We are glad to inform you that the Sixth Convocation of Ahmedabad University was held on Sunday, December 4, 2016, at 5:30 PM, School of Engineering and Applied Science ground. Professor Krishnaswamy VijayRaghavan, Secretary Department of Biotechnology, Ministry of Science & Technology, Government of India was the Chief Guest and delivered the Convocation Address. A total of 1160 students were conferred with degrees this year which included 901 students from Amrut Mody School of Management, 178 students from the School of Computer Studies, 65 students from the School of Engineering and Applied Science, and 16 students from the Division of Biological and Life Sciences, School of Arts and Sciences. The students who received Gold Medals this year are Chinmay Vaishnav (MBA), Anmol Madhav Seth (MCA), Natasha Sanjay Shah (BBA), Dhruvi Shah (BBA Honours), Naqiya Shabbir Shahiwala (BCom), Shashwat Rashmin Sanghvi (BTech). Earlier during the day, Prof. VijayRaghavan had visited the Division of Biological and Life Sciences (DBLS), School of Arts and Sciences, where he was briefed about various ongoing research projects and state-of-art equipments and infrastructure. He also had a brief interactive session with industry representatives and DBLS faculty. The main event started with Shri Sanjay Lalbhai’s Declaration of Opening, which was followed by the invocation ceremony. Professor Pankaj Chandra, Chairman, Board of Management, Ahmedabad University, in his address to the graduating students, parents and guests, spoke about the various new initiatives about the University has undertaken. He spoke about the Undergraduate Research Project initiative and how it will help in cultivating the scientific and research-oriented thought process in the students. He also spoke about the Project-Based Learning approach of the University students and faculty. He mentioned a few notable projects undertaken in collaboration with the Olin College of Engineering, USA. This was followed by Ahmedabad University Chancellor, Shri Sanjay Lalbhai’s address, where he spoke about Ahmedabad University’s commitment towards providing quality education to the deserving students and the never-ending pursuit for improving the education system. Sunny Patel, (BBA Programme) one of the graduating students spoke about his experience at the University. In his brief speech, he thanked the University for broadening his knowledge and giving him the opportunity and confidence to pursue his life goals. He thanked and felt gratitude towards his faculty and alma mater. Professor Krishnaswamy VijaRaghavan congratulated the students and wished them well for their future. In his speech, he spoke about the fact that technology is changing at a faster rate than one can’t even imagine.  By referring to Kodak’s decline, he stressed upon the fact that one can no longer stay complacent in their domain. He urged the students to keep an open mindset, for it will help them to adapt to this ever-evolving landscape of science and technology. Shri Bhupendra Shah, Registrar, thanked the students and especially the parents for having faith in Ahmedabad University. He also spoke about how the University is working tirelessly towards achieving high standards of education. The event culminated with Shri Sanjay Lalbhai’s Declaration of Closing, which was followed by the National Anthem.

About Professor K. VijayRaghavan: Professor K. VijayRaghavan is the Secretary, Department of Biotechnology, Government of India, since January 28, 2013. He was instrumental in the establishment of the National Centre for Biological Sciences, was its Director between 1997 and 2013 and was the interim head of The Institute of Stem Biology and Regenerative Medicine (inStem), a new autonomous institute of the Department of Biotechnology (DBT). Professor VijayRaghavan’s contribution to science, as a developmental biologist, has been recognised widely. He was conferred an honorary Doctor of Science degree by the University of Edinburgh in 2011. He is a J. C Bose fellow of the Department of Science and Technology. He gave the J. C Bose Memorial Lecture at the Royal Society in 2010, was awarded the inaugural Infosys Prize in Life Sciences 2009, The Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize, India’s most prestigious science award, in 1998. He is a Distinguished Alumnus of the Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur. He is a fellow of the Indian National Science Academy, and The Indian Academy of Sciences. Professor VijayRaghavan was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society. He was awarded the Padma Shri in 2013 by the Government of India. He was elected a Foreign Associate of the US National Academy of Sciences in 2014. Professor VijayRaghavan is on the Board of Governors of the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology and on the Scientific Advisory Board of IFCOM, Milan. Professor VijayRaghavan is a Senior Editor of eLife: The new journal from the Wellcome Trust, the HHMI and the MaxPlanck Society. His research primarily focuses on how neural and muscle circuits are made.

To read more about him, check out his Wikipedia page - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/K._VijayRaghavan