IIT Kharagpur has developed ‘Matri Seva’ – a database software, free of cost that works on patient’s particulars and database for Vivek Sanjivani, an initiative for Healthcare and Education of Ramakrishna Mission Home of Service, Luxa, Varanasi. The software has been hosted in the Microsoft Cloud-based server to provide easy access to all the centres. It is used for primary healthcare, mental healthcare, follow-up visits, management of chronic-disease conditions, medications management, health education and other clinical services.
Vivek Sanjivani Telemedicine Service is a real-time telemedicine solution which offers a virtual alternative to the in-person doctor’s visit. It expands access to quality patient care, especially to regions with underserved populations. It provides a way to cut down on healthcare spending and keep connected patients throughout the year. iMediX, the telemedicine system that was launched by the Computer and Science Department of IIT Kharagpur on 02 October, 2020 provided emergency healthcare services for the IIT KGP students, campus residents and employees which was further expanded to MSMEs for commercialization. Its open-source version is named iMediXcare. The telemedicine system iMedix offers special telemedicine services through Vivek Sanjivani includes psychiatrist, ENT, Medicine, Oncologist and Community Medicine at the door step of the rural people.
Speaking on Matri Seva, Prof. Jayanta Mukhopadhyay, the Lead Researcher of the open source telemedicine software iMediXcare, IIT Kharagpur remarked, “Matri Seva is an extension of services of the existing Telemedicine system iMedixcare dedicated to the service of the community that Vivek Sanjivani initiated for the underprivileged. We are still living in the pandemic which showed us where we stand as a nation when it comes to a proper Healthcare System. iMedix has served the IIT Kharagpur community providing emergency consultancy services through remote consultation by physicians. I am hopeful that this technology will be further incorporated and adopted in other community health services as well.”
Vivek Sanjivani, an initiative for Healthcare and Education of Ramakrishna Mission Home of Service, Luxa, Varanasi offers Telemedicine services through Twelve Centres in which six Stationary Telemedicine Units (STUs) are fixed at a place and six Mobile Telemedicine Units (MTUs) are roaming. It provides Mother-Child, Primary Healthcare, Adolescence Healthcare, Community Mental Healthcare, Eye Check-up, General Movement Assessment in neonates and infants and distribution of Nutritional Food Supplements in three districts including one aspirational district of Eastern Uttar Pradesh and one aspirational district of Uttarakhand. During 2022-23, Vivek Sanjivani served 27,875 patients through Stationary Telemedicine Units and Mobile Telemedicine Units and conducted Non-Communicable Disease Screening for 18,878 patients. The telemedicine programs of Vivek Sanjivani are backed with a 195 bedded referral hospital of the Ashrama in Varanasi.
According to Swami Divyasukhananda, Coordinator, Vivek Sanjivani, this Telemedicine Service directly provides improved access, cost efficiency and quality healthcare services to patients from marginalised group within the reach of their homes in three Districts of Eastern Uttar Pradesh including one Aspirational District and One Aspirational district of Uttarakhand. Mobile Telemedicine Units of Vivek Sanjivani offer flexible and viable options to offer healthcare facilities to the vulnerable groups in the rural areas of Uttar Pradesh.
By : Poulami Mondal, Digital & Creative Media Executive (Creative Writer) Email: poulami.mondal@iitkgp.ac.in, media@iitkgp.ac.in, Ph. No.: +91-3222-282007
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IIT Kharagpur conducts Road Safety Training for the officers of Kolkata Traffic Police & Transport Department, initiating capacity building in road safety through four rounds of training program. The training program was inaugurated yesterday in Police Training School (PTS), Kolkata by Shri V K Goyal, Learned Commissioner of Kolkata Police, in the presence of Prof. V K Tewari, Director, IIT Kharagpur; Shri Hari Kishore Kusumakar, Additional Commissioner of Police, Kolkata, several senior officials of Kolkata Police and experts from IIT Kharagpur. Around 200 officers of Kolkata Police are being trained by the team of faculty members from IIT Kharagpur that includes Prof. Bhargab Maitra, Dr. Arkopal Goswami, Dr. Swati Maitra and Dr. Madhumita Paul.
Prof. Bhargab Maitra, Department of Civil Engineering, IIT Kharagpur stated, “IIT Kharagpur has been working closely with all related departments and providing them support for reducing road accidents and resulting fatalities. This training is organised, especially keeping in mind the roles and responsibilities of the officers of Kolkata Traffic Police in enhancing road safety scenario in the Kolkata city.”
IIT Kharagpur has been contributing in several areas related to road safety for the state of West Bengal including speed management, emergency responses, enforcement, strategies for handling traffic congestion, innovative traffic control measures etc. A speed management policy and roadmap has been developed by IIT Kharagpur with support from Global Road Safety Partnership (GRSP) which has already been accepted, in principle, by the Government of West Bengal. IIT Kharagpur has also been entrusted by the Transport Department, Government of West Bengal to develop a Road Safety Vision document and roadmap for reducing road accidents and fatalities in unison with the Transport Department, Police Department, Road Development Department, and Health and Family Welfare Department and Education Department.
Prof. V K Tewari, Director, IIT Kharagpur, remarked, “I am extremely happy to be a part of this inaugural session on Road Safety Training for the Officers of the Kolkata Police. Road safety is a major global, national and regional concern. It is our individual as well as collective responsibility to do our best for reducing road crashes and other resulting fatalities. The speed management policy and roadmap will be instrumental in addressing safety issues due to over speeding and mitigating the results to road fatalities. The present training program is focused on several key aspects of speed management and implementation of emergency responses identifying risk prone areas around the city. This program will act as a protocol guideline for an organized traffic system. IIT Kharagpur has been involved in several capacities with nearly all related organisations for improving the transportation systems of Kolkata and the team of Kolkata traffic police for the grand success of this training programme which will be beneficial to the Kolkata Police to improve road safety issues of the city.”
By : Poulami Mondal, Digital & Creative Media Executive (Creative Writer) Email: poulami.mondal@iitkgp.ac.in, media@iitkgp.ac.in, Ph. No.: +91-3222-282007
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When I come to the end of the road
And the sun has set for me
I want no rites in a gloom-filed room
Why cry for a soul set free?
Miss me a little – but not too long
And not with your head bowed low.
Remember the love that we once shared
Miss me but let me go
For this is a journey that we all must take
And each must go alone
Its all a part of the Master’s plan
A step on the road to home
When you are lonely and sick of heart
Go to the friends we know
And bury your sorrows in doing good deeds
Miss me but let me go.
IIT Kharagpur community bids adieu to Prof. Kailas Chandra Sahu who left for his heavenly adobe on 14th April 2023 from his Los Angeles home. Prof. Sahu received his B.Tech, M. Tech and PhD degree, under the guidance of his revered mentor and supervisor Prof. R. Misra from IIT Kharagpur. He began his teaching career from his Alma Mater IIT Kharagpur and was also the Director of National Institute of Industrial Engineering (NITIE) Mumbai. The Department of Industrial Management Centre was founded in 1973 under the leadership of Professor Sahu.
Among his many accolades, he was the Founding Head and Professor of Industrial Engineering & Management (IE & M) between 1972 and 1996. He was the guide and mentor to countless students at IIT, including 21 PhD scholars. Many of his students have made notable contributions in their careers. Along the way, he published over 135 papers and 8 monograms.“Works Organization and Management”,“Industrial Organization and Management” and “Education and Social Change” are some of the books that he authored and co-authored which made significant impacts. He consulted widely for various public and private sector entities and headed various Expert Committees for government organizations along with active involvement in numerous professional organizations. His memoir “Made in IIT” was published in 2012.
