The true measure of a university’s greatness can be found in the achievements of its alumni. The International Institute of Information Technology, Hyderabad is known to develop creative, caring and competent leaders of character and excellence. The distinguished accomplishments of IIIT Hyderabad's alumni across various fields are a testament to the institute's commitment to fostering innovation, integrity, and a drive for societal impact.

award
Alumni Awards 2025
Naveena Yanamalas

Naveena Yanamala

Alumna of the 2001 batch, Dr. Naveena Yanamala, PhD, graduated with an MSIT in Bioinformatics from IIIT Hyderabad and obtained her Ph.D in Medicine with focus on Integrated Systems Biology from the University of Pittsburgh in 2009. She is currently an Associate Professor of Medicine, Section Chief of Clinical Research & AI Innovation, Director of AI/ML Research, and Director of the Center for Innovation at Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, New Jersey. In addition, she is a Special Government Employee of the US FDA and an Adjunct Faculty at Carnegie Mellon University in the Software and Societal Systems Department (S3D).She played a pivotal role in stabilizing the ambitious MSIT program at IIIT Hyderabad, which ultimately led to the establishment of the Bioinformatics Research Center, later evolving into the Center for Computational Natural Sciences and Bioinformatics (CCNSB).

Dr. Yanamala held several leadership positions in occupational safety and health research governance, including serving on the steering committee of the Center for Occupational Robotics Research (CORR) within the Division of Safety Research at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). With over 15 years of interdisciplinary research experience, Dr. Yanamala has authored more than 100 peer-reviewed articles at the intersection of biology, health, and computation. Her innovative work in risk assessment and stratification using machine learning, especially in cardiovascular disease and environmental exposures, has earned her widespread recognition. She received multiple Alice Hamilton Awards for exceptional contributions to occupational and environmental health, as well as nominations for the Charles C. Shepard Science Award, the CDC's highest recognition for scientific excellence.

Her contributions have also been recognized within the clinical and cardiology community, where her work received multiple recognitions and Best Paper award from the American College of Cardiology. In 2020, her team won the NIH NHLBI Big Data Analysis Challenge, a national award spotlighting innovation in data science and cardiovascular health. Most recently, she was honored with the Dean’s Inaugural Faculty Excellence Award in Clinical Research from Rutgers Medical School, underscoring her sustained impact as a leader in clinical research, translational AI, and computational medicine.

Recently, she was featured in the IIITH blog - https://blogs.iiit.ac.in/naveena-yanamala/ Know more about her at- https://www.linkedin.com/in/naveena-yanamala-ms-phd-fase-240a229/

Manish Jain

Manish Jain

Alumnus of the batch of 2003, Dr. Manish Jain, PhD graduated with a B.Tech (Hons) in CSE from IIIT Hyderabad and obtained his Ph.D in Computer Science with focus on Artificial Intelligence from the University of Southern California in 2013. Manish currently serves as a Research Engineer in Google DeepMind, which is Google's flagship AI research laboratory. Manish received multiple awards for his path-breaking research in the cutting-edge areas of computer science focused on Applied AI, Machine Learning, Game Theory and Multiagent Systems. These include the Best Dissertation Award in 2013 from the computer science dept. of USC and Winner of the IFAAMAS Victor Lesser Distinguished Dissertation Award from AAMAS in 2014, which is a top conference in the area of multiagent systems.

The deployed aspects of his research worked received wide attention resulting in a Commendation certificate from Los Angeles World Airports Police Department along with a Certificate of Appreciation from the Transportation Security Administration for Federal Air Marshals Service (FAMS). In addition, his research paper titled Software Assistants for Randomized Patrol Planning for The LAX Airport Police and The Federal Air Marshals Service was finalist for the EURO Operations Research Conference Excellence in Practice Award EEPA'2010 and received the RIST Prize from Military Operations Research Society. In 2013, Dr. Manish co-founded Avata Intelligence [which got acquired by Procore Technologies eight years later] based on his thesis work and experience, a startup that focused on security systems for defense agencies. Know more about him at - https://www.linkedin.com/in/manish-jain-kj2020/.

