Students of Ravenshaw University conduct a green campaign. Telegraph picture

Professor S.S. Mantha, chairman (acting), All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE), visited the Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology (KIIT) and Kalinga Institute of Social Sciences (KISS) on September 21. He visited both the campuses and interacted with students and staff. Mantha also interacted with tribal students of KISS. 'It is very important to bring tribal talent to the mainstream for the development of a state and country,' he said. He also guided tribal students on technical courses available in the country. He said they could pursue these courses with financial support from various government schemes. Mantha welcomed KIIT University vice-chancellor Ashok S. Kolaskar to the campus.

Green message

Students of Ravenshaw University observed the National Service Scheme (NSS) Day on Friday by clearing polythene waste, garbage sacks and bags littered all over the campus. They displayed placards, banners and distributed leaflets spreading the message of clean and green environment. They created awareness on environmental issues through slogans such as 'say no to polythene' and 'avoid plastics, save life'. Reader in geography and programme coordinator of NSS unit at Ravenshaw University Pritirekha Daspattanayak coordinated the event. Programme officers of the unit, Manoj Das and Lipishree Ray, were present on the occasion. NSS Day is observed on September 24 every year. NSS is a permanent youth programme under the Union ministry of youth affairs and sports since 1969. NSS provided a common platform to students to help the society which also helps in the development of a positive attitude.

(From top) Prof S Mantha (left) with Prof Kolaskar, vice-chancellor of KIIT. Achyuta Samanta, founder, KISS (left) with Dr S. Parasuraman director, Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Arohan, the induction programme, being held at Srusti Academy of Management. Telegraph pictures

Welcome function

The welcome function of the Institute of Higher Education (IHSE), Siksha O Anusandhan University, was held on September 22. Mongesh Das, head of the department of human resource, inaugurated it. Addressing the students, Das spoke about the importance of personality and how its effectiveness is a function of motivation and communication skills. Director of IHSE R.N. Panda presided over the function. He talked about optical mark recognition tests, guidance for various entrance examinations, evening doubt clearing sessions, sending progress reports of students to guardians through text messages and regular parent meets. He conveyed his appreciation to the founder president of the IHSE Manoranjan Nayak for his inspiration and contribution in providing the new campus with a hostel to the students of this academic session. The students of the college presented a cultural programme in which seniors danced to Bollywood numbers while others flaunted their singing skills.

Varsity seminar

The postgraduate departments of public administration and developmental journalism and electronic communication jointly organised a seminar on 'developmental communication: From oral to Internet'. The editor of the National Book Trust (NBT), New Delhi, Manas Ranjan Mohapatra attended the programme as the chief guest. Mohapatra discussed about various aspects of communication and the urgency of development communication. He laid stress on the importance of technology in communication. The students of both departments put forward their questions during a question-answer session followed by discussion. Present on the occasion were Jatin Nayak, Padmalaya Mahapatra, Swarnalata Tripathy and Bijayini Mohanty.

Arohan held

The Srusti Academy of Management held its annual induction programme Arohan for the first-year students of MCA and MBA. North Orissa University vice-chancellor Siba Prasad Rath was the chief guest while Pramod Prakash Panda of Infosys, C.K. Poddar of Nilachal Ispat Nigam and Binod Gopal Mukherjee of Religare Security were also present. The alumni and senior students of the institute attended the event. Vice-president of the institute Umakanta Dash advised students to utilise their academic days to develop bright ideas. The bi-annual magazine of the institute Management Review was launched on the occasion. A number of cultural programmes were also presented during the event.

MoU inked

Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS), the first institute in the field of social work education in India, and Kalinga Institute of Social Sciences (KISS) agreed upon a memorandum of understanding in New Delhi on September 28.

The agreement, which provides for the long-term academic collaboration, was signed between KISS founder A. Samanta, and S. Parasuraman, director, TISS.

As per the MoU, the two institutes will work in tandem for the development of education. TISS will extend cooperation for developing advanced and value-added teaching materials for KISS students. Besides, it will help KISS in imparting education with modern methods of education delivery. The new curriculum of TISS will be implemented at KISS in near future. After a thorough evaluation, TISS has decided to start a centre on KISS premises, they said.