President attends graduation, hosts alumni in India

UB has collaborated with Amrita on a Master of Science in Management: Business Analytics and Systems since 2009, and a Master of Science in Embedded Systems since 2013. In addition to President and Mrs. Kamlesh Tripathi, Professor Stephen Dunnett, Vice Provost for International Education, attended the October 31 ceremony as well as Professor Ramaswamy Ramesh and Professor Bharat Jayaraman, the directors of the management and engineering programs, respectively; and Mr. Wei Loon Leong, director of International Alumni Engagement.

Dr. Venkat Rangan, Vice Chancellor of Amrita University, and Mr. P. Manoj, Chair of the Amrita School of Business, were their hosts.

Prior to traveling to Bangalore, President Tripathi and Professor Dunnett visited Amrita’s Coimbatore campus in order to sign two new agreements with Amrita and to take part in a symposium on the role of universities in economic development.

In keeping with the strategic initiatives of UB2020 and President Tripathi’s ongoing effort to engage with alumni and friends of the university, the first-ever reception for UB alumni in India, jointly organized with Amrita, was held at The Gateway Hotel Residency Road in Bangalore the evening of October 31.

The reception drew more than 120 alumni and family members from across India. The group included alumni who graduated from UB in the early 1970s onward, as well as graduates of the UB-Amrita master’s degree programs who had received their diplomas that morning. The program began with a welcome on behalf of the Alumni Association by Mr. Leong, followed by remarks by Mr. Manoj. In his remarks, Rangan noted the longstanding partnership with UB and his appreciation for the success that the relationship has achieved to date with the offering of the dual-degree programs between Amrita and UB.

President Tripathi conveyed his appreciation to Amrita University for their kindness and hospitality during his trip to India. Tripathi shared the latest updates from UB with the audience including the university’s recent ranking as one of the top 50 public research universities in the USA, notable research and scholarship grants, the new General Education curriculum with international and experiential learning enhancements, and his long term goal of having a flourishing UB Alumni Association chapter in India.

The highlight of the evening was the presentation of three Outstanding Alumni Awards. The recipients were Dr. Ashutosh Sharma, Secretary, Department of Science and Technology, Government of India; Dr. Uday B. Desai, Director, India Institute of Technology, Hyderabad; and Dr. Shriram V. Revankar, Vice President and Global Head of Research on Big Data and Business Intelligence Technologies. All of the awardees recalled their early experience and UB and noted how their UB education played a role in the success of their careers.

This first alumni gathering in India was a moment for everyone to share and reminisce about their memorable times at UB. Alumni who have graduated from the UB campus in Buffalo and alums who received their UB degrees through the dual degree programs between UB and Amrita University all came together to recall their UB experiences while building friendships along the way.

In his closing remarks, Mr. Leong thanked everyone at Amrita University for their continuous support and hard work in making the event a success while noting that alumni engagement in India was off to a good start. The long term plan is to establish an alumni chapter in India that can enhance the engagement with UB of the 2000 alumni currently residing in the country.