IIT-B holds virtual convocation event

MUMBAI: In a one-of-a-kind experience, three-dimensional avatars of graduating students of the Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay, received their degrees in a virtual convocation ceremony held on Sunday afternoon.

“You are the first batch of graduates among those who are still in the pipeline, who had faced extreme hardship due to the spread of the pandemic. But despair no more, dear students, you are now proud graduates of IIT Bombay,” said Subhasis Chaudhuri, director of the institute, urging them to stand up to their true potential.

Over 2,400 graduates from undergraduate, post graduate and doctoral programmes graduated from the institute this year. Of these, around 1,255 are likely to have used the ‘IIT Bombay Convocation 2020’ mobile application to take part in the ceremony from the comfort of their homes using a mobile application that the institute specially designed for the purpose.

Apart from the ceremony, graduates could use the application to take a virtual tour of the campus and hang out with friends at their favourite joints. Once downloaded, the application does not require internet connectivity to run. For those who couldn’t use the app, the ceremony was telecast live on the social media channels of the institute as well as DD Sahyadri.

It took the effort of 20 experts, most from the IDC School of Design, to plan, design and create this platform and mobile application. “It took more than 5000 person hours to build the whole thing,” added Sunthar.

“I will definitely miss the feel and the atmosphere of the convocation in the institute I’ve been part of for four years.