{mosimage}This new IITMAA website, based on emerging Web 2.0 technology, implements the Association's mission: Thrust 1 - Connect Alumni, and Thrust 2 - Serve Alumni, as directed by Srini Nageshwar, IITMAA President.

Our goal is to bring together all 29.5K alumni together on this portal by July 31, 2009, which marks the Golden Jubilee Anniversary of IIT Madras. The site is community-oriented and is focused on bringing us together. It will enable us to work together in order to provide value to each other.

It includes an active community building engine (blogs, groups, myspace or linked-in like features, etc.), static and dynamic content generation using user-sourcing, RSS feeds, distributed and easy content generation using a Content Management System (CMS), Media Gallery, emails, Online Job portal, Document Management, Business directory, eCommerce engine, Ad engine, feedback tools, and a whole bunch of goodies.

This website is designed to serve the objectives of the tactical Thrust 1 and Thrust 2 mission goals. It provides a means for enabling and controlling communication among groups. It is focused on activity - whether it be social, professional management, technology, engineering, education, research, or society work. It also is designed to be focused on revenue generation and fundraising, to support the IITM Growth Fund and meet the operational costs of delivering on IITMAA's Mission.

We have a lot of important things happening in Chennai centred around IITM and this organization in the next two years. First, IITM and IITMAA will be the host organizations, for the PanIIT Conference iit2008 in Chennai. Then we have the Golden Jubilee Anniversary celebrations for IIT Madras, coming up in 2009, preparations for which have already started. The Golden Jubilee celebrations will start on August 1, 2008 and end on July 31, 2009 -- 50 years from the day the Institute was inaugurated by Prof. Humayun Kabir, Union Minister for Scientific Research and Cultural Affairs, on July 31, 1959.

Can we do this? I think we can. That's what this website is all about -- bringing people together, to work together, and help one another! In essence it pulls all three important parts of Sarin’s message together. It is structured to communicate the Strategic vision, provides tool sets and global infrastructure to support the Operational vision, and brings/provides an active portal, to bring the people together to serve or be served through various collaborative projects or services. There’s something in it for every one.

Bob Nathan, ’77 BTech
Lead, IITMAA Website Team, and
VP, Finance and Budget, IITMAA EC
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it