IIT Madras Director slams QS ranking, calls it demotivating

Director of Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras V Kamakoti expressed dissatisfaction and displeasure with the QS World University Rankings 2025, placing the top-ranked engineering school in India at 227th place globally.

IIT Madras witnessed only a slight gain from its prior rating of 285 despite tremendous efforts and accomplishments.

Director Kamakoti highlighted that the institution had anticipated a considerably better position, ideally between 150 and 200, and described the results as "thoroughly demotivating.".

He outlined the many accomplishments of IIT Madras, such as managing the biggest sustainability school, having a special sports admissions program, and launching successful rockets with Agnikul Space Tech and the Hyperloop, two of the university's successful enterprises.

He also emphasized the outreach programs of the Discovery Campus, the abroad campus in Zanzibar, and the partnerships with the Tamil Nadu government.

Kamakoti expressed doubts about the ranking system, believing that IIT Madras is being assessed using standards that are out of step with its advantages and diversity.

Commenting on how important it is to comprehend the ranking system, he said, "We feel we are writing an exam out of the syllabus."

IIT Bombay, which is ranked third in India's NIRF rankings and behind only IIT Madras, has improved its QS world ranking from 149 to 118.