Students of National Institute of Technology (NIT), Rourkela, held an interactive session with the newly appointed chairperson of the board of governors of NIT, Vasantha Ramaswamy, during her two-day visit. The chairperson also met the faculty and other staff members of the institute during her visit on December 2 and 3. She also visiting all the construction sites, laboratories and other infrastructure facilities. A meeting was held with the deans and heads of departments separately. She interacted participants of Inspire Science Camp for school students, who were there from across the state. Vasantha expressed her satisfaction over the progress made by the institute and thanked everyone for their cooperation.
The founder-director of Aprameya Associates, a Pune-based engineering design analysis consultant, Vasantha is a postgraduate in mechanical engineering with over three decades of professional association with the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) under the defence ministry. She has been honoured for her technological expertise and professional achievements with awards such as the Agni Award for excellence in self-reliance and IMM-CINNI Award for the best woman executive, DRDO Award for best projects and Outstanding Woman award by the National Council for Women in India.

Adventure camp

Around 92 students, including 27 girls of BJB Autonomous College took part in the Winter Adventure camp in Manali between November 26 and December 1. The students took part in raffling, rock climbing, mountaineering, jumaring, mountain trekking, zip-line crossing at Solang Valley, snow walking at Rohtang Pass, flying fox, Burma bridge crossing at Dunguri and white-water rafting at Kulu in Himachal Pradesh. The college took part in the camp following an invitation from National Adventure Club of India in Chandigarh in collaboration with the department of sports and youth services, government of Odisha. The students were led by the officer-in-charge of NSS (men’s wing) Kartik Prasad Jena.

Science exhibition

In a bid to impart quality education, a hi-tech smart classroom has now been inaugurated at Stewart Science College in Cuttack. The smart classroom was inaugurated during the Science Society event held on Monday. The college officials said the classroom would be crucial in imparting in-depth education to the students using audio-visual means. A science exhibition was also organised on the occasion and the students displayed over 100 models. Ashok Das, the vice-chancellor of Utkal University and other senior educator were present at a seminar organised on the occasion.

Problems heard

The students of Lajpat Ray Law College of Sambalpur met the vice-chancellor of the Sambalpur University, C.R. Tripathy on Monday and discussed about several problems of the institute. They also demanded redress of their grievances as soon at the earliest. “The college does not have drinking water facility and there are no toilets for the students.

The college does not have permanent cleaning staff that has left the premises dirty. The boundary wall of the institute is also breached at many places,” said a student. The vice-chancellor heard the issues and assured them that steps would be initiated to resolve all the problems.

Cricket tournament

Rourkela Institute of Management Studies organised the second Late Sachidananda Pattnaik Memorial cricket tournament on Tuesday. It would continue till December 21. It was inaugurated by R. Srikant, senior manager of Rourkela Steel Plant. Srikant, who is a former Ranji player, is now the technical advisor to Odisha Cricket Association. The tournament is organised for Plus Two students. Teams from nearby districts are also taking part in it. A total of 16 teams are participating in the knockout tournament. The winner will get Rs 10,000 while the runners up will get a cash award of Rs 8,000.

Science congress

The Odisha Bigyan Congress was organised jointly by the Sikshya O Anusandhan (SOA) University and the Bhubaneswar chapter of Indian Science Congress Association, in collaboration with the Odisha Environmental Society. The two-day event was held on December 5 and 6. Several educationists, students, research scholars and around 400 scientists attended the event. A national seminar on Science and Technology on Human Development was also held in which the speakers highlighted the role of science and technology in the development of human society. Technical education and training minister Sanjay Das Burma inaugurated the congress at the Institute of Technical Education and Research (ITER). Das Burma said the state government had formulated a policy for mopping up resources for expenditure in the field of science and technology. The government had established a technical university while ensuring the setting up of IIT, NISER and IIM in the state. Six eminent scientists, Bhaskar Das (chemistry), Bhabendra Kumar Patnaik (zoology), Chandrasekhar Sarangi (botany), Gokulananda Das (mathematics), Sadananda Tarasia (physics) and S.N. Patro (environmental science) were felicitated on the occasion.

Athletics meet

An inter-college athletics meet of FM University began from Tuesday on the campus of Baliapal College of Physical Education. The three-day event was inaugurated by the vice-chancellor of the university, Shiba Prasad Adhikari. Two hundred students from 22 colleges of Balasore and Bhadrak took part in the meet. Aditya Patra, Srikanta Mishra and other sports teachers of the colleges co-ordinated the programme along with student volunteers. Stressing on the need for physical education, Adhikari said from the next year, each college under the university would have to participate in the event held annually by the parent varsity. He also counted the benefits including development of sportsmanship, competitive spirit and brotherhood relationship that comes with sports.

Self-defence training

A self-defence training programme for girl students of different colleges in the district was held in Bhograi Women’s College over the past two weeks. The training programme began on November 27 and culminated on December 9. As many as 600 girls participated in this event and trained in different self-defence or martial arts techniques that will help them in their own protection. Students were divided into 30-member groups. The master trainers, Mamata Jena, Susama Mishra and Ambika Jena educated the participants on physical fitness, diets and self- defence techniques. The students said the training programme has increased their self-confidence. It was conducted as a part of the state government’s initiative to provide girls expertise in combating harassments. By learning the self-defence techniques, girls can protect themselves from anti-social elements that target them.

Cultural event

Students of Bhubaneswar-based Air Hostess and Hospitality Academy (AHHA) organised an annual cultural programme called the Intro Night on Saturday evening at the Ekamra Haat amphitheatre. Intro Night is an event where newly inducted students introduce themselves and perform cultural activities such as dance, group act plays, drama and so on. This event goes a long way in eliminating the fear factor from the mind of the students when they face a large crowd or when they go on the stage. The students are given minimal training by a set of professionals to perform on stage. Besides, emphasis is given on teamwork and co-ordination among themselves to help them to perform better in a real life scenario. A deep sense of responsibility also develops within them, which is required for the aviation and hospitality industry.
sandip bal