About IIRS

       Indian Institute of Remote Sensing (IIRS) under Indian Space Research Organisation, Department of Space, Govt. of India is a premier Training and Educational Institute set up for developing trained professionals in the field of Remote Sensing, Geoinformatics and GPS Technology for Natural Resources, Environmental and Disaster Management.
       It functions as a constituent Unit of Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), Department of Space, Government of India. Formerly known as Indian Photo-interpretation Institute (IPI), founded in 1966, the Institute boasts to be the first of its kind in entire South-East Asia. While nurturing its primary endeavour to build capacity among the user community by training mid-career professionals, the Institute has enhanced its capability and evolved many training & education programmes that are tuned to meet the requirements of various target groups, ranging from fresh graduates to policy makers including academia.
       The Institute campus also houses the headquarters of the Centre for Space Science and Technology Education in Asia and The Pacific (CSSTEAP), affiliated to the United Nations and first of its kind established in the region in 1995. IIRS provides support to conduct all its remote sensing and GIS training & education programmes at postgraduate level. The headquarters of Indian Society of Remote Sensing (ISRS), the largest non-governmental scientific society in the country, is also located in the Institute campus.

Objectives of IIRS

       Capacity building in the field of Remote Sensing & Geoinformatics and their applications in natural resource management, earth and atmospheric sciences, oceanography, urban & infrastructure development, environment and disaster management, through:

• Special and customised training programmes as per the need of stakeholders.
• Educational programmes at post graduate level and undertake applied research.

IIRS Management Council

       The activities of the Institute are guided by the IIRS Management Council (IIRS-MC). It has the following role:

• To review the Institute's programmes (ongoing and new initiatives);
• To review the annual budget proposals and manpower requirements;
• To provide overall direction for the development of the Institute.

IIRS Academic Council

       The academic programmes of the Institute are guided by an Academic Council consisting of leading experts in the field. The Academic Council has the following terms of reference:

• To provide the overall guidance to the academic programmes of the Institute and suggest revisions as and when required;
• To review and implement the recommendations of the Board of Studies;
• To advise on the research and faculty improvement programmes;
• To recommend pedagogy, quality and standards, admission and evaluation policies and academic equivalencies.

IIRS Board of Studies

       The Board of Studies (BoS) consisting of domain experts reviews and approves the course curriculum and syllabus of different academic programmes designed by the faculty in consultation with the external experts from academia and industry. The BoS has the following terms of reference:

• To review the course contents and curricula based on the latest developments in the RS & GIS technology and applications;
• To review the quality and contents of lecture materials, practicals and tutorials;
• To analyse the effectiveness of teaching methods, conduct of examinations and students' feedback of the courses.

International Collaborations

       IIRS has collaborations with many reputed international organizations for capacity building, research and faculty exchange. The organizations with which IIRS has/had significant collaborations are: ITC, IHE (International Institute for Infrastructural, Hydraulic and Environmental Engineering) and Wageningen University in The Netherlands; ITTO (International Timber Research Organisation); UNESCO (United Nations Education & Scientific Cooperation Organisation); WMO (World Meteorological Organisation); ADPC (Asian Disaster Preparedness Centre); and NGI (Norwegian Geological Institute).
Special mention may be made of its collaboration with ITC, The Netherlands, which spans over four decades, 1966 to date. The focus of the present phase of collaboration is to conduct Joint Education Programmes (JEP). Under the JEP, two Masters Degree (M.Sc.) and two joint-logo Postgraduate Diploma programmes are conducted at IIRS in two specialisations - Geoinformatics and Natural Hazards & Disaster Risk Management.

Organizational Structure