The batch of 1979 visited campus and held a student-alumni meet on the 15th of November. The panel consisted of several esteemed alumni who had made their mark as students, ranging from the Student’s Union President to the founder of Cactus Flower. The panelists chronicled their campus experiences (including the first edition of APOGEE), recounted their career paths, and offered advice to the audience.

About The Panelists

The session commenced with the panelists giving a brief introduction about themselves, their current profession, and what discipline they chose at BITS. The first panelist, Mr. Durgesh Agarwal, who was the SU President of his batch, graduated with a B.E. (Hons.) in Chemical Engineering. He currently works in asset management at BASF.

The next panelist was Mr. Abhay Mehta who had studied EEE at BITS. While at BITS, he developed an interest in Computer Science and subsequently did his Master’s in the same at Stanford University. Presently, he is the Vice President of Hitachi. The next panelist was Mr. Vijay Kedia, who was also in EEE and is the founder and CEO of FlexTrade Systems.

Mr. Ravi Sareen graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Electronics and Electrical Engineering, and a Master’s degree in Economics, and is presently a process automation specialist at Sadara Chemical Company. He was followed by Mr. Narender Singh, the operations director at Nokia. Mr. Surendra Kedia, a chemical engineer, and the co-founder and executive director of Manjushree Technopack, rounded off the panel.

Questions and Answers

The students kicked off the Q&A session by asking the panelists their motive behind joining BITS Pilani. While several of the panelists gave similar reasons about BITS being a great university, one panelist said that he joined BITS solely on his uncle’s recommendation.

When asked about how the clubs and departments that they were a part of played a role in their lives, Mr. Durgesh said that they helped improve his people skills and explore his creative side. Another panelist added that departments helped him interact with people from different walks of life and foster independence. Additionally, the panelists also said that while CG was important, it shouldn’t be the defining factor in one’s college life.

The panelists had several interesting views on what they would have done differently in their time here. Mr. Abhay said that he would not have been so hard on himself. However, he added that he has no regrets, as each mistake he made helped him learn. Another panelist added that he would have explored more and reiterated that the students should keep an open mind and explore other courses.

The panel was then asked about how the concept of APOGEE was born. Durgesh, the then SU President, said that it was first conceptualized by the English department. The idea was to replicate the Oasis model in the academic world. Further, they wanted to put BITS on the academic map by inviting famous personalities. Holding research paper discussions would further enhance the reputation of BITS as a leading academic powerhouse.

The batch of 1979 also had the concept of “Lunch hours”, wherein the students got together between classes and socialized. They said that some of their closest bonds were formed then. In one of the panelists’ words, “It was a WhatsApp group; offline.”

In that year, out of a batch of 500, 496 people had to repeat their first semester. When asked about the bizarre incident, the panelists explained that there was a change in the syllabus in their first semester. The students were required to clear an exam to be eligible for the subsequent material. Only four people managed to clear it and the rest had to repeat their semester. The panelists said that this taught them to deal with the fear of failure and to enjoy what life has to offer to its fullest.

The session was rounded off with a student asking how the IIT and BITS were different from the other universities. The panelists said that BITS trained them to solve real-life problems and made them better people. 

They signed off by asking the students to keep an open mind and enjoy their college life.