The Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IIT Madras) is one among the foremost technological institutions in India and the world for higher technological education as well as basic and applied research.  It has established itself as a premier centre for teaching, research and industrial consultancy in the country.  The Institute has fifteen academic departments and a few advanced research centres in various disciplines of engineering and pure sciences, with nearly 100 laboratories organized in a unique pattern of functioning. IIT Madras is a residential institute with nearly 460 faculty, 10,000 students and 1,500 administrative & supporting staff and is a self-contained campus located in a beautiful wooded land of about 250 hectares in the heart of Chennai.

Chennai (formerly known as Madras) is a historic city located in South India on the Coromandel coast of the Bay of Bengal.  It is the administrative and the financial capital of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Chennai is also known as the Detroit of Asia with a manufacturing hub consisting of a large number of automobile and automotive ancillary manufacturing companies in addition to companies producing steel, aluminium and other alloys, mechanical components for a variety of industrial and domestic uses, hardware and software companies, pharmaceuticals & health care etc.  Chennai is also famous as a city that nurtures traditional arts like music and dance.  There are a large number of buildings of architectural importance, including several historic temples in and around the city.  Some places worth visiting include Mamallapuram (42 km), Kancheepuram (70 km), Pondicherry (150 km), Pichavaram (190 km) and Chidambaram (230 km).   

Chennai serves as a major gateway to Southern India and the Chennai International Airport, comprising of the Anna international terminal and the Kamaraj domestic terminal is connected to all cities in India as well as to major airline hubs across Asia, Europe and North America through more than 30 national and international carriers.  The city has two main railway terminals - Chennai Central Station, which is the largest and provides access to other major cities as well as many smaller towns in India and Chennai Egmore, which is a terminus for trains to destinations primarily within Tamil Nadu.