Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IIT Madras) is inviting JEE candidates and their parents to attend the ‘Demo Day’ events that will be held in both Physical Mode in several cities across India as well in Online mode.

This will be an opportunity for them to interact with current students, faculty, and alumni and receive authentic and up-to-date information directly from the source. Physical events will be held at Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Jaipur, Vijayawada and Hyderabad.

Further, IIT Madras is also introducing ‘First Principles Teachers Award’ this year to recognize exceptional educators who have made significant impacts on their students’ educational journeys through teaching from first principles at a pre-UG level.

Interested JEE Candidates are advised to register at the earliest since there are only a limited number of seats at these events. Those interested can register on the following website – https://www.askiitm.com/demo-day

Through the Demo Day events, students can also seek clarification about recent changes, like the introduction of new courses. IIT Madras has introduced two new B.Tech. Programmes - Computational Engineering and Mechanics (CEM) and Instrumentation and Biomedical Engineering (iBME) - besides a B.Tech in AI and Data Analytics (AIDA) that was introduced last year.

Students unable to travel to IIT Madras or any of the six other venues can also participate in an online session scheduled for 3rd June 2025, during which Prof. V. Kamakoti, Director, IIT Madras, other faculty, and alumni will respond to various queries related to academic and non-academic aspects about life on campus.

Welcoming JEE Candidates to take part in these events, Prof. V. Kamakoti, Director, IIT Madras, said, “We invite aspirants and parents to come meet us and see the campus, and appreciate why IIT Madras is NIRF #1 for so many years and why we are called the best place to build. Not only does IIT Madras have extraordinary faculty, state-of-the-art labs, cutting-edge translational research that benefits the country but also one of the top Deep-Tech Start-up Incubation Ecosystem in the country that incubated 104 Start-ups in the last financial year alone. The Institute also filed 417 Patents during the 2024-25 FY, a testament to our innovation ecosystem.”

Elaborating on the event, Prof. Prathap Haridoss, Dean (Academic Courses), IIT Madras, said, “This will be the fourth year of AskIITM, and every year we are seeing thousands of aspirants and parents eagerly taking part. The Demo Day is part of the AskIITM initiative, designed and run by alumni and students. In addition to these events, aspirants can ask questions on the website www.askiitm.com about courses, faculty, campus life, placements and more. A team of alumni and student volunteers will answer them.”

Aspirants can also browse through existing answers. Additionally, the team has put up more than 400 videos on Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/askiitm/) and YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/@askiitm) about various topics on the Institute.

FIRST PRINCIPLES TEACHERS AWARD

Elaborating about this new award, Mr. Amrutash Misra, an IIT Madras alumnus who is spearheading the AskIITM initiative, said, “We believe that the IIT JEE syllabus is beautiful, and includes many exciting concepts in physics, chemistry and mathematics. But, because of the nature of competitive exams, most students are rushing through the syllabus, focusing more on memorising than understanding the concepts. These students have a tougher time in IIT because they have to re-learn everything.”

Mr. Amrutash Misra added, “But not all students. Some are lucky that their teachers are able to make their classes come alive. With their expert guidance, students fall in love with their subjects. They are able to take exams in a stress-free manner. When they get to IIT, they continue to see the magic in engineering and perform better than their peers. We want to honour these kinds of teachers.”

IMPORTANT DATES

3 June 2025, 5 – 8 pm : Online (Zoom)
4 June 2025, 5 – 8 pm : Bengaluru - Bangalore International Centre
4 June 2025, 5 – 8 pm : Jaipur - Pink City Press Club
4 June 2025, 5 – 8 pm : Vijayawada: MB Vignana Kendaram
5 June 2025, 5 – 8 pm : Mumbai - Walchand Hirachand Hall
5 June 2025, 5 – 8 pm : Hyderabad - T-Hub
5 June 2025, 5 – 8 pm : Delhi - Dr Ambedkar International Centre
7 June 2025, 2 – 8 pm : Chennai - IIT Madras - Demo Day at Campus
8 June 2025, 2 – 8 pm : Chennai - IIT Madras Demo Day at Campus (repeat)

ACADEMIC FLEXIBILITY

The current IIT Madras academic system offers students a very high degree of flexibility in their choice of courses via the elective system. Students can choose between 40-50% of their courses as electives, including courses from any other department. Students can also opt for a ‘minor’ or switch to an ‘IDDD’ (Inter-Disciplinary Dual Degree).

Because of this flexibility, the ‘branch change’ system is no longer necessary and has been discontinued since 2024. The number of credits a student must complete to graduate has been reduced from 432 to 400, which eases the academic workload by almost 10%, and gives more time in the student’s hand to try academic, co-curricular, or other projects.

IMPROVED FIRST-YEAR EXPERIENCE

Workshops for first-year students, previously held during the vacation period, have been re-integrated into the semester, adding two more weeks of vacation time. Furthermore, a compulsory recreation course (Pass/Fail, 2 credits) has been introduced for students in the first two semesters, promoting a healthy work-life balance.

IIT Madras has always had a thriving entrepreneurship environment. Recognising this, the institute has decided to offer an entrepreneurship elective course in the third/fourth semester for interested students.

WELCOMING SPORTSPERSONS AND CULTURAL ARTISTS

It may also be recalled that IIT Madras became the First Institute in the country to announce separate admission categories for those excelling in Sports and Fine Arts.

The Institute introduced Fine Arts and Culture Excellence’ (FACE) Admission to Undergraduate Programs from the Academic year 2025 - 26. The objective is to reward and encourage students who have achieved excellence in fine arts and culture.

The ‘Sports Excellence Admission’ (SEA) was introduced from the last academic year of 2024-2025. This initiative is to recognize and reward talented students who have excelled in sports. This program encourages deserving students to pursue higher education while continuing to excel in their sports.

Under both these initiatives, two seats per program will be allotted in all B.Tech. and B.S. programs of IIT Madras. Of the two seats in each program, one seat will be female-only, and the other will be gender-neutral.

SCHOLARSHIPS & FINANCIAL AID

IIT Madras Alumni and CSR partners have rallied together to provide financial support to 100% of BTech students whose annual parental income is in the ‘Rs 1 lakh to Rs 5 lakh' category for two consecutive years (2022-23 & 2023-24).

The ‘Merit-cum-Means’ (MCM) Scholarship is one among the numerous financial assistance and scholarship support provided to students by IIT Madras, the Central and State Governments. SC/ST students admitted to the BTech program are exempted from paying tuition fees, irrespective of their parental income.

This support frees up the students to focus completely on their studies and future academic pursuits without having to worry about their financial situation or education loans.