Contents 1. From Director’s Desk 2. Dean AER Speaks 3. GS SAIL Speaks 4. Convocation 5. Techniche 6. Placement Statistics 7. Inter IIT Sports 8. Inter IIT Tech 9. Inter IIT Cult 10. Udgam 11. Spirit 12. Alcheringa 13. Student Achievements 14. Faculty Achievements 15. Alumni Updates 16. Institute Achievements 17. Global Footprints of IITG We would like to award the achievers of IIT Guwahati, Distinguished Alumnus Awards (DAA) every year starting from 2020, the Sil- ver Jubilee year, to those who have reached positions of eminence in the areas of Busi- From Director’s desk ness, Academics, Research, Governance, So- ciety, Public service and Entrepreneurship. I Dear IITG Alumni, Student Alumni Interaction Linkage request you all to send nominations to Dean (SAIL) Team, and Stakeholders, Greetings from the desk AER by email, and the details will be shared of the Director, IITG. On the occasion of the Silver Jubi- with you all soon. lee year of IITG (2019-2020), I’m delighted to present the The institute also requests its distinguished newsletter to you all. IIT Guwahati has completed 25 years alumni to support generously for any specif- of its glorious existence. Within this short span, IITG has ic cause of students’ advancement and insti- been the only academic institution from India that occu- tutional development. We invite our alumni, pied a place among the top 100 world universities – under corporate entities, and other friends of the in- 50 years of age –published by London based Times Higher stitute to contribute to the institute’s better- Education (THE) and continues to do this even today in ment through which we would like to bring various International Rankings. It is strongly believed that significant difference to our en- IIT Guwahati has been able to fulfill the aspirations of the deavor in pursuit of excellence. people of the North East region to a large extent since its Your contribution towards rev- inception through the Assam Accord signed in 1985. The enue generation will be utilized institute has been working very hard to excel in academ- for Infrastructure Development, ics, as well as in R&D, and continues to attract outstanding Young Faculty Awards, Chair Pro- talent in the form of new faculty members in every disci- fessorships, Hostel Development, pline. As part of silver jubilee celebrations, a large number Student Development, and for of events, including conferences, workshops, and semi- the general betterment of the nars, were organized throughout the year. institute. I eagerly look forward The first IITG Alumni event of this decade is planned to meeting you all at our events on campus along with the Research Conclave, on 20-22 and, in particular, the Alumni March 2020. This event would provide the alumni with a Event in March 2020, and while unique opportunity to connect with the existing gradu- you flourish in your careers, I hope ates of the institute, and we eagerly look forward to your that you will continue to walk the participation. IITG is currently inviting nominations for Dis- journey of growth and prosperity tinguished Alumnus Awards and Young Alumni Achiever with IITG in the future. Awards 2020 for consideration, and the same would be awarded during convocation in 2020. Prof. T. G. Sitharam Director, IIT Guwahati 1 2 Dean AER Speaks GS Sail speaks ‘Challenges are what make life interesting and overcoming ‘Our greatest weakness lies in giving up. The most cer- them is what makes life meaningful’ tain way to succeed is always to try just one more time.’ – Joshua J. Marine. - Thomas Edison Team SAIL is working harder than ever to ac- Kudos to all alumni community! complish the vision laid out by the seniors As we travel towards 25 glorious years of IIT and aims to bridge the gap between our Guwahati, several enchanted and everlasting Alumni and their Alma Mater. New initiatives memories flaunt by our eyes. The journey has like the Alumni Mentorship Programme are encompassed around 15,000 graduates and being taken and there has been a substantial is ready to nourish many more talents in the increase in the frequency of student-alumni future. As we envision the graduates moving interaction through regular alumni webinars, out with their degrees in hand towards new talks, and blogs. Above all, an Alumni Meet is beginnings, it would be inspirational to lend being organized to mark the Silver Jubilee of our ears to lots of untold struggles and sto- our institute. We have so many people from ries. So, here we bring for you, the 1st Alumni different backgrounds and professions striv- Meet at our beautiful campus, bringing forth ing together to bring glory to the institute. events like personality development sessions, We consider it our responsibility to show- start-up showcases, exhibitions, department/ case all our