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Registrars from 18 IITs and Directors from three IITs convened at IIT Mandi to discuss automation in administration, research support, and value-based leadership in academic governance.
IIT Mandi hosts a 3-day Registrars’ Conclave with 18 IIT registrars and 3 directors attending the event.
In a major step towards enhancing academic governance and administrative efficiency, the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Mandi has kickstarted a three-day All IITs Registrars’ Conclave, bringing together senior administrators from 18 IITs across the country. The event, which began on April 18, marks one of the largest gatherings of registrars in the IIT system and aims to redefine the role of administration in an evolving academic landscape.
The conclave was inaugurated in the presence of Prof. Laxmidhar Behera, Director, IIT Mandi, and Prof. Rajeev Ahuja, Director, IIT Ropar, with Prof. Manoj Singh Gaur, Director, IIT Jammu, addressing the participants virtually. Registrars from IITs including Delhi, Bombay, Kanpur, Guwahati, and Roorkee, among others, are participating in this high-level deliberation.
Focus On Governance, Automation And Research Support
The conclave focuses on critical themes such as strengthening academic administration, driving institutional automation, and enhancing administrative support in research—both from Indian and international perspectives.
Prof. Laxmidhar Behera highlighted the importance of values-based leadership, drawing wisdom from the Shrimad Bhagavad Gita. “Every challenge in life or governance has a solution in the Gita,” he remarked, urging registrars to build transparent, efficient, and student-focused systems rooted in ethical principles.
Prof. Rajeev Ahuja, Director of IIT Ropar, spoke about the essential role of registrars in maintaining the continuity of the institution and preserving the IIT brand’s global reputation. Reflecting on his time in Sweden, he shared insights on “The Role of Administration in Research: Indian & European Perspectives.”
Addressing the conclave virtually, Prof. Manoj Singh Gaur, Director of IIT Jammu, emphasised the importance of automation beyond laboratory settings. He encouraged registrars to lead the charge in transforming administrative practices, stating, “Registrars must be at the forefront of this change.”
Strengthening The Administrative Backbone
Dr. Kumar Sambhav Pandey, Registrar of IIT Mandi and host of the conclave, said the event reflects a collective commitment to responsive, tech-enabled, and mission-driven governance in Indian higher education. “This conclave is a step towards building the administrative spine of the country’s top institutions,” he added.
The conclave also saw participation from distinguished registrars including Dr. Jayesh Chandra S Pai (Retd) from IIT Bhilai; Bamadev Acharya, IIT Bhubaneswar; Ganesh K. Bhorkade, IIT Bombay; Atul Vyas, IIT Delhi; Dr. Kalyan Kumar Bhattacharjee, IIT Dharwad; Prem Kumar Chopra, IIT Gandhinagar; and many others from IIT Goa, Hyderabad, Indore, Kharagpur, Palakkad, Roorkee, and more.
The gathering not only served as a platform for sharing best practices but also for forging collaboration among the top engineering institutions of India to collectively rethink and reshape the future of academic administration.
