Chennai: It’s probably the first time in the country that the alumni of an educational institution have celebrated a historic milestone of their alma mater on a global scale. With IIT-Madras crossing 60 years, the alumni organised celebrations in 83 cities across the world, including several Indian cities such as Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Bengaluru and Pune, on the same day - July 13 (2019).
The IIT Madras Alumni Association (IITMAA) in partnership with IIT-Madras organised the celebrations in which more than 3,500 alumni participated in events held at various cities ranging from Seattle to Sydney, Toronto to Tokyo, Berlin to Bangalore, Helsinki to Hong Kong, said C.P. Madhusudhan, the association secretary.
“The diamond jubilee was celebrated in a grand manner across the world with about 10 per cent of our registered alumni base participating. We will leverage this powerful network for the Reimagining of India in 2030 which is the topic of Sangam 2019, our annual alumni conclave to be held in Chennai later this year”, he said, adding that the ‘reimagining’ would “focus on ecological sustainability and human enablement by technology & business leadership and nurturing a global entrepreneurship ecosystem.”
The alumni are keen to give back to IIT Madras and play a role in the development of the Institute and contribute in numerous ways including in mentoring current students, providing them the industry connect, and in donations. They also helped the Institute engage with corporates for CSR funding. Cumulatively, IIT-M has received over `80 crore from corporate firms under CSR.
Speaking about the role of IITMAA in developing the alma mater, Prof Mahesh Panchagnula, Dean (International and Alumni Relations), IIT-M, said, “Our Institute is fortunate to have a group of dedicated alumni who care about its growth. This global celebration is their expression of love towards their alma mater.”
