鶹AV World News
Provost enjoys dinner with prominent 鶹AV alumni in Hyderabad
Many of 鶹AV’s international student alumni living and working in India are based in and around the city of Hyderabad. Hyderabad is the capital of southern India's Telangana state and is a major center for technology and financial industries. 鶹AV Provost Mohapatra and 鶹AV World Vice President Kiki Caruson had the good fortune of meeting with a group of 鶹AV alumni last October 2023 during their visit to India. Alumni were hosted for dinner at the TC Kohenur Hotel, and despite a 20-year span of graduation years, between 1995-2015, animated conversations about career journeys and nostalgia for the 鶹AV years made for a memorable evening. Alumus, S.V. Sudhirkashyap even surprised the group when he presented his perfectly preserved dorm key – a priceless memento.
Last year, India surpassed China to become the largest source of international students currently studying in the U.S. according to the Open Doors Report, published by the Institute of International Education in partnership with the U.S. State Department’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. This trend is true for enrollment at 鶹AV over the last several years. Statistics show most Indian students hail from Hyderabad and other cities in the southern states of Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, and Odisha. Telangana and Andhra Pradesh account for 12.5% of all Indian students seeking an education overseas.
鶹AV Alumni shared the following observations about the dinner event:
“It was a wonderful event and brought back some cherished memories of university life,” said S. V “Sudhir” Sudhirkashyap (1995), Principal Engineer at Verizon. Lajpat Roy (2005), added: “It is always a warm feeling to connect with other 鶹AV alumni.” Lajpat, who was with Microsoft for several years before starting EduZ Services Private Limited in Dubai and Hyderabad, is a regular at events held in India for future students heading to 鶹AV.
Biostatistician Consultant Sampath Kalluri (2010), who has guided and inspired several students to attend 鶹AV, said he had a “great time” and was delighted at the opportunity to meet so many alumni from his city.
Anita Thippaiah (2008), Associate Professor of Public Health at the School of Medical Sciences at the University of Hyderabad, said: “It was my first get-together with the 鶹AV alumni in India and the group here is simply great.”
For Venkateswara (Venkat) Rao Mudunuru (2014), Principal Biostatistician at Novartis, and Sampath, the dinner was like “coming home.”
In a joint message to 鶹AV World, they noted: “We left 鶹AV with a heavy heart, thinking ‘this is it,’…but we were wrong. Our bond with 鶹AV gained life after joining 鶹AV Network India. The dinner with the provost was a great opportunity to reconnect.”

Alumni were happy to receive 鶹AV baseball caps from Dr. Caruson that they will proudly wear around town! In the picture left to right: Front row – Anita Thippaiah (far left), Venkateswara Rao Mudunuru, Provost Prasant Mohapatra, Aruna Dasgupta, Karan Manocha (far right). Back row – Kiki Caruson, Sampath Kalluri, Nitish Setipalli, Lajpat Roy, S.V. Sudhirkashyap