IIT Roorkee organizes Annual Convocation 2021

Roorkee (Uttarakhand) [India], September 12 (ANI): The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Roorkee organised its 21st Annual Convocation on September 11 via online mode due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

Prof Pradeep K Khosla, Chancellor, University of California San Diego, USA was invited as a chief guest of the event and the ceremony was commenced with "Vedic Mantrochhar" and a rendition of 'Kulgeet' (Institute song) by the students.

The Chairman, Board of Governors, B V R Mohan Reddy welcomed the chief guest and said, "We are honoured 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."

Welcoming all the guests in the ceremony, the Director of IIT Roorkee, Prof Ajit K Chaturvedi said, "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."

Even during the ongoing challenging time posed by the Covid-19 outbreak, IIT Roorkee continued to function effectively and enabled the students to complete their courses.

"In view of the prevailing pandemic, this year also we are organizing our Convocation in a virtual model. It is our great pleasure that we have an internationally renowned academic, Prof. Pradeep Khosla, as our Chief Guest on this occasion," the director further added.

According to a statement released by IIT, Roorkee, a total of 1804 degrees were awarded this year, out of which, 912 were undergraduate, 685 postgraduate and 207 doctoral degrees.

The director congratulated all the degree recipients and award winners during his welcoming speech. He said, "I hope that the years you have spent at IIT Roorkee will remain with you as a treasured memory. You are a proud member of the IIT Roorkee fraternity and will remain so forever."

The Chief Guest, Prof Pradeep K Khosla said, "I am always so very proud of graduates the world over, but this year especially so because you have proven not only that you can adapt, but also that you can thrive under extenuating circumstances."

Further, Reddy talked about the notable achievements of IIT Roorkee. He said, "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. We have launched several courses that are critical to engineering education like Artificial Intelligence, Data Sciences, Industrial Design, Micro-electronics and VLSI this year."

The event concluded with the National Anthem and award ceremony in which, 125 medals (including 43 gold), and cash prizes worth Rs. 12.45 lakh were distributed among 156 students. (ANI)