1,059 degrees given to students at 21st convocation of MNNIT

Prayagraj: The 21st convocation of Motilal Nehru National Institute of Technology (MNNIT) Allahabad, Prayagraj, was organised at the institute on Thursday.
A total of 1,583 degrees, including 1,059 for B Tech, 345 M Tech, 112 MCA, 27 MSc, 32 MBA, 27 MSc degrees were awarded to the meritorious students and 35 PhD scholars received their degrees during the convocation.
Founder, chairman and managing director of Persistent Systems, Pune, Anand Deshpande, the chief guest on the occasion, said that this is a celebration of students' grit and hard work. "Hard work is fun, overcoming challenges makes you stronger, and life is a journey that is most fun when you travel with friends," he said.
India is already the fifth-largest economy, and within the next five years, it will certainly be the third-largest economy after the US and China, said Deshpande. "I am confident that with your innovativeness and hard work, we will have the opportunity to become the top economy in the world," he added.
On AI, he said that over the next few years, artificial intelligence will transform all aspects of life. "Keeping pace with these changes will be our responsibility and challenge. Think big, as there is no benefit in having small dreams," said Deshpande.
"To succeed being ‘very good' at your craft is essential – just good is not enough," he said. As you build your network, it is vital to establish a network of mentors. At times of difficulty, these mentors will show you the way, he added. The fifth and most important key to success is persistence, he said.
Chairperson, Board of Governors (BOG), Vivek Lall, presided over the convocation ceremony in a virtual mode. The guest of honour at the ceremony was director, School of Planning & Architecture, Bhopal, prof Kailasa Rao M. Others who graced the occasion included chairman, senate, prof LK Mishra, dean (academic); senate members; heads of the different academic departments; deans and officiating registrar prof Ramesh Pandey, along with the director of the institute prof RS Verma.
During the convocation, 46 foreign students admitted through DASA (34 male and 12 female) and 17 admitted through the Indian Council for Cultural Relations- ICCR (14 male and 3 female) also received their degrees. Twenty-eight Gold Medals were given to the postgraduate students, and 10 Gold Medals were given to the undergraduate students. Thirteen sponsored Gold Medals were conferred for outstanding performance.
Rishabh Gupta of Civil Engineering was awarded the overall institute Gold Medal as the best student amongst all the BTech final year students, passing out batch 2024.