The 10th Annual Convocation of the Indian Institute of Gems and Jewellery (IIGJ) Mumbai was held today at the institute’s campus in Andheri. Prem Kothari, Mentor & Founder, Fine Jewellery Group of Companies and Chairman GJSCI was the Chief Guest, while Namita Pandya and Nirmal Kumar Barmecha, both directors of IIGJ were also present to felicitate the students. Sanjay Ghosh, Head of IIGJ welcomed the guests, parents and students. Subsequently, two representatives of the graduating batch shared their experiences at the institute. Shiv Chandan said that the three years in IIGJ had moulded a confused, young student who had entered into a confident personality with a hunger for knowledge. Onida Chauhan said that though they had come a long way in three years, there was still a long road ahead. She thanked the faculty for inculcating a sense of responsibility in the students and for teaching them in a way that made them want to learn. IIGJ Tardeo Director Namita Pandya said that the IIGJ nurtured the seeds of talent in the students and helped them to bloom so that they would now be a in position to spread their fragrance all around. She told the graduating batch that they would soon be creating jewellery for the consumers of the new age, the Millennials. It would be a learning curve for them, as the Millennials display characteristics that were quite different from earlier generations, she said. Pandya also said that a good designer should be able to balance beauty and art with affordability and wearability, and concluded by saying that as a director, she was like a parent who had proudly watched the children grow. In his address, Chief Guest Prem Kothari said his presence at the function had an added significance, as this was the first batch of IIGJ Diploma students who had followed the curriculum re-designed by the GJSCI based on the inputs from the trade. The course material was thus better aligned to the practical and technical requirements of the modern jewellery industry than ever before. He suggested to all the students that they had just learnt what was equivalent to the tip of the iceberg, and it would be good if all of them did an initial couple of years of work with a large jewellery manufacturing unit to learn how the trade functions. He said this would enable them to grasp how a company operates on many different fronts – from the structure and approach to merchandising, research and organisational norms. It would stand them in good stead in the future, even if they were going to set up small, individual businesses. Kothari also suggested that the students should gather some exposure to the wider industry by visiting trade fairs such as Vicenza, Hong Kong and IIJS, or the set up of large chains like Tanishq. He said this would give them a physical feel of the jewellery, which can never come from photos or the Internet. Diploma certificates on behalf of both IIGJ and GJSCI were distributed to the students and the top three students – Shiv Chandan, Onida Chauhan and Kushali Patel were also given their awards. Nirmal Barmecha proposed a Vote of Thanks. Pic caption: Prem Kothari addressing the students. Also seen on dais (fm l) Namita Pandya, Nirmal Barmecha and Sanjoy Ghosh