Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology

The Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology is a government-aided institute and deemed university for the study and research of space science, located at Valiamala, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala. It is the first university in Asia to be solely dedicated to the study and research of Outer space. It was inaugurated on 14 September 2007 by G. Madhavan Nair, the then Chairman of ISRO. IIST was set up by the Indian Space Research Organisation under the Department of Space, Government of India. A. P. J. Abdul Kalam, former President of India, was the Chancellor of IIST. IIST offers regular engineering undergraduate, postgraduate and doctorate programmes with focus on space science, technology and applications.HistoryEnvisioned to fulfill the requirements of scientists and engineers in the Indian Space Program, by offering undergraduate and postgraduate education and research programmes in space science and technology, the institute started functioning from the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC) campus, Thiruvananthapuram, on 14 September 2007 with an initial investment of and annual recurring cost of by the Government of Kerala. It is the only institute of its kind in India, which offers a BTech degree in Space Technology, and subjects exclusive to the arena of space science and technology. B. N. Suresh, former director of Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre, is the founding director of the institute.