UAA Foundation & Reunion - March 2008

15th of March 2008 was a red letter day in the history of UMIT. This Saturday morning, the Institute was abuzz with activity and the atmosphere was electric. Festoons and balloons adorned the already radiant campus. The UAA team was present since early morning, overlooking the arrangements, making last minute changes to speeches and presentations and deciding the sequence of events and allotting tasks to one and all.

The attendance for the event was most heartening, alumnae from various batches graced the occasion and we even had an attendee from the first batch of UMIT, the then called, ITW.

The dais had Mr. Sanjay Shitole (Principal Addl. Charge), Mr. Vikram Patil (HOD IT), Mr. Narendra Gawai (HOD CST) and Mr. Sanjay Pawar (HOD ENC). Many teachers who were part of the teaching staff of UMIT made their presence felt. Dr. T.J. Mathew, Mr. Wilson Pinto, Mrs. Bharti Cherevu and Mrs. Sumita Nayanan were such encouraging faces. Along with them, ex students and the current final year students contributed significantly in making the event a grand success.

The alumnae association, which was just a concept a few months ago, was inaugurated formally by Dr. Mathew, which was followed by the opening of the UAA Manifesto. The faces behind the UAA were introduced and then Amrita Krishnadas spoke about how the UAA was started. Balika Sonthalia outlined the functions of the UAA and spoke about the roadmap ahead. Neha Vijan gave the vote of thanks and was then felicitated by the Institute for her contribution to UMIT.

Our esteemed principal Prof Shitole highlighted the importance of an alumnae association and pledged total support for the association. Prof Kale, the faculty in charge of the UAA was very proud that the ex-students had taken it upon themselves to form an association for the Institute they now call their alma mater .Prof Gawai shed light on the various steps taken to ensure that the infrastructure of UMIT is in place. Prof Sanjay Pawar also expressed his solidarity with the UAA, as did Prof Vikram Patil.

After the inauguration a lunch was organized for the staff, students and the alumnae. The reunion, organized for the alumnae present was held soon after. Alumnae spoke about how they would like to contribute to the Association and also shared insights and opinions about how the Alumnae could be more effective.

The best part of the reunion was when Purnashilpa, the alumna from the very first batch, spoke about the Institute and her experiences. Her enthusiasm for UAA and for the Institute motivated everyone.

All were left with a strong feeling of belonging to the institute in which they had spent four glorious years of their life. All in all, we think the event was a grand success, the months of planning, meetings, creating websites, manifestos, posters.. designing, ideating and brainstorming really paid off… We were on our way.. and truly we felt like, we will Envision, Empower and Excel.