SIX THINKING HATS ASSIGNMENT PROBLEM : WHY IIT s ARE NOT AMONG THE TOP 100 ENGINEERING COLLEGES

IN THE WORLD

The de Bono Hats system also known as "Six Hats" or "Six Thinking Hats" is a thinking tool for group discussion and individual thinking. Combined with the idea of parallel thinking which is associated with it, it provides a means for groups to think together more effectively, and a means to plan thinking processes in a detailed and cohesive way. The problem under discussion Why IIT s are not among the top 10 Engineering Colleges in the World has been discussed under different directions identified by a Coloured Hat for a type of thinking which is stated as follows.

White Hat Thinking : Data, Facts & Information 1) IIT s don t feature among the top 100 engineering colleges in the world. This statement was made by Vice President Hamid Ansari quoting the site http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/ 2) Rankings are calculated based on a weighted average of the indicators which areeducational quality assessment, student selectivity, academic success, creativity encouragement, faculty resources, research activity and university funding use. 3) Government grants varies between Rs. 900 1,300 million (USD 18-26 million) per year for each IIT 4) Number of undergraduate students per year: 7500 5) Number of graduate students per year 6000 6) Number of Phds per year: approx 600. 7) Approx number of faculty : 2600

Black Hat Thinking : Difficulties, Potential Problems 1) 2) 3) 4) 5) 6) 7) 8) Brain Drain Range of research areas available in India are limited as compared to foreign universities. Research Work and PhD has low market value in India. Less than 10% of those graduating from IITs move towards teaching or research, whether in India or abroad. Job options after M-Tech and PhD are few. Lessesr ratio of faculty to students as compared to the Top Engineering Colleges. Government Funding for IIT s is very less as compared to the Top Engineering Colleges like MIT, Stanford, etc., due to which top class infrastructure is not deployed. Indian political system and Quota allocation due to which student quality falls.

Red Hat Thinking : Feelings, hunches, gut instinct, and intuition 1) Beauracratic system 2) Students come into IIT s to get jobs rather than to get quality education 3) Mind set of students to get into management after getting a technical degree for better pay packages 4) Lesser motivation among students to continue further technical education/research due to lesser job options/good salaries. 5) Education system is theory oriented rather than practical oriented. 6) Infrastructure issues 7) Faculty to student ratio is less.