One Family, One Convocation: Mother And Son Receive IIT Madras Degrees Together

In a heartwarming moment at the IIT Madras convocation, a mother and son walked onto the stage together to receive degrees from the same academic programme. The unique story of 45-year-old Jigisha Tailor and her 21-year-old son Aditya Kapadia was first reported by The Indian Express.

According to The Indian Express, both completed IIT Madras' online Data Science programme, although they never planned to graduate together. During the convocation, the two were invited to receive their degrees on the same stage, making it a memorable moment for the family.

Jigisha had worked as an electronics teacher at an engineering college in Gujarat for 16 years before leaving her job in 2019 due to family responsibilities. In 2022, encouraged by her son, she enrolled in the IIT Madras online programme.

Aditya had joined the course in 2021 after finishing school. Explaining his decision, he told The Indian Express, "It was Covid time when I was entering college. So if I did a regular course from any IIT, or even MIT or Stanford, it would have been online only." He said he chose the programme because of his interest in data science and artificial intelligence.

Jigisha balanced her studies with household responsibilities by waking up at 4:30 am every day to study. Speaking about her decision to return to education, she told The Indian Express, "Many of our relatives would say, 'Why are you studying now? Why do you want a job?' I would tell them that I want to do something different."

The two also became friendly competitors during the course. "There was a sense of competition, like who would score an A or an S,"Aditya told The Indian Express.

According to the report, they did not expect to receive their degrees together as they were seated separately. A classmate helped arrange the special moment, turning their convocation into a memorable celebration of learning, family and perseverance.