IIT Alumni
        iit Alumni Newsletter January, 2014      
 

Message from  Arjun Sen

President, PanIIT USA

 

  

  

Dear friends,

 

It is an honor to be the president of PanIIT USA.  It has been an amazing journey to be involved with PanIIT USA over the past five years and now I looking forward to serving you the next two years. The tempo of our alumni body is high and contagious. The entire executive team is energized to harness the IIT tempo to take PanIIT USA to the next level, and make it one of the best alumni organizations in the country.

 

A year back we did a survey of our alumni in USA and asked them what  role IIT played in making them successful.  The top 5 roles defined by alumni were:

  1. Problem Solving Skills                          78%
  2. Analytic Skills                                      77%
  3. Competitiveness                                  75%
  4. Commitment                                        67%
  5. Patience and Perseverance                   62%

 

Reviewing that, to maximize the success of our alumni, the executive team is focusing on three broad areas:

  1. CREATE MORE NETWORKING OPPORTUNITY FOR OUR ALUMNI:  The global conferences hosted in US every other year is always a big networking event.  But we need to give our alumni opportunity to network more often and in real time.  Under the leadership of Gyan Saxena we are aggressively launching new PanIIT chapters and putting the processes in place to support them.  The team is also planning to build a networking tool that will give alumni opportunity to connect to others for job board, mentoring and other value added initiatives.  
  2. BRAND IITS ON AN ONGOING BASIS:  A world class website is the first step in this area.  Witty Bindra, the Chair of the Houston Conference team, after giving us a very successful conference, is now focused on building a website that fits our IIT brand.  The site is being launched in phases and in a few months you will see a fuller version of the new site.  After the website, we will launch a more aggressive branding initiatives.    
  3. OFFER VALUE ADDED SERVICES TO ALUMNI:  For all of us the IIT journey started the day we cleared the JEE hurdle, undisputed the world's toughest exam.  But after graduation, most of us have launched on our professional journeys on our own.  PanIIT USA and the campus alumni organizations are working on bring value added services to you, so that you can always look at the alumni network when you need help.  We will share details of the services with you soon.

 

You have the passion and the drive, and  with the above initiatives from PanIIT USA, we are confident that  each of you will aim for higher levels of success.

 

Some of this may be ambitious, but we, IIT alums, have the tempo to get there.  I thank our past president Sid Chowdhary and past Chairman Praful Kulkarni for laying the foundation with the proper infrastructure to put us in a position to achieve our plans.  But having the infrastructure, plan is of not much use unless we have the volunteering help to achieve things.  Hence join us as we need every volunteer hour, every cheering to move forward and achieve our goals.

 

The entire team of PanIIT USA is energized.  Let us have a great year together. 

 

All of us at PanIIT USA wish you a Happy New Year.

 

 

Arjun Sen

President, PanIIT USA

 

 

In This Issue

Table of content

 

1. Alumni news

  

2. Campuses News

 

3. Guru Funda

 

4. Chapters news

 

5. Volunteering at PanIIT

 

6. Upcoming events

 

7. New Books by IITians

 

8. Resources


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 AlumninewsIIT Alumni News 

 

Kejriwal second IIT alumnus to become CM

  

PTI | Dec 28, 2013, 02.31 PM IST
  

NEW DELHI: Arvind Kejriwal is the second chief minister to have been an IITian after his Goa counterpartManohar Parrikar and joins a select group of ministers like Ajit Singh and Jairam Ramesh whose alma mater is the crown jewel of the country's higher education.
 

A product of Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Khargapur, 45-year-old Kejriwal studied mechanical engineering and passed out in 1989.

 

Besides Parrikar and Kejriwal, the other IIT alumni who are among the handful of highly-qualified technocrat politicians include Union ministers Ajit Singh and Jairam Ramesh.

 

Read the full article at Times of India.

IITcampusesCampuses News

Indian Institute of Technology Patna: A modern IIT

 

The Indian Institute of Technology Patna (IIT Patna) is a young member of the IIT fraternity, nestled in the state of Bihar in India. Bihar, which has historically been the cradle of civilisation and learning, is today one of the fastest growing states of India. In the 5 years of its existence, IIT Patna has taken strident steps towards becoming one of India's most prestigious institutes for teaching and research in science and engineering.

