140 students get degrees at IIT Mandi convocation

MANDI: The Indian Institute of Technology IIT Mandi celebrated its fourth convocation ceremony with fervor here today in which 140 meritorious students of different academics were conferred degrees

Updated At : 05:54 AM Oct 11, 2016 IST

Director TA Gonsalves felicitates students during the convocation ceremony at IIT, Kamand, in Mandi on Monday. Photo: Jai Kumar

Tribune News Service

Mandi, October 10

The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Mandi, celebrated its fourth convocation ceremony with fervor here today in which 140 meritorious students of different academics were conferred degrees.

Seven PhD scholars, 5 Master Science (by research) students, 3 M Tech, 10 M Sc (Chemistry) and 115 B Tech students were awarded degree.

Rohit Patiyal was awarded the President of India gold medal for outstanding academic performance from among the B Tech graduating batch. He was also awarded the Institute Silver Medal for outstanding academic performance from among the students graduating in B Tech Computer Science and Engineering.

Prateek Gauba was awarded Director’s Gold Medal for all around excellence in academics and extra-curricular activities. Amogh Almadi received the Institute Silver Medal for top performance in Mechanical Engineering from among the students graduating in B Tech.

Professor Joachim Holtz, Emeritus professor Wuppertal University, Germany, was the Chief Guest. He exhorted students to go ahead and work hard in their respective fields.

Recalling his past he said, “When I became a Professor in IIT Madras in 1969, there was no laboratory facilities for research work but today I am happy to see that the India has made rapid progress.

“I have had many opportunities to watch the growth of academic institutes and industries over a time span of 56 years. As a result, I see that the students of IIT Mandi are now being trained for a successful professional career in keeping with the needs of the Indian industry”, he remarked.

Former chairman, Board of Governors, IIT Mandi M Natarajan was the ‘Guest of Honour’. He said that established in 2009, IIT Mandi remained the torch-bearer in the advancement of knowledge in science and technology in this enchanting Himalayan landscape. In a span of seven years, the institution has grown in strength, accommodating close to 1,000 students.

“I wish to emphasize on the importance of understanding, global changes in environment, energy and enterprise and the impact of these on our development efforts and for the reasons of business with the rest of the world”, he added.

Director IIT Mandi Timothy A Gonsalves dwelt on the successful journey of the institution and said “As per Nature Index (a top international journal), IIT Mandi is ranked sixth among all IITs based on total number of publications during 2015-16. Based on publications per faculty, the rank of IIT Mandi is third, following IIT Bombay and IIT Kanpur”, he added.