9th Alumni Day Brings Alumni Back to Campus After a Two-Year Gap!

The Alumni Day was conceptualized to be a family event by the Alumni, of the Alumni, and for the Alumni, to rekindle the nostalgia of the bygone days with old friends and to make new acquaintances. The event is scheduled in such a way [last Sunday of every year] so that our ex-Students across different continents and in pan-Indian locations could plan well in advance to attend. We enjoyed physical Alumni Day meets under the bright winter sunshine in the beautiful campus of our beloved Alma mater for 6 years between 2014 to 2019. However, we were compelled to stay away from this physical meet in 2020 and 2021 due to a pandemic which led to many restrictions and closing of the campus.

 
However, we could not resist our desire to continue Alumni Day and organized excellent virtual Alumni Day programmes in 2020 and 2021 in spite of those limitations. After 2 years of restrictive situation, GAABESU organized the 9th Alumni Day-2022 as a physical event again, at the Flag hosting ground at IIEST Campus (opposite of the 1st lobby) on December 25th, 2022.

On 24th December a Panel Discussion was successfully held virtually at 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. The subject of the panel discussion was “Engineering and Engineering Education in the 21st Century – Repositioning of IIEST”. 

The distinguished alumni panelists were:

1.      Prof. Amitabha Ghosh
2.      Shri Amitabha Bhattacharya
3.      Prof. Indranil Manna
4.      Shri Gautam Ray
5.      Prof. Suman Chakraborty

Prof. Tathagata Roy was the moderator of the discussion. Session organizers were Dr. Biman Ghosh, Prof. Partha Pratim Chattopadhyay, and Shri Syama Prasad Datta.

The day-long Alumni Day event witnessed a hugely satisfying participation from Alumni across different batches. The total footfall count was more than 300. The event hosted Alumni ranging from the 1956 batch to that of 2021.

The programme for the day kicked off at 9:00 am by Registration followed by networking and “adda” over several rounds of tea/coffee and snacks. At 11 am the event formally began. Many GAABESU officials and eminent personalities were present at the programme. Our senior most alumnus Shri Dhiraj Chanda (1956 CE), Dr. Arun Deb (1957 CE), and Shri Amitabha Ghoshal (1957 CE) graced the occasion and bonded with their Alma mater. Prof Subhasis Bhaumik, Dean of Planning and development (Director, Acting), Shri Syama Prasad Datta, convener of Alumni Day 2022, Smt. Anjana Ganguly Roy, the President of GAABESU and Shri Sitansu Sekhar Ghosh, Secretary, GAABESU were present on the Dias.

Smt. Anjana Ganguly Roy welcomed all present dignitaries, alumni and their families, students etc. while Shri Syama Prasad Datta, Convener of the 9th Alumni Day, spoke about the event, its legacy, and its purpose. Prof Subhasis Bhaumik, Dean of Planning and development (Director, Acting) gave his address and shared future plans for the institute. After the speeches from the eminent guests, the inaugural session ended with a vote of thanks from the Secretary, Shri Sitansu Sekhar Ghosh.  The anchor for the inaugural session was Shri Subhasish Majumdar.

A video of the Registration and the Inaugural session can be viewed below:

As the inaugural session concluded, it made way for the Business Meet from 11.30 am, anchored by the GAABESU President Smt. Anjana Ganguly Roy, and Alumni Day convener Shri Syama Prasad Datta. The topic of the Business Meet was “Repositioning of IIEST as a Research Institute”.
Shri Syama Prasad Datta talked briefly about the panel discussion which was held virtually on 24th December. Many dignitaries shared their valuable suggestions/ thoughts at the Business meet.  Among the speakers were Prof. Saumitra Banerjee (1981 EE), Shri Achyut Ghosh (1961 ME), Prof. Pratik Dutta (1990 MIN), Dr. Prabir Kumar Neogi (1962 CE), Shri Shyamal Kumar Mitra (1967 CE), Prof Tathagata Roy (1966 CE), Prof Santanu Kumar Karmakar (1983 ME), Shri Sumanta Chowdhury (1977 EE) and other notable alumni.

A video clip of this engaging Business Meet can be viewed below:

A Gala Lunch with ethnic Bengali dishes topped up with some of Kolkata’s most famous sweets, was relished by the attendees, following the conclusion of the Business Meet.

GAABESU also encouraged students of different departments and several societies within IIEST to put up stalls to showcase their talents and recent achievements. The Photography club was among those who put up their stall, as it successfully interacted with eminent alumni with a photographic inclination.

A souvenir called “Alumni Link 2022” was released to commemorate this special occasion. This was handed over to all attendees at the registration counter.  GPT Infraproject Ltd., International Combustion (India) Ltd., and ITD Cementation were the Platinum Sponsors for the Event, while Ashoka Buildcon Limited, MAGEBA, and CESC were the Gold sponsors. As many as 16 agencies supported this grand event through sponsorship support.

                              ALUMNI LINK 2022

Before and after lunch, many alumni enjoyed a tour of the Campus with their family members,  riding the Totos kept at their service. Like every year, 45-50 IIEST students worked enthusiastically as volunteers, to make this event successful.

The afternoon session started with a musical performance by Shri Subhasish Majumdar, also an alumnus of this institute. There were also spellbinding performances by Smt. Aditi Roy, Shri Partho Bose, Smt. Kasturi Basu, Shri Indranil Sen and Shri Prasad Ranjan Das. Shri Sajal Mukherjee enthralled us with a wonderful rendition on his Harmonica. “Euphony”, the musical band by IIEST students, also presented a memorable performance. The anchor for the Cultural programme was Smt. Kasturi Basu.

The best of the Cultural Program can be viewed in the video below: 

The show at the campus ended with some phuchka, tea, coffee, and adda. As sunset approached, the alumni community was brought back to the reality of the present and with a heavy heart, it was time to bid adios to their beloved alma mater and the amazing company they had enjoyed through the day. After a day filled with Fun, Fraternity, and Food, it was time to say goodbye, but not without a promise to come back again on Sunday, December 31, 2023.

The Steering Committee, on behalf of GAABESU, extends heartfelt thanks to the entire Alumni Community for their engaging support in making the 9th Alumni Day a successful event.

“Aschhe Bachhor Abaar Hobe!”