Ask NIDFW's own board member, Ravi Agrawal! Net Impact's Top Chapters of the Year Awards are given to the most outstanding chapters in the Net Impact global network. This year's recipients were announced at the 2010 Net Impact Conference on October 30. Chapters were evaluated on their management, chapter activities, support of their membership, impact on their school and community, and their support of the broader Net Impact network.

Submissions were reviewed by Net Impact staff and guest judges.
Awards were presented in six categories, and one of those was International Professional Chapter of the Year. That designation was earned by the Pune, India chapter for extensive work with its community on an important traffic optimization project.

The Pune chapter won the same award in 2009 and received the Rookie International Chapter of the Year in 2008! But wait, there's more! It also has been recognized as a Gold Chapter since its inception in 2008!

The Pune chapter has been a dynamo since the beginning, and its 2010 project was a major undertaking with very impressive results. And that is why we feel so fortunate to have one of its founding members and project leaders serving on the board of our new Net Impact DFW chapter! Ravikant Agrawal is a business consultant for Cognizant Technology Solutions, in addition to being a founding board member of NIDFW.

We asked Ravi if he would give us an overview of the project that helped the Pune chapter garner the 2010 Professional International Chapter of the Year Award, and he kindly agreed! You can download and read his overview by going here:

NIPune_HTO_Write_up_V1.doc

Congratulations to the Pune chapter - and to all of the Top Chapters! And congratulations to Ravi for your efforts while in Pune, and thank you for being part of the NIDFW leadership team! We look forward to learning a lot from you, and to being among the list of Top Chapter winners in the near future!

Also, mark your calendars now for the 19th Annual Net Impact 2011 Conference, which will be held Oct. 28 and 29 in Portland Oregon, one of our nation's greenest communities, at the LEED-certified Oregon Convention Center. Based on the increasing popularity of the annual Net Impact conference, the conference is transitioning from a university setting to be hosted at a convention facility.

The Net Impact Conference is the largest gathering in the world to bring together both students and professionals to explore the latest ideas, tools, and careers that use business to achieve social and environmental good. Designed to help members expand their vision of possibility in the world of business, the conference mobilizes professionals and aspiring changemakers for a wide array of keynotes, panels, case studies, simulations, and special events.