Bhubaneswar, Sept. 11: The Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) will take steps to ensure that more public sector undertakings (PSUs) turn up for recruitments during placements.

Placements were one of the most highlighted issues discussed at the meeting of the directors of the premier institutes held here today.

"We have felt that the representation of IIT students at the PSUs is not very significant. They have been very dynamic in hiring IIT students till three years back, but the number has gone down. We will soon churn out mechanisms to improve the situation," said R.V. Raja Kumar, director of IIT, Bhubaneswar who chaired the meeting.

"PSUs guarantee better job security. It would be great for students in future if they get the opportunity to work in PSUs," said Pramit Sarkar, a former student of IIT, Bhubaneswar who graduated in 2014.

At the meeting of the IIT directors, around 13 took part in person, while four through video-conferencing.

The directors also discussed ways to improve their position at the global level and meet shortfall of teachers here in the country. They lamented that very few foreigners were seeking admissions to IITs. According to Raja Kumar, there is mechanism to admit foreign students over and above the sanctioned strength, up to 20 per cent of the admission capacity, both at the undergraduate and post graduate level, but very few are showing interest.

"Lack of awareness among the foreign students is one of the biggest reasons for the poor show. We will work on improving the numbers," said Raja Kumar.

The directors also discussed about the need to hire faculty members from abroad to project their brand on global map.

"We will try to facilitate a process where getting visa would be made easier for foreign faculty. Their active involvement in the teaching process is required," said Raja Kumar.

Modalities for implementation of VISWAJIT, a project that aims to catapult IITs into the global hall of fame so that they rank amongst the top institutions in the world, were also discussed at the meeting.

Talks on growing a strong network of the newer IITs, student's scholarship and mechanism for speedy construction of infrastructure at the newer IITs were also held.

Also, the IITs have decided to come together and float courses that can be accessed by research scholars.

"Research have become disciplinary so it is necessary to initiate courses through online and offline mode to broaden the research base," he said.

Land sanctioned

The state government has sanctioned 40 acres at Laudigaon in Ganjam district to set up a coastal observatory and innovation centre for climate change.

"In January, we are going to have a workshop in related issues in Goplapur to churn out ways to go ahead in the project," said R.V. Raja Kumar, director of IIT, Bhubaneswar.