IIIT Hyderabad Marks 24th Convocation with 529 Graduates, Prof. Sandeep Shukla to Take Over as Director

IIIT Hyderabad celebrated its 24th convocation with 529 students graduating and announced that Prof. Sandeep Shukla from IIT Kanpur will take over as next director.

International Institute of Information Technology, Hyderabad held its 24th convocation conferring degrees on 529 graduating students. Vineeth Bhat, BTech graduate in Computer Science and Engineering was awarded the IIITH Gold Medal for outstanding academic achievement. Revanth Kumar Gundam dual degree graduate in BTech in Computer Science and Master of Science in Computational Linguistics by Research received Best All-rounder Award for his excellence in academics and service to the institute. Pradeep Kumar Pal, who earned a PhD in Computational Natural Sciences, was honoured with the Banyan Award in recognition of his sustained voluntary contributions to student welfare.

Commending the graduating students, Prof. P J Narayanan, Director, IIITH said, “The graduating students of 2025 are joining the professional world formally today, out to chart their own paths in this increasingly competitive and complicated world. I am confident you possess highly useful skills in your area and immense creativity to apply those to different problems. Above all, I urge you to travel your life’s journey with deep concern and caring toward the society around you. We expect the best from you in the coming years and are confident you will exceed our expectations”.

Prof. P. J. Narayanan announced that he will soon step down as Director of IIIT Hyderabad, concluding a remarkable tenure of over 12 years. He will continue to serve as a faculty member at the institute. Succeeding him will be Prof. Sandeep K. Shukla from IIT Kanpur, who will assume the role of Director starting this August. A senior professor and IEEE Fellow, Prof. Shukla is renowned for his contributions to cybersecurity, formal methods, and embedded systems. He holds a Ph.D. from SUNY Albany and previously taught at Virginia Tech. At IIT Kanpur, he led the C3i Centre for cybersecurity and spearheaded national blockchain initiatives. He currently serves as Editor-in-Chief of ACM Transactions on Embedded Systems. His accolades include the U.S. Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE) and the Humboldt Bessel Research Award.

Commenting on his new appointment Prof Shukla said, "I am extremely honoured and excited that IIIT Hyderabad is entrusting me with the responsibility of their next leader. Following the wonderful work done by prior directors Prof. Rajeev Sangal and Prof. P. J. Narayanan is a tough act, and I hope that I can rise to the challenge. I see this as my task for the next several years to lead the institute with the cooperation of all the stakeholders and the campus community to newer heights".

This year’s graduating batch at IIIT Hyderabad comprises 529 students, including 109 B.Tech, 64 B.Tech (Honours), 101 Dual Degree, 49 Master of Science by Research, 141 M.Tech, 17 Ph.D., and 48 MSIT graduates. A total of 128 companies registered for campus placements, with 75 conducting interviews.

IIITH’s executive education programs, offered in a hybrid mode, have trained over 4,500 professionals over the past eight years. The institute has completed 24 batches of the AI & Machine Learning (AIML) program, 10 batches in Blockchain and Distributed Ledger Technologies, and 7 batches of the Software Engineering for Data Science program. 

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