IIT Kharagpur celebrates 72nd foundation day

The Distinguished Alumnus Award 2020 went to 86-year-old Saripalle Satyamurthy, an alumnus from the second batch of IIT Kharagpur after its formation in 1951.

IIT Kharagpur celebrated its 72nd year of foundation day. Amit Khare, Adviser to Prime Minister and former Secretary - Higher Education, in the Union ministry, was the Chief Guest while Dr B N Gangadhar, President, NMC, MA&RB (former director of NIMHANS) and Ranjit Rath, an alumnus of IIT Kharagpur and CMD, Oil India Limited were Guests of Honour.

Amit Khare said, “The idea of the Gurukul that we had 1000 years ago is the same Gurukul with a modern outlook and new technology exists in IIT Kharagpur where you have all the faculty, staff, alumni and students working as a team to bring something new,” as reported by India blooms.

Quoting Jai Jawan, Jai Kisan, Jai Vigyan and Jay Anusandhan, in Innovation & Research, he said, “We are an IT superpower but we need to be a superpower in Intellectual Property because knowledge is power. We cannot borrow technologies and indigenize them, we need institutions like Nalanda and Vikramshila. We have to be the creator of that knowledge.”

More highlights of the event

This year a team of eight inventors from the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre bagged the Nina Saxena Excellence in Technology Award 2022 for their breakthrough technical innovation in Indigenous Development of Compact Alkaline Water Electrolyzer Technology for simultaneous production of high purity hydrogen and oxygen from laboratory to industrial scale.

The Young Alumni Achiever Award was given to 25 alumni of IIT Kharagpur in recognition of their excellence in innovations, technological developments, research, community welfare, leadership, entrepreneurship, social impact, nation building, national interest and professional accomplishments.

The Distinguished Alumnus Award 2020 went to 86-year-old Saripalle Satyamurthy, an alumnus from the second batch of IIT Kharagpur after its formation in 1951, whose presence at the event served as an inspiration to many.

Other highlights included conferment of 10 Institute Chair Professor Awards, 25 Faculty Excellence Awards, Young Alumni Achievers Awards, Staff Excellence Awards, Nina Saxena Excellence in Technology Award and felicitation of the institute’s employees who completed 25 years of service.

Read more:

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