The 19th National Power System Conference was held at the School of Electrical Sciences, IIT Bhubaneswar from December 19 to 21. The theme of the event was “Towards Reliable, Safe and Secure Smart Grid Infrastructure”. The conference had 15 oral sessions spreading over nine tracks, including PMU and wide area applications, power electronics and drives, power electronics applications to power systems, power quality issues, power system protection, power systems dynamics and stability analysis, restructuring in distribution systems, smart grid and cyber security for smart grid. Apart from oral sessions, 43 papers were displayed in the poster session. Altogether 250 people from various parts of the country and abroad attended the conference. The event aimed to create a platform for power engineers from both academia and industry for exchange of their thoughts and ideas on the challenges in various areas of power system engineering and smart grid.
Inter-school contests
Last week, the Leo Club of NIT Rourkela organised an inter-school competition called Rhapsody. The two-day event featured competitions such as debate, dance, singing, science exhibition, quiz, face painting and other events for schoolchildren. Around 600 students from 30 various schools took part in the contest. There was also a fashion show and group dance performance. Students were divided into three groups according to their age. This apart, the school of management conducted a seminar on “Online Impulsive Buying Behaviour: Role of Trust, Technology Usage and Recommendations”. NIT students co-ordinated the event.
Climate change
A four-day national symposium on Tropical Meteorology (TROPMET-2016) was held at the SOA University this week. The conference was held in the state for the third time. The Indian Meteorological Society in collaboration with the SOA university and the state government organised the conference. The theme of the symposium was “Climate Change and Coastal Vulnerability”. The visiting professor at the School of Earth, Ocean and Climate Science of IIT Bhubaneswar, Uma Charan Mohanty, shared his thoughts at the event. He said the world witnessed around 80 to 90 cyclones every year, 7 per cent of which occurred in the Bay of Bengal and the Arabian Sea. He further said climate change was making impact on natural phenomena to a much greater extent than before. Mohanty also replied to a number of queries from the students. A number of scholars, researchers and students from other universities attended the event.
Management fest
The Asian School of Business Management organised a national-level talent festival Markfest on December 16 and 17. Jharkhand governor Droupadi Murmu inaugurated the event. She said the mindsets in the business world were changing in aspects of knowledge, skill and attitude. The festival had competitions, including ramp show, mono acting, treasure hunt, rock show and face fainting. Students from various parts of the country took part in the event. The Live Bazaar, an event showcasing the marketing ideas by students, was the centre of attraction. The festival concluded with a rock band show.
Confident strokes
Students of Dhauli College of Art and Crafts organised an art camp as a part of the recently concluded Odisha Environment Congress.
Around 12 artists from across the state created artworks on the theme “Art, Life and Environment” during the camp.
Participants used watercolour, sketch pens, acrylics and crayons to put their imagination on the canvas. They created artworks on problems arising because of climate change.
The festival was a boost to their aesthetic interests and a chance to hone their skills. On the concluding day of the event, the paintings were exhibited for public viewing.
Breaking barriers
The National Institute of Open Schooling, in collaboration with the United Nations Funds Population India, organised a programme with differently-abled girl students. The event titled “Breaking Silence: A Dialogue with Divyang Girls and Women” was a sensitisation programme to provide information on issues such as barrier-free education, creating accessible environment, maintaining personal health and hygiene and protecting oneself from sexual abuse. More than 100 girls from across the state took part in the event, along with escorts and sign language experts. The girls shared their experiences regarding the barriers they faced and how those adversely it impacted their lives.
Bard and theatre
Nandanik, a theatre group of students and teachers of the Central University at Koraput, is hosting a series “Understanding Shakespeare” to observe the 400th death anniversary of the writer.
A seminar on the topic “Shakespeare: Relevance after 400” was also organised. Students pointed out the differences between drama and theatre and they discussed various Shakespearean characters in the present socio-cultural context. They also discussed the Shakespearean language and dialogues and the importance of costumes in the Shakespearean plays. Author, theatre actor and drama critic Umakanta Das said the ideas used by Shakespeare in his plays and poems were relevant even today.
Floriculture boost
To promote floriculture as a source of livelihood, the Dhaneswar Rath Institute of Engineering Management Studies in Cuttack has taken an initiative to provide technical assistance to farmers. A 35-member team from rural pockets of Puri district visited the nursery of the institute, which is built on modern plantation techniques. The farmers were given a brief insight on the methods and modern technologies used for plantations with the assistance from horticulture directorate. Farmers from other districts of the state will also be involved in the upcoming sessions.
Easy science
The department of earth science of Sambalpur University recently organised an exhibition. Students of the department and other branches, including life science, chemistry, physics, and environmental science, took part in the exhibition and showcased various models. The students demonstrated a variety of scientific models based on topics such as biodiversity, agriculture and technology, green energy, transport and communication, community health and environment and mathematical models. Vice-chancellor C.R. Tripathy inaugurated the exhibition. Students from other colleges of the district also took part in the event.