RBI Governor Dr Raghuram Rajan Addresses Students at Shiv Nadar University’s Second Convocation
Shiv Nadar University, designed as a comprehensive, multi-disciplinary, research-focused and student-centric university, celebrated its second convocation today. Noted academician and researcher, Dr Raghuram Rajan, Governor, Reserve Bank of India and Ms. Vanitha Narayanan, Managing Director, IBM India, attended the convocation as guests of honor and addressed the gathering. 
A total of 223 undergraduate and 64 post-graduate degrees were awarded to students who successfully completed the Bachelor’s and Master’s Degree programs. Several students from the class of 2016 have been selected for higher studies by some of the world’s leading universities including Fuqua School of Business, Duke University; Kellogg School of Management; University Of Massachusetts, Boston; University Of Illinois and University of Texas, Dallas. The graduating students have been recruited by best-in-class organizations including Dell, Cognizant, Zomato, CSC and Axis Bank among others.
Shiv Nadar University conferred an Honorary Doctorate on Mr Deepak Parekh, Chairman, Housing Development Finance Corporation (HDFC) for his outstanding contribution to the Banking and Financial Services sector, and his pioneering initiatives in corporate philanthropy and social commitment. Mr. Parekh congratulated the graduating batch and advised the students to follow the values of honesty, integrity and transparency in their journey through life.
Dr. Raghuram Rajan, Governor, Reserve Bank of India, in his address to the graduating class of 2016 said, “India is changing, in many ways for the better. You will be able to help shape our country, the world, and your place in it. By all means set yourself ambitious goals. But remember that, as both ancient Indian philosophers and modern day behavioural psychologists say, the achievement of narrow personal goals – in terms of greater wealth, rapid promotion, or increasing renown – rarely brings you anything other than brief pleasure. I don’t claim to know the secret of happiness, but this seems obvious – if you like the journey, if you get pleasure from the work you do, it matters far less when, or indeed whether, you reach your destination.”
He further added, “Finally, as you embark on careers that are likely to be very successful, you should earn by creating perceptible value and, equally, spend to create value. Not only will your work be more enjoyable, but you will strengthen the economic freedoms we sometimes take for granted.”
Speaking at the Convocation, Dr S N Balakrishnan, Chancellor, Shiv Nadar University, said, “This is a proud moment for Shiv Nadar University as we celebrate the success of our second batch of students who are on their way to join some of the best organizations and educational institutions in the world. While we are a young institution, we have made great strides towards creating a student-centric, research-focused, multi-disciplinary education ecosystem and have already invested Rs. 200 crores towards research so far.”
Speaking on the progress of the University, Dr Rupamanjari Ghosh, Vice Chancellor, Shiv Nadar University said, “We will enter our sixth year of operations this August; having grown considerably in scale and scope. Born out of a remarkable vision, and after a phenomenal growth in the first few years, the University can now boast of a truly unique, multi-disciplinary, research-led, learner-centric character. It is firmly anchored in research and innovation, driven by an outstanding faculty, and supported by national and international academic partnerships. I am happy to state that we are on an accelerated path towards all-round excellence.”
The convocation was attended by corporates, academia, industry bodies and government, along with faculty, students and parents.
For reference – The live streaming link for Dr. Raghuram Rajan’s speech:https://www.youtube.com/user/shivnadaruniversity/live
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About Shiv Nadar University
Shiv Nadar University (www.snu.edu.in), a Shiv Nadar Foundation initiative, is a multi-disciplinary, student-centric, research-focused university offering a full range of academic programs at the undergraduate, postgraduate and doctoral level. Shiv Nadar University’s multi-disciplinary curriculum provides students a strong foundation in disciplines in the humanities and social sciences, natural sciences, technology and engineering studies, communications and management, while enabling them to gain mastery of a subject of their choosing. Taught by world-class faculty, undergraduate education at the University is designed to develop students with the breadth of vision, knowledge, skills and attitudes required to succeed in the careers of the 21st century. Located on a 286-acre campus in India’s National Capital Region, Shiv Nadar University is a private philanthropic institution established in 2011 through an act of the State of Uttar Pradesh.
About Shiv Nadar Foundation
The Shiv Nadar Foundation (www.ShivNadarFoundation.org) has been established by Shiv Nadar, Founder, HCL – a $7 billion leading global technology and IT enterprise, with over 105,000 employees across 31 countries. Founded in 1976, HCL is one of India’s original IT garage start-ups and offers diverse business aligned technology solutions spanning the entire hardware and software spectrum, to a focused range of industry verticals.
The Foundation is committed to the creation of a more equitable, merit-based society by empowering individuals to bridge the socio-economic divide. To that purpose the Foundation is focused on the underdeveloped disciplinary areas in India related to transformational education, creativity and art.
The Foundation set up the SSN Institutions (www.SSN.edu.in) in 1996, comprising the SSN College of Engineering (already a highly ranked private engineering college in India), in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. The Foundation has also set up VidyaGyan (www.VidyaGyan.in), a residential leadership academy for meritorious rural children, at Bulandshahr and Sitapur in Uttar Pradesh. In addition, the Foundation runs the Shiv Nadar University (www.snu.edu.in), an international multi-disciplinary university with strong research orientation located in Greater Noida in India’s National Capital Region and the Shiv Nadar School (www.shivnadarschool.edu.in), a network of progressive urban schools across India aimed to provide children with education that creates lifelong learners. The Foundation has also set up the Kiran Nadar Museum of Art (www.knma.in), India’s largest private philanthropic museum in modern and contemporary art, with the vision to take art to the common public.
