospace Building.

Academics[edit]
IIST offers undergraduate (BTech), master's (MTech) and PhD programs in space
science and technology, and also serves as a research centre.[5] 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[edit]
Dr.A. P. J. Abdul Kalam, Chancellor, IIST delivering the presidential address at the first convocation of IIST
in 2012

The admissions to the undergraduate (BTech) programmes for 2013 and

onwards[13] 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 rank lists from 2007 to 2009, and conducted its own entrance exam called
ISAT[14]) 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[15] IIST offers 140 seats for admission to
its B.Tech. programmes in aerospace engineering, 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.
The applications for admission to MTech courses[16] are invited directly and students
are shortlisted based on undergraduate academic performance, GATE score,
interview and projects undertaken by them.

Departments[edit]
Science[edit]
1. Department of Mathematics
2. Department of Physics
3. Department of Chemistry
4. Department of Earth and Space sciences
Technology[edit]
1. Department of Aerospace Engineering
2. Department of Avionics
Humanities[edit]
1. Department of Humanities

Rankings[edit]
University and college rankings

Engineering – India

NIRF (2019)[17] 30

Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology was ranked 30 by the National

Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) engineering category in 2019.[17]
Observatory[edit]
IIST also has a small observatory on campus equipped with an 8-inch Newtonian
telescope.[18] 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 Physical Sciences academic block.
The dome is powered by two sets of solar panels.[18]

The Observatory at IIST with an 8-inch Celestron telescope. The library building can be seen in the
background

Student activities[edit]
Student projects[edit]
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. 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.[19] Vyom is the first student made sounding rocket in Asia and the Vyom Mk II
was planned for launch in 2015.[20] IIST also runs a student satellite project, which is
also slated for launch in 2014–2015 on board the PSLV.
Student festivals[edit]
The following student festivals are organised at IIST every year.
Conscientia[edit]
Conscientia is the Annual Astronomy and Technology Festival of IIST. [21] Conscientia
offers various challenging events in different fields of engineering and science,
including astronomy, aerospace engineering, electronics, computer science,
mechanical engineering, robotics, etc. From the year 2010, the astronomy
festival Aparimit has been incorporated into Conscientia. The 2010 edition [22] was
inaugurated by IIST's Chancellor, A. P. J. Abdul Kalam, former President of India.
[23]
 In just a few years, Conscientia has evolved to become the largest technical
festival in the state of Kerala.[24] The 2014 edition of the festival is going to start on 28
February 2014. The official website of the festival [2]
Dhanak[edit]
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[25] 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 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)[edit]
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, the 2019 event to be held in April.

International collaborations[edit]
IIST has signed a number of memorandums of understanding (MoUs) with
international universities and Institutions for joint research, 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-Singapore.[26] 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. [27] 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, Government of
India to pursue master's degree in aerospace engineering at the California Institute
of Technology.[28][29] Preliminary talks are on for an MoU with EADS and École
Polytechnique. IIST formerly had a collaboration with Universities Space Research
Association.

See also[edit]
 List of universities in India
 List of autonomous higher education institutes in India
 Department of Space (India)
 Indian Space Research Organisation
 Indian Institutes of Technology
 Indian Institute of Science
 Indian Institute of Astrophysics
 National Institutes of Technology

References[edit]
1. ^ Jump up to:    "Archived copy". Archived from  the original on 14
a b

August 2011. Retrieved  7 August 2011.

2. ^ "Chancellor | IIST".  www.iist.ac.in. Retrieved 19
November 2017.
3. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from  the original on 6 February 2015.
Retrieved 17 February 2015.
4. ^ "A new trajectory". The Hindu Business Line. 24 September
2007. Retrieved  28 February  2009.
5. ^ Jump up to:    "An educational hub in the making".  The New Indian
a b

Express. 30 August 2009. Archived from the original  on 5 May

2012. Retrieved  7 September 2009.
6. ^ "Kalam appointed IIST Chancellor".  The Hindu. 9 September
2008. Retrieved  28 February  2009.
7. ^ "Indian Institute of Space Science & Tech to take off on Sept
14".  Financial Express. 31 August 2007.
8. ^ "Beyond engineering and medicine". The Hindu. 20 April 2009.
9. ^ "A launch pad for space scientists".  The Hindu. 7 August 2007.
10. ^ "Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology (IISST)
Thiruvananthapuram Declared as Deemed to be
University". Union Human Resource Development Ministry, Press
Information Bureau. 14 July 2008.
11. ^ "IIST gets deemed university status". The Hindu. 15 July 2008.
12. ^ "Manmohan inaugurates new IIST campus". The Hindu. 26
August 2009. Retrieved  7 September 2009.
13. ^ "Admission to Under Graduate Programmes (BTech 2013)".
IIST. 28 November 2012. Archived from  the original on 28
January 2013.
14. ^ "ISAT2012. From 2013, the admission into IIST will be through
JEE Mains where 60% weightage is for the JEE Mains and 40%
for 12th board". Iist.ac.in. Archived from  the original on 9 June
2012. Retrieved  23 July 2012.
15. ^http://admission2013.iist.ac.in/template/default/downloads/brochu
re.pdf
16. ^ "IIST Thiruvananthapuram admissions 2016: Apply for
MTech/MS courses". indiatoday.intoday.in.
17. ^ Jump up to:a b "National Institutional Ranking Framework 2019
(Engineering)". National Institutional Ranking Framework. Ministry
of Human Resource Development. 2018.
18. ^ Jump up to:a b "The Observatory – SKY OVER IIST".
Iistsky.weebly.com. Retrieved 20 October  2013.
19. ^ "IIST students launch sounding rocket". The Hindu. 12 May
2012. Retrieved  20 October 2013.
20. ^ [1] Archived 18 July 2012 at the Wayback Machine
21. ^ "Know A Fest listing for Conscientia 2014". 30 January 2014.
22. ^ "Conscientia 2010 (The Annual Science & Technology Festival
of IIST)". Retrieved  2 March  2010.
23. ^ "Kerala / Thiruvananthapuram News  : Kalam to inaugurate
Conscientia 2010 today". The Hindu. 4 March 2010. Retrieved  20
October  2013.
24. ^ "Conscientia 2013: City's Biggest College Fest – Trivandrum
News". Yentha.com. 25 March 2013. Retrieved 20 October  2013.
25. ^ "Dhanak". dhanak.co.in. Retrieved  31 October 2009.
26. ^ "IIST Brochure"  (PDF). iist.ac.in. 14 June 2018. Retrieved  18
November 2018.
27. ^ "Welcome To ISRO  :: Press Release  :: June 03, 2013". Isro.org.
3 June 2013. Archived from  the original on 22 October 2013.
Retrieved 20 October  2013.
28. ^ PTI (3 June 2013).  "Satish Dhawan endowed fellowship
established at Caltech | Business Line".
Thehindubusinessline.com. Retrieved  20 October 2013.
29. ^ "India Establishes Caltech Aerospace Fellowship | Caltech".
Caltech.edu. 30 July 2013. Archived from the original  on 6 August
2013. Retrieved  20 October 2013.
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