The student-led satellite initiative was started in 2011 and it will be up for final tests on Sunday, the director said while reading out the annual report.

Chennai: The 53rd convocation at IIT-Madras was, understandably, marked by cheers. But, the loudest and the most earnest were reserved for director Bhaskar Ramamurthi's announcement that IITMSAT was all set for launch (by ISRO) in October.

The student-led satellite initiative was started in 2011 and it will be up for final tests on Sunday, the director said while reading out the annual report.

As many as 2,191 undergraduate and postgraduate students received their degrees on Friday, with 736 receiving it in absentia.

"We are planning to set up a research centre to accommodate the proposed Centre of Propulsion Technology. It will aid in developing futuristic technology for DRDO. We take particular pride in the reach of our NPTEL (massive open online courses) courses. With a repository of 1,014 courses, it is the largest of its kind in the world," Ramamurthi said in his address.

He also spoke of the revised under-graduate curriculum at the institute, in force from 2015, which allowed students to design 40% of the content.

On the institute's commitment to society, he said the 'disruptive solar-DC technology' developed by the institute had helped in providing power to several far-flung villages of Rajasthan.

Chief guest Jayant Baliga, distinguished professor, North Carolina State University, US, who received an honorary doctorate on the occasion, said, "Set long-term goals for yourself and measure your success using that yardstick. Another well-meaning advice would be to imbibe professional integrity while working towards your goals."

