55th convocation of IIT Madras was held on July 20, 2018. 2,267 degrees were awarded by Professor Bhaskar 
Ramamurthi, Director, IIT Madras. One foreign national student received the M.Tech. degree. As is the custom of IIT Madras, the new graduates took their pledge after receiving their degree. Dr. Rajiv Kumar, Vice Chairman, NITI Aayog graced the occasion along with Dr. Pawan Goenka, Chairman, Board of Governors, IIT Madras and Managing Director, Mahindra and Mahindra.
- 2,267 degrees were awarded by Professor Bhaskar Ramamurthi, Director, IIT Madras.
- Dr. Rajiv Kumar, Vice Chairman, NITI Aayog graced the occasion.
Addressing the gathering, Professor Ramamurthi said, ‘IIT Madras has not only sustained the number-one ranking among Engineering Institutes in the NIRF for the third year in a row since inception, but also retained its 2nd position for overall performance among all universities in India. I congratulate the students, faculty and staff of our Institute for maintaining high standards and raising the bar ever higher each year.’
Speaking about foreign collaborations, he said, ‘Our intensifying collaborations with international universities have resulted in the formalization of 4 new Joint Doctorate Programs (JDP) with National Chiao Tung University in Taiwan, Ecole Centrale De Nantes in France, Heidelberg University in Germany, and Nanyang Technological University in Singapore. The JDP with Nanyang Technological University was inked in the presence of the Hon’ble Prime Minister during his visit to NTU in early June.’ As of now the total number of active MoUs signed by IIT Madras, with eminent international Universities, is 243. In 2017-2018 36 MoUs were signed.
‘India cannot adopt a foreign and path beaten model of capitalist development. Our model will necessarily have to be inclusive not only to ensure the welfare of all our people, but also to take care of our environment and our natural endowments. All those present here, especially those, embarking on their life’s journeys, have the capability and drive to achieve this,’ said the Chief Guest Dr. Rajiv Kumar to the fresh graduates.
Emphasizing on the importance of technology, Dr. Pawan Goenka said,’ Democratization of technology is perhaps the biggest disruption happening in modern times and the startups incubated by fresh graduates like you and facilitated by establishments like IIT Madras Research Park, are enablers of this disruption. Technology is the backbone of inclusive growth across industries and socio-economic strata.’
All Round Proficiency In Curricular And Extra Curricular Activities Prize 2018: Giridhar Sriraman was awarded the all-round proficiency in curricular and extra-curricular activities prize for 2018. An assistant manager in ITC, Giridhar Sriraman also won the Motorola Prize.
The President Of India Prize : Rahul Kejriwal won the President of India Prize along with Bharat Ratna M. Visvesvaraya memorial prize and the B. Ravichandran memorial prize. He is a B.Tech. dual degree graduate in CSE. Source: NDTV. Image Source: IIT Madras Facebook Page.
