Chennai, 9^th July 2019: As India gained Independence; creation of Higher Technical Institutions in collaboration with foreign countries was looked at as one of the pathways to acquire the technical knowledge needed for development.

With assistance from the-then Federal Republic of Germany, Indian Institute of Technology Madras came into being on 30th July 1959, inaugurated by Prof. Humayun Kabir, the-then Union Minister for Scientific Research and Cultural Affairs. In 1961, it was declared as an ‘Institution of National Importance’ by the Parliament.

Over the next six decades, IIT Madras made huge contributions not only in terms of technology but also in nurturing a strong entrepreneurial ecosystem that has produced immensely successful startups and business ventures. Its Alumni have gone on to create a huge impact not only in India but in all parts of the world.

As the Institute crosses the historic milestone of 60 years, the IIT Madras Alumni are going to celebrate the Diamond Jubilee on a global scale with events planned simultaneously across 83 cities in the world, including several major Indian cities such as Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Bengaluru and Pune, on the same day – 13th July 2019.

Alumni from the all the batches, starting from the very first one in 1964, to those graduating in 2019 will be participating and sharing their memories of their time at IIT Madras in many countries, including the U.S., U.K., Canada, Germany, and Australia.

IIT Madras Alumni Association (IITMAA) in partnership with IIT Madras is organizing the celebrations in which more than 3,500 Alumni of IIT Madras will be participating in events being held at various cities ranging from Seattle to Sydney, Toronto to Tokyo, Berlin to Bangalore, Helsinki to Hong Kong.

This is probably the first time an Alumni Association of an Indian Education Institution is organizing an event of this scale across the world on the same day and is intended to showcase the impact of its alumni across the world.

Speaking about the importance of these celebrations to the Institute, Prof Mahesh Panchagnula, Dean (International and Alumni Relations), IIT Madras, said, “The alumni of IIT Madras, a sixty year young institution, embarking, planning and celebrating the Institute’s diamond jubilee on such a massive scale is a testament to the impact that the institution has made in such a short span of time. With the support of such a dedicated group of alumni, I am sure the Institute will scale even greater heights in times to come”

A video message from Prof Bhaskar Ramamurthi, Director, IIT Madras, will be played at all locations. Every location is also planning events as diverse as sessions on ‘AI for Business’ (Bengaluru) and ‘Career Development’ (Hyderabad) besides quiz, competitions and cultural events. The Alumni at San Francisco Bay Area, U.S., are planning to release a video documentary tracing the development of the Institute over the 60 years.

Speaking about the celebrations, Ms. Shuba Kumar, President, IIT Madras Alumni Association (IITMAA), said, “IIT Madras Alumni Association whose charter is to Reconnect, Engage and Impact, is organizing this mega celebration started with a goal to celebrate across 60 cities on the same day around the globe to mark the 60th year of IIT Madras. The overwhelming response from alumni resulting in over 83 cities and 3500+ alumni participating, is a testament to the emotional connect we have to our alma mater. The enthusiastic involvement of every alum who has worked to make this happen around the globe is commendable and unparalleled.”

The whole exercise is being taken up at such a gargantuan scale to help re-connect the Alumni with the Institute and get them to engage and make an impact. They can help the current students in numerous ways, from career counselling to mentoring them on starting their own business ventures and startups.

The historic milestones and achievements of IIT Madras in the past six decades are far too many to be enumerated in a single document. Some of the highlights have been given below:

1. IIT Madras is among the top 300 Institutions in the QS World University Rankings and has been ranked as the Top Engineering College in India for four consecutive years and bagged the No: 1 rank in ‘Overall Category’ this year in NIRF Rankings, Govt of India. The Institute has more than 240 tie-ups with global universities to facilitate student and faculty exchanges
2. IIT Madras also has partnerships with universities in 50 countries and has more than 18 Joint Doctoral Program with highly acclaimed international varsities.
3. IIT Madras Incubation Cell has incubated 186 startups since its inception on 3rd March 2013 which have raised investment to the tune of Rs. 1,613 crore and have a combined market valuation of Rs. 6,000 crore. They have created over 3,000 jobs and filed more than 100 patents.
4. Industrial collaboration: Long before it became a buzzword, IIT Madras was among the pioneers in fostering Industry-Academic collaboration. The Centre for Industrial Consultancy and Sponsored Research (IC&SR) was set up as early as 1973 to build synergistic relationships with the government, industry and sponsoring agencies, and various service providers.
5. IIT Madras Research Park: To facilitate the creation of a powerful innovation and incubation ecosystem jointly with industry as a trendsetter for the country, the IIT Madras Research Park (IITMRP) was established in 2010. It is an independent company promoted by IIT Madras and its alumni. The Research Park promotes research and development by the Institute in partnership with industry.
6. Centers of Excellence: A major initiative was to develop focused Centres of Excellence in the Institute on areas with potentially large societal impact. Centres have already been created in IIT Madras in areas such as catalysis, combustion, water, decentralised power systems, nanotechnology, nanoelectronics, telecommunications, heritage structures, technology and policy, sustainable development and China studies. Many more are planned in the near future.
7. International collaboration & Alumni Relations: The Dean’s Office of International and Alumni Relations was created to focus on building alliances with peer universities globally and to leverage the alumni community for mutual benefit. In addition to close collaboration with German universities, IIT Madras has active linkages with academic and research organisations in Austria, Belgium, Canada, France, Japan, Malaysia, Nepal, The Netherlands, Russia, Singapore, Switzerland, Thailand and the USA. A Development Office in India, and Foundations in the U.S. and Canada have enabled IIT Madras to raise significant funding