Doon University holds 6th Convocation Ceremony
Garhwal Post Bureau
Dehradun, 29 Dec: Doon University organised its Sixth Convocation ceremony here, today, in the presence of Chancellor and Governor Lt Gen Gurmit Singh (Retd), and Chief Guest Prof Ganesh Ramakrishnan from IIT Bombay, leader of BharatGen AI (India’s first sovereign AI initiative), and Distinguished Guest Higher Education Minister Dr Dhan Singh Rawat, as well as Vice Chancellor Professor Surekha Dangwal.
Professor Ganesh Ramakrishnan delivered the Convocation Address. Forty-two students who were toppers in their respective courses were awarded gold medals at the convocation. The academic procession was led by the Registrar of the University, Durgesh Dimri.
The convocation commenced with the Lighting of the Lamp by the Chancellor and distinguished guests, followed by rendition of the University Kulgeet. The Chancellor declared the 6th Convocation open and the Vice Chancellor Prof Surekha Dangwal conferred 484 undergraduate, 241 postgraduate, and 13 Doctoral degrees on students and scholars who graduated in the year 2025. In addition, the Chancellor felicitated five alumni as “Distinguished Alumni of the University” for their remarkable contributions in their respective fields. These are Nitesh Bhardwaj, Arun Thakur, Dr Akshaya Verma, Charu Negi and Nancy Thapliyal. Additionally, a brave student, Agranshu Grover from School of Languages was awarded the “Nagrik Kartavya Samman”, two students Jaya Sharma and Swastik Gondhi were conferred the “Prof Gajendra Singh All Round Best Student Award” in recognition of their overall remarkable performance. And two students Shivankur Thapliyal and Anshi Kothari were awarded the “Chancellor’s Future AI Award”.
Chancellor and Governor Lt Gen Gurmit Singh (Retd) congratulated the graduating students and also accredited the Vice Chancellor’s dynamic leadership for the University’s progress. He highlighted that Artificial Intelligence had emerged as a powerful force for building a developed India and said the country was steadily establishing its leadership in the AI domain. He appreciated Prof Ganesh Ramakrishnan’s efforts in linking advanced technology with people’s languages and needs. He noted that initiatives like BharatGen reflected India’s resolve to build its own sovereign and culturally rooted AI capabilities. He said such innovations would play a transformative role in education, health and governance by reaching the last person in their own language. Calling upon the graduating students, he urged them to draw inspiration from these efforts and contribute to developing AI solutions for local and national challenges. He added that indigenous AI would be a key driver of inclusive growth and nation-building.
The Keynote speaker, Prof Ganesh Ramakrishnan from IIT Bombay and leader of BharatGen AI (India’s first sovereign AI initiative) congratulated all the degree holders, gold medallists and awardees on their achievements. In his address, he emphasised that India was entering an era shaped by Artificial Intelligence and underscored the need for building sovereign AI through the BharatGen mission. He noted that BharatGen, supported by ₹988 crore under the IndiaAI Mission, aimed to ensure technological, economic and infrastructural independence for the nation. He highlighted the development of indigenous Large Language Models as vital for national security and strategic autonomy, especially in defence. He explained that the initiative rested on key pillars such as explainable AI, efficiency in model training, and human-centred alignment. Prof Ramakrishnan also spoke about the transformative role of AI in agriculture, governance and education, particularly through Indian language technologies. Looking ahead, he said India must prepare for the rise of Artificial General Intelligence with strong human oversight. He concluded that a “whole of nation” approach involving academia, industry and government was essential to make AI a tool for empowerment and sovereignty.
Doon University, Vice Chancellor Professor Surekha Dangwal introduced the theme of this year’s convocation – ‘AI by Bharat’. She congratulated all the awardees and degree holders. She pointed out the achievements of the University and said, “We are focussed on the overall development of our students and continuously moving forward to contribute in the establishment of an inclusive and developed society.”
On the occasion, a book, “Sanvardhan- A Roadmap for Development of Uttarakhand – Vision 2025”, edited by Centre for Public Policy, Doon University, was also launched by the guests.
The convocation ceremony was conducted by Prof HC Purohit. It was attended by faculty members, students, alumni, parents, and guests of the University, while the University faculty and staff played proud hosts.