 

In the following link, Professor A.K. Bhowmick, Director IIT Patna provides an update on the current facilities and upcoming campus.

 

Read the full article at IIT Patna website.

 

 

IIT invited to open centre in Malaysia

PTIJan 8, 2014, 02.44PM IST

 

NEW DELHI: Malaysia on Wednesday invited the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) to set up a branch in the south-east Asian country which has nearly two million people of Indian origin.

 

Addressing the 12th Pravasi Bharatiya Divas here, Malaysian Federal minister for Natural Resources and Environment Datu Seri G Palanivel invited IIT to open a branch in that country.

 
Read the full article at Times of India  
  
 
IIT-B students design navigable railway map to ease commuter woes 

 

  Lest you get lost in the intricate web of Mumbai local train network, there is little reason to worry. You can now access a commuter-friendly and easily navigable railway map designed by students of the Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay (IIT-B). "This is a first of its kind initiative, wherein the students as a part of their class assignment have created an implementable project for the suburban railways of Mumbai," said Mandar Rane, associate professor, Visual Communication, Industrial Design Centre, IIT-B.

 

The colour coded map designed by first-year Masters in Visual Communication students, Jaikishan Patel and Snehal Patil, comprises of connecting routes that link western, central, harbour and Trans harbour train stations. "What makes the map unique is that we have included shuttle express ways which run from Vasai to Roha. Moreover, there is clear distinction between Fast and Slow local stops which existing maps don't provide. The visual appearance is easy on eye and additionally, this map is designed to accommodate the colour blind population. They can differentiate among the routes by the tone and thickness of the rail lines," Jaikishan Patel told dna.

 

Read the full article at IIT Bombay Alumni Association

 

GurufundaGuru Funda
 

A PanIIT Exclusive: "Message from Arjun Malhotra, 2013 PanIIT USA Lifetime Achievement Award Winner"

  

                                                                            

 

Five things I have learned at IIT Kharagpur

 

ABOUT ARJUN MALHOTRA: A pioneer of the Indian IT industry, Arjun Malhotra has over 42 years of experience in the Technology and IT space with both Private and Public companies. Arjun was most recently Chairman and CEO of Headstrong where he led the turnaround and rejuvenation of that business. Under Arjun's leadership, Headstrong became the leader in consulting to the financial markets and was sold in 2011 to Genpact for over $500m.

 

Before Headstrong, Arjun was a co-Founder and Vice Chairman of the HCL group for 24 years where he looked after their operations and new initiatives. He and the founding team grew this business from a six person "garage operation" to one of India's largest Information Technology corporations that today has over 90,000 employees and a market cap of over $8b.


Arjun started his career as a Senior Management Trainee at DCM in Delhi, India and was a key member of DCM Data Products that pioneered the digital electronics business in India. He studied at the Doon School, Dehradun, and at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kharagpur. He graduated from IIT with a Bachelor of Technology (Honors) in Electronics and Electrical Communication Engineering and received the Dr. B C Roy Gold Medal. IIT Kharagpur conferred on him a Doctor of Science (Honoris Causa) in September 2012.

