Parents of IIIT-H alumnus Vedant Kidambi, who died in a road accident in 2010, have created an endowment fund supported by a generous donation of ₹20 lakh towards research in the field of cognitive science.
Mr. Kidambi was a special MS by Research student and was admitted into IIIT-H by relaxing some norms given his exceptional research talent. “We would not like to impose conditions and want the faculty to utilise the amount for research purposes preferably in the field of cognitive science – Vedant’s field, in his name, as we know of the paucity of funds traditionally available for research. This resonates with the thoughts that Vedant had penned in his journal, saying, ‘research is my life’,” said his mother Girija.
Vedant’s father, N. Uday Kumar is a practising architect and was Secretary of the Indian Institute of Architecture-AP chapter for eight years. Ms. Girija, an ex-school teacher, has worked as an educator designing and planning for improvement of learning levels of children in government primary schools and as curriculum developer for English speaking skills in underprivileged children via digital games.
