IIIT Hyderabad celebrates 22nd convocation
IIITH conducted its 22nd convocation and graduated 519 students and a record number of 25 PhDs and 195 Masters with a thesis.
Over 37.5% of today’s graduates – 195 out of 519 – earned their degree based on a high-quality thesis. Graduates of IIITH’s Dual-Degree, Master of Science and Ph.D programmes continue to make their mark in top universities and product groups globally.
Pratyanshu Pandey, B.Tech Computer Science and Engineering (CSE) was awarded the IIITH gold medal in recognition of his outstanding academic performance. Kandala Savitha Viswanadh (Dual Degree in ECE) was awarded Best All-rounder for his notable contributions to academics, extracurricular activities and IIITH services.
A total number of 131 companies registered for placements; 95 companies conducted interviews.
Social reformer and co-recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize in 2014, Mr Kailash Satyarthi was the convocation speaker. Delivering his convocation address Mr Kailash Satyarthi asked his audience to globalise compassion. “When we globalise everything, it is also the time for globalising compassion”, he said.
“Convocation is the day to remember not because you have graduated, but also to thank all those who brought you here—your parents, teachers, relatives, plumbers and carpenters, and all those involved in your life. It is the day to remember all of them”, he told the students.
“When you are stepping out of the college now and entering into a competitive world, leave all your inhibitions, worries, and fears and step into the world with confidence”, Mr Satyarthi added.
“Don’t chase packages, go beyond packages”, Mr Kailash Satyarthi advised students.
Engineers mean problem solvers he said, He gave four pillars of humanity namely people, planet, prosperity and peace. “Use technology to save the planet. Inner peace is essential,” he added.
Mental health is ravaging society. It is not an illness. It is growing like wildfire. WHO (World Health Organisation) says about one trillion US dollars is spent on it. 89 million die of depression, he said. If half of that is spent on education, healthcare and other related areas we would not reach such a mental health condition, he said.
I strongly advocate globalising compassion. We need compassionate people from all walks of life. We need compassionate political leaders.
Commending the graduating students, Prof. P J Narayanan, Director, IIITH said, “The graduating students of 2023 are joining the professional world formally today, out to chart their own paths in this increasingly competitive and complicated world. I am confident you possess highly useful skills in your area and immense creativity to apply those to different problems. Above all, I urge you to travel your life’s journey with deep concern and caring toward the society around you. We expect the best from you in the coming years and are confident you will exceed our expectations.”
Turing award winner Prof. Raj Reddy, Chairman, Governing Council of IIIT Hyderabad admitted students to their degrees and congratulated the graduating students.
The Convocation is viewable at https://youtube.com/live/9lmEM31pkow?feature=share
Highlights of the academic year
– The graduating batch consists of 519 students (B.Tech – 81; B.Tech Honours – 72; Dual Degree – 102; Master of Science by Research – 68; M.Tech – 131; Ph.D. – 25 and MSIT – 40).
– Nine new regular faculty members joined IIITH in the past year, and seven existing faculty were promoted. Several subject matter experts from the industry are engaged with teaching and research at the institute. We have 14 of them today.
– The team of faculty, research students, research staff, and undergraduate students produced about 595 papers in the top journals and conferences in the calendar year 2022. In all, 25 of our Ph.D. students have external competitive fellowships from TCS, IHub Data, Govt, IIT Palakad, etc. and several more students qualified for CSIR and UGC grants.
– IIITH’s executive education programs are being delivered in a hybrid model and have produced over 4,000 professionals in about four years. Currently, the 21st batch of the Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning (AI&ML) program; Blockchain and Distributed Ledger Technologies (currently 8th batch) in collaboration with Talent Sprint are in place. This joint initiative was rated as one of the best in the country, being recommended by Nasscom. A similar program in Software Engineering for Data Science (currently 5th batch) has also seen much traction in the past year.
– The alumni have raised about INR 2.2 crore and provided financial assistance to deserving students on a pay-forward model. Last year alone, 61 lakhs were raised to support 62 students (37 UG + 25 PG) of which 33 have repaid. Currently, the fund is supporting 20 students.
July 2023