IIT-Delhi’s virtual lab to teach live experiments

NEW DELHI - The Indian Institute of Technology-Delhi (IIT-Delhi) has almost completed its pilot phase to roll out a virtual lab that can benefit thousands of students and professors across India learn difficult experiments in engineering and technology.

“I am very keen for this development and the human resource development ministry is helping us achieve this goal,” IIT-Delhi director Surendra Prasad said Thursday.

The “virtual laboratory” will bridge physical distance and availability of resources in far off places. Today it is possible to design good experiments among students for better learning, Prasad said.

“The virtual lab pilot project is in its last leg. In a couple of months it will get over and we will reach the scaling up phase. We are satisfied so far and hope to achieve full success by imparting knowledge to many across our country,” he added.

He said the ministry has pegged a budget of Rs.80 crore ($18 million) for this scheme in the IIT system. The ministry is also providing a high bandwidth internet connection for its implementation.

M. Balakrishnan, deputy director of the faculty, who is in charge of one such lab, said that several institutes across India have already tied up with IIT-Delhi.

“The feedback is encouraging. While imparting laboratory learning through physical instruments may be limited, the software solutions can be of great use. The institutes can download a link and learn it at their own place,” Balakrishnan told IANS.

Professors at the IIT-Delhi said that using advanced communication technologies, it is possible to create an experiment in a remote location and it can be conducted by others who cannot or do not have the same facilities.