Prof. Kailas Chandra Sahu
Prof. Sahu was an inspiring teacher. He won multiple awards and recognition, including the Distinguished Alumni Award by IIT Kharagpur, the Distinguished Teacher’s Award by IIT Kharagpur Alumni Association, and the Lifetime Achievement Award by the IIT Alumni Association of Southern California. He was the National President at the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineering (IEEE), the National President at Operational Research Society of India (ORSI) and was an Advisor for DRIEMS, a premier technical university in his birth village, Odisha. He has also served as a member on the Board of Governors for IIT.
Academic accomplishments aside, Prof. Sahu immersed himself in student life throughout his tenure at IIT Kharagpur. Being an Azadian himself, he later served as the Warden of Azad Hall, then the President of Gymkhana, and as the Dean of Student Affairs. These prolific roles nurtured his bonds with his Alma Mater and gave a sense of fulfillment.
“Professor Kailash Chandra Sahu, my Guru was a great student friendly teacher par excellence. He was an Institute Builder, a motivator and had a superb personality with all the qualities of a Kgpian. Truly, he was made in IIT Kharagpur for IIT Kharagpur. He considered his students, faculty members and employees of his department as extended members of his family. He was a professional and was regarded at a very high esteem. He was the founder of the current Department of Industrial and System Engineering of the Institute. His contributions to Institution building as President Students Gymkhana and as Dean Students Affairs will be always be cherished and remembered. His loss is truly a loss of gem to IIT Kharagpur and to the Industrial Engineering Community and certainly a personal loss for me,” said Prof. Damodar Acharya, Former Director, IIT Kharagpur.
Throughout his lifetime, he was a proud IITian and held IIT Kharagpur very close to his heart and would often reminisce about specific moments and times that he spent with his friends and colleagues here. Our sincere condolences to his wife and partner Mrs. Bimala Sahu, their four children Ranajit Sahu, Nivedita Sahu, Sanghamitra Sahu, and Sucharita Sahu, and his grandchildren. May the Almighty give all of them enough strength to bear this irreplaceable loss. We pray for eternal peace for his departed soul. He will always be remembered in our thoughts, prayers and action. IIT Kharagpur will forever acknowledge his contributions to the Institute.
Inputs by:Prof.Damodar Acharya, Former Director, IIT Kharagpur
Email: acharyadamodar94@gmail.com
Edited By : Poulami Mondal, Digital & Creative Media Executive (Creative Writer) Email: poulami.mondal@iitkgp.ac.in, media@iitkgp.ac.in, Ph. No.: +91-3222-282007
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Death is a shout of silent breathe
I shall reside in your airy heath
You will be happy for tomorrow because of yesterday
This journey of life has been a pray
Nothing is hurt and nothing is lost
A brief moment that will soon exhaust
For this is a journey, we all must intake
We shall laugh at the parting ways
For we will meet again
I am the soft star that will remain
And if a tear starts to fall
I shall catch it through it all
I am with you when the times are good
To share a laugh or two
I shall be with you when the times are bad
To reminiscence the memories we once had
Forever may be less for the days we spent together
This life will not be our last adventure
– Poulami Mondal
Bidding adieu to Prof. Debabrata Sen, retired faculty member at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Kharagpur who served the institution from 1966 until 1986 in a paradigm of portfolios. A survivor of the territorial partition of India, Prof. Sen joined the institute as a professor at the department of Chemistry. He overcame all the hurdles of life and finally found his roots in Bengal. After having a tryst with destiny in the Partition of Bengal, Prof. Sen finally got his silver lining by pursuing academia. Hailing from a modest family background, his journey of life is an inspiration to all of us to make a life with just the basics. On February 28, 2023, Dr. Debabrata Sen, former professor at IIT Kharagpur, breathed his last at his residence in Kolkata.
Prof. Debabrata Sen, Ph.D, DSc.
Former Professor in Department of Chemistry
(1925-2023)
The journey of Professor Sen from Chittagong, Bangladesh (then part of undivided India) to IIT Kharagpur is a chronicle of how education became the survival tool for a well-settled middle class family which was uprooted and devastated by the Partition of India in 1947. Surviving on scholarships and generous relatives in Kolkata, he completed his doctoral degree from Calcutta University under Professor Priyada Ranjan Roy.
His Post-Doctoral studies took him to the United States of America in 1951 – first to Pennsylvania State University and then on to University of California at Berkeley. He returned to India in 1954 to join the Bhaba Atomic Research Centre at Trombay as one of the early group of scientists to set up India’s Nuclear Programme. In 1958, he joined Jadavpur University to engage in teaching and research.
In 1966, he joined the Department of Chemistry, Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur, as a professor and served in various capacities until his retirement in 1986. Professor Sen has been the Head of the Department of Chemistry, Dean of Planning and Coordination and a nominated member of the Board of Governors among the others.
He also headed the Rubber Technology Centre for a brief period during 1981-1982 as the first Head. Professor Sen returned to the United States as a visiting faculty at Brigham Young University, Utah, and was also DAAD Fellow at the University of Heidelberg, Germany.
“Prof D. Sen, former professor & first head of Rubber Technology Center has left for his heavenly abode on 1st March, 2023. He was about 97 years. He was a simple and a cordial academician, who was widely respected among his students and colleagues. We pray for eternal peace for the departed soul & also pray Almighty to provide enough strength to overcome this huge loss & void in the lives of his family members, other near & dear ones,” said Prof. Ramgopal Maddali, Dean Faculty & Engineering & Architecture (FoEA).
Professor Sen is survived by his wife Mrs. Sukla Sen, his three sons, daughters-in-law and grandchildren, and leaves behind a rich legacy of academic work, students and people who will cherish his memories always.
In remembrance of “The Lost Heart”, IIT KGP fraternity mourns in sadness after hearing the news of his demise. Our sincere condolences to his bereaved family. May almighty give enough strength to his family to bear this irreplaceable loss. We pray for eternal peace of his departed soul. He will always be remembered in our thoughts, prayers and action.
Inputs by:Prof. Dr. Kinsuk Naskar, Professor & Chairperson, Rubber Technology Centre, IIT Kharagpur
Email: knaskar@rtc.iitkgp.ac.in
Edited by : Poulami Mondal, Digital & Creative Media Executive (Creative Writer) Email: poulami.mondal@iitkgp.ac.in, media@iitkgp.ac.in, Ph. No.: +91-3222-282007
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‘Be in love with your life. Every minute of it’ – Markose Thomas
The loss of a life is always mournful. The pain of losing someone is a shared emotion that we as humans endure with the silent grief of remembrance. No one can heal the heart that lost its purpose of existence, the least we can do is have empathy towards the departed soul. The physical presence may have perished but the aura of their beautiful soul shall remain forever. When we recollect to remember their attributes, we think of the ways they have contributed in our respective lives, the way they were with us be it the first encounter or the last goodbye. We say goodbye to people everyday with the hope to meet them tomorrow but with unsaid goodbyes, we actually feel to miss their everyday presence to remember them again. In remembrance of the Unforgettable Soul of Mr. Markose Thomas, Alumnus of IIT Kharagpur, Mr. Mathew Thomas (brother of Late Markose Thomas) along with Dr. Daibashish Gangopadhay (Markose’s friend) wanted to keep his memory and legacy alive by instituting the Markose Thomas Memorial Award for the best Research Paper from the Department of Computer Science & Engineering of IIT Kharagpur, in the honor of Late Markose Thomas.
In an unfortunate incident that took place on 6th July 2018, Mr. Markose Thomas left for the heavenly abode. Mr. Markose Thomas along with his friends went on a camping trip where he died after tragically drowning in a lake. His shocking and sudden death left his family and friends in a great distress.
