Convocation Ceremony of Batch of 2021 of the PG Diploma in Big Data Biology

The convocation ceremony of the batch of 2021 of the post graduate diploma program in big data biology (PGDBDB) was held on May 7, 2022. The event was held online and all the 18 students who joined the programme on January 25, 2021 and graduated on January 31, 2021, received their degree on the day. The convocation ceremony had Prof. Srinivas V. Kaveri, CNRS, as the chief guest. The ceremony commenced auspiciously with an invocation prayer, followed by the traditional lamp lighting. Prof. Chandrashekar Ramanathan, Dean (Academics) IIITB gave the welcome address. The program is jointly implemented by IBAB and IIITB, and the Dean talked about the success of such a multidisciplinary program. This was followed by a brief note by Dr. Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, Founder and CMD of Biocon and Governing Body Member of IBAB. Dr. Mazumdar-Shaw emphasized the need to bring data science and biology together in the background of the pandemic. Prof. M. Vijayalakshmi, IBAB, gave the annual report in her capacity as the program coordinator. Cmde SR Sridhar, Registrar IIITB, distributed the certificates virtually to the graduating students. The best outgoing student award was conferred upon Ms. Anaga Ashok Badhe for the highest CGPA in the batch. This was followed by the Graduation Address by the Chief Guest. In the background of the career paths taken by Prof. H. Sharat Chandra, Chairman, Governing Body, IBAB, and himself, Prof. Srinivas Kaveri instilled the importance of working through obstacles to achieve career goals. After the illuminating address, Ms. Anaga Ashok Badhe and Ms. Patange Sakshi Santosh represented the batch and recounted their experiences in brief speeches. This was followed by the vote of thanks by Prof. H. Subramanya. The event concluded with the national anthem.