A total of 28 international students (M. Tech. 23; PhD-04; and MS Research-01) also received their degrees at the convocation (File Photo)
The graduating students included 481 PhD students, which is a 35 per cent increase from last year and also an all-time high number. Of the total PhD graduates this year, 42 per cent are women, IIT Delhi said
IIT Delhi held its 55th annual convocation on August 10 which saw 2656 students graduating from the institute. Out of the total students who graduated, 25 per cent were women. It also included 481 PhD graduates, which is a 35 per cent increase from last year and also an all-time high number. Of the total PhD graduates this year, 42 per cent are women, the IIT said in an official press release.
B.Tech degree awardee Kaveesh Kumar, who is less than 20 years old, was the youngest student to graduate this year, 63-year-old PhD awardee Shri Sunil Gulati was the oldest. He was a PhD student in the Management Studies department. This year also marked IIT Delhi’s first graduates in two UG programmes — B.Tech. in Materials Engineering and B.Tech. in Engineering and Computational Mechanics, and four PG programmes, that is, M.Tech. in Machine Intelligence and Data Science, M.Tech. in Biomolecular and Bioprocess Engineering, M.S.(R) in Transportation Safety and Injury Prevention, and M.S.(R) in Automotive Research and Tribology.
A total of 28 international students (M. Tech. 23; PhD-04; and MS Research-01) also received their degrees at the convocation. This included four students from Sudan and Ethiopia, three from Tanzania and Uganda, two from Bangladesh and Burkina Faso, and one each from various other countries such as the USA and Venezuela, the institute added.
Hari S. Bhartia, Founder and Co-Chairman, Jubilant Bhartia Group, and an IIT Delhi alumnus of the 1979 batch (B.Tech. Chemical Engineering), was the Chief Guest. “Entrepreneurship and innovation ecosystem in India has evolved from being a nascent and limited to becoming one of the most dynamic and rapidly growing in the world. I encourage you to embrace entrepreneurship spirit, mind set of innovation. The world requires individuals who can connect all the dots through creative thinking and decisive action. Don’t be afraid to take risk. Embrace uncertainties that come your way. The world is changing rapidly and ability to learn and adapt will be your greatest asset,” he said while addressing the convocation.
Addressing the graduating students, Harish Salve, Chairperson, BoG, IIT Delhi, said, “Being here today with those who will shape not just the future of one-fourth of mankind, which lives in our part of the world, just three percent of land but one-fourth of mankind, but you will be shaping in some way or other the future of mankind itself. You’re bringing your intellectual prowess to this world. And if the institute can list so many firsts, remember that it is you and your forebears who have given it this intellectual power. You are one of those unusual people who give as you receive.
Salve added, “You are the blessed lot. One percent of those who aspire to come here make it. You are blessed with minds, which have enabled you to come here. You have to lead the trajectory. You have to lead to create technologies because we don’t have time. India is now impatient, and the only way we can keep peace in society is by leap-frogging growth. And leap-frogging growth has to come on the shoulders of technology.”
Prof. Rangan Banerjee, Director, IIT Delhi told the graduating students, “As you step out of your comfort zone of the hostels, of the campus, and go out into the real world – the real world has a lot of challenges than opportunities. Please take up all that you have learned, all the skills, techniques and knowledge, approaches, and use them to resolve problems that you face. Approach every new situation with humility and a willingness to learn. Learn to work in teams.”
