The Hindu Business Line : IIT-Kharagpur to have IP law school

THE Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur (IIT-KGP) will soon have a School of Intellectual Property Law, according to Mr Sanjiv Goenka, Chairman of the Board of Governors, IIT-KGP.

The proposed school is likely to be named after the late Rajiv Gandhi, former Prime Minister of India.

The initiative is expected to help protect substantial amount of intellectual property that is being developed by way of research and new inventions by the country's large pool of scientists, engineers and other professionals.

Mr Goenka was speaking to newspersons after the conclusion of IIT-KGP's 51st convocation that was held here on Saturday. He said that a world-class, 2,000-seater convention centre was also being set up within the IIT-KGP campus. The institute was working with the West Bengal Government for setting up a biotechnology park at Kharagpur, he added.

Speaking on the occasion, the chief guest Mr Vinod Gupta, a distinguished alumnus of IIT-KGP and founder and Chairman of infoUSA, said that with the setting up of the School of Intellectual Property Law, IIT-KGP would become the first to have such an institution. He said such a school was now necessary "to protect and grow our assets".

Mr Gupta said, "IIT has helped put India on the centrestage as the education centre of the best and brightest professionals worldwide."

He urged students who received their degrees to make a "partial repayment" to society that made them successful. "After you graduate, form a partnership with IIT. That partnership can provide more facilities, better education for the next generation, and IIT will not have to depend on the Government to fund its expenses," he said.

Over the years, Mr Gupta has taken special interest in the growth of his alma mater and has made generous contributions. He has been instrumental in setting up the Vinod Gupta School of Management at IIT-KGP. In 2002, he was awarded the Life Fellow of IIT-KGP.

IIT-KGP conferred its highest honour, Doctor of Science (Honoris Causa) on Mr R.P. Goenka, Chairman-Emeritus of the RPG Group, for his contributions to the "growth and development of Indian industry and his efforts to raise the standard of technical education in the country."

In the convocation, degrees were conferred on 1,152 outgoing students.

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