Tradition is an essential part of our lives. Be it making rangoli for Diwali or having a movie night with your family/partner on a decided weekday. We find ourselves entangled in traditions even if we are against the traditional traditions that we have grown with.
Traditions are important because they give a sense of comfort in an otherwise uncertain world. In many ways, they also make us a part of something that is bigger than us. The tradition of naming a child for example is like introducing his identity to the world. Name any institution or even any family they all have their own traditions.
From the Army to Schools around the globe every institution has ways they celebrate. Our school for example had its own song that we used to sing on Wednesday during prayers. But there are certain time-honored traditions that are followed across the world.
Also read: Importance of Choosing the Right Career after Graduation
One such tradition that almost every University/College follows is the Graduation Ceremony where the whole batch receives there graduation degrees and take some kind of oath depending on the field of their graduation. These ceremonies allow students to celebrate their education achievement with their colleagues and loved ones. The roaring sound of claps, being with your fellow batchmates, and the pride that the parents/family/teachers feel makes for a warm and emotional environment that students will remember for life. The graduation ceremony also marks the start of an entirely new journey from students to being seen as an adult in society.
This year however due to a pandemic struck earth many colleges gave up on the time-honored tradition of Graduation Ceremonies that every student wants to attend from the very first time they join the college. Different institutes had different responses to the graduation ceremony. Some have said that it is postponed for an indefinite period, some have canceled and just mailed the students their degrees, and some have held a Graduation ceremony on a video conferencing platform like Zoom or Google Meet. FYI my college chose the last one. Even though none of these options are ideal but if I had to choose I would say video conferencing is the least unfair to the graduates and the best option that colleges could come up with. Although the innovative staff and students of the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay will disagree.
Seeing that the uncertainty that the pandemic has brought with it one college has accepted it as the new normal and used Virtual Reality so that their students are not robbed of this age-old tradition. More than 2,000 avatars were created for the students of the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay. These avatars received their certificates from an avatar of IIT director Subhasis Chaudhuri during the virtual graduation ceremony that took place on Sunday, 21 August 2020.
The first of its kind celebration by the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, designed to abide by coronavirus safety measures, was broadcast on two local TV channels as well as YouTube and Facebook Live. During the virtual ceremony session, students were also able to roam around a virtual campus, visit their hostels and departments virtually, and bump into/meet their friends and faculty.
Also read: Top 7 Tech Skills Every Data Analysts Will Need in 2020
Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay is one of the best Engineering colleges in India that has alumni like Google CEO Sundar Pichai. Both the students and faculties are very proud of the college and the quality of education it provides. And Virtual ceremony was another proof of the same.
India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi called the VR ceremony “wonderful mix of tradition and technology” on one of his tweets.
Joint winner of the 2016 Nobel Prize in physics and a professor at Princeton University, US, Duncan Haldane was the chief guest at the ceremony.
It truly was a remarkable way of celebrating the achievements of their students by IIT Bombay. But why did IIT Bombay went through so much trouble when they could have waited. The answer is that they could. But India has a lot of colleges and not all of them can arrange such an amazing ceremony.
You might be thinking those should just postpone the ceremony and have a fancy one when this whole COVID situation blows off. But this year unlike decades that have come before, these ceremonies are not just a way of celebration or for the sake of maintaining tradition. For a lot of Universities, this can also be about motivating their student in a crisis like this. Many students that have graduated in the current year are looking at an uncertain future. Even though a graduation ceremony can’t be the solution it can still be able to keep up the spirits of students.
Avatars are cool, aren’t they? They bring a sense of whimsy wrapped in the familiarity of our own faces. If you also want to share your cartoon avatars with your loved ones in your regional language.
Try any of the apps below and enjoy the large array of customizable templates.
- Malayalam Keyboard With Malayalam Stickers
- Marathi Keyboard With Marathi Stickers
- Bangla Keyboard With Bangla Stickers