Remain adaptable, embrace evolving technologies and develop a growth mindset, graduating students at GITAM told
Emphasising the importance of continuous learning in the era of Artificial Intelligence, he also stressed the importance of understanding emerging trends and staying committed to personal and professional growth. Emotional intelligence — self-awareness, empathy, motivation, and relationship management — is critical for effective leadership and teamwork in the AI-driven world, he advised students.
In the ceremony, 2,002 degrees were awarded to 1,638 undergraduates, 264 postgraduates and 100 doctoral scholars from various disciplines. Thirty-two students were awarded Gold Medals for academic excellence.
The university conferred Honorary Doctor of Science (D.Sc.) upon former Director, Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research (IGCAR), B. Venkatraman for his work in nuclear engineering and non-destructive evaluation; Doctor of Letters (D.Litt.) upon Arunachalam Muruganantham, social entrepreneur and inventor of a low-cost sanitary pad-making machine; and Doctor of Letters (D.Litt.) upon R. Venkateswara Rao.
GITAM president M. Sribharat, Vice-Chancellor Errol D'Souza, Pro Vice-Chancellor D.S. Rao and others were present.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
NDTV
8 hours ago
- NDTV
From Cow Dung To Cosmos: How India Gave The World Direct-To-Home Television
Fifty years ago, on August 1, 1975, India quietly launched one of the most transformative experiments in global communication history -- the Satellite Instructional Television Experiment, or SITE. A collaboration between the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and the American space agency NASA, SITE not only revolutionised rural education and development in India but also laid the foundation for what the world now knows as direct-to-home (DTH) television. In an exclusive interview with NDTV, Dr Kiran Karnik, a key architect of SITE and later head of the Discovery India channel, reflected on the scale, ambition, and legacy of the experiment. "It was probably the most exciting phase of my career," he said. "And not just for me-many of us involved with SITE still say it was the most fulfilling and satisfying work we ever did." A Satellite Umbrella In Space SITE was powered by NASA's ATS-6 satellite, a technological marvel of its time. "It had a 30-foot diameter dish, something like what the NISAR satellite has," Dr Karnik explained. "You couldn't launch a 30-foot satellite directly, so they designed it like an umbrella-folded during launch and is deployed in space." This innovation enabled the first-ever direct broadcasting from space. "In many ways, this was the precursor of what today you call DTH," Dr Karnik said. "The unique thing was, this was the first time for such an experiment anywhere in the world on this scale to take television programmes out to really remote areas." Community Viewing In Remote Villages SITE wasn't just about technology -- it was about impact. The experiment reached 2,400 villages across six Indian states, including Odisha and Bihar, where electricity was scarce and floods were frequent. "We ran the TV sets on batteries because there was no power," Dr Karnik recalled. "Some of our maintenance teams had to go via Nepal during the monsoons to reach the villages." Despite the challenges, the uptime of these rural TV sets was better than urban ones. "Young engineers in their early 20s maintained these sets with such high motivation that our downtime was less than that of urban TV sets," he said. The programming was tailored to local needs-agriculture, education, science, and development. "We had area-specific, language-specific content, and a national programme that was common across all regions," Dr Karnik noted. "Head In The Stars, Feet In Cow Dung" SITE was a paradoxical blend of cosmic ambition and grassroots reality. "I might summarise it as saying, common to me and many others in ISRO: head in the stars and cow dung on your feet," Dr Karnik quipped. "At one end, you're dreaming big things out in space. On the other, you're rooted in the reality of India." The ground equipment was entirely designed and developed in India. "NASA provided the satellite, but the Earth stations, electronics, and 10-foot chicken mesh antennas were all made here," he said. "It was like a set-top box, but for community viewing." Magic In The Eyes Of Children The social impact of SITE was profound. "Most villagers had then never seen a moving picture," Dr Karnik said. "Suddenly, here was this box that began to deliver images. It was magic. The children were so taken with it, their eyes lit up with wonder." This emotional connection drove the ISRO culture. "It gave us fulfilment and satisfaction. That's what motivated us," he said. The Visionaries Behind SITE Two names stand out in SITE's history: Professor Yashpal and Professor EV Chitnis. "Professor Yashpal was the director of the Space Applications Centre and truly a renaissance scientist," Dr Karnik said. "He brought in dramatists, artists, writers, creating a unique mix of technologists and creatives." Professor Chitnis, was Dr Vikram Sarabhai's right-hand man, he was the programme manager. "He was the mentor and guide to our young, impatient team," Dr Karnik said. "Even today, at 100, he remains mentally active and remembers everything." Kheda: Decentralisation In Action Alongside SITE, ISRO launched the Kheda Experiment in Gujarat, focusing on decentralised rural broadcasting. "We set up a small TV transmitter in a village and worked with cooperatives," Dr Karnik said. "Villagers began making their own programmes. It was participative communication at its best." Mr Kheda won UNESCO's prize and inspired the spread of low-powered TV transmitters across India. "At one time, Doordarshan was installing one a day," he said. From SITE To Discovery After SITE and the countrywide classroom programme, Karnik transitioned to Discovery India channel. "Discovery was focused only on documentaries-real-world entertainment," he said. "It was a challenge to prove that this genre could work in India." Dr Karnik succeeded. "At the end of five years, National Geographic came in as a competitor. That meant we had created a market," he said. India's Gift To The World "The US did a technology demonstration, but the scale and application were unique to India," Dr Karnik said. "Arthur C Clarke the famous science fiction writer then called it the greatest communication experiment in history. Maybe a bit of hyperbole, but there's truth behind it." SITE's legacy is undeniable. "It spurred the world to get direct-to-home television, starting from rural districts in India," Dr Karnik said. "We need to celebrate that." The ISRO Ethos SITE also shaped ISRO's philosophy. "Applications drove technology," Dr Karnik emphasised. "We didn't have satellites or rockets, so we borrowed them. But we built everything else ourselves." He hopes ISRO continues this ethos. "No vanity projects, no competition for its own sake," he said. "Just competing to see what you can do for the people in this country." This was ISRO's philosophy and a huge legacy inculcated by Dr Sarabhai. ISRO says Satellite Instructional Television Experiment (SITE), hailed as 'the largest sociological experiment in the world' during 1975-76. This experiment benefited around 200,000 people, covering 2400 villages of six states and transmitted development-oriented programmes using the American Technology Satellite (ATS-6). The credit of training 50,000 science teachers in primary schools in one year goes to SITE.' A Legacy That Lives On Today, millions of Indian homes rely on DTH television. Smartphones with satellite-to-phone connectivity are still on the horizon. But the roots of this revolution lie in a dusty villages in India, where a 10-foot dish and a battery-powered TV set brought the cosmos to the community. "SITE was the catalyst that made ISRO what it is today," Dr Karnik said. This broadcast is what bridged India's digital divide, way back in 1975, well before the Internet became omnipresent.
