
IIT-I to launch MA English literature & linguistics programme in July 2025
Indore: Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Indore announced the launch of a two-year MA English (Literature and Linguistics) programme, with the session starting in July 2025.
This innovative course, offered by the School of Humanities and Social Sciences, features a distinctive syllabus designed to blend theoretical knowledge with practical application.
The MA programme will provide students with specialisations in various emerging fields, including
Digital Humanities
, Medical Humanities,
Language Teaching
, Applied Linguistics, Language Documentation and interdisciplinary research.
"This curriculum aims to equip students with critical thinking abilities and practical skills that are essential for flourishing in contemporary careers related to language and literature. With a strong emphasis on the evolving intersections of language and technology, the programme equips students for diverse roles in teaching, publishing, research, media, language technology, international communication and more," IIT-I said in a statement on Wednesday.
The structure includes hands-on projects, research opportunities, internships and real-world applications to ensure students are well-prepared for the job market, said IIT-I.
"Prospective candidates with a three-year undergraduate degree from any discipline and a qualifying score in the GATE Humanities and Social Sciences (HSS) XH C2 or XH C3 are encouraged to apply. Applications are open until May 18, 2025, for the July 2025 session," the statement said.
Classes will be led by faculty members who are experts in literature, linguistics and interdisciplinary studies, ensuring an enriching learning experience. Additionally, the programme offers a fellowship in the second year to support academic pursuits and enhance the educational journey of its students.
This new initiative from
IIT Indore
marks a significant step towards broadening the scope of humanities education in India, highlighting the importance of language and literature in a rapidly evolving world.

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


The Hindu
2 hours ago
- The Hindu
India could achieve quantum communication using satellite by 2030, says IIT-Delhi Professor
India could be technologically capable of 'quantum communication' using satellites in the 'next half a decade' Professor Bhaskar Kanseri of the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT)-Delhi, whose team recently reported an instance of quantum key distribution one kilometre apart — the farthest such transmission in India, without any connecting cables — told The Hindu in an interview. This, however, would require large teams of well-funded multidisciplinary experts and the involvement of start-ups which are specifically geared towards such ends, Prof. Kanseri said. Safe quantum communication requires enabling a sender and receiver to get 'quantum keys', which are made of streams of photons — the carriers of light. Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) employs principles of quantum mechanics: the incompletely understood principles underlying the behaviour of atomic and sub-atomic particles, including photons. While there are a couple of approaches in using QKD, one of them — said to be the most secure but technically harder to implement — uses quantum entanglement. Pairs of photons are naturally 'entangled', in a way that a change in one instantaneously reflects in the other. Applying this to encryption means that even the mere attempt by a potential hacker into a QKD-secured transmission of information becomes apparent to those communicating, thus allowing preventive measures. While generating such secure keys can be done through physical networks, including fibre optic cables, the goal is to be able to do it in 'free-space' or without such intervening wires. This is because the cost of such transmissions using cables rapidly rises once the sender and receiver are hundreds of kilometres apart. Thus the ideal step would be to involve satellites, which can act as an intermediary between any two points even if they are thousands of kilometres apart. However, using fibre optic cables provides a stable channel for quantum communication which free-space channels do not. Atmospheric disturbances such as turbulence, air flow, pollution, etc., particularly in a city such as the Delhi National Capital Region, made it more 'challenging' to demonstrate free-space quantum communication. 'The photon beam of quantum channel diverges and wanders due to these disturbances and results in more errors. Owing to these reasons, the error rates are generally higher than the fibre ones. However, with better beam control and optimisation, there is a scope to reduce these errors,' Prof. Kanseri said. China had demonstrated satellite-based quantum communication nearly one decade ago, as they had a head start in quantum communication activities since the early 2000s, he surmised. 'I strongly believe that India, which started quite recently (in the 2020s), will achieve it in next half-a-decade or so, as under the National Quantum Mission (NQM), a strong focus is to develop satellite-based long distance quantum communication,' Prof. Kanseri, who is currently in the U.S., said in an email. As an academic institute, IIT-Delhi's experiments in quantum communication so far were 'proof of concept (POC) nature' conducted with a small team of four to five students, explained Prof Kanseri. 'Satellite based quantum communication would be one of the biggest projects and require not only adequate funds but also a large, dedicated team of multidisciplinary skilled experts for developing several types of enabling technologies. Quantum startups, mentored by researchers working in quantum technologies, if funded adequately, can contribute immensely in translation of technologies from lab to market, and in prototyping quantum technologies in a focussed and faster manner. In addition, indigenous development of needed equipment and components is also required,' Prof. Kanseri said. In 2017 and 2020, researchers at the University of Science and Technology of China, during multiple instances, generated quantum keys involving a satellite (500 km above the ground) and ground stations 1,000 and 1,700-km apart. Since 2005, there have been ground demonstrations in Europe, Canada, and the United States of free-space (without cables) QKD greater than 100 km, suggesting that India still has much to cover regarding QKD-entanglement communication. In January 27, 2022, scientists from the Department of Space (DOS), namely, Space Applications Centre (SAC) and Physical Research Laboratory (PRL), both in Ahmedabad, jointly demonstrated quantum entanglement based real time Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) over a 300-metre atmospheric channel. In 2021, a team of scientists led by Urbasi Sinha demonstrated perhaps the first instances of such free-space communication in Bangalore over building separated by 50 metres. Quantum key distributions over much greater distances have been achieved over optical fibre networks. Prof. Kanseri's team demonstrated an intercity quantum-communication link between Vindhyachal and Prayagraj in 2022, using commercial grade underground dark optical fibre. In 2024, the team successfully distributed quantum keys using entanglement over a 100 km spool of telecom-grade optical fibre in another project supported by the Defence Research and Development Organisation.


