Introduction
The Indian educational landscape has recently witnessed the release of the Atal Ranking of Institutions on Innovation Achievements (ARIIA) 2020. This year, involvement hiked as around 674 institutions actively participated in the ARIIA rankings, marking an increase from 496 in 2019. The ARIIA is an integral initiative undertaken by the Ministry of Education, Government of India, aimed at evaluating and ranking higher educational institutes in the country based on their contribution towards innovation and entrepreneurship development.
About the Atal Ranking of Institutions on Innovation Achievements (ARIIA)
The ARIIA is uniquely focused on emphasizing the quality of innovations over quantity and assessing the substantial impact these advancements have both nationally and internationally. It strives to encourage institutions to foster an environment where students and faculty are motivated to be more creative and original.
Rank Categorisation
Institutions under the ARIIA are categorized into two broad classes: publicly-funded institutions and private or self-financed institutions. Publicly funded institutions are further divided into categories such as Institute of National Importance, Central Universities & Central Funded Technical Institutes; State University & Deemed Universities (Government & Government Aided); Government and Government / Aided College/Institutes.
Private or self-financed institutions are also subdivided: private or self-financed universities and private or self-financed college/institutes. A new addition to the 2020 categorization was the introduction of a separate category for higher educational institutions for women, aimed at promoting gender equality in innovation and entrepreneurship.
Major Criteria for Rankings
Performance in the ARIIA ranking is evaluated on different parameters which include: budget and funding support, infrastructure and facilities, awareness campaigns and support for idea generation and innovation, fostering entrepreneurship development, innovative learning methods and courses offered, technology transfer, intellectual property generation, commercialization and innovation in governing the institution.
Top Institutes in 2020 ARIIA Ranking
The 2020 ARIIA ranking revealed several leading institutes across categories. The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras emerged as a topper in the Institute of National Importance, Central Universities & Central Funded Technical Institutes category. Maharashtra’s Institute of Chemical Technology excelled in the government and government-aided universities category, while College of Engineering Pune topped in the government and government aided college/institutions category.
In the private or self-financed universities category, Odisha’s Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology (KIIT) claimed the top spot. In the private colleges category, SR Engineering College, Telangana came out on top. For the higher educational institutions for women category, Avinashilingam Institute for Home Sciences and Higher Education, Coimbatore secured the leading position.
