MBA aspirants at the B-school fair that was organised for the first time in Bhubaneswar. Telegraph picture

A grand B-school fair, organised by the Institute of Management Studies (IMS), Cuttack, was held in the capital last weekend. The top 30 business schools of the nation participated in the event. Top colleges like Alliance University, Bangalore, Welingkar Institute of Management Development and Research, Mumbai, Institute for International Management and Technology, Gurgaon, International School of Business and Management, Pune, Indus Business Academy and others took part in the fair. This fair, which was organised for the first time in the state, registered a huge turnout. Over 800 people visited the fair in two days. During the course of this interactive meet, sessions on group discussions and personal interviews were conducted by the deans and directors to give aspirants an idea about the entrance examination pattern and admission procedures of the respective institutes. “It was a very interesting session. We got an idea on whether the institutes are offering what we are aiming at. Earlier, we had to be meticulous in choosing the institutes while applying and had to do a lot of research but not any longer,” said Varinder Singh, an MBA aspirant. On this occasion, IMS, Cuttack conducted a lucky draw contest in which the participants got a chance to win mobile phones, watches, and other gadgets.

Physics lecture

A special lecture organised by National Institute of Science Education and Research (NISER) was held at the Institute of Physics on January 7. The topic for the lecture session was “Elementary particles, strings and black holes”. The session was presided over by Prof. J. Maharana of the institute and the guest speaker was Prof. Bernard De Wit from the Institute of Theoretical Physics, Netherlands. Prof. Wit, who completed his PhD under the supervision of Nobel Laureate Martinus Veltman, is known for his contribution in the field of Supergravity, Particle Physics and string theory. About 150 students from NISER and Utkal University attended the lecture along with the faculty members of both institutes. “It was great opportunity to learn about such interesting aspects about our Earth from such a renowned personality. He talked at length about black holes and thermodynamics which was very enlightening,” said Ajay Pratap, a student of NISER.

Science meet

Students of Kendriya Vidyalaya perform the play Vikram Betal at the 6th Inter School Multilingual Short Play Competition in Rourkela. Picture by Uttam Kumar Pal

The much-awaited 99th Indian Science Congress (ISC) would be held at Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology (KIIT) University with academic partnership of National Institute of Science Education and Research (NISER), Bhubaneswar from January 3 to January 7, 2012. The focal theme will be 'Science and technology for inclusive innovation, the role of women.' Vice-chancellor of Karnataka State Women's University, Bijapur, and general president of the ISC, Geetha Bali, declared the holding of the 99th session at KIIT during the previous session at SRM University, Chennai, which was held from January 3 to January 7, 2011. As per custom, it would be inaugurated by the Prime Minister. This congregation would not just be a formal meet of distinguished scientific brains, scholars and students, but a host of other people from all walks of life are also expected to be present on the occasion. Indian Science Congress, one of the most important meets for scientists across the globe, was held in Orissa the last time 33 years ago in 1977. While the ISC session usually attracts more than 10,000 participants from all over the world, the Indian Children's Science Congress held simultaneously with it is expected to draw a crowd of nearly 5,000 young scientists from secondary and higher secondary schools across the country. A total of 15,000 junior and senior scientists as well as academicians, including many Nobel Laureates would also attend the event.

Civil service scholarships

LISAS, a city-based coaching institute for civil service aspirants, awarded scholarships to 15 undergraduate students selected out of more than 800 students from Ravenshaw University, BJB (Autonomous) College, Ramadevi Women's (Autonomous) College, Sailabala Women's College for the academic session of 2010-11. The selected students would be provided with study materials, newspapers, magazines and guidance for a period of three years. These scholarships have been given to develop awareness and encourage students to sit for the examinations at a young age of 21-22 years. LISAS had organised a function on Jan 8 to felicitate the meritorious candidates. Linu Chayani, director of the institute presided over the function while Parag Gupta, Commissioner-cum-Secretary to the Governor of Orissa was the chief guest. Gupta urged the students to prepare for this all-India exam from the undergraduate levels and said they could achieve success through commitment and hard work. Sachidananda Tripathy, geography professor at Utkal University, shared valuable tips to crack IAS exams. Others present at the function were Abhaya Kumar Naik, registrar, NISER, Mangala Prasad Mohanty, secretary, Indian Red Cross Society-Orissa and Pramod Padhi, assistant director of LISAS.

KISS visit

D Purandeswari, minister of state for human resource development inaugurates a Juang demo house at KISS even as Katherine S. Dhanani, the US consul general, looks on. Telegraph picture

Minister of state for human resource development, D. Purandeswari, along with US consul general Katherine S. Dhanani, visited Kalinga Institute of Social Sciences (KISS), a residential tribal institute, on January 5. Underlining the importance of protecting and looking into the interests of tribal communities of the country, Dhanani said the Centre has taken measures to preserve tribal culture and tradition. Talking about the Indira Gandhi National Tribal University at Amarkantak in Madhya Pradesh, Purandeswari said similar institutes such as KISS have helped the government in fulfiling its vision of inclusive education. The minister also inaugurated a Juang demo house and planted saplings on the campus. Addressing the students, Dhanani said that providing equal opportunity for everyone is a value that both India and US share. Citing the example of US President Barack Obama, she said it would be a great day if one of the students from the institute would be elected as the President of India. She also spoke about the US government-run “English Access Micro Scholarship Programme” for the tribal students here.

Law function

The inaugural function of the Students Union Lingaraj Law College, Behrampur, was held on January 9, which was inaugurated by Rajya Sabha member Ram Chandra Khuntia. “Law practice has now become a prestigious profession and advocates have a key role in the society to give proper justice to the general public. The students of the Lingaraj Law College must understand their role and try to become good citizens as well as good students and glorify the image of the law profession,” said Khuntia. He added most private and government organisations are appointing law students as legal advisors and the demand for law students has increased manifold. Khuntia, who sanctioned Rs 5 lakh for construction of the indoor hall of the college, announced an additional assistance of Rs 10 lakh for the purpose. Former Union minister Chandra Sekhar Sahu, who was also present at the function, said most colleges of the state are ridden with some or the other problems. “But students must look forward and aim at taking their college to greater heights,” Sahu said. Another speaker on the occasion was Jayant Mohapatra, vice-chancellor of Berhampur University, who heard the demands of the students. “Berhampur University has always and would continue to put in efforts for the development of the Lingaraj Law College. “However, the result of the students in the college has not been satisfactory,” said the vice-chancellor. Dipankar Mohanty president of the Students Union presided over the function. Jugal Kishore, principal of Lingaraj Law College, Binayak Patnaik, advisor of the Students Union, Susanta Kumar Sahu, vice-president of the Students Union, Jyoti Ranjan Sahu, secretary and Rabindra Kumar Sethi, assistant secretary, also addressed the gathering.