On September 24th , a bright sunny day in Santa Clara, the IBGAA hosted the global alumni re-union at the beautiful, spacious Convention Center. With over 300+ alumni and family registered, it was a lively, fun, and wonderful event with a walk down memory lane. It also provided an opportunity to showcase the amazing work being done by the IIT(BHU) Foundation.
The IBGAA as a gracious host and supporter of IIT(BHU) Foundation, offered us the chance to host a panel during the day to answer the questions, “what is IIT(BHU) Foundation?” and “what does it do?”. The panel comprised of 3 members of the board, Ramesh Srinivasan (82), Vikash Agarwal (95), Arun Tripathi – President (95) and Asit Goel (95) serving as the moderator.
Kicking off the discussion, Arun focused on the purpose of the Foundation – to create an endowment that supports the Institute with funds for infrastructure development, student scholarships, and enhance faculty and research capabilities. Elaborating further Vikash then talked about the painstaking and detailed work the Foundation’s Board (comprised of 6 alumni and 2 representatives of the Institute) has done to ensure that not only the proper legal framework governs the Foundation but also there is transparency to the Foundation’s working including donor reporting and audits. Ramesh (Distinguished Alumni 2022) then talked about his personal journey and why he chose to donate $1.3Million. It is always a pleasure to hear him speak and this was no exception. It was humbling to hear him minimize his contribution while highlighting the need of the Institution. The audience also had a video message from another Distinguished Alum Nikesh Arora (89). He urged the audience to share in his passion for supporting students and to join him in donating to the IIT(BHU) Access Fund which has been set up to provide a means based scholarship covering all tuition costs for the full 4-years.
The diverse panel comprised of hi-profile corporate executives and very successful entrepreneurs, covered various topics about the vision and the need for the Foundation. I sincerely hope that those of us reading this blog do take a minute to donate. The Foundation is still a young sapling that needs all the nurturing for it to grow into a strong oak tree of the future. Go here to make an impact today.