NIT Rourkela hosts 22nd convocation; graduates include 457 female, 93 foreign students

National Institute of Technology (NIT) Rourkela hosted its 22nd convocation ceremony on June 20, 2025, with Uday A Kaole, chairman-cum-managing director of Mahanadi Coalfields Limited as the chief guest. From the class of 2024, a total of 2,065 students were awarded degrees, with 457 of them being female.

The institute has seen a rise in the female student population across courses. According to an official statement, more than 22% of the graduates were female in 2024. This included 208 in bachelor programmes; 186 in master programmes, and 63 in PhD programmes.

The cohort included 68 international students from various countries like the USA, Afghanistan, Sri Lanka, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Nepal. There were 25 non-resident Indians (NRI). The degrees awarded during the ceremony are given below.

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NIT-R convocation awards

The convocation ceremony also saw four alumni being awarded with the Distinguished Alumnus Award. The award categories and respective recipients are as follows:

• Academia and Research: Sukumar Mishra, director, IIT(ISM) Dhanbad, Jharkhand
• Industry and Management: Ashok Kumar Basa, managing director, CEM Engineers and Consultants Private Limited
• Entrepreneurship and Public Life: RS Raghavan, managing director, Proman Infrastructure Services Private Limited
• Contribution Made to the Growth of the Institute: Bhartendu Deo, head of electrical, Qatargas North Field Expansion Project

To recognise the achievements of toppers among the batch, NIT Rourkela also conferred eight Institute Gold Medals, six Endowment Gold Medals, seven Endowment Awards, and 59 Silver Medals.

“Being one of India’s leading technical Institutions, NIT Rourkela takes pride in nurturing competent professionals and responsible citizens. NIT Rourkela’s rising national and global rankings, including 19th position in Engineering and 1st among NITs in the THE Asia Rankings, reflect our growing impact,” remarked K Umamaheshwar Rao, director of NIT Rourkela.