As IIT Madras turns 60 this July, more than 3,500 alumni across the world have planned to host celebrations in 83 cities including Seattle, Sydney, Toronto,  Tokyo, Berlin, Helsinki, Hong Kong and many more. The celebrations, planned on July 13 across the world, will vary from panel discussions followed by a walk down the memory lane to get-togethers to relive the days spent on campus. Alumni from all the batches, starting from the very first one in 1964 to those graduating in 2019 will participate.

Chennai will see three celebrations by the alumni. "We have a lot of our students working for TCS. So, they planned to celebrate at the TCS campus. The second celebration will be organised by our alumni working in Tiger Analytics, a firm built by one of our students and the third one will be held in Hotel GRT Grand — all on July 13. The celebrations across the world will be funded by the ex-students themselves," said Dr Mahesh Panchagnula, Dean (International and Alumni Relations), IIT Madras. "We will also have a grand celebration on campus on July 31, the day the foundation stone of the institute was laid 60 years ago," he added. 

A video message from Dr Bhaskar Ramamurthi, Director, IIT Madras, will be played at all locations. Every location is also planning events as diverse as sessions on ‘AI for Business’ (Bengaluru) and ‘Career Development’ (Hyderabad) besides quiz, competitions and cultural events. The alumni at San Francisco Bay Area in the USA, are planning to release a video documentary tracing the development of the Institute over the 60 years.

"The overwhelming response from alumni resulting in over 83 cities and 3500+ alumni participating, is a testament to the emotional connect we have to our alma mater. The enthusiastic involvement of every alum who has worked to make this happen around the globe is commendable," said Shuba Kumar, President, IIT Madras Alumni Association (IITMAA). The alumni also plan to help the current students in numerous ways, from career counselling to mentoring them on starting their own business ventures and startups.