Over 3,000 students from colleges affiliated to Aryabhatta Knowledge University will receive their degrees at the varsity's third convocation this Saturday.

Governor Ram Nath Kovind and University Grants Commission chairman Ved Prakash will do the honours at the programme held at SK Memorial Hall in Patna for the university's medical, engineering and management graduates.

Vice-chancellor S.P. Singh said: "The university will award degrees to 3,277 students of seven courses offered across 86 affiliated colleges."

Among the seven toppers to get gold medals on Saturday are Uma Bharti (BTech from Bhagalpur College of Engineering), Ankita Kumari (MBBS from Patna Medical College and Hospital), Shivangi Gupta (bachelor of business administration from Cimage Business College) and Dhiraj Kumar (bachelor of computer applications from Cimage Professional College).

The university was established in 2010 to bring all technical and professional institutions affiliated to different universities under one roof.

"It is a moment of joy that we will get our degrees at the convocation function," said final-year BTech student from Gaya College of Engineering Anshuman Kumar. "The biggest advantage of the engineering and medical colleges coming under the Aryabhatta Knowledge University roof is that the academic session has been regularised."

The university runs a postgraduate course in nanotechnology and is planning to start the Patliputra School of Economics soon. The new school will be on the pattern of Delhi School of Economics, and the decision was announced in August last year when chief minister Nitish Kumar laid the university campus's foundation stone in Mithapur.

"The university has prepared the detailed project report for the Patliputra School of Economics," said pro-vice-chancellor S.M. Karim. "Once the government approves it, the university will begin the process to start the school."

The university also plans to launch a school of river studies and mass communication and journalism.