You are now ambassadors of your home countries & India, with a Responsibility
to Transform Lives and Nations: Kenya High Commissioner

CHANDIGARH, India, June 27, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — As many as 273 international students from 24 countries were awarded undergraduate and postgraduate degrees during Chandigarh University’s International Convocation – 2026 held at its campus on Saturday. The graduating students were comprised of 247 undergraduates and 26 postgraduate students from different parts of the world who successfully completed their degrees in 57 academic programmes in academic domains including Engineering, Management, Computer Applications, Health Sciences, Commerce, Humanities and emerging technology disciplines.

The convocation was graced by Peter Munyiri Maina, High Commissioner of Kenya as Chief Guest who congratulated the graduating students on their academic achievements and encouraged them to use their knowledge and skills to contribute towards the progress and development of their respective nations. The senior leadership of Chandigarh University including Prof (Dr) Raviraja N Seetharam, Vice-Chancellor, Chandigarh University, Prof (Dr) SS Sehgal, Pro Vice-Chancellor Operations & Registrar, Dr VR Raghuveer, Pro Vice Chancellor Academic Affairs Chandigarh University and Prof (Dr) Rajan Sharma, Joint Registrar & Executive Director, International Affairs were also present on the occasion.

The graduating batch reflected the diverse international student community at Chandigarh University with Nepal students had the highest representation with 68 graduates, followed by Zimbabwe with 41, Bhutan with 37 and Bangladesh with 27 students. Graduates from South Africa, Cameroon, Sri Lanka, Nigeria, Ethiopia, Liberia, Indonesia, Ivory Coast, Lesotho, Tanzania, Malawi, South Sudan and students from several other nations also received degrees during the convocation.

The students received degrees across 57 academic programmes with the highest 36 graduates in Bachelor of Engineering in Computer Science and Engineering, followed by Bachelor of Business Administration with 28 graduates and Bachelor of Computer Applications with 17 graduates. Bachelor of Science in Airlines and Airport Management produced 16 graduates while Civil Engineering recorded 14 graduates and Hotel and Hospitality Management 11 graduates.

Congratulating the graduating students and their parents, Peter Munyiri Maina, High Commissioner of Kenya said, “The graduation ceremony marks a very successful completion of a very important chapter in your lives. Throughout your academic journey, you pushed yourselves, endured sleepless nights, met very demanding deadlines and surpassed through numerous challenges to achieve this major milestone. This is only a beginning of the journey with full of opportunities ahead, responsibilities and address possibilities. And today, you become ambassadors not only of the Republic you come from, you are the ambassadors for India as well, irrespective of the nationality you come from. Because India has hosted and nurtured your academic journey over the last couple of years. Your efforts have truly born fruit. You are not only receiving a degrees but you are also receiving a responsibility.”

The High Commissioner of Kenya added, “The knowledge and skills you have acquired should not only serve your personal advancement, but you also contribute to the socio-economic development and welfare of your communities and nations. Use your education to promote peace, unity, innovation and sustainable growth. Success is not solely measured by your personal achievements, but also by the positive impact you will make in the lives of others.

Quoting Albert Einstein, Maina said, “Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance, you must keep moving. There’s no settling for less. Success is conquering one hill and looking for the next hill.”

Speaking on the occasion, Prof (Dr) Raviraja N Seetharam, Vice-Chancellor, Chandigarh University, said, “The diplomatic relations between India and Kenya were established in 1963 following Kenya’s independence. Since then, the two countries have developed a longstanding partnership spanning trade, investment, education, healthcare, defence, culture and technology.”

Vice-Chancellor added, “The International Convocation marks an important milestone in the academic journey of our graduating students, many of whom will now pursue professional careers, entrepreneurial ventures and higher education opportunities in different parts of the world. The growing confidence of international students in Chandigarh University is also reflected in the marvelous performance of the university in the recently released QS World University Rankings 2027, Chandigarh University has secured the 526th rank, with this CU now ranks amongst the top 2 percent of universities worldwide and top 1 percent universities in India. CU also secured 109th rank in QS Asia Ranking and achieved a significant milestone of becoming the number one private university consecutively for three years in the world’s most coveted ranking framework. CU also has as many as 530 international collaborations with leading global universities. With an increased focus on the internationalization of education, Chandigarh University has been nurturing globally competent graduates equipped to address contemporary challenges and contribute meaningfully to society.”

About Chandigarh University

Chandigarh University is a NAAC A+ Grade University and QS World Ranked University. This autonomous educational institution is approved by UGC and is located near Chandigarh in the state of Punjab. It is the youngest university in India and the only private university in Punjab to be honoured with A+ Grade by NAAC (National Assessment and Accreditation Council). CU offers more than 109 UG and PG programs in the field of engineering, management, pharmacy, law, architecture, journalism, animation, hotel management, commerce, and others. It has been awarded as The University with Best Placements by WCRC.

