A puppet show was hosted at the Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan in Bhubaneswar on June 7. It was performed by Sri Chaitanya Behera and group from Bhanjanagar.
The Sita haran (Sita's abduction) scene from the Ramayan was the central theme of the show. The secretary of the state culture department, Manoranjan Panigrahi, attended the event and outlined how students could be a part of government programmes and promote the state's cultural heritage. A large number of students of the institute attended the event and interacted with the artistes.
The institute has recently collaborated with IT firm Infosys to hold folk performances on every first and third Monday of the month to promote the rich culture of Odisha.
Efficiency aim
The Indian Institute of Technology, Bhubaneswar, started a short-term course under the Global Initiative for Academic Networks (GIAN) programme under the aegis of the Union ministry of human resource development. The initiative saw students of the school of humanities and social sciences host a course on "Productive Efficiency: Theory and Practice".
The programme began on May 30 and culminated on June 8. Around 64 participants, comprising research scholars and faculty members from various premier institutes, such as the IITs, NIT Rourkela, Central University of Jammu, Aligarh Muslim University, University of Hyderabad, Assam University, Utkal University, Ravenshaw University and Gauhati University, took part in the course.
Senior professors Kaliappa Kalirajan from Australian National University and Biresh Sahoo from Xavier Institute of Management, Bhubaneswar, were the international and national resource persons for the course.
The students discussed the importance of productivity efficiency for reducing poverty and maintaining high economic growth in India to achieve a better standard of living.
Summer camp
Around 40 students of Gangadhar Meher University (GMU) have travelled to Manali in Himachal Pradesh to attend a summer camp organised by the department of sports and youth services of the state government.
The students will learn about the geographical condition of the hilly region and also be provided with mountaineering training from experts. Pradosh Acharya from the department of botany has accompanied the students on the tour.
The students will return from the camp on June 15. In February, around 50 students of the varsity also went to Shimla to take part in a winter adventure camp organised by the state sports department.
In another development, free Wi-Fi system has been inaugurated on the campus.
The government of Odisha had sanctioned Rs 20 lakh for the project.
Date extended
The last date for applications to postgraduate admission at Utkal University has been extended till June 11. The decision was taken by the postgraduate council of the varsity last week. Considering the appeal made by students from different universities and institutes from across the state, the decision was unanimously made at the meeting. However, the last date for application for admission in MPhil and PhD courses is July 15, which remains unchanged. The entrance tests for MPhil and PhD will be held on July 22 and 23 respectively.
Art seminar
A two-day national seminar was organised by the Eastern Foundation of Art and Culture at the Balasore Art and Craft College. The director of the culture department, Amarendra Pattnaik and other artists, such as Tarakanta Parida and Pradipta Kishor Das, addressed the students and told them that they have a big role in shaping our society. The artists spoke about the role of art in shaping society. Several artists from Rajasthan, Karnataka and Calcutta deliberated on various trends of modern-day art and how it is omnipresent and an indispensable component of contemporary society. Students of the institute also showcased their artworks and interacted with the artists.
Student achiever
Jagini Abhishek of Sri Sri University, Cuttack, was chosen as the Indian representative at the 3rd Brics International Youth Forum in South Africa. Abhishek is a student of masters programme in good governance and public policy (political governance) at the varsity. He represented India as a youth leader at the summit and shared his views on global issues and role of the youngsters joining the Brics international youth and experts committee. The forum is currently under way in Johannesburg and will conclude on June 12. Abhishek was hopeful that the summit would enable dialogue and communication across boundaries and foster concerted efforts amongst the youths towards individual and collective development of nations.
Strict vigil
Around 100 CCTV cameras will be installed at various places at the MKCG Medical College and Hospital in Berhampur. These cameras will be put up at strategic points to streamline work culture and keep tabs on the activities of touts. Four organisations, who have conducted the survey to select the suitable places for installing the cameras in MKCG, have submitted their report and the selected points include the casualty department, operation theatre, radio diagnostic centre, outdoor the labour room, entry and exit points of almost all the departments and student hostels. The MKCG authority had proposed to install CCTV cameras last year. But the government gave the green signal a few days ago. Students are upbeat and feel the move will be helpful in checking ragging, which is quite rampant at the medical institute.
