When I received the following mail in my Inbox, I was excited:

”

Dear Alumni,

We are glad to announce the elections of new members of the Executive Committee of IIT Delhi Alumni Association for the year 2013. It has been noticed that there is a very thin attendance in the AGM chaired by the Director IITD and Chairman IITDAA owing to the election process and cultural programme, which is not only embarrassing but also not in the interest of the Association. To improve attendance at the AGM, the program will start at 5:00 P.M. Voting will be from 5:00-6:30 p.m. Only

 …

-Election of Executive Committee members (During AGM)                                                    27^th April 2013

…

”

(Full text at the end of this post)

After coming back to India in Feb 2012 to start my second innings of life, getting associated with IITD Alumni Association (IITDAA) has been on top of my mind. And being part of the executive committee is one of the best ways of getting connected and make some impact. So I have gone ahead and begged 2 of my friends to fill the nomination form for me and send in. And I have been told that it has actually reached the Alumni office in IITD campus, no mean achievement considering process fiascos in shipping and delivery!

I don’t have pleasant memories of my prior experience of such an attempt. Last time (in 2000-2001), a few of my friends and I decided to become part of IITDAA Noida Chapter. We attended a few sessions, hoping to get excited and involved. While the samosas served were great (and worth attending the meeting for), it was a pain to listen to the bickering about by-laws and laws of the Noida Chapter. It didn’t help that we were kids in the eyes of those who mattered in the chapter, average age there was 50 years I think.

So why am I throwing my hat in the ring this time? I guess I am an eternal hopeful guy: I think I can at least understand the importance of by-laws since I have been subjected to many by-laws through my association with multiple RWAs (Resident Welfare Associations) and have been subjected to many 100-page renter’s agreements in US. And of course, I am married now, so I have now been trained by in-laws.. err.. trained in by-laws 😉

On a serious note, in this inning of my career, I am focusing on doing things where my passion lies. My company Career Bloom works in the area of career management, career coaching, talent management, and education. I strongly believe that IITs and IIT alumni have a lot to offer to the society as well as learn from it if they can engage with society on 2 topics (which are related): education and career. While the IITDAA does engage on these 2 topics, I think we need to take it up a few notches, and I would like to help do it.

As an EC member, in addition to helping other initiatives, I want to conceptualize and drive 2 initiatives:

1. Career– Connect IITD students and alumni to the large community of college students and working professionals – IITD students and alumni will offer career guidance and mentoring. IITD students will also learn to understand and solve real-life issues that come in the way of career development, and become prepared for a rich career. This will be enabled through technology platform as well as ‘each 1, reach 5’ model, where individuals impact others who live in their home town, current place of residence, etc.
2. Higher Education – Create a volunteering network of IITD Alumni and students which help curate the large amount of free educational content available online and make it easier for students and learners in colleges. Free content (MIT, MOOCs, etc.) are great resource, but when you think of a tier-3 city college student trying to use it who has poor English, lack of understanding of foreign context (baseball doesn’t mean anything to him maybe), you realize this content needs to be contextualized or wrapped in more content in order to be effective for him. Smart and passionate IIT students and alumni can help a great deal. This is mutually beneficial, because best way of learning is being able to teach (or create teaching material that works).

If you feel for these areas, and think IITDAA can/should make an impact, please leave a note for me here, I would love to get in touch and listen to your ideas and thoughts on the subject. And if you are coming to the AGM on 27^th, it will be nice to get your support too! J

Full Text of Election details

– Announcing elections and calling for nominations                                                 31st March  2013

-Closing date for receipt of Nominations at IITDAA Office                                      5:30 PM  17^th April 2013

-Verification of nominations and preparing list of candidates                                5:30 PM 19^th April 2013

-Election of Executive Committee members (During AGM)                                                    27^th April 2013
Executive Committee of IITDAA
The Executive Committee of IIT Delhi Alumni Association consists of:

i.   Chairman

ii.   Vice Chairman

iii. Twenty one alumni elected by the General Body of IITDAA

iv.           Two Senior Professors of IIT Delhi nominated by the Chairman

v.   One of the General Secretaries of the Student Organizations for the running year nominated by

Students Affairs Council

vi.           The immediate Past President
The Director, IIT Delhi is the Chairman of IIT Delhi Alumni Association and is an ex-officio member of the Executive Committee. The Vice-Chairman is nominated by the Executive Committee. Two Senior Professors of IIT Delhi, General Secretary of Student Organization and the immediate past president are ex-officio members of the Executive Committee.
Each elected member has a term of three years. One third members of the executive committee retire every year. The Executive Committee may terminate the membership of any of its members who fail to attend two consecutive meetings without grant of leave of absence. Intermediate vacancies, if any, are filled by elections during the general body meeting. The Executive Committee may also fill up such vacancies through co-option in which case the member will be in the EC for the balance term of the member being replaced.  An elected member relinquishes his/her office on expiry of his term. He can be re-elected only after a gap of one year from his previous term.
Current distribution of the elected members:

The present executive committee (excluding the retiring members) has the following distribution:

i. Members of more than 5 year standing              14

ii. Members of more than 15 years standing         12

iii. Members of more than 25 years standing        11
Vacancies and Eligibility:  At present, there are SEVEN vacancies to be filled up by election during the Annual General Body Meeting.  The term of the SEVEN elected EC members will be for THREE years starting from 2013. Additional vacancies, if any, before the AGM will also be filled up at the AGM. The criteria for filling up the vacancies will be as under:
i.    At least one member of minimum 25 years of standing.

ii.   At least three members of minimum 15 years of standing.

iii.  At least two members of minimum 5 years of standing.

iv.  The remaining members may have any seniority.
Electoral College: The Body of Electors shall comprise of all alumni members of the IIT Delhi Alumni Association.
Process:
1. Nomination Form for election to Executive Committee is required to be proposed and seconded by two alumni.   Completed nomination form must be received at IIT Delhi Alumni Associations Office latest by 5.30 PM on 17^th April 2013.   The nomination form can be sent at the following address:

Secretary, IIT Delhi Alumni Association

Nalanda House, IIT Delhi, Hauz Khas

New Delhi 110016

E-mail: office@iitdalumni.com
Nominations sent by e-mail must be followed by a confirmation copy, on plain paper as per the enclosed format (Nomination Form).  Confirmation copy must be received at IITDAA Office latest by 5.30 PM on 19^th April 2013 (hand delivered/ post/courier).  E-mail nomination, if not supported by confirmation copy shall be treated as invalid.
2. Nominations will be examined by the returning officer and a list of valid nominations received will be prepared by 5:30 PM on 19th April 2013. List of valid nominations will be circulated to the Executive Committee and alumni through email by 20th April 2013.
3. Elections will be held during the Annual General Meeting on 27^th April, 2013 by secret ballot. There is no provision of proxy. Votes of Members present, in person, during the meeting shall only be considered.
4. The ballot paper will list all valid nominations. Alumni members are requested to vote for no. of vacancies. The software will restrict voting to the number of vacancies.
5. A tally of votes polled by each candidate will be prepared.  From this tally the vacancies will be filled up based on candidates polling highest votes.
6.  In case of a tie, the returning officer may choose an appropriate method for resolving it.

General:
1.       This notice is prepared keeping in view the rules and regulations of IITDAA as mentioned in its constitution.
2.       If there is a discrepancy, the interpretation as suggested by the returning officer shall be final.
By Order of the Executive Committee

(Pravin Purang)

Secretary