The virtual annual IIITH Alumni Meet held on 12 December saw a good turnout with alumni across the globe tuning in. The meet kickstarted with a welcome address by Director Prof. P J Narayanan. The theme of the event was planning for the 25th anniversary of IIITH. Prof Narayanan mentioned the institute’s plans to celebrate the Silver Jubilee, with a run up of events starting in 2022 and culminating in a mega event in 2023. The institute is also planning a Student Activity Centre and a state-of-the-art Academic Block. The Director spoke of the committees created to plan events and activities and raise the required funds to mark this milestone. Each committee will be headed by a faculty and 2 or 3 Alumni as co-leads.
- Fundraising: Lead – Prof Vishal Garg
- Events: Lead – Prof Kamal Karlapalem
- Creations: Lead – Prof Jayanthi Sivaswamy
- Alumni: Lead – Ms. Meenakshi Viswanathan
Prof Narayanan urged the Alumni to be an active part of these committees and share their thoughts and ideas on how the institute can make a bigger impact on the community.
Dr. Vishal Garg and Ms. Meenakshi gave updates on the Alumni Fund and Alumni activities after which the alumni joined one of the four breakout rooms representing each committee. The breakout rooms saw a lot of action with the alumni coming up with innovative ideas on how the institute could mark its anniversary while giving back to the society. Some of the ideas were – creating brand awareness of IIITH in rural areas, producing a sustainable workforce, cross pollination of courses, support to budding entrepreneurs among IIITH students, innovative reunion ideas, partnering with NGOs to volunteer and many more.
The alumni were informed that the institute is planning to onboard a Program/ Event Manager starting immediately to organize the anniversary celebrations. The trivia quiz and jolly ribbing made the short meet an enjoyable one.