07 Feb 2014|Noida | Amity University Campus, Sector-125 Noida
Amity confers Honorary Doctorate Degrees upon Nobel Laureate Prof. Yuan T. Lee- President Emeritus, Academia Sinica, Taiwan, Mr. Danny Faure, Vice President, Republic of Seychelles & Dr. Bindu N. Lohani- Vice President, Asian Development Bank
Amity University organized a “Special Convocation” and awarded Honorary Doctorate Degrees to Nobel Laureate Professor (Dr.) Yuan T. Lee- President Emeritus and Distinguished Research Fellow of Academia Sinica in Taiwan, Dr. Bindu N. Lohani- Vice President, Asian Development Bank and Mr. Danny Faure, Vice President, Republic of Seychelles during a Ceremony held at Amity University Campus, Sector- 125, Noida.
Mr. Atul Chauhan- Chancellor, Amity University, Uttar Pradesh declared the Special Convocation open and conferred the Honorary Doctorate Degrees along with Mr. Aseem Chauhan- Chancellor, Amity University, Rajasthan, Dr. (Mrs.) Balvinder Shukla- Vice Chancellor, amity University and Dr. D V Singh- Visitor, Amity University.
Addressing the gathering, Mr. Atul Chauhan stressed that it’s a special day in the history of Amity University when three intellectual leaders who are sought after in the world, are being honored by Amity University. He appraised the distinguished gathering with the achievements of Amity University including the number of patents filed by University in a short span of time and Case Studies developed by the faculty members of the Institutions of Amity which are now bought by prestigious organizations across the world.
Nobel Laureate Professor (Dr.) Yuan T. Lee- President Emeritus was conferred Degree of Doctor of Science (D. Sc.) Honoris Causa for his exceptional vision, deep commitment to research, propagation of scientific enquiry, continuous exemplary efforts in innovating and improving technology.
Delivering his acceptance speech, Nobel Laureate Professor (Dr.) Yuan T. Lee stated that out of all Honorary Doctorates conferred upon him, Amity’s honor is special since he is an admirer of Mahatama Gandhi and loves India. He called upon students to become masters of their own selves, decide what they want to do in future and lead a meaningful life. He stressed that students who want to become scientists should love Science and then honors and recognitions would follow gradually. He advised them to become a good chemist first and learn the basic laws of Chemistry and Physics and then only they will be able to become a good Scientist in future. He motivated them to challenge and questions the things around them which would eventually expand the horizons of Science.
Addressing a gathering of over 238 students from various schools of Noida and Amity International Schools located in Noida, Mayur Vihar, Saket, Pushp Vihar and Sector- 6, Vasundhara, Nob’le Laureate narrated how the fire of Science and Scientific curiosity was kindled in him, his inspiration from Madam Curie, his awakening in High School and his PhD. experiences.
Accepting the Honorary Doctorate Degree of Doctor of Philosophy (D. Phil.) for his exceptional vision, deep commitment to propagation of knowledge, professionalism and direction in pursuit of excellence, Dr. Bindu N. Lohani- Vice President, Asian Development Bank commended Dr. Ashok K Chauhan- Founder President of Amity Group as a man with vision and action. Dr. Lohani stated that by 2050, Asia Pacific Region would be richer than rest of the world and out of the 7 countries, India would be one of the major contributors but it is not going to be an easy ride. “India needs to work on its Human resources since there is a wide knowledge gap between Asia Pacific Region and other developed countries. In order to scale next level of economy, Asia would need to become knowledge economy and Universities have to play a major role in this”, remarked Dr. Lohani. He stressed that Universities in Asia Pacific Region should think global to become globally competent. The education imparted should empower students to convert education into skills and skills into knowledge for the benefit and development of people. He remarked that the need of the hour is to find Asian solutions to Asian problems through global education. He thanked Amity University for bestowing such a prestigious honor and including him in the list of Amity Alumni and thereby, entrusting him with the responsibility to work collaboratively with Amity and lead Asia Pacific region to new heights.
Addressing a Special Session with students and faculty of management and Engineering, Dr. Bindu N. Lohani shared that seven countries of Asia- India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, PRC, Republic of Korea and Thailand are projected to account for 90% of Asia’s growth between 2010- 2050. He outlined the 6 Mega challenges faced by Asia including Addressing Inequities and Disparities, Avoiding the middle income trap, Massive Urbanization, Global Competition for Finite Resources, Disparity across countries and sub-regions, Environment and Climate Change. Highlighting the trends in Asia- Pacific, he stressed that energy demand is projected to double in the region by 2030 and Water Demand is expected to significantly exceed sustainable supply in India and PRC by 2030. He suggested that there is a need to transform the transport sector and adopt a new approach to transport investment and financing; cities need to be green, smart and inclusive. He also outlined various projects and initiatives taken by ADB to address various problems haunting the Asia- Pacific region.
While giving acceptance speech, Mr. Danny Faure, Vice President, Republic of Seychelles who was conferred Doctor of Philosophy (D. Phil.) Honoris Causa for his unique diplomatic efforts in placing his country on the world map, his contribution to the world of education, finance and governance, thanked Amity University for the honor bestowed and said that now, it is his responsibility to ensure that Amity University should grow strength to strength and intellectual capacity of Amity is put to service of all the nations. He promised to continue the distance learning education provided by Amity University to the people of Seychelles under PAN- African e- Learning Project initiated by Indian Government. He assured that Seychelles and Amity University will continue to work together for the benefit of the agricultural sector of Seychelles. He called upon the students to aim very high in their lives and sky should be the limit of their aspirations.