Over 1,500 students receive degrees at IISc convocation

Bengaluru: As many as 1,487 PhD and master's and 106 undergraduate students received their degrees at the annual convocation of the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) on Friday.

Eighty-four students were awarded gold medals.

The institute offers PhD and integrated PhD programmes, master's courses like MTech and MTech (Online), and two undergraduate programmes — BSc (Research) and BTech (Mathematics and Computing).

Infosys Co-founder and IISc Council Chair Kris Gopalakrishnan said that these programmes were vital for the world, adding that India produced affordable solutions that could benefit other countries. He urged for developing technologies within the country and exporting them.

"First, new technologies are here. India can lead. Second, research will transform because of AI, creating opportunities for new leadership. Third, funding for research is growing, with the government allocating $12 billion," he said.

Manjul Bhargava, mathematics professor at Princeton University, underlined the importance of basic sciences for national growth. Stating that India lacked sufficient basic research, he encouraged students to work in fundamental sciences and explore areas like education, health, and public policy.

On creativity, Bhargava said it could not be forced. "It happens when it happens. Learning should come from within,” he said, urging students to learn about other disciplines and discover connections between them.

Commenting on the impact of Artificial Intelligence, he noted: "AI will change many things. It is not yet good at mathematics and sciences, but will improve. In a year or two, AI will solve many college-level science problems.”