In a first, son of IIT-Kharagpur alumni gifts Rs 2 crore to parents’ alma mater

KOLKATA: An Indian-origin youth, who recently started his own IT firm in the US, has decided to donate Rs 2 crore to his parents’ alma mater — IIT-Kharagpur.

Shion Deysarkar

(25), who was born and brought up in the US, wanted to surprise his parents by contributing to the campus which brought them together. Not only his parents, but IIT-Kharagpur was equally thrilled.

The institution will officially declare this hefty contribution as the first ever donation by an alumni progeny, anywhere in the IIT system. The money will be used to make chair professorships at a centre of excellence, which Shion’s parents —

Ashoke Deysarkar

and

Ruma Acharya

— set up about two years ago. The couple — who graduated from the chemical engineering department in 1973 — is now settled in Houston, where they run one of the most successful petrochemical companies.

Being two of the most prominent alumni settled in the US, they have often joined hands with the

IIT-Kharagpur Foundation

there, which brings in funds for developmental activities at the

Kharagpur

campus. The Ashoke Deysarkar and Ruma Acharya Centre of Excellence in Petroleum Engineering is their latest gift to their campus. Shion’s fund will be utilised for setting up three chairs in the domains of geology and geophysics, chemical engineering and chemistry/mining engineering. For this, an MoU has been signed between him and the institute. “This is a first by an alumni progeny. It has set a precedent for other children of our alumni, spread across the globe, to donate towards their parents’ alma mater.

The campus has largely benefited from alumni donations though the years and this is a step forward,” director of the institute Partha Pratim Chakraborty said. “My parents’ love for their campus is infectious and I secretly wanted to do something to add to their dream. No other gift would have made them happier. Though I never studied at IIT-Kharagpur, I know its standards from the students I meet in the US campuses. I feel its time that people like us, who have an Indian connect, can help wed such Indian academic culture with American sensibilities for mutual benefit,” said Shion, a leading data-scientist from

Carnegie Mellon University

. His company

Datafiniti

provides intelligent web data for businesses. Anindya Sarkar, who heads the centre of excellence, said scholars are already working on projects which would facilitate the industrial needs in India.