IIT-Kharagpur Receives Funds Worth $2m From Its Alumnus

Kolkata: The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) - Kharagpur has received funds worth $2 million from its alumnus. Prabhakant Sinha, a co-founder of ZS Associates, a sales management consultancy firm based in Chicago in the US, has donated $2 million to his alma mater, giving it a bioenergy centre of excellence that opened recently.

Amit Patra, Former Dean of IIT- Kharagpur, said that this centre will provide immense support for further research and innovations. He said that the inter-disciplinary students can come together and share their knowledge. He also said that even nationally relevant problems and issues can be solved easily through an inter-disciplinary approach.

As per sources, Prabha, a mechanical engineering student of the class of 1970 at IIT-Kgp, donated the sum in order to assist the institution achieve the status of a global giant in technological education. Rintu Banerjee, professor-in-charge of P K Sinha Center for Bioenergy has said that IIT is an engineering-based institution that has various departments teaching technological advancements to students. Bio-energy being an inter-disciplinary subject, Sinha thought that IIT-Kgp would be the best to carry out research and development activities in the field of bio-science and bio-technology. He wants IIT-Kgp to be a front runner among all other IITs. Thus, he came forward to donate the amount to his alma mater.

Furthermore, the centre is already offering elective courses to 35 undergraduate chemical engineering students who have selected fundamentals of bioenergy. Banerjee has also added that they shall expand soon. In the centre, they will conduct research as well as introduce new courses. Also, Faculty from University of California, Berkeley, has been invited to conduct courses. The students will be offered MTech courses on bioenergy by this centre later. She also added that students who have completed BTech in biotechnology, biochemical engineering, bio-science, food technology and agricultural engineering or are from a pure science background will be given an equal opportunity to apply and study in the postgraduation courses.

She pointed out that from the current academic year, the centre will offer elective courses to undergraduate and postgraduate students in various subjects. Banerjee concluded saying that bioenergy is an inter-disciplinary course which involves engineering in agriculture and food, chemical, civil, biotechnology, physics and other non-renewable energy subjects. Students from all these departments will have an opportunity to conduct research at the centre.

Also, the sources informed that the total sum $2 million (Rs 10 crore) was donated by Sinha in phases. IIT-Kgp is known to have been endowed with several such donations from its illustrious students. It set up the Vinod Gupta School of Management in the mid-'90s from a $10 million donation from another alumnus, Vinod Gupta.