ISRO chairman K Sivan said huge opportunities are opening up for engineering graduates to take up entrepreneurship. Shutterstock
ISRO chairman K Sivan has called upon graduates to respond to the global challenges of climate change and natural disasters and come up with strategies that enable mankind to adapt to the unprecedented developments.
Speaking at the 19th convocation ceremony of NIT-K (National Institute of Technology Karnataka), Surathkal, virtually on Saturday, he said the world is facing the challenges of climate change and natural calamities which may alter the face of earth in the future, which in turn will impact our lives.
"The future generation has a challenge to sustain ourselves in this changing scenario,” Sivan said.
Stating that there are huge opportunities open for engineering graduates to take up entrepreneurship, the ISRO chairman said that immense possibilities are opening up for start-up businesses.
Sivan said India is now experiencing a start-up boom and many professionals are quitting well-paid jobs and responding to the demands of indigenous consumers through start-ups.
The space sector has also undergone reforms under Atmanirbhar Bharat. The government wants to set up a space industry ecosystem to generate more revenue through reforms in space, he said.
Sivan called upon graduates to choose what is close to their heart and not to copy others. This, he said, would ensure excellence in professional life.
Union minister of education Dharmendra Pradhan in his address said that the NIT-K has constituted a committee to implement National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 and a few features of NEP are being incorporated in the curriculum during 2021-22.
He lauded the efforts of NIT-K in developing a system to measure moisture content of cashew which is helping the cashew industry in the region and also for developing a technology to produce and preserve ready-to-cook, non-acrid edible aroids.
NIT-K director Umamaheshwar Rao urged graduates to connect with society, take ownership of issues and be part of the solutions for the problems.
A total of 1,681 candidates — 120 PhD, 766 postgraduates and 795 BTech students — received degrees. Doctor of Science (Honoris Causa) was conferred on Suhas L. Yathiraj, district magistrate of Gautham Buddha Nagar, UP, and silver medalist at the 2021 Tokyo Paralympics.