IIM Shillong hosted its 14th annual convocation today with five doctoral scholars conferred with PhDs.
A further 238 students from PGP 2021-23 batch (two years full time residential programme), 43 students from PGPEX batch of 2022-23 (one year full time residential programme), 16 students from PGPWE 2020-22 and 47 students from PGPWE 2021-23 batch (two years programme for working executives) where conferred with MBA degrees.
While delivering the welcome address, the chairman of the Board of Governors, Shishir Kumar Bajoria, congratulated the students on their achievements and emphasised the importance of skill development in shaping India’s future.
He urged the students to leverage their learnings from IIM Shillong to make a positive impact on society. Since 1947, Bajoria said, India received $950 billion of FDI, of which $532 billion was in the last three years. He rattled off several other statistics, namely that it took the country 67 years to become a $1 trillion economy but only eight years for the second trillion and five years for the third.
“This is the New India,” he said. “Sixty-five percent of our GDP was driven by domestic demand. Out of a 1.4 billion population, about 1 billion are young Indians with an average age of 29. India is the world’s youngest country and will continue to be so for the next 70 years and, dear students, you are going to participate in that as young Indians.”
The event was graced by Rajeev Chandrasekhar, Union Minister of State for Electronics and Information Technology and Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, as the chief guest (through virtual mode) and Gaurav Swarup, Co-Chairman & Managing Director of Paharpur Cooling Towers Ltd, as the guest of honour.
While delivering the convocation address Chandrasekhar said India has been fortunate to have been growing while many countries are grappling with recession and other challenges.
“I firmly believe that India is the country of the decade and I urge the students of IIM Shillong to leverage their education to contribute towards the country’s progress and make a positive impact on society,” he said.
Furthermore, he mentioned that India now offers tremendous opportunities for the youth to pursue their dreams and achieve goals based on their own hard work and abilities.
Swarup congratulated the students and emphasised the importance of leveraging their education to create a positive impact on society.
IIM Shillong Director, Prof DP Goyal, expressed his pride in the achievements of the students and lauded the faculty and staff for their efforts in imparting industry-relevant education. Goyal further mentioned, “as they embark on their professional journey, I urge them to uphold our institution’s values of integrity, empathy, and excellence, and to use their knowledge and skills to contribute towards building a better tomorrow.”
The convocation ceremony witnessed the participation of 238 students, who received job offers from 63 recruiters across various fields. The gender makeup of the class was split 45 percent female to 55 male with an average CTC (cost to company) of Rs 26.96 lakh per annum and a high of Rs 71.30 lakh.
