- Sixth Convocation
The sixth convocation ceremony was held on Saturday 20th January 2018 at the hospital campus, under the Chairmanship of Hon’ble Chancellor Dr. Vijay Bhatkar. Shri. P. Chidambaram, Former Union Minister of Finance, Government of India was the Chief Guest and in auspicious presence of the Former Governor of Bihar, Tripura & West Bangal Padma Shree Awardee Dr. D. Y. Patil. In this convocation ceremony, Dr. Arun Kumar Agarwal, Former Dean, Maulana Azad Medical College, New Delhi was conferred with the Doctor of Science (Honorius Causa) and Shrimant Shahu Chhatrapati Maharaj, Mahajara of Kolhapur was conferred with the Doctor of Letters (Honoris Causa). Degrees were awarded to 231 Graduates (MBBS/MD/MS/Dip./B.Sc.). Six Students were felicitated for their excellent academic record in the University. Two students were awarded Ph.D. Degree from Interdisciplinary Studies. This function was graced by President Dr. Sanjay D. Patil and Vice-President Hon’ble Satej D. Patil of the Sponsoring Society and Members of the Board of Management, Academic Council of the university and faculty of all units also attended.
The awardee of D.Sc. (Honoris Causa) Dr. Arun Kumar Agarwal, and awardee of D. Litt (Honoris Causa) Shrimant Shahu Chhatrapati Maharaj addressed the gathering and expressed their gratitude.
The Vice-Chancellor Prof. Dr. P. B. Behere presented the annual report of the university mentioned about the achievements of the University. He shared his plans for future developments. He then introduced the Chief Guest of the function.
The Chief Guest Shri. P. Chidambaram, former Finance Minister, Government of India in his speech stated, “Education and Research are inseparable twins. Research and scholarship will raise the quality of education, and high quality education will turn out scholars who will advance research. The aims of education and research are the same: to add to the body of knowledge and to the tribe of scholars on a subject”. He wished the University success in the advancement of endeavours these twin.
He congratulated the two recipients of the honorary degree conferred by the University.
He further stated that, in a developing country that faces multiple challenges, it is not easy to identify priorities and allocate resources. How shall we spend the money we have? Shall we invest more in primary and secondary schools or shall we provide large funds to institutes of advanced learning? How do we balance the twin needs of a vast country that must provide basic education to all and, at the same time, create a body of qualified doctors, engineers, technologists and experts in every field? Even in the area of healthcare, how do we allocate resources between the need to take care of the health of our children under 12 years (population: 295 million) and the need to ensure the well-being of our senior citizens over 60 years (population: 104 million)?
In his brief address, he dwelled upon the health of our children, a subject of vital importance to the future of our country.
Former Prime Minister Mr. Rajiv Gandhi’s path breaking and far-sighted idea led to the creation of a Ministry of Human Resource Development. That idea seems to have been abandoned. Today, our idea of human resource development seems to be minus child development, minus child health and minus child nutrition. Let us always remember that education is for the child. Education will unleash the full potential of the child only if the child is well-fed and healthy.
While throwing light on rights of children he mentioned that, as doctors, you know that the first five years of a child determine, by and large, the physical and mental development, and consequently the general health, during the rest of the child’s life.
Conscious of its obligation, Parliament enacted the National Food Security Act, 2013. It promised a certain quantity of grain per person per month. Special provisions were made for pregnant and lactating mothers and children. Modest nutritional standards were specified for various categories. Allocations to human resource development, health and family welfare, and women and child development, as a per cent of total expenditure are either stagnant or have declined.
Regarding Doctors’ Role and Responsibility, he stated that, you have a great responsibility to nurture our human resources, especially our children. You are so few. India has one doctor for 1681 persons (2016 data) and one government doctor for 11,528 persons against the WHO norm of one doctor for 1000 persons. We produce only 55,000 graduate doctors and 25,000 post-graduate doctors every year. Each one of you will carry the burden of at least two doctors.
