Guwahati: Leading higher educational institution Assam down town University
(AdtU) recently celebrated the 9th Convocation Day at the university campus. His Excellency Prof
Jagdish Mukhi, Governor of Assam; Dr Ranoj Pegu, Minister of Education, Welfare of Plain Tribe and
Backward Classes, Govt. of Assam; Dr Shekhar C. Mande, Former Director General CSIR, New Delhi,
graced the occasion along with dignitaries of the university, faculty members, students and their
parents.
The convocation ceremony commenced with the academic procession by the dignitaries of AdtU along
with His Excellency, the Governor of Assam. After the procession, the National Anthem was played
and His Excellency, the Governor of Assam declared the 9th Convocation of Assam down town
University Open. After the Invocation song (the university anthem) the Chancellor addressed the
gathering and extended a warm welcome to all the guests. The Registrar invited The Honourable
Minister of Education, Dr Ranoj Pegu to address the gathering. Sri Pegu acknowledged the role of
Assam down town University in its contribution to the education sector and lauded its effort in
ensuring the employability of the students after their course completion. He further said that the role
of private universities cannot be underestimated as they help to provide qualitative higher education
to lakhs of students when the state universities cannot accommodate them due to their limitations.
He entreated AdtU to offer a greater variety of vocational courses that will provide substantial
employability to the students. The Vice Chancellor, Prof. N.C. Talukdar presented the university report
after the speech of the Education Minister which was followed by the conferment of D. Litt (Honoris
Causa) to Sri Chiranjit Chaliha, Prominent Industrialist, Sri Dinesh Shahra, Eminent Entrepreneur &
Industrialist, and Prof. CA (Dr) M.S. Jadav, Noted Chartered Accountant.
This year a total of 1300 students and scholars have graduated, of which 1063 are Undergraduates,
299 are Post Graduates, and 12 PhD degrees who have been awarded. Ms. Shiny Ahmed, Master of
Pharmacy, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Science administered the Oath of Dedication.The program also
witnessed the conferment of gold medals to the best graduate – Lunasmrita Saikia, and postgraduate
– Shiny Ahmed. The appreciation award for the best placement recipient went to Shatakshi
Chakraborty, and the AdtU Alumni Award for Inspiring Achievement was received by Farzana Afreen.
After the awards, Dr. Shekhar C. Mande, Former Director General, CSIR, delivered the Convocation
Address wherein he emphasised that the skills that the students pick up from their years at the
university will hopefully enable them to meet the challenges of life. Thereafter, the Chancellor of
Assam down town University requested His Excellency, the Governor of Assam to address the
convocation.
Honorable Governor of Assam Prof Jagdish Mukhi, congratulated the graduating batch of 2022 and
extended his greetings to the proud parents as well. He appreciated AdtU’s contribution to churning
out intellectual minds and creating the much-needed quality in human resources in various fields. He
said that he was a strong believer in the notion that education is one of the crucial drivers of socio-
economic development and the creation of livelihood to lead a happy and dignified life. He advised
the students that acquiring their degrees was not the end of their journey, in fact, it is just the
beginning. He added that their contributions will be judged and their efforts will be appreciated when
they can serve society at large. He concluded by saying, “Words mean nothing unless followed by
action”.
After the presentation of degrees and speeches by the distinguished guests, the Honorable Governor
of Assam signed the Convocation Book and declared the Convocation closed. The program was hosted
by the Masters of Ceremonies, Mr. Bhriganka Bharadwaj and Dr. Sagarika Mahanta. The Convocation
Ceremony was concluded with the National Anthem.