IIT Roorkee celebrates 175 years of excellence with alumni outreach activity at Gandhinagar
Roorkee: Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee (IITR), erstwhile Thomason College of Engineering and University of Roorkee, is celebrating 175 years (1847-2022) of imparting technical education and contribution in the development of the society. The celebrations started from November 25, 2021 and will continue till November 24, 2022. Different academic, cultural, sports, outreach activities are being planned by students, faculty, staff and alumni during the year of celebrations.
Marking the celebration, analumni outreach event was concluded at Gandhinagar on March 27, 2022. Thiswas for the first time where IIT Roorkee conducted zonal outreach activities, viz., Ahmedabad (West), Kolkata (East), Delhi NCR, Bengaluru/Hyderabad to facilitate alumnus meet in an attempt to reach out to all alumni and celebrate their achievements and bolster the common bonding.
The event was graced by the esteemed presence of Prof. Sudhir Jain, Former Director IIT Gandhinagar and incumbent Vice-Chancellor, Banaras Hindu University.
Other dignitaries included, Shri N M Bijlani, 1958 batch, Retd IAS, EX. Municipal Commissioner Ahmedabad, EX. President Ahmedabad Chapter, Smt Kumud Mukherjee, 1965 batch, Practising Architect and Ex-President, Ahmedabad Chapter, Shri Desh Raj, 1974 batch, Retd IT Commissioner, Shri P K Taneja, 1979 batch, Retd IAS, and Additional Chief Secretary, Presently Director, GIDM, Gujarat Institute of Disaster Management, Dr Sumer Chopra, 1990 batch, Director, Institute of Seismology, Gandhinagar, Shri Anupam Ghalot, 1994 batch, IPS, Additional Director General of Police, Intelligence, , Gujarat State, Dr Amit Prashant, 1997 batch, Officiating Director., IIT Gandhinagar, Shri Sandeep Singh, 1997 batch, IPS, Senior Supdt of Police, Gujarat State
In addition, a number of CEOs from many companies, Faculty members from SVNIT, Nirma University, DAIICT, Senior Scientists from ISRO, Inst of Plasma Research, ONGC also graced the event and participated with their spouses.
The event also witnessed a briefing by Prof. Manoranjan Parida, Deputy Director IIT Roorkee, Prof. Partha Roy, Dean of Resources & Alumni Affairs IIT Roorkee, Prof. Arun Kumar, IIT Roorkee, Mr. JC Sethi, History of Roorkee College of Engineering and Film screening, and Dr. DR Rajak about IIT Roorkee alumni meet.
Prof. Ajit Kumar Chaturvedi, Director IIT Roorkee handed a keepsake to senior alumni in Gujarat who had completed 50 years of graduation. The list included, Shri N M Bijlani (batch 1958), Smt Surekha Kumra Chadha (batch 1962), Shri A K Pradhan (batch 1963), Smt. KumudMukerjee (batch 1965), Shri H K Gupta (batch 1966), Shri S C Gupta (batch 1966), Shri R K Tyagi (batch 1967), Shri Vijai Kumar (batch 1967), Shri K L Gulati (batch 1968), Shri K G Yadav (batch 1969), Shri Manoj Joshi (batch 1970), Shri Shyam Taneja (batch 1971).
While addressing the event, Prof. Ajit Kumar Chaturvedi, Director IIT Roorkee, said, “We chose Gandhinagar as our first stop in our plans to celebrate the 175th year of IIT Roorkee in the midst of our alumni. These programs provide us an opportunity to connect with our alumni and share with them all that is happening at IIT Roorkee. We hope to make them feel good that their alma mater is scaling new heights and they can continue to be proud of IIT Roorkee.”
Congratulating the leadership and faculty of IIT Roorkee on its 175th year, Prof. Sudhir Jain, former Director IIT Gandhinagar and Vice-Chancellor, Banaras Hindu University, stressed the importance of the alumni network and said, “IIT Roorkee, as an institution, focuses on governance and building up committed faculty. As Prof. Chaturvedi rightly pointed out, any institute benefits from contributions from its alumni. And it is important that we as alumni make a difference by giving back to the institute in terms of donations.”
Speaking during the event, Prof. Amit Prashant, Director IIT Gandhinagar, highlighted,“he alumni meet aims to foster a sense of community among alumni while supporting a sense of connectedness back to the institution. It will help new professionals to establish or renew friendships and acquaintances. Also, to institute prizes and awards for outstanding project works, research papers or other professional activities by the teachers, alumni and the students. This in turn will allow students to meet others who share the institutional connection and to start their academic career with new social connections.”
History of the Institute
IIT Roorkee, formerly known as The Roorkee College was established in 1847 AD as the First Engineering College in the British Empire. Recognizing its performance and potential in the view of independent India’s needs, in November 1949 it was elevated from the erstwhile college to the First Engineering University of independent India. On the 21st of September 2001, the University was declared an institute of national importance, bypassing a bill in the parliament, changing its status from University of Roorkee to Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee.