Indian Institutes of Technology alumni announce first Life Fellowship recipients

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Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Alumni Council recently announced its first ever Life Fellows across all the key areas of Applied Science and Engineering – starting with Martech, as a part of institutional strengthening of PanIIT Institute, an independent and autonomous partner alumni organization engaged in the development of an end-to-end deep tech research ecosystem in India, according to a press release by the organization.

IIT Alumni selected for the fellowship include Dr. Udaya Dharmalingam, (IIT Guwahati), Sunil Khullar (IIT Bombay), Sanjiv Goyal (IIT Delhi), and Sunil Hali (IIT Roorkee).

President and Chief Volunteer of the IIT Alumni Council, Ravi Sharma was quoted saying in the release, “We have learnt from the IT and BPO services sector that branding is an integral and critical part of the country’s strategy to build a new sector like research. Given that the government has done most of the heavy lifting and investment in terms of setting up outstanding academic institutions like the IITs and deserving scientific institutions such as the CSIR laboratories – the most critical push needed now is in global branding, perception creation and image management. And it is for this reason that we are announcing the first four Life Fellowships in the Research oriented PanIIT Institute in the area of Martech”

Dr. Dharmalingham is best known as the designer of the Indian Rupee symbol as well as the main emblem of the IIT Alumni Council. He has a PhD in design from IIT Bombay. As of December 2019, he is the Head of the Department of Design at IIT Guwahati, Assam. “I am indeed honored to be associated with the design of the IIT Alumni Council logo,” he was quoted saying in the release.

Khullar has a Master of Design in Design and Visual Communications from the Industrial Design Centre at IIT Bombay. He is the visual communication expert who has evolved the overall unifying brand strategy for all the initiatives of the IIT Alumni Movement, including development of the IIT Font.

An angel investor from Silicon Valley, Goyal is the chair of the IIT2020 Virtual Summit and a board member of PanIIT USA, a non-profit alumni body in the U.S. which is the organizer of the “Future is Now” Virtual Summit. He completed his Master’s Degree in Technology from the IIT Delhi and his Executive Education in Innovation from Stanford University.

As an entrepreneur, Goyal has started over eight companies in the areas of food tech, digital marketing and innovation, digital advertising, venture capital, education, and other emerging tech.

“In the new normal, our world has shrunk and more connected than ever. I want to impact a billion lives by harnessing the power of innovation and entrepreneurship,” said Goyal.

A double gold medalist in engineering and an IIT Roorkee alumni, Hali is the first Indian to be featured on the cover of The New York Times in 1995, the press release said. Hali has launched his own newspaper called The Indian EYE, and Radio Zindagi, the first South Asian 24×7 radio network in the US.

“In my own unique way, I have tried to disrupt both print and conventional media like radio to bring in a solid integration of the legacy platforms with a highly personalized online platform. Radio Zindagi is the first coast to coast India focused radio network. The Indian EYE newsweekly integrates personalized video in a mass distributed print file,” stated Hali in the press release.