Over 2000 people from Canada, US, Dubai, France, Australia, India, Japan, England gathered at the Bethesda North Marriott Hotel and Conference Center, in North Bethesda, MD on the weekend of May 21st to attend the second PanIIT conference. In addition to promoting kinship and showcasing accomplishment, this meeting was targeted towards developing sustainable initiatives that can benefit the IITs and the Alum.

The organizers were able to assemble a star-studded speaker list that included luminaries from the world of technology, business, education and the media both from India and the United States. Jack Welch, Tom Friedman, Larry Summers, Arun Shourie, Sam Pitroda, C.K.Prahlad and other keynote speakers were all in praise for the work done by IITians.  “IITians have helped improve the image of India in the world  and they have also helped make India proud of herself", said Shourie.  Many referred to the IITians as the greatest gift India has given to the United States, a tribute to the fact that IITians have been key players in ensuring success of several corporations including Microsoft and Google.

The conference caught the attention of politicians as well. In recognition of the work done by IITians, the House passed Resolution 227 and the States of Virginia, Maryland and the District of Columbia issued proclamations.  Congressman Tom Davis (R-VA) hosted a special congressional reception in the US Capital Building for the invited guests of  PAN-IIT.  “Most Silicon Valley firms have at least one IIT graduate among their top executives.  More than their professional achievements, however, graduates of IIT are wonderful ambassadors for their homeland, and they continue to strengthen the potent friendship between India and the U.S., the two largest democracies in the world.  I am pleased the House of Representatives joined me this week in recognizing the achievements of Indian Americans and IIT graduates in particular” said Davis.

Several luminaries from the industry including Vinod Khosla, Desh Deshpande,Purnendu Chatterjee, Umang Gupta, K.V. Kamath, Arjun Malhotra, Raj Gupta, Subhash Ghai,  Vinita Gupta, Padmashree Warrier and others  served on panels  that focused on a range of topics in the areas of technology, business, education and philanthropy.  While, the number of women in the B. Tech program at IITs is still very small, it was heartening to note that the women alum had made significant contributions.  There was a special panel moderated by Vinita Gupta, CEO, Digital Link  where panelists  Viji Raghunathan, Former VP, Wells Fargo, Dolly Oberoi, CEO, CA-2 Technology Inc, Lata Krishnan, President, AIF, Jyoti Chopra, Dir, South Asian Dev, Merrill Lynch, Rashmi Misra, Founder, Vidya Foundation and Neera Singh, Founder LCC International inspired women in the audience to go forth and realize their dreams.

There were several meetings presided over by the directors of the various IITs where the specific goals and activities of these institutions was discussed.  Dr. P Rama Rao, Chairman of the IIT Review Committee & MGK Menon , Chairman Board of Governors IIT Delhi, laid out the vision for the future of the IIT system in India and the challenges that are present.

The benefit of the meeting for the attendees and sponsors was the opportunity to network.  “We are delighted to have been a sponsor of IIT 2005. It was an excellent networking opportunity for the alumni, the IIT Directors and the faculty.  We are excited about the future opportunities and doors IIT2005 has helped open” said Dr. P. Anandan, Managing Director of Microsoft Research, India. “This is the best conference I have attended in recent times. The session on the Future of Technology is helping me craft a winning strategy for an IT proposal we are writing. I was also able to give business to a company I met at the conference” said Dolly Oberoi, CEO, C2 Technologies, Inc.

The greatest pleasure for most attendees was meeting long lost friends who they had not seen for decades. Co-Chairs Sudhakar Shenoy, Founder, Chairman and CEO of Information Management Consultants,(IMC), Rajat Gupta Senior Partner Worldwide, McKinsey & Company, Inc and their team of volunteers should be congratulated on making this event a grand success.

|