  1. The first thing I learnt at IIT was how to work and survive with people who are smarter than me. I think everyone who comes to IIT suddenly discovers he or she is among a group of people who have topped from their schools around the country. It is a shock and you have to get used to a different level of academic competition. I think surviving and working with some of these brilliant folks was my first and biggest learning at IIT.
  2. Work smart and work hard. I learnt to work hard. Without that I was not going to survive at IIT. But just working hard was never going to be enough. I learnt to work smart. Sometimes to do the minimum that was needed to get through a test or a practical and sometimes learning as much as I could about a subject so that you were a minor "guru" in that.
  3. How to be friends and work together at the same time. Friends at IIT are for life. Even through the competitive environment I was able to make real friends. Friends who are with you for life. Friends for whom I would never change no matter what my or their circumstances. As I say times change friends do not. When you are in IIT you compete with these friends and you stay friends at the same time. That is a lesson I learnt and use every day in my working life. My work colleagues are my friends but we do have a structure and a hierarchy and we are happy to work together. One of the great lessons from my days at IIT Kharagpur.
  4. Look at the big picture. While we all solve problems and equations at IIT ( and any engineering college), I found that talking to friends and especially IITians from other engineering and science disciplines in my hall 9 or outside) you got to see the problem in a more holistic way. Fellow hostelers talked about Theology, about Politics, about psychology, about the environment. They quoted Kant, Freud, Marx, Ayn Rand and more. Suddenly you saw your problem in a more complete way or maybe you saw the whole problem? Whatever you saw it was a bigger picture and that has helped me look at solutions to these problems in a more holistic way.
  5. PJs and humor handle most tough interpersonal situations. At IIT we have a number of occasions where misunderstandings and/or words spoken in anger can create some pretty difficult situations. I learnt there that a little humor often breaks the ice and allows a dialogue that addresses the issues and clears up the misunderstandings. I use that every day in my personal and working life and I cannot tell you how effective it has been in allowing me to minimize the stress of living with interpersonal issues that all of us face every day.
ChaptersnewsChapters News
  
IIT Alumni Houston Conference Magazine Released

 

The magazine serves as a great memory for those who attended the conference and a glimpse for those of you who could not attend the conference. It contains messages from Pranab Mukherjee, President of India, PanIIT USA Leadership Team, Conference Leadership Team and Business Leaders Indira Nooyi, Nandan Nilekani and N.R. Narayana Murthy and provides the detailed account on all the events during the conference.

  

View the full magazine at http://iitagh.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/IIT_2013_Magazine_Dec23.pdf

 

 

 

 

IIT Alumni Long Island Chapter Launched

 

 

Jan 11, 2014 was a momentous day. We had our first meeting at Akbar restaurant this day in Garden City. And, we launched our web site the same day.

 

The meeting was attended by 22 people, including spouses. There were 16 IITians, 7 from Bombay, 3 each from Delhi and Kanpur, 2 from KGP and 1 from Roorkee.

 

 

Next meeting is planned for March 15.

 

  

PLEASE SEND NEWS TO NEWSLETTER@IIT.ORG FOR INCLUSION IN FUTURE NEWSLETTERS.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

VolunteeringatPanIITVolunteering at PanIIT USA
 
Pan IIT USA is supported by thousands of enthusiastic and engaged volunteers. Many volunteers invest their time organizing reunions events or serve on national boards and committees. Others invest their time in improving their local communities and are the brand ambassadors for the IITs in the USA. In every instance, their efforts help keep them connected and energized.

 

Caring, engaged alumni are vital to the strength and prominence of Pan IIT USA. You decide what type of activity is of personal significance to you-every contribution of your time and treasure is welcome. Engage in networking and professional development opportunities with about 60,000 alumni residing in North America. Participate in the social, volunteering, and community activities of the regional, cultural, or special interest of your choice.

 

Here are some of the initial steps you can take to get involved -

 

  • Join an Alumni Chapter

 

There are 12 alumni chapters and online alumni communities around the country. Join the tens of thousands of alumni nationwide by volunteering and networking with local alumni.  Find a complete list of all the alumni chapters and online alumni communities below.

 

  1. IIT Society in New England
  2. IIT Alumni Canada
  3. IIT Midwest (Chicago)
  4. IIT Alumni of Greater Houston
  5. IIT Alumni Association of North Texas
  6. IIT-GNY (Greater New York, NY-NJ-CT-PA)
  7. PanIIT Pacific Northwest Chapter
  8. Pan-IIT of Tennessee
  9. Pan-IIT Southern California, Los Angeles
  10. IIT Southeast USA
  11. Cap-IIT Alumni Asociation, Greater Washington DC

 

  
  •     Start an alumni chapter
The Alumni Chapters Program and Online Alumni Communities offer alumni the opportunity to stay involved with and connect to the fellow alumni. Alumni chapter volunteers are instrumental in bringing alumni closer together, while enriching their own lives and the lives of future IIT alumni. Please contact Pan IIT USA (newsletter@iit.org) for assistance in forming a new chapter in your area.
  

