It was a moment of pride, staggering elation and defining era at Chitkara University. Amidst roaring admiration from the legion of Chitkara Fraternity, students, and notable guests Former President of India, National as well as International icon, His Excellency Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam dedicated Chitkara University to Punjab and unveiled his vision for a knowledge-driven world in which creativity and courage would help future generations.

He was received by Dr. Ashok Chitkara, Chancellor and Dr. Madhu Chitkara, Pro Chancellor, Chitkara University along with the Directors and Dean’s of various Schools in the Campus. Impressed by the clean and lush green campus of the University equipped with state-of-the-art technology enabled teaching methodology, he applauded the endeavors of Chitkara Management for imparting high class education.

The event commenced with his visit to the campus. The students of Grade 6 and 7 of Chitkara International School along with the teachers visited the Campus to witness the gracious presence of Dr. Abdul Kalam. They displayed various science projects such as ‘how to turn water into wine’ , ‘making of ink which disappears automatically’ etc which showcased the creativity of the young students. Dr. Kalam was overwhelmed with these creative projects and took keen interest in the Project Display and interacted with the students. The sunny radiance of the young faces lit with pride and happiness by meeting and shaking hands with Dr. Kalam outshone the bright sunshine that spread across the Campus. In the Open Air Theatre, Dr. Kalam’s arrival met with jubilant and thundering applause. Welcoming Dr. Kalam to the portals of Chitkara Campus, Dr. Madhu Chitkara said that Words elude me at this moment as it is so overwhelming to have him amongst us on this very special day which will be scripted in ‘Golden Words’ in the history of Chitkara. Dr. Madhu Chitkara also expressed her heartfelt thanks to Dr. S.K Salwan for his benign presence.

In his spellbinding and illustrious speech, Dr. Kalam started by saying that he was delighted to address and interact with the students and Faculty members of Chitkara University. Dr. Kalam shared some of the lessons in the form of his personal experiences and encouraged them to dream big and he told them that aiming low is a crime. “I am not meant for crawling. I will not. I will fly” was a mantra Kalam made the students recite and learn by heart. He exhorted students to remember that problems should not become the captain but the students should captain their problems. He told students that “When you leave campus, you should be an expert in system design, integration and management rather than limiting yourself to only engineering. What worked yesterday, will not work today. In the past, natural resources defined power, but today it is knowledge,”

After his address he invited students to ask him questions and took great interest in the Question & Answer session. He struck a close rapport with the students by shedding light on several issues and giving his honest opinion on others. Dr. Kalam, the great luminary penned a special message for Chitkara in the visitor’s book – “My Greetings to Chitkara University. Knowledge makes you great, with Best Wishes – Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam.”

To go through the motivating Speech given by Dr. A.P.J Abdul Kalam, Kindly click here.

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