8 months of hard work, over 1600 registrations and BITSians from all over the world spread across batches 1947 to 2010. The first ever BITSAA Global Meet has marked the beginning of a journey that promises to be more exciting with every step.
BGM started off with a welcome note by Mr. Sudeep Jain, Co-chair BITSAA Global Meet and a note by our Chancellor, Mr Kumar Mangalam Birla talking about “Vision 2020:Transforming Society,Enterprises and Academics through Innovation” and the important role our Alumni Network has to play in the same. The BGM movie then brought back nostalgic memories to all the BITSians present. This was followed by StudentsSpeak – An event that featured 7 students from all BITS Pilani campuses talking about their experiences at Pilani, Goa, Hyderabad and Dubai. The BGM Anthem composed by AGAM, our very own BITSian band, was then featured. The evening continued with a performance by NYOTH – Not Yet Over The Hill with a line up featuring CEOs, Professors and Entrepreneurs. The performances by Dance club, Mime Club and alumni brought back memories of the Audi. In true Music Nite style, people danced to the tunes of O Hum Dum and Jaane jaa performed live by AGAM. The much awaited event Battle Of Brains of BITS hosted by the Quiz Master Mr Mitesh Agarwal, BOB from 1997 marked the end of the day with Srinivas Rajagopalan (FING) winning the title and Anupam Sahay taking the second position.
Watch out this space for more details on the biggest BITSian get-together.

A BITSian from the batch of 1965, Gulu Mirchandani is the Managing Director of MIRC Electronics and is the Promoter at Onida Saka Limited. He launched brand Onida in 1983, one of the most popular consumer electronics and consumer durables manufacturers in India. Mr. Mirchandani has held the post of the President of Consumer Electronics and TV Manufacturers Association (CETMA) for two consecutive years in 1992 and 1994. He has also served as Chairman of the Bombay Chapter of the World Presidents’ Organisation (WPO). Apart from his role in MIRC electronics, he serves as an Independent Non Executive Director of Shoppers Stop Limited. He also serves as Director of Fractal Analytics Ltd. Since January 30, 2007, he has been Independent Non Executive Director of VIP Industries Ltd and has been a Director of BP Ergo Limited since March 23, 2007. He has been Non-Executive & Independent Director of KEC International Ltd. since January 12, 2006.

Dear BITSians

Over the last six decades, BITS Pilani has transformed itself from a set of three colleges into one of India’s top ten science and technology institutions. It has produced some of India’s finest scientists, designers, managers, and entrepreneurs, the credit for which must go to those who painstakingly and selflessly led the institution for over six decades and to the faculty and staff who have contributed so much of their intellect and energy to BITS’ pioneering work in offering to students in its four campuses a curricula with modern-day teaching/learning processes that is coupled with industrial training through Practice Schools.

Going forward, BITS seeks to become the “Number 1″ choice of potential faculty, aspiring students and discriminating recruiters. That will happen only if (a) we remain committed to run educational programmes that produce leaders for the knowledge-based economies of the 21st century, and (b) we facilitate and undertake cutting-edge research and innovation. And, as we march forward, we will remain committed to the ideals, the high ethical standards, and the traditions established by our founders, the Late Shri G. D. Birla and the Late Shri K. K. Birla.

Moving onto BITSAA Global Meet (BGM), I am so very happy that BITS alumni have organized this global meet. To my mind, the BGM must, first and foremost, be viewed as a celebration of the successes of our alumni who, as everyone agrees, occupy positions of leadership in every sphere of life, be it education, industry, or the government. Success does not come easy – it is a consequence of their preparation, perseverance, passion, and above all a commitment to excel. Our alumni have shown they have it all.

This brings me to my second point: this event must also be viewed as an event to showcase to all its stakeholders, including the Government and industry, how BITS has contributed to your transformation from a young lad into a skilled, confident, caring professional who is ready to let loose his intellect and energies, but only in positive and ethical ways.

Last, I hope you will also use this BGM to reconnect with your alma mater and find ways to support it in various ways. While most institutions prefer to simply tap the wallets of their alumni, we are not the ones to be content with just that. To our minds the most important resources that you have is your time, your energy, and your talent. Help us engage with industry, with the government, with potential faculty and research students in order for BITS to scale newer heights.

I wish the event a grand success, and hope you will have a wonderful time during these 3 days. As you do that, do thank the people who have put in so much effort in bringing this event alive.

Bijendra Nath Jain
Vice Chancellor
BITS – Pilani

Dear BITSian

Namaskar! Namasthe! Sat Sri Akal! Vanakkam! Namaskaram! Adaab! Shalom! Aloha! Hola! Ke Haal Hai! Bonjour! Hello!

Season’s Greetings & A Very Happy New Year !

