IIT Jodhpur awarded 516 degrees in various academic programs in its 8th Convocation
JODHPUR : Indian Institute of Technology Jodhpur celebrated its eighth Convocation on 12th November 2022 and awarded degrees to 516 graduating students in the presence of faculty, staff, students, parents and eminent personalities. This included 16 Ph.D., 58 MBA, 101 M.Sc., 123 M.Tech, 212 B.Tech, and 6 students from the first ever joint programme between IIT and AIIMS in the country, Master’s in Medical Technologies jointly awarded by AIIMS Jodhpur and IIT Jodhpur.
|
Stream |
Students |
|
PhD |
16 |
|
MBA |
58 |
|
MSc |
101 |
|
MTech |
123 |
|
BTech |
212 |
|
Master’s in Medical Technologies jointly awarded by AIIMS Jodhpur and IIT Jodhpur |
6 |
|
Total graduating students |
516 |
Shri Kris Gopalakrishnan, Chairman, Axilor Ventures, graced the event as the Chief Guest, along with Dr. Ashish Lele, Director, CSIR=National Chemical Laboratory, Pune, as the Guest of Honor.
Presenting the Convocation Report, Prof. Santanu Chaudhury, Director, IIT Jodhpur, said, “Aligned with the spirit of National Education Policy 2020, IIT Jodhpur is committed to offer a unique student focused educational experience which encourages collaborative and exploratory learning along with independent thinking. The Institute emphasizes science-based technology education with ample opportunities for the students to get engaged in solving real-life problems with interdisciplinary teams as part of curricular requirements. We focus on the holistic development of students and have created strong internal systems for supporting diverse student cohorts in academic, industrial, and social domains both inside and outside the formal academic interactions of the classroom.”
In continuation with the rapid growth in academic programmes along with the significant development and improvement in the infrastructural facility, the Director highlighted that the student strength at IIT Jodhpur has also increased from 3329 to 4065 admitted in 79 different undergraduate and postgraduate programmes.
Prof. Chaudhury in his speech highlighted the unique aspects of IIT Jodhpur’s curriculum. He said, “IIT Jodhpur has specialized, interdisciplinary, multidisciplinary, and transdisciplinary courses with a flexible curriculum. Aligning with the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, the technology focused and uniquely tailored curriculum of the Institute will help our graduating class in crossing the barrier of traditional paths and excel at the interplay of science and technology. In addition, IIT Jodhpur’s curriculum also provides an opportunity for its students to pursue an entrepreneurial path leading to science-based engineering innovations, or convert their program into a dual-degree program with specialization.”
IIT Jodhpur in this year has set up the School of Liberal Arts to facilitate the growth of liberal arts in the IIT ecosystem and enable closer interaction between technology and humanities and social sciences.
Some newly introduced interdisciplinary programs at IIT Jodhpur this year include:
· M. Tech in Robotics and Mobility
· M. Tech in Augmented and Virtual Reality
· M. Tech in Intelligent Communication Systems
· M. Tech. in CPS and MS in Digital Forensics and Cybersecurity (with University of Albany)
· M. Tech. in AI and MS in Digital Forensics and Cybersecurity (with University of Albany)
· New four-year BS programs in Chemistry and Physics with specialization
Prof. Chaudhury also highlighted the niche academic initiatives implemented by IIT Jodhpur this year. This includes:
Centre of Excellence on Arts and Digital Immersion – The School of Liberal Arts at IIT Jodhpur has launched a CoE on Art and Digital Immersion (ADI) for exploring intersections between digital technologies and different forms of art. The Centre would explore the intersection of art and digital technology and bring academics, performers, and researchers belonging to diverse fields together to pursue the common objective of promoting art and artists, both local and global.
Unique Post-doctoral Fellowship scheme for young aspirants belonging to SC/ST/NCL/OBC/ EWS categories – IIT Jodhpur has instituted a unique fellowship scheme in remembrance of Prof. Meghnad Saha – an eminent astrophysicist – to provide an option to young Ph.D.’s belonging to SC /ST/ NCL-OBC/EWS categories to have rich post-doctoral research and teaching experience at IIT Jodhpur.
Prof. Chaudhury also briefed on various collaborative interdisciplinary research initiatives being taken by the Institute:
Establishment of DRDO-Industry-Academia Centre of Excellence IIT Jodhpur (DIA-CoE IIT Jodhpur) – The centre will carry out directed research in the verticals including, Desert Warfare Technologies, Futuristic Omni Mobility Systems, and AI for Information and Wargaming Technologies.
AIOT Fab Lab – A part of the AIOT Innovation hub at IIT Jodhpur, AIOT Fab Lab will address all aspects of AIOT technology in a comprehensive fashion which include Sensors; IoT; Photonics & Applications; AI; 5G and IoT; Edge Computing, and Resource constrained AI.
AYURTech – A first-of-its-kind initiative in the precision health and medicine space, AYURTech would combine Electronics, Digital health and AI and multi-omics approaches for realizing ‘Evidence based Ayurveda’ solutions in a transdisciplinary framework.
Deep-Tech Biodesign Centre for Medical Technology – With an active involvement of the Technology Innovation and Startup Centre (TISC)- IIT Jodhpur, this center will create a platform for its participants to translate their research into a commercially viable product.
