NIT Rourkela Holds 24th Convocation, 2,033 Students Graduate
Rourkela, Sept 12 (TNT): The National Institute of Technology (NIT) Rourkela held its 24th convocation here on Saturday, with 2,033 students receiving their degrees across various undergraduate, postgraduate and doctoral programmes.
Prof. Abhay Karandikar, Member, NITI Aayog, was the chief guest, while Prof. Bidyadhar Subudhi, Director, NIT Warangal, attended as the guest of honour.
S.N. Subrahmanyan, Chairman, Board of Governors, NIT Rourkela, addressed the gathering and NIT Rourkela Director Prof. K. Umamaheshwar Rao presented the institute’s annual report.
Delivering the convocation address, Prof. Karandikar urged the graduating students to embrace artificial intelligence and emerging technologies while retaining a strong grounding in science and engineering fundamentals.
He advised the students to cultivate curiosity, creativity, critical thinking and ethical judgment and use their knowledge to address real-world problems and create social impact.
Prof. Subudhi, congratulating the graduates, called upon them to choose excellence, integrity, lifelong learning and collaboration over convenience and short-term success.
He said the lasting measure of their careers would be the impact they created and the lives they touched.
The institute awarded 11 Institute Gold Medals, six Endowment Gold Medals, eight Endowment Awards and 61 Institute Silver Medals for academic excellence.
Of the 2,033 graduating students, 911 received B.Tech degrees, 18 B.Arch degrees, 42 B.Tech-M.Tech dual degrees, 10 B.Sc. (Integrated Multiple Entry-Exit) degrees, 77 Integrated M.Sc degrees, 514 M.Tech degrees, 182 M.Sc degrees, 67 MBA degrees, 19 M.A. degrees, one M.Tech (Research) degree, 190 PhD degrees and two Executive PhD degrees.
The graduating batch included 508 female and 1,525 male students.
A notable feature of this year’s convocation was the graduation of 47 international students. They included 19 students from Nepal, 13 from Bangladesh, six from the United States, five from Sri Lanka, three from Bhutan and one from Yemen.
Addressing the graduates, S.N. Subrahmanyan said India’s rapid transformation in areas such as artificial intelligence, digitalisation, renewable energy and automation was creating significant opportunities for the younger generation.
He urged the graduates to embrace continuous learning, adaptability and integrity, dream big and use their knowledge and achievements to contribute meaningfully to society.
Prof. Rao advised the graduates to become problem-solvers and leaders as they entered a world marked by complexity and uncertainty. He urged them to use technology and innovation to contribute to India’s development and the vision of an Atmanirbhar Bharat.
NIT Rourkela offers B.Tech programmes in 17 disciplines across 14 departments, besides B.Arch, MBA, M.Tech, dual-degree, Integrated M.Sc and M.Sc programmes in various disciplines.
The institute also conferred Distinguished Alumnus Awards on two alumni during the convocation.
Rajarshi Gupta, Managing Director and CEO of ONGC Videsh Limited, received the award in the Industry and Management category, while Gyana Ranjan Mohanty, Managing Director of Corrosion Protection Limited and Co-founder of B. Engineers & Builders Pvt. Ltd., was honoured in the Entrepreneurship and Public Life category.
TNT KS
