AvantGarde

Industry-Alumni meet cum symposium-6th& 7th April, 2013

The spark to organize the first ever Industry-alumni meet-cum-symposium in Industrial Management Engineering (IME) department, IIT Kanpur “Glory of techno-management: Success, challenges and road map for future” on 6th and 7th April, 2013 stemmed from the idea of strengthening the IME alumni network. The event was a grand success with alumni reliving their fond memories and they were enthused with the zeal to fortify the relationship between the alumni community and the institute.

“Glory of techno-management: Success, challenges and road map for future” provided a platform to all of us for interacting with our alumni. The program started at 10 A.M on 6th April 2013 with the welcome address by our honourable Head of the department Dr. Jayanta Chatterjee. This occasion also marked the opportunity to felicitate the oldest serving professors of our institute. Our respectable professors Dr. N.K. Sharma & Dr. A.K. Mittal were felicitated for their distinguished services to the department. It was a rare occasion and perhaps the first time in the history of the IME department where the alumni, students and all the professors had gathered together for a common cause under the same roof. It was truly an overwhelming experience for all of us to be there.

The following two days were complete with events ranging from healthy discussions, curious insights, thoughtful suggestions and heated debates. During the symposium numerous topics were discussed, beginning with the insights in to the up and coming Analytics industry and tips to survive and blossom in this industry.

Alumni were also keen to understand the growth of the department and how it has progressed over the years since their departure from the institute. It was not just a nostalgic moment for the alumni to re-live their college memories but also an opportunity to share their experiences and obstacles they faced in the industry. The students listened in reverence and rapt attention as it was a great experience in itself to listen to the real life experience shared by a few of our alumnus.The students of IME department also gave the glimpse of current scenario of the IME department through presentations.

Numerous thoughtful suggestions were discussed during the fruitful meetings with the alumni. Alumni were involved in a heated but a healthy discussion with the professors post lunch. The discussions with the professors were predominantly centredon improving the corporate relations with the department including improving placement prospects for the department. The evening culminated with a beautiful dinner party including a birthday celebration of an alumna organized by the cultural committee.

The following morning, 7th April began with the faculty alumni interaction that continued from the previous day. The discussion was aborted the previous day due to time constraints. Once the discussion was complete, it was time for the closing ceremony and vote of thanks. Like all good things even this event had to come to an end. The event ended leaving us wanting for more such events in the future.

The interest, enthusiasm and energy shown by the students of IME department always encourage us to keep planning and organizing such activities. We received numerous suggestions on how we would interface the alumni and current batches in a streamline fashion, we also got an understanding on how to organize such events that help us to become better organizers of ourselves and the organization we will be working for. On behalf of the Alumni Relations Team, I would like to thank everyone who helped in making this event such a memorable event, one that would be etched in our memory for years to come.

Arpan Rani
MBA (2012-2014)
Alumni Relations Team