Website address: https://www.cuchd.in/

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Researchers have leveraged Climate Data and Satellite Technology for developing the predictive model

CHANDIGARH, India, June 27, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — In a significant advancement for smart agriculture and precision farming, researchers at Chandigarh University have developed an Artificial Intelligence (AI)-powered Transformer Model that is capable of accurately predicting crop yields using satellite imagery, climate data and historical agricultural records.

The innovation would be instrumental in empowering farmers, policymakers and agricultural agencies to make informed decisions while strengthening food security and advancing resilient farm management.

The research, led by Kusum Lata, Assistant Professor Department of Computer Science Engineering, Chandigarh University, Dr Navneet Kaur Professor Department of CSE and Dr Simrandeep Singh Professor from University Centre of Research and Development at Chandigarh University that focuses on improving crop yield forecasting in Punjab’s agricultural heartland. The study, recently presented at the 2026 International Conference on Signal Processing and Electronics Design (ICSPED) at Chandigarh College of Engineering and Technology, Chandigarh that introduces a lightweight transformer-based system that leverages multi-source data to estimate crop production before harvest with greater accuracy and lower computational costs.

Notably, the accurate crop yield prediction has become increasingly important as farmers face growing challenges from climate variability, changing weather patterns and rising food demand. Traditional field surveys are often time-consuming, labour-intensive and limited in scale. The Chandigarh University researchers sought to overcome these limitations by integrating advanced AI techniques with real-time Earth observation data.

Kusum Lata, Assistant Professor Department of Computer Science Engineering at CU said, “The transformer model utilizes data from Sentinel-1 and Sentinel-2 satellites which are advanced Earth observation satellites operated by the European Space Agency (ESA) to continuously monitor agricultural fields and provide information on crop growth, vegetation health, soil moisture and field conditions. The satellite observations are combined with climatic variables such as rainfall, temperature and soil moisture, along with historical crop production records, creating a comprehensive picture of crop performance throughout the growing season.”

Kusum added, “Unlike conventional machine learning models, the newly developed lightweight transformer can identify critical crop growth stages and learn complex temporal patterns that influence final yields. We have designed the model to deliver high predictive performance that require fewer computational resources, making it suitable for practical deployment in large-scale agricultural monitoring systems.”

“The model was evaluated on four major crops cultivated in Ludhiana district, namely paddy, maize, moong and sugarcane, using data collected between 2019 and 2023. Experimental results demonstrated that the transformer model outperformed widely used approaches such as Random Forest and Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM) models, indicating stronger agreement between predicted and actual yields. The framework also recorded lower prediction errors and improved computational efficiency.

Kusum has worked as a Junior Research Fellow in the Agriculture and Crop Monitoring Division at Punjab Remote Sensing Centre (PRSC), PAU Ludhiana, contributed to geospatial research projects, including crop residue burning analysis using remote sensing and geospatial mapping techniques.

The study further revealed that the lightweight architecture requires nearly 40 percent fewer parameters than conventional transformer models while delivering faster and accurate predictions. This level of efficiency makes this automatic framework suitable for near real-time agricultural applications, including regional crop monitoring, production forecasting and early warning systems.

According to the researchers, the ability to accurately forecast crop yields before harvest can have significant implications for farmers and governments alike. Reliable forecasts can support agricultural planning, optimize resource allocation, strengthen crop insurance mechanisms and improve market management strategies. In a state like Punjab, where agriculture plays a central role in the economy, such technologies can contribute to more resilient and sustainable farming systems.

The researchers also shared that one of the key strengths of the model lies in its ability to combine multiple sources of information into a single predictive model. By integrating satellite-derived observations with climatic and historical datasets, the system captures the complex interactions that influence crop productivity and provides a more robust understanding of agricultural outcomes.

The future developments will also focus on enabling near real-time forecasting through cloud-based platforms, paving the way for broader adoption of AI-driven decision support systems in agriculture, added the Chandigarh University researchers.

About Chandigarh University

Chandigarh University is a NAAC A+ Grade University and QS World Ranked University. This autonomous educational institution is approved by UGC and is located near Chandigarh in the state of Punjab. It is the youngest university in India and the only private university in Punjab to be honoured with A+ Grade by NAAC (National Assessment and Accreditation Council). CU offers more than 109 UG and PG programs in the field of engineering, management, pharmacy, law, architecture, journalism, animation, hotel management, commerce, and others. It has been awarded as The University with Best Placements by WCRC.

