CHENNAI: Be prepared for a world with changes. That was the big message at the 54th convocation of IIT Madras, from where 2,263 students graduated this year.
“Industry by industry, dramatic changes are happening and we have to be prepared for a world where there will be a lot of changes. The good news for you students is that you are graduating from an institute like IIT Madras.
But the bad news is that you can’t stop learning because you can’t predict what the future requirements will be. Your biggest takeaway from IIT Madras is going to be learning to learn. It has to be a lifelong learning,” said Nandan Nilekani, the former chairman of Unique Identification Authority of India and co-founder of Infosys, who was the chief guest at the event held at Student Activities Centre on Friday.
“You (graduates) are entering a world at an exciting time, which is beaming with opportunities. Disruptive risks are also high. So be prepared to learn, develop human skills and be on top of whatever you do,” he said.
Nilekani said in the past 15 years, artificial intelligence and automation have become popular, making systems smarter. “I call this the second half of the chessboard — many jobs that exist today will not exist tomorrow. That is where the challenge of lifelong learning comes in. Keep in mind, India for various reasons has seen a digital explosion.
We in India have built a sophisticated stack of software tools, which people can access. Aadhaar automatic system and other large national level platforms like GST network generate huge source of data. For the first time in India, 8 million businesses will be on one platform,” he said.
“Data is the new oil, it will be the business of 21st century,” Nilekani, who gave away the prizes to students, said. IIT-M director Bhaskar Ramamurthi gave away the degrees. He said the past academic year had been very rewarding for the IIT-M, with number 1 position in NIRF ranking for second year running.