8th edition Whistling Teal Convocation Special 2 Convocation Ceremony 2017 Vice Chancellor's Guests of Honorary Degree Mr. Shiv Nadar Meets the 3 Report 2016-2017 5 Honor 7 Recipient 11 Graduating Class of 2017 Editorial Change, as they say, is the only thing constant in life. And, it is time again for change. The graduating Class of 2017 is standing on a cusp, where the change is imminent. Their (Class of 2017) stint at Shiv Nadar University - their home for four years now, is coming to an end. At the same time, every ending is an indication of a new beginning. The new beginning that shall essentially take them to new places, with new people, and new goals. As they step out, they are now essentially equipped to make the most of opportunities that will come along as they gear-up for a fresh start. But before, comes the closure, which is marked by the 3rd Convocation Ceremony, due on 13 May 2017 at Shiv Nadar University. Our 8th edition of Whistling Teal is dedicated to the ceremony that commemorates the graduation of more than 400 students of the outgoing Class. We present to you the names of the students graduating this year inside the issue. The Guests of Honor for the ceremony are Mr. Mike Lawrie, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer, DXC Technology; and Mr. Deepak Parekh, Chairman, HDFC. Know more about them in the current issue of Whistling Teal. Shiv Nadar University is conferring the Honorary Doctorate on Prof. Jagdish Sheth, Charles H. Kellstadt Professor of Marketing at the Goizueta Business School of Emory University. The most cited professor of Indian origin in the field of Business administration, Prof. Jagdish will not be able to attend the ceremony and has a message for the graduating Class. Read his message inside the issue. The highlights of Convocation Special are Faculty Reminisces, and Student Memorabilia for Class of 2017. The two sections are a recollection of memories shared by faculty and the graduating Class. These are complimented with the highlights of a special interaction that took place recently between the Class of 2017 and Mr. Shiv Nadar. Amidst the Convocation's preparation, life at Shiv Nadar University had caught a lightening pace once again. Apart from the classes, projects, and placements, students put their best foot forward at various inter-college events and have garnered a number of awards and achievements. Read about them in the Student Achievements section. Campus Buzz and Campus Beat will give you a glimpse of the happenings that took place at the campus recently. Preparations for the Convocation Ceremony, which will be marked by the presence of more than 2000 attendees including students, parents, guests and members of the Shiv Nadar University Community, are nearing completion now. Dressed in caps and tassels with pride in their hearts, as the graduating Class walks the last mile at Shiv Nadar University, we wish them love and luck for the goals they have set for life ahead. Editorial Team Whistling Teal 1 Convocation Ceremony 2017 Time Programme 2:00 PM Guests Seated For the Convocation Ceremony Entry of the Student, Faculty and Chancellor's Processions National Anthem Welcome address by the Chancellor Dr. S N Balakrishnan Presentation of the University Report by the Vice Chancellor Dr. Rupamanjari Ghosh Special Address by Mr. Deepak Parekh Chairman, HDFC Commencement Address by Mr. Mike Lawrie Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer, DXC Technology Conferring of Honorary Doctorate Prof. Jagdish Sheth Conferring of the University degree to students Vote of Thanks by President Mr. Rajiv Swarup Departure of Chancellor's Procession High Tea and Cultural Programme at the 7:00 PM Onwards University Lawns 2 Vice Chancellor's Report (2016-2017) It is my honor and privilege to present the Vice- Chancellor’s Progress Report on the occasion of this third Convocation of the Shiv Nadar University. The University was established by an Act of the State of Uttar Pradesh, and began its operations on the 18th of August 2011, with 265 undergraduate students pursuing degrees in five engineering majors and mathematics and a single Master’s student. In these six years, the University has grown considerably in scale and scope, and has made substantial progress towards achieving the goal of creating a comprehensive / multidisciplinary, student- centric and research-focused university. Today we have 2,115 students enrolled at the University – of these 1,806 are undergraduates, 164 Master’s and 145 are doctoral students. The diverse student body, coming from 27 states & UTs in the country, is spread across 15 undergraduate, 10 Master’s and 13 doctoral programs in four Schools: School of Engineering, School of Humanities & Social Sciences, School of Natural S c i e n c e s , a n d S c h o o l o f M a n a g e m e n t & Entrepreneurship. The fifth School at the University, the School of Extended Education and Professional Development, is focused on extending the