BITSians reminiscing about their days in Pilani campus in not uncommon. We encounter blogs, mail threads, word-press posts, Sandpaper 2.0 articles, tweets, Facebook status messages and many more where each BITSian recollects his/her chapters from the garland of Pilani memories.

How does it sound when a BITSian's spouse embarks the task of writing the Pilani experiece? Dinesh Maheshwari, (70E05024) and his wife Archana Maheshwari visited the Pilani campus for the Coral Jubilee event of batch 70-75 in October 2009.

We found a an excerpt from Archana's dairy and could not stop reading it the moment we started it. Read on for yourself ...

The annual Paragon fellowship is a platform to provide young and inspiring entrepreneurs from Asia Pacific as role models to raise entrepreneurship awareness in Asia Pacific.

100 young entrepreneurs and social Changemakers under the age of 30 years will be selected for a one - year fellowship and their stories will serve as inspiration to foster an entrepreneurial culture among youth.

A total of 45 Indians were selected for the year 2009, which has 4 BITSians in it, a staggering achievement. If you din't get the math - one in every 10 entrepreneurs from India is a BITSian :)

Here is the list of BITSians who made it into the final list -

• Abhishek Humbad - NextGen PMS
• Keerthikiran Kiran - Grassroutes
• Manoj Vasudevan - Source Pilani
• Sasikanth Chemalamudi - Habits

Go BITS !!!

Complete list of Fellows: Link

BITSAA Newsletter found another interesting picture and we feel it is worth sharing. President of India Dr Rajendra Prasad opening Vidya Vihar Campus and the main building in particular.

Author of Branded by Law: Looking at India's Denotified Tribes and The Narmada Dammed: An Inquiry Into the Politics of Development, Dilip's new book, RoadRunner: An Indian Quest in America will soon be available in the bookstores. America remains the touchstone for the definition of true democracy, civil liberties and personal freedom. After 9/11, America changed. The book is Dilip's literary debut, part travelogue, part reportage, attempts to define that change, and how Americans judge their country and their place in a divisive world. He also attempts to view American through the eyes of an Indian now living in another kind of democracy, flawed but durable.

Dilip D'Souza is a Mumbai-based writer and journalist. He writes about social and political causes, with a far-left perspective, as well as some travel and current affairs articles. He worked as a software engineer in United States from 1984 to 1992 when he returned to India to write full time. He still works part-time as a software consultant. As an alumnus of Birla Institute of Technology and Science (1976 batch), he is dedicated to alumni activities and has come over many times to his alma mater. He has also been the editor of the BITS Alumni magazine Sandpaper.

An excerpt from the review of the book in India Today, November 30, 2009 is presented here "Defining America today is an impossibility, so polarised is its society about a huge range of issues, from healthcare and religion to Iraq and Afghanistan. In that context, this is an effort worth applauding. America is still the world's only superpower and any attempt to get under its collective skin is worth the read, more so when it's from an Indian perspective.

So let's get a copy now!!

CNN recently announced a list of top 135 Asians - "Hot List of people to Watch". We are proud to notice a BITSian, Madhu Kannan appearing in the charts and ranked as high as 35.

He is currently the MD and CEO of the Bombay Stock Exchange. Madhu completed his BE (Hons.) in Electrical & Electronics Engineering along with M.Sc (Hons.) in Economics from BITS Pilani. He also earned his MBA in Finance from Vanderbilt University, USA.

In the past, Madhu held various senior roles across businesses at the NYSE Euronext. He was nominated as a Young Global Leader in 2007 by the World Economic Forum (WEF) based in Geneva, Switzerland. Madhu was also the highest ranking Indian on NYSE earlier.

Convey your wishes.

Full Story: Link (search for "madhu" in the page)

India Today had an anniversary 'Youth Special' on 'Newsmakers 2009' where they featured Karthikeyan and Archana on behalf of Deepam. Karthikeyan Vijayakumar, a graduate in Mechanical Engineering from BITS Pilani is the founder of Deepam whereas Archana is one of the first volunteers. The realisation that computer skills are essential for kids, made him set up "Deepam" along with a friend.

"Deepam" is a Chennai based NGO formed by young professionals aiming to spread education and awareness through computer knowledge. The volunteers, who are working professionals, reach out on weekends in one school and four other centres. Both Karthikeyan and Archana, despite working full-time find time for underprevileged children. The organisation plans to reach out to 10 centres by 2009 and educate around 500 students.

Karthikeyan is delighted when he says "The group is shaping up pretty well, with contributions from a number of volunteers. They, truly, are our strength. Expect more to come out of Deepam, in the coming days / months / years..."

