To take a walk down the corridors of reminiscence, the Wildlife Institute of India (WII) celebrated its first Alumni meet on 21st and 22nd August, 2014. The meet was organized in chorus with the Annual Research Seminar and was graced by over 350 dignitaries from various parts of the country. Conservation peers of the country were present for this august gathering and some prominent of them included Shri H.S. Panwar, Shri Vinod Rishi, Dr. A.J.T. Johnsingh, Dr. H.S. Pabla, Dr. Ravi Chellam, Dr. N.V.K. Ashraf, Dr. M.K. Padalia, Dr. G.C. Bhimani, Dr. Yashveer Bhatnagar, Dr. M.D. Madhusudan, Dr. Shomita Mukherjee, Dr. Diwakar Sharma, Dr. Kavita Ishwaran, Dr. Suhel Qader, Dr. Pranav Trivedi and many others.
The inaugural session was nostalgic where most of the speakers recalled their past days in the campus and their attachments with WII. Director, Dr. V.B. Mathur extended a warm, cordial welcome to all the guests present on the occasion and emphasized the need for strengthening the linkages between the Alumni and the Institute for better addressing the conservation challenges of the country.
The second day started with a brainstorming discussion amongst the Alumni on the imperativeness of forming an Association. The members unequivocally voted for an Alumni Association, which could emerge as a strong body in future supporting WII in diverse areas of conservation and academics. The afternoon session was enthralling where ‘conservation talks’ by the Alumni educated the gathering on diverse aspects ranging from conservation history, citizen science, conservation education, debates and debacles and conservation success stories.
The second day started with a brainstorming discussion amongst the Alumni on the imperativeness of forming an Association. The members unequivocally voted for an Alumni Association, which could emerge as a strong body in future supporting WII in diverse areas of conservation and academics. The afternoon session was enthralling where ‘conservation talks’ by the Alumni educated the gathering on diverse aspects ranging from conservation history, citizen science, conservation education, debates and debacles and conservation success stories.
The evening was illuminated with “Jashn-e-Bahara," a cultural program organized by the current students of WII. Overall, while the meet was homecoming for many Alumni, it was a good learning for the new generation researchers at WII aiming to contribute Conservation Science.
Bulletin of the Wildlife Institute of India (BWII) also took advantage of this meet of galaxies. Editors, Sitendu, Indranil and Kausik, discussed the idea of BWII with many Alumni and responses were positive. Being encouraged by such interactions, BWII now plans to come up with interviews of some of WII’s Alumni during the coming weeks. BWII strongly believes that such interviews would be of great lesson for upcoming generations of wildlife biologists at WII by familiarizing them with what their predecessors opine on conservation. Therefore, please keep an eye on our blog “Nature Kaleidoscope” for the next few weeks to experience many untold stories of our Alumni.