ALO to play key role in Australian Alumni Association - Hyderabad Chapter
Reported by Dr Nagaraju Konda, Hyderabad
Jun 2015
Australian Alumni Association Hyderabad Chapter, first executive committee members along with Mr Steven Ciobo (fourth from right in the front row) and Mr Sean Kelly (sixth from right in the back row)
The Australian Alumni Association Hyderabad Chapter (AAAH) was launched at Hotel Park Hyatt in Hyderabad, on Thursday 25 June 2015. The event was graced by the Australian Parliamentary Secretary for Foreign Affairs, Trade and Investment Mr. Steven Ciobo and was marked by the traditional lighting of a lamp to launch the AAAH Chapter. The honours were done by The Hon’ble Mr Steven Ciobo; Dr Gullapalli Nageswara Rao, Founder-Chair, L V Prasad Eye Institute.
Mr Srikalyan Bhaskar, the first president of AAAH chapter; Mr Sean Kelly, Australia Consul-General to South India, and Mr Sunder Gurusamy of the Australian Alumni Association Trust. Mr Kelly mentioned that there are currently 3, 00,000 Australian alumni in India, emphasizing the need to bring them together on a common platform. Mr Ciobo urged the alumni to adopt measures to increase awareness among Indian students about the opportunities of studying in Australia. He set the tone for his congratulatory message by referring to the New Colombo Plan that provides funding for undergraduates and student internship programmes and through it is a significant opportunities to study in Australia. Mr Ciobo
commended the outstanding work of Dr Rao, the Lifetime Achievement Award 2015 awardee on the occasion, to have made tremendous change in the community by providing stewardship and assistance.
Dr Nag Rao alluded to his first meeting with Prof Brien Holden, University of New South Wales in 1978 in the cornea society meeting that later developed into an abiding friendship, and to his first visit to Australia in 1983 along with this spouse when they travelled along the Gold Coast not knowing whether they would ever return. As it happened, he has since travelled at least 70 times to Australia. He acknowledged his debt of gratitude organizationally and individually to Prof Holden. He said that over the years, the strongest forces of support had come from Australia, helping increase the quality of education in India.
Alumni of L V Prasad Eye Institute Optometrists (ALO) members played a significantly role in AAAH chapter formation. Dr Nagaraju Konda has been elected as a Secretary; Dr Vijaya Kumari Gothwal - Director for Programs and Dr Kalika Bandamwar - Director for membership. The event concluded with a media interaction and the AAAH committee posing for photographs.