💡 From ~$4 a Year to Global Boardrooms:

The Quiet Legacy of LD Engineering College

🇮🇳 A College for a Country Being Rebuilt

In 1948, just one year after India gained independence following nearly 200 years of colonial rule, most of the country was focused on survival—managing Partition that displaced 20 million people, healing wounds, and building the world’s largest democracy from the ground up.

But in Ahmedabad, Kasturbhai Lalbhai, an industrialist and visionary, was thinking decades ahead.

He knew that India didn’t just need policies — it needed people. Builders. Problem-solvers. Engineers.

So he donated land, money, and his belief in India’s future to create LD College of Engineering (LDCE).

It started with just 75 students, in a country with almost no infrastructure, and still finding its feet.

But the impact? It has spanned continents, industries, and generations.

🎓 A Personal Journey Begins

In October 1993, I graduated from LDCE with a degree in Electronics and Communications Engineering.

The annual tuition? Just ₹350 (~$4) — and half of that for women.LDCE was built on access, not privilege.

What I walked away with wasn’t just technical knowledge — it was a set of values and survival instincts that shaped every chapter of my career.

Later, I earned my MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business — one of the top programs in the world. It sharpened my thinking. It expanded my perspective.

But the roots of my leadership style — and the foundation of every success that followed — were planted at LDCE.

🏫 It Was Never About the Buildings

LDCE didn’t have fancy labs. Sometimes the equipment didn’t work. There were no prep centers. No structured internships. No career services office.

What it had was far more powerful:

• 👥 Peers who treated each other like family

• 👨🏫 Professors who taught from conviction, not comfort

• 🔧 A student body that knew we had to create our own luck

When someone found a better textbook, they shared it. When someone didn’t understand a concept, others stayed back to explain it. We celebrated together. Failed together. Grew together.

I didn’t just learn engineering at LD. I learned how to learn, how to push through with little, and how to lead when there’s no playbook.

🧬 The Leadership DNA I Built at LDCE

Today, I advise and build global sales organizations. I’ve worked with some of the best-known enterprise software companies. I’ve scaled categories, built teams, and led leaders.

But the building blocks for that success didn’t start at Booth or in boardrooms. They started at LDCE — with values that were forged in dust and discipline.

Here’s what LD taught me:

• 🧠 Learn to learn – Because textbooks change, but curiosity endures.

• ❤️ Treat your peers like family – Trust isn’t a tactic. It’s a culture.

• 🔥 Excel in adversity – Because comfort never taught anyone anything meaningful.

• 🌉 Cross any chasm – No challenge is too big if you move together.

• 🌫️ Lead in ambiguity – We didn’t always know what we were doing—but we figured it out.

• 🤝 Build with empathy – It was never just about my grades. It was about who I brought along.

These are the traits that shaped me as a leader. And every one of them took root at LD.

🌍 An Engine of Talent, Quietly Changing the World

Over the last 75 years, LDCE has produced more than 50,000 engineers across:

• Civil

• Mechanical

• Chemical

• Computer Science

• Electronics

• Environmental ...and more.

26,000+ alumni are active on LinkedIn. Many have gone on to become:

• CEOs and founders

• Professors and policy advisors

• Product and technology leaders

• Artists, musicians, and social entrepreneurs

LDCE didn’t manufacture this magic — It activated something that already existed: A hunger to grow. A belief in possibility.

🔁 2023 and Beyond: Reigniting the Movement

This legacy isn’t being archived — it’s being amplified.

In January 2025, over 1,000 alumni from around the world returned to the LDCE campus for the Global Alumni Convention (GAC). It wasn’t just a reunion — it was a declaration of intent.

Together, we pledged ₹5.4 crore (~$650,000) toward:

• Upgrading labs

• Modernizing classrooms

• Investing in skill-building for the next generation

This was more than fundraising. It was a signal: LDCE’s alumni aren’t done building. We're just getting started.

From Silicon Valley to Surat, LDCE graduates are mentoring students, funding initiatives, and carrying forward the same spirit we lived as undergrads — scrappy, collaborative, and determined to leave things better than we found them.

In June 2024, we took that spirit global — hosting alumni meetups in:

• New Jersey

• Chicago

• Bay Area

Each event brought together diverse leaders who shared a common origin and a shared purpose: To give back, pay forward, and keep the culture alive.

And we’re not stopping.

On August 23, 2025, the movement continues with our next global gathering in Toronto, Canada — A city far from Ahmedabad, but full of the same energy and ambition that LDCE has always stood for.

🏛️ Still Standing. Still Serving.

LDCE is still standing — aging walls and all.

But those halls hold students writing code, building solar vehicles, exploring AI, and launching ventures. They still sit on steps and plan their futures. They still help each other. They still believe.

LDCE was never about prestige. It was always about purpose.

“LDCE taught us that you don’t need much to do a lot,” I often tell people. “You just need to start — and make sure others rise with you.”

📣 A Final Word: For the World to Hear

In a time where education is too often confused with price tags and rankings, LD Engineering College stands as a quiet, powerful counterpoint.

It proves that:

• 💡 Resourcefulness beats resources

• 🤝 Collaboration beats competition

• 🧭 Conviction beats credentials

LDCE’s real legacy isn’t in its buildings. It isn’t even in its alumni.

It’s in the belief that greatness can come from anywhere — And when it does, it doesn’t forget where it came from.