MARKOSE THOMAS (23rd August, 1983 – 6th July, 2018)
Mr. Markose Thomas, is one of the illustrious alumnus of IIT Kharagpur who was born to Thomas Markose and Sara Thomas in Thiruvalla, Kerala. He was brought up in Bangalore & Kanpur. Mr. Thomas completed his B.Tech and M.Tech in Computer Science & Engineering in 2006 from IIT Kharagpur. A remarkable student of his batch, he took part in numerous well-known coding competitions like ACM and many more. He began his career as a Software Engineer at Google and worked there for 7 years. He was also one of the essential part of the team that started Coheisty in San Francisco. Apart from his work, Markose was really passionate about his interests and made sure he participated in all of them enthusiastically. He kept it real and was grounded. He was a great admirer of the quote “Be in love with your life. Every minute of it.” May the God almighty give enough strength to his family to bear this irreplaceable loss. We pray for eternal peace of his departed soul. He will always be remembered in our thoughts, prayers and action.
The Markose Thomas Memorial Award 2021-22 for the best paper in Computer Science and Engineering was awarded to researchers, Prof. Rajat Subhra Chakraborty, Computer Science & Engineering and Mr. Aniket Roy, M.Tech Student of Computer Science & Engineering of IIT Kharagpur for their paper titled, “ Towards Optimal Prediction Error Expansion based reversible image watermarking,” IEEE Trans. Circuits Syst. Video Technol. 30(8): 2377-2390 (2020).
Mr. Aniket Roy M.Tech in Computer Science & Engineering IIT Kharagpur
Mr. Aniket Roy and Prof. Rajat Subhra Chakraborty were elated to receive the award and expressed their gratitude for the same. Mr. Aniket remarked, M. Tech in Computer Science & Engineering remarked, ” Happy & Honoured. It was a privilege to be under the tutelage of Prof. Chakraborty and learn computer vision from Prof. Mukhopadhayay. Thank you will never be enough, I am happy I am sharing the award with you Sir..! A lot of dedication, hard work and determination was required to celebrate this award. I’m grateful to the Institution and the Donor for coming up with this award and encouraging the students for their efforts.”
Prof. Rajat Subhra Chakraborty
Computer Science & Engineering
IIT Kharagpur
While Prof. Rajat Subhra Chakraborty, Computer Science & Engineering, IIT Kharagpur added,” Thank you for the intimation. I am extremely happy & grateful to receive this recognition.”
Edited by : Poulami Mondal, Digital & Creative Media Executive (Creative Writer) Email: poulami.mondal@iitkgp.ac.in, media@iitkgp.ac.in, Ph. No.: +91-3222-282007
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Nothing in life is to be feared, it is only to be understood. Now is the time to understand more, so that we may fear less. Science of today is the technology of tomorrow. The whole of science is nothing but a refinement of everyday thinking. It is simply the word we use to describe a method of organizing our curiosity. Knowing our science is our way of thinking. Every year on February 28, National Science Day is commemorated to mark the discovery of the ‘Raman Effect’ by Indian Scientist and Physician C.V. Raman, which became operational on February 28, 1928.
The Raman effect is a phenomenon in which a light beam passing through a transparent material is scattered in a way that reveals information about the material’s molecular structure.
The theme of this year was “Global Science for Global Well-being,” which reflects the country’s growing global significance and international visibility. It is observed every year to commemorate the importance of science and the impact it has had on the lives of humans. National Science Day is widely observed not only by Indians but also by people from other countries.
Technology Students Gymkhana of IIT Kharagpur celebrated National Science Day on 28th February 2023 in the Netaji Auditorium of the Institute. Students from nearby schools were invited to attend the program. The event was inaugurated by Prof. Amit Patra, Deputy Director in the august presence of Prof. Rabibrata Mukherjee, Associate Dean, Student Affairs, IIT Kharagpur and Prof. Ajay Kumar Singh, President Gymkhana, IIT Kharagpur. A day long programme was planned to celebrate the spirit of knowledge sharing and innovations. One of our eminent professor, Prof. Suman Chakraborty, Mechanical Engineering, IIT Kharagpur enlightened the audience with a talk on the topic, “How School Level Science May Lead to Innovative Technologies for Rural Healthcare,” followed by a quiz competition. The convenor of the programme was Prof. Aditya Bandhopadhyay. The Kgpians also resorted to great enthusiasm during hardware modelling and demonstration by societies.
Hardware Modelling involved model presentation and design of different mechanized electronic devices. Team Cart, Kharagpur RoboSoccer Student’s Group, Computer Graphics Society, Technology Robotix Society, Aerial Robotics Kharagpur and Autonomous Ground Vehicle participated in demonstrating hardware model. During the model show, drones flew high in the dusky sky to claim new heights of greatness.
The students of IIT Kharagpur also participated in the Science Exhibition, a competition on making science toys displayed in the exhibition. This exhibition encouraged the students to take up hardware modelling projects further.
A panel discussion was also organized by the Office of Outreach on Science & Religion. Prof. Amitava Datta (Retd.), High Energy Physics, Jadavpur University was the Guest speaker of the event along with Prof. Joy Sen, Chairman, Centre of Excellence Indian Knowledge System, IIT Kharagpur. Other panellist include Prof. Manas Kumar Mandal, Distinguished Visiting Professor, Rekhi Centre of Excellence for the Science of Happiness, IIT Kharagpur and Prof. Sudeshna Sarkar, Computer Science and Engineering, IIT Kharagpur. Prof. Arjun Mukerji, Architecture & Regional Planning, IIT Kharagpur was the convener of the panel discussion. The audience was at the grasp of being spellbound when the discussion on the topic ‘Region of a Scientist’ was discussed among the panelist.
The goal of National Science Day is to inspire and motivate students to pursue careers in science. Dr. C.V. Raman was a well-known scientist who was born in Tamil Nadu on November 7, 1888, and made numerous contributions to the field of science. C.V. Raman’s great discovery earned him the Nobel Prize and to celebrate the anniversary of this discovery, the Government of India is assisting scientists whose contributions have been significant in the field of science.
National Science Day is celebrated to raise awareness on the importance of science. The National Council for Science and Technology Communication (NCSTC) in 1986, asked the Government of India to announce February 28 as National Science Day. The first National Science Day was celebrated on February 28, 1987.
By : Poulami Mondal, Digital & Creative Media Executive (Creative Writer)
Email: poulami.mondal@iitkgp.ac.in, media@iitkgp.ac.in, Ph. No.: +91-3222-282007
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Young Innovators Programme (YIP) 2022 conducted by IIT Kharagpur
Every once in a while, a new technology, an old problem, and a big idea turns into an innovation. Today it is not about how creative, how economical or how formative your idea is, it is about the thought and purpose of making an idea happen. We call India a diversified country, where solutions are evaluated based on the problems related to our socio-economic dynamism. As the nation with the youngest population, our GenZ also known as the Millennials, bring out fresh ideas to our age old problems in their unique way of applying problem solving techniques to the growing hazards of a growing complicated world. With the intent of providing a podium to these profound young minds, IIT Kharagpur organized a Global Science & Technology Competition empowering greenhorns to solve real-life challenges through innovation. Nurturing and developing the young minds with a passion for Science and Innovation, IIT Kharagpur launched the Young Innovators Program (YIP) 2022 on 5th September 2022. Nearly 500+ schools across India, Saudi Arabia, USA participated in the first round of YIP 2022 on the lines to conceptualize solutions on Affordable Technologies, Health & Hygiene, SMART Technologies, Crisis Management, Energy Convergence, Pollution Control, Environment Conservation, Readymade Product Utilities, Economic Inclusions and Sustainable Future.
