CHENNAI: The Indian Institute of Technology Madras Alumni of the 1993 batch, which is having its silver reunion this year, on Friday pledged to raise Rs 12 crore, to support the infrastructure, research activities and student innovations at the Institute, said a statement issued by IIT Madras.
The 1983 batch has also pledged to raise another Rs 2 crore for the same purpose. The announcements were made on the occasion of Reunion Day, hosted by IIT Madras on Friday. Over 300 alumni from across batches, took part in the meet.
Addressing the reunion day celebrations, Bhaskar Ramamurthi, director, IIT Madras, said, “Most of the important research that must be done, falls within gaps of existing funding sources and researchers find it difficult to raise funds. Faculty can do research and produce technology that will have a huge impact and CSR funding can help scale up these projects, particular those with social impact, to support pilot scale deployments.”
On the occasion, the director also announced the names of the 12 distinguished alumnus awardees for the year 2019. The awards are broadly given in following categories - academics, industrial, research, business/entrepreneurship leadership and general category.
Various competitions and projects of the Centre for Innovation, IIT Madras, were demonstrated during the occasion. The students of the Institute also interacted with alumni, who have been vital in encouraging innovations and helping them attend global competitions.
Speaking about the contribution of her 1993 Batch, Rohini Chakravarthy, Partner, NGP Capital, U.S, said, “As many as 126 of our batch, are meeting today after 25 years of graduating from this institute. We have now committed to raise an endowment of Rs 12 crore from alumni across the world, towards supporting research and improving students’ life on campus.”