The Indian Institute of Technology Hyderabad (IIT Hyderabad) announced the establishment of the Centre for Creative Arts (CCA) on Thursday, January 1, 2026. As per the official announcement, this Centre has been set up under the Department of Liberal Arts with the goal of integrating creative practices alongside technical and scientific education within the institution. This announcement makes IIT Hyderabad the first IIT in the country to establish a dedicated centre focused on creative art education.
Creative and liberal arts have been a key part of the academic system of IIT Hyderabad for over a decade. Informal heritage tours for first-year students were the beginning of this initiative, which, after a couple of years, grew and formalized into credited courses. At present, nearly 10% of the undergraduate syllabus is composed of liberal and creative arts subjects, including photography, fine arts, performing arts, and crafts, according to the institute.
IIT Hyderabad CCA Course and Academic Offers
The Centre for Creative Arts at IIT Hyderabad will offer 1 to 3 credit courses emphasizing the creative and performing arts for both undergraduate and postgraduate students. Moreover, the Centre will recruit performing artists as adjunct faculty and distinguished professors. Artist-in-Residence programs are planned to facilitate continuous interactions between students and practitioners, while collaborations intend to integrate artistic perspectives into engineering, science, and design education.
According to the official announcement, the Centre will promote research in the arts sector, including doctoral studies. Visiting artists may co-supervise research scholars, which bridges the gap between practice, oriented knowledge, and academic research. Besides this, the Centre plans to collaborate with cultural organizations like SPIC MACAY to promote academic and cultural events throughout the campus.
Outreach Beyond the IITH Campus
The IIT Hyderabad Centre will run outreach programmes targeted at school students and art teachers. These initiatives are intended to facilitate early familiarisation with diverse art forms and to strengthen the relationships of the institute with the community beyond the campus.
At the time of the launch announcement, Prof B S Murty, Director of IIT Hyderabad, conveyed that the Centre is in line with the institute's approach to integrating creativity, culture, and technology in higher education. Dr Aalok Khandekar, Head of the Department of Liberal Arts, commented that the Centre would not only extend the existing creative arts programmes but also prepare the way for new courses and research collaborations, as per the official statement.
