<p>Hundreds of alumni of the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) from all over the world descended on the campus on Thursday to mark the third edition of the IISc Alumni Global Conference. <br /><br /></p>.<p>Whether it was roaming around old department halls or sitting in familiar classrooms, they did it all, reliving old memories and meeting their classmates and professors of bygone years. <br /><br />Seated in what used to be their classrooms, a group of around 50 people comprising alumni, present faculty members and students from the Department of Materials Engineering listened to one of their oldest alumni and former faculty Emeritus Professor S Ranganath tell them about the legacy of their department.<br /><br />From the time when the department was first established in 1945 to 2006 when the department’s name was changed from the earlier Department of Metallurgy to its present name. “It is a great feeling being here in the same classroom after 42 years,” an alumnus from the 1973 batch said. <br /><br />Even though the conference started on Thursday, a group of around 20 alumni who graduated from the erstwhile BE Department of IISc reached the city two days earlier. <br /><br />“We went for a Bangalore darshan and then to our respective department and spoke to our professors,” P Ravi, a 1975 batch passout of the BE Electrical Engineering Department, said. Remembering his years at IISc, Ravi spoke about the days when the department had only around three streams. <br /><br />“After the 80s, it was converted into an integrated ME programme and became more research oriented whereas we believed the undergraduate course is the main supply of energy to the institute and we asked the institute’s authorities to bring back a UG programme which is why now we have BS course,”. <br /><br />Ravi’s batchmate S R Venkataramana, a 1975 batch passout of BE Electrical Communications Department, came all the way from California where he is presently based, just for the conference. Chatting with another senior alumnus, he said: “He (senior alumnus) used to be and in fact still is my mentor from my IISc days.”<br /><br />A large gathering of alumni was also seen at the Computer Science and Automation (CSA) Department. After a while of informal conversations, the department’s senior Professor Jayant Haritsa made a presentation on the department’s achievements, targets, goal and reviews to the alumni.<br /><br />Presentations were also made on different domains by other faculty and students. There was also an interaction between the presenters and audience on whether exits from the department were high and if so, why. <br /><br />The session saw the participation of legends and architects of the field and people who had laid the department foundation.</p>
<p>Hundreds of alumni of the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) from all over the world descended on the campus on Thursday to mark the third edition of the IISc Alumni Global Conference. <br /><br /></p>.<p>Whether it was roaming around old department halls or sitting in familiar classrooms, they did it all, reliving old memories and meeting their classmates and professors of bygone years. <br /><br />Seated in what used to be their classrooms, a group of around 50 people comprising alumni, present faculty members and students from the Department of Materials Engineering listened to one of their oldest alumni and former faculty Emeritus Professor S Ranganath tell them about the legacy of their department.<br /><br />From the time when the department was first established in 1945 to 2006 when the department’s name was changed from the earlier Department of Metallurgy to its present name. “It is a great feeling being here in the same classroom after 42 years,” an alumnus from the 1973 batch said. <br /><br />Even though the conference started on Thursday, a group of around 20 alumni who graduated from the erstwhile BE Department of IISc reached the city two days earlier. <br /><br />“We went for a Bangalore darshan and then to our respective department and spoke to our professors,” P Ravi, a 1975 batch passout of the BE Electrical Engineering Department, said. Remembering his years at IISc, Ravi spoke about the days when the department had only around three streams. <br /><br />“After the 80s, it was converted into an integrated ME programme and became more research oriented whereas we believed the undergraduate course is the main supply of energy to the institute and we asked the institute’s authorities to bring back a UG programme which is why now we have BS course,”. <br /><br />Ravi’s batchmate S R Venkataramana, a 1975 batch passout of BE Electrical Communications Department, came all the way from California where he is presently based, just for the conference. Chatting with another senior alumnus, he said: “He (senior alumnus) used to be and in fact still is my mentor from my IISc days.”<br /><br />A large gathering of alumni was also seen at the Computer Science and Automation (CSA) Department. After a while of informal conversations, the department’s senior Professor Jayant Haritsa made a presentation on the department’s achievements, targets, goal and reviews to the alumni.<br /><br />Presentations were also made on different domains by other faculty and students. There was also an interaction between the presenters and audience on whether exits from the department were high and if so, why. <br /><br />The session saw the participation of legends and architects of the field and people who had laid the department foundation.</p>
