Students of Institute of Technical Education and Research take part in a street play on the campus to create awareness about cleanliness. Telegraph picture

The campus radio of Ravenshaw University that has been the voice of the students will get a new lease of life with the authorities seeking technical assistance from experts of All-India Radio (AIR). Ravenshaw Radio 90.4 MHz that was launched in April 2011 and re-launched in November last year, has been lying closed since then. Lack of infrastructure and low transmission range are the main problems faced by this first-of-its-kind campus radio in the state. On Tuesday, an AIR team inspected the infrastructure. Another team will make a visit to conduct a detailed technical assessment of the infrastructure. The radio will now function under the journalism and mass communication department. It will be used for academics so that the students can go through the lecturers again during evening hours via this radio.

Unity in diversity

Students of National Institute of technology (NIT), Rourkela, organised Multi-Ethnic Fest 2014 on its campus to celebrate the ethnic diversity of India. This five-day festival that culminated on October 19, delivered a vivid and unfazed rendition of the culture, ethnicity and diversity of India interspersed with its unity. The fest was divided into five categories celebrating four different zones of India and one dedicated to foreign countries. The fest was held over five days with each day holding the cultural extravaganza of one region or zone. Day one saw the cultural dynamics of the eastern part of the country, followed by the west. Day three was dedicated to foreign countries where teams from Nepal, and a belly dance by team from Saudi Arabia enthralled the huge audience. Day Four belonged to south zone while the fifth day belonged to north India.

Model UN

Students had a great learning session in the International Model United Nations (IMUN) organised on KIIT University campus that saw over 1,500 delegates from various prestigious institutions of the country and abroad sharing their views on different issues. Known as KIIT-IMUN, the event brought 40 delegates from 20 foreign countries, including Russia, Ukraine, Kyrgyzstan, Kazaksthan, Bangladesh and Bhutan. On the second day, journalist Rajat Sharma graced the occasion. Student delegates of MUN asked him questions in the MUN ki Adalat section, modelled on Sharma’s popular show Aap Ki Adalat. Kiran Mehra Kerpelman, director of United Nations Information Centre (UNIC), who inaugurated the event on October 17, said that MUN was the best platform to learn research, speak, voice opinions and negotiate. It teaches cooperation and skills to deal with people that will help youths in the future, she added.

Clean drive

The students’ union of Utkal University organised a campus cleaning drive last week. Many students from various departments took part in the drive. “The festive season is under way and we thought the best way we could contribute to our institute was by keeping it clean,” said the president of the students’ union Rajesh Raj Swain. The students swept the campus premises, including the corridors of the buildings. That apart, the entrance and exit areas were also cleaned. The Academy of Philosophy and Professional Ethics was also inaugurated last week.

Run for a cause

Aiming to inspire individuals to work towards contributing to a healthier society, Xavier University, Bhubaneswar (XUB), organised a marathon walk recently. The marathon, X-athon, witnessed participation of more than 700 people from various backgrounds. The marathon started from XUB-XIMB campus to Patia Square and back through Omfed Square and Nalco Square. The amount collected in the marathon was donated to Smile Foundation, an NGO. The winner of the general category was Isaac Ngemui from Kenya. He completed the 10km marathon in 30 minutes 48 seconds. He was awarded a cash prize of Rs 25,000. In the women’s category, Samsad Ara Begum was the winner who finished the race in 40 minutes and six seconds. She was awarded with a cash prize of Rs 10,000.

Career counselling

About 1,000 persons with disabilities, including students from various colleges across the state took part in a career counselling and job fair organised by the Vocational Rehabilitation Centre for the Handicapped (VRCH) recently. Nine small and big companies participated in the drive and hired around 100 differently-abled persons. Skill development institutes such as RUDSETI, Dr Reddy’s Foundation (Calcutta), Youth for Job foundation (Hyderabad) and Edutech selected about 120 disabled persons for skill development training. A number of companies are showing interest in recruit disabled persons for a number of posts. This will help them lead independent lives. We are also providing them the necessary training to help them get recruited,” said assistant director of VRCH Ram Kishore Sharma. A number of public sector units donated around 100 self-employment kits such as zig-zag machine, sewing machine, commercial grinder and radio and television repairing kits to the students. Awareness play n Students of Institute of Technical Education and Research (ITER) organised a street play on the campus to create awareness about cleanliness among them and promote Swachha Bharat Abhiyan. Tuneelstuck, the dramatics club of the institute, performed the play, which they are planning to stage at several places in the city on November 2. On this day, SOA University is going to organise a citywide cleanliness event with its students participating in cleanliness activities and creating awareness among public in this regard. The students will perform the play at five places across the city that day.