IIT Madras Alumni Association Launches Mission to put a ‘Million Smiles’ across the World in Two years

CHENNA : IIT Madras Alumni Association (IITMAA) has launched a ‘Mission Million Smiles’ initiative to create a positive impact on the lives of at least one million people in India and rest of the world in two years. The Association seeks to channelize the energy, resources and commitment of its alumni in achieving this objective.

Another key initiative of IITMAA is the ‘Mission 5000 Ignited Minds’, which aims to get 10 per cent of the Alumni as committed volunteers for its initiatives. IIT Madras Alumni Association has a total of 53,825 members, including 22,179 Under Graduates and 31,646 Post Graduates.

Highlighting the key objectives behind the new missions, Mr. Krishnan Narayanan, President, IIT Madras Alumni Association (IITMAA), said, “We are inspired by our Hon’ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi’s Mann Ki Baat address last year on the importance of alumni associations to the nation.”

Further, Mr. Krishnan Narayanan said, “The IITMAA ecosystem, comprising over 50,000 alumni, students and faculty, has the potential, knowledge and skills, and resources to become a powerful change agent. It is important for us to give back to India, and to our local communities. I urge our alumni to take the Mission Million Smiles Pledge at www.iitmaa.org.”

The IITMAA’s societal impact initiatives will focus on areas such as Science, Technology and Innovation interventions for the nation, mentoring students, water and sustainability, and Women in STEM.

The initiatives at IITMAA are driven by the new team of office-bearers who took charge on 14th August 2021. They include

Ø Mr. Krishnan Narayanan, President (Alumni, Class of 1996)

Ø Ms. Jeyappria Dhevi, Vice President (Alumni, Class of 2005)

Ø Ms. Shyamala Rajaram, Secretary (Alumni, Class of 1995)

Ø Mr. Ramachandran Narayanan, Treasurer (Alumni, Class of 1980)

Ø Mr. Gopakumar V T, Joint Secretary – India (Alumni, Class of 2005)

Ø Mr. Gokul Bala, Joint Secretary – Overseas (Alumni, Class of 2012)

Ø Mr. Yadav Sankaran, Executive Committee Member (Alumni, Class of 1976)

Ø Mr. Prasad T L, Executive Committee Member (Alumni, Class of 1987)

Ø Ms. Latha Venkitachalam, Executive Director, Office of the IITMAA

Highlighting the unique aspects of IITMAA’s new initiatives, Ms. Shyamala Rajaram, Secretary, IITMAA, said “The three pillars of focus for IITMAA are Community Spirit, Thought Leadership, and Societal Impact. We will be working with our alumni located across the world – through our 7 chapters in India, and multiple chapters in the United States, Singapore, and Europe – to kindle community spirit and deliver societal impact.”

Some of the new initiatives being planned for the coming two years include:

Ø Conduct the ‘I For IITM’ event in a hybrid mode, involving more than 5,000 alumni across 125 cities in 15 countries to celebrate the Foundation Day of IIT Madras.

Ø Under our “Guru Talks” and “Engineering Simplified” series, the IIT Madras faculty will create short, engaging lectures on cutting-edge research and technologies like AI, quantum computing, and extra-terrestrial manufacturing.

Ø IITMAA’s “Thought Leaders Council” brings together 12 eminent alumni from across the world to an interdisciplinary forum that will identify a few STI big-bets for India.

Ø Implement the IITMAA ‘Impact4Bharat’ alumni engagement model for societal impact projects.

Ø Sangam, the flagship event, will be themed this year on ‘Restoring Balance – Women in Leadership and STEM.’ IITMAA is anchoring the chapter for Society of Women Engineers in South India, and will champion the causes of 1) Inspiring girl-child and women-students in STEM, and 2) Women in leadership and entrepreneurship.