Chennai: Governor R N Ravi conferred degrees upon 49,864 students, 65% of them women, at the 38th convocation of Tamil Nadu MGR Medical University on Friday. Health minister Ma Subramanian, pro-chancellor of university, skipped the event.At least 295 students, including 58 PhD candidates, received convocation in person. The top achiever this year was S Shwetha, who won nine gold medals in her MBBS degree. The student won laurels for scoring the highest marks in microbiology, pharmacology, obstetrics and gynaecology, and in university exams. “I am pursuing my post-graduation in JIPMER. I look to contribute meaningfully to society,” she said. Among those who were conferred the degrees, 12,016 pursued MBBS, 3,269 AYUSH, 2,569 dental, and 32,305 nursing, pharmacy, occupational therapy, and allied health sciences.Delivering the convocation address, Sanjay Gandhi Postgraduate Institute of Medical Sciences director R K Dhiman told the students, “Among several things, you must learn the art of lifelong learning. Technology has grown miles. You must constantly stay updated and complement it with your skill to remain at the top of your field.”A total of 353 medals, including 144 gold and 42 silver, and certificates were distributed on Friday. This year, among the gold medallists was Grizelda P, who had a cochlear implant in her ear from the Madras ENT Research Foundation a. “It was a proud moment to see our patient receive a gold medal from the governor this morning. She received a Cochlear Implant in 2007,” said senior ENT surgeon Dr Mohan Kameshwaran, founder, MERF.
