Bhubaneswar, April 10: After a gap of three years, the Utkal University of Culture's convocation ceremony was conducted at Rabindra Mandap in the city today.
On the occasion, six doctorate degrees were conferred. Filmmaker Govind Chandra Tej, musician Pranab Pattnaik, painter Prafulla Mahanti, folk artiste Utsab Charan Das and folk singers Jitendra Haripal and Krishna Patel were awarded at the event.
Eminent academician and vice-chancellor of Delhi University Dinesh Singh, while delivering the convocation address, said: "Education is the biggest help towards incurring humility in one's life. Moreover, youngsters have a lot to contribute towards nation building. Hence, they should ensure that their actions have a share in the growth of society."
Degrees for four academic sessions - 2011-12, 2012-13, 2013-14 and 2014-15 - were given at the ceremony. Around 87 students were awarded with gold medals and 11 got their PhD degrees.
Varsity vice-chancellor Debendranath Jena said the university would shift to the new campus before Nabakalebar. This apart, the university also plans to introduce tribal studies as a course and also a separate department for the study of Odia literature.
"We are working towards converting the institute into a centre of excellence," said Jena.
An exhibition of paintings and art installations was also organised. Students also put up a number of interesting canvases.
The installations included a smart tree where the leaves were made from SIM cards while a portrait of a mother and daughter was created from shirt buttons of varying colours.
Culture minister Ashok Chandra Panda and department secretary Aravind Padhee were present at the ceremony.
The Utkal University of Culture was established in 1999 to preserve, promote, propagate and protect the cultural richness of the state.