New Indian Express
2 days ago
- New Indian Express
T'Puram, Kochi, feature in Nasscom's list of top GCC hubs
Big corporations are finding Kerala's tier 2 cities attractive for setting up Global Capability Centres (GGCs), reads a report released by Nasscom. According to it, both Thiruvananthapuram and Kochi have registered over 20 GGCs, and together they employ more than 15,000 and 8,000 people, respectively. One major reason behind this trend is the fact that tier 1 cities like Bengaluru have become saturated, Infopark CEO Susanth Kurunthil tells TNIE. 'Other factors like high land cost and over-stretched infrastructure facilities elsewhere, too, have had many MNCs eyeing tier 2 cities, especially Kochi and Thiruvananthapuram,' he says. A source with a real estate firm that deals with IT infrastructure seconds Susanth. He says, 'Unlike other tier 2 cities in the country, the land value in Kochi and Thiruvananthapuram is lower, even compared to nearby cities like Coimbatore. Then there is the advantage of having better connectivity and a huge concentration of educational institutions,' he says, implying a larger talent pool. Susanth, too, points to this as yet another alluring factor. 'The availability of a big talent pool in Kerala has made it a favourite destination for setting up GCC among big companies like IBM, Nissan, EY, etc,' the Infopark CEO says. Then, it is also about being part of a thriving, supportive ecosystem, and not always just about business growth, says Technopark CEO Col Sanjeev Nair (retd). 'Good infrastructure, a skilled workforce and an inclusive community ethos — these are what made Thiruvananthapuram a preferred destination for GCCs, deep tech firms and startups alike,' he says.
Economic Times
2 days ago
- Economic Times
Infosys sees ‘good activity' on projects; moves forward with new hiring
Infosys is seeing high levels of utilisation for its workforce, and fresh hires are being trained and deployed on projects, said the software major's chief executive, Salil Parekh.'There is good activity from clients on enterprise solutions. Those solutions where we have very strong skills, we see quite a strong demand. And [as] those continue to roll out, we see good recruitment, good utilisation,' Parekh said in an interview with CNBC-TV18 on Wednesday Coupled with clients' consolidation decisions and artificial intelligence (AI) reskilling, these factors are helping high utilisation of employees, he said. Adding 8,000 more employees during the 12 months to June 30, 2025, the information technology (IT) bellwether has improved its revenue efficiency per employee, the Infosys CEO emphasised. Infosys will shape its recruitment plans for the current fiscal year to meet the revenue guidance for the period, the Infosys CEO second-largest Indian software exporter had tightened its revenue guidance range for the fiscal year ending March 2026 to 1–3%, from 0–3% earlier, signalling more clarity on topline visibility. Its net addition to the workforce during the April-June quarter stood at 210. Parekh reiterated Infosys' target of hiring 20,000 freshers during FY26, which was set at the end of the previous fiscal year. The company onboarded 17,000 freshers and lateral hires in the June quarter itself, Parekh said. IT job cut fears Parekh's confidence contradicts the wider job security concerns in the Indian IT industry after the largest player in the space, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), said it will cut 2% of its global workforce, or more than 12,000 employees. The massive layoffs are on account of a skills mismatch, TCS CEO K Krithivasan stated, and not due to artificial intelligence (AI) replacing employees. Brokerage firm Jefferies said job cuts at the Tata subsidiary may be a 'canary in the coal mine' moment for IT services. 'TCS' move to cut 2% of its workforce may lead to execution slippages in the near term and higher attrition in the longer run for the firm and reflects a weak demand environment for the sector,' it said in a recent report. IT industry body Nasscom also warned of some level of 'workforce rationalisation' in the near term. The cuts are due to the pivot toward product-aligned delivery models and the rising demand from global clients for greater agility, speed, and innovation, it said on Tuesday. Nasscom said that the technology sector is undergoing a structural transformation as AI and automation become central to business operations, with implications for both service delivery and workforce models. 'Traditional skill sets are being re-evaluated, and this may lead to some transitions.'
