Ashank Desai is one of the founder members of Mastek and has played a pivotal role in making it a $160 Million IT services company. His vision and leadership abilities have helped Mastek develop strong export markets in the US , Europe and Asia Pacific. Ashank Desai was on one of the co-founders and Past Chairman of NASSCOM and In the last 13 years , Ashank was involved in all major initiatives taken by NASSCOM .Ashank Desai has taken active interest in the Industry affairs at the national level and has represented India in various forums at the international Level. He was one of the founder team members involved in planning the direction and vision of Kanwal Rekhi School of Information Technology (KRSIT) at IIT Bombay and is on the National Council of CII , Managing Committee of Bombay Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BCCI) and the Western Region Council of Indo American Chamber of Commerce. He fosters IT entrepreneurship as a Charter member of TiE (The IndUS Entrepreneurs).

Mastek today has over 1000 professionals servicing Fortune 1000 clients across the US, UK, Europe and Asia Pacific. Mastek has performance standards unparalleled in the IT industry having achieved the SW-CMM Level 5 for software engineering processes. Mastek is also known for its ‘people practices’ being the first IT company in the world to have been assessed at SEI’s P-CMM Level 3.

Mr. Desai, M.Tech from Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Mumbai and MBA from Indian Institute of Management (IIM), Ahmedabad (IIM-A)

He is the chair of the PAN IIT 2006 Global Conference to be held in Mumbai Dec 23-25 , 2006. 

For more information please visit  www.paniit2006.org

What contribution does your alma mater IIT, have in shaping your stellar career as the Chairman of MASTEK , a $160 million venture?

There are many things one can learn at a world-class institute like the IIT. One of the important things that I have taken away from IIT is a strong sense of Competitive Excellence . At any IIT, you are competing with some of the best minds in the country. Such competition helps you raise your own bar of excellence.

IITs also inculcate strong analytical and problem-solving capabilities. This has stood me in good stead in every sphere of activity, especially in my professional life; because in business every day brings a new challenge and to solve that challenge you need to be able to analyze and understand it.
Another good thing about being an IITian is the strong sense of bonding between its alumni. I have had the pleasure of interacting with many successful IITians across the world and it has always been an inspiring & enriching experience for me.

What motivated you to take on the onerous task of chairing the PAN IIT 2006 event?

One of the main reasons was that it presented me the opportunity to give back something to my alma mater for all its contributions to my life. To countless students like me, IITs provide world-class, yet affordable, education that helps you compete with the best in the world.

I was also inspired by the theme of Pan IIT, which focuses on nation building, a topic that is close to my heart. I firmly believe that IITians, with their skills, capabilities and influence, are ideally poised to make a difference to the nation. That’s why for this event IIT stands for Inspire to Involve and Transform India .

Besides, Prof. Ashok Mishra, the director of IIT-Mumbai , whom I respect for taking a lead to  inspire   IITians  to contribute to Alumni Affairs , personally requested me to take on this responsibility.

Could you give us a brief overview of the event?

Many like minded IITians felt they owe to society and should contribute towards Nation Building. Thus the umbrella organisation PanIIT was born which is an alumni association of all IITians worldwide. Since last 4 years , a major Global conference is held every year alternating  between US & India.

PanIIT 2006 Global Conference  is being held in Mumbai . The event will be held at Bandra Kurla Complex, Mumbai from 23rd to 25th Decemeber,2006. This is going to be a  largest ever conference (over 5000+) of IITians across the world. The theme for the event is to Inspire & Involve to Transform (IIT) India.

The event program is designed based on the Survey Questionnaire sent to thousands of  IITians  , asking them what are their views on Nation Building  & what they want to achieve attending the  program .

The theme for Day 1 on 23rd December is to Inspire. The day will be marked by Address by President, Dr. A.P.J Abdul Kalam; sessions by Directors of IITs; address by Industry leaders and visionaries.

The theme for Day 2 on 24th December is to Involve. The highlights of the second day will be discussions along 7 parallel sessions focused on themes like Governance, Knowledge Economy, Entrepreneurship, and Poverty Eradication & Advanced Technologies. We will be showcasing large number of IITians who have contributed towards Nation Building.
The panel discussion on the various issues will involve bureaucrats, politicians, academia and industry executives so that voices reach to the right people and action is  taken.

There is a special session for Spouses. In the evening there will be a special   entertainment program where Bollywood stars are expected to participate.

The theme for Day 3 on 25th December is to Transform which will be a  session with PM and other ministers on Nation Building
.

Could you highlight some of the unique aspects of this conference?
 
This conference has a unique focus on the nitty-gritty of strategy and action needed to create and sustain an agenda for national development in a practical way that every IIT alumnus can engage in immediately. We are clear about making this an initiative for inspired actions in the next few years.

The unique thing about the event is that it is not just a gathering of IITians from all corners of the world. We hope the event will be a springboard for a movement in which IIT alumni participate more actively in nation-building efforts. The theme is also unique, playing on the IIT acronym, Inspire to Involve and Transform India.

The event will not just be about speeches. It will encourage the formation of groups that will take up specific issues. Pan IIT will also showcase and support IITian  groups that are already doing good work in the areas discussed during the event.

We realize that social transformation cannot be brought about without involving community leaders such as politicians, bureaucrats, academicians and industry captains. The event will have panel discussions that bring together successful people from different walks of life. Pan IIT will be the biggest IIT event ever; we expect 5000 alumni to attend.

What do you hope will be the concrete initiatives that may result from this conference?

With interactivity between alumni, speakers and panelists, as well as focus discussions geared to action, I expect that we will be able to come up with specific, time-bound action plans for each of the segments. We also expect to be able to brief the Prime Minister on the key areas requiring attention and support at a national level.

Many IITians are already involved in a variety of nation-building activities. Through this event, we hope that more and more alumni will be inspired to involve and transform our nation. We expect that IITians will join groups that are already working in that direction or form new groups.

What would Alumni from the US and other countries gain from attending this event?

IIT’s global alumni are already well connected through many networks. And many of them are deeply interested in giving back to their alma mater and their nation. This is an additional opportunity for them to not only to meet other IITians but also find ways to contribute to nation-building efforts.

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