(MENAFN- IANS) Aligarh, Oct 16 (IANS) The alumni of Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) walked down the memory lane in their first in-person homecoming since the pandemic as they reconnected with their alma mater in the World Alumni Meet-2022 at the Kennedy Hall Auditorium here.
Addressing the students in the inaugural function, chief guest and former UPSC Chairman D.P. Agarwal said: 'Our alumni are spread all over the world. Certainly living and working in the G7 and G25 countries is a matter of pride, but we must also serve in places where a lot of development needs to be done.
'In India, we have reached a juncture in our growth, where nobody from any background lags behind. In this amazing era, youngsters must learn from the experiences of high achievers.'
Speaking on the contributions of AMU alumni, he pointed out: 'Our alumni have immensely contributed to the alma mater. Our network is large. Imagine networks of each batch and each discipline across the many years of this university's existence. These vast resources have to come together for the common cause of our alma mater, community, the nation, and the world at large'.
He pressed the present day students to look for role models from the illustrious list of AMU alumni and to learn from their life stories.
Presiding over the inaugural function, AMU Vice Chancellor Tariq Mansoor spoke on the important and useful works of the AMU Alumni Affairs Committee.
He said: 'The Alumni Affairs Committee has come up with a directory of alumni spread across the globe in which people can search the former AMU students in cities of various countries. This directory has made connecting with alumni living and working in different parts of the world a lot easier.
'Our alumni have extended help in many ways by staying involved to support their alma mater. The generous donations from the alumni associations in North America, Middle East and other parts of the world have been extremely valuable in providing opportunities to the needy students.'
He also spoke on the benefits of the 'Alig Enrichment Programme' in bringing experts to deliver special lectures to current students and the 'Kashish' programme, which connects the children of alumni with AMU.
He also pointed out that the AMU administration intends to seriously work on all the suggestions of the alumni for the benefit of the students and the university.
To mark the occasion, Vice Chancellor Mansoor, Pro Vice Chancellor Mohammad Gulrez and Registrar Mohammad Imran (IPS) joined the faculty members to felicitate the guests with mementoes. They also released a programme souvenir.
Joining the inaugural function through video conferencing from the US, Kohkan Shamsi from the Aligarh Medical Alumni Association of North America, New York, said: 'Words cannot convey the privilege and honor that I feel to be invited to speak today. I have worked in five countries of three different continents, but the best time of my life has been in Aligarh. AMU not only provided me with the best in education, but has also trained me to deal with the life challenges.'
Speaking on new opportunities, he added: 'The Covid pandemic disrupted labor markets but many rapidly adjusted to working from home. Now there are new vistas of opportunities that will have long-term influence on consumption, enhanced productivity and innovation.'
Representing the Aligarh Alumni Association Washington DC, Rafat Husain, senior scientist in the US Food and Drug Administration, informed: 'The Aligarh Alumni Association Washington DC has been supporting financial needs of more than 350 AMU students each year.'
He pressed for encouraging conditions that give frontline educators flexibility and more autonomy and pointed out that even at the peak of the pandemic when UNESCO reported that the learning of 1.5 billion students was hampered due to lockdowns; it is remarkable that India was at par with global players in accessing distant learning as more than 54 per cent people had access to the internet, he said.
--IANS
bk/arm