Roorkee, Sept 21 (INB) IIT Roorkee’s Convocation 2026, held on September 19 and 20, concluded with the conferment of a record 2,701 degrees over two days, including postgraduate, PhD and MS by Research degrees, the institute said on Monday. The two-day convocation featured National Security Advisor Ajit Kumar Doval as the chief guest on the first day and Hero MotoCorp CEO Harshavardhan Chitale as the chief guest on the second day, the institute said in a LinkedIn post. On September 19, IIT Roorkee conferred the degree of Honoris Causa on Doval in recognition of his distinguished public service to the nation. The honour was conferred by the Chairman, Senate, IIT Roorkee, in the presence of Harish Salve, former Solicitor General of India and Chairman, Board of Governors, IIT Roorkee, and institute Director Prof K K Pant. Doval, who has been serving as the National Security Advisor since 2014 with the rank of Cabinet Minister, delivered the convocation address to the graduating students, speaking about direction, responsibility and the world they were entering. The second day began with a ceremonial procession, followed by the Director’s address and conferment of degrees upon the institute’s postgraduate, PhD and MS by Research graduating class. Addressing the gathering, Pant spoke about IIT Roorkee’s role in India’s journey towards Viksit Bharat and emphasised taking research through to application, from PhD to product. Chitale, in his convocation address, described the graduating students as a privileged generation entering an India on its way to becoming the world’s third-largest economy. He urged the graduates not to fear problems that appear big and complex, to fail fast and persevere, and to remember that character would matter as much as capability. He also advised them to measure their careers by what they enable rather than only by what they achieve. Dr Kapil Garg, Founder and Managing Director of Oilmax Energy Pvt Ltd and Managing Director of Asian Energy Services Ltd, who was the Guest of Honour, spoke about his experience as an alumnus and told the graduates that failure helps identify the path not to take. Garg also urged the graduates to stay connected with the IIT Roorkee alumni network, which he said opens doors anywhere in the world. A total of 1,424 postgraduate, PhD and MS by Research students received their degrees on September 20, taking the overall number of degrees conferred during the September 19-20 Convocation 2026 to 2,701, the institute’s highest-ever conferment of degrees.
