IIT Delhi Revamps Curriculum After 12 Years to Ease Student Load, Align with Industry Needs

New Delhi: The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi has overhauled its curriculum for the first time in 12 years, aiming to reduce student workload and better align with evolving industry demands, according to Director Rangan Banerjee.
Speaking to medias, Banerjee said the last curriculum revision took place in 2013. The latest changes, initiated in 2022, are driven by the rise of AI, sustainability concerns, and continuous feedback from students, alumni, faculty, and industry stakeholders.
"We’ve capped the number of core credits per semester, especially in the first year. The course load will be lighter, and class sizes in the first two semesters will be halved from 300 to 150 to ensure more personalised attention," Banerjee said.
He added that the institute is focusing on "learning by doing" to reduce stress while maintaining academic rigour and offering more flexibility. An honours programme has been introduced as an optional extension to the BTech degree. Students will also have the option to pursue an integrated BTech-MTech programme, allowing them to graduate with both degrees in five years.
Programming education has been upgraded by incorporating AI-based code generators into the introductory course, and all BTech students will undergo mandatory training on the responsible and ethical use of AI.
Sustainability training will also be a part of the new curriculum. "We are adding more hands-on learning, internships, and teamwork to make our graduates future-ready and globally competitive," Banerjee said.
The 15-member curriculum panel studied academic models from top global and Indian institutions including Stanford, MIT, Cambridge, Harvey Mudd College, Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology, and IITs Bombay, Gandhinagar, and Hyderabad.