IITB awards record 449 PhDs this year

The announcement was made as part of the annual convocation ceremony of the institute, where 2,551 degrees were awarded to graduating students.

Mumbai: The Indian Institute of Technology Bombay (IITB) awarded a record 449 PhD degrees this year, up from 378 last year. Officials from the institute called it a first of its kind as the institute managed to award more than 400 PhDs in one academic year. The announcement was made as part of the annual convocation ceremony of the institute, where 2,551 degrees were awarded to graduating students.

(Satish Bate/HT Photo)

“Today’s graduating batch is not only the batch to receive the degree at the institute’s diamond jubilee convocation, but is possibly also the most ‘hardened’ batch that IITB has ever produced. The students have experienced with remarkable stoicism all three phases of life on the campus--pre-covid ambience, extreme hardship due to pandemic and then the post-pandemic moments that the campus provides,” said Prof Subhasis Chaudhuri, director of the institute. He added that the growing number of PhDs is a major milestone for STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) education in India.

The event was held in physical format after two years of virtual convocation ceremonies due to Covid-19.

The chief guest for the function this year was Kumar Mangalam Birla, chairperson of the Aditya Birla Group.

In his speech at the event, Birla urged students to understand the value of humans in an increasingly tech world. “Human beings are at the heart of invention and the future will need more collaborations where we retain and reinforce human quality,” said Birla.

This year, four students were presented with gold medals for exemplary performance, along with other gold medals being awarded to students by donors.