JNAFAU’s 4th Convocation held, 6 Ph.Ds, 114 Gold Medals and 612 for other Degrees presented

Hyderabad, January 19, 2023: Jawaharlal Nehru Architecture and Fine Arts University (JNAFAU)’s 4th Convocation held in the city at its premises in Masab tank on Thursday.  The convocation was held for three academic years 2019-20; 2020-2021 and 2021-2022.  Dr. B.S. Murty, Director, IIT Hyderabad was the Chief Guest.

During the Convocation, six Ph.Ds, 114 Gold Medals and 612 for other Degrees will be conferred.  331 PG Degrees and 4456 Undergraduate Degrees, all put together 4793 degrees will be awarded.

Doctor of Philosophy, Honoris Causa, was conferred to Architect Brinda Somaya, eminent and renowned Architect and Conservation Specialist in recognition of her contribution to the field of Architecture and Conservation. 

Dr. Tamilisai Soundararajan, Governor of Telangana State and Lt Governor of Puducherry, Chancellor of the University joined live from Puducherry and addressed the 1000 plus gathering.  

Speaking on the occasion the Governor expressed her inability for not joining in person as she was held up at Puducherry.  It is a great milestone, she said and congratulated the University.  It is the only institute of state of Telangana in Creative Arts and Architecture. In the present day world we require sustainable goals and a holistic approach in everything we do.

Speaking further Dr Tamilisai said, ‘I am happy to note that the University has aligned its curriculum to National Education Policy.  Universities have to focus on R & D and the projects undertaken should be such that they are economically viable and environmentally sustainable.  Four JNAFAU students performed well in the Logo Design Competition organised as part of our country's ambitious journey by taking over the G20 presidency, Dr Tamilisai said and appreciated the university.

Quoting a Tamil poet, Dr. Tamilisai said teachers are just like gods. They are an essential part of our society, she concluded her address and later she dissolved the convocation. 

Giving his convocation address, Chief Guest Prof B.S Murty said everyone must have passion in life.  To be successful in life, pursue life with passion.  Choose such a profession where you don’t wait for Saturday and Sunday.  If it is otherwise, it is not the profession you are supposed to be in.

Speaking further he told students to study well so that you need not search for a job.  Instead, the job must search you. You should be a job giver rather than a seeker.  You must create jobs.  Take for instance, IIT Hyderabad has mentored 125 startups in the past four years.  They in turn created 1000 jobs and Rs 800 crore.  You must have curiosity which is a must for innovation., he added.   

We take up many initiatives at IIT Hyderabad to encourage our students to identify problems and develop solutions. Part of that endeavor, we have collaborated with the Asian Institute of Gastroenterology.  With their partnership we are offering M.Tech in Medical Device Innovations.  Similarly in cooperation with L.V Prasad Eye Institute, we offer M. Tech in Ophthalmic Engineering; M.Sc in Medical Physics is offered in collaboration with Basavatarakam Hospital, he said.  Collaboration is the way forward, he said and added that from time immemorial, India has been the Knowledge giver to the world. Let us bring that glory back, he concluded his address.

Responding to being conferred Honorary Doctorate, Architect Brinda Somaya said Architecture like civilization  is dynamic and evolving.  It is inherently inter-disciplinary, but today the field is much wider for better opportunities and multiplicity of practices.  Being the students of planning, design, art, film and fashion you extend the boundaries of the profession.  The next few decades will unfold many social, cultural and environmental challenges that will transform the look and feel of our cities.  We will need new roads,  bridges, terminals, tunnels. Your challenge will be to tackle this growth in a sustainable and responsible manner.  We see Joshimath today as a worrying example of what can go wrong.

The Six doctoral theses for which the doctorates were presented covered areas of academic and present-day significance range from Bus Transit System, Neighborhood Quality, Housing for the Urban Poor, Impact of Urbanization on Lakes and Residential spaces for the elderly. All doctoral scholars have published articles concerning their research work in national and international journals.

The University is in the process of realigning its academic programs as per the direction of National Education Policy 2020 shared by Dr. N. Kavita Daryani Rao in her annual report. To begin with, we are shortly introducing one-year programs in Interior Design and Photography for which there is a lot of interest. The University is trying to put the holistic development of students a priority. With this objective, we introduced a system of mentoring with each student being allotted a faculty mentor. Senior Counsellor supports faculty mentors to help students, she added

We are aligning our programs in line with National Education Policy and also according to the changing needs of the markets. We are restructuring some of our programs to make them more employment oriented and with a diversity of skill development, the Vice Chancellor shared.  The syllabus of the various courses is also revised in line with the NEP.

The University has sanctioned seed Research grants to 15 faculty members and 6 Research Projects to UG (Under Graduate) Students, she added.

Several initiatives have been taken up to upgrade the existing infrastructure.  Some of them include setting up a new VFX Lab at a cost of approximately Rs 75 lakhs in the campus, the Vice Chancellor shared.