Hope all is well and you had a great 2010!

It is that time of year when BITSians start planning for the perfect start for the fast approaching New Year and it can’t get any bigger than the opportunity to attend the 1st ever BITSAA Global Meet 2011 scheduled from 7th to 9th January at Delhi.

If attending the most comprehensive, well-programmed and 1st ever Global BITSAA Event isn’t a good enough reason to ring a bell and jog your passion, here are seven more… And for those who have already registered, well, here are more reasons telling you why you made a great decision!

1. Brand - We celebrate the legacy of our brand that resonates from the successful run for over 60 years since its formation, the 4 fully operational (incl. international) campuses and a galaxy of eclectic BITSians who scaled heights in their professions all across the world.
2. Entertainment – Spell binding performances from BITSian music and dance clubbers coming from five decades is just a part of a holistic entertainment experience planned for every BITSian. Drink (even beer is on the house .. yay !! ), dine & dance your hearts out in a truly BITSian style!
3. Enrichment - Be the voice and share your perspectives in sessions that will discuss the next biggest BITSAA projects geared towards propelling the brand of BITS Pilani to number #1 through enrichment and empowerment initiatives for our Students, Faculty and Alumni.
4. Networking – Irrespective of whatever position you are in the professional ladder, the importance of networking in today’s world can never be understated. Network up and lateral to get a leg up in your professions. Network down to find the next best sets of brains that will simply blow you away! BGM 2011 is a perfect occasion to meet your batch mates, BITSians across batches/campuses including who’s who BITSians and widen your social and business network.
5. Speakers – Meet industry heavyweights such as Cisco, Intel, SKS, Oracle, Dell, Sierra Atlantic and many more in fields ranging from business, science & technology, academia, non-profit to politics. The speaker lineup together manages close to USD 100 Billion annual revenues and more than 200 thousand employees! Seldom would you get a chance to meet such an elite group from your own BITSian community. For more details visit here.
6. Content – There is in it for everybody! 3 days packed with panel discussions, keynotes, talks on Mind-boggling BITSian achievements, Battle of Brain of BITS, experiences of students from all 4 campuses that would suit the interest of every BITSian. For more details visit here.
7. Nostalgia – We make sure you relive the campus days in its true sense. Optional trips to Pilani, galleries showcasing pictures from 50+ years from all 4 campuses, redis, pilani pedas, delegate kits and many more will take you a ride through the memory lane. We have some memories captured here, do mail us more do add to our collection

Party, Connect, Contribute, Grow, Volunteer – relive your BITSian years and be a BITSian all over Again!

We welcome you and look forward to seeing you at the Global Meet very soon!

Regards
BGM 2011 Organizing Team (http://www.bitsaaglobalmeet.org/)

Sam Pitroda, head of National Innovation Council (NIC), widely considered the father of India’s communication revolution has consented to be a keynote speaker of BGM 2010.

His tenure in government service has been distinguished by sweeping innovations to India’s information and communication technology (ICT) policies. Pitroda’s work in the 1980’s with the Telecom commission heralded the PCO system in India, thus making cheap telephone access to the country’s millions without a phone connection a reality. This move made the eventual transition to affordable mobile connections smoother and changed the face of communication in Indian villages. As Chairman of India’s Knowledge Commission between the years, 2005-08, he has proposed measures for educational reform including the increase of public universities from 350 to 1,500 by 2015.  

In his current role in the NIC, he advises the PMO on policy matters related to micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) and has mapped out a strategy for promoting innovation in India. In addition to his contributions to the telecom revolution, he has been a keen advocate in the use of technology for the upliftment of the masses through its applications in areas as diverse as literacy, dairy, water, immunization and oilseeds. 

A telecom engineer and an entrepreneur, he has several patents and a wireless payment start-up (C-SAM) to his credit. The Padma Bhushan award in 2009 heads the long list of awards and honours conferred on Pitroda. 

With a personage such as Pitroda, a passionate believer in the potential of technology in societal transformation, speaking at the BGM, its theme, “Transforming Society, Enterprises & Academics through Innovation” has received an apt tribute.

Mukesh Chatter, CEO & Co-founder, NeoSaej, the company that runs the reverse-auction based consumer finance website MoneyAisle.com has been confirmed as a speaker at BGM 2010.

After graduating from BITS Pilani, Mukesh completed his graduation in hardware systems from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.

 His experience in entrepreneurship is vast and he has three successful start-ups to his credit. In 1997, he founded a router based business Nexabit, which was acquired by Lucent Technologies for $900M in 1999. In 2000, he founded Axiowave networks, another start-up in the telecom space.

Since 2006, he has been working on moneyaisle.com, a revolutionary reverse-auction model that lets banks bid for loans enabling the borrower to get credit at best rates. Moneyaisle grew quickly, attracting over $100M of deposits in high yielding savings accounts within a few months of its launch.

