Pics: Dayanand Kukkaje

Media Release

Mangaluru, Feb 5: The 15th graduation ceremony at St Joseph Engineering College (SJEC), was held on Friday February 5 in the open air stage of the college.

The ceremony witnessed the awarding of graduation certificates by the institution to the Class of 2021 comprising of 463 Undergraduates (BE) and 104 Postgraduates (MBA, MCA MTech and PhD).

Dr Venkata Ramana Akkaraju, chairman of New Mangalore Port Trust (NMPT), Mangaluru, graced the occasion as chief guest and presented the degree certificates to the graduands. Basty Vikram Shenoy, senior programme manager at ITC Infotech, Bengaluru and an Alumnus of SJEC from the batch of 2011, was the Guest of Honour on the occasion. Most Dr Peter Paul Saldanha, Bishop of Mangalore and president of SJEC, presided over the ceremony.

Fr Wilfred Prakash D’Souza, director of SJEC, welcomed the graduands from the class of 2020 and dignitaries to the graduation ceremony. Dr Rio D’Souza, principal of SJEC introduced the chief guest and the guest of honour.

Basty Vikram Shenoy spoke about his own experiences at SJEC and recalled his days as a student. He opined that discipline is the hallmark of the college and has contributed in shaping up his career as a competent individual. He called upon the graduands to embrace service and excellence in their life as they are about to step out of the portals of the college and embark on their journey of life.

Dr Venkata Ramana Akkaraju, in his address, mentioned that technology plays a pivotal role in every spear of life ranging from science to medicine. He stressed on the importance of skill development and urged the students to develop a thirst for knowledge. He spoke about the gap in the technical education system and the ways to overcome them. He called upon the students to be innovators and be job providers instead of being job seekers. While congratulating the graduands, he said success is not final and one should constantly be in pursuit of excellence.

Dr Rio D’Souza, principal of SJEC, administered the graduation oath. Akash Lobo G, graduand from the department of Mechanical Engineering and Diona D’Silva, graduand from the department of Computer Applications were the valedictorians from the class of 2020 and delivered the Valedictorian addresses.

Scholastic achievers and Sports achievers were recognized and awarded by Bishop Dr Peter Paul Saldanha. Delivering the presidential address, the bishop remarked that the graduands are the pride and joy of the college. He congratulated the graduates and asked them to learn the skills to be interdependent at their workplaces. He said humans are more important than machines and called upon the graduands to inculcate human values.

The members of the governing board and governing council were also present along with Fr Rohith D’Costa and Fr Alwyn Richard D’Souza, assistant directors of SJEC, Rakesh Lobo, HR manager of the college and Lavina D’Silva, co-convener of the event.

Dr Rohan Pinto, convener of the programme offered the vote of thanks.