604 students, including 71 PhD scholars, awarded degrees at IIT Mandi convocation

In a vibrant ceremony held at its scenic North Campus in Kamand, the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Mandi, celebrated its 13th convocation on Thursday, marking another milestone in its rise as a hub of technological innovation.

A total of 604 students, including 71 PhD scholars, 245 postgraduates and 288 B.Tech graduates, were awarded degrees. Notably, over 25 per cent of the graduates were women.

Prof Shekhar C Mande, former Director-General of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), graced the event as chief guest, delivering an inspiring address. He called upon graduates to combine innovation with empathy and integrity. “Science without humanity is not useful,” he said, urging them to apply technology for sustainable and societal good.

The ceremony was chaired by Prof Laxmidhar Behera, Director of IIT-Mandi, and attended by Prof Budaraju Srinivasa Murty, Director of IIT-Hyderabad, and Dr Jagannath Nayak, Director, CHESS–DRDO, as guests of honour.

Prof Behera congratulated the graduating batch, praising their “creativity and commitment to excellence.” He noted that IIT-Mandi has significantly advanced in the NIRF Rankings 2025, and is now focusing on reverse engineering, regional development and disaster management initiatives.

The convocation was especially significant as it marked the graduation of the first batches from new academic programmes, including BTech-MTech Dual Degree, BTech with Second Major and BTech with specialisation tracks among them, a pioneering specialisation in entrepreneurship. Thirteen students also earned BTech (Honours) degrees.

The event honoured academic excellence with top medals: Riya Arora received both the President’s Gold Medal and Institute Silver Medal in computer science and engineering, Vaibhav Kesharwani earned the Director’s Gold Medal and Bhavya was awarded the Institute Gold Medal for postgraduate programmes.

With a growing reputation for research, innovation and social impact, IIT-Mandi’s 13th convocation stood as a proud reflection of its mission, to blend technology with human values for a sustainable future.