CHENNAI: Vellore Institute of Technology (VIT), Chennai, held its 14th annual convocation on Sunday (August 16), with 4,518 undergraduate, postgraduate and PhD students receiving their degrees.

T Ramasami, former Secretary, Department of Science and Technology, GoI, was the chief guest.

Mohit Jain, COO (Publishing) and Board Member, Bennett, Coleman & Co, was the guest of honour, while Ganesanathan Geathiswaran, Deputy High Commissioner of Sri Lanka, South India, was the special guest.

VIT Founder and Chancellor G Viswanathan presided over the ceremony.

VIT Vice-Presidents Sankar Viswanathan and GV Selvam, Vice-Chancellor VS Kanchana Bhaaskaran, pro-Vice Chancellor T Thyagarajan and other senior officials attended the event.

Addressing the graduates, Ramasami said that young people had an important role in shaping not only their own future but also that of their families, the country and humanity.

“While only 740 engineering students graduated from TN a few decades ago, now, it has increased to several lakhs annually. The reason is mobilisation of available resources,” he added. “TN has emerged as a leader in R&D since 2000, based on research papers published in peer-reviewed journals. Around 61% of India’s research papers comes from here, with private universities contributing 35%.”

Viswanathan highlighted that only about 13% of India’s population had attained graduate-level education and called for greater expansion of higher education.

Mohit Jain urged graduates to work hard, build teams and pursue solutions to unresolved problems, while cautioning them against linking happiness solely to future achievements.

Geathiswaran highlighted the longstanding cultural and historical ties between India and Sri Lanka, particularly between TN and Lanka.