HYDERABAD: The Indian Institute of Technology-Hyderabad (IIT-H) celebrated its 12th convocation, marking a milestone with a total of 966 students receiving 980 degrees, including four gold medals and 38 silver medals.
The convocation was graced by S Somanath, chairman of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), as the chief guest.
This is the highest number of degrees awarded at the institute and perhaps at any second-generation IIT in India. This number also includes the first-time graduating batch of our BTech in artificial intelligence and Bachelor in Design, along with the first set of online MTech graduates.
Among the notable graduates, G Karthik Balaji from computer science and engineering was awarded the President of India gold medal. The other three recipients of gold medals were Priyasha Choudhary from liberal arts and Desale Pranjal Narendra from engineering physics.
Additionally, 38 silver medals were awarded to students who achieved the highest CGPA in various departments, including 11 in BTech, one in BDes, three in MSc, 20 in MTech, one in MA, and two in MDes.
Congratulating the students, Somanath expressed his admiration for the role of technology creators in shaping the future. As an engineer and scientist, he likened his love for rockets to that of a parent for a child. Reflecting on the beauty of rockets during the Chandrayaan-3 mission, he expressed optimism about bridging the gap between human space travel and robotic exploration.
Somanath addressed the question often asked about sending robots instead of humans to explore space. He explained that while robots lack sensory perception and the emotions derived from experiences, advancements in technology are closing this gap.