It was hard to miss the sense of belonging on every face as IITGN alumni from India and all over the world came back to their alma mater during the second edition of Homecoming, an annual alumni meet organised by the Office of Alumni Relations of IITGN. The two-day event started today with an open house with former students, some of whom were also accompanied by their spouse.
Addressing the gathering Prof Sudhir K Jain, director, IITGN warmly welcomed all the alumni and said, “Students have always been the top priority of IITGN and its faculty. The achievements of IITGN in the past 10 years have been possible because of its students. This is the place where you can walk-in for the rest of your life.” He underlined the need to see alumni engagement in a much broader light and appealed former students to support their friends and stay connected with the institute to build a stronger alumni network of IITGN. Prof Jain also acquainted the visiting past students with the large-scale state-of-the-art infrastructure development going on at the institute campus and scaling up of opportunities by IITGN for its students and faculty.
Speaking on the event, Prof Jaison Manjaly, Professor-in-charge of Alumni Relations, IITGN said, “Homecoming is the occasion to revisit your experience of college life and relate to the people and the campus which nurtured the growth of its students.”
Address by Prof Jain
Campus tour
Lunch with Prof Manjaly
Glimpse from camp fire
Camp fire dinner
Breakfast at Housing Lawn
Interaction with Alumni
Cultural performances
The first day of Homecoming 2018 also had several interactions with faculty, librarian, Career Development Service (CDS) and IITGN Innovation and Entrepreneurship Center (IIEC) and students. The feeling of nostalgia and cheerful smiles enlivened the atmosphere as past students of BTech, MTech, MA and PhD programmes interacted with each other, faculty, current students and took a campus tour to revisit the memories of their college days. The students shared the joys of life on IITGN campus and also gave some valuable suggestions.
Vinit Joshi, an alumnus of 2015 batch of Electrical Engineering, described the event as a very good opportunity to connect with other alumni, current students and the faculty. “IITGN is always special because it provides freedom to directly talk and share our thoughts even with the director or any of the faculty. The campus looks beautiful as I saw major infrastructure development since we graduated. I look forward to the other parts of the event.”
“The culture of IITGN sets it apart from the rest of the institutes. It feels good to come back and connect with everyone”, said Nisha, a 2016 batch student of MSc Physics at IITGN. Bhargav Oza, a 2016 batch student of MA Society and Culture, said, “The two years spent at IITGN really shaped my perspective. I miss this place, its culture, activities and interactions with fellow students of technical disciplines. This institute makes conscious efforts to support its students in every possible way.”
A Mini Hallabol (an informal sports competition unique to IITGN) also remained one of the highlights of the event where alumni and students enthusiastically participated in competitions such as carrom, futsal, frisbee, tug of war and dodgeball. A campfire dinner was also planned for the alumni to make their stay on the campus memorable.
The second day of Homecoming 2018 saw discussions on stronger alumni engagements and how they can contribute to their alma mater’s growth and development. That was followed by a cultural programme by the current students of IITGN.
Snapshots from the Mini Hallabol
