Virendra Singh Rawat
Lucknow / Dec 27, 2021
Amid Omicron threat, Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Kanpur has created a bio-bubble for the 54th convocation, which would be presided over by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday.
This would be for the first time that a convocation ceremony would be conducted inside a bio-bubble in India.
Bio-bubble is a concept developed recently in the field of sports, especially cricket, where a bio-secure environment is created to minimise contamination risks from Covid-19.
Although the concept has been adopted in other sectors, it is for the first time that a higher educational institute has adopted such measures for convocation, the Institute said on Monday.
After virtually hosting the convocation last year, the IIT Kanpur is organising the ceremony in a hybrid mode this season. Honorary doctorate degrees will be given to three eminent personalities comprising Prof Rohini M Godbole, Senapathy ‘Kris’ Gopalakrishnan, and Pt Ajoy Chakrabarty.
“In view of the changing scenario of pandemic, we are conducting additional precautionary drills inside the campus. Prior tests are to be conducted on everyone attending the event physically,” IIT Kanpur deputy director Prof S Ganesh said.
At the convocation, 1,723 students will receive their degrees and 80 prizes and medals will be given away. Besides, 21 students will be awarded the Outstanding PhD Thesis Award.
IIT Kanpur was established on November 2, 1959 by an Act of Parliament. The Institute is spread over 1,055 acres with a large pool of academic and research resources spanning across 17 departments, 25 centres, and 5 interdisciplinary programmes in engineering, science, design, humanities, and management.
The campus boasts of 480 full-time faculty members and approximately 9,000 students. In addition to formal undergraduate and postgraduate courses, the institute has been active in research and development.