BITS Pilani Goa Convocation 2026: 1109 Students Receive Degrees; Shamit Khetan Awarded Gold Medal

The Birla Institute of Technology and Science (BITS) Pilani Goa successfully conducted its Convocation 2026, where 1109 students received degrees. Check gold medal winners, new programmes and research highlights.

BITS Pilani Goa Convocation

The K K Birla Goa Campus of BITS Pilani held its 2026 convocation, with 1,109 students receiving their degrees across first-degree, dual-degree, higher-degree and PhD programmes. The graduating batch included 674 first-degree students, 257 dual-degree students, 121 higher-degree students and 57 PhD scholars. Rakesh Kumar Verma, co-founder, chairman and managing director of MapmyIndia and a BITS Pilani alumnus, attended the ceremony as the chief guest. BITS Pilani Group Vice Chancellor V Ramgopal Rao attended the event along with Goa campus Director Suman Kundu, faculty members, officials, students and their families.

BITS Pilani Goa Convocation 2026: Gold medal winners

Among the first-degree students, Shamit Khetan received the Gold Medal, while Vrishti Deepak Godhwani and Aditya Ashok Tailor received the Silver and Bronze Medals, respectively. In the higher-degree category, Sumit Sakharam Ghodke and Rudraksh Alias Bhagwant Mukund Suryarao Sardesai jointly received the Gold Medal. Vignesh A and Neelima M were awarded the Silver Medal. The institute also recognised research and academic achievements through awards including the Suman Kapur Memorial Best PhD Thesis Award 2026 and the Raghurama Outstanding Student Award 2025-26.

BITS Pilani Goa expands academic programmes

The Goa campus has also added new programmes and academic options during the year. These include ME programmes in Quantum Science and Technology and Quantum Information Processing, along with a Minor in Computing and Intelligence. The campus has also introduced a 2+2 undergraduate Computer Science programme with RMIT University, Australia. The programme allows students to pursue their studies through the two institutions as part of the collaboration.

BITS Pilani Goa research projects and publications

The campus recorded growth in research activity during the academic year. According to the institute, it received 91 sponsored research projects worth more than Rs 30.72 crore and recorded 720 research publications. The research work covered areas such as quantum technologies, green hydrogen, advanced semiconductor devices and indigenous navigation systems. The campus also added new international partnerships and expanded its research infrastructure through new and upgraded laboratories.

Addressing the graduating students, V Ramgopal Rao highlighted the importance of interdisciplinary learning and said that the institute is redesigning its curriculum around flexible, cross-disciplinary electives and expanded minors.