32 teams were chosen from more than 1400 participants from different national and international schools for the second round of the 4th edition of the Young Innovators Program (YIP) 2022 which has been successfully conducted by Branding and Relations Cell of IIT Kharagpur from 20th to 22nd January 2023. Out of 32, 12 teams have advanced to the third round, and 5 teams were declared as the YIP 2022 winners. The audience was in it for a treat to watch so many outstanding projects, creative ideas, and analytical thinking from the youngsters throughout the event. The young innovators were truly inspirational as Future World Changers. The programm helps to promote a culture of innovation among students in science and technology at a very early stage of their academic journey. The competition aims to recognize the creative ability of students and ignite the innovation in their minds to work upon some of the really interesting real-world problems.
When the soft breeze of January winters encapsulated the entire campus, the morning campus tour for the students became a memorable journey. One of the students excitedly said, “It feels like an hill station with the big-big trees.” As soon as the IIT bus rolled out, the children enjoyed the popular spots of IIT Kharagpur with candid photos along with visit to various departments, halls of residence, student activity centres, TSG, sports stadiums,Nehru Museum, hijli jail etc. The enthusiasm among the students to visit the largest IIT campus in India with 2100 acres was impressive. Those sparkling eyes were mesmerized with the beauty of a green laden campus which acts like a cocoon to nurture the best minds in the country weaving ideas, dreams and a world creating opportunities. The young minds were awestruck to see the Nehru Museum and the gallery of the Indian Knowledge System. One of the student exclaimed in astonishment, said, “IIT Kharagpur has own their Museum as well?” to which one our student representative, Abhinil Kumar replied , “Yes and it also has a jail where freedom fighters were punished by the then British Government,” which stirred the curiosity among all the students to see the famous Hijli Jail of IIT Kharagpur.
Prof. Amit Patra, Deputy Director, IIT Kharagpur stated, “India is the country of the youth where constant inventions from the remotest places, has the capability to address the challenges that the society faces today. The youth of this country are the inheritors of the Aspirational India who will take this country way forward on the path of Atmanirbhar Bharat. I invite everyone to participate in this programme to promote the spirit of creation, innovation and inclusion. Students will also get the opportunity to interact with distinguished professors and experience the first, largest, and most dynamic campus of IIT Kharagpur.”
Each team had either 2 or 3 students from the same school and was judged on the basis of ideation, research, feasibility, cost of construction, portability, authentication and originality. Round 1 consisted of an online submission of a detailed report explaining the working of their Model/Idea on the chosen theme. Results for Round 1 was released on the IIT Kharagpur website. ‘Technological adherence to Agro-Culture’ was the most favoured subject expertise chosen by the young innovators at IIT Kharagpur’s Young Innovators Program 2022. Providing solutions to the worldly conflicts threatening basic survival needs to create a more sustainable world, the teams and their supervisors showed cognitive and analytical applications to basic problems which the world fails to address.
Anjali Gera Roy, PIC, Branding & Relations remarked, “The Young Innovators Programme was launched to tap the talent of budding scientists and technologists and nurture them so that they can contribute to new India’s self-sustenance goals. The young participants’ grasp of complex scientific concepts, out of the box thinking and translation of abstract ideas into concrete, usable technologies was astounding. Selecting the best 5 projects out of all 32 teams qualifying for the final round proved to be a daunting task for the judges as they were all exceptional. The enthusiasm, energy and enterprise of the participants over the three-day event was palpable and rubbed off on all of us. Catch them young I would say, if you want to find dynamic and innovative solutions for pressing contemporary problems and build a new India.”
Team “XYLEM” from Bhartiyam International School, with project “AGROBOT,” was the winner of the Yong Innovators Programme (YIP) 2022. AGROBOT is a robotic drip irrigation system that transports water through a feed pipe. The primary goal of this device is maneuvering the vehicle towards the plants to supply water rather than utilizing expensive pipelines. This initiative aims to reduce water waste and provide water where it is lacking. It is possible to transform this concept into a large-scale prototype, which would be very beneficial to the farmers and will be an economical purchase rather than laying strips of pipelines that requires regular maintenance.
Team Pure Power winning the 1st Runner-up Position
Eliminating chemical pollutants from wastewater so that it can be reused while producing electricity from it stood second position in YIP 2022. The purpose of this project aimed towards a sustainable future and to inculcate indigenous mechanism for treating the wastewater. “Pure Power” from Ridge Valley School represented this concept under the topic, “Sustainable Hydroelectric Plant for Independent Establishment.” Hydroelctric plant using wastewater is one of the process to treat wastewater that cannot be used otherwise and is a very good implementation towards health and hygiene.
Team AGRICRAFT winning the Third Position
Team “AGRICRAFT” from WWA Cossipore English School, with the project “Vertical Farming,” won the third position in YIP 2022. This project aims to use extensive vertical racking to grow crops on multiple levels to optimize space and manage all the resources and conditions needed for farming. The autonomous and economical irrigation system based on soil moisture content was the major goal of this project. Vertical Farming grasped the attention of many with installation of crop production for weather balance, construction in any areas ranging from infertile lands to highly developed areas encouraging food production. This process helps in the requisite flow of water as per needs and this also helps in recycling of water along with rain water harvesting system. For the construction, moisture sensors have been used in each level with sliders which can be moved to change the direction of the moisture sensor so that variety of water could be grown easily. The water required for the different stages of crop could be controlled through this system. For the circuit design, simply relay mechanism have been used.
Team AGNIMAA winning the Fourth Position
Team “AGNIMAA – The Fuel Saver” from Sagar Public School in Gandhi Nagar, Bhopal, won the fourth prize with their project, “Utilization of heat energy via LPG.” This project aims to maximize the utility of Liquified Petroleum Gas (LPG). They employed the physics concepts of conduction and convention, which allow heat from one burner to be transported to another while also allowing us to use the excess heat to keep food warm or cook it over a low flame. It is perfect example of conventional form of clean energy which can burn easily and can be transported easily being sensitive to environmental degradation.
Team ALSET winning the Fifth Position
Team “ALSET” from Sanskriti The Gurukul School, with the project “ECORAGE,” is the fifth winner. The project’s primary goal is to identify various waste types so that they can be easily recycled. This is a practical problem-solving strategy because it harms us when recyclable and non-recyclable waste are burned in combination in the factories. Ecorage can segregate wastes like metal, organic, and other types by using various sorts of sensors.
As a result of population explosion which is ever accelerating, intensify the pressure on food production. This, in turn, leads to higher food insecurity, more greenhouse gas emissions, and large-scale environmental degradation. Food production, therefore, needs to adapt to accommodate the growing population and a changing climate.
The interaction of the students with IIT professors and other subject matter experts gave them the window needed to let in ideas flow in in amalgamation of technological pursuits. Prof. Suman Chakraborty, Former Dean R&D; Prof. Rintu Banerjee; HOD, Agricultural & Food Engineering; Prof. Jayanta Mukhopadhyay, Dean Outreach & Alumni Affairs; Prof. Debashish Chakravarti, Associate Dean, Alumni Affairs and Prof. Surjya Kanta Pal, Chairperson, Centre of Excellence in Advanced Manufacturing Technology and others shared their experiences with the participating teams sand guided them towards a technology driven world that awaits for their innovative ideas and technological gambits.
Each of the five winning ideas had a clear objective and primarily focuses on a problem that exists in real life. “The concepts that these young students came up with are just unique and extraordinary. Congratulations to all members of the winning team and also to all the teams that took the initiative to participate in the pargramme. We wish all of them the very best for their future and are eager to see all these projects become a industry ready,” said Student Volunteer Abhinil Kumar of the Branding and Relations Cell, IIT Kharagpur.
