IIT Roorkee Organizes Annual Convocation 2021

Roorkee : Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Roorkee organized its 21st Annual Convocation on 11th September 2021 in online mode. The ceremony commenced with “Vedic Mantrochhar” and a rendition of ‘Kulgeet’ (Institute song) by the students. A total of 1804 degrees were awarded this year, comprising 912 undergraduate, 685 post graduate and 207 doctoral degrees.

Prof. Pradeep K. Khosla, Chancellor, University of California San Diego was the Chief Guest. As Chancellor, Prof. Khosla serves as the CEO of the UC San Diego campus of 40,000 students, and a number of Nobel Laureates. He is internationally known for his ground-breaking contributions in embedded software, intelligent robot systems, and cybersecurity. Shri B V R Mohan Reddy, Chairman, Board of Governors, IIT Roorkee presided over the function. Prof. Ajit K. Chaturvedi, Director, IIT Roorkee, members of the Board of Governors and Senate, faculty members, staff, parents of degree recipients, members of the press and other dignitaries graced the event or watched it online.

Even during the on-going challenging time posed by the Covid-19 outbreak, IIT Roorkee continued to function effectively, and enabled the students to complete their courses. For the students receiving their degrees and certificates of excellence having overcome unprecedented hardships and challenges, the event carried special significance.

On the occasion, Prof. Ajit K Chaturvedi, Director, IIT Roorkee, welcomed the Chief Guest, Chairman, Board of Governors; distinguished guests; members of the Board of Governors and Senate; members of the faculty and staff; parents of degree recipients; degree recipients; students; representatives of the media; and distinguished guests, saying, “On behalf of the IIT Roorkee fraternity, and on my own behalf, I extend a very warm welcome to you all to the 21st Annual Convocation of the Institute”.

He further said, “In view of the prevailing pandemic, this year also we are organizing our Convocation in a virtual mode. It is our great pleasure that we have an internationally renowned academic, Prof. Pradeep Khosla, as our Chief Guest on this occasion. In today’s Convocation, degrees will be conferred to 1804 students, out of which 912 are UG, 685 are M.Tech, M.Arch, MBA, MURP, MSc and 207 are PhDs. I convey my heartiest congratulations and good wishes to all the degree recipients and award winners. I hope that the years you have spent at IIT Roorkee will remain with you as a treasured memory. The lessons you learnt, the friendships you made, and the mentorship you received will guide you to future accomplishments and bring out the best in you. The purpose of education is not only about receiving academic degrees, it is important to groom your intellect, to evolve as a proud and a responsible citizen, and emerge as good professionals, researchers, entrepreneurs, academics etc. In the years to come, the Institute will look forward to every opportunity to welcome you to the campus as our alumni. You are a proud member of IIT Roorkee fraternity and will remain so forever.”

Chief guest at the event, Prof. Pradeep K. Khosla, Chancellor, University of California San Diego, said, “It (IIT Roorkee) has a long history of preparing promising young minds to be leaders in whatever path they choose to pursue and of inspiring students to enhance the human condition to benefit all of society.  I am always so very proud of graduates the world over, but this year especially so. You (graduates) have proven not only that you can adapt, but also that you can thrive under extenuating circumstances”

Shri B V R Mohan Reddy, Chairman, Board of Governors, emphasized the power of the human will and resilience over unsurmountable challenges. He said, “We now live in a new normal. While the Covid-19 pandemic has confronted humanity with unprecedented hardships, it has also proved that through will and resilience, we can overcome any challenge, no matter how insuperable it may seem. We have reinvented ourselves and everything around us in the last eighteen months. I take this opportunity to salute the indomitable human spirit and express my gratitude to all frontline warriors.” He welcomed Prof. Khosla saying. “We are honored to have with us Prof. Khosla who is one of the most accomplished academics and institution builders. Under his leadership, UC San Diego significantly expanded college access and affordability for the underserved population”. Shri Reddy then talked about the notable achievements of IIT Roorkee.

He further added, “IIT Roorkee continues to be in the top 10 list of engineering institutions as per NIRF 2021 rankings. The institute now has over 500 academic staff and 8000 students in 23 academic departments. I take great pride in sharing that IIT Roorkee is one of the largest technical institutes in India. We made great progress in creating interdisciplinary programs. We have launched several courses that are critical to engineering education in the 21^st century. These are programs in Artificial Intelligence, Data Sciences, Industrial Design, Micro-electronics and VLSI.”

The event concluded with the National Anthem.

Total 125 medals (including 43 gold), and cash prizes worth Rs. 12.45 lakh were distributed among 156 students. Two new Department Gold Medals – Kapil Garg Department Gold Medal and G M Singhvi Department Gold Medal – were instituted by donors. There were 156 awardees (40 female, 116 male). 101 awardees were UG students and 55 awardees are PG students (including 5 Ph.D. students). Of total 125 awards, 83 were for academic performance, 26 for project and dissertation work (including best project award), 5 for Ph.D. theses, 8 for overall performance, 1 for social service (The President of India Dr. Shankar Dayal Sharma Gold Medal),  1 for community service (Kedar Nath Agarwala, I.S.E. Memorial Trophy and Cash Award ), and 1 for youth leadership (Dr. Jai Krishna .Gold Medal).

Following are the top 6 medals which were announced on the basis of academic performance of students under various programs: