Shion Deysarkar, son of prominent IIT-KGP alumni Asoke Deysarkar and Ruma Acharya, makes first-of-its-kind donation to his parent's alma mater

  OMAHA, NE - 06/19/2018 (PRESS RELEASE JET)

While growing up in Houston, Shion Deysarkar recalls his parents reminiscing about their time at IIT-Kharagpur. He recognized their pride and passion for their experiences and education from the institute through their conversations, but also through visits to campus in which they pointed out classrooms learned in and dorms lived in. These memories and his altruism helped Shion decide that he wanted to give back to the institute that gave his parents so much. 

In mid-May, Shion shared with his parents that he wanted to donate $300,000 to IIT-KGP. The money will be utilized to set up three Chair Professorships in the departments of Geology and Geophysics, Chemical Engineering, and Chemistry/Mining Engineering. When asked what prompted his decision to donate to KGP, Shion affirmed, “The family is always looking to fund projects that will have a catalytical effect,” and in this case, the monies will go towards bolstering faculty which will, in turn, improve the funded programs and attract more students. He added, “dollars can go further in India than in the US”.

The Deysarkar’s have always been giving and generous towards their alma mater—donating funds to improve Ruma’s residence hall (Sarojini Naidu Girls hostel), funding a project in the Geology department, a biodiesel research grant, and starting a Center for Excellence in Petroleum Engineering (Asoke Deysarkar and Ruma Acharya Center for Excellence in Petroleum Engineering), among many others. 

This gift by Shion, a graduate of Carnegie Mellon and CEO of Datafiniti, has been confirmed as the first-of-its-kind gesture to IIT-KGP. Asoke and Ruma are very proud and happy with their son’s thoughtfulness and gift back to their alma mater. They hope that his gift can be an inspiration for future generations to give back to KGP!

About IIT Kharagpur

The Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur (IIT Kharagpur or IIT KGP) is a public engineering institution established by the government of India in 1951. It was the first of the IITs to be established and is recognized as an Institute of National Importance by the Government of India. Located 75 miles west of Kolkata, IIT-KGP hosts undergraduate and postgraduate coursework within 19 academic departments, 8 multi-disciplinary centres/schools, and 13 schools of excellence in addition to more than 25 central research and development units. Current enrollment is 11,016 students on its residential campus.