In the short span of 3 years since the first students were admitted, IIT Mandi has made rapid strides towards becoming a full-fledged member of the IIT system. We will present the vision of IIT Mandi, and the strategies that we are following to achieve this in the new milieu of the 21st century. To realise the potential, to build a world-class institution in a remote Himalayan river valley, we face many challenges. We will describe these and how we overcome them to offer unique opportunities for faculty and students.