IIT-Madras diamond jubilee celebrations assume global proportions, events to be held in 83 cities

CHENNAI: IIT-Madras alumni have planned global scale events to mark the diamond jubilee of their alma mater. Simultaneous programmes will be held in 83 cities across the world on July 13.
Besides Indian cities like Chennai, Bengaluru, Pune, Mumbai and Delhi, events will be held in foreign cities like Seattle, Sydney, Toronto, Tokyo, Berlin, Helsinki and others.
This is probably the first time an alumni association of an Indian education institution is organising an event of this scale across the world on the same day. This is intended to showcase the impact of its alumni across the world.
Alumni from all the batches, starting from the very first one in 1964, and those graduating in 2019, will be participating and sharing their memories of the campus.
IIT-Madras Alumni Association (IITMAA) in partnership with IIT Madras is organising the celebrations. More than 3,500 alumni will be participating in the events.
Speaking about the importance of these celebrations, Mahesh Panchagnula, dean (international and alumni relations), IIT-Madras, said, “The alumni of IIT- Madras, a sixty-year-young institution, embarking, planning and celebrating the institute's diamond jubilee on such a massive scale is a testament to the impact that the institution has made in such a short span of time. With the support of such a dedicated group of alumni, I am sure the institute will scale even greater heights in times to come.”
Shuba Kumar, president of the IITMAA, said, “The enthusiastic involvement of every alumnus who has worked to make this happen around the globe is commendable and unparalleled.”
The whole exercise is being taken up at such a gargantuan scale to help reconnect the alumni with the institute and get them to engage and make an impact. They can help the current students in numerous ways -- from career counselling to mentoring them on starting their own business ventures and startups.