Mukesh Chatter brings with him more than 20 years’ experience in the architecture, design and development of state-of-the-art networking equipment and supercomputers and has several patents in these areas. His technical expertise combined with his entrepreneurial achievements will make his Jan 8 session at BGM a much-anticipated one.

On Speaker Spotlight we have Mr. Prem Jain. A ’71 batch BITS alumnus, he is currently the Senior Vice President of Cisco’s Server Access and Virtualization Business Unit. He joined Cisco in 1993 as Director of Engineering when Cisco acquired Crescendo Communications, and has subsequently held many positions. He has been responsible for growing the Enterprise WAN Business Unit in Cisco to a multi-billion dollar operation. He has two patents to his name and is a member of the IEEE.

He did his M.S. in EECS from U.C. Davis, and now sits on the Advisory Board of its Computer Science Department. He is also actively involved in volunteer work for non-profit organizations, fundraising for the homeless and helping San Francisco Bay Area schools, and is a very active member of the BITSAA Silicon Valley Chapter. Mr. Jain is the Co-Chairman of the BITSAA Global Meet. BGM Team is grateful for his continuous support and guidance in steering the Global Meet and look forward to his esteemed presence at the event.

Today’s Speaker Spotlight is one of the BITS Pilani’s proud alum, Mr.Baba Kalyani. Mr. Kalyani is the Chairman of the Kalyani Group, a 2.4 Billion USD conglomerate whose flagship company is Bharat Forge, the world’s second-largest forgings manufacturer. Ranked by Forbes as one of the 50 richest Indians and under 500 richest people all over the world, he was awarded “CEO of the Year” by Business Standard in 2004 and “Entrepreneur of the Year” by Ernst & Young in 2005. In February 2006, The Jagatik Marathi Chamber Of Commerce and Industry honored him with their “Global Entrepreneur of the Year” Award. With a business experience of more than 27 years, Mr. Kalyani has set the group on its growth path and is credited with the extraordinary vision for its entry into the fast emerging infrastructure development arena in India.

In 1994, Baba founded Pratham Pune Education Foundation, an NGO that provides primary education for underprivileged children. Mr.Kalyani pursued B.E in Mechanical Engineering at BITS Pilani from 1966-71 and then pursued Masters at MIT. He also holds an Honorary Doctorate from Symbiosis International University. We are excited to have Mr.Kalyani as a Patron and for his presence at the BITSAA Global Meet, Delhi 2011.

BGM is proud to present one of the esteemed speakers, Mr. Satish Gupta. Mr. Satish is the Co-founder and CEO of SenSen Networks. He is well known for his remarkable amount of entrepreneurial experience and industry networks. Prior to this, he had co-founded Cradle Technologies, a company that received over $70 million in venture funds.

He also worked as Corporate Vice President of Strategic Planning for Cirrus Logic, prior to which, Satish was Vice President of Marketing and Advanced Development at Media Vision, a PC multi-media pioneer.

Prior to Media Vision he worked at IBM for 23 years. He held several technical, general management and corporate staff positions during his 23 year career at IBM, which included assignments in most of the IBM business lines and a 3 year assignment in Japan.

Satish served as a board member of RightWorks, InterTrust Technologies, Novitaz and UMEVOICE. He was also an advisor to the CEO of LogicVision. He was an adjunct faculty at BITS Pilani and University of Technology, Sydney; and was on the Advisory Council at Stanford University, Department of Management Science and Engineering.

Satish holds M.S. Management Science from Stanford University (’76), M.S. Electrical Engineering from MIT (’68) and Electrical Engineering from BITS Pilani. He is presently the charter member of the influential Entrepreneur’s Network called The Indus Entrepreneurs (TIE), Silicon Valley Chapter.

It gives immense pleasure to have such an experienced personality among us, and BGM Team is thankful for his leadership in driving the Global Meet.

Dr. Kumarmangalam Birla, Chancellor, BITS Pilani,  has confirmed his presence and will host the 1st ever BITSAA Global Meet 3-day event. 

As one of the driving forces behind Vision 2020 that targets BITS’ entry into the world’s top universities, his participation is expected to lend traction to the BITS brand building focus of the event. 

K M Birla graduated from London School of Business as an Honorary Fellow. He is also the Chairman of the conglomerate, Aditya Birla Group of companies, which incidentally is the Platinum Sponsor of the event. 

In the presence of K M Birla, BITS Pilani Alumni and the BITS Pilani Administration, healthy interactions are expected to proceed with the goal of presenting transformational projects to K M Birla. These projects will aim to propel BITS Pilani to #1 position in India and also transition it into a world-class university.