A total of 2,636 students graduated during the 61st Convocation of Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IIT Madras), which was held in the campus today, July 19, 2024. As many as 3,016 Degrees including Joint and Dual Degrees were awarded to the students on the occasion.
A total of 444 PhDs were awarded, which included PhDs, Joint Degree Ph.Ds with foreign institutions and Dual Degree PhDs.
A Highlight of the Occasion was Shri S. Somanath, Chairman, ISRO, receiving his PhD in Mechanical Engineering during the Convocation.
The International Interdisciplinary Master’s degree programs (I2MP) with innovative curricula to equip students with cutting-edge expertise and skills that transcend traditional engineering domains was launched in 2022. The first batch of I2MP is graduating at this Convocation.
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The I2MP receives over 200 applications annually from diverse backgrounds and countries, including Ethiopia, Mauritius, Syria, and Nepal.
The Chief Guest was Dr. Brian K. Kobilka, who was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2012. Dr. Pawan Goenka, Chairman, Board of Governors, IIT Madras, presided over the Convocation in the presence of Prof. V. Kamakoti, Director, IIT Madras, faculty, staff and students.
Dr. Brian K. Kobilka and Robert Lefkowitz discovered that the receptor was similar to receptors located in the eye that capture light. It was later discovered that there is an entire family of receptors that look and act in similar ways–G-protein-coupled receptors. Approximately half of all medications used today make use of this kind of receptor.
Congratulating the graduating students and prize winners, Dr. Brian K. Kobilka, who was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in the year 2012, said, “I do not consider myself to be exceptional in any way. My career today is an example of how an average individual can achieve a measure of success by a combination of factors including hard work, persistence, an element of luck and a great deal of help from family, friends and colleagues.”
“A major goal when I began my independent career in 1990 was to obtain structures of the structures of G-protein-coupled receptors in active/inactive states. It took 21 years to achieve goal and ultimately led to my being awarded the Nobel Prize. During those 21 years, I learned many things about how these receptors work from my many failed experiments,” said Dr. Brian K. Kobilka.
Degree Break-up
During this Convocation, Prof. V. Kamakoti, Director, IIT Madras, awarded degrees to 2,636 graduates including 764 B.Tech (of whom 27 with Honours), 277 Dual Degree B.Tech and M.Tech, 481 M.Tech, 151 M.Sc, 42 M.A, 50 Executive MBA, 84 MBA, 236 M.S, and 107 Web-enabled M.Tech for executives. The above PhD numbers also include 07 joint degrees with universities in foreign countries including Australia, Singapore, France and Germany.
Congratulating the graduating students, Dr. Pawan Goenka, Chairman, Board of Governors, IIT Madras, said, “This is leading to a remarkable transformation and is steering us towards becoming a ‘Viksit Bharat’ - a developed India by 2047. This vision, championed by our Honourable Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, reflects a collective national ambition.”
Further, Dr. Pawan Goenka said, “However, Viksit Bharat will not happen simply by wishing it. Achieving this vision relies heavily on us collectively taking bold, transformative actions. Viksit Bharat will be possible only if the governments, businesses, entrepreneurs, and professionals like you - make significant and audacious moves and Take Big Bets...Disruptions that reshape industries, countries and redefine paradigms can be caused only by taking big bets. If you find that you have never failed, it should give you a pause not satisfaction.
Presenting the Director’s Report, Prof. V. Kamakoti, Director, IIT Madras, said, “This year IIT Madras has exceeded its target of one patent a day by filing 419 patents during the year, of which 85 are international filings, and were granted 445 Indian and 15 international patents. The IITM Incubation Cell, the nodal incubator of IIT Madras and spearheading country’s leading deep tech startup hub, marked the beginning of 2024 on a jubilant note - a total portfolio of 365 startups, cumulatively valued at INR 45,000 Crores (US$5.4 Billion, based on investments raised from angels/VCs). The goal for the fiscal year 2024-25 is to incubate 100 more, focusing on areas such as space, manufacturing, robotics, Assistive Tech, climate-tech, fintech and AI.”
Prof. V. Kamakoti added, “In 2023-24, the Institute received sanction for 331 Ministry-sponsored projects for a total value of INR 568.21 crores. Our strong industry collaboration is evident from the 883 consultancy and industry-sponsored research projects received this financial year amounting to INR 584.87 crores. The above is inclusive of around 130 international projects funded by foreign entities.”
