ITBHU.org Editor @ 04:27 PM

Increasingly, we are being approached to take financial contributions from alumni similar to what other IITs and the IIT Bombay Heritage Fund have done. In fact, we had mentioned the IITBHF ourselves as a model at the outset six months ago.

In our opinion, two issues must be addressed before ITBHU.org collects funds on behalf of alumni:

1. ITBHU.org's maturity as a sustaining, broad-based organization able to perform the fiduciary responsibilities for years to come.
2. The Indian government's Bharat Shiksha Kosh that may prevent alumni endowments from being designated for specific causes at the alma mater.
   

We are encouraged by your interest in the lively discussions here and also offers of solid ideas and real help. We are getting better at streamlining these efforts to the point specific action plans are being executed with alumni time commitments. At this pace, we will have a complete website with fully functional alumni registration, an IITization action plan and a respectable board of directors (feel free to send us nominations privately) constituted in another three months. In the meanwhile, we want to continue bringing together all your ideas and give a forum for on-going projects.

We are also seeing some enthusiastic/impatient alumni who would rather register an alumni association and raise money with one project in mind than bear with our organization building. We are convinced that this approach, though well-intentioned, is counter productive. The IIT Bombay alumni efforts, for example, took years of organizing informally before they set up a board, advisors, officers, etc. who could raise, manage and channel the funds for effective utilization. Impatient on only one aspect of this is short-sighted.

On the second count, the following Rediff article raises serious concerns whether we should endeavor to raise money eventually, if at all:

IITs: Indian Institutes in Trouble

Quoting from the Rediff article:

"The recent formation of the Bharat Shiksha Kosh initiated by Murli Manohar Joshi, Union minister for human resources development.

"With its registration in January this year, all funding to educational institutions by individuals or corporates will now have to be routed through the BSK.

"What's more, the BSK is not too happy about the fact that alumni donors designate their endowments to causes of their choice, and wants a say in this."

We invite your comments on both these issues.

Review and Post Comments (11)

ITBHU.org Editor @ 10:41 AM

Sanjay Goel MEC85 writes:

Recently, I noticed an announcement on BHU site asking alumni to help in
giving technical advice for modernizing and expanding buildings of BHU.

The University desires to have services and advice of Architects and
Planners with respect to future plans for expansion of its existing
buildings and new constructions. Any of our alumni who can render such
advice are requested to kindly contact Vice Chancellor at vc_bhu@sify.com.

It will be great if our Civil Engg. fellows can extend this help.