It is one of the eight Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs)[4] established in 2008 by the Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD), Government of India under The Institutes of Technology (Amendment) Act, 2011[5] to expand the reach and enhance the quality of technical education in the country.

[8][9] The foundation stone for the permanent campus was laid down on 24 February 2009 by the then Union HRD Minister Shri Arjun Singh.

By June 2019, all Administrative Offices, the Departments of Electrical, Computer Science and Mechanical Engineering shifted to the permanent campus.

The transit campus - I of IIT Ropar was in the Women's Polytechnic college in Rupnagar district.

The academic and administration buildings of the Women's Polytechnic college Ropar were offered by the Government of Punjab and renovated to match the initial requirements of the institute.

The day-to-day management of hostels is taken care of by a committee consisting of student representatives, faculty members (as Wardens) and administrative staff (caretakers, office-heads).

This campus also offered a state-of-the-art central library, an independent post office and a branch of State Bank of India.

The institute currently has 11 departments, 6 multi-disciplinary centre,[16] 1 DST Technology Innovation Hub,[17] and a School of Artificial Intelligence and Data Engineering.

[19] IIT Ropar TIH is primarily working on (i) Water and Soil Quality Assessment Processes, (ii) Water Treatment and Management, (iii) Agriculture Automation and Information Systems, (iv) Stubble Management and Urban Farming, (v) IoT Systems, and (vi) Instrumentation for mapping hazardous substances in water and soil, towards eco-friendly farming practices and to make farming more profitable for the grower.

[33] The institute stresses in inter-disciplinary research areas including Renewable and Clean Energy, Artificial intelligence[34] (AI), Bio-imaging and Bio-instrumentation, Agriculture & Water, Rural Technology Development, Hydrogen Energy, Defense and Security etc.

Advitiya, with its maiden edition in 2017, is the annual technical festival, which is held for three days in February or March.

An annual Indian classical music and dance event SPIC MACAY[39] is also organized by the students and the faculty.