First batch graduate with Dual BTech degree from IIT Gandhinagar; total 548 degrees awarded

Total 548 students were conferred with degrees at the 10th Convocation ceremony of the IIT Gandhinagar

The first batch of the five-year Dual Major BTech programme graduated from the Indian Institute of Technology Gandhinagar (IITGN). The graduating students have received their BTech degree in two disciplines with only one additional year.

IITGN hosted its 10th Convocation by conferring degrees to a total of 548 students. This year, 52 students received 58 medals; 42 gold medals, and 16 silver medals for excellence in various categories such as academics, outstanding research, innovation, leadership, social service, sports, arts & culture, and so on.

The Institute awarded digital degrees to 175 BTech students, five Dual Major BTech students, one BTech-MTech Dual Degree student, 155 MTech students, 95 MSc students, 30 MA students, 86 PhD students, and 1 PGDIIT student.

Dual Major BTech programme

This year, IITGN graduated the first batch of its five-year Dual Major BTech programme. This programme provides the students with an opportunity to earn their BTech degree in two different disciplines with only one additional year.

Three students of Mechanical Engineering and one each from Chemical Engineering and Electrical Engineering have done their second major in Computer Science and Engineering. This year, the growth in the number of PhD degrees being awarded is particularly noteworthy.

Total 86 PhD degrees have been awarded this year, compared to 55 and 27 PhD degrees in 2020 and 2019, respectively. Also, 39 students from the class of 2021 have completed their BTech in seven semesters (normal duration is eight semesters), as compared to 13 students in 2020 and 20 students in 2019.

Dr Pawan Munjal, Chairman & CEO of Hero MotoCorp Ltd during his convocation address urged the students to dream big and create a world they want to live in and said, “It’s now time that India grabs its rightful place in the global economy. It is time to show the world that the next set of technology giants will be born out of India. We have always spoken about our ingenuity, demographic dividend, and our “never say die” spirit; if there was any time to make the most of these traits, it is surely now. And you, the young heroes, will have to lead this charge from the front.”

Dr Sanjiv Goenka, Chairman of the RP-Sanjiv Goenka Group and Chairman of the Board of Governors of IITGN, delivered his ceremonial speech and said: “Every Convocation is the culmination of several years of effort, planning and sacrifice by the students and their family members. I congratulate all the graduating students who will step out with a degree from a very accomplished institute. I find a different kind of energy in the entire team of IITGN, which is working towards making IITGN one of the best technological institutes in the world.”

Congratulating and wishing the best to all the degree recipients and medal winners, Prof Sudhir K Jain, Director of the institute lauded the student community’s exceptional maturity, teamwork, and leadership skills in helping to manage the campus during the pandemic. In his concluding remarks, he stated, “Life will not always be easy and will require making difficult choices from time to time … I wish you all the wisdom and the courage to take decisions and bear their consequences.”

IITGN Class of 2021 - placements and higher studies

Total of 156 companies participated in the IITGN campus recruitment this year. This year, the number of companies/organisations interested in recruiting students increased by over 20%. Out of the total number of BTech students who had sought placements this year, 73% have been recruited in various sectors such as agrochemical, analytics, automobile, BFSI/FinTech, consulting, EdTech, engineering & technology, financial services, FMCG, healthcare, infrastructure, IT, manufacturing, media, oil and gas, pharmaceutical, research and innovation, telecommunication etc.

Tata Consultancy Services and Testbook recruited the highest number of students this year, 10 and 11, respectively. D E Shaw India Pvt Ltd offered the maximum package for BTech and Enphase Solar Energy Pvt Ltd offered the maximum package for MTech.

Total 15% of students from this graduating batch are expected to go for further studies and 16% of the graduating BTech students have opted to pursue higher studies. They will be pursuing MS, MSR, MSc, PGP, MS-PhD, or PhD in various universities or institutes such as California Institute of Technology, USA; Carnegie Mellon University, USA; Stanford University, USA; ETH Zürich, Switzerland; Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Belgium; King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, Saudi Arabia; IIMs; IITs; and so on.

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