Bhubaneswar: As many as 5695 students of 2017 -18 graduating batch of the city based Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology (KIIT) Deemed to be University received their degrees at its 14th Annual Convocation here on Saturday in the presence of Odisha Governor Prof. Ganeshi Lal, Nobel laureate Prof. (Dr.) Ernesto Kahan and other dignitaries.
A total of 77 students got Ph.D. degrees in their respective disciplines. Karan Khandelwal, MBBS, Pritam Samantaray, M.Tech. (CE&M) and Nirmal Pandey, B. Tech. (Civil) won Founder’s Gold Medals for their outstanding all round and academic performance.
Similarly, 20 students were awarded Chancellor’s Gold Medal, while 21 students received Vice Chancellor’s Silver Medal. P.K. Bal Memorial Gold Medal, PPL Gold Medal and Nanibala Memorial Gold Medal were also given away today.
Speaking on the occasion, the Governor said the students should become icon of themselves and not to imitate others.
“Don’t fall in trap of material goddesses of ignorance, illusion, corruption, conspiracy, diplomacy and ignore these completely. Be an icon of yourselves and never imitate others,” he said.
“Every country of the world is striving for economy supremacy. You are going to face a world divided by the lines of religion, regions, colour, languages, etc. and the biggest challenge before you is to vanquish these divisions”, he told the graduating students.
The Governor also appreciated KIIT & KISS founder Dr. Achyuta Samanta for his immense contribution in the field of education, particularly for the tribal children.
“India is not only a country with her land, rivers, mountains and habitations, but for Indians, she is much beyond these things – she is the divine Goddess. Odisha is the state for humanity at large. Son of the soil Prof. Achyuta Samanta, Founder, KIIT & KISS is an example of this. KIIT & KISS are divine creations through him. Prof. Samanta is bringing smiles to 27,500 underprivileged children. He loves those who have never been loved before. I regard him as an alien”, he said.
The University also conferred Honoris Causa Degrees of D.Sc. upon Prof. (Dr.) Kahan and Prof. Dinabandhu Sahoo, Director, Institute of Bioresources and Sustainable Development (IBSD), Imphal, and D.Litt. upon The Rt. Hon. The Baroness Usha Kumari Prashar, CBE, PC, U.K.; Mr. Niklaus-Samuel Gugger, Hon’ble Member of Swiss Parliament, Switzerland; Prabhu Gaur Gopal Das, Life Coach, Monk & Spiritual Motivational Speaker; Shri Kabir Bedi, Renowned Indian Film Writer, Producer, Director and Actor; and Dr. Md. Sabur Khan, Chairman, Board of Trustees, Daffodil International University, Dhaka, Bangladesh.
In his address, the Chief Speaker Prof. (Dr.) Kahan stated, “I have visited many places in the world, but never saw institutions like KIIT and KISS. Two institutions are indeed examples for the whole world”.
Appreciating the effort Prof. Samanta for establishing institutions like KIIT & KISS, he promised to help KIIT in any way possible, particularly in the field of medical science research. He also read a poem he had written on conflict in Middle East and relevance of Mahatma Gandhi’s teachings.
In her acceptance speech, The Baroness Prashar said, “This institution has inspired me the most in whole of my working career. Prof. Samanta’s vision has made it a reality and by emphasizing on women empowerment. Niklaus-Samuel Gugger, said his journey of life had taught him many lessons and his experience in KIIT & KISS is among the most important ones. Prof. Samanta’s work for the underprivileged children is the top level service to humanity, he stated. Calamities can be turned into opportunities and students can learn this lesson from the life story of Prof. Samanta, said Prabhu Gaur Gopal Das. “He has the combination of leadership with compassion and empathy. In his Acceptance speech Mr. Bedi expressed gratitude to KIIT, it founder, all the teachers of the world because “knowledge is the best gift a human being can receive”.
Extending advice to the graduating students to explore entrepreneurship, Dr. Khan said that they are lucky to have an example like Prof. Samanta, who has become an icon of India. Accepting the Honoris Causa D.Sc. Degree, Prof. Dinabandhu Sahoo said, “This honour is very special to me as it comes from a top university of my home state”.
Prof. Ved Prakash, Chancellor, KIIT Deemed to be University, Padma Shri Prof. (Dr.) Subrata Kumar Acharya, Pro-Chancellor, Dr. Hrushikesha Mohanty, Vice-Chancellor and Prof. Sasmita Samanta, Registrar also spoke at the convocation ceremony and expressed their best wishes to the graduate students.
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