IIT-Kanpur, one of the first Indian institutes of technology, will celebrate the completion of 60 years of its founding on November 2.
Union minister of human resource development Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’ will be the guest of honour at the special event to celebrate the diamond jubilee of the institute.
Fourteen distinguished alumni and institute fellows will be felicitated at an award ceremony in acknowledgement of their achievements and contribution to both IIT-K and the nation, said Abhay Karandikar, director, IIT-Kanpur.
The list of old pupils to be felicitated includes Dr Ajay Kumar, defence secretary, government of India; Dr Krishnamurthy Subramanian, chief economic adviser, government of India; Dinesh Kumar Jain, member of the first lokpal and many others, Karandikar said.
In a message, Pokhriyal said, “The IITs were pioneers in the field of engineering education in the country and led to the development of a strong scientific and technological base of talent that over the years, has contributed to the growth of our nation.”
“It is an honour to be present for the diamond jubilee celebrations and I would like to congratulate all those associated with the institution for this achievement. I am sure that the future is brighter and IIT-Kanpur will continue to contribute to the transformation of India through innovation and technology,” the minister said.
“IIT-Kanpur, which has given this country some of the finest industry leaders like Narayan Murthy, founder of Infosys, Satyendra Dubey, Ashoke Sen, Som Mittal, Krishnamurthy Subramanian, among others, will also host an alumni and institute fellow award function as part of the celebrations, said Karandikar.
Established in 1959, IIT-Kanpur was the 4th IIT to be established and one of the consistently top ranked institutes in the country. With the best research infrastructure and state-of-the-art facilities, it encourages students to innovate using technology, and approaches education with a problem-solving attitude, he said.
The institute was set up with a vision to “to create, disseminate and translate knowledge in science, engineering and allied disciplines that will best serve society” and the recognition that the institute has garnered as a major centre of learning in engineering, science and several inter-disciplinary areas is testament to the success of this vision, he added.
At present there are over 7,500 students pursuing their education across various disciplines. The verdant campus is spread across 1,055 acres with 108 buildings housing students and staff.
