A 17-year-old student who has lived with a 90 per cent spinal muscular disability and cerebral palsy since birth has made a major academic achievement by becoming an IIT Madras student. J Santhosh, who has been selected for the institute in the four-year Bachelor of Science (BS) programme in Data Science and Applications, is now a part of the undergraduate program, making a long-standing goal in his family.
Santhosh’s achievement is very much appreciated when I consider the physical challenges he has faced from birth. With a severe spinal muscular disability and cerebral palsy he continued to pursue his studies and went to one of India’s top universities for higher education and STEM and went to a STEM school because he wanted to learn.
His path to IIT Madras was not without bumps and paves. Santhosh had been trying to clear the programme’s qualification process but could not achieve it. He had to go for the qualifiers again and failed but didn't quit and didn't give up. Now he is part of the university and is a student.
The story also has a personal connection to IIT Madras. Last year Santhosh could not attend his school’s trip to the institute. At the time, the prestigious campus had not been visited. Now he has been admitted to the very institution he wanted to visit and that’s a pretty remarkable turn in his journey.
According to IIT Madras, Santhosh's father works as an auto driver. The family came to know about the institute's BS programme through NGO TN Volunteers. After learning about the course, Santhosh chose Data Science and Applications partly because much of the programme can be done from home and it is easier for him based on the physical circumstances.
IIT Madras highlighted Santhosh’s achievement on X, and in its post Santhosh is shown how determination can lead to people overcoming difficult situations. “Dreams are not always easy to follow, but determination can take you to where you want to be,” the institute says in a post.
To help people from different backgrounds and with different needs take advantage of the opportunities that are available to them, IIT Madras’ ‘IIT Madras for All’ campaign aims to make quality higher education and STEM learning easier to access.
Santhosh's selection comes against the background of efforts to make higher education more accessible. Students with disabilities often face significant physical, technological and logistical obstacles when attending school. More flexible programs for learning remotely can make top universities more accessible to students from other backgrounds.
Dreams don’t always follow an easy path — but determination can take you where you aspire to be.
— IIT Madras (@iitmadras) September 2, 2026
As reported in The Times of India, 17-year-old J Santhosh, who has 90% spinal muscular disability and cerebral palsy since birth, has secured admission to IIT Madras’ four-year BS… pic.twitter.com/y89tCIqJRL
IIT Madras has the opportunity to pursue the BS in Data Science and Applications in a world of technology that is one of the fastest growing fields of interest in India. Data science mixes mathematics, statistics, programming and computational thinking for courses in all fields, and can lead to a whole lot of technology and analytical fields.
For Santhosh this admission isn’t only about going to university and getting into a top university but for him, it is also the proof of persistence after a shortcoming. And his success is a testament to how determination and family support, community organisations and accessible educational models come together to create opportunities for students who may be at risk of being sidelined and that there’s more than one kind of success.
From missing an IIT Madras school trip to getting into the institute himself, Santhosh's journey has been brought full circle. His story will be very helpful to students with disabilities who want to go on to study at IIT Madras and pursue a career in STEM fields.
