Students throw their hats up in the air after the second convocation of NIT-Patna on Sunday. Picture by Deepak Kumar

Degrees in hands, 300 engineers of National Institute of Technology (NIT), Patna, threw their hats in joy after being conferred with the certificates on Sunday.

The institute had to confer degrees and certificates to around 858 engineers of the 2010-11 batch and those of the 2011-12 session. However, only one-third of them could attend the convocation function held after three years.

The Best Graduate Award went to Pooja Bhandari, an information technology passout and Rohit Gupta, a graduate in civil engineering from the 2007-11 batch. For the 2008-12 session, the Best Graduate Award went to Mamta Pradhan, an electronics and communication engineering graduate and Prabhakar Sinha of electrical engineering. The award is a cash prize of Rs 10,000 each.

Mamta, who was also conferred with the overall topper award of the 2011-12 batch, said: “My experience at NIT was excellent. I shall never forget the days I spent with my friends on the banks of Ganga discussing studies and personal issues.” Mamta, who works with Rancore Technologies in Mumbai, added that the best place to hang out with friends was the institute campus apart from weekly visits to P&M Mall and restaurants near Gandhi Maidan.

The chief guest at the function was V.K. Aatre, the former head of Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and also a former scientific adviser to the defence ministry. The guest of honour was K.L. Chopra, a former director of IIT-Kharagpur.

Explaining how to equip themselves for the competitive market, Aatre said new-age techies need to go the extra mile to be a sound worker. “Engineers need more skills than that provided by science and technology. They should also have good communication, entrepreneurial and management skills. A sound understanding of social responsibilities will take them quite far,” he said.

Guest of honour Chopra asked the graduates to create jobs rather than go hunting for it. “Entrepreneurship is the new mantra for an adventurous graduate. Students have to translate opportunities with innovative skills,” he said.