On the context of G20 presidency to establish India as the Vishwaguru, when these ideas will be implemented on a broader scale of commercialization and meets industry needs in the future markets, they will have a major impact on our economic solutions making India Atmanirbhar and give the younger minds of the country the confidence to build technology for the world while recognizing the potential benefits of technical education along with a holistic development.
By : Poulami Mondal, Digital & Creative Media Executive (Creative Writer) Email: poulami.mondal@iitkgp.ac.in, media@iitkgp.ac.in, Ph. No.: +91-3222-282007
Follow us on: Facebook – IIT Kharagpur; Twitter – @IITKgp; Instagram – @iit.kgp; LinkedIn – Indian Institute of Technology
For news visit: https://kgpchronicle.iitkgp.ac.in/
The chilly January brought with it new genesis of transformation, new endearings and reminiscence of forever bonds which spreads a warmth that surrounds the Institution with happy faces, when we see our Alums back on the campus. The old building once again echoed with familiar laughters and famous campus stories that surrounded the batches of 1973, 1983 and 1998 who commemorate the grand celebration of the 19th Alumni Meet from 6th to 8th January 2023.
For the first time ever in the history of IIT an entire batch came forward to give back together to their alma mater a gift of mutual collaborations of endowment for institutional development. This year the entire batch of 1998 signed an MoU with the institute on the lines of “Giving Back Fund for Institutional Development Program.” The annual giving is among the several alumni fundraising campaigns conducted by the grand old IIT during the year.
This year Mr. S Chandrasekaran, Director, Samas Engineering Corporation; Smt. Priyanka, Consultant Engineering Manager, Developing E-commerce and EdTech Systems for Startups; Mr. Pawan Kumar Sachdeva, Chief Executive Officer / Director, Avendus Capital Pie Ltd; Mr. Siddhartha Roychowdhary, General Manager, PSU; Prof. Bhaskar Roy, Adjunct Professor & Visiting Professor (Retd.), Aerospace Engineering, IIT Kharagpur; Mr. Debashish Chatterjee, Founder, Konfer.ai; Mr. Mukkamala Lakshman Rao, Project Manager in Boeing, Long Beach; Prof. Ramamritham Gopal, Director Dean and Former Head at D. Y. Patil University School of Management; Mr. Anjan Dutta, Principal Consultant, Inflexon Point; Prof. Shyam Sunder Sethi, Technical Consultant and Honorary Visiting Professor, IIT Delhi and Vinayak Kashinath Deshpande, Managing Director at Tata Projects Limited were bestowed with the honour of Distinguished Service Awardees 2022.
“I am extremely grateful to the IIT Alumni foundation India for allowing me to work on the group medical insurance project especially to our ex-President Shri Commander Jaitly, Shri Sheshamani and all the other governing bodies of IIT Kharagpur Alumni Foundation India. The group medical project that we started in 2022, is covering almost 700 Alumni and their families comprising of almost 2000 lives in the first year itself. It has been very successful with a total premium collected of Rs. 1 crore and 7 lakhs. We have already distributed coverage of more than 2.5 crores, said Mr. Siddhartha Roychowdhary, General Manager, PSU and one of the Distinguished Service Awardees 2022.
“From Academic and Research institutions to corporate worlds to sports to civil services, we find Kgpians in every sphere of our society. Everyone of you are striving to achieve excellence in your respective fields bearing the proud signature of IIT Kharagpur every year. I congratulate all the Distinguished Service Awardees and other Distinguished Alumnus Awardees for their achievements which have made both the Institute and us very proud. We will be celebrating the Platinum Jubilee of IIT Kharagpur which would mark 75 years of the Institute’s formation from 18th August 2025 to 17th August 2026. We will have year long celebrations with various programmes not only here at KGP but also in different cities and places where our Alums have strong presence. We earnestly look at you forward your active support, participation as well as encouragement to make the Platinum Jubilee celebrations successful and memorable. I am sure together we will make this a gala and memorable event,” said Prof. Jayanta Mukhopadhyay, Dean Outreach in the opening remarks of the Institute programme.
With an expected corpus of 4000 crore from the Alumni, the students are being prepared for the industry and in the new curriculum, the institute have given 6-8 months of industry experience to the students which is going to start from 2023 summer. The Alumni help us to connect to these areas of exposure for the students to explore. Now the students can go the other universities and have a one semester course there. There are also provisions for people coming from other institutes at this place and have this course here.
“It is a special honour to be here to collect this award. It is not easy to be a woman in my field and I think I owe a lot to this institution to give me the confidence I needed to do what I love doing,” said Prof. Bulbul Chakraborty [1974/B Sc/PH/SN] who is currently an Enid & Nate Ancell Professor of Physics in Brandeis University, recognized as Condensed Matter Theorist research on soft condensed matter theory including studying granular materials, statistical physics and system equilibrium.
Her recent research focuses on understanding the response of granular material towards external stresses and contributed immensely to their jamming condition in amorphous materials. She was honoured with the Distinguished Alumnus Award at the 65th Convocation of the institute held at 27 August 2019.
Coming back to toy your Alma Mater creates ripples of emotions that the students share with the surroundings, the transition of growing up from a boy to a man and from a girl to a lady. The ever changing flow of a college life directs an individual to identify themselves, their goals, their passion, their bonds. While visiting the respective halls, the batches of 1973 shared the nostalgia of old wooden chairs while the batch of 1983 shared their memory of listening to Kumar Sanu and Udit Narayan during lazy winter afternoons. The batch of 1998 which was at the doorstep of entering the millennial era missed knocking his neighbours door for late night snacks after dinner.
“This is a huge privilege and honour for me to get this award. Frankly speaking being an IITian itself is a great honour. When you gout in the industry you understand what value you carry as an IITian. I came here as a young boy, innocent and naive but IIT made a man out of me and an outstanding engineer making a great life just because of this institution. We always stay connected with IIT Kharagpur in someway or the other either recruiting from here or coming here for Advisory capacities or for any institutional development work. It is definitely an immense pleasure to come back here again and again. I would also like to thank the Director for keeping IIT the same because even if you come back here after 50 years or so, you can identify what all things were there. Though IIT KGP has become technologically and infrastructure wise very good but the basic structure, the human quality, the humbleness remained. Thanks to the administration here for keeping it the same and making it safe for all the the students to work here, study and make a good name for themselves,” said Mr. Dip Kishore Sen [1977/B.Tech/CH/PH] Whole-time Director and Senior Executive Vice President (Development Projects), L&T Ltd.
He has played a very prominent role in establishing L&T in the GCC Countries by securing several landmark projects, notable among which are the Mafraq – Ghweifat Road Project, the Abu Dhabi International Airport, the Roads & Transport Authority(RTA) projects of R1028 & R1048 package 1 & 5 in UAE, the Al Wakrah Road Project & LRDP Pkg 4 in Qatar, Batinah & Bid Bid Sur Road Projects in Oman. Under his leadership, L&T bagged its first railways job in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and secured many urban infra development projects in Qatar, Oman & UAE. His uniqueness is in his versatility of having worked across domains like Design & Engineering, Business Development, Tendering and hardcore construction. Under his leadership, several major breakthroughs were achieved in the railways sector by securing the CTP 1 & 2, 3R, 14, EMP 4, EMP 16, CP 303 packages of the Western and Eastern Dedicated Freight Corridor projects. He has successfully steered the business to bag prestigious projects of light rail transit in Mauritius & metro project (Electrical & Mechanical package) in Dhaka in Bangladesh who is recognized of his pioneering contribution in the transport industry and is honoured with the Distinguished Alumnus Award at the 68th Convocation of the institute held this year.
