Prayagraj: As many as 673 students will be awarded degrees at the 19th convocation of the Indian Institute of Information Technology (IIIT), Allahabad, to be held on Oct 5. Kiran Deshpande , co-founder of Mojo Networks and former CEO of TechMahindra, Pune, will be the chief guest while Prof Anil Sahasrabudhe , a distinguished academic and administrator, will be the guest of honour. Talking to the media, IIIT-A director Prof Mukul Sharad Sutaone, said besides the 673 degrees, the institute would award 22 different medals to the meritorious scholars.
The director said Deshpande is a seasoned leader with over 40 years of experience spanning corporate leadership, entrepreneurship, and sustainability-focused non-profit work. As a TiE Global Trustee since 2022, he has played a pivotal role in shaping global mentoring initiatives, including organising the TiE Nurture programme and chairing master classes for the TiE Global Summit. Likewise, Prof Sahasrabudhe has held significant leadership roles, notably as director of the College of Engineering Pune (CoEP), where he revitalised the 150+ year-old institution, and as chairman of AICTE, implementing ground-breaking reforms in technical education.
His contributions include mandatory student induction, faculty certification, development programmes, and the creation of India's first MOOC platform, SWAYAM. Currently, he is serving as chairman of the National Educational Technology Forum (NETF), National Assessment and Accreditation Counci.
