IIT Madras holds first-ever Mixed Reality Convocation, highest number of PhDs awarded

Amid the pandemic and lockdown restrictions, IIT Madras held its first-ever Mixed-Reality Convocation. This meant that the event was held completely online, combining the real and virtual world, while showcasing how they can interact. A total of 2,346 degrees, including 353 PhDs, the highest in an academic year, were awarded during the 57th Convocation held on Sunday. The 353 PhDs included Joint Degree PhDs and Dual Degree PhDs.

In a video of the event, it is seen that recipients of special academic awards appeared virtually and delivered their speeches while appearing as though in-person, standing beside the dignitaries. 

Prof David J Gross, Nobel Laureate and Chancellor’s Chair of Theoretical Physics, University of California, graced the occasion as Chief Guest. Dr Pawan Goenka, Chairman, Board of Governors, IIT Madras and Managing Director, Mahindra and Mahindra, presided over the Convocation.

Addressing the graduates from Santa Barbara, California, Prof David J Gross, Nobel Laureate and Chancellor’s Chair of Theoretical Physics, University of California, said, “Many of you are completing your education today and are now wondering what the next few years will bring. One thing I am sure of is that no one can give you any answer. The world is undergoing rapid change and as the event of the last few months show, no one can predict what will happen next week, much less beyond that. The same is true of science and one’s career in science.”

Prof David Gross was awarded the 2004 Nobel Prize in Physics along with H. David Politzer and Frank Wilczek for the discovery of asymptotic freedom in the theory of the strong interaction. He has been a central figure in particle physics and string theory. 

Speaking on the occasion, Dr Pawan Goenka, Chairman, Board of Governors, IIT Madras, said that the Class of 2020 had the unique distinction of graduating from an institute, which has been ranked the #1 Engineering College in India, for five years in a row. 

“Covid has accelerated the rate of tech adoption across streams of life. Changes which would have taken 5-6 years have happened in just about 3-4 months” he added. 

On Atma Nirbhar Bharat, he said it was about being world-class in our product and service offerings. It is about innovating, developing technology and creating a pull for our offerings. It is about developing India as a source of distinct value adds and globally competitive technology and manufacturing destination.

Presenting a report on the Institute's performance in the last academic year, Prof Bhaskar Ramamurthi, Director, IIT Madras said that the classes were re-started via the online medium, a few weeks after the lockdown was imposed. He added that classes for the January-May semester were completed in time, which enabled graduating students to take up their jobs, and pre-final-year students to take up internships in the summer, many of them in the online mode. Whereas, graduating research scholars and students with projects also wound up their theses from home.

“The Institute continues to attract substantial funding for its research and consultancy activities from both Ministries of the Government of India and industry. During the past 5 years, the former grew at a CAGR of 17%, while the latter grew at a very healthy 26%. In 2019-20, the Institute received sanction for 294 Ministry-sponsored projects for a total value of Rs 333.1 crore, and 649 consultancy and industry-sponsored research projects amounting to Rs 249.3 crore. We filed for 191 patents during the year of which 62 are international filings, and were granted 58,” concluded Prof Bhaskar Ramamurthi.