As many as 1,240 students received medals and degrees during the 27th convocation of Birla Institute of Technology (BIT) at Mesra in the presence of governor Droupadi Murmu and eminent scientist and Padma Vibhushan Jayant Narlikar on Friday.

While 10 students of 2012-16 batch received gold medals, 843 were awarded graduate, postgraduate and PhD degrees in various disciplines.

Initially, eleven students had been selected for the gold medal but Shruty Mishra (bachelor of pharmacy) could not turn up.

Murmu, who presided over the convocation, lauded the academic achievements of BIT that was established in 1955 and granted a "deemed university" status in 1986.

"BIT, a globally acknowledged institution, has been doing exemplary work in nurturing technocrats, researchers and managers and shaping them to be good human beings," Murmu said.

Referring to the recently held Global Investors' Meet to attract investors for industrial development, she said BIT could play a significant role by imparting specific technical skills to the people in those areas of the state where large projects would come up. She advised the students to work for the marginalised sections of the society.

Narlikar shared an interesting story from his own alma mater, University of Cambridge, to show the heights one could scale while pursuing excellence.

"Two bright students Parkinson and Thomas, who became noted scientists of their time, were appearing for their final examination. Everyone expected them to ace the exams. Parkinson stood first and Thomas second. However, the examiner had one doubt. He had set a question that only the duo could have answered. Both had used the same technique to solve the question, which meant one must have copied from the other.

"On enquiry, the examiner found that Parkinson had found the answer in the same research journal from where the question was lifted. It was written by an anonymous author. When the examiner summoned Thomas, the latter revealed that he had written that paper himself. Therefore, students should always strive for excellence and not become complacent," he said.

During the one-and-a-half hour programme, which began at 11am, the auditorium remained packed with students and their parents.