PSG Alumni Meet: Seven Decades of Engineering

There are events you attend that talk about the future, and then there are events where you experience nostalgia. Very rarely do you find an event that delivers both at the same time.

For me, the recent PSG alumni gathering in the United States firmly fell into that category.

PSG Tech, College of Engineering, based out of Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, India, recently completed 75 years of providing excellent education. This technical institute, of which I am a proud alumnus, is one of the top engineering schools in the country.

For those outside India who may have the perception that only IITs (Indian Institutes of Technology) produce top talent in India, here is a small clarification. India has several outstanding institutions beyond the IIT system, and PSG Tech is certainly one of them.

Take India’s Chandrayaan lunar missions, for example. Chandrayaan, meaning “Moon Craft,” is ISRO’s pioneering lunar exploration program, globally recognized for discovering water molecules on the Moon and later achieving the first-ever soft landing near the lunar south pole through Chandrayaan-3.

Engineers from PSG Tech had notable representation in these missions. One well-known example is Dr. Mylswamy Annadurai, often called the “Moon Man of India,” who served as Project Director for Chandrayaan-1 and Chandrayaan-2. There were also multiple PSG alumni who contributed to Chandrayaan-3. Similarly, there are countless PSGians making meaningful contributions across technology, healthcare, manufacturing, academia, entrepreneurship, social welfare, and NGO organizations.

The 75-year milestone celebrations were held across multiple countries because PSG alumni today are spread across almost every continent. The U.S. event took place in San Francisco in April 2026.

The attendees ranged from graduates of 1962 all the way to students who had graduated just a couple of years ago. This wasn’t just an alumni meet; this was seven decades of engineering history sitting in one room. Different eras. Different journeys. Different definitions of success. Yet somehow connected by one institution.

And like any good PSGian would say, that connection is not accidental.

Voices from the Stage

One thing that elevated the event from good to memorable was the lineup of speakers. Each brought a different perspective, but all converged around a common theme: legacy, responsibility, and what comes next.

L. Gopalakrishnan set the tone with a simple reminder that institutions are built—and sustained—by people. Jay Vijayan kept it practical with one clear takeaway: execution matters more than intent. Srikar Reddy Koppula brought in a broader perspective, connecting the success of alumni networks to the growing influence of the Indian diaspora globally.

The panel discussion featured leaders like Anand Chandrasekaran , Kiran Kamity , Babu Krishnasamy (my good friend and Founder CEO of Kanini), Vanitha Kumar, and Suresh Muthuswami . Despite coming from different industries and generations, their messages echoed similar themes: build with discipline, scale with purpose, stay adaptable, and never disconnect from your roots.

What I personally appreciated was the tone of the discussions. There was no unnecessary jargon, no attempt to impress the audience with complexity. Just practical thinking grounded in real-world experience. In many ways, that itself felt very PSG.

I’ve also included a YouTube video from the PSG alumni meet below. It captures highlights from the speakers, the atmosphere of the event, and some memorable moments from the gathering.

Watch the video here: https://youtu.be/kBlKSzqL9Rw

Six Generations, One Common Thread

There is something interesting about nostalgia. As we grow older, memories slowly become one of our most valuable possessions. At some point in life, we may not travel as much or move around as actively as we once did, but we will always revisit our memories.

This event had plenty of those moments.

I met some close friends with whom I had stayed in touch over the years, along with some long-lost friends whom I had not seen in decades. A few had changed so much that I struggled to recognize them initially. Others I recognized within a fraction of a second.

We spoke about our professors—the inspiring ones, the strict ones, and the unforgettable ones. We laughed about exams we somehow managed to pass, and others we very confidently failed. We revisited memories of dreaded electronics labs where chips would mysteriously stop working exactly when we needed them the most.

And of course, we discussed how dramatically the world has changed in just three decades—both technologically and socially.