“I am extremely honoured to receive this award. I would like to thank my friends and family who have helped me to reach here. First of all, I would like to thank my father who made it possible for me to start a small unit of Vimal Plastics. He procured a small industrial land for me, much before I planned to quit my job. I would also like to thank my father-in-law for being supportive of Vimal plastics in its formative years and my classmate Sanjay Bhattacharya for introducing me to the world of plastics. Thanks to all my friends especially Neeta Sharma, Admiral Bhadwar and Buddha Dasgupta whose faith in me has got me this award. I extend my gratitude to my daughter and son-in-law for taking out time and showcasing our products to the world. Thanks to my son who, an RPian like me for two years helped us during the Covid period. He left his job and with the help from his daughter-in-law, also an SNite and IITian made sure that the large family supported by us did not suffer. I must admit that they did it even better than us. Above all I would like to thank my SNite wife. We have always worked together and she has always stood solidly with me all these years. In our industry circle, we are always known as the couple who work together and come together. I thank my wife for being my best critic even when I am doing nothing. My lifetime of experience tells me that all of us graduating from IIT Kharagpur are capable of doing excellent work simply by loving the work that we do and being ready to work hard. On this occasion I am reminded of the “Bhagti Geet Shokol e Tomar e Ichha, Ichha Moi Tara Tumi. Tomar kormo tumi koro maa, loke bole kori ami, remarked Shri Vimal Kumar Fialoke [1973/B.Tech/CH/RP], CEO & MD at Vimal Plastics.
After initial engagement with some of the PSUs, Vimal decided to set up a start-up in 1981, moulding premium acrylic containers for the cosmetic packaging under the name, “Vimal Plastics”, long before “Start-Ups” became a common term in India. Today, Vimal Plastics has transformed into a unique industrial establishment that not only provides livelihood to 400 families but also supports their children’s education and provides financial assistance to the needy, enabling them to build/buy their own homes. Vimal is credited with design and manufacture of the first ever indigenous ‘Flip top Cap’ and introducing PET-G moulding in India. The high quality of his products has earned him recognition even from some of the leading European and Middle East business houses. A true KGPian, who in preference to lucrative jobs abroad, vowed to serve his motherland. His passion for creative endeavour and devotion has not only built a business but more importantly an ecosystem that has helped a large number of employees and their families not only earn livelihood but also significantly improved lifestyles, is recognized for his pioneering contribution to industrial development and is honoured with the Distinguished Alumnus Award at the 68th Convocation of the institute held this year.
“I spend most of the time of my life with students. The things I learned and one of the things I learned 40 years back when I started the academic career was that – Once a teacher, always a student. I learned more from my students probably more than I learned from my professors. I was fortunate to have 11-12 silver medalist and 2 gold medalist associated with me. I did my B.Tech and PhD degree from here, so getting this award from the Director is a prized possession,” stated Prof. Bhaskar Roy, Adjunct Professor & Visiting Professor (Retd.), Aerospace Engineering, IIT Kharagpur & Distinguished Service Awardee 2022.
“All of you have said thank you to the institute but I won’t like to do that. IIT Kharagpur has been with me for the last 44 years. It is just ridden on my shoulders and it has never gone away and that is what I carry as my family. You do not say thank you to your family, you do not say thank you to your friends, they are with you all the time and that is something that have taken me forward. 44 years with amazing bunch of friends, amazing bunch of guides and mentors and that is what carries me today. What I am doing right now is for the next generation. One of the things that I am most active on is something called the IIT Startups. We are looking at the next generation of Start-Ups. It is a not for profit body which accelerates and incubated them and takes them to make the business plan and helps them in getting funding. So if we can help and partner with the institute and with any of you, it will be my pleasure. And lastly, I would like to say thanks to KGP, KGP ka tempo high hai,” said Mr. Anjan Dutta, Principal Consultant, Inflexon Point, another Distinguished Service Awardee 2022.
“It is indeed a great pleasure and honour to receive this award. When I came into IIT in 1975 and graduated in 1980, a 17 year old who saw the main building with the words written Dedicated to the Service of the Nation. These words developed my character from that day on. I chose to stay in India, worked all my life in India, had the opportunity to work in all the facets of the industry including Chemical Engineer, Process Control Automation, Civil Engineering, but all along I think this spirit dedicated to the service of the nation, that governed every delivery, every work step and that is why one feels very proud and very obliged to the institute to give this core aspect to the character that one has got to work for the nation and today I am very honoured to say that there are many projects for the nation where I feel that I am contributing to the nation, so I owe this to IIT Kharagpur,” said Vinayak Kashinath Deshpande, Managing Director at Tata Projects Limited & Distinguished Service Awardee 2022.
After sharing their heartfelt messages with the fellow Alumni, the G S Sanyal Faculty Excellence Award (GSSFEA) 2022 was awarded to Dr. Om Prakash Sha, Professor, Ocean Engineering and Naval Architecture which was instituted by IIT Kharagpur Alumni Foundation for his contribution to student related activities such as social and cultural activities, technology innovation and entrepreneurship. The objective of this award is to celebrate teaching excellence among faculties.
“It is a huge honour for me to receive the G S Sanyal Faculty Excellence Award 2022. I would like to thank the Institute and the Office of the Dean Outreach along with my teachers, students, colleagues who have helped me and inspired me in this long journey. Lastly, I would like to dedicate this award to my teacher Prof. J P Ghosh who was also the Alumni of this institute graduated in 1958, a teacher par excellence and a great human being. Without his guidance and the example he set as a teacher, none of this would have happened. “
The Excellent Young Teacher Award was awarded to Dr. Aditya Bandopadhyay, Assistant Professor Grade -I, Mechanical Engineering who remarked that, “I would like to truly thank everyone who have shown confidence in me and my abilities especially to the professors who have moulded me to this stage. I owe a lot to this institute, having done my bachelors and PhD over here, I am very much humbled and honored to be with all of you in this stage.”
Prof Amit Patra, Deputy Director, “All of you come here when you were 17-18 years of age and even today after so many years when you visit your alma mater, it feels the same. One of our Alumnus said you should always be a student and keep learning because then you will be able to face any problems and any types of situations that you face either professionally or personally or any type of challenging projects you do. We have this confidence on our Alumni. At IIT Kharagpur we try to keep up with the times but now we feel we need young people, as parents feel when they grow old to have their children by their side. As an institute we have grown immensely and now we have the east campus getting developed, there is already a large lecture complex and next to that a new sports ground with three new hostels coming up. Though actually we have planned for 8 eight hostels, each having a capacity of 500. About 6000 students will be staying in the south east campus alone may be after 3-5 years. We have an immediate Platinum Jubilee Plan which we have already started implementing along with long term visions. Being a 70 year old institute, we need the support of our Alumni to be Atmanirbhar and help us in many ways. They can always contribute financially, but apart from that they can also help by mentoring, by giving the faculty, the students exposure of the outside world by sharing with us the challenges and how to solve them. Those who are in the corporate sector can guide us through the projects which IIT Kharagpur can do. I feel we can do 10 times more of what we are doing now.”
