Edition 55

Mr. Vijay Shekhar Sharma, Founder, and CEO of
Paytm, India’s youngest billionaire, DCE Alumnus,
and arguably the pioneer of India’s start-up
frenzy, delivered an emotionally charged speech
to the audience who sat in wait for the sagacious
trinkets of advice that this prolific businessman
would deliver, and Mr. Shekhar understood the
assignment. “Money and success are ephemeral
and can’t be held as benchmarks of success; the
true benchmark is the impact you have on the
status quo”, Mr. Shekhar said. In a break from the
staged and embellished speeches of celebrities,
Mr. Shekhar pointed out the dichotomy in the
narration of his journey. “Everyone talks about my
10% glory”, he said, “but no one highlights my 90%
failure”. According to him, one’s journey should
be discussed in entirety, not just the highs, but
the complementary lows too. There is a growing
need to initiate dialogue revolving around this
pressing issue, so that budding entrepreneurs are
not misled by hollow claims of riches and fame,
when the actual voyage is arduous and painful.
He left the students with a compelling piece of
advice: to hold on to their child-like creativity and
to dream; dream for as long as they were breathing.
across the globe and urged students to emulate
that success here in India, by actively pursuing
research, both as an educational opportunity and
as a career.
A man of few words, Dr. G. Satheesh Reddy,
Secretary, Department of Defence R&D and
Chairman, DRDO, celebrated the technical prowess
of the country’s defence arm, and highlighted
the fact that supremacy of the country would
have been impossible if it hadn’t been for the
contributions of the engineers and scientists of
India. As the defence wing of the country grows in
leaps and bounds, surpassing foreign expectations
with its advanced war crafts and ingenious fighting
techniques, the country, now more than ever,
needs an influx of talent and innovation, he said,
to fuel the engine that will keep us safe today and
propel us to dominance in the future.
Shri Manish Sisodia, Hon’ble Deputy Chief Minister
of the NCT of Delhi, shared his vision for the
future, and it was extravagant, in every sense of
the word. Surging light years ahead of the current
context, Mr. Sisodia, dreamt of a day where erudite
students from every corner of the world, would
seek admission to Delhi Technological University,
simply on the basis of its technical prowess and
proficiency. Even though it may seem far-fetched,
he said, dreams should never be restrictive;
they should be as expansive and ostentatious as
possible, for the “People who are crazy enough
to think they can change the world, are the ones
who actually end up doing so”. He even went on
to spotlight the inventions of graduate schools
The ceremony ended with the vote of thanks by
the registrar of the university, and the curtain
drew upon the final event of 2021, the Convocation
of 2021, a euphoric celebration of the past, the
present and the future, with undercurrents of
nostalgia and contentment.
DTU TIMES | December 2021 - March 2022 | 7