Alliance University held the Inaugural and Orientation Program of Bachelor of Technology at Alliance College of Engineering and Design, for the batch of July 2021-2025 on September 16 - 17, 2021.

The two highlights of the program were the inspiring and thought-provoking sessions by Mr. Augustin M. J., Principal Scientist - National Aerospace Laboratories, Chief Guest for the event, and Mr. Rajendran Dandapani - Zoho Corporation, Director Engineering & President- Zoho Schools, the Guest of Honour. The esteemed guests addressed our new batch of engineering students with the  principles of successful approaches to career and life.

Mr. Augustin M. J. began his session with a metaphor “Thinking Like an Engineer” defining engineers as artists, magicians, thinkers with lots of dreams and imaginations. Mr. Augustin spoke about the importance of passion in the pursuit of learning and shared his list of to-do things to excel in engineering career as well as life:

• Experimentation is key
• Passion trumps everything
• Never stop learning
• Become a master in one domain, but always have knowledge in other areas
• Always be a good listener and observer
• Never stop listening
• Have an open eye to Nature
• Become proficient in at least one software and learn an additional skill
• Always have a mentor

In his address, Mr. Augustin also mentioned the problem-solving approach in the teaching-learning process and discussed the integrated approach followed by the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR)- National Aerospace Laboratories (NAL) that involves all engineering streams to solve problems in the most efficient way.

Another enlightening session was by Mr. Rajendran Dandapani, who explained ‘The Golden Circle model: Simon Sinek’s theory of value proposition, start with why.’ He began the session with a quote from Simon Sinek “People don’t buy what you do, they buy why you do it.” Mr. Dandapani stressed the importance of purpose in leading a fulfilling life. He went on to explain how clarity in purpose brings discipline in our lives, ultimately reflecting consistency in what we do to exist.

To simplify the understanding of the golden circle concept, Mr. Dandapani referred to the missions of some of the biggest brands in the world such as Apple, Amazon, Facebook, Google, and Disney sharing a common thread of uniquely expandable definitions of why they exist. He also referred to the book titled ‘What should I do with my life?’ by P. O. Bronson to understand the importance of How in life.

The flow of events:

The program began with a welcome address by Dr. Reeba Korah, Interim Dean-Alliance College of Engineering and Design who greeted all the speakers and set the stage for the program by sharing her views on making the right career choice to pursue higher education in a university. The inaugural address by Mr. Abhay Chebbi, Pro-Chancellor, Alliance University was about initiatives to build a closely-knit community based on educational excellence. This was followed by the addresses by Dr. Anubha Singh, Vice-Chancellor, Alliance University, and Dr. Punith Cariappa, Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Academics) & Professor - Finance.

The Orientation comprised of the departmental heads and the leadership team explaining the purpose, policies, and processes in pursuance of the mission and vision of the university.