New Delhi: Fearing coronavirus spread, universities in the United States of America have asked their students to vacate hostels.
Coming to the rescue of its own students, the IITs have got in touch with the alumni associations in the US and Europe to help their recent alumni, pursuing PhD studies in Western universities, find places to stay.
The Indian Institute of Technology Delhi's department of alumni affairs and international programmes issued a statement, saying: "This message is intended for those recent alumni of IIT Delhi who are doing higher studies in the US or other foreign universities. A large number of universities in the US and Europe have closed down and students may have been asked to vacate their dormitories."
It added, "If you are struggling to find accommodation and facing problems, please write to '[email protected]'. We shall try to locate senior alumni close to you who may be willing to help you at this time.
Sanjeev Sanghi, dean of alumni affairs and international programmes at IITD, told News 18.com, "The older alumni are willing to help the IIT graduates who are now pursuing research in the USA find a home. They wrote to us in the wake of universities in the West telling students to leave. We will be coordinating between them so that our recent alumni can stay with the older ones."
The idea came to Sanghi after seeing what other IITs were doing. He read IIT Bombay director Subhasis Chaudhuri's post on social media trying to connect the older alumni with the recent ones. "The post was shared which I followed for my institute," he said.
Chaudhuri had written on Facebook: “This post is specifically for all our recent graduates who are currently pursuing higher studies in US universities. A large number of US universities have closed down due to spread of Covid-19 and asked all students to vacate the university dorms. I understand that many of these foreign students are struggling to find alternate accommodation...Please note that since we will be depending on the benevolence of our alumni in the USA, send your request only when you really need it.”
United States of America saw its first stay-at-home orders after reported coronavirus cases reached 13,000. While Italy has overtaken China in the number of deaths, the European Union has imposed a travel ban because of which many students are caught in a bind.
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