Dear Friend,
Greetings from IIT Bombay!
I am pleased to present to you the January edition of our newsletter. December’s rainbow was colored with the essence of numerous contrasting student activities. The excitement and anticipation warm the cold tyranny of winter winds.
The 49th edition of Mood Indigo, Asia’s largest college cultural festival, witnessed a plethora of competitions, brilliant performances and other events for the students, faculty, staff, and campus residents to enjoy. The presence of Deepika Padukone and Prithviraj Chavan brought a new light to the campus while the residents tittered at the performances of comedians Rahul Subramanium and Zakir Khan.
I’m thrilled to inform you that there has been a 75% increase in the number of placement offers that have been made this year. Phase 1 of the placement season saw overwhelming participation from both international and domestic companies, offering impressive packages and positions at some of the top organizations in the industry.
IIT Bombay once again hosted the Inter IIT Cultural meet from 20 to 22nd December 2019 and raised the competition to even greater heights, setting an established platform to showcase cultural activities and artistic flair across IITs. We heartily congratulate all members of the IIT Bombay contingent for their victory and hope that they keep up with their triumphant performance in future editions of the Meet.
Following the 53-year-old tradition, the latest edition of the Sports Meet was hosted by IIT Guwahati. All IITs participated in a league style competition across various sports in hopes of claiming the General Championship trophy. With over 3500 participants, more than 50 events and 500+ matches, this edition was one of the biggest throughout the history of the Inter IIT Sports Meet. Congratulations to all the winners!
I’m delighted to convey the news of the alumni reunion this year. The Reunions sprawled over a span of 3 days consisting of Silver Jubilee Reunion, Decennial Reunion and other reunions of the batch of 1969 & 1979 and finally ending with the Alumni Day on 22nd December 2019.
The occasion was graced with the presence of 1000+ ex-students. The ‘Distinguished Service Awards’ were bestowed upon Mr. Aaloke Surie – B. Tech. Mechanical Engineering (batch of 1970), and Ms. Rekha Koita – B. Tech. Metallurgical Engineering Material Science (batch of 1992) for their notable contribution to the progress of the Institute. The Chapter Service Awards were conferred on three alumni - Dr. Sushil Bhatia – B. Tech.’66 Electrical Engineering (Chapter: New York), Mr. Madhusudan Reddy – M. Sc’74 Applied Geology (Chapter:
Hyderabad),and Mr. Sanjay Dhall – B. Tech’85 Mechanical Engineering (Chapter:
Michigan) .
A staggering total of 26.6 crore Indian rupees was pledged on the Alumni Day, with the Silver Jubilee Batch of 1994 contributing 12.14 crores and the Golden Jubilee Batch of 1969 pledging 13.07 crores towards the Legacy project. Last but not the least the decennial batch too contributed their share of Rs 1.07 crore to this kitty. These funds go towards a number of endeavors grand and small in the service of the Institute and the current students. A number of legacy projects related to upgrading of-study facilities for students, labs as well as student scholarships are funded through this initiative.
The last month witnessed two highly intellectually stimulating lectures, which were based on the topics “Liberal Arts Education: A Global Perspective” by Prof. Elizabeth H. Bradley and “Applications of Organic Chemistry to the solutions of Practical Problems” by Nobel Laureate Prof. Robert Grubbs.
The Institute continues to attract outstanding talent as new faculty members. Several have joined IIT Bombay in the past. We are pleased to bring a short introduction to these new faculty members in our newsletter.
The generous contribution received from our alumni, corporate entities, and other friends of the Institute helps in making an important difference in our endeavor to pursue global excellence. The contribution towards Institute Development, Infrastructure Development, Young Faculty Awards, Chair Professorships, Hostel Development, Student Development, etc. are examples of the utilization of these funds for the betterment of the Institute. We invite you to contribute to the Institute’s betterment to the best of your ability.
May the New Year bring you happiness, peace, and prosperity. Wishing you a joyous 2020!
