NIT Rourkela’s 21st convocation held

Rourkela: National Institute of Technology Rourkela (NIT Rourkela) marked its 21st Convocation on January 20, 2024, celebrating the graduation of 1,988 students, including 457 females and 1531 males. 

Polavarapu Mallikharjuna Prasad, Chairman-cum-Managing Director of Coal India Limited, graced the occasion as the Chief Guest. In his Convocation Address, he emphasized the exciting opportunities in the current era of rapid technological advancements, globalization, and digitalization. He highlighted India’s role as a stable global growth engine and the promising future for young engineers.

This year witnessed a significant rise in female graduates, with 457 female students constituting over 20% of the total graduating class. The female-to-male ratio improved from 1:6 to 1:4 in recent years. Additionally, 82 international students, including 16 females and 66 males, graduated.

NIT Rourkela showcased its commitment to regional art and culture through the Convocation Dress Code, featuring Sambalpuri design costumes. This initiative aims to promote and uplift regional handloom weavers.

In 2023, NIT Rourkela organized CSAB 2023, with a total of 2,15,917 registrations through JoSAA and 57,950 through CSAB Special. A total of 119 central institutes participated in this counseling session, including 23 IITs, 31 NITs, 1 IIEST, 26 IIITs, 3 SPAs, and 35 GFTIs.

Prof. K. Umamaheshwar Rao, director of NIT Rourkela, delivered the Director’s Report, expressing pride in the institute’s contributions to nation-building projects and international recognition. He highlighted successful reforms aligned with NEP 2020, the institute’s first-place ranking based on Transparent Ranking 2023, and its achievements in sustainability rankings. During 2022-23, the institute sanctioned research projects worth Rs. 42.59 crores, secured 22 patents, and had 25 faculty members listed as most influential scientists by Stanford University.

Prof. Rao also emphasized the institute’s commitment to nurturing startups, with over 50 startups incubated at FTBI, covering diverse fields such as electronics, IT/ITeS, fashion technology, and Agri-tech. He underscored the institute’s focus on student well-being through Institute Counselling Services (ICS), which conducts LEAD sessions for internships and orientation sessions for various student categories. The ceremony also conferred a variety of degrees, encompassing 17 B.Arch., 961 B. Tech., 38 Dual Degrees (B.Tech. & M.Tech.), 54 integrated MSc. (5 years), 168 M.Sc., 520 M.Tech., 3 M.Tech (by research), 21 MA, 39 MBA, and 167 PhDs.