PANAJI: Among the 11 new National Institutes of Technology (NIT) set up nearly a decade ago across the country, NIT Goa has earned itself the rare reputation of being the first institute to see five of its students graduate with a doctorate degree PhD ) within just seven years of the institute becoming operational. NIT Goa was established in 2010The degrees will be handed to the students on Saturday, at the institutes’ fourth convocation ceremony, by the vice-president of India Venkaiah Naidu.“Old NITs like Surathkal see around 25 Phds being awarded to students each year. But for a new institute like ours, five students graduating with a doctorate degree within just seven years is a major feat. We are fortunate that the vice-president has agreed to come to Goa exclusively for our convocation ceremony. He will leave soon after the ceremony,” said NIT Goa, director, Gopal Mugeraya.Altogether 133 degrees — graduate, postgraduate and Phds — will be handed out to the students. While 86 students will get BTech degrees, 42 will get MTech degrees and five will get their doctorates.Speaking on the institute’s performance, Mugeraya said, “NIT Goa, despite being fairly new, has attracted a good number of companies for its campus placement programme. Over 90% of our undergraduate students have been placed in well-known companies with a maximum pay package of Rs 11 lakh and an average package of Rs 6.1 lakh per annum. Over 65% of our PG students have been placed with a maximum pay package of Rs 12 lakh and an average package of Rs 6.2 lakh per annum.”The rest of the students, he said, have opted to pursue MS and doctorate programmes at IITs and other institutes across the globe.The last campus placement drive held at the institute witnessed the participation of over 30 companies including Microsoft Services, Intel, Samsung, L&T, JCB India, Suzuki Motors, Reliance, Siemens, Wipro, Infosys and Mahindra among others.NIT Goa’s fourth annual convocation ceremony will be held at Kala Academy, Panaji , on September 28.

Stay updated with all the Latest Goa headlines here. For more exclusive & live news updates from all around India, stay connected with NYOOOZ.