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Imperiaalumni promoted links with Indian industry at an event in Kolkata on 8 January.

Rajive Kaul (BEng Engineering, 1971), President of the ImperiaCollege Alumni Association of India (ICAAI), hosted an event for alumni and business leaders at his home, with guest of honour President & Rector Sir Keith O'Nions.

Among the guests was Syamal Gupta, Chairman of the ImperiaCollege India Foundation, established in 2007 to support collaborations between the College and Indian industry and higher education, and to increase º£½ÇÉçÇø's profile in the country. Mr Gupta, formerly Chairman of , spoke of his proud relationship with the College over the past fifty years, starting with his student days under the “visionary” engineer Professor Sir Hugh Ford.  He said, "Imperiacreates an environment for innovation that industry needs. Promoting this strength is good for the College and good for industry."

Speaking of his motivations for establishing the Foundation, Mr Gupta said: "Imperiahas made a deep impression on me and other alumni. The time has come for us to give back - to help Imperiato train more people, continue its cutting edge research and to serve society at large." He described how º£½ÇÉçÇø's strong reputation supported alumni in their careers, adding, "I tell alumni, 'If Imperiadoes well, you do well, so please help them.'"  

Rima SenSharma, Chair of the Kolkata Chapter of ICAAI, described how she was keen to raise awareness of the opportunities offered by the College. She said, "India is an evolving country, with two worlds co-existing - that of the common man and that of the privileged. There is a tremendous need to bridge the gap to create equality of opportunity, and education provides a cohesive bond."

See a slideshow of images from the event below or the