<p><span lang="EN-IN">The Interim Session of 59<sup>th</sup> Convocation of IIT Bombay was held on Saturday, February 27, 2021 from 3.00 pm onwards at the Institute’s Convocation Hall in Hybrid mode (3-D Virtual Reality Enabled). Keeping in view the safety measures on priority during the pandemic, the physical participation to the function was limited to a few of the degree recipients, their parents, Institute functionaries and dignitaries only. </span> </p><p><span lang="EN-IN">Mr. Adil Zainulbhai, Chairman, Quality Council of India and Former Chairperson, McKinsey, India was the Chief Guest for the interim convocation function this year.</span> </p><p><span lang="EN-IN">At this convocation, IIT Bombay awarded degrees to 178 students. Total degrees awarded to the students were 198, which include - 123 Ph.D., 20 Dual degrees (M.Tech./M.Phil.+Ph.D), 16 Dual degrees (M.Sc+PhD), 6 M.Tech., 4 Dual Degrees (B.Tech.+M.Tech.), 1 M.Mgt, 4 M.Sc., 15 B.Tech., 3 B.Des. degree, 2 MS by Research, 1 PGDIIT and 3 E-MBA (Joint E-MBA degrees are in association with Washington University in St. Louis (WUStL))</span> </p><p><span lang="EN-IN">The degrees were presented to those graduating students who have completed all the requirements during the period from August 2020 to February 2021 and have requested for the degree to be awarded earlier than the 59th Convocation in August.</span> </p><p><span lang="EN-US">The Chairman of the Board of Governors, IIT Bombay Dr. Pawan Goenka, Managing Director of Mahindra and Mahindra Limited, in his address to students said, "Post-pandemic period has brought out the best from all of us. It has accelerated high rates of technological changes in our daily life. Most of the work today is conducted online and virtually. This year's graduating students will be entering their professional career </span>with the new normal lifestyle and I hope that these students can be the change agent of the new normal."</p><p>He added,“The Atmanirbhar Bharat has a lot of opportunities for the beginners and it aims at developing our country to become a technology manufacturing destination. Through Atmanirbhar Bharat, the government has put their trust in the Research & Development (R&D) sector, innovation and developing technology. The graduating students should help in nation building with the help of developing technology and innovation. The importance of R&D is increasing. I urge the students to step out with confidence. The industry needs to understand your caliber in R&D sector".</p><p>While addressing the graduating students, Prof. Subhasis Chaudhuri, Director, IIT Bombay, said, “It was a matter of great satisfaction to the Institute that nearly 140 students could complete their Ph.D. during this difficult time. The resilience and adaptability shown by the students, staff and faculty members in upholding the spirit and excellence of IIT Bombay is truely remarkable.”</p><p>Mr. Adil Zainulbhai is currently the Chairman of the Quality Council of India (QCI) since 2014. He is also the Chairman of Network 18 and TV18 and is currently on the Boards of Reliance Industries Ltd., Larsen & Toubro Ltd., and Cipla. Mr. Adil Zainulbhai graduated in Mechanical Engineering from the IIT Bombay in 1977. As Chairman of QCI, he is involved in many initiatives across the government agencies to improve Quality of Goods and Services. He is also involved in Swachh Bharat initiative and worked with over 23 Ministries. He is involved in projects in Infra, Health Care, Education, Coal and others. Mr. Zainulbhai is very active in community and social causes. He is a Board member on the Board of Trustees at Saifee Burhani Upliftment Trust (re-developing Bhendi Bazaar in Mumbai) and Piramal Swasthya, Piramal Foundation, and Anant National University. </p><p><span style="font-family: 'Utopia','serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: Utopia; color: #050505;" lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Utopia, serif; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;" lang="EN-IN">The Chief Guest Mr. Adil Zainulbhai in his address, said, “I </span></span><span style="font-family: 'Utopia','serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: Utopia; color: #050505;" lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Utopia, serif; color: #212121; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;" lang="EN-IN">encourage you to plan for next 30- 40 years of your career”. While emphasising on various obligations of the intellect that students are gifted with, he urged the students to do much more than what others can do. “I hope you take up the obligation and do something for others like community, friends and the country and succeed. You make a mark not just in the fields of commerce, in the field of finance, in the fields of technology but also in fields of improving people’s lives,” he added.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Utopia','serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: Utopia;" lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Utopia, serif; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;" lang="EN-IN">The event was streamed live on Institute’s social media channels including YouTube (on </span></span><span lang="EN-US"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/IITBombayOfficialChannel"><span style="font-family: 'Utopia','serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: Utopia;" lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Utopia, serif; color: black; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; text-decoration-line: none;" lang="EN-IN">https://www.youtube.com/IITBombayOfficialChannel</span></span></a></spa… style="font-family: 'Utopia','serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: Utopia;" lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Utopia, serif; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;" lang="EN-IN">). </span></span></p><p>Apart from the students and faculty members of the Institute, the ceremony was attended online by the families and friends of the students. It was also a delight for a large section of viewers who had missed experiencing the world’s first ever virtual reality enabled convocation pioneered by IIT Bombay in August 2020.</p>