Alumni Gift - State-of-the Art Laboratory
16 November 2018
Leading institutions in India similar to that of west have started aggressively engaging Alumni to contribute back in tangible and intangible ways for the growth of their Alma Mater. “Alumnus”, literally meaning a “nursling” or “one who is nourished”, remains an integral part of an institute’s development. Both, the Vice-Chancellor of BITS Pilani, Prof. Souvik Bhattacharyya and the Director of Pilani Campus, Prof. Ashok Sarkar agree to this crucial role of alumni body in institutional excellence. BITS Pilani has identified Alumni engagement as one key pillar for its growth strategy in the coming five years. Mr. Balaji Krishnamurthy of 1971-76 contributed this year an endowment fund of Rs 160 Lakh for awarding Scholarships in the name of Prof. V. Krishnamurthy and Kamala Krishnamurthy. Last year Silver Jubilee reunion batch had contributed around 1.5 Cr for scholarship fund. Batch of 1963-68 has taken an initiative to contribute towards a mega project of building Alumni Guest House, in Pilani campus with seed contributions of Rs 27 Lakh. Alumni of BITS Pilani are taking many such initiatives. Many a times, the alumni come back to the alma mater chipping in with vital resources and inputs to take their institute to the next level.
Mr. Kishore Kumar Gupta is a recent addition to the long list of alumni who had contributed to BITS Pilani in various capacities. Mr. Gupta has donated One crore rupees to set up the Kishore Kumar Gupta Electrical Machines Laboratory in Pilani campus. Currently an entrepreneurial engineer, Mr. Gupta did his Bachelor’s degree in Electronics Engineering (Hons) from BITS Pilani in 1970. His involvement with various elite organizations of India in the fields of Aerospace, Defence and Automobiles gives him first-hand experience of the collaborative opportunities between the industry and the academia.
Mr. Gupta’s vision of bridging the theory-practice gap in Engineering education gets materialized in this “Electrical Machines Laboratory” that boasts of a state-of-the-art feature of coupling and decoupling of different types of industrial-category machines on the same test bench. Catering to the B.E., M.E. and Ph.D. programs, this laboratory also has a high level of safety features and is extremely energy efficient.
Mr. Kishore Kumar Gupta’s gift is a much appreciative gesture and came at the right time for BITS Pilani. With an Institute of Eminence tag, BITS Pilani aspires to do more innovative research in the fields of technology and science. This needs constant external funding and support, and, alumni body’s role becomes important here. Prof. Arya Kumar, the Dean of Alumni Relations, points out how a large alumni body through their generous contributions and constant involvement can really set the ball rolling for BITS Pilani. Surely, BITS Pilani would look up to its numerous alumni, like Mr. Gupta, to appropriate the roles of decisive game changers, in its journey towards further excellence.