The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT-BHU) awarded 2,048 degrees at its 15th convocation held at Swatantrata Bhawan, Banaras Hindu University, on Saturday.
Aditya Birla Group chairman Kumar Mangalam Birla was the chief guest at the convocation. Dr Kota Harinarayana, chairman, Board of Governors, IIT (BHU), presided over the ceremony, while Prof Ajit Kumar Chaturvedi, BHU vice chancellor and vice-chairman, Board of Governors, attended as the guest of honour. Dr Mahendra Nath Pandey, member, Board of Governors, was also present at the event. IIT-BHU director Prof Amit Patra highlighted the institute’s major achievements in academics, research, technological advancement and institutional development. Prof Devendra Singh, dean of academic affairs, presented the graduating students from various academic programmes for the award of degrees. The degrees and medals were subsequently conferred by the chief guest. On the occasion, the IIT-BHU director Prof Amit Patra also conferred an honorary Doctor of Science degree on chief guest Kumar Mangalam Birla. In his address, the chief guest congratulated the graduating students and shared his thoughts on their future aspirations, professional accomplishments and potential role in nation-building. These included gold and silver medals, institute and departmental medals, memorial and endowment awards, cash prizes and other distinctions. Harjas Kaur of the department of electronics engineering was awarded the prestigious President’s Gold Medal for her outstanding academic performance. The Director’s Gold Medals were conferred on two meritorious students Lakhadive Mehul Kumar Rajkumar of civil engineering and Prateek Tripathi of computer science and engineering. Members of the Board of Governors and Senate, faculty members, institute officials and staff, graduating students, their parents and several other distinguished guests attended the ceremony. In his presidential address, Dr Kota Harinarayana, chairman of the IIT-BHU Board of Governors, congratulated the graduating students. He also acknowledged the national and international contributions made by the institute’s alumni as well as the visionary foresight of its founders. Remain curious, cultivate humility: Kumar Mangalam Birla In his convocation address, chief guest Kumar Mangalam Birla, chairman of the Aditya Birla Group, urged students to cultivate innovation, adaptability, emotional resilience and a spirit of lifelong learning. He noted that the traditional concept of a career is undergoing rapid transformation. Consequently, young professionals must be prepared to continuously evolve, embrace new challenges and move forward by learning from setbacks. The chief guest emphasised that lifelong learning is no longer merely an aspiration but an essential requirement for achieving success and remaining relevant.
Of the total degrees, 1,106 were BTech, 385 Integrated Dual Degrees, 322 MTech/MPharm, 182 PhD, 39 MSc and 14 BArch degrees. Moreover, IIT-BHU also awarded a total of 62 medals and awards.
He remarked that the next 25 years could prove decisive for the nation’s global identity and developmental trajectory. In such an era, technical proficiency alone will not suffice; it must be complemented by human sensitivity, a multidisciplinary perspective, curiosity, and the ability to make context-aware decisions. The Aditya Birla Group chairman expressed his confidence that the youth would play a pivotal role in this transformation and in nation-building. To inspire the students, he shared anecdotes from the lives of Jensen Huang, co-founder and CEO of Nvidia, and Larry Fink, founder of BlackRock, an American multinational investment management corporation. Citing the early life of Jensen Huang, he illustrated how a journey sparked by a simple experience and curiosity led him to become a leading figure in the global technology landscape. Similarly, by referencing a major professional setback in Larry Fink’s career—which preceded the founding of BlackRock—he explained that failure is not an end, but rather an opportunity for a new beginning. The chief guest encouraged students not to let the limitations of their starting point define the boundaries of their dreams. He urged them to have the courage to take risks and to always maintain a keen curiosity to learn something new throughout their lives. In the concluding remarks, he urged students to maintain a sense of curiosity and enthusiasm for life, remain humble despite their achievements, and never shy away from challenges.
Discussing the growing impact of artificial intelligence, he said AI will bring about marked changes across employment, industry, education, communication and the very way we work.
