Cuttack, Odisha: Sri Sri University (SSU) Thursday hosted its 8th Convocation Ceremony virtually for the second consecutive year.
Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, founder of the university, blessed the graduating students of the 8th Convocation as the chief guest. He inspired the students to become sharp and adaptable in challenging situations.
He said, “Education is the backbone of a cultured and civilised society. Sri Sri University has become a model in providing ideal education for the world community to emulate. Graduation means moving from one level to the other.”
He advised all to have a combination of passion and enthusiasm so that one will never get fatigued He congratulated the graduating students and their parents. He praised the faculty and the team Sri Sri University for its their endeavour in providing quality education along with life skill s techniques to make the motto ‘Learn-Lead-Serve’ a reality.
In the Convocation, 499 students, comprising eight Ph.D. scholars, and 491 postgraduates and undergraduates received their degree certificates.
Manuj Madan, Anubhab Patnaik, Puneet Kumar, Arpan Mahapatra, K. P. Rao, Tulika Bal, Malaya Malla and Rajendra Kumar Behera were awarded the PhD degrees under the aegis of the Faculty of Management Studies.
As many as 20 students received gold medals for outstanding academic achievements under various specializations of 19 different programmes including the overall best student of MBA. These students are Piyhoo Gupta (MBA, Human Resources, and the Best Student of the Batch , Akankshya Mohanty (MBA Marketing), Srestha Chatterjee (MBA Finance), Pavase Abhijit Balasaheb (MBA Operations), Swadhin Mohanty (MBA Agri-Business), Vala Shital Bavkubhai (M.A. Yogic Science), Abhin Sahu (M.A. Journalism and Mass Communication), Amrita Iyengar (M.A. Sanskrit), Aparna Mishra (M. A. English), Ronak Kumar Agarwal (M. Com), Chelsey Saluja (BBA), Nibedita Subudhi and . Anwesha Prusty (B.Com.), . Chaitanyaa Tripathi (B.Sc. Yoga), Shantwana Mishra (Bachelor of Performing Arts, Odissi), Ashutosh Dey (BPA, Hindustani Vocal), Satabdi Priyadarsini Behera (B. Sc. Agriculture), Sahashrabdi Dash (B.A. English), Neha Kumari Jaiswal (B.Sc. Computer Science), and Adyasha Jena (B. Arch).
Prof. Ajay Kumar Singh, Vice-Chancellor, delivered the welcome address and read the annual report of the University. He mentioned the new programmes introduced in the University syllabuses, some viz., Contemplative and Behavioural Sciences, Cyber Peace, and Hindu Studies.
Prof. Rajita Kulkarni, president, SSU presided over the virtual gathering and narrated the incredible achievements of the University.
A few eminent board members of the Board of Governors of the University, who marked their presence, were Vinod Menon, International Art of Living Faculty; Dr. Alfred Balitzer, Emeritus Professor at Claremont McKenna College; Ean Kuok, Chairman, of Kuok (Singapore) Limited, Singapore and a Director of Kerry Group Limited and Kerry Holdings Limited, Hong Kong. Dev Varyani, Founder and Chairman, VISTA Groups & Subsidiaries. The eminent board of advisors who joined the virtual gathering are Krishna Hussainali Mathoera, Minister of Defence, Republic of Suriname, Dr. Nandini Tandon, Co-Founder & Global CEO of the IndUS Setu Global Foundation; Priya Tandon, Co-Founder & President of the IndUS Setu Global Foundation; Rathi Murthy, CTO & President Expedia Services etc.
Shatabdi Priyadarshini Behera, Gold Medallist from the charter batch of B.Sc. (Agriculture), expressed immense thankfulness for life lessons and domain s knowledge learnt during the course of her in four-year studies at the University. Prawin Kumar, who presented the Gold Medal to a student, was mesmerized to see the camaraderie and the great bonding among the students and the staff to that made the virtual event so lively with a personal touch.
The Executive Registrar, Prof. B.R. Sharma offered a vote of thanks.
Many witnessed this grand event that recorded a virtual footfall of over 5000 attendees including students, parents, academicians, administrative staff members, media persons, civil servants, administrative and police personnel, businesspersons, trustees, apex body members, and the Art of Living teachers among others.
