Once again, on the breezy day of July 27, it was that time of the year when frenzy and nostalgia fill the air. On the Eighth Convocation at IITGN, degrees were conferred to a total of 394 students, which included 145 BTech, two BTech-MTech Dual Degree, one BTech-MSc Dual Degree, 105 MTech, 86 MSc, 21 MA, 27 PhD and seven PGDIIT students. In addition, 53 students were awarded medals and awards, including 25 gold, 13 silver and 15 medallion for excellence in various categories viz. academics, outstanding research, overall performance, innovation, leadership, social service, sports and so on.
Dr Swati Piramal, vice chairperson of Piramal Group and director of Piramal Enterprises and Piramal Foundation, was the chief guest on the occasion.
Delivering the convocation speech, Dr Piramal referred to ancient stories of Indian culture and the 3,000-year-old Vedic texts that give three paths to success in life – Gyana, Karma and Bhakti (knowledge, action and care) – to overcome doubts and defeatist ideas.
She said, “Public policy, science and innovation can change lives and can create a huge impact. Science and innovation must be used to tackle national challenges of poverty and health.” She also advised students to be an outward-looking person and never cease learning new things in life. She concluded by reciting a few lines by Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore.
Beginning his speech, Prof Amit Prashant, officiating director of IITGN, thanked Prof Sudhir K Jain for having completed his very successful decade-long tenure as the institute’s founding director, for his lofty vision and exceptional leadership.
Professor Prashant congratulated the graduating students and medal winners and highlighted key initiatives and programmes by IITGN during the academic year 2018-19 such as establishment of Maker Bhavan, second edition of Invent@IITGN, Dual Major BTech Programme, scaling up of institute’s non-degree programs, steps to expand the R&D infrastructure, interdisciplinary centres at IITGN, ongoing construction projects, IIEC’s Start-up Mentor Clinics as well as achievements by the faculty and students.
It is important to have a dream and a higher purpose – the higher purpose drives one towards excellence. We must always have an impossible dream. A dream which seems impossible but with great effort and a noble cause, it comes within your grasp.
Dr Swati Piramal
Congratulating the students and their parents for all the hard work, patience and sacrifices, Professor Prashant also advised students, “No matter where you are and whatever you do, continue to dream and dream big! But never forget the two ‘mantras’: Life’s battles are not necessarily won by the person who is the stronger or faster or cleverer, but by the person who thinks and has the will to win. Each failure has a new lesson in it that you need to learn – keep your mind open and be willing to be taught.”
“Know your true strengths and capabilities so that you can focus on them to get the best. Believe in Yourself and Take Charge of your Life”, he concluded.
Forty-three per cent (43%) BTech students graduating this year have received international exposure in the form of study-abroad programmes, summer internships or participation in international conferences. Nearly, 45 students from this year’s graduating batch have opted to pursue higher studies. They will be pursuing MS, MTech, dual-degree masters programmes, MBA or PhD studies in universities or at institutes such as University of Oxford, University of Edinburgh, Purdue University, University of Washington, University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign, Technische Universität Vienna, IIM Bangalore, IITs, and so on.
A total 103 companies have shown interest to participate in IITGN campus recruitment this year. Out of total BTech students who had sought placements, 75 per cent have been recruited. Tata Consultancy Services recruited 10 students. Indian Oil Corporation Ltd and L&T Construction recruited eight students each. Goldman Sachs offered the maximum package to BTech students while Nutanix offered the maximum package to MTech students.
The institute has received generous financial support in the form of philanthropic funds from numerous well-wishers of IITGN in India and overseas. This year, the institute received over ₹14 crore in donations. IITGN’s alumni are stepping up to take leadership in supporting the institute. Six new ₹1-lakh-each per-year scholarships have been recently instituted by the alumni. In addition, 80 per cent of the 394 graduating students this year have pledged donations in the form of batch gift.
Prof Amit Prashant