Suhas Joshi,
Dean, Alumni and Corporate Relations
Tel:+91-22-2576-7023
E-Mail: dean.acr.office@iitb.ac.in
 Mood Indigo 2019 Mood Indigo, also known as MoodI or MI, the cultural and signature festival of Indian Institute of Technology Bombay is considered Asia's largest college cultural festival and often one of the biggest of its kind in the world. The 49th edition of Mood Indigo sprawled from 26th December till 29th December. As usual, there was a plethora of competitions, brilliant performances and other events for the students, faculty, staff, and campus residents to enjoy. |
 Cultural Meet 4.0 The Inter IIT Cultural Meet is an annual competition for cultural events, seeing participation from students across all IITs in India. The infrastructure for the 1st Inter IIT Cultural meet was set up in 2016 with IIT Bombay as its first host. |
 Phase 1 of Placement Season This year, the Indian Institutes of Technology conducted the first phase of the placement drive for the graduating batch of 2020. As is the tradition in these premier engineering institutes, students had been offered impressive packages, both nationally and internationally. Microsoft has been one of the biggest recruiters among the different IITs with the highest number of offers as well as the annual compensation offered to the students. |
 Reunions and Alumni Day The Reunion sprawled over a span of 3 days consisting of Silver Jubilee Reunions, Decennial Reunion and several other reunions of batches including 1964, 1969, 1979, 1989, 1994, 1999, 2004, 2009 and 2014 and finally ending with the Alumni Day on 22nd December 2019. |
 Inter IIT Sports Meet Following the 53-year-old tradition, the latest edition of the Sports Meet was hosted by IIT Guwahati. With over 3500 participants, more than 50 events and 500+ matches, this edition was one of the biggest throughout the history of the Inter IIT Sports Meet. |
 Institute lecture on "Liberal Arts Education : A Global Perspective" by Elizabeth H. Bradley The talk will address the history and current state of liberal arts in higher education, including outcomes of the model and challenges to the model as a way of developing young adults' capacity and preparing them for their futures. |
 Institute Lecture Series on "Applications of Organic Chemistry to the solutions of Practical Problems" Professor Grubbs is the current Victor and Elizabeth Atkins Professor of Chemistry at the California Institute of Technology, a title he has held since 1990. Since 2009 he has held the concurrent position of Chair Professor from the King Fahd University of Petroleum & Minerals Dhahran, Saudi Arabia. Professor Grubbs earned B.S. and M.S. degrees in Chemistry from the University of Florida in 1963 and 1965, respectively. His Masters research was conducted under the direction of Merle Battiste. His Ph.D. in Chemistry from Columbia University was awarded in 1968 and his doctoral advisor was Ronald Breslow. |
 How the economy of culture is reshaping the world The Indian Institute of Technology Bombay organised an Institute Lecture on Monday, January 27, 2020. The details of the lecture are given below:
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 Introducing Prof. Arun Mascarenhas It gives us immense pleasure to welcome Prof. Arun Mascarenhas to the IIT Bombay family. He is a valuable addition to the Department of Industrial Design Center. Arun Mascarenhas has been in academics since 2009. His principal areas of expertise are Fine Arts, Art History, and Aesthetics, having specialization in Contemporary Sculpture and Drawing. His teaching interests include Visual Communication, Creative Education Fundamentals. His research and practice is in the area of Art and Design for Public Spaces, Handmade and Sustainable practices, Cluster study and Documentation. |
 Techfest - the DaVincian Spectacle IIT Bombay’s annual Science and Technology festival, Techfest will be held from 3 to 5 January, 2020. The team of managers and one overall coordinator spearheaded events round the year ranging from social initiatives like the Bone Health Campaign to the online crypt hunt Segreta. They also raised awareness about captivating existing and upcoming technologies through their Facebook page. |
 Abhyuday - The Gen-Z Spark A fest with a purpose, Abhyuday is IIT Bombay’s annual social festival. Started back in 2013 by a group of determined students who felt the need for a body to provide opportunities to the students of the institute wishing to work for a better society, the fest has been receiving enormous praise for its impact and reach. The Abhyuday team is also responsible for conducting events throughout the year, most notably, its blood donation campaign witnessed colossal participation from students, professors and other residents of the institute. |
 2nd International Conference On Entrepreneurship And Family Business Shailesh J. Mehta School of Management, IIT Bombay, India and College of Business, University of North Texas, USA will be jointly organizing the 2nd International Conference on Entrepreneurship and Family Business [ICEFB 2020] on January 9-11, 2020 at the Victor Menezes Convention Centre (VMCC). |
