OPEN ART: Students participate in large numbers at a painting competition at La Martiniere for Girls, Calcutta.

Around 100 class XI students from 20 schools in Calcutta were introduced to the concept of green buildings and their benefits in terms of sustainability, harmony with the environment and better living conditions. This was part of the Green Buildings Project of Edudigm, a mentoring institute of ex IITians, in collaboration with the Jagadis Bose National Talent Search, Calcutta.

Students were then divided into groups of 10 students and provided with models to work on. They were given the task of implementing various green features on them. After three days, each group presented their green buildings to the judges. The best green buildings were given platinum rating followed by gold and silver.

Business of welfare

■ The Indian Institute of Social Welfare and Business Management, the country’s oldest business school, is organising an international conference on January 13 and 14. The topic of the event is “management and social welfare issues: modern perspectives”.

The event is aimed at generating an interdisciplinary body of knowledge to create a synergy between modern business management issues and the larger welfare of society. Speakers and guests include M.K. Narayana, Governor of West Bengal, Sudarshan Roychoudhury, minister of higher education, Government of West Bengal, Suranjan Das, vice-chancellor of Calcutta University, and Dhrubajyoti Chattopadhyay, pro vice-chancellor of Calcutta University. Foreign dignitaries and scholars on the list include renowned economist Professor Patrick Minford of Cardiff University and Sugato Ghosh from Brunel University, the UK.

Global fashion

The Japan school of ESMOD, a network of 23 schools in 15 countries worldwide, recently visited the Pearl Academy of Fashion, Delhi. ESMOD is the first fashion school established in France, founded in 1841. The idea behind the visit was to explore opportunities of joint projects and student and faculty exchanges. A discussion was held on the activities and trends of education adopted by both ESMOD Japan and the Delhi school.

Help invest

■ The Certified Financial Planner (CFP)-CM certification is an international programme in the field of financial planning, wealth management and financial advisory services. It is recommended for professionals with work experience and aspiring to be financial planners. The CFP course by the Indian Institute of Job Training (IIJT) is recognised by the Financial Planning Standards Board of India. The course commences at various IIJT centres on January 13, 2011.

Forest work

■ The IBRAD School of Management and Sustainable Development, Calcutta, recently organised a three-day regional workshop on the “role of forests in ecosystem services provision” in collaboration with the West Bengal Forest Department. Twenty-five participants from SAARC governments, including Nepal, Bhutan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and India, and SAARC member countries’ forest departments and international experts, participated.

Topics included the global problem of climate change, water scarcity, increasing pollution, and loss of agriculture and forest productivity. The challenging issues of conservation of mangroves, recharging of ground water and mitigation of pollution were also covered. A plan of action was drawn where IBRAD has been asked to extend support in the form of developing the network and organising training in different parts of the region related to forest eco-system services.

Cut corruption

■ The Institute of Engineering and Management, Calcutta, recently organised a two-day international conference on “Scientific Paradigm Shift in Information Technology and Management”. The lectures by and large focussed on corruption in India and possible ways to eradicate it. Debesh Das, minister for information technology, government of West Bengal, inaugurated the event. Debasis Bhattacharya, vice-president of Tata Consultancy Services, gave the keynote address. Other speakers included Sujit Kumar Sarkar, chief information commissioner — who discussed the control of corruption through the use of Right to Information Act, 2005 — Jean Louis Rysto, consulate general of France, Goutam Mohan Chakraborty, commissioner of police, and Sajal Dasguta, director of technical education.

Special talent

The social service unit of the Birla High School for girls, SNEH, recently organised a festival for specially challenged children, called Smayan 2010. The festival is for recognising and discovering the hidden talents of these children. The theme for this year’s event was “colours of life”. Activities on the first day included T-shirt painting, poster painting, power point presentations, carrom and chess. The second day’s events were held on stage and included singing, group dance and a mime-show. The best school trophy was given to Alakendu Bodh Niketan and the runners up were the Oral School for the Deaf.