IITMAANA SF Bay Area Gajendra Circle Launch

The IITMAANA SF Bay Area Gajendra Circle was launched on May 21st with distinguished IIT Madras alumnus - Kris Gopalakrishnan as the chief guest. The IITMAANA Gajendra Circles are vehicles for IITMAANA members and friends to come together in small groups in different IITMAANA Chapters and pursue initiatives that support IIT Madras and IITMAANA. The IITMAANA Gajendra Circles will also help guide policy at and interactively engage with the IITMAANA Board and the IITMAANA Chapters.

IITMAANA, 2010 May

Chief Guest Kris Gopalakrishnan

The event, sponsored by IITMAANA, started with IITMAANA President - Sridhar Lavu welcoming everyone and setting the context for the meeting. This was followed by an address by the chief guest - Kris Gopalakrishnan. Kris spoke from his heart about his bonds with IIT Madras and how his experiences at IIT Madras helped create a positive impact on him and the role they played in his success. He acknowledged the receptiveness of IIT Madras towards alumni and encouraged alumni to actively engage with IIT Madras. He also highlighted the current challenges for IIT Madras and urged alumni participation to help deal with them.

Message from Director Prof Ananth

IIT Madras Director - Prof Ananth addressed the group through a video message prepared specifically for the occasion. Prof Ananth highlighted three issues as the need of the hour: (a) alumni participation in improving student values, (b) alumni participation in supporting the research park initiatives, and (c) contributions to IIT Madras Golden Jubilee Alumni Fund.

Interactive Session

The group adjourned for dinner. Dinner was accompanied by an iteractive discussion moderated by Rajan Srikanth. Several past IITMAANA officers and active alumni volunteers and donors shared their experiences about engaging with IIT Madras and IITMAANA. The group expressed a desire to participate in the affairs of IIT Madras and pledged to support their initiatives. Prof Nagarajan answered questions and discussed the recent initiatives of IIT Madras and the proactive role being played by the Office of Alumni Affairs in engaging with the alumni.

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Photos » IITMAANA SF Bay Area Gajendra Circle Launch Photos

Acknowledgement

IITMAANA thanks Kris Gopalakrishnan and Prof Nagarajan for taking the time to address the gathering and for their role in the launch of the IITMAANA SF Bay Area Gajendra Circle.

IITMAANA thanks Rajan Srikanth and the IITMAANA SF Bay Area Chapter members - Seshan Rammohan, Dilip Venkatachari, Sundi Sundaresh, Indira Subramanian, and Kaushik Raghunath for helping put together the event.

IITMAANA thanks all the attendees for their time, feedback, and active participation in the event.

IITMAANA also thanks IIT Madras Office of Alumni Affairs for their timely help with alumni outreach and the Director's video recording.

Credits

The report was compiled and edited by Sridhar Lavu. Photos and captions are courtesy of Sridhar Lavu and Kaushik Raghunath.