982 degrees conferred at BU's 5th Convocation

By PRANAVI AMBATI

Greater Noida: Amid thunderous applause and proud smiles of the faculty and parents, Bennett University’s graduating Batch of 2023 received their degrees, decked in graduation robes and hats that were later tossed into the air.

Graced with the presence of Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath who attended Bennett University’s 5^th Convocation on the campus on December 7 as Chief Guest, and Zerodha Founder Nikhil Kamath who was the Guest of Honour, the campus was energized to confer upon its graduating cohort the results of their hard work and perseverance.

Other dignitaries included the State’s Minister of Higher Education Yogendra Upadhyay and the Minister of State for the Public Works Department Brijesh Singh.

In his address, the Chief Minister congratulated Chancellor Vineet Jain for establishing a state-of-the-art private university in Uttar Pradesh and for fostering a culture of progressive education. “I am happy to see that the university is achieving the principles envisioned under the National Education Policy 2020 in the 7 years of its establishment so far,” he said.


The Chief Minister’s address reiterating the Prime Minister’s ‘Panch Pran’ or five resolves to a developed India was preceded by a tree-planting ceremony, symbolic of the growth, prosperity and nurturing of young minds. He was also presented with a painting depicting the coronation of Lord Rama as a token of appreciation by a student-artist Harshit Agarwal at the university.

As many as 982 degrees were conferred at the convocation which was declared open by the Chancellor, alongside officiating Vice-Chancellor Ajith Abraham, Registrar Dhirendra Singh Parihar and the Deans of the respective schools, who formed the academic procession.

“I am confident that the education imparted at Bennett University has prepared you to be individuals who use the knowledge and skills for the betterment of the society,” the Chancellor said in his address.

He also took the moment to share his vision for the university in the coming years, with the launch of an interdisciplinary school in the field of artificial intelligence. “Incoming students shall now be able to major in AI, with specializations in some of the hot areas like FinTech, healthcare, robotics, economics and marketing,” he added.

“We have over 80 plus functional Memorandums of Understandings. We are optimistic of growing these to over 120 collaborations in the coming academic year. Our focus is on positioning Bennett University as a world-class institute of research and innovation,” Abraham said. On behalf of Bennett University, he announced the presenting of D.Phil. Honoris Causa to Kamath for his contributions in the field of business.

In addition to the 982 degrees, 21 PhD degrees were awarded. Meritorious students with distinguished academic and co-curricular journeys were recognised for their calibre. The Chancellor’s Gold Medal, 4 Chancellor’s Silver Medals and 17 Vice-Chancellor’s Gold Medals were bestowed on students of various Schools.

The top honour of Chancellor’s Gold Medal was conferred on Aaviral Agarwal, who pursued the three-year BCA programme.


Kushagra Joshi, recipient of the Chancellor’s Silver Medal (All Rounder Student) and the Vice-Chancellor’s Gold Medal for Batch Topper in BBA Hons, was at a loss of words due momentary elation. “I was aware that medals would be conferred on me. However, the bigness of the moment truly sunk in when I walked up to the stage and was given the medal,” Joshi said. His highlight of the day? “Seeing pride on my parents’ faces,” he said.

The Times School of Media’s best student Shambhavi Upadhyay was the proud recipient of the Vice-Chancellor’s Gold medal. “My years at Bennett University shaped me as a person and gave me the vision to attempt the UPSC exam. The Gold medal means a lot to me,” Upadhyay said in a voice overwhelmed with emotion.

(The writer is a Semester-3 student of the BA Journalism and Mass Communication programme.)