Union Education Minister Shri Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’ virtually addressed the students at 18th Convocation ceremony of Visvesvaraya National Institute of Technology, Nagpur.   Minister of State for Education Shri Sanjay Dhotre was the guest of honor. Shri. J. D. Patil, whole-time Director, and Senior Executive Vice President for L&T’s Defence Business & L&T-NxT also attended the programme.

Shri. Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’, the Chief Guest for the convocation, in his video message, congratulated the students and the parents. He talked about the 3Ds, the country has. The Democracy, Demographics and Demand. He appealed the students to use these 3Ds and help the country become ‘ATMANIRBHAR’ and attain a goal of 5 trillion dollar economy. He stressed upon the role of engineering in nation building. He also informed about the various schemes such as Digital India, Start-up India, Make in India etc.  started by the Government of India. He urged the students to build the Naya Bharat – Swachha Bharat, Swastha Bharat and Sashakt  Bharat.  The minister, sought attention of the students to some of the alumni of the institute, who have made immense contribution to the society and the nation. Dr. Pokhriyal, appreciated the work done by the institute during the corona pandemic.

Shri. Sanjay Dhotre, during his speech asked the students to remember the sacrifices made by the parents to see them reach this milestone. He further added that its time for the students to apply the concepts and ideas learnt during their studies. The minister, sought their attention to the fast changing face of India in the recent years. he appealed the students to keep their values intact in this highly competitive world.

During this 18th Convocation; VNIT awarded a total of 1134 degrees, that included

• • 61 Doctor of Philosophy,
  • 268 Master of Technology,
  • 94 Master of  Science,
  • 648 Bachelor of Technology in various engineering disciplines and
  • 63  Bachelor of  Architecture

This year VNIT felicitated students and research scholars with 45 medals, prizes and awards for their academic meritorious achievements.

This year, the prestigious Sir Visvesvaraya Medal was given to Abdul Sattar Mohammad Ashraf Mapara, B. Tech. in Computer Science Engineering for securing highest CGPA amongst all disciplines of B. Tech. programs. He also received Late Shri. N.G.Joshi prize, Late Dr. A. G. Paithankar Medal and Late Mahamahopadhyay Padmavibhushan Dr. V. V. Mirashi Medal. The Academic Excellence Prize and the Late Shri Parag Tijare Prize, both of which are given for highest CGPA in B. Tech., Computer Science Engineering were also bagged by him

Ms. Chetna Srivastava, a student from B.Tech. in Civil Engineering, secured the highest number of prizes and medals. She received the Institute Medal, Academic Excellence Prize, Watwe Education Trust Prize, Late Shri Vishnu Diwakar alias Bhausaheb Gijre Prize, P. J. Sahastrabuddhe Memorial prize, Late Shri C.T. Gharpure prize, Late Prof. M. S. Joshi medal, Late Amol Krishnarao Kawadkar medal and Late Shri Sadik Vali medal for highest CGPA in B. Tech. in Civil Engineering. She also bagged Dr. S. S. Amin prize for scoring highest marks in the subject Advanced Structural Analysis. The newly constituted medal, in the memory of Late Shri Vishramji Jamdar, for 2nd highest CGPA amongst all disciplines of B. Tech. programs was also awarded to Ms. Chetna.

The second newly constituted Late Shri Vishramji Jamdar medal for 2nd highest CGPA in B. Tech. (Metallurgical & Materials Engineering) was bagged by Sagar Kulkarni. At the end, vote of thanks was proposed by The Registrar, Dr. S. R. Sathey.

Prof. P. M. Padole, Chairman BoG and Director VNIT, in his speech, presented the institute report. During his speech he highlighted the institute achievements. He told that the institute believes strongly in Industry – Institute – Interaction, and has signed a MoU with many industries, including the Dassault Aviation, the French Aircraft manufacturer for setting up a center of excellence & establish a curriculum of excellence, with Siemens, to set up a Center of Excellence (CoE) in the area of Industry 4.0 and AIIMS Nagpur to strengthen the various research areas in the field of medical engineering. He further added that, during the last year, the institute has bagged R&D projects from various organizations, worth Rs. 55 crores, a huge 185% jump over the previous year.

Shri. J. D. Patil, while addressing the students, said that now is the time for them to pay the nation back what this country and the society has given them and helped them to reach this level. He reminded the students of their responsibilities namely, integrity and what is right for the society and the country. He also appealed the students, to ponder over what they owe to the institute for making them what they are today.