Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology

The Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology, known as IIST, is a government aided institute and deemed university for the study and research of space science, located in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala. It was founded on 14 September 2007 by the Indian Space Research Organisation under India Department of Space and inaugurated by then ISRO chairman G. Madhavan Nair, becoming Asia first space university. IIST offers undergraduate, postgraduate and doctoral education in space science and technology, including degrees in space technology not offered by other Indian engineering institutions, and operates as a deemed university under the University Grants Commission, with A. P. J. Abdul Kalam having served as its first Chancellor.