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.

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/)

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.

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.

Memory is the stuff BITSian legends are made of. We invite you to blog about yours and make them legendary…

The BGM is kick starting its blogging competition this week.
The contest is simple: Blog about anything related to BITS.

And don’t forget the difference pictures can make to the post.

The aim of the contest is to build a memory bank of Pilani experiences across batches and give them the visibility it deserves.

All that your post needs to do attract our judges’ notice is to tell a story, any story centered around BITS-

Let a collective secret out of the bag, talk about an incident that defined your time at BITS, chronicle your batch traditions, indulge in some Nutan nostalgia or make us laugh with zaniest antics your wing was up to at college. Simply put, relive your most memorable Pilani moments on paper.

Prizes:
In addition to getting featured in the forthcoming issues of the BITSAA newsletter, winners will get BGM T-shirts.

 Guidelines:
1. Post a link to your blogpost in the comments’ section of this page.

This is really important, for the link helps us track your blog posts for judging.
 
2. There is no limit to the word count per post or to the number of posts you can write.

3. The Judges’ decision is final and binding.

4. 2 winners will be chosen every 30 days.

Here are some blogging websites, in case you do not have a blog already.
WordPress, Blogger, Livejournal

Nostalgia is a two way street where hopeful visions run parallel to backward glances. In the first of a series of interviews with the BGM organizing committee, CS Goel (1979, MMS), CEO, BGM shares his memories of Pilani and his thoughts on the global meet.

At school I was an introvert with a somewhat pessimistic view of life. By the end of my first year, I had gained self-belief and was acquainted with almost everybody. I was a part of the Central Mess committee in my second year and went on to become its General Secretary. The mess workers remember me fondly after these thirty years. Whenever I go back they make my coffee exactly the way I liked it at college-right to the number of spoons of sugar!

When I reflect on my college experiences, I realize that life would not have been the same but for BITS. I manage my family business and what helps me in my interactions with people is the confidence I acquired at college. And of course, being known as a BITS Pilani graduate always works in my favour.

Classes apart, we spent a lot of time outside the campus gates, especially at Nutan for our ritual 2 am chai. Pity it isn’t being allowed anymore.

Before starting out on PS-II, I got married. In fact I took my wife along to Gujarat where I spent a semester working for Indian Rayon Corporation! I believe the PS programme is the biggest advantage that an education at BITS affords you.

When I attended the silver jubilee celebrations of the Delhi chapter, I was floored by its organization and started to participate actively. I have always looked up to Vinod Puri (Batch of ‘52) and seniors from the Delhi chapter as role models and they continue to motivate me to give back to my college. I coordinated the 25th year reunion of my batch and we managed a turnout of 110, a record participation at that time. The members of the Delhi chapter are family and we got so much closer during the 50th year celebration of the chapter. Our kids are as enthusiastic as any of us when it comes to chapter events!

Of course, living in Delhi makes it easier. I have visited campus more than ten times since I first left it. Everything feels the even though there’s a new library and there are so many more girls around. In my time there weren’t more than a hundred girls on campus. My batch could count only 15 women among its 400.

And the current crop has been so enterprising! Most of us looked the other way from business, preferring to take up a job or to study further upon graduating. Today, entrepreneurship has emerged as a viable choice among the student community. The administration should persist in encouraging start-ups.

Today the administration is keen on investing in Pilani to ramp up the infrastructure and develop research. The hostels could do with some renovation, the boys’ hostel are almost cell-like in their layout with the grilled windows and the restrictions.

I was quite impressed with the Goa campus, felt like a holiday resort!

BGM should go a long way in channeling alumni support for Pilani. We have met with excellent response from chapters everywhere. Indore, Poona, Jaipur and Nagpur especially, have shown a great deal of spirit.

In the past 4-5 years, the administration has welcomed alumni inputs and now they are supportive of BGM as well. Prof. Raman and Prof. B.R. Natrajan have been very helpful and I should say, the student volunteers have done a very good job with the web site.

The internet makes such a difference to our outreach efforts. I remember the days I used to circulate invites to members by post. It used to take 3 days and I had to keep the addresses continually updated!

I’m slowly finding my feet with online social networks. I created a Facebook profile because my BGM activities required it. When I changed my marital status to “married”, this update popped up- “CS Goel got married 54 minutes ago.” Gave my family a good laugh!

I would like BITSians across batches, especially those based in NCR to contribute to BGM. No part is too insignificant or too humble. Even registering at the BITSAA site and adding to the database counts. I expect the meet to be a success because teams are coming together so harmoniously to get work done. At the same time I would like to remind everybody that this meet is a first of its kind for BITS Pilani and as first attempts usually do, it will serve as a learning experience.

We all have seen our respective campuses transforming through the years, via updates from the on-campus people on social media, newsletters, etc. Wouldn’t it be wonderful, if there’s a central repository depicting this transition which could be supported by comments from alumni belonging to the particular vintage. We could walk through the pages any-time we want and also re-live,our own times at our campus in the process.

