Calicut University to confer honorary doctorates on October 6

The University of Calicut will confer honorary doctorates on filmmaker Sathyan Anthikad, industrialist P.K. Ahmed and scientist Eluvathingal Davis Jemmis at a ceremony to be held on October 6. Mr. Anthikad and Mr. Ahmed will be conferred the D.Litt., while National Chair Professor, Dr. Jemmis, will receive the D.Sc. The ceremony will be held at the university’s open auditorium at 10.30 a.m.

University Chancellor and Keralam Governor, Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar, and Pro-Chancellor and Higher Education Minister Roji M. John are expected to attend the function, Vice-Chancellor Prof. (Dr.) P. Ravindran said at a press conference at the university headquarters on Friday.

Mr. Anthikad, a filmmaker, screenwriter and lyricist from Anthikad in Thrissur district, has been associated with Malayalam cinema for more than five decades. He began writing while still a school student and has received a National Film Award and five Kerala State Film Awards.

Mr. Ahmed, a native of Moodadi in Kozhikode district, is chairman of the P.K. Group of Companies, a major player in the steel industry. He is credited with expanding the group into a global brand and has also contributed to the education, cultural and healthcare sectors.

Dr. Jemmis, a former student of St. Thomas College, Thrissur, under the University of Calicut, is the founding director of the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER), Thiruvananthapuram, and a professor of applied theoretical chemistry. He pursued higher studies at IIT Kanpur and Princeton University in the United States.

A recipient of the Padma Shri, Dr. Jemmis has also received several honours, including the Indian National Science Academy’s Young Scientist Award and the Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize.