It was a busy week for students at Xavier Institute of Management, Bhubaneswar (XIMB). The premier institute held a series of summits, conclaves and panel discussions. A summit on “Enhancing the supply chain through business analytics” witnessed presence of eminent personalities of diverse industries. The event concluded with an interactive Q&A session, which witnessed active participation from the student and the faculty members as well. The session was conducted by XOPS, the operations committee of XIMB. The committee also launched its Android-based mobile application, which is the first digital application to be launched by a functional committee of any B-school in the country. The release of the e-copy of Ashwamedh Magazine was also announced on the occasion. Also, XSYS, the systems association of XIMB, organised the national-level IT Summit—Envision ’14. The event was a window to understand IT from the corporate point of view through speakers with rich industry expertise. The institute conducted its annual business conclave also. In the first session CONSTRAT, the Consulting and Strategy Consortium of XIMB organised its flagship event Stratonomics 2014. In the second session MAXIM, the Marketing Association of XIMB, conducted the annual marketing conclave Mercatique. The announcement of their annual festival, Xpressions, was also made on the occasion. The 17th edition of the Eastern India’s biggest B-school festival, a three-day extravaganza, will take place about 100 days from now.
Masters in Odia
An Odia language and literature postgraduation department was inaugurated recently at the Rajdhani College in Bhubaneswar. The inaugural ceremony included a seminar and talk on Odia literature and the classical status of Odia language that was approved this year by the ministry of culture. Experts on Odia literature and language interacted with the students of the college on the occasion. Apart from principal Geetika Patnaik, the inauguration was attended by academics such as former vice-chancellor of Berhampur University, Aditya Prasad Padhy, famous Odia playwright Bijay Mishra, state higher education department additional director Amiya Mohanty and Odia literature professor at Utkal University Narayan Sahu. The experts spoke about the importance of higher education degrees to promote and preserve Odia language. College students also presented cultural programmes, including a chorus rendition of Bande Utkal Janani, on the occasion. The admissions for 16 seats in the course are already over and classes have begun.
Patriotic fervour
Major Sandhya Nair and colonel P. Panda recently met the National Cadet Corps of Rama Devi Women’s College, Bhubaneswar, and encouraged them to be part of the armed forces. Explaining the participants not only the need of serving the nation, but also sharing the emotion of pride that only a person in defence forces can feel, both the dignitaries were able to motivate the 50-odd students. “By enrolling yourself in the army, you also show that women are no less patriotic when the opportunity to serve the country comes,” said Nair. With Independence Day round the corner, the lecture was organised as part of the motivational session meant for the students, who are also part of the NCC. The students of National Institute of Fashion Design, Bhubaneswar, are also busy preparing for Independence Day celebrations. While some are rehearsing for cultural programmes, others are busy creating a new outfit themed on the spirit of freedom.
The bull and the bear
For commerce students, it is very important that they stay updated on the latest ratings in the world of finance. Master of finance and control (MFC) department assigns a student the task of updating the current rates of RBI, prices of gold, silver, oil, Sensex, Nifty, Nasdaq, and Dow Jones even before the classes begin. The tradition has been on for 10 years and the student who gets to do it feels privileged instead of burdened. S. Sirisha is the chosen one this year. At the entrance of the department, there is a huge notice board where she writes the rates. The board, which is called Fin-Tiding, proves to be of massive help to the students. On days when she is absent, she makes sure to assign the responsibility to another student. “Even if I am unable to learn anything here, I will certainly be abreast with the changing rates of different stock markets,” said Sirisha.
Going green
Students of Eco Club of Balasore College carried out a mass plantation programme to give a green cover to the institute. The biology teachers explained how depletion of forest covers are causing ecological imbalance and as a result there is climate change. The faculty members urged the students to not just plant saplings in the college, but also in their neighbourhoods. The plantation drive saw 500 saplings being planted by 50-odd participating students and faculty members. The principal of the college Ramchandra Sahu lauded the efforts of the club on the occasion.
Distressed medics
The students of Odisha Medical College of Homeopathy and Research of Sambalpur submitted a memorandum to the chief minister through the district collector, demanding filling up of the teaching and non-teaching posts of the institute, which have been lying vacant since long. The students gathered in front of the Gangadhar Meher College in the city and moved towards the office of the collector in a rally before submitting the memorandum. Citizens also extended their support to the students. The students also demanded to increase the stipend of the BHMS (bachelors degree in homeopathy medicine and surgery) house surgeons and asked for construction of boys and girls hostel for their institute.
Boost to artistic skills
In a novel initiative, some students from the Central University of Odisha, Koraput, with the help of Sourav Gupta, a faculty member of the journalism and mass communication department, have formed a theatre group called Nandinik. Students are happy that the initiative will give them a boost to showcase their artistic skills. “The interest of the students in theatre inspired me to bring them together and form this theatre group. The initiative will certainly boost the morale of students and will help promote theatre in this region,” said Gupta, assistant professor.
