IIST Alumni Meet

IIST Alumni Meet was conducted on 14th September, 2019. The

date was particularly important due to three major reasons. Firstly,

it coincided with the 13th Foundation day of the institute which was

started in 2007. Moreover, the year 2019 marks the 100th Birth

Anniversary of the Father of the Indian Space Programme, Dr Vikram

A Sarabhai & 150th Birth Anniversary of the Father of the Nation,

Mahatma Gandhi. The meet attracted a good turnout and a total of 92

alumni gathered for the occasion. The following programmes were

organised in the Council Hall during the meet.

IIST Alumni Interaction (1045 to 1130)

The objective of the Alumni interaction was to convey the plans

of the elected executive body to the members of the association as well

as to gather suggestions from them. The interaction lasted for 45 min

and the following topics were discussed:

1. Mission & Purpose: The main purpose of the alumni

association was expressed as to improve the network &

connectivity of alumni worldwide. The ways in which alumni

could contribute to the Institute’s vision of being a world class

educational & research institution were assessed.

2. Alumni Association: Its role was discussed along with the

process of registration of the association as a Society.

3. Networking: Ways to improve networking amongst alumni as

well as with students were deliberated.

4. Participation at IIST: Support of the association for the alma

mater (students, college & faculty) and the roles it can play for

improving the future course & policies of the institute.

5. Financial Independence: The membership fee and funds

required for programmes and activities to be performed by the

association was debated.

In the end, the benefits that an alumni acquire by being a part of the

association were highlighted.

Interaction with Wg. Cdr. Rakesh Sharma A C (Retd) (11:30 to 12:00)

Wg. Cdr. Rakesh Sharma arrived to the Council Hall accompanied by

Chancellor IIST Dr BN Suresh, Director IIST Dr VK Dadhwal,

Registrar IIST Dr YVN Krishnamurthy & Dean Student Activities Dr

Kuruvilla Joseph. The session began by extending a short welcome to

the guests and briefing them about the alumni gathered for the formal

inauguration of the alumni association of IIST. It was brought to the

notice of the guests that most of the alumni present were working in

different centres of ISRO around India and in some way or the other

contributing to the Gaganyaan Project – the Human Space flight

mission of ISRO. Due to limited time, the interaction session began

shortly wherein Wg Cdr Rakesh Sharma was asked about the

challenges he faced in working with the space agency of Soviet Union

in order to prepare for the space flight. He was also questioned about

his experiences in working with different organisations like space

agency of the Soviet Union, the Indian Air Force & Hindustan

Aerospace Limited (HAL) and the different strengths he found in each.

The interaction moved further and Wg Cdr Rakesh Sharma asked the

alumni as to what had motivated them to pursue a career in space and

how according to them people can be encouraged to take up career in

fields where research & development would ultimately lead to the

advancement of the country. It was truly a dynamic interaction as

many alumni participated and spoke about their understandings.

Formal Inauguration of the Alumni Association (12:00 to 12:30)

The inauguration function started with a short introduction

about the efforts that have been taken till date leading to the formation

of the alumni association. The current strength of the alumni who have

graduated, since the 1st batch passed out in 2011, was reported to be

more than 1500. The association was formally inaugurated by the

lighting of lamp by the dignitaries and announcement of election

results & handing over the charge during investiture ceremony.

Thereafter, Director IIST was invited to speak about his

expectations from the alumni association. He stressed on the

importance of the alumni meeting each other across different cities

and across disciplines in order to remain tied to the institute where

one studied. Secondly, he explained with example the significance of

inculcating a sense of belonging or fraternity to the college and helping

each other grow professionally. Lastly, he shared the story of

Pygmalion who was a sculptor who fell in love with a statue he had

carved. This was a way to remind the gathering that if we focus on the

good things in the institute and talk about those aspects then we can

actually develop that temper. This spirit kind might not remove the

gaps that still exist but will definitely led to goodness. Moreover, once

the alumni rise in their careers, the institute will automatically rise

due to their reflected glory.

