'India needs innovators, entrepreneurs,' says Education minister at NIT Karnataka campus

'The way towards India’s strong future lies in the hands of students. Stating that students of NITK, Surathkal have made their mark globally,' Dharmendra Pradhan said

Union Minister for Education, Skill and Entrepreneurship Dharmendra Pradhan said that history provides a strong foundation for building a prosperous future. "Our country needs more entrepreneurs and innovators to achieve our future ambitions" as he delivered the 20th annual convocation address at National Institute of Technology Karnataka-Surathkal (NITK) on Saturday.

The way towards India’s strong future lies in the hands of students. Stating that students of NITK, Surathkal have made their mark globally, he said now they also have to aim to transform into job-creators.

Expansion into fields beyond engineering, strengthening research and innovation climate is what is expected from an institute, he said while stressing the need to give thrust on research for helping India become a developed nation. Priority areas like, Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, Data Analytics, Electronics, Genome Editing, 3D Printing are the way forward. The world is expecting India to play a key role in future development of humanity and regain its glory as "Vishwa-Guru," Pradhan said.

Also Read | Schools must be climate resilient

"NEP 2022 is an attempt to assimilate the ancient with the modern to strive to produce well-rounded citizens of the world. Our students should draw inspiration from Dr Kalam and work for changing India’s destiny," the minister added.

Lauding the biogas plant set up at NITK, he said the plant will convert campus food waste into biogas. NITK is contributing to the national efforts of promoting waste to wealth.
"I have suggested NITK to establish a full fledged sustainable energy department. In the times ahead, Surathkal will drive our green goals and emerge as a lighthouse of energy transition."

In his address, NITK Director Professor Prasad Krishna said that in order to maintain pace with the rising national and worldwide demand, a BTech programme in computational and data science will be introduced during the academic year 2022-23.

During 2021-22, 405 reputable companies had enrolled for campus placements. About 93 per cent of the UG students have been recruited and the maximum salary provided was Rs 45.03 lakh per annum. A total of 1787 candidates graduated during convocation. This includes 126 PhD, 817 PG and 844 B Tech students. Nine B Tech students and 30 PG students received the Institute Gold medals and medals sponsored by various agencies during the convocation for securing highest CGPA.

Earlier, the Union Minister inaugurated the newly constructed central research facility (CRF) and school of interdisciplinary studies building and laid the foundation stone for construction of the lecture hall complex.

Managing Director of Sona Group of Industries K Yajnanarayana and Maire Tecnimont India Region Vice President Milind Baride were guests of honour.