IIT Kharagpur will open an outreach centre in Houston, USA, with a $10 million donation from the family of a former student. The centre will foster alumni collaboration, director Suman Chakraborty said on the occasion of the platinum jubilee of the oldest IIT.
The director announced the launch of several schools and centres that will help shore up the institute's image.
"Our highly distinguished alumnus, Ashok De Sarkar, his wife Ruma, their son Sayan and elder brother Samir have together gifted us a property worth nearly $10 million in Houston. This will serve as the foundation of IIT Kharagpur's outreach centre in the US. This will enable global engagement, alumni collaboration and Indo-US partnership at a scale which has never been witnessed before," the director said in his address.
The institute will establish a centre with a flagship focus on med-tech convergence, the director said.
Monday's programme was attended online by Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan and junior education minister Sukanta Majundar.
Gautam Adani, the chairman of the Adani Group, addressed the students at the Netaji auditorium as a plenary speaker.
The director on Monday announced the introduction of the platinum jubilee endowment fund, which will provide strategic, high-value scholarships to students.
"The institute is also introducing a visiting fellowship programme," the director said.