Our healthcare system is broadly divided into three categories: public/government hospitals, private for- profit hospitals and private not-for-profit hospitals. The last category is diminishing and may soon become minuscule in proportion. We must have a clear idea of the relative roles of public and private hospitals. If the former vacates the space in healthcare, the latter will naturally grow to occupy that space resulting in far reaching consequences to the poor and the middle classes. In his view, public hospitals must have a large presence in every state of the country and must cover the entire spectrum from primary health centres to tertiary care hospitals to super-specialty hospitals.
Because of lackadaisical administration, public hospitals are seen as inefficient, turning away patients and refusing to take normal risks while treating a patient. In many places, they have become just referral hospitals that refer critical patients to private hospitals. Will this stop and will doctors and administrators of public hospitals focus on retaining patients and treating them?
- Fifth Convocation
The Fifth convocation ceremony was held on Friday 30th December 2016 at Sayaji Hotel, under the Chairmanship of Hon’ble Chancellor Dr. Vijay Bhatkar. Prof. Dr. Manikrao Salunkhe, Vice-Chancellor, Symbiosis University of Applied Sciences, Indore was the Chief Guest and it was in auspicious presence of the Former Governor of Bihar Padma Shree Dr. D. Y. Patil. In this convocation ceremony, Dr. Vedprakash Mishra, Chancellor, Krishna Institute of Medical Sciences, Karad was conferred with the Doctor of Science (Honoris Causa) and Smt. Anuradha Paudwal was conferred with the Doctor of Letters (Honorius Causa). There were 215 Graduates who received their degrees. In addition to this one student was awarded Ph.D. Degree. This function was prominently attended and graced by the President Dr. Sanjay D. Patil and Vice-President Hon’ble Satej D. Patil of the Sponsoring Society and Members of the Board of Management and Academic Council.
Prof. Dr. Manikrao Salunkhe, Vice-Chancellor, Symbiosis University of Applied Sciences, Indore gave the convocation address. While talking on research and new development he said today science and technology are becoming borderless. Today no field can boast of its protected domain and no field can claim to remain in isolation. Advances in the area of bio-technology stem cell research, molecular biology, robotics, competing technology, drug designing, bio-nano-technology have opened up promising research fields in medical sciences with unimaginable possibilities.
The work of the Human Genome Project has allowed researchers to begin to understand the blueprint for building a person. As researchers learn more about the functions of genes and proteins, this knowledge will have a major impact in the field of medicine, biotechnology, and other life sciences.
Genome analysis including the critical analysis of its comparative aspects is expected to help not only basic research but will also reveal the applied potential.
Other exciting areas on the horizon that offer lot of promise for health care technologies are proteomics and functional genomics. For example using proteomics quick and accurate serum based diagnosis of several diseases is not too far away.
Would a teenage boy buy the same clothes as his grandparents? Probably not. But when they get sick, they’re likely to receive the same medical treatment, despite their many differences. And so will everyone else.
The advent of personalized medicine is moving us closer to more precise, predictable and powerful health care that is customized for the individual patient. Our growing understanding of genetics and genomics – and how they drive health, disease and drug responses in each person – is enabling doctors to provide better disease prevention, more accurate diagnoses, safer drug prescriptions and more effective treatments for the many diseases and conditions that diminish our health.
He threw light on health education. The country’s economic progress depends on several critical factors. The quality of human resource is amongst the most important of them. Higher education is the key to make available large pool of skilled manpower to the nation. Higher education not only decides a student’s career prospects, but also shapes his or her personality.
Indian education system is burdened with demand for both quality and quantity. The large number of aspirants want to join government educational institutes. However, they have their own limitations at this stage. It is here that the private educational system is playing a very important role.
Many top universities including Harvard University and Stanford University are the result of efforts of private sector. There is no reason why Indian private sector cannot achieve similar results.
In India, in 1990s students and parents used to be skeptical of private universities. The students preferred public universities as opposed to private universities, which are mostly newly built. Last few years I am pleased to see the trust of people shifting to private universities. I could get opportunity to do some research in US Private University i.e. North-West University, which is known for quality of research.
