Tag Archives: Alumni

A Look at 2012 and a Thought for 2013

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As 2012 comes to a close and we welcome 2013, the Alumni Membership team at BITSAA International thought it would make sense to have a look at how membership numbers have changed over the year.  The team decided to publish some of the stats, and come with some insights on these numbers. If you have ideas on how we can improve these numbers and bring in more registrations, we are all ears – Shoot out an email to membership-team@bitsaa.org and we will be happy to learn from you.

We have grown a lot this year. In 2011, we got 1354 registrations; this year we got 2551. That is just more than an 88% increase in growth! As the awareness of BITSAA International keeps on increasing registrations steadily keep moving upwards as well.

Today I would like to share an interesting observation with you.  So, numbers are increasing and that is a very positive sign and it got us thinking.  What is it that actually makes the greatest difference to our numbers? Its word of mouth! The simplest yet most effective form of communication used over centuries.  We often underestimate this force in today’s world, with the power of technology at our hands, with our mobile phones in our pockets and our tablets in our hands (not to forget our laptop in our bags).  We feel that it does not have a place in our life anymore, we disregard its power and toss it away like spoilt milk or old clothes in our wardrobe.

With the New Year around the corner, it is time we change this. Each BITSian should take a small step, a resolution to help our Alma Mater in a simple effective way.

Tell every BITSian you meet this year to join BITSAA International!

I doubt that will take a lot of work :-), but I’m pretty sure it will make a huge difference. Let us make sure we make some noise, and have all our friends registered. Now, you know, what to ask, when you talk to them after a long time.

I would also like to formally hand over to the batch of 1984, next years Silver Jubilee batch the pressure of trying to reel in more registrations than 1983 this year. I wish them the very best for the new year now that the torch has been passed on!

PS: Yes, we are here – the world hasn’t come to an end just yet!

BITSian set to conquer Antarctica!

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Bandan Jot Singh, a BITSian from the batch of 2005-2010, has been selected as a team member on the International Antarctic Expedition (IAE), 2013. The expedition will be led by Sir Robert Swan, the first person to walk both the North Pole and the South Pole.

The expedition, which is organized by the 2041 Foundation , aims at creating leaders for education, environment and sustainability across the globe through a leadership and sustainability program called ‘Leadership on the Edge’. More than 60 people from about 20 countries will be part of the expedition which starts from the port of Ushuaia, Argentina.

The selection for the expedition has been very carefully done to identify potential sustainability leaders for a greener future. Through a network of industry and academia, Bandan has been working in the domain of renewable & alternative energy with a focus on ‘Sustainability in Energy’ initiatives. Some of the key features of his work include:

  • Consulting in the establishment of research divisions in the energy domain, including initiatives such as Energy Monitoring and Storage in IITs.
  • Working with technology companies in Alternative Energy to help achieve less dependency on pollution-producing fuels like coal.
  • Collaborating with companies to set up Energy Control and Monitoring for Smart Micro-grids in rural areas through the Community Entrepreneur Model.

The expedition, which will kick off in March 2013, is being covered by leading print media publications, news channels and social media. Last year, companies like Airtel, Coca-Cola , Shell, BP and even smaller firms sponsored the Indian who was part of the expedition team.

Kudos to Bandan Jot for making BITSians proud! We wish him all the luck 🙂

You can follow live updates of the exciting story leading to the Antarctica Expedition in March 2013 on the Expedition Blog: http://goingtosouthpole.tumblr.com/. You can also get in touch with Bandan at goingtosouthpole@gmail.com to find out more and to send your good wishes.

Scholarship Initiatives by BITS Class of 1966-‘71

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The enthusiastic members of 1966 batch have definitely set a great example for all BITSian batches. The funds collected during their Silver Jubilee reunion have been endowed for instituting various scholarships and awards to benefit students of BITS Pilani. Currently the accumulated sum amounts to 16 lakhs INR.

With the interest gained from the corpus, the following scholarships/awards are given every year:

  1. 4 awards, each of Rs.10,000 awarded for BITS students for their outstanding contribution at APOGEE.
  2. MCN scholarship worth Rs.40,000 (Rs.20,000 per semester) for a female student
  3. Financial assistance for paper publication in reputed journals

Mr. V V Ramanan, one of the masterminds behind the initiative says, “Over the years, the alumni of the class of ’66 to ’71 have set up an endowment to fund infrastructure upgrade, scholarships and other worthwhile causes at BITS. The one initiative that the class felt would leave a lasting imprint on their alma mater is one that fosters the spirit of innovation in the student community. The class has recognized that while BITS is among the top institutions in the country in attributes like academic input and overall personality development, the research efforts need to be stepped up. Consequently, a significant part of the endowment will be devoted to rewarding original research by undergraduate and post-graduate students. Awards have been instituted for outstanding projects presented at Apogee. Financial assistance has also been made available to students for getting papers published in reputed journals and for presenting papers at conferences. These initiatives by the class align very well with BITS administration’s goal of putting it among the top few research institutions in the country by 2020.”

