Lucknow Even as meritorious students were being felicitated, LU’s convocation ceremony revolved around Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) scientist Ritu Karidhal, who was the project director of Chandryaan-2 Mission.
Karidhal, an alumna of LU, was conferred Honoris Causa by the university on the occasion.
“We are privileged to have Ritu Karidhal with us. I am confident that her presence will motivate our students to achieve bigger goals in life,” said SP Singh, LU V-C, in his address.
In her address, governor Anandiben Patel spoke about the Chandryaan-2 mission. “We all stayed awake till late at night to watch our probe land on the moon’s surface. The moment gave us pride, especially because Ritu, who played such an important role in the project,” she said.
Karidhal had an interaction with the governor on the dias.
The ISRO scientist remembered her teachers and thanked them for inculcating important values in her.
“I completed my doctorate from the physics department in 1996. The lessons learnt during my time here helped me enter the vast universe of ISRO. At ISRO, we are asked to look for solutions to critical problems and complete the task at hand,” said Karidhal.
Thanking her parents for allowing her to move out of the city to pursue her goals, she said: “In those days, distances were measured in hours and days, instead of kilometres. It took me over two days to reach my workplace. Yet, my parents allowed me to go ahead and that made all the difference.”
{{/usCountry}}Thanking her parents for allowing her to move out of the city to pursue her goals, she said: “In those days, distances were measured in hours and days, instead of kilometres. It took me over two days to reach my workplace. Yet, my parents allowed me to go ahead and that made all the difference.”
{{/usCountry}}In her speech, Karidhal didn’t mention the moon mission and also did not speak to the media about it.
But her presence was enough for the students to be motivated. “It was an honour to have received a medal from her. She is an idol for everyone, especially for science students,” said Ravi Shakya, who was awarded two gold medals at the convocation.
University teachers also interacted with Karidhal and took pictures with her. “We congratulated her for the moon mission and extended best wishes for her future endeavours,” said a teacher.
LU must improve NAAC ranking, says NITI Ayog V-C
Lucknow University must improve its NAAC ranking, said Rajiv Kumar, vice-chairman of NITI Ayog, in his address at the convocation.
Kumar, an alumnus of LU, also suggested that universities must make NAAC grading of their affiliated colleges public so that it motivate them to improve their performance.
He remembered his days at the university and thanked his teachers.