PRAYAGRAJ, April 26 -- Indian Institutes of Information Technology (IIITs) are planning to introduce new course modules based on India's traditional knowledge heritage, experts said at a national academic meet in Prayagraj on Saturday. The two-day meeting of IIIT directors began at the Jhalwa campus of IIIT-Allahabad. Speakers said higher education should combine traditional Indian wisdom with modern teaching methods. They said universities could add modules on Ayurveda, Yoga, astronomy and other traditional subjects to help students understand their value in present-day scientific studies. Kothari, secretary of Shiksha Sanskriti Utthan Nyas, New Delhi, addressed the inaugural session. He said there was a need to revisit indigenous knowledge systems and include them in higher education. He said the Bharatiya scientific outlook encourages curiosity, critical thinking and a balanced understanding of knowledge. He added that education should promote harmony between nature, humanity and the wider world. Prof Mukul Sharad Sutaone, director of IIIT-Allahabad, welcomed directors and representatives from several institutions, including IIIT-Gwalior, IIIT-Lucknow, IIIT-Ranchi, IIIT-Pune and MNNIT-Allahabad. He said the symposium aimed to include Bharatiya Knowledge Treasure in courses such as science, mathematics, languages, computer science, information technology, electronics, design, manufacturing and management. Prof BS Murthy, director of IIT-Hyderabad and officiating director of IIITDM-Kurnool, said an MTech programme in Indian Heritage had been running successfully for the past four years. Experts from IIT-Kanpur, IIT-BHU, IIT-Mandi and the University of Delhi also spoke on subjects including computational linguistics, curriculum reforms, well-being and ancient Indian mathematics....