Padma Bhushan Dr Koppillil Radhakrishnan Calls Upon Ahmedabad University’s Class of 2022 to Leave a Legacy Behind and Make a Difference to Society
439 students celebrated a major milestone in their educational journeys as they graduated from Ahmedabad University receiving degrees at its 12th Annual Convocation on December 3, 2022. 205 students from the Amrut Mody School of Management, 27 students from the School of Arts and Sciences, and 207 students from the School of Engineering and Applied Science were recognised at the ceremony. The total count of graduating students also included four doctoral students.
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Dr Koppillil Radhakrishnan
Presiding over the 12th Annual Convocation, Mr. Sudhir Mehta drew from his personal experience of relaunching their business as Torrent Pharma alongside his father, while addressing the graduating class. He said, “When I was in my second year of graduation, my father said that I needed to experience everything. I was forced to hit the ground running. I was never an expert at anything but I realised that there is no substitute for hard work. One needs to learn, and if you have made a mistake, you need to learn from your past mistakes and move on, that is the philosophy. If you remain committed to an idea deeply for a long enough duration, if you are sincere about your purpose, and you work hard then nothing can ever stop you from achieving your goals. And if your goals include doing something that is good for the society then you will always live a very meaningful life.”
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Graduating students
Addressing the students, the University’s Vice Chancellor and Chairman, Board of Management, Professor Pankaj Chandra, said, “At Ahmedabad University, we have been pursuing three goals – to reimagine the classroom and to redefine how students should learn; to address some of the most challenging questions and problems of our times in our research; and to build responsible leaders and citizens of tomorrow – those who are concerned and are engaged. The University is now poised for a deeper engagement with challenges of the society as its foundation as a 21st century institution gets firmed up.”
Urging the graduating class to impact society through their learnings at the University, Professor Chandra said, “Let me say three things to you: One: You are privileged to be here today as you are equipped with the best of traditions of deep learning. You must make your education count. Believe in yourself and your goodness and you will do wise things. Second: Be grateful for what you have as many have worked very hard to help you reach where you are. Remember that your welfare lies in the welfare of others. Do things that will help make others better because others have done that for you. And Three: Take your chances and you will increase your likelihood of finding interesting moments and a meaningful life-path for yourself.”
The chief guest at this year’s convocation was internationally renowned technology leader, former Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) Chairman Dr Koppillil Radhakrishnan. Congratulating the students on the milestone they had achieved, he exhorted them to look beyond the goal accomplished, to the future it promised. Dr Radhakrishnan said, “As you look forward to that future, I wish you to consider the option of taking action on the key technical, social and environmental issues that our world is facing today. Exactly what you want to do and where you want to see yourself is really up to you and your passion in life but we all need to be looking for better ways and means of realising an improved living environment for humankind while we walk on our way to personal growth. Particularly, we make a living by what we earn; we make a life by what we contribute.”
Speaking about the shift from technological transformation to technological disruptions and the significance of these innovative disruptions in generating intellectual property for India, Dr Radhakrishnan added, “If we have to judge by the developments in the last five years, the future promises an accelerated pace that we have never seen and envisaged before. It is time to contemplate at this juncture whether we should continue on a path of incremental innovation and improvement or aim for a paradigm shift and follow the path of disruptive innovation. The confluence of ‘Big Science’ and ‘Deep Tech’ is becoming increasingly relevant to solve the most formidable societal problems. Also, it is noteworthy that several Indian brains lead disruptive innovation elsewhere in the world, and many more Indian brains continue to support from the off-shore development centres located in India. Concerted efforts are essential to maximally harness this talent to generate intellectual property for India.”