Alumni Awards

A vast number of the institute’s former students have gained unique distinction through success in their professions, service to the university and contribution to their communities. In 2023, IIIT-H established Alumni Awards in several categories, to recognise outstanding alumni who have distinguished themselves in their professional careers, or in service to the institute or society while also serving as a leader and role model to others. This is the highest honour bestowed upon a former student of IIIT-H by the institute.
Check out past alumni award winners: Winners 2023, Winners 2024


Alumni Award categories:
  • Alumni Achiever Award
  • Outstanding Service Award
Important Dates
  • Nominations for the year 2025 will be accepted from March 25 through June 25.
  • Each candidate is carefully assessed to determine the degree to which he/she fulfils each of the requirements according to the criteria established.
  • Announcements will be made by August 2nd, 2025. The awards will be awarded on September 2nd, 2025.

Criteria For Nomination

Alumni Achiever Award

This award recognizes the valuable contributions to their professions or communities, reflecting the institute's legacy of excellence. Their outstanding accomplishments serve as a testament to the values and aspirations of the institute, inspiring future generations to pursue excellence and make a positive impact in their respective fields.

Criteria

  • The awardee must be an Alumnus /Alumna of the International Institute of Information Technology, Hyderabad with alumni status of 5+ years.

  • Professional Achievement - Must have a strong history of engagement in their attainment of professional excellence and leadership skills. The recipient attained prominence through their efforts in commerce, industry, technology, agriculture, the arts, education, government, or other worthy endeavours that form a record of impressive accomplishment

    OR

    Service to Society / Nation - Contribute time and energy to improve the quality of life for others, in the community or in service to the nation. The recipient exhibits a demonstrated commitment to service through their professional (police/military/navy/Airforce/administrative services in the government) or volunteer efforts.

Outstanding Service Award

This award recognises the valuable contributions the alumni make to the institute or the alumni network through their continuous engagement and support of its various activities. It honours their going above and beyond to exemplify the mission and values of the institute and their commitment to the progress of IIIT-H and its alumni network.

Criteria

  • The awardee must be an Alumnus /Alumna of the International Institute of Information Technology, Hyderabad with alumni status of 5+ years.

  • Demonstrate a strong engagement, passion and outspoken advocacy for the institute’s development or alumni network. The recipient’s deeds and actions reflect the importance of their educational training, pride in their alma mater, and loyalty to IIIT-H, as demonstrated through their interest in and support of the university and alumni network.

Rules and Procedure to Nominate

Who is Eligible?
  • The Nominee must be an Alumnus/Alumna of the International Institute of Information Technology, Hyderabad (IIIT-H) with 5+ years of alumni status.
  • Self-nomination is not allowed.
  • Past award winners cannot be nominated for the same category again but may be nominated for a different category.
Who Can Nominate?
  • The Proposer/Nominator must be: A faculty/ex-faculty or A staff/ex-staff of IIIT-H with 5+ years of association with the institute or an alumnus/alumna of IIIT-H with 5+ years of alumni status.
Nomination Process & Key Rules
  • Nomination Validity: Nominations will remain valid for three years, unless updated or renewed by the original or another appropriate nominator.
  • A nominator can propose up to 5 alumni per award category.
Submission Requirements:
  • The online nomination form must be completed in all aspects and include necessary supporting documents.
  • The completed nomination forms must be submitted before the due date mentioned in the form and late submissions will not be considered.
Selection Process:
  • The Alumni Awards Committee will assess and select the awardees.
  • The decision of the Committee is final and binding.
  • Awardees will be notified via email, and their names will be published on the alumni/institute portal.
Need Help?
  • For any clarifications regarding batch year, degree, or other nominee details, please email: alumniawards@iiit.ac.in

To nominate please click on the nomination form