The students of Xavier Institute of Management Bhubaneswar (XIMB) were thrilled when they got the opportunity to interact with Bollywood actor and director Rajat Kapoor at Sanidhya, the annual alumni meet of the institute, on October 4. The Bheja Fry, Corporate and Drishyam actor patiently answered all the questions thrown at him by the students. He posed for pictures with the students following the session and spoke to them about his upcoming projects and his career as an actor. The students and alumni discussed issues ranging from films to the political scenario of the country with Kapoor. Latha Ravindran, XIMB’s alumni co-ordinator, presented the annual activity report of the association followed by an open-house interaction, which focussed on academic and other collaborations between the alumni and their alma mater. Classical singer and alumnus of batch 1992-94 Adyasha Das enthralled the audience with her performance. 

Campus recruitment

The students of National Institute of Science and Technology, Berhampur, are beaming with joy. The students of the institute bagged 541 job offers during the recent campus recruitment drive last week. Prominent companies such as Infosys, Capgemini, Wipro Technologies and Tech Mahindra offered jobs to the students. All the students are in their fourth year and will join the companies once they complete their degrees in May 2016. The students are upbeat and have started conducting interactive sessions with their juniors, providing them tips on how to face interviews. Placement director Geetika Mudali said companies such as Mind Tree, Larsen & Toubro and Sankalp Semiconductors would also conduct placement drives at the institute in the next few months. 

Cyber awareness

A two-day workshop on Cisco Networking was organised at the Institute of Technical Education and Research by students’ club Tech Hack. The workshop was held on October 3 and 4 in association with IIT Kanpur to provide students comprehensive practical exposure to Cisco routers and switches. A number of engineering students took part in the workshop. A club member said the workshop was necessary to create consciousness about routing and their practical uses in the industry. The students got an insight into the various Cisco devices and on ways to design a network and configure routers and switches. Tech Hack aims at bringing together like-minded students to share technical ideas and create cyber awareness among students. 

Cleanliness drive

Students of KIIT University conducted a three-day cleanliness drive of their campus that concluded on October 2. The sanitation drive was conducted on the first anniversary of Swachh Bharat Abhiyan launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi last year. As part of the drive, the students also swept the 2km stretch from Patia Square to Kalinga Institute of Social Sciences (KISS) and cleaned the corridors of the varsity buildings. They distributed placards among the public requesting them to keep their environment clean. The youngsters pressed upon the public that the responsibility to clean garbage not only rests with the government but with the common people as well. The faculty members and staff of the varsity also participated in the drive.  

Students visit ashram

The students of Indian Institute of Mass Communication, Dhenkanal, visited Maharishi Dayanand Service Mission Ashram on Sunday to meet underprivileged children and elderly people and tried to understand the difficulties faced by them. During the daylong visit, the students indulged the kids in a number of interactive sessions and mind games. They conducted events such as musical chairs and painting competitions. Even the elderly people participated in the events and lent their voices to chartbuster songs of their time. They also shared stories from their lives. The students had organised a lunch for the ashram inmates. 

Quiz competition

BJB Friends, the alumni association of BJB College, started an inter-college quiz competition for Plus Two commerce students last week. The preliminary rounds of Scholastic Quiz will be held in 10 schools and colleges from the twin cities of Bhubaneswar and Cuttack. A total of 64 shortlisted students from the initial rounds will participate in the final competition to be held in February, 2016. The event aims at identifying talents, promoting academic excellence among the students and career counselling. 

Mutual funds seminar

A seminar on the emerging trends in mutual funds was organised by the students of Institute of Media Studies at the institute conference hall this week. The experts discussed with the students how the lack of financial education and awareness lead to people being unable to benefit from the investment sector. The students learned how mutual funds pool money from individuals and organisations to invest in stocks, bonds and other assets in different industry sectors and regions of the world. Students also discussed the risks involved in buying mutual funds and how to deal with market fluctuations. Joint director of Lotus Mint Advisory Bibhuti Bhusan Dash told the attendees about the intricacies of financial instruments such as bank deposits and equity.

Annual festival

Engineering students from across the state gathered for the annual festival of the Odisha BPUT Students’ Association ‘Allegretto’ last week. Students showcased their talents in various fields during the event. One of the highlights was a bike stunt show. From fire-line acts to wheelies, stoppies to drifting, the riders awed the onlookers with their daring acts. Performances by participants of reality shows like Star Voice of India and Indian Idol enthralled the students as they grooved to their foot-tapping numbers. The students also got an opportunity to interact with political leaders such as technical education minister Sanjay Kumar Dasburma and MLA Priyadarshi Mishra. The Youth Icon Award for this year was given to athlete Dutee Chand and the annual report of the association was also released on the occasion.

Gandhi Jayanti 

The International Day of Non-Violence and Gandhi Jayanti was observed on various college campuses across the state. Students of the Central University of Orissa at Koraput organised a musical programme where patriotic songs were performed, including Vaishnava jana to. Essay competitions in English, Hindi and Odia on the role of Gandhi in environmental consciousness were also organised. Two students, Kranti Titikhsya Samal and Subhashree Sahu, anchored the event. A seminar was held at the Laxmikanta College, Baripada, where the students spoke on Gandhian principles and their relevance in today’s society. At the Kalinga Institute of Social Sciences (KISS), a mass prayer was organised with over 25,000 students participating. The students also sang bhajans and conducted a cleanliness drive.