Kolkata :
Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur celebrated its 66th Foundation Day on August 18.
“With the history of a political detention camp where freedom fighters, of the age of first year IIT students, gave their lives, the IIT system has become one of the finest brands that independent India offered to the world”, said Partha Pratim Chakrabarty, Director of IIT Kharagpur. He also remembered his school teacher on this occasion who was incarcerated in the Hijli Detention Camp for 15 years. “Building leaders is the aim that is fostered at the Institute now” added Chakrabarty.
Surajit Kar Purkayastha, Director General of West Bengal Police and an alumnus of IIT Kharagpur who was the Chief Guest of the programme said, the standard of IIT Kharagpur is such that any student can become high ranking civil service officers. He explained how the scenario of recruitment in civil services changed in late 70s’ with encouraging more engineers to join the services and enrich the country with their analytical skills and technical expertise. Shri Purkayastha also appreciated the serene atmosphere of the IIT Kharagpur campus separated from the chaos of the world outside and helping students to concentrate more on their career development. He urged the students to lay foundation of strong character on the occasion of the Foundation Day which will take them and the country forward.
On this day, the Institute announced life-long email service for its 55000+ alumni community. The Institute presented the Nina Saxena Excellence in Technology Award to Jeen Britto.M, ISRO Scientist, for his exemplary innovation in the field of Cryogenics Instrumentation and Automation. Krishnendu Chakrabarty, distinguished professor and Director of Graduate Studies at Duke University, was handed over the Distinguished Alumnus Award to which he was a recipient in 2014. IIT Kharagpur also introduced the Staff Excellence Award this year and honored three staff members in various categories.
The programme also saw participation from high school students of three schools – South Point, DAV Model School and Kendriya Vidyalaya. An interactive session was organized with the school students with the faculty and students from IIT Kharagpur. The students were given brief introduction of the interdisciplinary domains of technology education which they can pursue. While the faculty emphasized on the following the passion of the young mind instead of 7-digit pay packages, the 1st year students from IIT Kharagpur suggested their juniors to balance the hours of study and recess.
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / News Home> City> Kolkata / Somdatta Basu / TNN / August 19th, 2016