Chancellor’s Address & Interaction with Alumni (12:30 to 13:00)

Chancellor IIST addressed the gathering and conveyed his

happiness in meeting the alumni. He started by bringing to everyone’s

notice that his brush with IIST was an accidental one and not by

design just before he was about to retire & settle down. He pointed out

to the fact that the college has entered its teenage which represents

tremendous energy and how gratifying it is for him to see and meet

alumni working in different centres of ISRO and outside. He explained

that IIST is unlike any other college in the country and the alumni

that come out must be the brand ambassadors and carry IIST up the

ladder. According to him, the most important thing for any

educational institution is the perception which comes only from the

alumni. He encouraged the alumni working in ISRO to come out with

a fresh blueprint for ISRO venturing into newer territories and

competing with the world, as Dr Vikram Sarabhai’s vision of using

space for the benefit of mankind has already been accomplished. On a

lighter note, he admitted his admiration & wonder as to how the

alumni from first and second batches of IIST could take a decision to

join IIST when the institute was still taking its first steps. Largely, his

address instilled a feeling of pride in being an IISTian and making

them realise that they are the torch bearers of the institute.

Felicitation programme for Dr BN Suresh

The programme was organised by IIST in order to felicitate Dr

BN Suresh who was the founding father of the institute and is

currently the Chancellor. The Director, professors, administration and

alumni were invited to the dais to share their experiences. Four

alumni representatives from the first three batches spoke about their

fond memories of the institute & with Dr Suresh. The programme was

successful in acknowledging the tremendous effort made by the sir for

building the institution from scratch. In the end, Suresh Sir shared his

own experiences of the time when the institute was just a dream and

how it became his second home during the course of time.

IIST Director’s Address

Director IIST Dr VK Dadhwal addressed the alumni and briefed

them about the changes in the curriculum, the infrastructure and

extra-curricular activities that have been brought about in the college

over the past few years. The following areas were highlighted:

1. Outreach Activities: One student one tree was a tree

plantation drive organised by IIST.

2. Learning Opportunities: To encourage the pursuit of higher

education for working professionals, IIST has introduced

provisions wherein the amount of time required to be spent in

person in the college is reduced from 2 years to approximately

10 months. Moreover, there are opportunities for doing an

Integrated M.Tech & PhD wherein the credits & coursework

can be transferred from M.Tech to PhD given that the student

scores 8 CGPA in the 1st & 2nd Semesters and completes the

coursework required for PhD during the 3rd Semester.

3. Nomenclature: The B.Tech Avionics course was renamed as

‘B.Tech Electronics & Communication Engineering (ECE)

with Specialization in Avionics’. Furthermore, the M.Tech

course on Flight Dynamics has been renamed as ‘M.Tech

Aerospace Engineering’.

4. New Internship linkages: Many new opportunities have

opened up for the students of IIST due to collaborations:

DAAD Fellowship (Internships)

FRT – Australian National University (ANU), Canberra

JPL/Caltech, USA

INSPIRE - University of Colorado, Boulder, USA

Technion, Israel

University of Cambridge, UK

Nanyang Technological University (NTU), Singapore

5. IIST Payloads: Payloads have been provided by IIST for the

PS4 platform of PSLV Launch Vehicle of ISRO. In the future,

scientific experiments will also be provided for Gaganyaan

Mission to be performed in microgravity. IIST has also

ventured into building of cubesats e.g. INSPIRESat series. In

addition to this, IIST is collaborating with University of

Surrey and Caltech for the AAReST (Autonomous Assembly

Reconfigurable Space Telescope) which is expected to be

launched in June 2020.

6. Infrastructure: New infrastructure has come up like the

football field and the Student Activity Centre (SAC) having

facilities like the badminton court, gymnasium &

amphitheatre, etc.

Additionally, the alumni were briefed about placement/ absorption of

graduating students. It was a very informative session especially for

the initial batches of IIST.

Alumni Interaction with IIST Students

Students from 3rd years participated in the interaction with

alumni to discuss about the upcoming cultural fest ‘Dhanak’. They

requested alumni support and invited them for the same.