Washington, DC- In what is billed as one of the most impressive “meeting of minds,” the 2012 global meet and conference of PanIIT will be held for the first time in India’s eastern region, at the Science City Auditorium in Kolkata during December 7-9, 2012.
“After the success of our 2011 conference in New York, all the US alumni are looking forward to Kolkata, as the PanIIT Global Conference heads towards Eastern India for the first time” said Siddhartha Chowdhary, President of PanIIT USA, who also hails from the North Eastern state of Assam.
Several chief ministers, notably from India’s eastern states, have agreed to participate in the 2012 PanIIT Alumni Global Conference in December this year, accompanied by a fascinating exposition of technology, with its focus on the “Resurgence of the East,” to be held in the City of Joy.
“We are confident that the West Bengal will take a stellar role in this respect,” said Sandipan Chakravortty, chairman of PanIIT Alumni Global Conference 2012.
The chief ministers are slated to address and interact with the delegates, to showcase their states, and to engage IITians in initiatives in their respective states. “The PanIIT Nation Building team will seek their collective support for our nation building projects in Eastern India,” said Hitendra Ghosh, international advisor to the conference chairman, PanIIT2012.
Defining the main objective of the Kolkata conference as “to focus on an IIT nation-building compact,” ITC Chairman and PanIIT Mentor, YC Deveshwar said, “The IIT alumni acknowledge the contribution of the country to their education and growth and believe that it is now their responsibility to give back to their country and professionally participate in nation-building activities.”
“The entire program has, therefore, been drawn up to identify various initiatives in which the IITians can engage while also growing and expand the ongoing PanIIT initiatives,” Deveshwar added.
The organizers expect more than 3,000 IIT delegates to congregate from all over the world to interact, network, listen and learn from great iconic leaders and determine how they will participate in India’s nation-building efforts.
Several iconic speakers and country heads of leading companies have confirmed their participation, ensuring that the deliberations here are around top technology options for the country, Chakravortty said.
For those of our alumni in the US and across the world who may not be able to attend, PanIIT USA is planning to have active “news feeds” from the conference through various social and electronic media, so that all of our alumni can stay connected with the conference, Chowdhary, the President of PanIIT USA, added.
The PanIIT Alumni Association was formed in 2002 to gather all graduating IITians since 1955 under one umbrella and engage them in initiatives of common interest. The main platform to take this idea forward has been a mega international conference and exhibition held every alternate year in India and the US.
The conference has been graced by luminaries like the former US and Indian presidents, Bill Clinton and APJ Abdul Kalam, the Indian Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh, and Bill Gates. The event was first held in Silicon Valley in 2003, followed by Delhi in 2004,, Greater Washington,DC in 2005, Mumbai in 2006, Santa Clara in 2007, Chennai in 2008, Chicago in 2009, Delhi in 2010 and New York in 2011. The Kolkata conference is expected to be the biggest yet in terms of participating numbers and the most impressive in terms of the quality of deliberations.
The first Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), IIT Kharagpur, came up in the early 50s and can take pride in having the largest, most diversified and talented alumni from amongst the 16 IITs that have been started over the years. Together, they represent mind power encompassing more than 200,000 IIT alumni across the globe, comprising some of the best minds that occupy the commanding heights of responsibility, dignity and influence. (IATNS)