Prof. V K Tewari, Director, IIT Kharagpur remarked,” You all must remember that your alma mater always remembers you, whether you contribute or not, but we acknowledge you as our alumnus till you are here in this world. Whether we are here or not, whoever will be in this position will remember the KGP ALums as Once a Kgpian, Always a Kgpian and the KGPian will always be embedded in us till our last breath. I am very happy and would like to congratulate all the people who have been awarded today and the enthusiasm which is growing with time. We are in the right path and I think the baton which will be passed after us, will be in better hands as well. As the Google CEO is somebody from among us, many more among us will rise to that pedestal among us. I hope the flag of IIT KGP always flies high. I hope you explore yourself what is that which you can do for your institute. Mentoring, advising the Director, giving advice to the faculty members of your department, head of department of what you are seeing in the world, how the technology has changed, what we are doing, what we are in comparison of our peers in the world. Many of you have been staying oversees, and you have seen the world growing, many of you have started start-ups when nothing like that was thought of even. I think you all have the ability, the techniques and you know the acumen required for growing up as a start up. Many of the students, many of the faculty members and others who are not even Alumnus of IIT KGP, if need be I think we should help them out as well. During the covid period, we have seen the ladies in U.P have started making masks and now they have virtually started an industry. I think every challenge that comes our way gives us an opportunity to grow. The healthcare improvements, healthcare equipment, healthcare techniques developed at IIT Kharagpur is better than any of the IITs. The Students did an excellent job during covid spreading the message of helping each other in the halls and in the wings. We are looking at being among the top 10 universities in the world and I believe that it is possible with the 70,000 plus Alumni who are there across the globe bringing so much of laurels for us, for themselves and for the nation.
Creating a historic benchmark by crossing 1600 plus offers in the Phase I of placement season 2022, IIT Kharagpur celebrated its 68th Convocation on December 24, 2022. Shri Peter Chan, Founder & CEO of Herons Bonsai, United Kingdom graced the occasion as the Chief Guest. Dr. Rajendra Prasad Singh, Chairman, Board of Governors, IIT Kharagpur honoured us with his virtual presence. With prolific advancements towards engaging new advents in technological pursuits and branching out to diverse fields of medical, law, management and entrepreneurship, this year IIT Kharagpur is proud to bestow a Lifetime Achievement Award to Prof. Brij K. Dhindhaw, Distinguished Alumnus & Emeritus Professor of Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur. Prof. Dhindaw served as the Teaching & Research Faculty in Metallurgical and Materials Engineering Department from 1966 – 2009 in IIT Kharagpur. Along with Prof Dhindhaw, 9 awardees including Prof. Dr. Sudhir Jain; Prof. Bayya Yegnanarayana; Prof. Tapan Bagchi, Prof. Ramchandra Prabhakar Gokarn; Prof. Parimal Pal Chaudhuri; Prof. Uday K Chatterjee; Prof. Brahma Deo; Dr. Madan Mohan Pandey and Mr. Thachat Viswanath Narendran. This year 40 prolific alumni of the institute including Shri Vineet Kumar Goyal; Shri Arjun Sen; Dr. Aloknath De; Shri. Arvind Jain; Dr. Bratin Saha; Dr. Bibhuti Bhusan Mohanty; Dr. Prabjit Singh; Dr. Ranjit Rath; Shri Manoj Chugh; Shri Bikash Koley; Shri Surendra Kumar; Dr. Krishnendu Roy; Prof. Subhasish Mitra; Dr. Manish Pandey; Prof. Manojranjan Nayak; Dr. Suresh Kumar Nair; Prof. Sunil Kumar Sarangi; Shri Devendra Mishra and Shri Partha Pratim Sinha among many were honoured with Distinguished Alumnus Awards 2022.
The theme for this year’s Convocation was ‘Technology for the Deprived.” The origin of discovery and innovation started with the intent of purpose for the need of the people which required a solution. As as Institute of Eminence, IIT Kharagpur refurbishes a solution-driven technology with a commercial base of propulsion which is for the lower strata of the society to access. Along these lines, the vision of One Earth, One Nation, One Family and One Future with the G20 presidency was also established profoundly.
In the 68th Convocation, the institute felicitated 1574 UG; 998 PG; 24 MS; 429 Research Scholars that includes 374 Ph.D [with 31 Ph.D (Joint)]; 46 LLB; 750 M. Tech; 6 MMST; 17MHRM; 39 MCP; 97 MBA; 14 LLM; 29 EMBA; 604 M. Tech Dual Degree; 2 M.Sc and M.Tech; 496 B.Tech (Hons); 37 B.Arch (Hons); 221 five-year integrated M.Sc; 5 three-year M.Sc and 209 two-year M.Sc degrees.
This year the President of India Gold Medal for the best academic performance among the outgoing B. Tech. (Hons.) and B. Arch. (Hons.) students was awarded to A Jaaneshwaran, B.Tech.(Hons.) in the Department of Electronics and Electrical Communication Engineering. A micro-specialization in Embedded Wireless System, he secured the highest GPA among the others. The Prime Minister of India Gold Medal for the best academic performance among the Dual Degree and Integrated M.Sc outgoing students was awarded to Shri Mr. Shouharda Ghosh, Department of Electronics and Electrical Communication Engineering. The Dr. Bidhan Chandra Roy Memorial Gold Medal for the best all-round performance among the B. Tech. (Hons.) and B. Arch. (Hons.) outgoing students is awarded to Mr. Abhay Shukla, Department of Industrial and System Engineering and Minor in Computer Science and Engineering.
The Dr. Jnan Chandra Ghosh Memorial Gold Medal for the best all-round performance among the Dual Degree and Integrated M.Sc outgoing students is being given to Ms. Pankhuri Saxena, in the Department of Humanities and Social Science with Minor in Mathematics and Computing and micro-specialization in Artificial Intelligence and Applications and micro-specialization in optimization on Theory and Applications. Among the others are Mr. Sayan Bhattacharjee of the Department of Chemistry is awarded the Professor Jagadish Chandra Bose Memorial Gold Medal for the best academic performance among the outgoing students of all 2-year M.Sc courses in the science disciplines; Ms. Nandhini S of the Rubber Technology Centre has been awarded the Director’s Gold Medal for the best academic performance among the students completing M. Tech and MCP courses and Mr. Vemula Prashanth of the Department of Electronics & Electrical Communication Engineering is awarded the Dr. Shankar Dayal Sharma Gold Medal for the best all-round performance among the M.Tech and MCP outgoing students. The Chairman, Board of Governor’s Gold Medal for PG category is awarded to Mr. Pathak Abhishek Mihirkumar of the Department of Civil Engineering and for UG category to Mr. Subhamoy Dey of the Department of Physics.
As the Chief Guest of the 68th Convocation of IIT Kharagpur, Shri Peter Chan, Founder & CEO of Herons Bonsai Limited and Distinguished Alumnus of IIT Kharagpur address the occasion calling himself a ‘Humble Mali’ and what IIT Kharagpur’s adds in terms of training of character and mind. He says that a person can reinvent and rediscover himself at any point of his/her life. He added that, “The multidisciplinary mandate of creating a revolutionized education system will further contribute to India’s G20 Presidency, upholding the vision of ‘Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam’- One Earth, One Family, One Future’. As a country, it is India’s turn to display its potential of Global Leadership and put forward its agenda on the issues of international importance and cooperation. “With deep reverence, I have found that the motto of IIT Kharagpur is “Yogah Karmasu Kaushalam” योगःकर्मसुकौशलम्, which is taken from the Bhagavad Gita, Chapter 2, Verse 50, which literally means Excellence in Action is achieved through the Science of Mind i.e., Yoga. The whole of science is nothing more than a refinement of everyday thinking. IIT Kharagpur is considered to be incubation centres of talent & technology, presenting the world with ace leaders and changemakers of tomorrow.
Dr. Rajendra Prasad Singh, Chairman, Board of Governors, IIT Kharagpur stated, “The Institute intends to collaborate with tech giants to build Technology Research Parks engaging people more effectively and establish Lab to Market products. Several cross-disciplinary research collaboration and research endeavours have been recognized to highlight the importance of modernization in infrastructure and experimental facilities that will drive its growth trajectory. The institute in collaboration with the corporate houses has made significant contributions to community welfare in the fields of education, training, skill development, healthcare, sanitation, nourishment, rural upliftment, sustainable livelihood, environment conservation and several other areas in the realm of CSR including the design and development of electric pick-up trucks, a smartphone app for detection of microbes, the smartphone app for detection of fake currency, science and heritage projects on Indus Valley civilization and classical arts, Bio-gas plants, fortified food grains, application of Internet of things (IoT) in agriculture, application of Block-chain in healthcare etc. I hope the institute is recognized as the best IIT of the nation. For the students, I can only say that with every challenge comes the gorgeous opportunity to rise into next level as leader, performer and human being. Obstacles are nothing more than tests to measure how seriously you want the rewards that your ambitions seek.”