Website address: https://www.cuchd.in/

Photo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/3001456/Chandigarh_University_AI_Crop_Yield.jpg

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HONG KONG, June 27, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Waton Financial Limited (NASDAQ: WTF) today announced the release of MoTA Alpha, a major upgrade to its flagship AI-powered investment platform. First unveiled in closed beta in May 2026, MoTA (Manager of Trading Agents) now introduces the Agent Talents Market, a creator ecosystem for third-party AI trading agents, alongside a redesigned multi-agent collaboration workflow and a fully overhauled user experience. The Alpha release represents more than a product milestone — it signals Waton’s decisive transition from a securities brokerage and SaaS provider into an AI-native financial technology company.

MoTA Alpha: What’s New

MoTA Alpha builds on the beta’s foundation as an AI-native investment team workbench — a platform that enables professional investors and portfolio managers to assemble, manage, and supervise teams of specialized AI agents across research, analysis, risk, and execution functions within a structured, auditable workflow, with mandatory human review and final sign-off at every stage.

Three headline upgrades define this release:

Agent Talents Market
An open marketplace where third-party developers can create, publish, and rank AI trading agents. Users subscribe to or deploy agents built by independent creators, with all agents running on Waton’s infrastructure. Agent’s internal logic remains under creator control; Waton provides the platform layer and execution environment.

Enhanced Multi-Agent Collaboration
A rebuilt task orchestration layer that improves inter-agent communication, role assignment, and decision audit trails. The result is a workflow that mirrors the dynamics of a real investment team — each agent operates within its mandate, escalates to human supervisors where required, and maintains a complete, reviewable log.

Redesigned Interface
A significantly improved user experience that preserves MoTA’s distinctive 8-bit pixel-art visual identity — a deliberate departure from the blue-and-white minimalism that dominates fintech — while increasing information density and operational speed for professional workflows.

The Strategic Pivot

MoTA Alpha represents the clearest demonstration yet of Waton’s evolution from a financial infrastructure provider into an AI-native product company.

Since its NASDAQ listing in April 2025, Waton has positioned itself as the world’s first publicly traded AI agent holding company. Yet its revenue base has remained rooted in traditional securities brokerage and Broker Cloud SaaS solutions serving institutional clients in Hong Kong. MoTA Alpha changes that equation: AI is no longer a narrative layer on top of an existing brokerage business — it is now a tangible, independently monetizable product line.

The company is structuring itself around a “brokerage infrastructure + AI application” dual-engine model. This is a meaningfully different profile from either pure-play online brokers or conventional fintech SaaS firms, positioning Waton closer to the emerging category of AI-native financial platforms.

Financial Foundation

According to Waton’s unaudited financial results for the first half of fiscal year 2026 (six months ended September 30, 2025), total revenues rose 106.3% year-on-year to $6.10 million, driven by a 223.1% increase in brokerage and commission income to $4.17 million. Cash and segregated cash stood at $29.88 million, with total assets of $68.98 million.

Notably, the company reported research and development expenses as a standalone line item for the first time ($0.39 million in H1 FY2026), alongside significant share-based compensation tied to AI product development. MoTA Alpha is the first scaled output of this R&D pipeline.

Management Commentary

“The Alpha release of MoTA marks Waton’s evolution from a financial technology services provider to an AI-era infrastructure and product company,” said Zhou Kai (Tony Zhou), Chairman and Chief Technology Officer of Waton Financial. “We are not building a chatbot for trading. We are building a platform where professional investors manage teams of AI agents — each with defined roles, clear accountability, and human oversight. The Agent Talents Market extends this further: MoTA transitions from a product into an ecosystem.”

Roadmap

Following the Alpha release, Waton expects to open MoTA to public beta testing in Q3 2026. The platform currently supports Hong Kong and U.S. equity markets, with digital asset coverage on the product roadmap. MoTA is available as a standalone application at m.mota.ai and integrates with Waton’s existing brokerage and TradingWTF infrastructure.

For investors tracking $WTF, MoTA Alpha serves as the first real test of whether the “AI agent holding company” thesis translates from corporate positioning into a durable commercial model.

Media Contact

https://www.wtf.us

https://www.mota.ai 

About Waton Financial Limited

Waton Financial Limited (NASDAQ: WTF) is the world’s first NASDAQ-listed AI agent holding company, dedicated to discovering, creating, investing in, and incubating AI agents that work for people. Its flagship product, MoTA (Manager of Trading Agent), enables professional investors to build, manage, and supervise teams of specialized AI agents within a structured, human-supervised workflow. The company also empowers global brokerage firms and financial institutions through Broker Cloud + SaaS + AI digital solutions. Learn more at https://wtf.us.

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SOURCE Waton Financial Limited