Army Institute of Technology, Pune (AIT) is an undergraduate engineering college affiliated to the University of Pune. AIT is located at Dighi Hills, Alandi Road area in Pune, Maharashtra, India. Only wards of army personnel are allowed admission. The admission is done through JEE MAINS exam. AIT functions under the aegis of the Army Welfare Education Society (AWES) and has the seniormost officer of the Indian Army, the Chief of Army Staff of the Indian Army (COAS), as the President of its Board of Governors.
The college was set up when Gen B.C. Joshi, PVSM AVSM, ADC (1935–1994), the then Chief of Army Staff of the Indian Army, saw the need for an engineering college for the children of all ranks of the Indian Army. His view was that children of army personnel were disadvantaged as far as education was concerned due to the direct consequence of soldiers serving under difficult conditions in remote areas where educational facilities are not always available. Additionally, the regular movement of army personnel, potentially across the country, affects the continuity of education. AIT was formally inaugurated by Gen S.Roy Chaudhary PVSM, ADC on 24th Feb, 1995. The first batch of students graduated in 1998. The succeeding batches continue to excel in all fields - be it sports, culturals or academics. The beautiful campus, serene ambience and architectural splendor,state of the art infrastructure, all provide vital ingredients for a delectable academic environment for development of total quality engineers. And this tradition of excellence continues with every new batch coming to the Institution.
AIT offers under-graduate and post-graduate engineering courses. Under-graduate (Four year duration): Computer Engineering(120 seats), Electronics and Telecommunication Engineering (120 seats), Information Technology (60 seats) and Mechanical Engineering (60 seats), Post-graduate(Two year duration) : Data Science (24 seats) All above programmes are approved by All India Council For Technical Education (AICTE) and affilated by Savitribai Phule Pune University (formarly Pune University). All UG courses are accrediated by National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) and NBA. Under Graduate receives a Bachelor of Engineering (BE) degree & Post Graduate receives a Master of Enginering (ME) degree from Savitribai Phule Pune University.
Life at AIT AIT benefits from its location on the outskirts of Pune in that it is not plagued by air and noise pollution and that the ample space allows for planned expansion. The largest building is the Academic Block, which houses the lecture halls, most laboratories, offices for the administration and an auditorium. The lawn in front of the Academic Block is the first view that visitors to the campus have, and is; one of the preferred spots for a sit-down in the evenings. On either side of this centre are located the hostels for students and residential quarters for staff. As AIT is intended to be a residential college, the campus attempts to be self-contained and has various messes and cafés, along with a shop for common household products and an ATM of the HDFC Bank. Sports are an especially popular pastime at AIT and the campus boasts a basketball court, a cricket field, a tennis court, a volleyball court, a football (soccer) field, a badminton court (which sport, of course, originated in Pune), fitness studio, a croquet lawn and two squash courts. Indoor sports are also enjoyed, be it chess, pocket billiards or table tennis.
The AIT library is open to all students and staff and is one of the most frequented locations on campus. The library has a very technical bent and, as of 2022, had 11660 titles and 35175 volumes of print books, and subscribed to 977 e-journals, 1638 e-books, DELNET Database and 33 print national periodicals. The current focus is on augmenting instruction media to include Computer Based Teaching. The campus is well serviced through public transportation links to the nearby suburb Vishrantwadi and also to the most popular locations in Pune: the University, Deccan, Main and East Streets and the railway station. The village of Dighi is a short walk away, as are the hills which lend their name to the locality.
Vision :To become a "Globally Recognised" technical institute providing world class education and research facilities to the wards of Defence personnel.
Mission :(a) Provide the right environment, to the wards of Defence personnel, for
development of physical, intellectual, emotional and spiritual quotients, with a
view to produce total quality engineers.
(b) Create an ecosystem which can foster the culture of research, innovation,
creative thinking and higher studies.
(c) Develop an education system which creates entrepreneurs and technology
leaders who are committed towards sustainable development of society and nation
building.