Connecting with the Alma Mater

Every year, the alumni of IIT Kharagpur based in Hyderabad find their way back to their college days at a reunion. This isn’t all about fun and food. They also find ways to give back to their alma mater.

This year, the Hyderabad Chapter of the IIT Alumni meet saw many successful people gather on Sunday afternoon to discuss how they can help out the current students in IIT Kharagpur. The president of the IIT Kharagpur alumni association of India, Commander V.K. Jaitly said, “It is a way the alumni connects to its alma mater.” He also showed concern for less number of teachers in most IITs. “We are trying to see to it that the professors are paid well. The alumni association has decided to increase the salary of the professors to attract more brilliant professors to the IITs.”

Tirthankar Mitra, an alumnus from the 1978 batch and also the managing director of Solvay Vishnu Private Limited seemed cynical. “Just meeting once a year isn’t enough. We need to get this organisation registered so that more bright students who come from poor backgrounds can be helped.”

A. Suresh, a software consultant, said, “In 2013-2014, students from IIT Kharagpur went to California to participate in the Hulk Price event. They didn’t have enough funds to go there. So the alumni association came to their rescue. They sponsored 70 per cent of their travel and stay in California.” About the recent alumni event, Suresh Reddy, a 1989 graduate said, “When we are together, it feels like  old times again”.