The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Palakkad held its fifth convocation for the graduating batch of 2023 on its Nila Campus, Kanjikode, near here, on Saturday.
As many as 293 degrees were awarded to students from different programmes, including PhD, MTech, MSc, MS, and BTech. Among them were 18 doctoral degrees in both science and engineering fields.
Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) Chairman and Secretary of the Department of Space S. Somanath was the chief guest at the convocation.
Ramesh Venkateswaran, chairman of the Board of Governors, IIT Palakkad, and A. Seshadri Sekhar, Director of IIT Palakkad, presided over the ceremony.
Prof. Sekhar conferred degrees on all the graduates in attendance. Mr. Somanath presented medals to students for their scholastic achievements.
Gautham Giri from the Department of Civil Engineering received the prestigious Institute Medal for being the best BTech student. Sheena Shaji, student of Geotechnical Engineering, was honored with the Institute Medal for being the best MTech student.
The Institute Medal for the best MSc student was awarded to Debasish Dutta from the Department of Physics. Among the medal winners for the highest cumulative grade point average (CGPA), five out of 13 students were women. Similarly, women won nearly half of the doctorates awarded on the occasion. Prof. Sekhar stressed the institute’s commitment to gender diversity and equal opportunities.