The photography club of the National Institute of Technology (NIT), Rourkela, organised its annual photography workshop-cum-exhibition. Known as the Third Eye Photography Club, the workshop was held on April 4 and 5. The event was named 'VIVID 2015' and was held at the Rajendra Mishra hall on the institute campus. Students of the institute as well as photographers and photography enthusiasts from different parts of the city and nearby areas participated in the workshop.
The workshop was largely based on macro photography, which is related to photographing small objects. Paresh Kale, who is well known for his photography of butterflies, briefed the participants on the essentials of macro photography. On the second day, Min Chai Liu, a dentist by profession and a former jury for the Better photography magazine, shared his expertise with the participants. He showed the participants different ways to see an object. The students and enthusiasts had a great time and learnt a lot about the intricacies of photography. There was also an exhibition in which many photographers showcased their work.
Annual day
The Central Institute of Freshwater Aquaculture, (CIFA) Bhubaneswar, which is a constituent of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), New Delhi celebrated its 28th annual day. It was held on April 1 at its headquarters in Kausalyaganga on the outskirt of Bhubaneswar. P. Jayasankar, director ICAR-CIFA, conferred the lifetime achievement awards upon 20 retired employees of the institute.
Over 300 persons including the current and former staff members and scholars of the institute attended the function. Several retired personnel of the institute, for whom it was like a home coming, made their presence felt. They took a trip down memory lane and recollected the bygone days at the institute. Like previous years, a colourful cultural programme was held in the evening, which enthralled everybody.
"The institute began its journey in 1987. Now CIFA is one of the 8 premier fisheries research institutes under ICAR. It has developed several path-breaking technologies in freshwater aquaculture over the last three decades. This has helped in ushering a blue revolution in the country," said Jayasankar.
He gave a comprehensive and informative account of the institute's overall growth and highlighted some its notable technologies, products and plans. M. Kar, the vice-chancellor of Odisha University of Agriculture and Technology (OUAT) was made the chief guest.
He reminded the house of the challenges ahead. He also presented the ICAR-CIFA annual awards to the staff and scholarships to their meritorious children.
Significance of CSR
International Management Institute (IMI), Bhubaneswar, organised a two-day management development programme on formulating effective strategies for corporate social responsibility (CSR), sustainability and governance last week.
Students of the institute got a great chance to interact with reputed personalities and industry experts. Ramesh Behl, director of IMI, welcomed the participants and spoke on the relevance of CSR activities. He emphasised on the wholehearted initiation of the large corporate houses to help the society. In the inaugural programme, U.K. Dasgupta, general manager, (maintenance) of National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) spoke on the range of initiatives undertaken by the thermal power corporation. In the valedictory session, Yumi Bae, chief field officer of Unicef focused on social issues relating to the children. Many senior and middle level executives from NTPC, Kaniha participated in the programme.
'Make in India' initiative
A seminar was organised on the campus of C.V. Raman College of Engineering on April 3. It focused on the very contemporary topic of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's 'Make in India' initiative. The seminar discussed about the enormous opportunities in the maritime sector in the eastern region on the eve of the National Maritime Week. The seminar was organised by the marine engineering and nautical sciences department of the institute, in collaboration with the Indian Maritime Day Celebration Committee and MMD (Mercantile Marine Department), Calcutta.
Students of the engineering college learnt many unique things about the maritime history of the country as well as Odisha, which was once world famous for its impressive maritime trade. The speakers highlighted on the massively increasing opportunities in the sector and how it would shape trade in the future.
Awareness programme
A one-day workshop on women's empowerment was organised on the campus of Sri Sri University, with the help of the state commission for women on Wednesday. During the day-long workshop, women were informed and educated in different areas of concern such as domestic violence, child marriage, marriage registration, human trafficking, government schemes and policies benefiting women. Besides schemes pertaining to economic empowerment and livelihood were also explained to the women attending the workshop. Students of the university put in their best to make the event successful. The centre for social outreach chose villages adjacent to the Sri Sri University and gave sewing training to women aged between 16 to 50 years. More than 300 underprivileged women had already been trained by the social outreach team of the Sri Sri University in a span of three years.
Tourism talk
A seminar was organised on the tourism industry in Odisha in a community college, functioning under the Maharaja Purna Chandra (MPC) Autonomous College with the support of the University Grants Commission (UGC). Several speakers deliberated on the topic titled 'Tourism industry in Odisha: problems and prospects.' They expressed their views on issues such as financial impediments, inadequate development policies and extreme lack of infrastructure. The speakers also discussed on the potentials of Mayurbhanj district in the tourism sector. Students of the college had a good time and they also contributed to the seminar through their research. Banaja Mohanty, the principal of the college inaugurated the seminar, while Jagannath Lenka, Sarat Lenka, Sabir Hossain spoke in the event. The speakers presented data base views and suggestions to the students. A souvenir was also released on the occasion.
Seminar on human rights
A national seminar titled 'Human Rights Education: Dimension and Rhetoric' was organised at the chemistry hall of the Sambalpur University last week. The seminar was organised by the post-graduate department of political science and was sponsored by the UGC. Students from several departments of the university, along with those from other educational institutes of the region participated in the seminar.
The students interacted with the speakers on the various forms of human rights violations in the state and how these problems can be solved with active participation. Former director general of police, Sarat Chandra Mishra was made the chief guest. Shyam Sundar Acharya of Fakir Mohan University was the chief speaker. The seminar was presided over by C.R. Tripathy, the vice-chancellor of Sambalpur University.
