Thiruvananthapuram  :

As many as 572 students who passed out from IIST (Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology) in the years 2014, 2015 and 2016 were awarded certifications at the fourth IIST convocation convened here on Saturday.
Among the students 378 were BTech graduates, 178 MTech graduates and 16 PhD holders.

The chairman’s gold medal for best academic performer was bagged by Mr. Mithun Neelakandan, Mr.S. Sajin and Mr. Mohit Singh Malik for the year 2014, 2015 and 2016, respectively.

The director’s gold medal was presented to Priyanka Natani, Gaurav Harsha and Aditya Duhan  for the respective years.

“First degree is like a learner’s licence which allows you to practice as a professional engineer and technologist. Acquiring wisdom is a moral duty and it is not something you do to advance your life,” said V K Aartre, director general of Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), who was the chief guest in his convocation address.

“The intimate interweaving and mutual enhancement of science and technology in the past century accounts for the ever escalating pace of both,” he said. IIST Chancellor Prof UR Rao presided over.

IIST under the ISRO is the first institution of its kind in India to offer education in the bachelors, masters, doctoral and post- doctoral levels in areas with special focus on space sciences, space technology and space applications.

The institute conducts its own admission examination, ISAT, based on which students get admission to various UG programmes. The institute also has the MoU with Universities Space Research Association (USRA) and California Institute of Technology  in USA.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / News Home> City News> Thiruvananthapuram / October 16th, 2016