Time of India
4 hours ago
- Time of India
Crunchy culprit: Study shows how to tackle acrylamide in French fries
Ahmedabad: That satisfying crunch in French fries and toasted sandwiches might be coming at a hidden cost. The crunch is attributed to a substance identified as acrylamide, which gives the distinct brown colour to deep-fried foods. According to several studies, the substance is linked to various gastrointestinal (GI) issues and can even lead to cancer if consumed very frequently. Research carried out at IIT Gandhinagar (IIT-Gn) addressed the issue by using amino acid adducts (AAA). The findings were published in the form of a paper titled 'Sequestration of acrylamide as amino acid-acrylamide adducts mitigates cellular stress in human gastrointestinal cell lines' recently in the journal, Food and Function, of the UK-based Royal Society of Chemistry. The authors were Axita Patel and Prof Bhaskar Datta. "Starchy foods exposed to frying, baking or roasting are vulnerable to forming acrylamide through a chemical reaction between a natural sugar (glucose) and an amino acid (asparagine). This reaction is identified as the Maillard reaction. Acrylamide is commonly found in fried potato products (French fries, chips), biscuits, toast, cookies and coffee, to name a few," said Prof Datta. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Irish homeowners eligible for solar 'bonus' if they live in these eircodes Activ8 Learn More Undo "Before its association with food, it was always associated with the chemical industry as a versatile petrochemical. " The researchers said that the rise in foods prepared at high temperatures has resulted in higher exposure to acrylamide. Acrylamide's toxic effects create oxidative stress, which affects cells in the GI tract, causing inflammation, tissue damage and even cancer. Prof Datta said that to counter acrylamide, they employed AAA. The interaction of AAA as a 'treatment agent' indicated significantly lower production of acrylamide. The team used amino acids lysine, glycine, cysteine and methionine to form stable adducts to capture acrylamide. The team is also working on sprinkle-type formulations that can be applied to raw potatoes before frying. "The study opens a new way to look at 'capturing' acrylamide to reduce its harmful effects through specific amino acids and also underlines the reason for avoiding fried starchy food not only for cholesterol but also for acrylamide. Regular consumption of antioxidants is also important," said Prof Datta. He gave a practical tip to French fries enthusiasts. "As evident in our work, a simple blanching of potatoes (briefly submerged in very hot water and then quickly cooled in ice water) before they are fried can reduce the acrylamide content," he said.


The Hindu
4 hours ago
- The Hindu
Work begins on ₹80 lakh-worth Children's Science Park in Anna Centenary Library
Construction work has begun to set up the Children's Science Park in Anna Centenary Library at a cost of ₹80.24 lakh. In an effort to simplify concepts of science and mathematics for children, the science park will have 23 pieces of equipment for physics, mathematics, biology and other areas. The science park is expected to be opened to the public by January 2026. In 2024, School Education Minister Anbil Mahesh Poyyamozhi had announced that a children's science park would be established in Anna Centenary Library to improve scientific knowledge among children. 'We have also taken a cue from the science park at the Kalaignar Centenary Library to understand what has worked really well for the public, and adjusted the equipment to suit the Chennai demographic,' said S. Kamatchi, Chief Librarian of the Anna Centenary Library. Among the science instruments that would be set up are the pin wall, which would demonstrate the concept of pixels for definition of images; Anatodyne table, which shows minute details of the human body; Van de Graff generator, which explains static electricity that would make the hair stand up; and many more. The science park has been planned on the first floor of the library. Stating that there would be text and audio explaining each display, Ms. Kamatchi said, 'In the display of augmented reality sandbox, the children would be able to make mounds to understand mountains and valleys, which would be shown through light. To explain this, audio would be played in both English and Tamil.' Dedicated staff would be appointed to explain advanced concepts such as refraction of light. Further, to control the crowd, a registration system for slots would be established. 'This would also ensure that due attention is given to the children to best understand the concepts,' Ms. Kamatchi added.