THE EMINENCE OF INSTITUTION LIES IN THE EMINENCE OF ITS ALUMNI

Alumni are the brand ambassadors of a college, just like a company flaunts on its product, an institution showcases its alumni. Their relevance is so high that even the ‘Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) Ranking’ previously known as ‘Times Higher Education–QS World University Rankings’ considers the alumni outcome and development while ranking world universities. The whole world was overwhelmed in 2018 when billionaire Michael Bloomberg provided a financial aid of $1.8 billion to Johns Hopkins University. Harvard is known as one of the most excellent educational institutions in the world, the primary reason being its research facilities and infrastructure but also its high-profile alumni, which includes former US presidents Franklin D. Roosevelt, John F. Kennedy, and Barack Obama to name a few. Even the dropouts of the institution are notable names such as Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates and Facebook chairman and CEO Mark Zuckerberg.

At the Panipat Institute of Engineering and Technology (PIET), alumni are treated as a unified entity. They are considered an integral part of the system. The Institute invites its alumni to the all-important decision-making process. It regularly organizes Alumni meets so that current students can meet and greet the alumni.  Alumni of PIET at the Amazon, SAP Labs, Facebook, Indian Oil Corporation Ltd, Microsoft, Pepsi Co, not only inspire the students to work hard, but they also help the existing students in reaching those great heights. The alumni act as mentors and guides to the students and also provide recommendations and references for getting jobs or even internships. PIET is mainly entrepreneurship, research, and Innovation-driven Institute. Therefore, the alumni with startups or at senior positions in their organizations also pick students for the final placements. Alumni come to the college for workshops and motivational speeches. They also organize resume writing and interview skills lectures. They not only help in networking, referencing, or fetching the job but also in decision making at times when the students are in a dilemma in the form of career counseling. Most importantly, the alumni act as a source of inspiration for younger generations. A strong alumni base should be the reason behind making PIET as the best college in Haryana.

Now the question is how well the students utilize this as an opportunity. Students should create accounts on professional networking sites such as LinkedIn, Meetup, Xing, and Udyomitra, where they can get to know seniors from similar professions in which they are interested. Additionally, even social media sites such as Facebook and WhatsApp groups can help in staying connected and availing the benefits of alumni networking. Lastly, every student should get the membership of the college’s alumni association. To sum up, students should attend alumni meets and try to connect with the seniors as it is being said that ‘networking is the key to professional success.’

Additionally, every student should try to stay connected with their batchmates and faculty members. Furthermore, one should consider Alma mater as an extended family, as one grows as the name of one’s institution grows.

 

Vikas Kumar Tyagi