Winners of the second Junior Scholarship awarded by the CNC Junior College of Commerce in Balangir. Telegraph picture

Insightful session for students

A career counselling session or A career counselling session organised by the CNC Junior College of Commerce in Balangir on the occasion of the second junior scholarship award ceremony imparted valuable tips to students who have appeared for the Class X board examinations this year. Students and parents raised various questions before the panel about the various career options. The students were advised not to follow any trend, but to concentrate on their interests and aptitude. Ashutosh Purohit, director of CNC College of Commerce, said: “A student should try discovering his inner potential and choosing a career accordingly. It is the interest and aptitude of a student that matters instead of blindly following any trend.” Emphasising on quality, D. Indoria, principal of the college, said: “Here, we have always given utmost importance to quality education. It is always quality that stands out. Everything else is secondary.” The career counselling session was preceded by the second junior scholarship award ceremony. Ten out of 100-odd students from the high schools of Balangir, Subarnapur and Nuapada districts were selected for the scholarship and were awarded Rs 1,000 each. “On this basis of their performance in the written test and the viva voce test, 10 students were selected for the scholarship,” said Pradeep Sahu, joint director of CNC College of Commerce. Subeer Kumar Panda, a student who was awarded the scholarship, said it was a goodwill gesture on part of the college to encourage talented students.

Aspirants on 0course

One of the leading junior colleges of western Orissa, Yuvodaya Plus Two Science Residential College in Balangir, has started a full-time Plus Two science aspirants’ course called “Fast Forward”. The course, conducted in between the completion of High School Certificate (matriculation) examination and commencement of the Plus Two classes, would impart tips on how to complete the entire Plus Two syllabus in the first year itself. Ambarish Dash, director of Yuvodaya College, said: “The idea behind this course is to guide students for covering the two-year syllabus within a year so that they can devote more time to take up coaching classes to prepare for various competitive examinations. As a result, the probability of cracking national level entrance examinations such as IIT, AIEEE, AIPMT in the first attempt increases, unlike the traditional way of focusing on CHSE exam first and dropping a year to prepare for the entrance tests.” There is a remarkable demand for this course among those who have appeared for the matriculation exams this year. “The first batch of Fast Forward has already begun with all seats filled up. Registrations are now on at the college to enrol students for the next batch,” Dash added.

Students attend the second annual day function of Viswass and (above) perform a folk dance at the fest in Bhubaneswar. Pictures by Ashwinee Pati

Annual day function

The seventh annual day function of Vivekananda Institute of Social Work and Social Sciences (Viswass), Bhubaneswar, was celebrated on April 26 at Rabindra Mandap in the capital. School and mass education minister, Pratap Jena, attended the function as chief guest and Binayak Rath, vice-chancellor of Utkal University, Bhubaneswar, was the guest of honour. Among the others, B.B. Swain, dean, (planning and development) Vivtech Engineering College and S.C. Kumar, member trustee of Sohum World Foundation also attended the function. Jena said Viswaas as an institute of social work has earned a good name both within and outside the state. Rath advised the students to work hard to establish the institute among the top-notch in the country. “Hard work and devotion never goes unrewarded. You can achieve your goals if you are sincere and work hard,” said Rath. Viswass’ annual report and its monthly newsletter, Visage, was released by Jena and Rath. Jeo Madath, director of Gramvikas and Ranjan Kumar Bal, PG department of commerce, Utkal University, were felicitated by the chief guest. He also gave away prizes to meritorious students of the institute. Principal M.B. Rao gave the vote of thanks, which was followed by a cultural programme by the students.

Science workshop

Over 50 scientists and researchers from different parts of the country came together at a two-day national workshop on advanced materials and technology organised by the department of physics of the Institute of Technical Education and Research (ITER), Bhubaneswar, which began on April 22. “The participants, drawn from the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Mumbai, Bhaba Atomic Research Centre, Mumbai, Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur and Institute of Physics, Bhubaneswar, held extensive discussions on issues relating to magnetic, multiferroic, spintronic, nano and bio materials,” said V. Rama Rao, coordinator of the workshop. S.N. Behera, former director of the Institute of Physics, who had spoken at the inaugural session, delivered a lecture on carbon and plasnomics, an emerging discipline. The other speakers included Kalobaran Maiti, a scientist from Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, who was presented with the Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar award last year. He spoke on the subject “magnetism and photelectron spectroscopy”. ITER’s Dean, R.K. Mishra, presided over the inaugural session. The other speakers at the inaugural session were S.N. Behera, B.K. Sarap, deputy chairman of the Siksha O Anusandhan University, S.C. Mishra, vice-shancellor and Kampal Mishra, head of ITER’s department of physics. An advanced materials research laboratory was recently set up at ITER under the guidance of R.N.P. Choudhury, former professor at IIT, Kharagpur, to facilitate research work by Ph.D. scholars and students of M.Tech in material science and technology.

National conference

The Indian Society for Training and Development (ISTD), Bhubaneswar chapter, in collaboration with Regional College of Management Autonomous (RCMA), Bhubaneswar, and Association of Indian Management Schools (AIMS) organised a national conference on “leveraging human resources for global competitiveness” last week. Over 500 delegates from different parts of the country attended the conference, which included academicians, professionals, corporate leaders, researchers and students. The conference provided an opportunity to discuss emerging issues and global dynamics in the field of human resource management. The event also aimed at strengthening the network among B-schools, corporate and other ISTD chapters. Omkar Nath Mohanty was the chief guest for the occasion, S.C. Padhi was the guest of honour and K.K. Sinha was the keynote speaker. For the valedictory function, the Innovative HR Practices awards and Best Research Paper awards were presented by Nalco CMD, B.L. Bagra, while the Business Standard B-School Quiz prizes were distributed by a well-known journalist in the state. RCMA director, Prabir Pal, and dean, Sujata Mangaraj, were also present.

Medical awareness

The Institute of Medical Science (IMS), Siksha O Anusandhan University, Bhubaneswar, would organise a Continued Medical Education (CME) programme on hemoglobinopathies on May 14. Eminent clinical hematologists of national repute would participate in the event. “The CME would be co-sponsored by the Orissa chapter of Indian Society of Hematology and Transfusion Medicine, coinciding with the World Thalassaemia Day to be observed during the same week,” Raghumani Mohanty, head of the department of pathology, IMS said. Some fatal forms of anaemia such as thalassaemia and sickle cell disease, common crippling genetic disorders seen from childhood, are found in most parts of western Orissa and a few pockets of Dhenkanal and Angul districts. The organising committee for the programme has requested interested clinicians and pathologists from across the state to attend the event for exchanging updated knowledge in the area. Sudeep Kumar Guru and Shilpi Sampad