D.Y. Patil University has played important role in changing public perception of private university and I hope in future they will excel in research and in quality of education. The education pedagogy is changing fast and it is imperative to use all advanced educational technologies for new generations. We need universities to provide quality education that meets international standard.
- Fourth Convocation
The fourth convocation ceremony was held on Wednesday 13th April 2016 at the hospital campus, under the Chairmanship of Hon’ble Chancellor Dr. Vijay Bhatkar. Dr. K. N. Ganesh, Director, Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, Dr. Homi Bhabha Road, Pune was the Chief Guest and it was in auspicious presence of the Former Governor of Bihar Padma Shree Dr. D. Y. Patil. In this convocation ceremony, Professor Ganapati Dadasaheb Yadav Vice-Chancellor & R.T. Mody Distinguished Professor; J.C. Bose National Fellow INSTITUTE OF CHEMICAL TECHNOLOGY (ICT), MUMBAI was conferred with the Doctor of Science (Honorius Causa) and Shri. Udaysingh Deshmukh (Bhaiyyu Maharaj) Founder, Shree Sadguru Datt Dharmik Evam Parmarthik Trust, Indore was conferred with the Doctor of Letters (Honoris Causa). There were 213 Graduates received their degrees. Six Students were felicitated for their excellent academic record in the University. In addition to this four students were awarded Ph.D. Degree. This function was prominently attended and graced by the President Dr. Sanjay D. Patil and Vice-President Hon’ble Satej D. Patil of the Sponsoring Society and Members of the Board of Management and Academic Council.
After the conferment of D.Sc. (Honoris Causa) to Prof. G. D. Yadav, expressed his happiness to participate in the Convocation and mentioned that this was a lifetime honor to him which he got from own place. He advised the graduates to come forward with innovative ideas in the field of Sciences and Health Sciences and work hard on the same. He also mentioned various avenues available for youths.
After the conferment of D.Litt. (Honoris Causa) to Shri. Udaysingh Deshmukh (Bhaiyyu Maharaj), he expressed gratefulness towards the University. He elaborated his social activities approaching to the poor and needy people and how he made revolution for the down trodden people.
The Vice-Chancellor Prof. Dr. S. H. Pawar presented his report on the excellence of education in the university and introduced the Chief Guest. He proudly mentioned about the achievements of the University during a short span of time and also he stated his plan of future developments.
The Chief Guest Dr. K. N. Ganesh delivered his speech on “Science Education and its Relevance to Nation’s Growth”. In his speech he said over the years, several factors have been identified as the cause of poor quality of tertiary education in the country. Some of the major ones are: (i) outdated curriculum, inadequate professional courses to improve teaching skills and scant innovation in pedagogy (ii) limited and poor infrastructure for teaching as well as research in the majority of colleges (nearly all of our undergraduate education happens in teaching-only colleges) (iii) absence of or limited exposure to research for the college teachers (iv) insufficient staff in the colleges, which is a major concern, more so as Gross Enrolment Ratio is set to rise in the coming years, amplified in a country of 1.2 billion people.
He further apprised about important hallmarks of world-class institutions. These are (i) outstanding faculty recruited based only on merit and competiveness, with no compromises(ii) scouting for the best merited students(iii) coexistence of fundamental research and scholarship in synchrony and mutual respect for applied and industry-relevant research(iv)promoting internationalization through faculty, strong postdoctoral culture and attracting international students and (v) most importantly, secured and regular flow of funds with continuous top-up for new initiatives and (vi) establishment of endowments and creation of chairs to attract distinguished and eminent scientists.
While discussing on connecting with social sciences he said that emphasis on good ethical practices in the sciences and taking responsibility for one’s own actions is a must. STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) should be rechristened as STEAM to include the “Arts” as well.
He advised the students to realize that the noble values of caring and sharing of knowledge and sacrifice have prevented human society from degeneration and extinction. As inheritors of a vibrant and healthy society, they must cultivate an intense concern for human development, constantly expanding your knowledge, learning to collectively work in a team and forever be guided by higher ethical values, beyond the boundaries of narrow and partisan outlook. They must stretch beyond the limits of their abilities.
