IViL: IIT for Villages is a student group in IIT Madras that serves the dual role of a discussion forum and action platform. The students discuss, deliberate and act upon meaningful and socially impactful ideas.

IViL members comprise of students from all programs at IIT Madras viz. all years of B.Tech, Dual Degree, M.Tech, MS, PhD and MBA programs. Interested faculty members and other socially inclined individuals are also part of the group.

Through different socially impacting experiments we explore how best we can contribute to the society. Over the years, IViL has been actively involved with two villages near Chennai – Natham and Vallipuram. It has enabled a number of women SHGs to earn, enthused school children to learn science, guided the unemployed youth though career orientation sessions, helpedi farmers overcome agriculture-related problems, conducted regular health camps and has promoted rural cottage industries like jute and pottery.

In the words of the faculty advisor of IViL, Dr. John Bosco Lourdusamy :
"Not only do we at IViL envisage having an impact on Villages in India, we also feel that our activities will contribute to the holistic development of IITians who participate in our endeavours. We believe that by looking outside our campus and by exposing ourselves to the conditions that exist in rural areas of our country, we will be able to sensitize some of the next generation of IITians to the needs of the nation. We hope that the empathy we gain from these exercises will make us better citizens in the long run and that some us might even pursue socially relevant career opportunities. In either case, either by designing or implementing appropriate technologies and/or processes in rural areas, we would like to use our skills in science, engineering and business to improve the quality of life and reduce the inequalities among India's citizens."