Students of Dhaneswar Rath Institute of Engineering and Management Studies, Cuttack, study at their college library. Picture by Badrika Nath Das

The central library of the Dhaneswar Rath Institute of Engineering and Management Studies (Driems) at Tangi, near Cuttack, was recently automated to provide students and faculty members with easy and instant electronic access to study material. With just a click of the mouse, they can find relevant information using subject headings or names of authors, also enabling them to check related items of interest. “A well-stocked library is an asset for every educational institution and plays an important role in promoting knowledge. Automation makes looking for books, journals and other important documents easier and more convenient for students, research scholars and teachers as well,” said Driems chairman P.C. Rath, who inaugurated the new system on July 7. There are over 50,000 books available at Gyana Udyana, the central library of Driems. The authorities said that with this system in place, students could also know the availability status of a particular book and issue it by coming to the library. “This will save a lot of time for the students who earlier had to go through the catalogue to find a book of their choice or syllabus requirements. We are now planning to digitise all the library books so that students get their reading materials and other literature directly on their laptops and computers,” said a senior administrative official of the institute.

Foundation week

A series of activities was lined up for the weeklong observation of the 14th foundation day of Fakir Mohan University, Balasore. The programmes concluded on July 11. Inaugurating the programme, governor M.C. Bhandare said knowledge acquired by students must be used for the development of society. “The university must work hard to bring about not just individual but also overall transformation. Our youths will be the agents of social change,” Bhandare said. Lauding the efforts of Odia litterateur the late Fakir Mohan Senapati, after whom the university is named, Bhandare said: “Let the university take upon itself the task of translating the works of Vyasa Kabi Fakir Mohan Senapati to Hindi and other regional languages to take his immortal works to more readers. That would be the best way to pay homage to the great man.” Bhandare then laid the foundation stone for a central library, named after late chief minister Hare Krushna Mahatab, on the varsity campus.

Skill upgrade

A unique certificate management programme on “Business Management for Engineers” has been launched by the Institute of Entrepreneurship Development, an institute under the micro, small and medium enterprises department of the Odisha government, in collaboration with its knowledge partner Oxyen Management Services, Pune. Engineering degree or diploma holders as well as on-the-job engineers could enrol for the programme that aimed at equipping young techies with managerial skills, said institute vice-principal S. Mohanty. “This course is designed for students with an engineering or technology background who aspire to rise in management, make higher level strategic business decisions, and hone leadership skills and their business acumen,” he said, adding the business management programme would provide the candidates necessary tools in proposing and managing initiatives and evaluating technology innovation from a business standpoint. The programme is of 70 hours duration, with classes to be held in the evening. The new session is expected to begin from the first week of August. “The admission has already started and the number of applications has been overwhelming,” said an institute official.

Creative colours

A poster-caption competition on the theme “Population Stabilisation: Time to Look at the Future” is being organised by the community medicine department of the Kalinga Institute of Medical Sciences (KIMS), Bhubaneswar, as a postscript to World Population Day on July 11. The competition is open to everyone in the age group of 15 to 25. After designing the theme-based poster, the applicant has to write a caption of around 15 to 20 words in English. The registration fee is Rs 150 and the last date for submission at the institute is July 18 by 9am. The names of the winners will be declared on the same day after evaluating all entries and the award ceremony will be held on July 21. The best poster-caption will win a cash award of Rs 2,500 while the first and second runners-up will receive Rs 1,500 and Rs 1,000 respectively. More details are available on www.kiit.ac.in.

Graduation day

Siksha ‘O’ Anusandhan (SoA) University, Bhubaneswar, is set to celebrate its second convocation day on July 17. The programme to be held at the Institute of Technical Education and Research (ITER) — SoA’s constituent college — will be attended by molecular biologist Lalji Singh. Singh, a Padmashri recipient and vice-chancellor of Banaras Hindu University, will deliver the convocation address. Degrees for undergraduate, postgraduate, PhD and medals for the years 2010-11 and 2011-12 would be awarded to candidates. Besides, director of IIT-Kharagpur Damodar Acharya and head of gastroenterology at AIIMS-Delhi Subrat Kumar Acharya will be awarded honoris causa.