India has shown when a nation invests in knowledge, it invests in its future: Zanzibar president
Across generations, India has shown that when a nation invests in knowledge, it invests in its future, the President of Zanzibar and Chairman of the
Across generations, India has shown that when a nation invests in knowledge, it invests in its future, the President of Zanzibar and Chairman of the Revolutionary Council, Hussein Ali Mwinyi, said in Chennai on Friday. "There could hardly be a more fitting place to celebrate that truth than here,” he said during his speech at the 63rd convocation of the Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IIT-M). Mwinyi said: "No nation has ever educated too many young people. History teaches us the opposite. Nations flourish when they invest in the minds of their people. And they struggle when they fail to do so." Recalling his government's initial discussions with the IIT-M, he said: "We were not merely searching for an internationally-respected university, we were searching for a partner whose philosophy reflected our own.
A partner that believed that excellence should serve society. A partner that understood that research fulfilled its highest purpose, when it improves lives." Addressing the new graduates, Pawan Goenka, Chairman of the Board of Governors of IIT-M, said: "Whether you build your life in India or abroad, pick your point. Decide where you will make a difference — in a laboratory or a start-up, on a factory floor or a village, a board room or a classroom. One day, you will look back and ask yourself -- what did I leave behind?" In his presentation, IIT-Madras Director V. Kamakoti listed the institution's achievements over the past year. He said that IIT Madras-Zanzibar (IITMZ) entered a transformative phase as an emerging hub of global higher education in East Africa.
There are about 130 students in the IITMZ campus, and of them, 51 were from Tanzania, and the remaining were from Kenya, Uganda, Ethiopia, Zambia and India, he said. A total of 3,518 degrees (including joint and dual degrees) were awarded to 3,106 students who graduated during the convocation. Ashwin Subramanian Murugan received the President of India prize (for the highest CGPA amongst B.Tech and dual degree) and Bharat Ratna M. Visvesvaraya Memorial Prize (for highest CGPA amongst B.Tech degree) from Dr. Mwinyi. Anirudh Rao was presented the Institute Merit Prize (for the highest CGPA in dual degree), while Mith R. Jain was presented the Dr. Shankar Dayal Sharma Prize (for the best all-around proficiency in curricular & extracurricular activities in B.
Tech). B. Haricharan and Aravindan Kamatchi Sundaram received the Governor's Prize (for the best all-around proficiency in curricular and extra-curricular activities in dual degree). Mwinyi also unveiled the IITMZ campus layout. The convocation commenced with the Tanzanian national anthem, followed by Tamil Nadu's State song 'Tamil Thai Vaazhthu', national song 'Vande Mataram' and the Indian national anthem 'Jana Gana Mana.' The event concluded with the national song 'Vande Mataram' and the Indian national anthem 'Jana Gana Mana.'
The BriefWire