Members of Pan IIT Alumni Association ushered in its first anniversary at a gala function last week
After organising and conducting regular monthly technical seminars such as those on various aspects of Shale gas, Nanotechnology, Renewable Energies, Mission to Mars, and GIS and its applications, throughout the past year, it was time for the Pan IIT Alumni Association of Qatar to celebrate.
Representing graduates, post-graduates and doctorates in science and engineering from the prestigious Indian Institute of Technology and currently employed throughout Qatar, the association brought in its first anniversary function at Radisson Blu Hotel last week.
The association was formed last year under the aegis of the Indian Cultural Center and the Embassy of India. To commemorate the occasion, the association invited Dr Thomas Zacharia, Executive Vice President for Research and Development at the Qatar Foundation (QF) and Chairman of the Board of Qatar Science and Technology Park (QSTP), as the guest of honour. Dr Zacharia was accompanied by his wife Sindhu Zacharia.
In his welcome address, Sanjay Shukla, President of the Alumni Association, reported that the association had crossed the 100-plus member mark in the first year of their official launch in 2013.
Shukla spoke about the association’s aim to foster knowledge-sharing among its members, and plans to develop meaningful and lasting programmes and links between the association and local institutes to encourage young minds in Qatar to pursue careers in science and technology.
The young association will have at least one such programme up and running next year, he further pointed out. Shukla also mentioned about the increased recognition of the IITs and their alumni from the new Indian government under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
For instance, many IITians are associate members of the Citizens for Accountable Governance (CAG). IItians like Jayant Sinha was elected to the Lok Sabha in May in Modi’s Council of Ministers; Manohar Parrikar became the first IITian to assume the role of chief minister of an Indian state, and was recently inducted in the cabinet as union minister of defence.
The highlight of the evening was Dr Zacharia’s speech. Dr Zacharia received his bachelor’s degree in engineering from National Institute of Technology in Karnataka and his doctoral degree in engineering from Clarkson University. Prior to joining QF, he was the Deputy Lab Director at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory in the US.
In his address to the gathering, Dr Zacharia described the story of how he came to accept the challenge of leading the development of a world-renowned research facility in Science and Technology in Qatar in 20 years.
In order to increase the awareness of the mission and activities of QF, Dr Zacharia laid out its three mission areas – Education, Research, and Community Development. He spoke of the tremendous opportunities that exist today for young kids to pursue world-class education in science and technology from premier institutes of the west without having to leave Qatar.
New PhD programmes are being launched in Qatar and more programmes will continue to be launched in the coming years with scholarships and grants from QF, he pointed out.
Dr Zacharia also talked about the four key areas of QF research – Energy and Environment, Computational Sciences, Health and Life Sciences, and Social Sciences. Within those, he highlighted solar energy, clean water, cybersecurity and personalised medicine as the current major grand challenge areas of research at QF.
The pace of technological changes is so fast, Dr Zacharia said, that in the last 20 years, the supercomputers have given way to hand-held gadgets.
To become a driver and participant of these rapid changes, QF research will need continuous supply of the best scientists not only from Qatar but also from other countries, he explained, emphasising that graduates and post-graduates from Indian institutes of higher learning should consider long-term careers in R&D at QF.
Finally, he urged young school-going kids and their parents to make time and visit these universities to learn about their scholarships and other programmes designed specifically to motivate and encourage Qatari and Qatar-born non-Qatari students to pursue financially-rewarding careers in science and technology within and outside Qatar. His address was followed by dinner, as the evening concluded on a promising note.
