The Rural Managers' Association of Xavier Institute of Management, Bhubaneswar (XIMB), organised a national-level debate in association with Child Rights And You (CRY), on July 31. The debate - Vaktavya - saw students presenting their views on topics related to the rural scenario, business and policy matters.
The competition had a total of nine teams, who took part from various educational institutions across the country. The debate had three rounds, the first two being screening and the final round was hosted in a round robin format. The winning title was clinched by the Team X-Crusaders, comprising Neelabjo Mukherjee and Kasif Khan from the host institute. The runners-up were Team Brocode, comprising Simant Mohanty and Sasanka Sekhar Pati, also from XIMB.
War on hepatitis
State minister for health and family welfare, Atanu Sabyasachi Nayak, flagged off a novel initiative aimed at building awareness, prevention and eventual eradication of viral hepatitis among the state's tribal population at the Siksha 'O' Anusandhan University (SOA) on July 28.
The initiative coincided with World Hepatitis Day. The action plan, SOA-Adivasi Hepatitis Mission (SOA-AHM), has been prepared by the varsity. The minister said the government planned to set up low-cost hospitals in the districts in public-private-partnership (PPP) mode. Amit Banerjee, vice-chancellor of SOA University, said measures would be taken to screen nearly four lakh tribal children in government-run schools for hepatitis virus. Students from the varsity will be involved in the process.
Ground reality
The postgraduate department of economics of Gangadhar Meher University, Sambalpur, organised a seminar titled "An Evaluative Study of Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana in Odisha" on August 1. The assistant professor of Indian Business School, Hyderabad, Sujit Kar, attended the event and gave a PowerPoint presentation on the implementation and effectiveness of the scheme on common masses in various rural pockets of the country.
The students engaged in impact assessment of the scheme with government officials and experts from civil organisations, who are working on the scheme in the state. Over 100 students from the university took part in the event.
A seminar on the topic "Women empowerment - Rhetoric and Reality" was hosted by the postgraduate students of Maharaja Purna Chandra (MPC) Autonomous College, Baripada, last week. In the University Grants Commission (UGC)-aided seminar, social activists Tulasi Munda and Tapasi Praharaj deliberated on the topic.
They observed that empowerment was being achieved through various schemes implemented by the state government, yet there is a lot to be done in areas of equal pay and providing social security. Several papers were presented during the seminar.
A number of students and faculty members from colleges of Balasore, Mayurbhanj and Keonjhar attended the event.
Admission jitters
The second selection test for admission into various undergraduate courses in Rama Devi Women's University concluded on August 3. The second cut-off mark list was published on July 28. The cut-off percentage stood at 64.5 per cent in arts and it stood at 73.66 per cent for the commerce stream. The cut-off marks for biological science stood at 87.4 per cent, for physical science 87.4 per cent, for computer science 77.6 per cent, while the cut-off marks for biotechnology stood at 83 per cent. The admission data will be published on the varsity website on August 5, following which admissions will take place on August 8.
Artists' impression
Artists from different age groups exhibited their works at the national painting exhibition organised by Dhauli College of Arts and Crafts on the outskirts of Bhubaneswar. Around 90 paintings were exhibited at the festival, hosted to mark the foundation day of the institute on July 28. An art competition for schoolchildren was also hosted, where young artists from Odisha and other states such as Jharkhnad, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Bengal, New Delhi and Maharashtra also took part.
App workshop
A two-day workshop on mobile app development, was hosted by the Rourkela Institute of Management Studies (RIMS), on July 20 and July 21. The workshop was conducted by the chief executive officer of RX One, a pharmacy centre that provides online medication services, Bikram Ray and his wife Sukanya, who is a psychologist and faculty member at Suffolk University in Boston. The participants developed mobile apps after the workshop, which were judged by mentors. The prize giving ceremony was held on July 31 and a total of 13 prizes were distributed among the participants.
Freshers welcome
The orientation ceremony for freshers at the Centurion University of Technology and Management located in Gajapati district was held on August 1. The event was attended by students, parents and all teaching and non-teaching staff members. A number of icebreakers and communication games were conducted for the new batch of students. A tree plantation event was also held. The activities were aimed at easing the students into the new environment and getting them to know about the institute and its faculty members. Eminent counsellor B.V. Pattabhiram gave a motivational talk and discussed ways to reduce stress.
