A delegation of four academics from Shanghai Jiao Tong University, China, is on a four-day visit to Indian Institute of Technology, Bhubaneswar, to take part in a joint workshop on Current Trends in Solidification Processing and Technology on April 4. They will deliberate on recent developments in the field of solidification science and processing. Researchers from several reputed academic institutions of the country will attend the workshop. The IIT Bhubaneswar exchanged an MoU (Memorandum of Understanding) with Shanghai Jiao Tong University to expand the domain of cooperation between them.
Music soiree
The National Institute of Technology, Rourkela, hosted Celebrity Night, an annual feature in the cultural calendar of the institute, on April 1. Singer Aditi Singh Sharma along with her fifteen-member band from Mumbai performed at the event.
The programme was held at Dilip Tirky Stadium. Aditi sang many of her current numbers from albums and Bollywood movies.
Saving plants
The department of biodiversity and conservation of natural resources of Central University of Odisha organised a symposium on Biodiversity Conservation: A Multidisciplinary Approach on March 22 on its Sunabeda campus.
Sushil Kumar Dutta from Indian Academy of Sciences, Bangalore, and Pradeep Kumar Chand, director, Human Resource Development Centre of Utkal University was present on the occasion. Experts discussed conservation of rare, endangered and threatened medicinal plants of Odisha through biotechnological methods with the students.
Odisha’s past
Sri Sri University organised a debate competition last week. Educator Niranjan Barik, who was the chief guest, shared the story on how Odisha became a separate state and how Odia nationalism shaped the movement.
The debate focused on the journey of Odisha over the past 80 years. In the undergraduate segment, Diksha Kajaria was the winner and Richa Kaushik was runners-up. In the post-graduate segment, Sweta Leena Panda was the winner and Varsha Mishra was runners-up.
Techinal help
The state department of social security and empowerment of PwDs distributed 108 laptops to visually-impaired students at a function on VRCH (Vocational Rehabilitation Centre For Handicapped) premises in Bhubaneswar recently. Principal secretary of the department Niten Chandra said the laptops would not only help the students in their higher education but would also connect them with the technology. The laptops are installed with JAWS (Job Access with Speech) software to help the students use them.
Moot court
KIIT School of Law defeated National Law School, Nalsar, Hyderabad, in the finals of the 33rd Bar Council of India National Moot Court Competition at ICFAI Law School, Hyderabad, on April 2 to win the champions trophy. The competition is touted as the most prestigious national-level students' academic event of its kind, attracting participation from all reputable law institutions, including national law schools across the country. The institution had also won the competition in 2013.
Tata quiz
Rohit Mohanty and Amit Mohanty from Xavier Institute of Management, Bhubaneswar, defeated 82 teams to emerge winners of the Bhubaneswar regional round of Tata Crucible Campus Quiz 2017. They will now compete with seven other teams in the Zonal Finals to be held in Calcutta. Sameer Sekhar Patra and Adarsh Kumar Mohapatra from All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Bhubaneswar, were the runners-up. The winners were awarded prize money of Rs 75,000 and the runners up Rs 35,000. The top two teams from each zone will battle it out for the winning title at the national finals to be held in Mumbai this month.
