Debrief of the Bangalore Annual Alumni Chapter Meet, 2007

The following is the detailed briefing of the Alumni Chapter Meet held in
Bangalore on the 26th of May, 2007.

 Chapter Head   Mr. Shivinder Singh, UB Global is the Chapter Head for the Bangalore chapter.

 IIFT Faculty   Mr. Rohit Mehtani represented IIFT in this meet.

 Venue  Bangalore

The Annual Alumni Chapter Meet, 2007 was held in Bangalore on the 26th of May, in the party hall of the Royal Orchid Central Park. The hall was a spacious one and had provisions for cluster seating, bar, screen, projector.

 Registration  34 Alumni turned up for the meet, some of them with their spouse or children. A registration fee of Rs. 500 per alumni was charged from the alumni.

 Welcome note  Though the time mentioned was 1930 hrs, it is only after 2030 hrs that the alumni started coming in for the meet. After a strong number of invitees had arrived, a short presentation was made, describing IIFT’s present activities, placements-2007 and the road map for this year. A SWOT analysis of
IIFT's placements was also pretty much appreciated as it gave the right picture of IIFT among other B-schools. A new initiative was started this year with "Speciality Groups" replacing the student mentorship program. Most of the alumni gave their nod to be part of this group. Mr. Mehtani then answered some of the questions raised by our alumni regarding the branding of IIFT in future and a general discussion started on what should IIFT be doing to project the right image among the corporates.

 Special Attraction  As a special attraction, we had prepared a very interesting quiz with prize for alumnus answering maximum questions and also special prizes on some questions. Majority of the alumni actively took part in this and it was 20-25 minutes of good fun. Bangalore's Chapter head Mr. Shivinder Singh addressed the alumni and thanked them for coming for the meet, he also mentioned that first IIFT alumnus of the year award was won by Mr.Shashikanth Venkatesan, member of IIFT Bangalore Alumni Group and he hoped in this third year too someone from Bangalore will win. We had a special prize for the seniormost alumni Mr. RA Radhakrishnan in the meet, it was a nice surprise for him.

During these events, cocktails and snacks were circulated among the guests, leading a lot of mingling among the guests and the students present and a general atmosphere of bonhomie and good will. Around 2130 hrs, the dinner was served, with the seating arrangement enabling the alumni to sit together and reminisce about their days at IIFT. The dinner and the selection of the dishes were appreciated by the alumni. Drinks were also served alongside and to top it all there was DJ too dishing out great music amidst its dazzling laser lights. Most of the alumni then hit the dance floor and it all made up into a very nice evening. By 11:30 PM, alumni started leaving saying they had a great time and would look forward to attending future meets.

Varun Jain
Student Co-ordinator, Bangalore Alumni Meet