Link: http://ww.deepam.org.in

Two computer science students from BITS Pilani became the proud recepients of ABGS-2009. Shivam Rai and Valleri Agarwal are the golden stars who bagged the scholarship this year. The Aditya Birla Group Scholarship (ABGS) scheme with the theme Tomorrow's Leaders Today, instituted in 1999, is a way to foster outstanding academic excellence and humane leadership values, in partnership with select prestigious top ranking institutions in India today such as BITS Pilani, various Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) and Indian Institute of Management (IIM). The scholarship amount covers the academic fees as well as the hostel fees for the entire duration of the curriculum at these institutions. A US $29.2 billion corporation, the Aditya Birla Group is in the league of Fortune 500 that operates in 25 countries.

Shivam aims to use his Computer Science education at BITS to serve his home state U.P, whereas Valleri dreams to focus on theoretical computer science which she plans to enrich by taking good number of mathematics courses as electives.

The selection process involves multiple rounds. Applications were invited from top twenty students from each of the select premier institutes. The Scholarship scheme is not just about academic excellence, as the aspiring scholars are evaluated on holistic parameters that take on board their extra-curricular activities, leadership qualities, values, vision and their dreams. The short listed forty two candidates went through a challenge round at the ITC Grand Central in Parel Mumbai on 26 September 2009 from which final 22 where chosen.

Ms. Shobhana Bhartia, Chairperson and Editorial Director of India's leading print media company HT Media Ltd., has been ranked among the top 50 women in world business by Financial Times. She is the ProChancellor of BITS-Pilani with effect from September 14th, 2008.

When Shobhana became a member of the Hindustan Times in the year 1986, she was the very first woman chief executive of a national newspaper and in all probability, also among the youngest. Shobhana Bhartia is regarded as one of the crucial people there who played a pivotal role in revamping the image of the Hindustan Times into a "bright and young paper". She has also raised India's standards of business journalism with Mint, a venture with the Wall Street Journal that mirrors the U.S. paper's mix of market news, corporate profiles, and lifestyle features.

Daughter of late K.K.Birla and an alumnus of Calcutta University, Ms.Bhartia is one of India's leading and influential lady executives. She has been in the limelight throughout her career. She had been a member of the Rajya Sabha. Ms. Bhartia has won numerous accolades. She is the recepient of India's most respected title-Padma Shri. Her other achievements include National Press India Award (1992), Global Leader of Tomorrow award by the World Economic Forum (1996), Outstanding Business Woman of the Year by PHD Chamber of Commerce & Industry (2001), Business Woman award in The Economic Times Corporate Excellence awards (2007).

Parivartan Foundation's 'Community Development Project for Lanka Villages' has won the Goldman Sachs Social Entrepreneurship Fund Contest 2009 which constitutes a grant of $10,000. Parivartan Foundation is a non-profit organisation started by 5 BITS students that aims to take the dynamism and energy of youth to development of villages in India.The contest is only open to the winners of the prestigious Goldman Sachs Global Leaders Award. Mandava Harsha Vardhan, Co-founder and President of the Foundation had won the award in 2008.

Parivartan targets integrated rural development programs for all sections of the society in the Lanka (island) villages in the delta of River Krishna located in the Krishna-Guntur districts. They run a computer and internet center along with providing educational support and counselling for students from poverty stricken families. They also have a welfare program for the elderly, especially widows who are not supported by their children. The biggest among their projects is pioneering farmer connect program. A 450 tons capacity storage yard is being built to improve the negotiating power of farmers with traders. Loans will also be given to farmers under this project.

More about Parivartan Foundation can be found at : www.parivartanfoundation.org. You can be a part of this glorious venture by contributing money, materials or service.

Let us join our hands to help India shine by empowering its villages.

'Godparents.in' is an online platform with a mission to bring together NGOs and potential donors assisting in the nationwide effort to create opportunities for the millions of underprivileged children who otherwise do not have access to even the most basic necessities of life.The co-founder of Godparents Foundation is a BITSian - Shubham Srivastava (2005A4PS331).

Godparents.in partners with NGOs that have a proven record of dedication and commitment to the cause of creating opportunities for underprivileged children.The website provides you with profiles of children who can benefit directly from your support and care. You can choose to be a Godparent to any child, thus opening up for them a world of wonderful opportunities. Further, you can nurture your relationships with your Godchildren by periodically monitoring the impact your financial assistance has made to their lives.

You've done a great job taking care of your juniors during the BITSian days in the light of an ID mom/dad, its time to gear up and become a grandpop in reality :) Call for BITSians to support the BITSian initiative.

Link: http://www.godparents.in

Gliding club was something which was active in Pilani campus...BITSAA Newsletter found photographs of the Pilani campus which were taken in 1978 by Sunil Pande while he was gliding.

Hope you enjoy seeing them ...

Clock Tower, Shiv Ganga, Saraswati Temple, Hostels are few you can point to at the very first look...

It would be interesting to collect pictures older to these too !!!

Irrespective of whatever degree they earned at Pilani, wherever they came from and whatever their life journey had taken them to, there was one thing they all shared in common - their passion for the alma mater which brought them back after long years.