With the entire BITSian fraternity getting together at the first BITSAA Global Meet(BGM) this January 2011, we’d like to leverage this opportunity to create such a galleria of the BITSians, for the BITSians and by the BITSians. We call it ’iRemember’.

We urge you to participate in this initiative by sharing snaps or videos from your times at  campus on Facebook fan page of  BGM  and tagging as many of your batch-mates as possible. We are certain that this will kick-off a nostalgic discussion via the comments on the photo!!

A collection of the snaps shared on this wall, shall be used to create a photo-album (sort of BITS-Opus) and might be distributed as a souvenir at the BITSAA Global Meet 2011. The Opus will also help us look at the growth of BITS-Pilani through the years. Evolution of the ‘new-wings’,'T-wings’ ,’FDs’, ‘M,S,D,C lawns’ and then the new campuses at Dubai, Goa and Hyderabad. So, do remember to mention your batch and the location in the snap-tags. We look forward to an excellent response from all of you!

BGM Organizing Team

First post! Welcome to BGM 2011!

Everyone from the BITSAA Global Meet team would like to say a big ‘Hello’. With all the dialogue swirling around the atmosphere regarding the BITSAA Global Meet, we have a lot to say and keep you updated about the upcoming event through mails and a dedicated blog like this.

First things first, the genesis to celebrate BGM 2011 with our fellow BITSians sprouts from the following facts (although not an exhaustive list) -

• It has been 50 years since the 1st Batch enrolled at BITS
• BITS has grown into 4 fully functional campuses – Pilani, Dubai, Goa, Hyderabad
• Our alumni are spread across 15+ countries
• We need to take the ‘BITS’ brand to the next level
• We have to enhance inter-chapter and inter-batch relations
• We have never had a global meet so far

Before we start sounding dreary, let us get some basic FAQ(s) cleared in the very first post.

Q) Who are attending the event?

A) BITSians who are academicians, government officials, policy makers, entrepreneurs, CXOs & veterans from varied industries across different batches. We will shortly launch a ticker scrolling on the homepage to show the registered BITSians.

Q) What are some of the special attractions of BGM 2011?

A) You can expect a huge number of sessions/programs and definitely lots and lots of fun. A sampler of what is being planned is –

• Great minds speak: Keynote speeches, panel discussions, un-sessions
• Trip to Pilani: Down the memory lane
• BITSian style enthu: Mime, music, dance, contemporary art showcase

We will soon come out with a detailed description of what is planned for a productive & fun-filled 3-day conference in the Content & Agenda section of the BGM website.

Q) What is the theme of the conference?

A) ‘Transforming Society, Enterprises & Academics through Innovation’. We believe every BITSian irrespective of his/her discipline, profession, field and experience can connect with this theme and leverage from it. It truly captures the BITSian spirit and is pertinent in a global context too.

Q) When/Where?

A) 7^th to 9^th January, 2011 at Epicenter, Delhi/NCR

Q) Should I register for BGM and attend the meet?

A) We partially know the answer but believe it is a resounding ‘YES’. Please register by following the steps in http://www.bitsaaglobalmeet.org/registration.html. Please ensure you avail the early-bird discounts by acting soon.

Q) How can I help?

A) You can also help to make the event successful by -

• Your mere presence during the conference
• Volunteering to lend a helping hand
• Encouraging your friends and other BITSians you know to register
• Evangelizing the event in your company for sponsorships
• Donating funds and in many many other ways…
• Please evince your interest to help in any form by shooting a mail to bgm@bitsaa.org

Q) Who is organizing the BGM 2011?

A) The Global Meet will convene under the guidance and support of the Chancellor, Pro-Chancellor, Vice Chancellor along with Directors of all the BITS campuses. The BGM is being jointly hosted by  BITS Alumni Affairs Division, BITSAA International, BITSAA Delhi (anchor of the meet), BITSAA Chennai, Bangalore, Pune, Hyderabad, Indore, Kolkata, Mumbai, Jaipur, Nagpur, East Coast USA, Silicon Valley, Australia, UK and many other chapters worldwide.

This meet is being chaired by Mr. Vinod Puri(1960-64), Founder-Vipko Engineers and former President and Secretary of the BITSAA Delhi Chapter. The co-chairs of the event comprise of Mr. Sudip Jain (1986-90), IAS Officer from Chennai known for his role in BITSunami; Mr. Prem Jain (1966-71), Sr. VP Cisco Systems known for spearheading the BITSConnect project and Prof. Arya Kumar (1972-1982), Group Leader Eco-Fin Dept. known for his leadership in the CEL. Mr. CS Goel (1974-79), Founder-Goel Engineers and former Treasurer of the BITSAA Delhi Chapter and Mr. Sarath Kolla (1993-98), Founder-Yugaa Solutions and former CTO of BITSAA Intl are the CEO and COO of the meet respectively.

Over time, you will hear from the other BITSian voices that are volunteering for BGM 2011. Together, we will share the updates and keep you abreast with the latest happenings about this Mega Event. We encourage you to comment and join this journey.

BGM Organizing Team