NEWS & EVENTS · ACADEMIC MILESTONES · 06 MAY 2026
From White Coat to Stethoscope: SMCW Bids a Proud Farewell to Its First Graduating Batch
146 women doctors of Batch 2020–2026 received their internship completion certificates in a ceremony that marked not just the culmination of their MBBS journey, but a Bidāī.
On Wednesday, 06 May 2026, Moringa Auditorium at Symbiosis Medical College for Women (SMCW) witnessed a moment that will be remembered in the institution’s history for years to come. The inaugural MBBS Graduation Ceremony for Batch 2020–2026 was not merely a conferment of certificates. It was a farewell warm, proud, and deeply felt as 146 young women crossed the threshold from students to doctors.
They arrived at SMCW in 2020 as strangers. They left as a family and as physicians.
The Ceremony
The event commenced at 11:00 AM with the lighting of the lamp and Saraswati Vandana, an invocation of knowledge and light that set the tone for all that followed.
Prof. (Dr.) S. B. Mujumdar, Founder and President of Symbiosis and Chancellor of Symbiosis International (Deemed University), presided over the ceremony, lending it the gravitas and warmth that have long defined the Symbiosis ethos.
Dr V. K. Sashindran, Dean of SMCW & SUHRC, welcomed the gathering with the quiet pride of a mentor watching his students take flight.
Dr Rajiv Yeravdekar, Provost of the Faculty of Medical & Health Sciences, SIU, offered opening remarks that underscored the broader significance of this graduation, 146 women doctors stepping into a healthcare system that needs them deeply.
The Guest of Honour, Dr Sangita Reddy, Joint Managing Director of Apollo Hospitals Enterprise Limited and one of India’s foremost healthcare leaders, addressed the graduating doctors with a message that will stay with them through their careers: lead with integrity, innovate with courage, and serve with humility, especially in the communities that need them the most.
Voices from the Stage
The addresses by the Pro Chancellor and Chancellor carried a personal depth that moved the gathering well beyond the formalities of ceremony.
Dr Vidya Yeravdekar, Pro Chancellor of Symbiosis International (Deemed University), drew on a moment from her own life to capture what the day truly meant.
Recalling the day her own daughter left her maternal home, she told the graduating batch that their departure from SMCW stirred in her the very same feeling, the bittersweet fullness of watching someone you have nurtured step into a world that awaits them. In that one reflection, the Bidāī found its most intimate voice.
Prof. (Dr.) S. B. Mujumdar, in his presidential address, called upon the graduating doctors to carry forward the legacy of Dr Anandibai Gopal, the first Indian woman to study medicine abroad and to honour that legacy not merely through professional achievement, but through the values that make a physician truly great.
He urged them to practise with ethics, and above all, with compassion towards every patient they would serve.
A Farewell From the Heart
The most moving moment of the ceremony came from within the batch itself. Valedictorians Dr Krishna R. Sudev and Dr Sazia Khan took to the podium on behalf of Batch 2020–2026 and brought the auditorium to a standstill.
“We came here as strangers, but today, we stand as one big family. The late night hostel conversations, shared meals, celebrations of every festival, the post-exam rants, the trips, the laughter, and even the struggles. These are the memories that carried us through.”
They spoke of the endurance of a batch that began its MBBS journey in the shadow of a global pandemic and never once stopped showing up.
They spoke of bonds forged not only in classrooms, but in hostel corridors, hospital wards, and the quiet hours in between.
And they reminded their peers and everyone in that hall that medicine is not just a profession. It is a lifelong commitment to humanity.
A Bidai Like No Other
At SMCW, the graduation of Batch 2020–2026 has been called, affectionately and fittingly, a Bidāī.
In Indian tradition, a Bidāī is the farewell a family gives to a daughter as she steps into a new chapter of her life, not with grief, but with blessings, pride, and the certainty that she is ready.
Having lived on campus for five and a half years, these graduates were not merely students of SMCW. They were part of its fabric.
The institution that nurtured them through clinical rotations at Symbiosis University Hospital & Research Centre (SUHRC), through the rigour of the MBBS programme, and through the full texture of life on a residential campus sent them forth with exactly that spirit.
They carry SMCW within them. SMCW will carry the mark of their becoming, always.
Recognising Excellence: The Dr Anandi Gopal Scholarship
The ceremony also saw recognition of the proud recipients of the Dr Anandi Gopal Scholarship from Batch 2020–2026.
Named in honour of the first Indian woman to study medicine abroad, a symbol of intellectual courage and trailblazing ambition, the scholarship recognises students of each batch who were admitted with the highest NEET scores.
The recipients from Batch 2020–2026 were:
- Dr Sarika Nair S · NEET Score: 610
- Dr Diyah Ann Thomas · NEET Score: 608
- Dr Sakshi Sharma · NEET Score: 605
- Dr Stuti Varma · NEET Score: 604
About SMCW & SUHRC
Symbiosis Medical College for Women is a constituent of Symbiosis International (Deemed University), re-accredited by NAAC with an ‘A++’ grade and recognised as a Category-I institution by the UGC.
Closely integrated with Symbiosis University Hospital & Research Centre, a 900-bed multi-speciality tertiary care hospital, SMCW offers its students an education that is both academically rigorous and clinically immersive.
Guided by the philosophy of वसुधैव कुटुम्बकम्, the world is one family, SMCW exists to produce compassionate, capable, and socially committed women physicians who will serve India and the world.
Batch 2020–2026: You are no longer our students. You are our doctors. Go well.