GUWAHATI, Dec 15: “The importance of higher education for the future of the Northeast and the rest of India can hardly be overstated. Simply, the more educated and skilled a person, the more productive and innovative they tend to be, and hence the greater their contribution to economic growth”, said IGNOU vice-chancellor, Prof. Nageshwar Rao, during the seventh convocation of the University of Science and Technology Meghalaya (USTM) on Wednesday.
Delivering the convocation address in the presence of a galaxy of Vice Chancellors, heads of institutions and dignitaries, Prof Rao lauded USTM for facilitating free education to deserving students from economically disadvantaged families.
He urged the graduating students to shoulder a special responsibility – to prove the extent of knowledge gathered in their university not just for easy scoring but to use it for the betterment of the society.
Altogether 1332 graduates were awarded degrees at the convocation, of which 11 scholars were awarded PhD degrees, 823 students were awarded postgraduate degrees while 498 students were awarded undergraduate degrees.
The institution also conferred the honorary Doctorate of Science (D.Sc.) degree on Cachar Cancer Hospital director, Padma Shri Dr Ravi Kannan for his contributions in facilitating equitable and accessible healthcare services and offering cancer care to the underprivileged communities of Northeast India.
Dr Abdul Wase, a professor at the Boonshoft School of Medicine, Wright State University in Dayton, Ohio (USA), was also conferred the honorary Doctorate of Science (D.Sc.) degree for his contributions in the field of cardiac care and extensive philanthropic activities for the underprivileged society.
Besides, the honorary Doctorate of Letters (D.Litt) degree was conferred on senior journalist and editor-in chief, Prag News, Prasanta Rajguru, for his contributions in the field of journalism.
Addressing the convocation, IIT-G director, T.G. Sitharam, congratulated the awardees for their achievement and also congratulated the entire USTM family for becoming the first private university from Northeast India to be ranked Grade ‘A’ recently by the National Assessment and Accreditation Council.
“Innovation, entrepreneurship and research are the three focus areas of a centre of excellence. I am happy to learn that USTM is having different schools and is giving emphasis on innovation and research”, he added.
Earlier, the Dr APJ Abdul Kalam Best PG Gold Medal was awarded to Shehnaz Begum (M.Sc Mathematics) while the PA Sangma Best UG Gold Medal was awarded to Saanya Chaturvedi (B.Sc Microbiology).
Apart from this, 22 gold medals were awarded to the best postgraduates of the respective departments while 18 gold medals were given away to the best undergraduate students from different departments.
