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| A group of students from United for Social Progress, who conducted a drawing competition at an orphanage in Bhubaneswar. Telegraph picture |
Three youngsters from Bhubaneswar were selected to represent Odisha at the recently concluded national workshop of campus leaders in New Delhi. Ananta Prasad, Bikram Nayak and Jyotiram Dash attended the event organised by the Liberal Youth Forum, Delhi, where 25 emerging leaders across the country put their heads together to develop strategies for creating and sustaining a democratic, peaceful, inclusive and better India. Discussions regarding dissemination of governance reforms on the campus to make it political issue-based and not party-centric were also held. The trio was selected for their leadership skills. Ananta, a trained journalist, shutterbug and a public administration student of Utkal University, has been associated with social and political organisations and is committed to bring about an all-round change in Odisha. Bikram, a gold medallist from Utkal University in social work, has been involved in youth movements and awareness campaigns for different social and political issues. Jyotiram, a young social and political activist who has been creating awareness on issues such as the Right to Information Act and Forest Rights, has expertise in legal issues and is motivating youths for social entrepreneurship and participation in the political processes. “I got to learn about the political scenario in other states and a glimpse of student and youth politics of other universities. We learned how to address the student issues by interacting with the campus leaders of major universities of the country,” Ananta said.
New kids on the block
Newcomers at National Institute of Technology (NIT), Rourkela, were accorded a warm welcome by their seniors and teachers on the first day of college on July 23. The daylong orientation-cum-induction programme for the first-year students of BTech and five-year integrated course in science and dual degree aimed to familiarise them with campus environs and orient them to strive for academic excellence. An interactive session between the faculty members and the newcomers was organised in which there were elaborate discussions on the syllabi, examination pattern and attendance requirements. Some students also talked about issues on the personal front related to hostel, canteen and other things. Institute spokesperson R.K. Sinha said necessary steps had been taken to make the campus a zero-ragging zone. NIT-Rourkela director Sunil Sarangi advised students to think out-of-the-box and shoulder the responsibility for making the country technologically more advanced. He highlighted the course curriculum, co-curricular activities and the importance of honing creative skills during their four-year stay at the institute. The students were also introduced to the deans and the heads of various academic departments. The faculty advisors took them to their respective departments. Talking about the institute’s achievements in the previous years, authorities said the director had recently received the World Education Congress award for outstanding contribution in the field of education and two awards for the institute by ABP News for best government engineering college and outstanding engineering institute in the eastern region.
Dare to care
Today’s generation of college students is becoming increasingly active in community service to make a difference in the lives of the less fortunate. A group of students from the Integrated-MCA department of Utkal University, University Law College and Institute of Technical Education and Research (ITER), Bhubaneswar, have joined hands to form a voluntary organisation called United for Social Interest to turn frowns into smiles and despair into hope. Last Sunday, they spread happiness at an orphanage in the capital by organising a drawing competition among the little kids there. But, the best part was that everyone, including the winners, won some attractive prizes or the other. Each of them got a pencil box containing fancy pencils, erasers and sharpeners. The day ended with a fun antakshari and dance session. The students, who are part of this group, are Chandra Sekhar, Kamal Kanta, Abinash, Abhisek, Satyajit, Tarini Prasad, Ajay, Sanjay, Tuleshree, Shweata and Sonu.
Bank at hand
The Institute of Business and Computer Studies under the Siksha ‘O’ Anusandhan University (SoA), Bhubaneswar, set up a banking simulation lab to enable students to go through the actual operation in a bank and make them industry ready. The lab was inaugurated by chief general manager of the State Bank of India, Bhubaneswar, Praveen Gupta and resembled a branch of an operational bank with the required software and other facilities. “Banking has changed with the advent of computers and teaching has to keep pace with the changes,” he said. Chancellor of SoA University Khageswar Pradhan said research component had to be the priority in university teaching. Vice-chancellor R.P.Mohanty asserted that such a lab was a must-have for any management institute and that the principal objective was to provide the students with a solid understanding of functioning of a bank.
Management skills
A two-day faculty development programme on research methodology was recently organised by Asian School of Business Management (ASBM), Bhubaneswar, on its campus. PhD scholars, teachers and corporate professionals from various institutes took part in the event, which witnessed eight technical sessions on various topics. Inaugurating the programme, founder director of the ASBM Biswajeet Pattanayak highlighted the importance of research skill development for professionals. “Time has come for us to come out of rote learning and integrate research findings in the teaching methodology,” he said.