IITJ – Jal Jeevan Mission Centre for Sustainable Drinking Water – Inaugurated by Hon’ble Union Minister of Jal Shakti, Shri Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, IITJ-JJM Centre of Sustainable Drinking Water has a mandate of capacity building, outreach, research and education (CORE) in the thematic area of Sustainable Drinking Water. Considering water quality is a major issue in many rural and remote areas of Rajasthan, this centre is working towards developing new and innovative solutions to address this challenge.
MeITY Centre for Advanced Security Technology Development in Cyber Physical Systems – In collaboration with Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, IIT Jodhpur has established the Centre for Advanced Security Technology Development in Cyber Physical Systems to develop technologies in three major areas including, Vehicular traffic and vehicular networks with a focus on the security of inter- and intra- vehicular communications; Multi-agent systems with a focus on swarms of robots, UAV, and Water distribution networks.
Highlighting the Innovation Ecosystem of IIT Jodhpur, Prof. Chaudhury said that IIT Jodhpur has created an innovation ecosystem that serves multiple stakeholders from students to start-ups as below:
IITJ TISC (Technology Innovation and Startup Centre) – With a mandate to incubate Deep-Tech startups along with the aim of developing a vibrant entrepreneurship ecosystem in the institute and the larger region in the state of Rajasthan.
IIT Jodhpur Tech Park – This mini version of the Technology Park at the Innovation Centre of IIT Jodhpur envisages the creation of a thriving techno-entrepreneurial ecosystem. This is expected to boost the creation of new age technology ventures and directly contribute to the capacity building for emerging industries.
Jodhpur City Knowledge and Innovation Foundation (JCKIF) – JCKIF aims to provide a necessary platform to create synergy between all the stakeholders to make use of available knowledge as well as to develop advanced technologies, creative skills, state of the art infrastructure, and innovative environment in an organized manner so as to ensure sustainable and systematic development of the city of Jodhpur. From 24th to 26th September 2022, JCKIF in collaboration with IIT Jodhpur organised UDBHAAS – JAL AUR JEEWAN, to explore opportunities in digital craft that could be leveraged to provide livelihood to local artisans and promote handicrafts and handlooms.
iHub Drishti – iHub Drishti is a section 8 company, established under National Mission on Interdisciplinary Cyber-Physical System (NM-ICPS) in 2020. iHub Drishti is the point of convergence between industry and academic community in the country for computer vision (CV), augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR).
Prof. Chaudhury also elaborated on the sustainability Initiatives taken by the institute in the last one year such as:
Ø Installation of Eleven water purification units based on membrane assisted sorption process participation in the rural schools of Jodhpur districts providing clean drinking water through Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) as a part of Scientific Social Responsibility (SSR).
Ø Signing of Joint Declaration of Interest between JCKIF, IIT Jodhpur & Fraunhofer IGB, to initiate joint research and development projects in the field of Advanced Wastewater Treatment.
Ø MoU with Military Station Jodhpur for ‘Sewage Water Management at Jodhpur Military Station’.
Ø Implemented a set of interventions to restore the natural ecology of habitats in six hectares of land inside IIT Jodhpur campus.
Prof. Chaudhary also shared key statistics from the Placement Season 2021 – 22 in his report:
Ø 150+ companies participated in Internship and Placement.
Ø Total number of students placed – 344 (B.Tech. – 172, Students, M.Tech.- 88 Students, M.Sc.- 29 student, MBA- 55)
Ø B.Tech. placement percentage – 97%, M.Tech. – 75%, M.Sc. -52%, MBA- 100%
Congratulating the graduating students, Prof. R. Chidambaram, Chairman, Board of Governors, IIT Jodhpur, said, “It is so energizing and invigorating to see the bright young faces as they go forward in life to contribute to India in development and various areas. We shall have a vision to make India a knowledge economy, not just a developed country. On this, our IITs can play an important role by leading this vision and making it a reality.”
Further Prof. Chidambaram said, “We must focus on taking high-risk, frontline projects. Even if there is a chance of failure, it will teach us something new to succeed in the future.”
Delivering the Chief Guest Address, Shri Kris Gopalakrishnan, Chairman of Axilor Ventures, said, “I congratulate all the graduating students and their families, on this occasion. Resilience is a trait that each one of us has to build for all aspects of life. I believe Covid has increased our faith in Science and Technology and India can be the laboratory of the world to create new developmental models. All the young engineers should Identify companies that are working to create disruptive technologies or business models and work with them, or better start these businesses to create a better India. This is what I would call identifying large waves and riding these waves. I wish all of you the very best for your future.”
Congratulating the graduating students, Guest of Honor, Dr. Ashish Lele, Director, CSIR – National Chemical Laboratory, Pune, said, “Today you will be armed with new wings which will enable you to take your first flight in the real world. Your education gives you the power to seize many wonderful opportunities that await you. Actively seek as many learning opportunities as possible, it will help you in the strong foundation of your career. Seek a good teacher who can shape your calibre and when the right time comes, make a wise decision between the right choice and the easy choice. I wish the very best to all the graduating students and I believe you all will ascend the limitless ladder of excellence.”