Gulbarga University’s 43rd convocation to take place on February 24; three to receive honorary doctorates

Gulbarga University will hold its 43rd Annual Convocation at Dr. B.R. Ambedkar Bhavan on the Jnanaganga campus here on February 24 at 11 a.m, Vice-Chancellor Shashikant S. Udikeri announced on February 19.

Addressing a press conference at the university’s Kailash Bhavan guest house, Prof. Udikeri said that three eminent personalities will be conferred honorary doctorates in recognition of their contributions in public life and social service. Former Minister P.G.R. Sindhia will be honoured for his contributions to social and political fields, former Minister Murugesh Nirani for social service, and social activist Kedaralingayya Hiremath for his public service initiatives.

Governor of Karnataka and Chancellor of State Universities Thaawarchand Gehlot will preside over the convocation and confer degrees and honorary doctorates. Minister for Higher Education and Pro-Chancellor M.C. Sudhakar will attend as the chief guest. L.M. Patnaik, former Vice-Chancellor of the Defence Institute of Advanced Technology (Deemed University), Pune, will deliver the convocation address.

Prof. Udikeri said 16 sub-committees had been constituted to ensure the smooth conduct of the ceremony. He noted that the convocation, pertaining to the academic year 2023–24, had been delayed owing to unavoidable reasons. The university plans to hold the 44th convocation for 2024–25 shortly after the completion of the present event.

Gold medals and degrees

A total of 172 gold medals will be awarded to 77 students, 58 women, and 19 men, including 24 medals for undergraduate courses and 148 for postgraduate programmes. In addition, nine gold medals have been converted into cash awards, which will be presented to 19 students (14 women and five men).

Among the top achievers, Channamma from the Department of Kannada Studies on the main campus has secured 11 gold medals. Rahul from the Department of Zoology has won nine, while Surekha from the MBA programme has secured eight. Shameem Rafat from the Government First Grade College, Sedam (Political Science), and Deepa from the Department of Social Work have each won six medals. Several other students across disciplines have secured five or more gold medals.

The university will confer Ph.D. degrees on 123 research scholars across various faculties — 30 in arts, 26 in social sciences, 47 in science and technology, nine in commerce and management, seven in education, and four in law. Of these, 62 are men and 61 are women.

Overall, 19,133 candidates will receive degrees at the convocation. This includes 15,504 undergraduate degrees, 3,462 postgraduate degrees, 44 postgraduate diplomas, and 123 Ph.D. degrees. The total comprises 10,463 male and 8,670 female candidates.

Registrar Ramesh Londankar, Registrar (Evaluation), N.G. Kannur, and Finance Officer Jayambika were also present at the press conference.