2014 – A Look Back

Countless

- Words, paragraphs and pages read

- Money saving tips and tricks shared

- Contracts and bids made

- Colours and images observed

2014 has been a landmark year for us at the IIT Alumni Center. Two of our popular events – the Open Pairs bridge tournament and the Women only Workshop – were launched. PALS returned for another enlightening year of industry education enhancement. Bibliothek, our official book club, turned two.

Let’s take a look back at the exciting year that’s gone by.

The Year of the Bookworm

It was a very busy year for members of Bibliothek, the official book club of the IIT Alumni Center. From reading an intellectual murder mystery set in the 14th century to experiencing Santiago’s quest in catching the giant marlin, members read a range of books from timeless literature to contemporary fiction. 

Some of the books read include: The Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco, Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou, Poems of Love and War by A K Ramanujam and 14 Stories That Inspired Satyajit Ray by Bhaskar Chattopadhyay. Bibliothek invited Timeri Murari, to read from his new book, The Taliban Cricket Club.

Earlier this year, Bibliothek held Super Saturday to celebrate its second anniversary. The day which began with a book fair, also had a fun quiz for the grown-ups.

Poems of Love and War by A K Ramanujam

A Taste of Fine Arts

Impressions, the art club of the IIT Alumni Center celebrated Women's Day with an art and sculpture exhibition. Held at the Club in the City, the exhibition featured the works of Thara Ganesan, Kamla Ravikumar and Isaiarasi. The central theme for the exhibition was yoga and meditation. Earlier this year, Impressions hosted an interactive workshop on jazz music which was conducted by renowned jazz musician, Madhav Chari. 

De-stress 101

The IIT Alumni Center invited Murli Menon, author and ZeNLP coach to share several simple and effective stress management techniques. The Center also hosted a revitalizing session on Tai Chi and Qigong, conducted by Tai Chi master, Ranga Rao. 

Author and ZeNLP coach, Murli Menon gave a seminar on stress management

Call. Bid. Respond. Declare

A regular feature, the Open Pairs bridge tournament is a widely participated event which has been recognized by the Chennai Bridge Association and included in the City Bridge Calendar. The tournament takes place in the trendy indoors and the serene outdoors. Winners and runners-up are awarded with cash prizes.

Celebrating the Spirit of Childhood

One of 2014’s most anticipated club events was Children’s Day, which was celebrated with great delight and joy at the Club in the City. The day saw a range of fun activities and games from chess to slow cycling, drawing competitions and origami workshops.

Children's Day was celebrated with a range of fun activities including a drawing competition

Personal Finance Workshops
On April 9th, 2014, the IIT Alumni Center played host to the first of many Women only Workshops. Themed on personal finance, WoW continues to see enthusiastic participation and is conducted by member Renu Maheshwari, who is a SEBI-registered financial advisor. The two-hour coaching session explores the world of finance and on money behavioural analysis.

Enhancing Engineering Education

The Pan-IIT Alumni Series, popularly known as PALS turned 4 in 2014. From industry visits to department visits, from campus lectures to education seminars, PALS-4 showcased important changes in today’s engineering education and industry.

PALS-4 conducted a seminar discussing various education enhancement programs

...And the Future

2015, much like its predecessor, will be an active year for the members of the IIT Alumni Center. There are more lessons on saving wisely, more engrossing books to read, more mind-boggling bridge to be played, and more quality time to spend with your buddies.

The Center’s second venue, the Hub in the Sky will also open in 2015. Located at the prestigious IIT Madras Research Park, the Hub will offer more elite facilities such as a billiards room, squash court, stylish work spaces and conference rooms, etc. 

Contemporary Turkish playwright and novelist, Mehmet Murat ildan once quipped "New Year's most glorious light is sweet hope.” We at the IIT Alumni Center are looking to leave the light on throughout 2015.

And on that note, we wish you all a happy and optimistic New Year!

Women only Workshop

A brief history of women in the 20th century

Virginia Woolf has often been misquoted for writing “for most of history, anonymous is a woman.” which gave birth to a lot of “what if?” sentiments. 

“What if women could rule countries?”

“What if women could climb mountains and cross oceans?”

These thoughts not only saw the growth of feminist writers, but also broke the stereotype that women were big spenders. At the turn of the century, women across the world had become more self-assured about the concept of money, especially in India, where women generally manage their family’s finances.

Women only Workshop - Focusing on the world of personal finances

Keeping up with its commitment towards women empowerment, the IIT Alumni Center launched the Women only Workshop which offers women a great opportunity to understand the world of personal finances. 

A two-hour coaching session, Women only Workshop (WoW) deals with financial planning and implementation. The first session was held on April 9, 2014 and was conducted by Ms. Renu Maheshwari.  The session explored the world of finance and it was found to be very useful by both the members and the corporate guests. It dealt with Planning and implementation of finance, risk profiling and money behaviour analysis. The workshop also provided guidance on how to achieve a life of indulgence and liberty. Held every month at the Club in the City, Abhiramapuram, Chennai, the workshop has completed six sessions.

Women only Workshops explore the world of finance

Guests and speakers

Ms. Renu Maheshwari who conducts the workshop is a SEBI registered Investment Adviser and practices financial planning and portfolio management. With over two decades of experience, Ms. Maheshwari excels in coaching, consulting and advising clients on personal financing. In 2012, she co-founded Finscholarz to provide holistic consulting services.

Renu Maheshwari presiding over a session of the Women only Workshop

Most sessions are presided over by personalities from distinguished backgrounds. Notable chief guests include angel investor and management advisor, Ms. Padma Chandrasekaran, and executive coach, Ms. Rajani Seshadri, who helps leaders in Tata Consultancy Services, hone their strengths and overcome limits, to achieve personal and professional success.

A workshop for members and guests

Women only Workshop has seen large and enthusiastic participation. Invitations are sent to key corporate companies across Chennai to nominate accomplished women from their companies to take part.

Participants at the event

Becoming a member of the IIT Alumni Center is simple:

Complete and submit the application form

Screening Committee will meet to consider the application and you will be notified immediately. (The entire process typically takes around 3 weeks) 

Once selected, you can pay the fees to complete your registration and start experiencing the elite services offered by the IIT Alumni Center.

Are you an IIT alumnus? 

Click here to connect with us, find your old friends and make new ones at the IIT AlumniCenter, click here to know more about the different membership plans and fees.