PALS (PanIIT Alumni Leadership Series) - Season 5

PALS is an educational initiative undertaken by the IIT Alumni Industry Interaction Center (IITAIIC), Chennai, to benefit the students of Engineering colleges in and around Chennai.

A new season of the PALS Program, PALS 5, was inaugurated by Dr. Bhaskar Ramamurthi, Director IITM on Saturday, 8th August 2015, at the IC & SR Auditorium at IIT Madras.

PALS- Season 5

Distinguished dignitaries from education and industry including Dr. S.Vaidyasubramaniam, Dean-Planning & Development, Indian Overseas Chair Professor of Management, SASTRA University and Mr. K Shanker, Director- Onshore/Overseas Business, Technip India Ltd participated in the programme. They shared their thoughts on the theme “Engineering Environment”.

Mr. Kalpathi Suresh, the president of the IIT Alumni Industry Interaction Center, welcomed the gathering and Ms. Alamelu, the chairperson presented the activities lined up for PALS 5 and the road ahead. Addressing the gathering, Mr. Suresh said, “the spirit of PALS, the initiative of the Center, is to spread the leadership qualities of IITs amongst various other institutes.”

PALS - A catalyst between Academia and Industry

Mr.Vaidyasubramaniam, focusing on the 3Es (Enrolment, Experience and Engagement) said, “The enrolment, experience and engagement models need a rebrand, restructure and review. The gross non-alignment of legacy thoughts with modern aspirations seems to undo the potential good that is possible if existing systems are disrupted positively. In this age of disruptive innovations, it is imperative that certain radical & non-traditional models are experimented to test its propensity before massive replication.”

PALS- Season 5

Mr. K. Shanker said, "With technology changing at a rapid pace, educational institutions, industry and government need to accept change and work together to build a future wherein our human resources are developed to be innovative and posses an entrepreneurial attitude to meet the challenges of tomorrow. The PALS program acts as a catalyst between academia and industry in this regard".

New initiatives of Season 5 

• T2P lectures: IIT professors will deliver lectures on real life industrial consultancy undertaken by them, by which students can understand the link between the theory studied in classes and its real-world applications.

• TCS: TCS through its “Purpose of Life” initiative will coordinate with PALS to uplift research acumen in select tier 2 and tier 3 colleges which are members of PALS5. 

• CTS : PALS will be able to  recommend a few faculty members of PALS5 Partner Institutes,  to the faculty development program of CTS.

Spreading its reach - Colleges subscribe for PALS 5 services

Some of the colleges that have benefited from the past editions of PALS and have subscribed for PALS 5 services are: Agni College of Technology, VIT Chennai Campus, Hindustan University and KCG College of Engineering, with IIT Madras taking the lead as the parent institute. One of the new entrants into the series is Dhanalakshmi College of Engineering. There are several forward thinking colleges in and around Chennai in the pipeline.

In this season, PALS will also be spreading its reach to engineering colleges in other districts of Tamil Nadu. An Advisory Committee consisting of faculty from IIT Madras, industry leaders and IIT Alumni Industry Interaction Centre management will guide the initiative to reach greater heights in ensuring quality Engineering Education.