Raphael Warjri

On the occasion of Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam's death anniversary, IIM Shillong commemorated
the visionary who transformed the nation with his conviction and innovation, while also
celebrating his profound role as a teacher. To honour his legacy, the institute organised the
8th Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam memorial lecture, highlighting his teachings and achievements.
The session began with students and faculty paying floral tributes to our beloved Kalam Sir,
recalling his association with IIM Shillong and the significant impact he left even years later.
Dr. Sanjeev Ningombam, Centre Head of the Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam Centre for Policy
Research and Analysis of IIM Shillong, welcomed the attendees and spoke about Dr.
Kalam’s teaching legacy. His guest lectures at the institute are a testament to his belief in the
transformative power of education.
The  Nurturing Minds initiative, launched in 2015 soon after Dr. Kalam's demise, to pay
tribute to his vision of “Education for All” was also highlighted. The initiative was to
establish a strong connection with the local community focusing on local schools, serving as
partners in this endeavour, allowing IIM Shillong students to directly impact the education of
local students.
The event was graced by the presence of Dr. S P Agarwal, Director of North Eastern Space
Applications Centre (NESAC), an expert in Remote Sensing and GIS applications for water
resource management, disaster management, and climate change impact assessment.
Delivering the 8th Dr APJ Abdul Kalam memorial lecture, he highlighted the importance of
learning from failures and discussed ISRO's contributions to disaster management, the Moon
Mission, and the evolution of space technology.
The address detailed various aspects of space technology, including satellite imaging, socio-
economic security, sustainable development, and disaster risk reduction. It also emphasised
the role of space technology in agriculture, horticulture, geology, mining, infrastructure
planning, and ocean and atmospheric studies. The session highlighted India
accomplishments in the space sector and how they have made history by following in Dr.
APJ Abdul Kalam's footsteps.
As part of the event, an exhibition highlighting India space achievements was also organised
in collaboration with NESAC, the exhibition served as a powerful testament to India's cosmic
journey and a profound tribute to the man who ignited the nation space dream.
The lecture concluded with students leaving in determination to transform their dreams into
reality, echoing Dr. Kalam's famous quote, Dreams are not those which come while we are
sleeping, but dreams are those when you don sleep before fulfilling them.