NIT Rourkela to Confer 2,033 Degrees; Women Make Up Only 25% of Recipients

NIT Rourkela convocation 2026: The National Institute of Technology (NIT) Rourkela will hold its 24th Convocation on September 12, conferring degrees on 2,033 students across undergraduate, postgraduate, and doctoral programmes. Of these, men will account for nearly three-fourths of the graduating cohort, with 1,525 men and 508 women set to receive their degrees — meaning roughly three male degree recipients for every female graduate.

Programme-Wise Gender Breakdown

The gender gap varies noticeably across programmes, but is most visible in the institute’s largest graduating cohort — B.Tech — where 723 men and 188 women are among the 911 degree recipients, meaning women make up only around 21 per cent of this group.

Notably, the PhD programme shows the most balanced gender representation, with 115 men and 75 women receiving degrees — women make up nearly 40 per cent of the 190 doctoral recipients, a considerably higher share compared to undergraduate programmes like B.Tech.

Convocation Details

The institute’s 24th convocation will be held on September 12, with Abhay Karandikar, member of NITI Aayog, presiding as chief guest, in the presence of S N Subrahmanyan, Chairperson, Board of Governors, NIT Rourkela.

Graduating students will receive their degrees through DigiLocker, as per the institute’s arrangements for this year’s ceremony.

Medals and Awards

Alongside degree conferrals, NIT Rourkela will honour students for their academic and co-curricular achievements through a total of 86 medals and awards, comprising:

• 11 Institute gold medals
• 6 Endowment gold medals
• 8 Endowment awards
• 61 Institute silver medals

These awards will recognise student achievements across academics, projects, research, sports, and other areas.

Distinguished Alumnus Award 2026

The institute will also confer its Distinguished Alumnus Award 2026 on two alumni:

• Rajarshi Gupta, Managing Director and CEO of ONGC Videsh Limited, in the industry and management category
• Gyana Ranjan Mohanty, Managing Director of Corrosion Protection Limited and co-founder of B Engineers & Builders Pvt Ltd, in the entrepreneurship and public life category

Why This Matters?

The convocation data highlights a persistent gender gap in technical education at premier institutes like NIT Rourkela, particularly in flagship undergraduate programmes such as B.Tech, where women remain significantly underrepresented compared to postgraduate research programmes like the PhD. This pattern reflects a broader, long-standing trend across India’s technical education landscape, where enrolment and graduation numbers in engineering disciplines continue to skew heavily male at the undergraduate level, even as representation improves somewhat at the doctoral level.

Key Highlights

Sponsored post