उपराज्यपाल, दिल्ली
- Hon’ble Minister for Education, GNCTD, Ms. Atishi
- Chief Guest, Ms. Suma Varughese, Director General, DRDO
- Vice-Chancellor, Smt. S. Indu
- Secretary, TTE, Smt. Alice Vaz
- Registrar, Faculty Members, Proud Parents, and
- My Dear Students.
I am happy to be present amidst you today. It is indeed a matter of privilege to be presiding over the 10th Convocation of the prestigious Delhi Technological University.
02. At the outset, I extend my heartiest congratulation to the graduating students on this momentous occasion. You have achieved a proud academic milestone and are ready to take your first step into the substantive realms of a career or further academic pursuits. Wherever you go from the haloed portals of this Institution, remember that sky is the limit for you - there is nothing that bounds you in pursuit of your passion.
03. I also take this opportunity to congratulate and thank the proud parents of the graduating students, for their unwavering support and encouragement throughout these years. I deeply appreciate the efforts and commitment of the faculty members and the entire fraternity of DTU who have always been strong pillars of support for you students.
04. As the Chancellor of this University, I am delighted to share that the DTU has been committed to quality education and has a legacy of producing great engineers, researchers and entrepreneurs for the last 82 years. Year after year, this University has been keeping the flame of academic excellence alive with their relentless efforts and hard-work.
05. It is heartening that, over the years, DTU has grown to be an eminent institution in the domains of academia as well as research. I have been informed that the ranking of DTU on National and International parameters in different rankings has been continuously improving. However, I would not be true to myself if I say that I am satisfied by these rankings. The rankings may have improved consistently, but there is always a scope for improvement.
06. To my mind, the goal should be reaching the top and any ranking that you achieve would be considered worthwhile only if you were to become a hub that creates intellectual capital that adds to the Nation’s knowledge resource base. A base, that further goes on to augment our knowledge economy and power the engines of National growth.
Dear Friends,
07. We have had the legacy of a Taksh Shila, Vikram Shila, Udant Puri and Nalanda. These were Universities, which, for over a millennia, drove the global academic discourse. I take this opportunity to exhort you to shape yourself on the lines of these institutions that attracted scholars and students from across the world, contrary to what we see now, with our students seeking academic excellence in Universities outside India.
08. I am happy that the University has exhibited an unparalleled placement record over the last many years. In the session 2022-23, 335 companies visited the campus and offered 2116 jobs to the students. These included 12 international offers. The highest domestic package offered at DTU was Rs 82.05 Lakh per annum. The offers included 523 offers of above 20 lakhs and 914 offers in the range of 10 to 20 lakh per annum.
09. At this stage of my address, I would again like to underline a word of caution. As highly qualified students of various technology streams from a remarkable institution, to my mind, your horizon should be far broader than acquiring a career in a multi-national corporation that aims only at profit. The skill set that you have acquired at this prestigious institution has shaped you as individuals, who have the capacity to become agents of India’s socio-economic transformation.
10. While on hand you have the ability to become important cogs that turn the wheels of National development, on the other hand, you also have the intellectual capacity to enrich basic and fundamental research - research that leads to inventions and innovations that have the capacity of transforming the lives of millions.
Dear young friends,
11. I am sure that each one of you is proud to be a student of this eminent University. In the last few years, you all have been wonderfully transformed to become bright, confident, well-trained and accomplished individuals that you are today. But, today is a "DAY OF CHANGE" for you all - a change that will move you all out of the little safe bounds of this campus, and place you in front of a whole world of opportunities.
12. Passing out from prestigious institutions, I have often seen, also inadvertently imbibes a sense of false pride in some students. An arrogance that results in looking down upon those who did not have the privilege or circumstances to attend institutions of eminence, fails the very purpose of education. Education opens your mind, broadens your horizon and makes you inclusive. Empathy, my dear students, is a virtue.
It is said;
जब आप किसी को छोटा देखतें हैं,
तो या तो आप उसे दूर से देखतें हैं, या अपने गुरुर से देखतें हैं,
13. Along with your opportunities, will come unprecedented situations and sometimes, difficult choices. I wish to share a few thoughts with you today, thoughts that can serve as talisman while you shape your life ahead. In the words of Martin Luther King and I quote:
"We must accept finite disappointment, but we must never lose finite hope".
14. I want you all to decipher the 'Power of Positivity'. There is no human being in this world who has not faced a challenge in their life. The world outside the happy and protected bounds of your house and college will be full of challenge. It may seem disappointing at first, but trust me, it is not hard for those who have positivity inculcated in them.
15. You need to trust yourself. You need to see the positive side of things and ignore the negative. With your goal in your mind, and your relentless determination to achieve it, there is nothing that can stop you if you learn to rise up, every time you fall.
16. I also want to encourage you to constantly strive to learn something new every day in your life. As you will move forward in your lives, and collect more accolades and academic degrees, some of you may make the mistake of thinking that your learnings are over. Do not be complacent. Remember that every morning is an opportunity to learn something more and new. This thirst of knowledge will help you strengthen your abilities and make you ready for facing the ever-changing world of today. It is said:
टीचर भी सिखाता है और वक्त भी सिखाता है
दोनों में फर्क इतना है कि टीचर सिखा कर इम्तिहान लेता है
और वक्त इम्तिहान ले कर सिखाता है
17. Remember that professional success is not just measured in terms of your academic, managerial, or other professional abilities. It is also measured in terms of your commitment, hard-work, honesty, loyalty, faithfulness and trustworthiness. Always keep ethics above your professional competencies. Ethics shape your character, and define the kind of human being you are. One of the greatest sons of Mother India, the great academician, lawyer and our first President, Dr. Rajendra Prasad had said and I quote,
“In attaining our ideals, our means should be as pure as the end”.
18. Your ends my dear students should not just be personal enrichment. Your growth trajectory should be such, that with you grows your family, the society and indeed the Nation. Trust me, being a good human being is far more important than being a good engineer or a good manager. As is often said,
“डिग्रियां तो पढाई के खर्च की रसीदें होती हैं,
असली ज्ञान वही है, जो आपका व्यवहार दर्शाता है ।
Dear Students,
19. Over the last few years, this University has brought you up from being babies to toddlers in terms of your academic excellence. You have been taught to walk, to talk, and to explore. The world is now yours to explore. I wish to encourage you all to take up challenges, seek solutions and become problem solvers of tomorrow for our city, our Nation and the whole world. I wish to close by congratulating you all once again. I am sure that you all will conquer the unconquered skies and take the name of your University, and this country to newer heights.
I wish you God Speed.
Thank you. Jai Hind.