Article19’s own correspondent, Y.N. Simha interviews the present Department Secretary, Sourav Rames, to understand the progress made last semester, the challenges faced to date, and the initiatives planned for the upcoming semester.
Upon a thorough review and an interview with the man himself – Sourav Rames, it becomes clear that his manifesto and plans weren’t far fetched and he remains mostly on track to fulfill all of the promises made in his application. While not all of his plans went smoothly or at all, crucial ones which could very well make a difference in the long run did go with few hitches.
Upon a thorough review and an interview with the man himself – Sourav Rames, it becomes clear that his manifesto and plans weren’t far fetched and he remains mostly on track to fulfill all of the promises made in his application. While not all of his plans went smoothly or at all, crucial ones which could very well make a difference in the long run did go with few hitches.
The first point in his manifesto refers to what he are his responsibilities as department secretary. He has not only listed out which are the responsibilities of that position but also a list of events which he would like to carry out in To that end, he has hosted fundaes for the freshers during their welcoming into the department, and one with the Buddy mentors. He however hasn’t interacted with the second years regarding their stream allocation this semester. He plans to do it in the next semester.
As far as extracurricular activities go, most of the scheduled were conducted, but with terrible weather and adverse pitch conditions greatly increasing the time taken for the football tourney, some events which were scheduled this semester will be held the next time out. The word games and quizzes will only happen next semester and the T shirt development is hoping to be done next semester as well. The Cricket challenger match was conducted as per schedule though, and the cricket tourney is scheduled for next semester as well, with no change with respect to the preceding year’s schedule in that aspect.
The good news however is that the word games are in fact going to be a permanent fixture in the future, with a permanent fund provided by the HS12 batch for the same. It will be held in the memory of late Bhargavi S which is an excellent gesture.
Probably the most important work for the Department Secretary now is the Alumni relations in which Sourav specifically promised to increase outreach, and increase interactions with them.
He has succeeded in a way, with the institution of AlumSpeak events which invite alums of the department to speak about their professions in various fields. He has planned a total of two alums per semester keeping in mind the restrictions of the department. The department does not fund the travel cost for the alumni, only their accomodation, hence – most alums have to be locally sourced. The other option is fortuitous circumstances, wherein they are already coming here and can also make a trip to IITM. With a limited student fund, his options are unfortunately limited. Perhaps in the future, one hopes that this department policy would change for the better. The two planned for this semester didn’t occur without hitches however, with one being postponed and eventually cancelled (MITACS) after severe delays due to the football tourney. However, he hopes to carry them out with lesser interruptions next semester. He also plans to hold a third tournament in badminton, frisbee or something similar next semester on the sole condition that the entire tournament can take place over the course of a single day.
Catering is also being locally sourced with an incident of food poisoning in the previous year’s conference being one of the downlights. Instead, he is looking for trusted caterers within campus, who have already been sampled, so as to minimize unfortunate events. Also as promised, he hasn’t taken any new PoRs this semester.
Since the division of the work between the BC and the conference head, he has had little say in the conference, and she in his field of work. However, suggestions for either are always possible with both maintaining an open outlook for progressing their work.
Enthusiastic participation of the freshies in the events conducted so far, as well as a conference which our very own Akash Kumar was part of, has been proof of their growing camaraderie both as a class and in the department. The passion on the football pitch was of course there for all to see. It was joy in every measure to watch them become one with the rest of us. The movie screenings which were quite good to say the least and the first years viewed and helped to organize them which was great to see.
Due to an overestimation of the budget and some efficient fund management, he is well within the budgetary limit and not likely to go over it anytime soon.
In conclusion, it seems fair to say that Sourav has certainly accomplished many of his objectives which he wanted to achieve and while not perfect has certainly stood up to the test. A few blemishes apart, the bigger picture is that he has been able to acclimatize the juniors into the department, increase and develop alumni outreach as well as make AlumSpeak into a regular event. The few flaws appear dim in the face of his deliverances, and I do hope that he is able to complete the remainder of his promises in the next semester.
This article is the second in a series of manifesto reviews of the elected members of the Department Council.
Article by Y.N. Simha
Poster by Sanjana Acharya
Article 19 