India’s first IIT, IIT Kharagpur, celebrated its 75th Foundation Day (Platinum Jubilee) this year with a grand alumni gathering hosted by the Technology Alumni Association (TAA), Delhi Chapter. More than an event, it was a reaffirmation of IIT Kharagpur’s role as a torchbearer of the IIT system—an institution tasked not just with academic excellence but with driving innovation, entrepreneurship, and social transformation for India and the world.
Alumni as Catalysts of Change
From the institute’s first graduate, Mr. J.K. Chandra (1955 batch), to the youngest innovators of today, the celebration brought together generations of KGPians across diverse professions. Director Prof. Suman Chakraborty called upon the alumni to co-create a bold new vision: “One Alumnus – One Mentor – One Patent – One Technology Transfer.”
Eminent alumni such as Satish Mehta, Prof. Prem Vrat, and Prof. Damodar Acharya emphasised the need to view alumni not merely as donors but as strategic partners—mentors, innovators, and enablers of technology transfer. The event sparked fresh momentum for alumni-institute collaboration, strengthening India’s global standing in the creative economy while building a culture of innovation-driven nation-building.
My Journey at Kharagpur: From Campus to Community
For me, IIT Kharagpur was never just about engineering education. My weekends outside campus shaped my outlook far more deeply than classroom lessons.
- Scouting grassroots innovators in villages and small towns taught me the power of frugal innovation.
- Supporting green technologies revealed how limited resources could solve pressing social and environmental challenges.
- Public policy engagement became a passion, ensuring that knowledge-holders at the grassroots received a fair share of benefits from commercial applications of technology.
- Above all, I learned that inclusive innovation—connecting science, technology, and social equity—was the true purpose of higher education.
These experiences built the foundation for my later work in incubation, entrepreneurship, and policy advocacy. IIT Kharagpur gave me the confidence to believe that engineers can be not just problem-solvers, but agents of social change.
Beyond Rankings: The NIRF Imperative
The recently released NIRF 2025 rankings highlight areas where IIT Kharagpur must push harder—teaching, research, graduation outcomes, and inclusivity. But rankings alone cannot define an institution’s future. The real task is to nurture a culture where students become job creators, not just job seekers, and where every research output is linked to measurable social impact.
IIT Kharagpur, as the oldest IIT, carries a unique responsibility: to lead by example. This means institutionalising entrepreneurship, strengthening open innovation frameworks, and ensuring that innovation translates into startups, jobs, and intellectual property.
Mentors of Mentors
The Platinum Jubilee vision—One Alumnus – One Mentor – One Patent – One Technology Transfer—is not a slogan but a blueprint for transformation. If implemented, it could create a cascading effect: every alumnus mentoring a student, every research project leading to a patent, and every patent finding its way into industry or society. Alumni are not just mentors—they are “mentors of mentors,” seeding a multiplier effect that can transform both the campus and the country.
Building a Culture of Innovation and Social Impact
As India marches towards Viksit Bharat @2047, IIT Kharagpur must expand its role as a national incubator of inclusive innovation. This calls for:
- Inclusive innovation ecosystems where technology reaches disadvantaged sections of society.
- Green and sustainable development, embedding environmental consciousness into every innovation.
- Entrepreneurship beyond metros, taking startup culture to rural and semi-urban India.
- Global partnerships to position India not just as a technology consumer but as a leading exporter of innovation.
The Road Ahead
IIT Kharagpur’s Platinum Jubilee is a reminder that this institution is not a factory of engineers, but a laboratory of nation-building. Its legacy lies not only in academic excellence but in fostering an innovation DNA that empowers society.
As alumni, researchers, and entrepreneurs, our mission is clear:
- To innovate, but inclusively.
- To research, but with impact.
- To build technology, but with social justice.
The first IIT must continue to be the torchbearer for India’s innovation ecosystem. That is the true legacy of our Platinum Jubilee—and the foundation for a self-reliant, knowledge-driven, and socially just India.
(Pravin Kaushal, IIT Kharagpur alumnus, tech & social entrepreneur, Advisor at Antino Labs, Co-founder of RaastaFix, and Convenor of AI4BharatRising.)
