IIT-B students’ virtual avatars will get degrees at convocation

MUMBAI: Students graduating from the Indian Institute of Technology-bombay (IIT-B) will not be physically present for their convocation this Sunday, but their virtual avatars will walk up the stage and receive degrees. The institute has created a virtual reality platform for students to experience the convocation ceremony from their homes.

Around 2,100 students, who are graduating, can access their three-dimensional virtual avatars via an application on their smart devices. From Saturday, students can use the app to take a virtual tour of the campus and hang out with friends at their favourite joints. Once downloaded, the app does not require internet connectivity to run.

“At the designated time of the convocation ceremony (1.30pm to 3.30pm), the application will work enabling synchronised viewing.

We did not want students to miss out on any of the aspects of convocation,” said Subhasis Chaudhuri, director of the institute.

On August 13, HT had reported that several IITS were planning to hold virtual or online convocation ceremonies this year in view of the Covid-19 pandemic. However, Iit-bombay claimed that such virtual reality convocation is likely the first in the world.

The entire campus has been replicated in virtual reality, enabling students to interact with each other as well as faculty members. “The departments, hostels and popular meeting points for students have been created virtually so that students can engage and experience the convocation as they would have physically,” said P Sunthar, co-convenor of the Convocation Committee.

Duncan Haldane, Nobel Laureate for Physics in 2016 and professor of Physics at Princeton University, is the chief guest of the ceremony while Stephen Schwarzman, chairperson, chief executive officer and co-founder of Blackstone, will deliver the commencement speech.

The award of degrees will be followed by a synchronised oathtaking — the traditional convocation pledge where the graduates swear to be honest in their discharge of duties as professionals. The entire ceremony will be telecast on the institute’s Youtube and Facebook channels as well as Doordarshan Sahyadri.

Most students are excited by the prospect. Charit Verma, a civil engineering graduate, said while the virtual convocation is a welcome move, his parents are disappointed that they will not be able to visit the institute.

It took the effort of 20 experts, most of them from the IDC School of Design, to plan, design and create this platform and mobile application. “It took more than 5,000 person hours to build the whole thing,” added Sunthar.