The Hindu : National : Honorary doctoral degrees conferred

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Monday, Jan 16, 2006

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National

Honorary doctoral degrees conferred

Staff Reporter

Cochin University honours ISRO's Madhavan Nair, Infosys' Narayanamurthy

— Photo: H. Vibhu

BEACONS FOR THE YOUNG: G. Madhavan Nair, Chairman, Indian Space Research Organisation (left), and N.R. Narayanamurthy, Chief Mentor, Infosys Technologies, at the Cochin University of Science and Technology on Sunday.

KOCHI: The Cochin University of Science and Technology (CUSAT) conferred honorary doctoral degrees (D.Sc.) on Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) chairman G. Madhavan Nair and Chief Mentor of Infosys Technologies N.R. Narayanamurthy here on Sunday. The ceremony was held at the School of Management Studies hall of the University.

In his acceptance speech Dr. Nair said new initiatives by ISRO such as Chandrayan I offered "exciting opportunities" for young researches as he underlined ISRO's efforts to build a strong partnership with academia.

"ISRO has derived strength from industry and educational institutions. I look forward to building a strong partnership between the academia and ISRO towards providing scientific and technology solutions to the country's development problems," he said.

Education has to play a major role to turn human resources into national wealth, he said, as he pointed to projections that by 2015 India would have the largest number of young people in the world.

Both Dr. Nair and Dr. Narayanamurthy praised CUSAT's record in encouraging research across various disciplines and in promoting collaborative research.

Vice-Chancellor of CUSAT P.K. Abdul Aziz, who presented Dr. Nair to Chancellor of the University and Governor of Kerala R.L. Bhattia, said the ISRO chief was an "outstanding model in the service of this great nation." Dr. Narayanamurthy, said Dr. Aziz, displayed "outstanding qualities of leadership and has made significant impact on the growth of the Indian IT sector."

The Governor said in his convocation address that by honouring the two eminent Indians, CUSAT had honoured itself and that they were beacons for the young to look up to for guidance and inspiration.

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