Blockchain-based Digital Degrees awarded to 1,555 NIT Rourkela Students during its 19th Convocation

For the first time in its History, National Institute of Technology Rourkela awarded to its graduating students ‘Blockchain-based Digital Degrees’ developed in assistance with IIT Kanpur’s C3i Innovation Hub, under the aegis of National Blockchain Project mooted by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi. With the adoption of this ambitious project, NIT Rourkela has become the first NIT and the second among ‘Institutes of National Importance,’ after IIT Kanpur, to implement a futuristic technology for its graduating students.

A total of 1,555 (859 Undergraduate, 608 Post-graduate, 88 PhDs) students were awarded degrees during its 19^th Convocation held today (13^th August 2022) by union Education Minister, Dharmendra Pradhan. The Students wore Sambalpuri-themed dress code and ethos of ‘Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav.’ During the Annual Convocation 2021, Six Institute Gold Medals, Five Endowment Gold Medals, Five Endowment Awards, 70 Branch Topper Medals and One Endowment Cash Award were awarded to graduands. A total of 11 Alumni were conferred with Distinguished Alumnus Award–2021. Jual Oram ( MP, Sundargarh) and Sarada Prasad Nayak ( MLA, Rourkela) were the Guests of Honour.

Addressing the Convocation,  Dharmendra Pradhan,  said, “I want to see NIT Rourkela to become hub of technology. The Institute must plan proactively on how the entire Sundergarh district can be linked to blockchain, how the households can be mapped, how the people can get benefits provided by government and how can it help in increasing the skill and employment possibility among the youth. NIT Rourkela should work on mapping this through the blockchain.”

The graduating students would receive an OTP on their mobile number, which will also be sent to their email id, to provide access to a secure portal containing their degrees. The degrees would also be available to be downloaded as a PDF file making them accessible anywhere globally. Blockchain system works on the principle of de-centralization, which results in control not being in the hands of one person but on a distributed network. Information in a blockchain is recorded and stored sequentially along with an exact timestamp and cannot be altered making it a tamper-proof transcript.

This digital wallet provides a secure, tamper-proof environment that the students can share with their prospective employers. It could be verified instantly, saving the laborious verification process carried out by third parties, which easily takes 2 to 3 weeks currently.

NIT Rourkela Researchers have published 13,790 publications with 127 h-index per the Scopus database and 7,138 publications with 110 h-index per the Web of Science database, which is among the top when compared with all other NITs. As per NIRF 2022, NIT Rourkela has the highest research scores (Research, Professional practices and Collaborative performance) among all NITs.

The Distinguished Alumnus Awards 2021 were also presented during the occasion to the following:

Academia and Research

• Prof. Amiya Ranjan Mohanty (1986, Mechanical Engineering), Professor & Head, Department of Mechanical Engineering, IIT Kharagpur
•  Prof Lalit  Mohan Das (1970, Mechanical Engineering), Professor Emeritus, Centre for Energy Studies, IIT Delhi
• Prof. Bidyadhar Subudhi (1988, Electrical Engineering), Professor (HAG), School of Electrical Sciences and Dean (R&D), IIT Goa
•  Prof. Manoj Kumar Mohanty (1985, Mining Engineering), Newmont Endowed Professor, HOD, Mining & Metallurgical Engineering D Mackay School of Earth Science ,Univ of Nevada,  Reno, USA

Industry and Management

• Shri Chitta Ranjan Pradhan (1970, Electrical Engineering), Former Chairman cum Managing Director, NALCO
• Shri  Prabudha Ranjan Mohanty (1976, Chemical Engineering), Former Distinguished Scientist and Chairman of Heavy Water Board and Technical Advisor to Secretary, Department of Atomic Energy, Govt of India
• Shri Nikunja  Bihari  Dhal, IAS (1993 Batch) (1990, Mechanical Engineering), Secretary to Government of Orissa (Energy and Power)
• Shri  Prabhat Kumar (1986, Mining Engineering), Director General of Mines Safety, Ministry of Labour and Employment, Govt. of India

Entrepreneurship and Public Life

• Er Binod Kumar Agarwal (1985, Chemical Engineering), MD of Shree Tirupati Balajee Agro Trading Company Pvt. Ltd. Indore Madhya Pradesh, India
• Shri Santosa Kumar Pal (1985, Mining Engineering), Director technical heading (Projects & Planning of South Eastern Coal fields limited, Bilaspur, India

Contribution made to growth of Institute

• Shri . Sandip Dasverma (1965 Mechanical Engineering), First President of NITROAA, Hayward, CA, USA

GOLD MEDALS

###