Silver Jubilee Reunion of 1979-84 batch alumni

From the 79-84 batch, over 90 BITSians from all over the world which included over a dozen from foreign countries such as USA, Singapore and Australia assembled at Pilani on October 2, 2009 evening for celebrating their Silver Jubilee Reunion. The alumni gathering indeed looked like a stellar constellation of Chairmen, Managing Directors, COOs, CEOs, CTOs, CIOs, Scientists, Presidents and Vice Presidents, Techies, Entrepreneurs, Media Moguls, Realtors, Academicians, Vice Chancellors, Professors as well as Consultants.

A colorful function was held in the auditorium of the Institute, where they remembered and honored the professors who were their friends and guides during their stay at Pilani. The nostalgic evening function also included performance by the Music Club of BITS Pilani who took the alumni and audience to peaks of nostalgia by picking songs from the yesteryear hit movies Brahmachari, Teesri Manzil, Karz, Hare Rama Hare Krishna etc apart from Born to be Wild from 1968 release Steppenwolf.

Coral Jubilee reunion of 1970-75 batch alumni

Around 69 BITSians from various parts of the world gathered at Pilani on October 24, 2009 for celebrating their Coral Jubilee reunion. They included professionals from all walks of life. The next day, they went around the campus to visit the Sharda Peeth Saraswati Temple, Birla Science Museum, Student Activities Centre (SAC), various hostels, laboratories, Central Library etc. Prof Natarajan Vice President BITSAA took a nostalgic lecture for them in the Lecture Theatre Complex and gave an overview of BITS covering the happenings over the past 35 years.

A vibrant event, titled YAADEIN - A Musical Trip Down Memory Lane was held in the auditorium of the Institute, where they remembered and honored Prof B D Deshpande who had cared, inspired, encouraged and challenged them during their student years. Apart from being Professor of Biological Sciences Group at BITS Pilani, Prof Deshpande had been warden, chief warden and later Dean Student Welfare Division. The 81 year old emotion-choked Prof Deshpande in his speech said that BITSians are undoubtedly a class apart and he had cherished every moment of his stay at Pilani. A few from the alumni which included Dinesh Sharma, Azhar Kazmi, Dinesh Maheshwari, Prafulla R Deo and others took over the stage with their performance.

Anmol Jubilee Reunion of 1966-71 batch alumni

From the 66-71 batch, 53 BITSians from all over the country as well as abroad met at Pilani on November 19, 2009 evening for celebrating their half way from Silver to half way to Gold in a way rare aptly termed as Anmol Jubilee Reunion. They spent a day at the surajgarh fort. The following day they went around the campus.

In the evening, there was a grand music show organized to thank this batch of alumni for their gesture to replace the entire sound system of the auditorium with digital mixers and state of the art speakers. After a performance by the music club, the alumni took over the stage and had the audience spell bound. Mr BC Jain on behalf of the batch shared nostalgia of the yesteryear student days and said that it was his batch which gave birth to OASIS which stands today as a jewel in the crown of all college festivals. It's a matter of pride that Mr S K Roongta Chairman of Steel Major SAIL and Mr Yogesh Agarwal Chairman IDBI are from this batch of alumni of BITS Pilani.

In their address to the students, the common message they reiterated was that it was the broad based integrated and interdisciplinary approach of education at BITS, Pilani which gave each one of them ample opportunities. These batch like the others have indeed enhanced the reputation and raised the profile of BITS Pilani both nationally and internationally through their successes, contributions and support.

BITS Pilani has always been the pioneer in industry-university linkages. In the year 1973, BITS, Pilani brought in, for the first time in India, structured linkage with the industries in the form of Practice School in which students spend six and half months in the industry. Since 1979, BITS Pilani has been participating in the HRD activities of the industry through several degree programmes by integrating the working environment of the employees with the learning environment required by the Institute. The enrollment for the work integrated learning programmes has grown from 30 students in 1979 to over 19,000 students in 2008.

For the work Integrated Learning Programmes in the IT sector BITS,Pilani has tie up with Wipro, CTS, HP, Persistent, Patni, TechMahindra, SAP, Yahoo!, Sabre Travel etc. In the Engineering area BITS,Pilani has tie up with Bharat Forge, Technip, Ashok Leyland, L&T etc. In the Power sector BITS, Pilani has tieup with NTPC, NDPL (Tata Power), Essar Power, Reenusagar Power, Tehri Hydro etc. Those in the process area include Chambal Fertilizers, Tata Chemicals, Hindustan Zinc (HZL), Hindalco etc. In the Pharma sector BITS has tieup with Dr Reddy's Labs, Matrix Labs, Strides Arco Labs, Dabur Pharma (Fresenius Kabi Oncology Ltd.) and Lupin Ltd. In the healthcare sector BITS, Pilani has tie up with CMC Hospital Vellore and Bombay Hospital Mumbai/Indore.

If your organization is interested in Work Integrated Learning Programmes of BITS, please do contact Dr BR Natarajan Dean WILP Division BITS Pilani Rajasthan 333031 India.
Email: brnatarajanbits@gmail.com
Website: http://www.bits-pilani.ac.in/dlp-home/