IIT-Kanpur holds first ever virtual convocation
Kanpur: The Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur (IIT-K) today held its 53rd convocation with 2008 undergraduate, postgraduate and doctoral students receiving their degrees at its first ever Virtual E-Convocation. Around100 medals were also handed over at the convocation conducted online without the students being physically present due to precautionary social distancing measures as part of the COVID-19 restrictions. The Chief Guest for this unique virtual convocation was Dr. Arvind Krishna, Chief Executive Officer, IBM and alumnus of IIT-K. The convocation was presided over by Dr. Radhakrishnan K Koppillil, Chairman of the Board of Governors, IIT-K.
“A convocation comes as a milestone in the educational journey of every student. It is a memorable occasion for the students that celebrates their achievements and hard work. It is also a time when the teachers can see the fruits of their labour. Therefore, it was important to hold the convocation despite the COVID situation, but to ensure the safety of the students, it was decided to hold the convocation virtually and avoid a large gathering on the campus. This is for the first time that the convocation is being held online and we are overwhelmed by the fantastic response from the students as well as faculty members and others who logged in from their respective homes across the country”, said Prof. Abhay Karandikar, Director, IIT-K.
Today’s convocation saw 931 students of the Bachelor’s and Bachelor’s-Master’s Dual Degree programmes receiving their degrees. 204 students graduated with Distinction (CPI of 8.5 and above). The degrees and the medals will be posted to all the students at their respective postal addresses.
This year, for the first time, the award for Outstanding PhD Thesis across all departments and interdisciplinary programs were conferred. A total of 28 PhD gradauates were awarded with the Outstanding PhD Thesis award. Raghav Garg was awarded with the President’s Gold Medal for 2020 for the Best Academic Performance among the graduating students of all disciplines among all the 4-year/5-year undergraduate programmes. Soumyadeep Datta bagged the Director’s Gold Medal for 2020 for Outstanding All-Round Achievement and Leadership among all students graduating in the 5-year undergraduate programmes. Ayushi Bansal was awarded with the Director’s Gold Medal for 2020 for Outstanding All-Round Achievement and Leadership among all students graduating in the 4-year undergraduate programmes and Siddhartha Srivastava was awarded the Ratan Swarup Memorial Prize for 2020 for the Best All-Rounder among all students graduating in 4-year/5-year undergraduate programmes.
Two members of the faculty were also among the award winners. Prof. Arijit Ganguly of the Department of Mathematics and Statistics was bestowed the Sushila and Kantilal Mehta Award for 2020 for motivating and encouraging students to pursue pure mathematics through his teaching and research, and Prof. Mohit Subhash Law of the Department of Mechanical Engineering won the Gopal Das Bhandari Memorial Distinguished Teacher Award for 2020 as an Outstanding Teacher chosen by the graduating batch of the undergraduate students.