2,267 degrees awarded during the 55th Convocation of IIT Madras
Chennai: A total of 2,267 degrees were awarded during the 55th Convocation of the Indian Institute of Technology Madras, held today, 20th July 2018. The Convocation was held in the presence of Dr. Rajiv Kumar, Vice Chairman, NITI Aayog, who graced the occasion as Chief Guest.
Addressing the graduands, Dr. Rajiv Kumar said, “Today, as you leave the hallowed halls of IIT-Madras, you not only have the opportunity to be part of India’s future development trajectory but also have a responsibility to shape a New India. Development must become a mass movement in order for it to be successful. Each and every one of you must recognize your role in this movement. You can be the critical feedback loop that enforces accountability and ensures that policymaking echoes the realities on the ground”.
Further Dr. Rajiv Kumar added, “India cannot adopt a foreign and path beaten model of capitalist development. Our model will necessarily have to be inclusive not only to ensure the welfare of all our people, but also to take care of our environment and our natural endowments. All those present here, especially those, embarking on their life’s journeys, have the capability and drive to achieve this.”
Dr. Pawan Goenka, Chairman, Board of Governors, IIT Madras and Managing Director, Mahindra and Mahindra, presided over the Convocation.
Speaking on the occasion, Dr. Pawan Goenka said, “Democratization of technology is perhaps the biggest disruption happening in modern times and the startups incubated by fresh graduates like you and facilitated by establishments like IIT Madras Research Park, are enablers of this disruption. Technology is the backbone of inclusive growth across industries and socio-economic strata.”
Further, Dr. Pawan Goenka added, “Modern India needs robust, accessible and innovative technology solutions, to improve the quality of life and be on par with global standards, and in some cases even define global benchmarks.”
Dr. Rajiv Kumar presented prizes to the students while Prof. Bhaskar Ramamurthi, Director, IIT Madras, awarded degrees to the graduating students. A total of 2,267 degrees were awarded this year. 29 B.Tech Honours, 403 B.Tech, 342 M.Tech, 18 Dual-Degree (B.Tech Honours & M.Tech), 1 Dual-Degree (B.S.(Honours) and M.S).,329 Degree(B.Tech/M.Tech)., 26 Dual Degree(B.S&M.S)., 140 M.Sc., 51 M.B.A., 35 M.A., 15 P.G Diploma in Metro Rail Technology and Management., 182 M.S., 244 PhD., 31 Dual Degree (M.S/Ph.D)., 6 Dual-Degree (M.Tech/Ph.D)., 3 Joint Dual Degree.
Presenting a report on the Institute’s performance in the last academic year, Prof. Bhaskar Ramamurthi, Director, IIT Madras, said, “IIT Madras has not only sustained the number-one ranking among Engineering Institutes in the NIRF for the third year in a row since inception, but also retained its 2nd position for overall performance among all universities in India. I congratulate the students, faculty and staff of our Institute for maintaining high standards and raising the bar ever higher each year.”
Speaking about the academic achievements, he said, “In a move to permit our undergraduates to diversify into new areas of their choice, six new upgrade paths to an M.Tech degree in the areas of Advanced Materials and Nano Technology, Biomedical Engineering, Computational Engineering, Data Science, Energy Systems and Robotics have been launched beginning July 2018. The Web-Based Live Interactive (WLI) M.Tech. programmes, that enable learning from the workplace without losing any of the benefits of face-to-face interaction, are a major hit and we have seven such programmes running already.”
During the year 2017-18, IIT Madras has signed 36 MoUs with eminent international universities worldwide to facilitate student exchanges and faculty collaborations, taking the total number of active MoUs to 243, Joint Doctoral Programmes (JDPs) to 18 and Joint Supervision Programs to 50.
“Our intensifying collaborations with international universities have resulted in the formalization of 4 new Joint Doctorate Programs (JDP) with National Chiao Tung University in Taiwan, Ecole Centrale De Nantes in France, Heidelberg University in Germany, and Nanyang Technological University in Singapore. The JDP with Nanyang Technological University was inked in the presence of the Hon’ble Prime Minister during his visit to NTU in early June,” informed Prof. Ramamurthi.
Among students graduating this year we had 1 foreign national student, from M Tech who was awarded the degree. As is the custom of IIT Madras, the new graduates took their pledge after receiving their degree. The entire function was web-cast live to facilitate viewing by parents, relatives, friends of students and alumni across the globe. A video recording of the events will be available on the IIT Madras website shortly.