Get ready for the fourth industrial revolution: Vice President

Hyderabad : “The Fourth Industrial Revolution and the advances in digital technology and robotics will together make certain types of jobs obsolete and also create many new jobs. Today, universities are expected to excel not only in providing quality education, but more importantly in developing global citizens, and in preparing the students for the new era”, said Vice President of India M. Venkaiah Naidu.

Venkaiah Naidu participated in the 8th Convocation of GITAM University, Hyderabad Campus, as the Chief Guest, today. In his address, Venkaiah Naidu said that we are an old civilization with a young population. No other country has this kind of demographic advantage. He observed that India is at the cusp of a massive transformation in all spheres, and an exciting world of infinite opportunities is awaiting students after their graduation.

He further said that the economic growth of a country is highly dependent on “the creativity of human resources and innovation through research and development” and hence the faculty must devote time to relevant research. This will improve the intellectual stature of the Universities and make them the powerhouses of knowledge. They can potentially be the think tanks for national policy development. He opined that universities should equip students with multi-disciplinary knowledge and inter-disciplinary skills to study these problems and look for solutions to meet the challenges.

The Vice President expressed his satisfaction at the giant strides GITAM University is making in offering world class education by collaborating with prestigious foreign universities like Stanford and in initiating state-of-the-art interdisciplinary courses.

Two doctorates and over 1060 graduate and postgraduate degrees were awarded at the 8th Convocation to students in the faculties of technology and management. Toppers of management and various branches of technology were awarded gold medals.

Participating in the Convocation as the distinguished Guest of Honour, Telangana Irrigation Minister T. Harish Rao said in his address that the Telangana government has taken the path of “Innovation and Entrepreneurship” to make Telangana the most preferred investment destination in India. He shared the initiatives taken by the Telangana government to promote higher and technical education, employment and entrepreneurship, and overall development in the State, such as establishing Telangana State Council of Higher Education, the T-Hub, Telangana Academy for Skill and Knowledge (TASK), Finishing School for unemployed youth, a programme called Professor of Practice (PoP), and Mission Kakatiya. He congratulated GITAM University for its contribution to quality education in the State.

Chancellor of GITAM University Prof. K. Ramakrishna Rao, in his address, said, “Peace should be considered on its own without reference to war, as a condition to prevent conflicts and consequent wars and not as a state that follows a war.” He dwelt on the significance of peace in the Indian tradition and the spiritual traditions of various religions. He said that the approach to seeking peace lies in controlling the conflict-proneness of the mind and that there is a nexus between inner and outer peace.

The urge for peace, the attitude of “peace-mindedness” and its advocacy by people such as Mahatma Gandhi in the 20th century is a continuation of the Buddhist legacy and the classical Indian tradition. Cultivating inner peace calls for self-discipline, and developing the culture of extending self to include others. According to him there is now no alternative to awakening grassroots awareness of virtues of nonviolence and the need to eliminate violence in all its forms. He urged the parents and the media to cultivate peace-mindedness as an attitude among children and society.

In his annual report Vice-Chancellor of GITAM University Prof. M.S. Prasada Rao announced that the ultimate challenging task before the University is to take GITAM to the global league of universities in a timeframe of 10 years. He informed the audience that with over 20,000 regular full-time students, 1200 research scholars and well over 70,000 students in distance mode hailing from almost all parts of the country, the University has emerged as one of the pioneering institutes in India. Recognizing the holistic education that the University is imparting, the Ministry of Human Resource Development, Govt. of India, ranked GITAM University as Category-‘I’ University among deemed universities. He reported on the activities and outstanding achievements of the faculty and the students of GITAM University during the academic year 2016-17.

Parents of graduating students, President of GITAM, Dr. M.V.V.S. Murthi, Vice President, Prof. M. Gangadhara Rao, the governing body members of GITAM Society, Pro Vice-Chancellors, heads of institutes, heads of departments, faculty and staff of GITAM participated in the 8th Convocation.