achievements, successfully or- center visits, and other recreational activi- ganized events and competitions, nostalgic ties. As a part of the IIT fraternity, we look for- moments, and developments made in the ward to your active participation and support. past academic year to our extended family. Above all, reliving those memories at your Thus, we’ve worked hard for the compilation alma mater would definitely be relishing for of the above in the form of a booklet, and each one of you. it gives me immense pleasure to present the Alumni Newsletter 2020 to the campus and the Alumni fraternity of IIT Guwahati. Prof. Rakhi Chaturvedi `` Dean, AER Mayank Singla General Secretary, SAIL 3 4 Convocation On June 12, 2019, IIT Guwahati held its 21st con- vocation. For the batch of 2019, it was a day full of emotions and delights, as they achieved things many can only dream of. There is a reason we call these ceremonies ‘commence- ment exercises’ because graduation is not the end, it’s the beginning. It was the day when around 1500 students got what they were striving for. The chief guest of the event was DR. K. Radhakrishnan, Honorary Distin- guished Advisor - Department of Space/ISRO, and the function preceded in the presence of Prof. S. K. Srivastava and Prof.Gautam Biswas, Director, IIT Guwahati. The 21st Convocation Ceremony handed over degrees to 1404 stu- dents including 572 Bachelor of Technology, 45 Bachelor of De- Dr. K. Radhakrishnan awarded The President of India Gold sign, 30 Master of Medal to the Institute topper of the B-Tech and B-Des pro- Arts, 119 Master of gram to Mr. Anup Agarwal of the Computer Science de- Science, 324 Master partment. Being adjudged as Best in general proficiency, of Technology, 24 Dr. Shankar Dayal Sharma Gold Medal was awarded to Mr. Master of Design, 10 Sarath Chandra Neriyanuri of Chemical engineering by Master of Science by the director Gautam Biswas. The ceremony started with Research, and 232 the arrival and robing of the chief guest. Director Prof. Ph.D. students. Gautam Biswas congratulated the entire batch for the successful completion of their journey and urged them to strive to be an exemplary citizen of this country. 5 6 Techniche IIT Guwahati was back with 21st edition of its annual tech- no-management festival-Techniche, with unmatched zeal and vigor. This grandeur, with a footfall of over 60,000, was witnessed from August 29 to September 1, encompass- ing a wide range of events from various facets of modern technology. This year, Techniche hosted a brand new manage- ment conference, which was a diversification of the previously flourishing Industrial Conclave with speakers Sanjay Bahadur (Principal Director, Income Tax Amidst brainstorming and rig- Dept.), Durga Naveen Kandregu- orous technical activities, add- la (CEO, COIGN), Sachin Phan- ing to the fun element were the sikar (COO, Business Standard). Funniche and the Pronites. Every evening, a wave of excitement flowed in to experience the cap- In addition to its techno-man- tivating performances by distin- agement events, Techniche’19 guished artists including Nishant walked its way in spreading Suri(Comicstaan winning come- awareness and contributing to dian) and Bollywood singer, Amit social development through ini- Mishra. tiatives such as Wake up and Vote, Guwahati Half Marathon Techniche’19 was indeed a per- and many others. By conducting fect amalgam of technology, workshops, harboring events like management, and fun. Robocalypse and Nitro Rally, and hosting a variety of competitions from a range of modules, Tech- niche’19 witnessed its greatest edition ever. 7 8 Placement Statistics Inter IIT Sports The 1st of December, 2019 marked the start of the place- The Inter IIT Sports Meet keeps raising the bar ment session at IIT Guwahati. After years of rigorous work, every year, and this year was no different! Its which included a number of exams, projects, and assign- the longest-running inter IIT meet of all three, ments, at this point, these students are ready to begin a namely, Sports, Cultural, and Technical. This whole new chapter of their life. Dressed in formal suits and year it was held in three phases and co-host- ties, hearts full of dreams and eyes filled with enthusiasm, ed by two IITs, IIT Bhubaneswar(Indoor Sports) the batch of 2019 was all ready for the commencement of and IIT Kharagpur(Outdoor Sports) for the the placement session 2018-19. first time. IIT Kharagpur emerged victorious yet again, followed by IIT Delhi and IIT Madras A total of 170 companies from various sectors participated as the first and second runner-ups. IIT Guwa- in the recruitment process. The total number of students hati stood 8th in the men’s category while 7th registered for campus placement in the year 2018-19 was in women’s category and 8th overall.