Missile Woman Dr Tessy Thomas to Grace IIT Delhi’s 56th Convocation on August 2

Sharing details at a press conference, IIT Delhi Director Prof. Rangan Banerjee said over 2,750 students will be awarded degrees and diplomas this year, which include 530 PhD scholars

Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi will host its 56th Convocation ceremony on August 2, 2025, with Dr Tessy Thomas, renowned scientist and former Director General (Aeronautical Systems), DRDO, as the chief guest. Dr Thomas, popularly known as the "Missile Woman of India", will deliver the convocation address.

Sharing details at a press conference, IIT Delhi Director Prof. Rangan Banerjee said over 2,750 students will be awarded degrees and diplomas this year, which include 530 PhD scholars – the highest number in the institute’s history. Among the graduating cohort are 35 international students from 20 countries.

This year’s convocation will also see the first batch of students graduating from several newly introduced programmes, which include a BTech in Energy Engineering, an interdisciplinary MTech in Robotics, and MSc by Research in VLSI Design and Artificial Intelligence.

Top academic honours will be awarded to meritorious students, which include Ankit Mondal (President’s Gold Medal – BTech in Computer Science), Jaskaran Singh Sodhi (Director’s Gold Medal – BTech in Materials Science), and Devinder Kumar (Dr Shankar Dayal Sharma Gold Medal – MTech in Civil Engineering).

The Institute will also confer the 2025 Distinguished Alumni Awards (DAA) upon seven of its graduates for excellence in fields ranging from public service and corporate leadership to research and entrepreneurship. These include Prof. Gajendra P.S. Raghava, Dr Gargi Maheshwari, Dr Prabu Raja, Ms Ramya Venkataraman, Dr Sivaraj Shyam-Sunder, Mr Srikanth Velamakanni, and Ambassador Sunjay Sudhir. Rishabh Goel, a 2016 batch alumnus, will receive the Graduates of Last Decade (GOLD) Award.

To commemorate the achievements of its alumni, IIT Delhi will also inaugurate a permanent DAA Wall at the Lecture Hall Complex during the convocation ceremony.

Prof. Banerjee also announced the implementation of revised undergraduate, postgraduate, and PhD curricula from the academic year 2025–26. The new UG curriculum focuses on flexibility, emerging technologies like AI, environmental sustainability, and student wellness. Life skills, digital literacy, and emotional intelligence form part of a holistic education framework.

The institute has launched new UG programmes in Chemistry (BSc) and Design (BTech), as well as PG courses in Optics and Photonics, expanding academic offerings to match contemporary demands.

In the area of continuing education, IIT Delhi conducted 98 hybrid mode training programmes reaching 5,300 participants and generating 3.62 lakh training man-hours. The Continuing Education Programme (CEP) generated ₹53 crore in FY 2024–25 and has recently introduced online PG Diploma programmes in Healthcare Product Development, EV Technology, and Quantum-AI Integrated Communication Engineering.