NIT Goa students can now pursue final yr studies at IIT

Panaji: In line with a system being adopted by National Institutes of Technology (NITs) nationally, BTech students at NIT Goa will now be able to pursue their final year of studies at an IIT.
Nine students have been selected from Goa under the programme, NIT Goa director professor Omprakash Jaiswal said at the 10th convocation ceremony of the institute on Sunday.“This year, five students have been selected for IIT Hyderabad, and four for IIT Madras for their final-year studies,” he said.
Jaiswal said that by implementing the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, NIT Goa has brought in many initiatives, which include allowing BTech students to complete their programme early so that they can join the industry in the eighth semester.
He said the curriculum at NIT Goa now also includes courses related to the Indian knowledge system and industry-oriented learning, as stipulated by the NEP. All the students of NIT Goa are registered with the Academic Bank of Credits as well.
At the convocation ceremony, 207 degrees were awarded to students, including 13 PhD, 28 MTech, and 166 BTech degrees. Additionally, 10 medals were awarded for exceptional academic performances.
“Last year, NIT Goa signed thirteen MoUs, with IIT Madras, IIT Hyderabad, University Paris, Telecommunications Consultants India Limited, Siemens Limited, Goa, National Forensic Sciences University (NFSU), Goa, University of Agder, Campus Grimstad, Norway, and many more,” Jaiswal said. “These MoUs are meant for faculty and student exchange programmes, upskilling of trainees, knowledge sharing, carrying out interdisciplinary research work among the institutes, joint research guidance, curriculum and course development, joint workshops, conferences, seminars, and many other programme organisations.”
This was the first convocation ceremony held on the NIT Goa campus at Cuncolim since the institute shifted to its permanent campus in Jan. Jaiswal said the campus has been constructed to accommodate 1,260 students with a total built-up area of 70,750sqm.
Samir V Kamat, the secretary of the department of defence R&D and chairman of DRDO, was the chief guest. He urged the students to contribute to nation-building and said there are a plethora of opportunities at DRDO.
An NIT Goa alumnus from the 2011-15 batch, Mansoor Rahimat Khan, co-founder and CEO of Beatoven.ai, was the guest of honour. He emphasised the significance of entrepreneurship and how it revives the economy of a country and makes the nation self-reliant.