Shillong: Dr. Anand Deshpande, the head of Persistent Systems, pushed graduates at the 13th NIT Meghalaya convocation to stop hunting for traditional jobs. He wants them to start companies instead. The event took place at the institute's permanent campus in Sohra on Wednesday.
Deshpande delivered a blunt warning to the 321 students in attendance. "There is no shortage of work, but a huge shortage of jobs," he said. He reminded the crowd that conventional career paths are disappearing while AI pushes into every sector. Longevity is up, too. Most graduates will likely live past 100 and keep working until their 80s, meaning they must master constant reinvention to survive.
The class breakdown included 158 BTech, 56 MTech, 52 MSc, and 55 PhD graduates. Seven students took home gold medals, while eight earned silver for their academic performance.
IIT Guwahati Director Prof. Devendra Jalihal joined the call for innovation. He cited India's economic growth, which is climbing from $3.1 trillion in 2022 toward $4.5 trillion by 2026. He expects this expansion to feed massive opportunities in energy, semiconductors, defense, and infrastructure. Jalihal urged the students to look at the country's local obstacles as a massive field for new business ventures.
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