Guahati, August 27: Altogether 1,639 graduates were awarded degrees at the 10th convocation of University of Science and Technology Meghalaya (USTM) held on Tuesday in the presence of a galaxy of vice chancellors, academicians and other eminent personalities.
As many as 17 scholars were awarded Ph.D degrees, 906 students were awarded postgraduate degrees while 716 students were awarded undergraduate degrees at the convocation.
Besides, cultural icons of Meghalaya and Assam respectively – Lou Majaw and Zubeen Garg – were conferred honorary D.Litt. degrees for their outstanding contribution in the field of art and culture, outreach activities, peace, harmony and development of society.
Meghalaya Governor and Visitor of USTM, C.H. Vijayashankar, who could not attend the convocation owing to unforeseen circumstances, sent a congratulatory message to the recipients of the honorary D.Litt. degrees as well as all the graduating students at the convocation.
Presiding over the convocation, USTM chancellor Mahbubul Hoque said, “We aspire to become a world-class university and appeal to all the stakeholders to join us in our endeavor to transform this university into a world-class institution and participate in the nation-building process”.
He also expressed his gratitude to the Meghalaya government for its support in establishing USTM.
The convocation address was delivered by Prof. Ved Prakash, former chairman of UGC. The special address was made by Prof. V. N. Rajsekharan Pillai, Vice Chancellor of Somaiya Vidyasagar University, Mumbai and former chairman, UGC and former director, NAAC.
The recipients of the doctorate degrees, Zubeen Garg and Lou Majaw, presented acceptance remarks after receiving the degrees.
Distinguished dignitaries present in the convocation include Prof. Neelima Gupta, VC, Dr. Harisingh Gour University; Prof. Mohammad Afshar Alam, VC, Jamia Hamdard; Prof. Ami U. Upadhyay, VC, Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Open University, Ahmedabad; Prof. Dibakar Chandra Deka, Vice Chancellor, Mizoram University; Prof. (Dr.) Sat Prakash Bansal, VC, Central University of Himachal Pradesh; Prof. Ganga Prasad Prasain, VC, Tripura University; Prof. Saket Kushwaha, VC, Rajiv Gandhi University; Prof. Prabha Shankar Shukla, VC, NEHU, Shillong; and Dr. R.M. Pant, VC, Assam University, Silchar.
Earlier, the university report was presented by USTM Vice Chancellor Prof G. D. Sharma.
Notably, Visitor’s Best Student Award went to Kasim Ampang Sangma, MA Rural Development; Dr APJ Abdul Kalam Best PG Student award went to Manash Pratim Sarmah, M.Sc Zoology; Chancellor’s Best Student Award went to Mustafizur Rahman, B.Sc. Chemistry, and PA Sangma Best UG student award went to Sujata Kumari, B. Pharm.
Apart from this, 23 gold medals were awarded to the best postgraduates of the respective departments while 22 gold medals were given away to the best undergraduate students from different departments.