IIT Roorkee’s 175 years of glorious history and unparalleled global standing in engineering and allied fields is a matter of pride for those having the privilege to study in this revered institution. This institution with a high repute is also the alma mater for over 500 Nepalese technical professionals, who have served/been serving in Nepal and abroad in a meaningful way, often in key positions and many credited for their excellent professional services.
Given such a strong pool of competent and experienced high caliber technical human capital, a small group of IITRAAN members (Alek Poudel, Dinesh Lal Shrestha, Divas Bahadur Basnyat, Om Bahadur Raut, Sandip Shah and Tuk Lal Adhikari) took an initiative and set up an IITRAAN Outreach Programme (IITRAAN OrP). Creation of IITRAAN OrP is foreseen as an institutionalized platform for the Nepalese IIT Roorkee graduates to demonstrate their relevance, through which they should be able to render valuable services and financial contributions as a part of the responsibility to giving back to the society for the cause of nation’s building. The platform is expected to launch a range of activities that would strengthen quality of technical services and ultimately help supporting the delivery of impactful development projects. Launching of IITRAAN OrP is indeed a timely endeavour and a fitting tribute to our alma mater as we commemorate its’ 175 years of distinguish services par excellence.
Following the endorsement of the conceptual proposal by the IITRAAN Executive Committee in early February 2022, the group has met several rounds deliberating on the potential activities. Considering available opportunities and potential challenges, the group prioritized to work on following activities to start with.
Activity 1: Mentoring and training-workshops for young technical professionals, aimed at contributing to national development projects through availability of qualified/competent technical professionals in the country.
Activity 2: Serving as a technical advisory body for development projects in various disciplines, aimed at contributing to community, nation, alumni and professional societies through utilization of a pool IITRAAN experts.
Activity 3: Sharing professional experiences through Lecture Series, aimed at professional development of young graduates and working professionals through talk programmes to provide practical knowledge and real-life challenges/opportunities in various disciplines.
Detailed proposals for these activities along with the operating modalities are currently being developed. All IITRAAN members are encouraged to participate in one way or another in the OrP related activities, and are expected to serve voluntarily and committed to maintain the highest level of professional and ethical standards. The operating budget will have to be created initially by voluntary contributions from IITRAAN members. The mentors, trainers and advisors will provide their services on pro bono basis and with minimum service charges, whenever deemed necessary. The underlying assumption of this initiative is that the services provided through OrP are basically motivated by a strong sense of giving back to the society by sharing their individual professional expertise and some financial contributions. It is important to note that, wherever/whenever applicable/feasible, these activities shall also be undertaken in collaboration with other professional societies.