Wednesday, 11 OCTOBER 2023 | PNS | DEHRADUN

The seventh convocation ceremony of the Veer Madho Singh Bhandari Uttarakhand Technical University (UTU) was held here on Tuesday during which the university’s chancellor and the governor lieutenant general (retd) Gurmit Singh gave away medals and degrees to students. While 54 meritorious students received gold medals on successful completion of Bachelors and Masters degrees, 51 students received silver medals on the occasion.  Besides, 59 students were awarded PhD by the chancellor. Importantly, the women students have outnumbered the male students by bagging more gold medals than the latter. Student of B Tech, Electronics and Communication Engineering branch of the Women Institute of Technology Harshita Sharma topped the merit list of the university and was also bestowed with the Shrimati Vinod Devi Agarwal Memorial Gold Medal on the occasion. The chairperson of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) S Somnath was awarded the honorary Doctor of Literature (D Litt) while Padma Shri awardee retired professor of IIT Kanpur HC Verma was felicitated with honorary Doctor of Science (DSc) in the ceremony.

In his convocation address, the chancellor exhorted the students studying technology, scholars and teachers of academic institutions to bring to the fore the glorious cultural heritage and history of the country.  While paying glowing tributes to Veer Madho Singh Bhandari after whom the university is named, he said that Uttarakhand is the land of braves in whose bosom such valiant children like him are born.

Dwelling on the recent space achievement of ISRO, the governor said that it has immortalised India’s name not just on earth but in space too and added that the successfully operated moon mission by ISRO marked a momentous achievement for the entire humanity. Hailing the contribution of the ISRO chairperson, S Somnath, Singh said that he embodied the space dream of India.  

At the same time he lauded the contribution of the retired professor HC Verma, saying that he has inculcated scientific inquisitiveness in the collective mind of the students. His success in blending science with other branches of knowledge must be appreciated by one and all, he said.  Vice chancellor Onkar Singh was also present on the occasion.