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IITs to celebrate 50th anniversary on Sunday

By Our Special Correspondent

Bangalore Feb. 12. The IIT-50 celebrations to mark fifty years of functioning of the Indian Institutes of Technology will be held here on Sunday.

One of the highlights of the celebrations is a session on `Role of IITs in nation building', to be addressed by eminent IITians such as Manohar Parrikar, Chief Minister of Goa, R. Gopalakrishnan, Executive Director, Tata Sons, Ashok Jhunjunwala of the IIT, Chennai, Nandan Nilekani, Infosys CEO and President, and P. Balaram, faculty, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore.

The session will be anchored by Jairam Ramesh, Deputy Chairman, Karnataka State Planning Board. Directors of the IITs will participate.

The first IIT was established in 1953 at Kharagpur in the Hijli Detention Camp, where some of our greatest freedom fighters were confined. The IITs in Mumbai, Chennai, Kanpur, Delhi, Guwahati, and Roorkee followed. The movement in Karnataka to establish an IIT of its own is gaining momentum.

The IITs together, over the past decade, have been awarding 2,500 Bachelor's degrees, 2,500 Master's degrees, and 600 Ph.D.s. each year, on an average. The current total enrolment is 23,000, with 15 per cent of the intake for Ph.D.s.

High-flyers

A recent survey conducted among 6,000 IIT graduates revealed some interesting facts. The top industries that employ them are information technology, manufacturing, consulting, education, telecom, and financial services. About 40 per cent of the graduates surveyed were at companies with a turnover of over $1 billion; over 25 per cent of pre-1999 graduates have turned entrepreneurs; and 10 per cent have started non-profit organisations.

Of the pre-1999 graduates, 57 per cent are department heads or in higher positions, 39 per cent are vice-presidents of companies or in higher positions, and 19 per cent are CEOs or chairpersons of corporates.

IIT alumni have created a formidable reputation for excellence and leadership in cutting-edge technologies in the U.S., and are now permeating to Europe and other Asian countries. Recent investments here by Microsoft ($400 million), Cisco ($200 million), and Intel ($100 million) are considered endorsement of the confidence that IITians and Indian professionals have generated in MNCs. A large numbers of IIT alumni have made significant contributions to their alma mater.

It will not be all work and no play when the IITians get together this weekend. After the discussions at the Central College campus, there will be entertainment for them and their families with the theme `Nostalgia of IIT Campuses', at Velankany Software in Electronics City.

For more details, send email to resurgent@vsnl.net.

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