Prof. Virendra Kumar Tewari, Director, IIT Kharagpur said that IIT KGP is successful in incorporating the provisions of NEP 2020 by revising its curriculum in UG/PG level including the multiple entry exit policy and multi-disciplinary mandate for holistic development. The faculties as well as the students have dedicatedly designed and developed several equipment related to healthcare including Covirap, iMedex telemedicine system, Deekshak e-classroom software, AI based system monitoring social distancing, Ultra High Corrosion Resistant Stainless Steel for Indian Space, Painless Needle, Cell patterning, 2G Ethanol, AI based low-cost meteorological inspection system, Robotic systems to detect and treat plant disease etc. Expanding its horizons in Medical Sciences and Medical Engineering, the Dr. Syama Prasad Mookerjee Institute of Medical Sciences and Research Forum has started with 250 beds donated by our Alumni. IIT KGP has achieved a significant milestone in its pioneering move to build a Medical College and Hospital. The medical college presently has faculties of eight different pre-, para-, and clinical departments and soon IIT Kharagpur will be starting the Medical College. He concluded that IIT KGP has made history by getting the highest placement offers among all IITs and aims to become the world-wide benchmark in education excellence by establishing IIT Malaysia, which will be a major step for the institute to set its global footprint in the international domain of Higher Education promoting Indian standards of education. From the rejuvenation of the industrial sector and augmenting it through Atma Nirbhar Bharat policy to the education sector to establish the BRAND INDIA. We need active engagement of government in telling this story of India and we are fortunate to have them beside us to the creative and innovative influx of ‘Dynamic Education’ as education is the manifestation of perfection already existing in a man.
By : Poulami Mondal, Digital & Creative Media Executive (Creative Writer) Email: poulami.mondal@iitkgp.ac.in, media@iitkgp.ac.in, Ph. No.: +91-3222-282007
Follow us on: Facebook – IIT Kharagpur; Twitter – @IITKgp; Instagram – @iit.kgp; LinkedIn – Indian Institute of Technology
For news visit: https://kgpchronicle.iitkgp.ac.in/
As India enters its 76th year of Independence, it aims to reclaim its status of Vishwa Guru by 2047 where the role of women leaders is crucial in the diverse fields of our society to create a balance. With a drive to encourage women empowerment, Partha Ghosh Academy of Leadership at IIT Kharagpur organized the first of its kind Women’s Leadership Conclave from 26th to 27th November 2022 on “Women – The Backbone of Society,” in Netaji Auditorium. Eminent women guest speakers like Dr. Kiran Bedi, Ex. Lt Governor of Puducherry and a Megsaysay Awardee along Smt. Premlata Agarwal, Padmashri, National Adventure Awardee; Smt. Phoolbashan Bai Yadav, Padmashri, Social Worker; Smt. Manoshi Roychowdhury, Co-Chairperson, Techno India Group said and Dr. Tessy Thomas (Missile Woman of India), Director General Aeronautical Systems DRDO, shared their insights and experiences on leadership roles of women in the 21st century.
In opening remarks of the conclave, Shri Partha Ghosh, the man behind the Partha Ghosh Academy of Leadership & Distinguished Alumnus of IIT Kharagpur stated, “The leadership conclave is about collaboration and compassion that the woman in our society symbolizes. He adds that the Academy of Leadership was based on Vedic philosophy at the core with dynamism of western strategy and western training. This is the fundamental shift. The centre of the solar system is not the western architecture which has been a zero-sum game, it would be the Vedic architecture which is the plus-sum game. We need a new revision of the leadership model that is existing for more than 500 years ago.”
While addressing the conclave, Dr. Kiran Bedi, Ex. Lt Governor of Puducherry and a Megsaysay Awardeeremarked, “Empowered women who reach tough or unconventional positions make choices not sacrifices. All women work and are working, but very few are salaried. The IITs must do, as a part of training and grooming of how men and women both should work together, serve together and nurture together when they go back home. This is a very vital training that the academic institutions, especially IITs must do. Today women must be assertive and collaborative. Women empowerment is inclusive which should not be confused with feminism which is isolation. Women must work on the TEA MANTRA – Trust, Empowerment & Accountability. Every emotion is your choice, volunteerism and responsible behaviour in citizens is what lacks among people. In modern times a man has to recognize the women in them and the women has to recognize the men in them.”
Smt. Phoolbashan Bai Yadav, Padmashri, Social Worker said, “Connect with employment and with each other, even if it very small in nature. We should not always go to the government asking for help, we are independent enough to run an organization. Even if we save Rs. 1 then for 2 lakh women it becomes Rs. 2 Lakh which could be raised in one day. Today the rural working women in Chhattisgarh have a brand named Gaonwali where they sell the daily household essentials.”
Smt. Premlata Agarwal, Padmashri, National Adventure Awardee stated, “I climbed the highest peak of North America Mount Denali at the age of 50 with a load of 90kgs. As a Mountaineer, passion and desire should be guided with the vision to see the flag of your country on the highest peaks of the world. That is the goal of every Mountaineer. Disciplined life, hard work, honesty, time management, passion, teamwork and patience are the qualities required for being a Mountaineer because the mountains don’t know whether a Mountaineer is a girl or a boy, it’s the tenacity of the individual that counts. When I got the Padmashri, I dedicated it to my family, my guru, my parents because without their motivation, I would not be here.”
Prof. V K Tewari, Director, IIT Kharagpur remarked, “Swami Vivekanda said that, if you want to know the growth and development of a country, you must see the treatment that is given to its women.” Men and women are the two wings of a bird, it cannot fly without the either one of them. We have these wonderful women icons who are Social Entrepreneur, Eminent Educationist, Missile Woman of India, Padmashri winners etc. who are inspirational to the world and as a country we should be proud of them. Just go ahead with integrity, if people believe in your integrity they will follow you.”
Dr. Tessy Thomas, Missile Woman of India & Director General, Aeronautical Systems, DRDO cited, “Women perform 60% of the world’s work and earns just 10% of the world’s income. Women lack real role models and mentors. When we think of changing the house, it has to start from your own house, initiated at home, propagated during school days and it has to be promoted while you are performing your job. That is how we can create a different and that is how the social and behavioural changes would come.”
Smt. Manoshi Roy Chowdhury, Co-Chairperson, Techno India Group said, “Study in a good college, get good marks, get a wonderful job but if you go outside the country for higher studies, take the best but do come back to serve your nation.”
A panel discussion was also conducted by Commander V K Jaitly with Prof. Manoshi Roy Chowdhury, Co-Chairperson, Techno India Group; Prof. Padmavati Manchikanti, RGSoIPL; Prof. Parama Barai, VGSoM; Prof. Sudeshna Sarkar, Dept. of Computer Science and Ms. Cherry, a student who actively worked with the organizing committee that includes Prof. Shailendra Kumar Varshney, Chairman, Partha Ghosh Academy of Leadership, Prof. Trilok Singh, Vice-Chairman, Partha Ghosh Academy of Leadership and Commander V K Jaitly.
By : Poulami Mondal, Digital & Creative Media Executive (Creative Writer) Email: poulami.mondal@iitkgp.ac.in, media@iitkgp.ac.in, Ph. No.: +91-3222-282007
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