There are many ways for alumni to connect with their alma mater through the Pan IIT USA Association. We hope by staying informed and involved, IIT alumni are inspired to support the IITs in India and ensure their continued excellence. Pan IIT USA Executive Committee is committed to partnering with you to create vibrant organizations. We look forward to your successes.

 

Witty Bindra,

Vice President, PanIIT USA

 
IITAlumniEventsUpcoming Events
  

PAN IIT 2014 International Conference, June 6-8, 2014 Toronto, Canada

 

IITAC (IIT Alumni Canada) is organizing the Pan IIT International Conference in Toronto. The event will be held at the International Plaza Hotel in Toronto on June 6-8, 2014. This important conference organized in collaboration with PAN IIT Global, will be attended by hundreds of fellow IIT Alumni from Canada, USA, India and other countries, business professionals, technocrats, innovators, entrepreneurs, educators and leaders in Government.

 

IITAC had organized a similar conference earlier in 2006 with great success. The theme of the conference was "Knowledge and Skills - Creating Values beyond Borders"and it was attended by over 450 delegates and guests. Presence of University Presidents, CEOs from industry helped to establish the prestige of IITs in Canada. A very significant outcome was the opportunities to network and build relationships. The 2006 conference also helped Federal and Provincial Government departments connect with IITs.

 

The PAN IIT 2014 conference will have several sessions anchored by distinguished keynote speakers and panelists from industry, government and academia dealing with topical subjects underlying the conference theme "Innovate, Integrate and Transform" through Education, Technology and Trade. Potential speakers, though not confirmed, include His Excellency David Johnston, Governor General of Canada; Prem Watsa, the founder, chairman, and chief executive of Fairfax Financial Holdings, many other dignitaries and presidents of Universities.

 

More information about the Conference is available at www.paniit2014toronto.org and the information will be updated on a regular basis as we finalize the arrangements. At this website you will also find the link to register for the conference and the heavily discounted Early Bird registration price that ends on February 15, 2014. Please register early to take advantage of this discounted price!!

 

 

 

IITSINE annual gala on March 29, 2014.

 

 

Founded in 1996, IITSINE (Indian Institutes of Technology Society in New England) is the first IIT chapter formed in US. Every year IITSINE holds its annual social gala in the month of March. This social event is open to all members, their families and friends. The gala is a very popular event where cultural programs are presented by children and adults, as well as games are held.

 

 

This year the gala will be held in the evening of Saturday, March 29, 2014 at St. Brigid Keilty Hall, 1981 Mass Ave, Lexington, MA 02421. IITSINE Executive Committee would like to cordially invite all of you, your family and friends to this wonderful event. Please register for the event at http://www.iitsine.org starting on February 1st or sending an email to Raj Laad (raj_laad@yahoo.com).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

NewbooksNew Books by IITians
The Female Struggle
 
About the book
This is the story of Anita, a woman, a daughter, a sister, a wife, a daughter-in-law and a mother. Though this is set in India, you will see resemblance with women around the world. Struggling women, with little or no support from their own families, trying to bring their kids up in a world, that is ready to take advantage of them.

An indifferent husband and in-supportive in-laws, challenges galore, will Anita ever be successful in her quest to provide the right values to her children and help them grow up as good humans? Read "The Female Struggle" to find out Anita's story.
 
About the Author
Arun Trivedi is an MBA from XLRI Jamshedpur (India) and an engineer from IIT (Indian Institute of Technology) Kharagpur (India). He is passionate about two things, namely (i) Business process design and improvement and (ii) women empowerment and enablement. Arun works with a "Big4" consulting company, PwC, based in the US, where he manages large scale business transformation projects.

Arun lives in San Jose, California (USA) with his wife, Sangeeta and two daughters, Hritika and Rishika ages six and three.

Remember, you help a socially challenged woman when you buy a copy of this book.

 

How to buy this book

The book is available worldwide on www.amazon.com in both kindle and paperback editions.

The book is also available on Barnes & Noble (bn.com). In addition, the book is available on flipkart and bookadda.com in India.

