Hyderabad, 10th August 2019: A total of 522 students, including 200 B.Techs. and 69 PhDs, graduated during the Eighth Convocation of Indian Institute of Technology Hyderabad held today (9th August 2019) in the presence of luminaries, faculty, staff and students. The current batch of graduating students included 418 boys and 110 girl students.
The Institute has nearly 2,855 students across 16 departments with more than 20 per cent women students, and around 210 full-time faculty members. Its’ sanctioned research funding is more than Rs. 500 crore from nearly 350 sponsored projects.
Delivering the Convocation Address via Video Conference, Shri Amitabh Kant, Chief Executive Officer, NITI Aayog, said, “You (Students) will build this Country. This Institution is one of the finest in the country, not only because of its students but also its outstanding faculty and Board of Governors. While you are building the country, you should strive for excellence in your respective area of work. We need to make India easy to do business and we, in the Government, have taken several steps by simplifying Rules and Regulations that resulted in the country improving substantially in the World Bank’s ‘Ease of Doing Business’.”
Further Mr. Amitabh Kant said, “It is important for all of you to understand that we live in a globalized world and there is no place for protectionism. We need to penetrate global markets. Japan and China are export-driven economies that have thrived on trade. My advice to you is whatever you do, think of the world as your market and not only the domestic market. We now import a lot of our mobile phones, television sets and telecommunication equipment. Manufacturing is important and we should increase it from its current share of 18 per cent of our GDP.”
Mr. Amitabh Kant added, “I must tell you what are the challenges that India is facing. If India is to grow at 9 per cent, we must have gender parity. We must increase the participation of women in Indian economy and that will be depend on you, many of whom will be in positions of power. You must give a place of prominence for women wherever you work. We cannot grow without bringing half of our population into the workforce.”
IIT Hyderabad offers 10 B.Tech. programs, 16 M.Tech. programs, 3 M.Sc. programs, MA Program, M.Des. program and PhD programs in all branches of engineering, science, liberal arts and design. The Institute also has All-Course M.Tech. Program in almost all engineering departments.
Addressing the Convocation, Mr. B.V.R. Mohan Reddy, Chairman, Board of Governors, IIT Hyderabad, said, “You are graduating from college and stepping into the real world. While you plan, strategize, and care for your future, you need to discover the purpose of life and your education. When you have a purpose, a larger vision for your life, you will live a more meaningful life. You will develop clarity, focus, and your actions will be driven by that purpose.”
Further, Mr. Mohan Reddy said, “The Institute is channelizing student curiosity by inculcating the spirit of innovation and entrepreneurship. It is facilitating deeper connects with the industry ecosystem. Our incubators in healthcare, microelectronics, and technology have 14 start-ups so far. Three of them are making profits, five received funds, and three companies employ more than 40 people.”
“As we celebrate 11 years of academic excellence at IIT-Hyderabad, it gives me immense pleasure to watch this institute steadily grow and become one of the top 10 technical institutes in the country. It is the 5th most-preferred IIT in the country. This year, the Institute’s best rank (in JEE mains) is 202, while it was 2,800+ in 2008. Kudos to all the people who made this possible!” Mr. Mohan Reddy added.
Around 35 per cent of the faculty members obtained their PhD from universities abroad and 50 per cent possess post-doctoral research experience from leading universities abroad.
Presenting the Report of the Institute, Prof Ch. Subrahmanyan, Director (Officiating), IIT Hyderabad, said, “IIT Hyderabad has emerged over the last few years as a hub of research and pedagogy in AI across the country. The Institute has a unique and deep collaboration with Japan. The collaboration encompasses academics, research and infrastructure development. IITH is privileged and honored to have this collaboration. I am happy to inform you that the Second Phase of Construction with JICA (Japan International Cooperation Agency) support is expected to be completed in 3 years.”
The vibrant research culture in IIT Hyderabad is evident from the large number of publications and the sponsored projects. In the financial year 2018-19 alone, the Institute secured more than 100 sponsored projects from national funding agencies and private companies.
The IIT Hyderabad Convocation robes are inspired from the emblem of the Institute. The textile is conceptualized by Prof. Deepak John Mathew, Head, Department of Design, IIT Hyderabad, and handcrafted in the village of Bhoodan Pochampally. This initiative was extended to promote the uniqueness of Indian handloom artisans, which contributes to sustainable design innovation.
Placements at IIT Hyderabad for the Academic Year 2018-19 have yielded 261 offers for 418 registered students. More than 252 companies have registered for the placement process out of which around 107 companies have completed the placement process till date. The top companies are Mercari, Toyota Research Institute-Advanced Development, Works Application and SMS Data Tech. There were 22 international offers. A good number of students from UG, PG and M.Sc. have opted for higher education in India and abroad.
IIT Hyderabad, during the Academic Year 2019-20, became the first Indian Institution and likely the third globally to offer a full-fledged B.Tech. program in Artificial Intelligence, after Carnegie Mellon University and Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in the U.S. It is also the first institute to start an M.Tech. program in Data Science for working professionals, which is a completely a video-based course.
IIT Hyderabad has MOUs with at least 50 universities globally, most of them in Japan, U.S., Australia, Canada, Europe and Taiwan. It has also established three technology incubators – i-TIC, Center for Healthcare Entrepreneurship and Fabless Chip Design Incubator.
