Bhubaneswar, Dec 28: Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Saturday attended the 12th and 13th Convocation of IIT, Bhubaneswar.

On the occasion, the Union Education Minister congratulated and extended best wishes to the graduating students of the premier institution and said that the world has a lot of expectations from the youth of India.

In a post on social media, Pradhan said, “This is India’s time. Indian civilisation has traditionally led and cared for the world. India is on its way to become the world’s third-largest economy. Odisha is also uniquely poised to benefit from it with a rich demographic dividend and a knowledge-based society. Students are also the trustees of society. Called upon the graduating students to become job creators and steer us towards a Viksit Bharat and Viksit Odisha.

The Minister said, IIT Bhubaneswar can become the hotpot of innovation. He also encouraged all stakeholders to strengthen research and innovation.

“Government of India and Government of Odisha stands with you to enable you to make the big leap. With our demographic dividend, a knowledge-based society and a growing economy, India will surely lead the way in 4th Industrial Revolution and the faces I see in front of me will be the leaders of this revolution,” he told the students.

The IIT Bhubaneswar conferred degrees on 1,388 students for 2022-23 and 2023-24 academic years.

Shreepad Karmalkar, IIT Director, told the media that two BTech students received the President's gold medal for 2022-23 and 2023-24, while six students received director's gold medals for best academic performance.