Like most parents, we proudly spoke about our children. We also laughed about some of the common frustrations with newer generations, while simultaneously acknowledging that every generation probably complained about the next one. At some point, we too have to evolve instead of endlessly debating Gen Alpha, Gen Z, and everything in between.

In a world where networking often means exchanging business cards and LinkedIn requests, this felt refreshingly real. What fascinated me most was watching interactions across generations. You had senior alumni from the 60s and 70s—people who built careers without the internet, without global mobility, and without the conveniences we take for granted today. Then you had recent graduates—digital natives navigating an entirely different world.

And yet, conversations flowed naturally. Why? Because the underlying value system remained remarkably similar. Discipline. Humility. Focus on execution. Respect for learning. These are not buzzwords at PSG. They are defaults.

A Wall That Tells a Bigger Story

One section of the event that quietly stood out to me was a display titled “Products by PSG Products.”

At first glance, it looked like a typical showcase wall—logos, names, companies. But when you pause and actually read through it, something interesting happens. You start connecting dots. Startups. Established companies. Consulting firms. Product companies. Global roles. Local impact. All originating, in some way, from PSG.

I also had a personal moment there—seeing Reinvent HIT LLC on that wall, representing our journey. After the successful exit of my previous startup, Triyam Inc. (now part of Access Corp), I became one of the investors and directors of Reinvent HIT LLC. Seeing that name on the wall felt like a small but meaningful milestone. Not because of the logo itself. But because of what it represented. A journey that started in classrooms and labs, went through risks, pivots, sleepless nights, successes, failures, and somehow found its place on that wall.

And I suspect many others in that room felt exactly the same when they saw their names or companies displayed there. That wall wasn’t just a display. It was a snapshot of compounded journeys.

Tech Music – Not Techno Music

When I tell others that PSG has its own “Tech Music,” they often imagine electronic or techno music produced by computers.

I then clarify that PSG’s Tech Music is actually a light music troupe made up of students and alumni.

The musicians perform songs from Indian cinema with a level of professionalism that honestly rivals many commercial bands.

The evening became even more memorable with Tech Music performing songs commemorating the 75th-year celebrations. It added the perfect emotional ending to the event.

And honestly, after a long day of speeches, nostalgia, networking, and photos, hearing familiar songs played by fellow PSGians somehow felt like the perfect closing note.

The Legacy That Refuses to Age

What truly made the event memorable was realizing once again that PSG has always had a reputation. Not the flashy kind. Not the social-media-trending kind. But the kind that quietly builds over decades through consistency, discipline, and an almost stubborn commitment to doing things the right way.

Listening to the speakers talk about the history of the institution, one thing stood out clearly: PSG was never just about producing graduates. It was about producing people who contribute. People who work as teams with the goal of collective upliftment rather than simply boosting one individual’s profile, ego, or wealth. That philosophy showed up in interesting ways throughout the event.

One of the most powerful moments was not a keynote or an award ceremony. It was a gesture. Senior alumni had sponsored travel, accommodation, and registration for younger alumni to attend the event. The alumni community also collectively raised USD 75K for the college. Now, that’s not just generosity. That’s mentorship in action.

It says: “We didn’t just come here to celebrate ourselves. We came here to bring the next generation along.”

Final Reflection

To conclude, PSG may not have an official college anthem—at least not during my time there.

But it certainly had a slogan in Tamil: “Gumthalakadi Gummava, PSG Tech enna summava?” This slogan in the Tamil language roughly translates to: “PSGians are not ordinary people; they leave an impact wherever they go.” After attending this event, that line felt more meaningful than ever.

If I had to summarize the entire experience in one sentence, it would be this:

PSG is not just an institution you graduate from. It is a network you keep growing with.

And like any good long-term investment, its value compounds quietly, steadily, and often in ways you don’t fully appreciate until you step back and look at the bigger picture. Looking forward to seeing how this evolves in the coming years. Because if this is where we are today, the next decade should be very interesting.

And I’m curious-what does PSG or your college alumni mean to you today? Drop your thoughts, stories, or even one lesson that stayed with you.