The August edition of the newsletter covers all the sponsors tied up during the last 4 weeks, and some new events being planned. Read on...

It's a Deal!

This month saw a lot of sponsorship action, and several critical tie-ups have been finalized.

Google (Gold Sponsor)
Google will sponsor one of the 6 tracks at the conference, and also nominate their Chief Evangelist to be present for the proceedings. Google has in fact made a long term commitment to Pan IIT. Their involvement extends beyond the 2008 Global Conference, and they will be actively supporting a number of ongoing Pan IIT projects.

Tata Group (Gold Sponsor)
The Tata Group has come forward to support the 2008 Conference, with a number of their group companies contributing resources. The Program Committee is now trying to put together a panel discussion where CEOs and top executives of several Tata group companies could participate.

CNBC TV18 (Media Sponsor)
CNBC TV18 will be the TV partner for the 2008 conference. Selected events at the conference will be televised exclusively by CNBC, and plans are afoot to have a senior CNBC journalist interviewing LN Mittal on stage. In addition, the CNBC channels will run our commercials and scrollers to spread the Pan IIT message.

Rediff.com (Media Sponsor)
The oldest and perhaps most successful online portal in India, Rediff.com will be the online partner for the 2008 conference. In the months leading up to the big event, Rediff.com will cover various aspects of the Conference and Pan IIT in general, through a series of online articles, interviews and other coverage. They will also run an online advertising campaign for the December conference.

Big FM (Media Sponsor)
Big FM is most likely to come on board as the radio partner for the conference. We hope to leverage their All India network to build awareness for the event amongst the audience for FM. Several short features are also being planned.

eYantra (Merchandise Sponsor)
A new feature for the 2008 event will be the availability of a wide range of branded PanIIT merchandise made available by eYantra. They will be available shortly for purchase online, and at the event itself. Coffee mugs, T-shirts, caps - you can now proudly display your PanIIT connection!

Program News

For the Family
We now have a formal 'track' for family members accompanying alumni to the conference. Accompanied tours to Tirupati and Dakshinachitra, Heritage Walks within Chennai, and exclusive Shopping trips are being planned. We also plan to rope in an eminent local historian to provide authentic inputs during the heritage walks. A few family seminars are also in the works!

Have Your Say!
For the first time, there will be a forum for delegates to air their own views and start their own discussion threads - at the Open Soap Box. This will be completely unstructured, so feel free to give vent to your own pet theories, views and projects.

Face2Face
Another first time feature. Many of the speakers - both the 'super stars' and the track speakers; will devote some time after their respective events, to meet selected delegates in a small group to discuss issues put forward by the delegates. Don't miss this great opportunity to interact personally with the speakers! Click here to make a booking. Delegates for these sessions will be selected on a first-come-first-served basis.

Other Plans
A Design Competition is being planned in conjunction with the Industrial Designers Association. A Business Plan Competition will be conducted in a joint initiative with The Indus Entrepreneurs (TIE). Look out for more details in the next newsletter.

Celebration Time at IIT Madras

This is the Golden Jubilee year for IIT Madras, and the year-long celebrations kicked off on July 31, shortly after the 45th Annual Convocation held on July 25. Chief of Air Staff Fali Homi Major was the chief guest for the convocation, while the Golden Jubilee event was graced by Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Mr. M.K. Karunanidhi; Union Minister of State for Human Resources, Ms. D. Purandeswari; Secretary, Human Resource Development, Mr. R.P. Agrawal; and German Ambassador Bernd Mutzelburg.

Both IITM Director, Prof M.S. Ananth and Chairman BoG Mr. R. Chidambaram, actively encouraged participation at the PanIIT Global Conference, during their respective addresses at the Convocation.