reach of the University by offering short-duration educational and training programs to individuals, companies, and Prof. Rupamanjari Ghosh governmental and non-governmental organizations. The University had a clear vision and a mandate from the Founder from day-1, and through our innovative ways and our relentless efforts, with our unwavering commitment towards excellence, and very importantly, with the support of our partners, advisors & well-wishers, we have already reached a stage where our peers have started recognizing our distinct mark. The University Grants Commission (UGC) Inspection Report on Shiv Nadar University in 2016 was exceptionally encouraging, and the detailed testimony covered all the aspects of functioning of the University. UGC subsequently accepted Shiv Nadar University's response to the observations / suggestions of the UGC Inspection Committee and the AICTE Expert Committee on 18 November 2016. Shiv Nadar University was honored as the "University of the Year" (in existence for less than 10 years category) at the FICCI Higher Education Excellence Awards ceremony in November 2016. The FICCI Higher Education Excellence Awards recognize the achievements and work done by institutions and individuals in improving the quality of Higher Education in India. Shiv Nadar University has been selected for hosting an Atal Incubation Centre (AIC), supported by the Niti Aayog. There was a total of 1719 academic applicants, and 1939 non-academic ones. After a four-stage evaluation process, the selection decision was received on 21 March 2017. 2016 marked the second edition of the annual exercise under the National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF), carried out under the aegis of the Ministry of Human Resource Development, Government of India. In its first attempt, Shiv Nadar University has now received the distinct honor of the youngest institution in the Overall Top-100 list. In the results announced on 3 April 2017, Shiv Nadar University got ranked 60 in the 'University' category, and 96 in the 'Overall' category. It ranked 8th ‘Overall’ amongst institutions in existence for less than 10 years. In "Research & Professional Practice", SNU's "Citations per Publication" of 4.61 is next to IISc's 5.01, and SNU's "Percentage in Top 25" of 28% is higher than IISc's 25%. The growth of the University has been more in its depth and intellectual strength than in headcounts. Looking at our scholarly activities and their impact, some peaks of excellence can already be recognized. The idea now is to consolidate, strategize and march forward such that the overall output goes up, the impact is felt in the nation & world-wide, and the sharp peaks of excellence are sustained in the important areas of our choice. Innovative Curriculum and Research Focus As recognized by the UGC Expert Committee, during a short span of its existence, Shiv Nadar University has developed a unique multidisciplinary curriculum at the undergraduate level providing students with an unprecedented, well-rounded education by synthesizing broad and strong multidisciplinary foundation with an in-depth training in their selected discipline. The curriculum emphasizes on fostering students’ ability to integrate critical thinking, interpretive skills, scientific exploration and normative principles. The in-built flexibility of the undergraduate curriculum has scope for every student to chart out her/his own academic path and to progress through the program at her/his own pace. It is worth mentioning that Dr. Girish Agrawal, Associate Director, School of Engineering, has been named to a special-purpose AICTE Committee constituted to draft a concept paper for revising the undergraduate curriculum in engineering. The Committee’s mandate is to rethink and revise the existing undergraduate engineering curriculum with a particular focus on project-based learning, as SNU has been advocating. 3 Vice Chancellor's Report A major component of the mission of any university has to be creation of knowledge (by researching), and not just disseminating it (by teaching). Research at the University is not limited to faculty and doctoral students. The Opportunities for Undergraduate Research (OUR) program is enabling undergraduate students to undertake research projects with the faculty members outside the regular curriculum and to publish their research work in high-impact journals. Over 85% of our undergraduate and postgraduate students receive some form of scholarship or financial aid, and all our doctoral students receive stipends and tuition fee waivers. In 2016-17 the University disbursed ` 31.8 crores as scholarships to undergraduate students, and stipends worth approx. ` 15 crore to postgraduate and doctoral students. I am happy to share that the University is launching a unique Master’s program on Water Science & Policy this year, led by Dr. Mihir Shah, Distinguished Professor in the Center for Public Affairs and Critical Theory (C-PACT), SNU.