Central University of Punjab organised the 7th Convocation

Bathinda, March 2, 2022: The Central University of Punjab, Bathinda (CUPB) organised 7th Convocation Ceremony at its campus on Wednesday. The Hon'ble Chancellor of the University, Prof. Jagbir Singh, presided over the ceremony. Padma Vibhushan Dr. Anil Kakodkar, Former Chairman, Atomic Energy Commission, graced the programme as the Chief Guest and delivered the Convocation Address. 
During the Seventh Convocation, a total of 675 PG/PhD degrees were conferred in hybrid mode, which included 650 Post Graduate Degrees and 25 PhD Degrees.  Gold Medals were awarded to 35 meritorious students who secured first position in their respective discipline. Out of 675-degree recipients, 12 PG degree recipients were foreign national students from Afghanistan, Swaziland and Bangladesh. Keeping in view of the COVID-19 situation, the convocation programme was held in hybrid mode (PhD students received their degrees through offline mode and PG students received their degrees through hybrid mode).
At the start of the program, CUPB Vice Chancellor Prof. Raghavendra P. Tiwari delivered the welcome address and presented the university’s Progress Report, where he shed light on the university’s achievements and best practices. He pointed out that after a modest start from a camp office with 10 students in 2009, the university now has around 2398 students studying in 44 PG and 36 PhD programmes at its 500-acre permanent campus. He added that CUPB Campus represents the cosmopolitan culture of Mini India and the cultural diversity of the university is evident from the fact that the university has students from 26 states and 7 UTs of India, along with 41 international students from 13 countries. He praised CUPB faculty and research scholars for maintaining a strong publication profile in the last year by publishing more than 360 research papers in highly indexed journals and receiving extramural grants totaling more than Rs 7 crores (19 projects). He expressed his delight that the university has improved its national ranking (84th rank in NIRF 2021) and has earned its place among the top 10% of HEIs across the world (Webometrics Ranking of World Universities). He made an appeal to graduating students to always use innovative and scientific approaches to find solutions to various problems and work hard to make a mark on the global platform.
The chief guest, Padma Vibhushan Dr. Anil Kakodkar, congratulated the graduating students and winners of gold medals. In his convocation lecture, Dr. Kakodkar stressed the need for innovative reforms in the educational framework of our country to bridge the rural-urban knowledge gap in an era dominated by high-end technologies. He also shared insights on the country’s urban-rural gap and discussed at length the concept of a 'CILLAGE' (a term formulated with a combination of the words "City & Village’, i.e. a knowledge integrated sustainable village development model) and "AKRUTI" (Advanced Knowledge based Rural Technology sub-centres). He asserted that HEIs should aim at human capacity building for technology adaptation, produce knowledge-based value creators, and focus on academic collaborations with educational institutions in rural areas to bridge the growing disparity (urban-rural gap). He put forward a detailed roadmap for bridging our growing gaps with technology advanced countries through the creation of an Industry and Research University Ecosystem, capacity building of local people, and the implementation of a knowledge-integrated sustainable village development model.
While congratulating degree recipients, Prof. Jagbir Singh, the Chancellor, in his Presidential Address, encouraged the outgoing students to work on innovative ideas and choose the profession of their interest. He stated that India has a legacy of providing education to the world since ancient times, and the ultimate aim of education is not just to achieve proficiency but to contribute to society with a pluralistic approach to life. He cited verses from holy books like Bhagwat Geeta, Vishnu Purana, and Sri Guru Granth Sahib to state that our ancient Indic knowledge traditions stresses on establishing  continuous dialogue exchange and encourage acceptance of all viewpoints, so that we all live life in liberty and integrity with each other. He motivated degree recipients to be lifelong learners and apply the knowledge gained for the welfare of the nation.
On this occasion, Prof. R.K. Wusirika, Dean Academic Affairs, Prof. V.K. Garg, Dean Student Welfare and Prof. Anjana Munshi, Dean Research, also gave their best wishes to the degree recipients for their bright future. 
During this program, Shri Kanwal Pal Singh Mundra, Registrar, coordinated the stage for conferring the degrees to recipients. Prof. B.P. Garg, Controller of Examinations, announced the winners of the Gold Medal Award. He gave a formal vote of thanks towards the end of the programme.