 

About Avika

Every single purchase goes a long way in making a difference to a poor tribal woman. Avika is an NGO that works for the betterment of poor, tribal women. More information is available on their website:

http://www.avikaonline.com/About-Us-pid-8244.html

 

The book on Social Media

Like on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheFemaleStruggle

+1 on google+: https://plus.google.com/u/0/b/102956350825340586674

 

Life, Odds & Ends

 

About the book

"Life is an interesting puzzle that we all solve in our own ways". . . Here, four such puzzles take the form of stories in which friends, lovers and partners navigate the labyrinths of modern life.

 

A friend asked, "If Aliya is so good, how come she got involved with three men?" You may want to figure out "why?" - In "Drawing Parallels".

 

"Soul-mates" defines the connect between two childhood friends, Mira and Kusuma, in spite of the orthogonally surprising turns taken by their individual lives.

 

In "Context", a workplace friendship with Som, Kabir and Aman impacts Rituraj's promises to his wife.

 

"My World" finds Rumi navigating the pulls of family, career and self.

 

About the author

Anvita, a multidimensional IITian [IIT Madras alumnus], believes in living life to the fullest. Between her professional activities as a former AVP, an entrepreneur, now speaking at conferences and writing technical publications - and the joys and demands of domestic life - she enjoys her passion for creativity, imagination, and self-discovery. "Life, Odds & Ends" is her first work of fiction.

  

More details

"Life, Odds & Ends" was launched at IIT Madras, during Saarang 2014, pics at -

Like it on FB to stay tuned on updates - https://www.facebook.com/LifeOddsEnds
Job Connection

PLEASE SEND NEWS TO NEWSLETTER@IIT.ORG FOR INCLUSION IN FUTURE NEWSLETTERS. 
ResourcesYOUR CAMPUS CONNECTION
 
ALUMNI SITEFACEBOOKNEWSLETTER
Bombay  www.iitbombay.org www.facebook.com/alumnicell.iitkgpwww.iitbombay.org/newsletters
Madras www.iitmaana.orgwww.facebook.com/pages/IIT-Madras/110588392295422 
Delhiwww.iitdalumni.comwww.facebook.com/iitdalumni 
Kanpurwww.iitkalumni.orgwww.facebook.com/groups/iitkalumni/www.iitkalumni.org/whatsup/newsletter1.asp
Kharagpurwww.iitfoundation.org www.facebook.com/alumnicell.iitkgp 
Roorkee www.iitraana.net www.facebook.com/pages/IIT-Roorkee/110723692284452www.iitraana.net/newsletter
Varanasi  www.itbhuglobal.orgwww.facebook.com/IITBHUChroniclewww.itbhuglobal.org/chronicle/
Guwahati  iitgalumni.org www.facebook.com/groups/iitg.alumniconnect/www.iitg.ac.in/aa/Alumni_Newsletter.htm
Gandhinagar www.iitgn.ac.in www.facebook.com/pages/IIT-Gandhinagar/139092996158047 www.iitgn.ac.in/iit-newsletter.htm
Hyderabadwww.iith.ac.in. https://www.facebook.com/iithyderabad 
Indorewww.iiti.ac.in
Bhubaneshwarwww.iitbbs.ac.in
Patnawww.iitp.ac.in
Roparwww.iitrpr.ac.in
Mandiwww.iitmandi.ac.in
Jodhpurwww.iitj.ac.in
 


Please forward missing information to newsletter@IIT.org so that we can include it in future newsletters..  Thanks

IIT Alumni - Join us on LinkedIn

 

IIT Alumni Linkedin Group has emerged as a very vibrant resource for our community. We are now 24000+ strong and growing. The group is a great way to connect with fellow IITans living in your area, working in your industry or from your batch. It is great resource to find employers, employees, contacts or customers via qualified introductions on an opt-in basis. The members are finding it as a great place to discuss their ideas or to promote their products.
 

 

Click here to join the LinkedIn Group. 

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Newsletter team at Pan IIT USA Inc.

(Alumni Association of Indian Institutes of Technology)