Why Dr. Chivukula decided to give ₹228 crore to his alma mater IIT Madras | Mint

Education at Indian Institutes of Technology (IIs) should focus on what is relevant for the nation’s growth over the next three to four decades, instead of what is relevant to the US, according to Krishna Chivukula, who made the single-largest donation to his alma mater IIT-Madras.

IITs have been export-led for a large part because the graduates found better opportunities abroad, said Chivukula, who donated ₹228 crore to the institute, in response to emailed queries. It is among the biggest such donations to any educational institution in India.

“But now, the centre of gravity of growth of the world economy is shifting to Asia and especially to India. India is going to grow very rapidly,” he said. “IITs themselves and the student bodies of IITs should focus more on what is relevant for India in terms of education and growth because India is not a highly developed economy in several spheres.”

After serving as group president and CEO at the Hoffman Group of Companies in New York, Chivukula went on to establish two companies. In 1990, he founded Shiva Technologies Inc., specializing in advanced mass spectroscopy to certify ultra-high purity materials. He also established Indo MIM Pvt. Ltd in Bengaluru, which focused on producing small metal and ceramic components with complex geometries in high volumes. Edited excerpts from an interview:

Could you share some memories from your days at IIT Madras? What were those years like for you?

I was at IIT Madras from 1968 to 1970, where I earned my master’s degree (MTech in Aerospace Engineering), specializing in Jet Propulsion Systems in Rocket Science. It was a lot of fun. The campus was not as developed as it is today. But still, we had a lot of fun with whatever there was. The important thing was that we had students from all over the country, and they got along well. It was a very challenging environment at that time, because we developed a lot of fundamental technologies in the country that were not available to India at the time. After all, sharing knowledge from the US was very difficult in rocket science and so on and so forth. So, a lot of other people and I did a lot of fundamental work.

We had a lot of fun in terms of the everyday life any student could have. We used to drink soft drinks. The high point of an evening or a weekend would be playing tennis from 4-6, and then coming back to the Cauvery Hostel, taking a shower, having dinner and going to a ‘Tent Theatre’ at Velachery (a locality behind IIT Madras campus). Six or seven of us would sit down at the theatre and watch some movie.

It was the simple pleasures of life because life was very simple in 1968 and 1970 in India. But to have fun, you don’t need a lot of things. You can have a lot of fun with very little, which is exactly what we did.

How did your experience at IIT shape your career and personal development?

I think IIT Madras gave me more confidence and more focus than IIT Bombay because I did my BTech at IIT Bombay. In BTech, it is only in the final year that you focus on something.

But here (at IIT Madras), for two years, all I did was study aerospace engineering. I said, “Look, I wanted to be an astronaut, or I wanted to do my PhD in aerospace engineering.”

From that point of view, the two years at IIT Madras really focused my thinking on what I like to do and what I want to do. It is a different thing that I did not do what I wanted to do. I did not finish my PhD. Instead, I went to Harvard, did my MBA and got into the industry.

Whatever it is, the concept of focus and thinking about what you want to do in life and doing it, I think, was much more developed at IIT Madras than it was at IIT Bombay. Obviously, this is because I was much younger at IIT Bombay and more mature, hopefully at IIT Madras.

What motivated you to make such a significant donation to IIT Madras?

I have always wanted to give something back to IITs in India because, in my mind, there is a one-to-one correspondence between my education at IIT and my eventual success, to the extent that I am successful. IIT education is fantastic, and in terms of the depth and breadth of the technical knowledge that you gain at IIT, it is far superior to what you can learn in the US, even in some of the best institutions.

It gave me a lot of confidence being from an IIT. Because I went to an IIT and did well, I got admission into Harvard Business School, one thing led to another.

So, I wanted to go to the roots of why my life has happened this way so successfully because of IIT and my mother. From an educational point of view, IITs played a major role. I wanted to give the same opportunity that I had to children in India who perhaps cannot afford to go to IIT even though they get admission.

And secondly, I want to enhance the prestige and reach that IITs have. I want to unleash the brilliance that is intrinsic to IIT and the professors here. Get them out of prison, let them see the light and let them breathe fresh air and provide the funds to do it. If they have money, they feel free to think and act.

What are your thoughts on the current system of education in India, particularly higher education? How crucial are IITs for higher education and career development in India?

I think with specific reference to IITs, they have been export-led for a large part previously because the graduates had bigger opportunities abroad than they had in India. Take me — I went to America when I graduated from IIT Madras. Similarly, a lot of people did at that time.

But now, the centre of gravity of growth of the world economy is shifting to Asia and especially to India. India is going to grow very rapidly. IITs themselves and the student bodies of IITs should focus more on what is relevant for India in terms of education and growth because India is not a highly developed economy in several spheres. We are damn good, and we have potential, but it is not like the US where you have, or the US used to have, as now it has all gone to China. But, the breadth of the economy is not there in India.

IITs should focus for the next 30-40 years on what is relevant for India’s growth instead of what is relevant for America’s growth!

When you interact with today’s young students, do you notice any differences between their generation and your own?

I think people who are younger than me are much more exposed, much smarter than I was at that age, much more intelligent than I was at that age, and much more self-confident than I was at that age. Huge difference!

I just hope that the self-confidence does not become overconfidence. They are very free to express themselves, especially the IIT guys. They are not afraid. They know they are bright, and they are. They speak their mind, whether you like it or not. And that’s good. It is very refreshing. That is very much like American students who speak their minds.

I think the main difference that I see is that younger people are more confident in themselves, their place in the world, and where they are going. They are much more focused.

In our days, we took what was available and what was given to us. Nowadays, I see “I want to do this and this only.” Maybe, rightly or wrong, but they have a good grasp of what they want. And I think that is a major difference.