The 48th convocation of the Bangalore University held on Thursday, brought to the fore stories of achievement, hard work and determination.
Lora Jincy, who received six gold medals for her BEd degree, is a mother of two children. Jincy joined her BEd course at CMR College of Education, soon after giving birth to her second child.
“My husband and mother greatly encouraged me to study. It definitely involved a lot of hard work. I used to study late into the night and it has paid off.”
Juggling her personal and professional commitments is nothing new for this teacher at Legacy School, Byrathi, and she now plans to take up MA in English.
Kanchana C does not want to waste even a second of her time. She would take out her books and start studying even while commuting from her house on Bannerghatta Road to Central College.
Her diligence has paid her rich dividends. Kanchana bagged top honours in her postgraduate studies in Mathematics with six gold medals.
“I will continue my studies and plan to do a PhD in the same subject,” she said.
Bagging a total of nine gold medals for his undergraduate degree in civil engineering from University Visvesvaraya College of Engineering is a vindication of sorts for Niranjan C B’s dedicated work.
“I always sat in the first bench of my class, diligently attended all classes and paid close attention to everything that was taught,” said Niranjan.
He completed his MTech in structural engineering from RV College of Engineering. Niranjan will now head to Chennai where he is on the verge of landing a top job with a world renowned technology company. A total of 87 gold medals and 71 cash prizes were awarded on the day.
PhD degrees
Former MP Tejaswini, the journalist-turned-politician, received her doctorate in Political Science, for her thesis on the strife in Kashmir titled, ‘World’s longest pending conflict - Conflict management and conflict resolution’. Tejaswini devoted almost seven years to finish her thesis.
“After I lost the election in 2009, I vigorously pursued my thesis, travelled to Kashmir and did a comprehensive study on all aspects of the subject. There is no end to one’s education and the process of learning is continuous.”
A total of 166 PhD degrees were awarded on the day.
Honorary doctorates
As many as seven honorary doctorates were conferred on former Union minister S M Krishna, former Isro chairman Dr U R Rao, former Indian cricketer G R Vishwanath, Sanskrit scholar Shivakumara Swami, noted Kannada singer B K Sumithra, chief commissioner of income tax K Satyanarayana and Sanskrit scholar Dr Vanitha Ramaswamy.
“It is a beautiful day. In fact, it is one of the best days of my life and I am honoured to receive this honour,” said Vishwanath.
‘Ignite young minds’
Delivering the convocation address, Dr K Radhakrishnan, chairman, Space Commission and Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro), said that universities had a very important role to play in inspiring and igniting the minds of the youth and helping in efforts of national development.
Radhakrishnan stressed the role of an institution in shaping students’ life.
“The prestigious Bangalore University has an apt vision of promoting excellence in education for a vibrant and inclusive society, through knowledge creation and dissemination.
“It shoulders a great responsibility in creating a knowledge society by producing socially sensitive citizens,” said Radhakrishnan.