The testimonials from the students show the impact these scholarships/awards have made in the student community.

“I would like to thank the Class of 1966-’71 for encouraging research activities in the form of quality papers through such financial aid initiatives”

 – Shreyas Vatsa, Winner of financial assistance for paper publication

“The paper publication assistance is a great initiative by the Class of 1966-’71 BITS, Pilani. It has inspired me to pursue research and publish paper in a reputed journal. This will motivate students and enthuse them to pursue research in their areas of interest. I am extremely grateful to the Class of 1966-’71 for coming up with this initiative for promoting research among students.”

– Soumendu Sinha, Winner of financial assistance for paper publication

If you would like to setup an award/scholarship please write to scholarships@bitsaa.org.

BITS World 5k Run – A grand success!

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The BITS World 5k Run 2012, saw enthusiastic participation from hundreds of BITSians around the world. This year’s run, held in the memory of Prof Suresh Ramaswamy, had close to 350 BITSians from different batches- starting from the 60’s, to 2012, running in different cities, including Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Chennai and Pune.

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As evident from the pictures, everyone thoroughly enjoyed the experience. We also reached out to a few runners and heard what they had to say about the run:

“The 5k run was a wonderful experience. I did not participate in the last years run. However after running this year, I believe that I was missing out on an interesting  aspect and look forward for the 5K  run next year. 🙂 “

– Nikunj Jha, ’05 batch

“I think you guys are doing a fantastic job not only in getting people out and getting to be active but also in bringing the community out in various parts of the world. Good job.”

– Manoj Sahai,  ’81 batch

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BITSAA chapters in major cities had also organized merchandise for the occasion. About 150 runners purchased BITS2Marathon t-shirts to commemorate the run. Our alumni also had some nice things to say about the merchandise:

“Merchandise was well designed – Can I have some more ?”

– R.K. Kaul, ’71 batch

“The t-shirt is comfortable. 😀 “

– Nikunj Jha, ’05 batch

We would like to thank everyone involved with the run, who helped in making it a grand success. Hope to see you at the next run 🙂

Alumni Speak: BITS Embryo Lecture Series

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The students of BITS Pilani K. K. Birla Goa Campus recently had the chance to interact with two successful young BITSians, courtesy the BITS Embryo initiative.

The first speaker was Abhishek Humbad, EEE (2005) from the Pilani campus. Abhishek is the founder of the Wall Street Club at Pilani, and has done an MBA from IIM Bangalore. Presently he works at NextGen, a company in the energy and environment space, which he co-founded coming out of b-school. He is a part of the Prime Minister’s Team on Climate Change, was selected as one of Asia’s Best 100 Entrepreneurs, and is a part of a policy team at the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, Government of India.

Abhishek shared his journey, explaining how from having a mere idea and a zeal to multiply money, he went on to start his own company, ‘NextGen’. The idea of NextGen germinated during his undergrad days at BITS where he published a couple of research papers, won B-Plan competitions and did research projects for organizations like the World Bank. He talked about how NextGen helps companies go green by estimating their carbon footprint and reducing it through various energy and waste efficiency solutions. He shared some valuable experiences with the audience, advising them to invest in themselves in the initial stages of their careers. He urged them to concentrate on learning, put in every possible effort, and try to be the best in the world at what they do. He talked about his stay in Pilani, and the story behind the hugely successful ‘Wall Street Club’. He also shared how he was one of the youngest men almost everywhere he worked. He would be surrounded by people more than twice his age, and he recalled how he gained new perspectives working with them. He also talked about how during the course of his four years in Pilani, his ambitions changed from the 4F’s of Fame, Fortune, Ferrari and Female to the 3I’s of India, Impact and Innovation. The session, like the speaker himself, stood apart to motivate fresh brains to do something that adds value to the nation.

The second speaker was Harshad Deshmukh, a 2006 batch BITSian who graduated with M.Sc. Mathematics and B.E. Computer Science last year. He worked at Cisco Systems, Bengaluru for a short while before going on to pursue higher education in Computer Science from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Harshad spoke at length about the application aspect of pursuing MS and PhD abroad. He emphasised that going for higher education is a life-changing experience and should be chosen only after careful and thorough deliberations. He talked about the MS-or-PhD dilemma, and how to choose between the two. He also advised on how to decide which universities one should target. He mentioned the amount of time that should be devoted for preparation of GRE/TOFEL, statement of purpose and getting recommendations. He highlighted the need to remain informed of various application and fellowship grant deadlines. Harshad also talked about BITS2MSPhD as a platform where students can discuss and seek advice for the same.