The 2015 Graduation Ceremony for the recipients of the Master of Science in Management- Business Analytics and Systems, and Master of Science in Embedded Systems of the University at Buffalo, State University of New York (SUNY) were held at the Bengaluru campus of Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham, on the 31st of October 2015.
Senior management of the University of Buffalo led by the President Dr. Satish Tripathi, Vice Provost for International Education Dr. Stephen Dunnett, Director of the MS program in Management at the State University of Buffalo Dr. Ram Ramesh, and Professor at the Department of Computer Science, University at Buffalo Dr. Bharat Jayaraman were all in attendance to grace the occasion.
Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham’s unique dual degree programs with University at Buffalo started under the leadership of Sri Mata Amritanandamayi Devi, Chancellor, has been a resounding success in its objective: retention and retraining of the best of industry professionals within India, with almost forty graduates working in the industry in Bangalore and Coimbatore being conferred with Masters degrees in either Engineering or Business.
The grand event began with a ceremonial parade and prayer song. The Welcome Address was delivered by Professor P. Manoj, Director and Chairperson, Amrita School of Business, Bengaluru in which he extended a warm welcome to all the graduates and their families. Dr. Venkat Rangan, the Vice-Chancellor of Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham then delivered the congratulatory address on behalf of Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham in which he expressed his heartfelt congratulations to all the graduates. The graduates were delighted to hear the strides that Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham has made in world rankings, with the Vice Chancellor reporting that it was ranked as eleventh among only seventeen Indian universities ranked in the Times Ranking of world universities. He remarked that the focus and guidance on research given by the Chancellor had clearly paid dividends and Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham will seek to continue in this direction.
The President Dr. Satish Tripathi, then delivered his congratulatory address on behalf of the University at Buffalo in which he congratulated Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham for its transformation from a teaching institution to now being recognized among the top research Universities in India. Dr. Satish also remarked that of all the relations that the University at Buffalo has with universities in India, the partnership with Amrita has been the most successful one, which made the ceremony all the more special.
Post Graduate degrees in Master of Sciences in Management- Business Analytics and Systems, and Master of Science in Embedded systems were then conferred upon the deserving candidates. The event concluded with the Vote of Thanks delivered by Dr. Bharat Jayaraman, Professor, Department of Computer Science, University at Buffalo in which he thanked the managements of both the University at Buffalo and Amrita for the care and dedication taken to successfully nurture the relationship between the universities.
UB President and Amrita Vice Chancellor meet the Industry
The day did not just end there, for there was a special luncheon with many corporate partners from different industry verticals. The theme of the luncheon was “Bringing World Class Education to the Indian Industry” and the key note was fittingly delivered by President Dr. Satish Tripathi. In his address, he offered a deep insight into the courses offered by University at Buffalo and Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham. Dr. Venkat Rangan, the Vice-Chancellor of Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham also briefly discussed the brief collaborations between Amrita and various other Universities and industries.
The event also marked presentation of mementos by Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham as a token of appreciation to corporate giants Tata Consultancy Services and Robert Bosch for their huge support towards the collaborative EMBA (Executive MBA Program). The floor was then opened for interactions between the industry representatives and the management from the University at Buffalo where problems faced by industry in terms of skill shortage and retention were discussed. There was consensus that dual degree programs may be a part of the solution to some of the problems.
The First Alumni Meet of University of Buffalo in India
The University at Buffalo (State University of New York) organized its first alumni meet in India in association with Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham at The Gateway Hotel, Residency Road, Bangalore on 31st October, 2015w. The Meet helped to facilitate interaction between the alumni and the top management of both the Universities.
The formal session started with the arrival of the President Dr. Satish K Tripathi, University at Buffalo and Dr P Venkat Rangan, Vice Chancellor, Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham. The welcome address was delivered by Mr. Wei Loon Leong, Director of International Alumni Engagement. He addressed the gathering emphasizing upon the importance of alumni coming back to their Alma Mater. The alumni present included many who graduated from the unique UB-AMRITA dual degree programs in Management and Engineering conducted in India.
The Honorable President emphasized the importance of enjoying university life and using it as a platform to reach greater heights in their professional life. The Vice Chancellor welcomed all and observed that this gathering brought together distinguished Alumni from both universities and noted the opportunity that this form of relationship presents to the nation. He spoke about the unique relationship between Amrita and UB and gave a short history of the path that it has taken. He talked about the special relationship, which started in the year 2003 when Dr Satish Tripathi, then the Provost, met with the Chancellor, and how it has grown stronger over the years. In the year 2010, UB honored Sri Mata Amritanandamayi, the Chancellor, by conferring her with the Doctorate of Humane Letters.
Both universities honored three 2015 outstanding alumni and presented them with awards. The alumni were:
The gold medalist of the EMBA-MBA joint degree program, Mr. Patham Iyer from TCS spoke on the wonderful opportunity that resulted in him being awarded a high quality degree from UB, when at the same time he was contributing to TCS while living in Bangalore.
The event enabled the Alumni to suggest ways and means to show their gratitude to their Alma Mater in multiple ways commensurate with their achievements and to re-dedicate themselves to help the Institute in achieving greater heights of glory. It also provided a platform for the Alumni to share their rich experiences with the other batch so as to provide them a window to the outside world of opportunities in the various fields of Management and Engineering.
They felt the reunion was a great experinece and revival for their future life. The alumnus expressed their heartfelt gratitude towards the faculty members and the institution.
