The past week was filled with activities on campuses across the city. Social visits were made, orientation programmes held and workshops conducted.

NIT Patna students embarked on a service mission, while Central University of South Bihar scholars remembered our first education minister, Maulana Abul Kalam Azad on his birth anniversary. His contributions to the country were discussed along with his vision for India's development via education.

On Children's Day, Chacha Nehru's birthday, management students in the city paid a visit to those less fortunate and promised to fulfil the ambitions of the little ones.

Day with kids

Chandragupta Institute of Management Patna (CIMP) students associated with the institute's Samvedna Club visited few slum areas in the city to celebrate Children's Day on Monday with the under-privileged kids.

Chocolates and biscuits were distributed among the kids, while the students spoke to them about their aspirations. A debate and sketching competition was organised on the occasion as well.

"Such experiences give our students a wider exposure to society," said CIMP director V. Mukunda Das, who accompanied the management students. "They need to be aware of all kinds of challenges faced by underprivileged people so that they are better prepared as managers. Our students have a deep resolve to contribute to society at large through their managerial skills."

"The Samvedna Club is an innovative initiative of the college. It works for bringing about change in society and creating awareness on various issues such as implementation of traffic rules, effects of drug abuse among others," he added.

Welcome freshers

The Sankalp unit of National Service Scheme (NSS) at National Institute of Technology-Patna conducted an orientation programme for its 2016-batch students on the campus last Wednesday. Hundreds of students attended the programme and 235 among them enthusiastically joined the NSS.

NSS members gave a PowerPoint presentation to highlight the duties and responsibilities of those associated with it.

Among the guests at the programme were dean, student welfare, S.K. Verma and NSS in-charge Kamini Sinha.

Certificates were also given out to winners of Swachhta Pakhwada - a cleanliness mission undertaken on the campus 15 days ago - programme during the event. Doing the honours, Verma urged the students to carry on with their good work and realise the need for self-less service.

The programme ended with an interactive session between the senior Sankalp members and the new NSS entrants.

Society & ads

Central University of South Bihar's Centre for Mass Communication and Media Studies held a three-day workshop-cum-training programme on "advertising campaign" from last Thursday.

Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University (New Delhi) faculty member Sarvesh Dutt Tripathi inaugurated the workshop. He highlighted the importance of gradual societal transition and its effect on advertising.

"Advertising is first a communication effort and a marketing effort last," he said. "Advertising has close associations with psychology and human behaviour, and the gradual change is subtle."

Adarsh Singh, a second-year student of mass communication and media studies, said: "The contemporary scenario of media demands from us more professional training and the workshop aimed to achieve that."

The participating students were given real-life crisis situations to develop advertising campaigns upon.

Head of department, psychology, Central University of South Bihar Tej Bahadur Singh praised the department for organising the programme.

Education first

Central University of South Bihar remembered freedom fighter and India's first education minister Maulana Abul Kalam Azad on his 128th birth anniversary on November 11 - celebrated as National Education Day.

Among the different events organised on the campus, a symposium on "Abul Kalam Azad's Vision on Education" was held. Priya Ranjan, assistant professor, Centre for Sociological Studies, Central University of South Bihar, was the key speaker.

She highlighted the importance of Kalam's vision for the country's educational roadmap. She asked the students to inherit the qualities of Kalam and emphasised on research activities.

"The need of the day is to emphasise more on research to cut the stagnation," she said.

Shashi Bhushan, a third-year psychology student present at the celebrations, said: "The roots of education may be bitter but the fruits of education are not. Only education can change the present scenario of both rural and urban underprivileged society."

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