Mumbai: The Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay (IIT-B) is all set to conduct a virtual convocation ceremony on Sunday. All the 2,714 graduating students will see their “avatars” receive degrees from the institute director, Dr Subhasis Chaudhuri, in a virtual ceremony, according to an article published in The Indian Express.
In a first of its kind move, IIT Bombay will conduct its 58th convocation ceremony giving away degrees to students’ virtual images, created using their photographic details, in view of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The programme will be broadcast on DD Sahyadri, YouTube and Facebook from 1.30 pm on August 23.
During the ceremony, the avatars of the students will also receive their medals from the avatar of the chief guest Nobel laureate professor Duncan Haldane of the Princeton University. Electronic copies of the degree certificate will be made available immediately after the event, while the physical copies will be couriered to the students later.
“This has been a huge operation involving planning, technology development and implementation. No other institute has done it. Getting into and through IIT is a memorable event, and we wanted to give students something to remember,” said Dr Chaudhari.