AV Mazirka, director, Russian Centre of Science and Culture, with KIIT University registrar Sasmita Samanta after signing an MoU. Telegraph picture

From recognitions to new jobs

The annual function of the arts society of BJB Autonomous College, Bhubaneswar, was held on its premises on March 30. Eminent vocalist Madhulika Mohanty, popularly known as Ira Mohanty, was present at the function. She sang a few lines from the title track of Tu thile mo dara kahaku to the rousing applause from the students. Sangita Gosain, another famous singer, was also present who sang the famous Pali number Aa khilli pana banaku jiba. The guests gave away prizes to the winners of different competitions. It was followed by a cultural presentation by the students. Retired director general of police, B.B. Mishra was the chief speaker for the occasion. Principal Dusmanta Sahu was also present at the function.

Period drama

The members of the Drama Society of Ravenshaw University, Cuttack, staged a historical drama based on the heroic life of Chakhi Khuntia to mark Utkal Divas on April 1. “The drama was staged to infuse patriotic and nationalist fervour among the students, which is hardly seen among the present generation,” said vice president of Ravenshaw Drama Society, Sanjay Satapathy. “It is sad that our students are becoming oblivious of the sons of the soils who sacrificed their lives for India’s independence,” Satapathy said. “Performances related to history makes a historical event or personality hugely popular and such epic plays inspire the young generation besides apprising them of the past,” said president of the Drama Society and vice-chancellor, Devdas Chhotray. The great grandson of Chakhi Khuntia, Bhimsen Hajuri, was present on the occasion.

(Top) Diploma being conferred on a student at the fourth annual convocation of Asian school of Business Management and (above) members of the Drama Society of Ravenshaw University, Cuttack, stage a play depicting the life and times of Oriya freedom fighter Chakhi Khuntia. Telegraph pictures

Lab inauguration

An “Advanced Materials Research Laboratory” was inaugurated at the Institute of Technical Education and Research (ITER), Bhubaneswar, by Ram S. Katiyar, director, Speclab, University of Puerto Rico, San Juan, USA on March 31. The laboratory has been developed under the guidance of R.N.P. Choudhary, former professor of IIT, Kharagpur, to cater to the needs of Ph.D. research scholars and students of M.Tech in material science and technology, a course to be opened in the institute shortly. The facilities available in the laboratory include a programmable high temperature furnace, LCR metre, Hyteresis loop tracer for ferroelectric materials, magneto-electric coupling measurement system for multi-ferroelectric materials and a DC polling unit.

Social activist’s visit

Magsaysay awardee and social activist Sandeep Pandey visited the Srusti Academy of Management and interacted with the students last week. Pandey addressed a number of issues such as education for social change, corruption in society, need for communal harmony, nuclear non-proliferation and disarmament, and other issues affecting the common man. He also stressed on right to education but pointed out that the present system of education is faulty, which has resulted in large scale unemployment. He expressed concerns over the increasing number of nuclear power plants as these pose veritable threats as was evident from the situation at Fukushima Daichi Nuclear Plant in Japan. Pandey suggested a switch over to alternative sources of energy that are safe as well as renewable. The floor was then open for discussion in which students posed a volley of questions to the social activist. He also inaugurated a new library and information centre at Srusti and released the latest edition of Alumni e-Xpress, the institute’s alumni e-newsletter.

Convocation

The 22nd convocation of Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU), Bhubaneswar centre, was held on April 2. As many as 1,060 graduates received their degrees from governor M.C. Bhandare, said regional director, IGNOU, S. K. Tripathy. Addressing the students, Bhandare said education constitutes an integral part of country’s development process and IGNOU has succeeded in raising the standards of higher education in the country and preparing human resource, thereby contributing to nation building. Ashok Aseri, general manager (Engine), Hindustan Aeronautics Limited, Sunabeda, was the chief guest and presented the degrees and diplomas to 177 students of the university for completing their respective programmes.

Foreign language deal

The Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology (KIIT) University, Bhubaneswar, has inked a deal with Calcutta-based Russian Centre of Science and Culture (RCSC) on April 5. As per the agreement, which is valid for five years, it has been mutually decided to start a course in Russian language at KIIT. The MoU also provides for student and faculty exchange programmes, research and development, exchange of publications and information, seminars, conferences, short-term occupational training and other initiatives. Earlier, on April 2, the university got its new chancellor, R. P. Kaushik.

Medals for toppers

The Asian School of Business Management (ASBM) celebrated its fourth annual convocation on April 2 where diplomas were conferred upon the 337 students of Post Graduation Diploma in Management (PGDM), International Business, Retail Management, Banking, Insurance and Financial Services and Logistics and Supply Chain Management. The first batch PGDM pass-outs of ASBM-Hyderabad and second batch of executive PGDM students under distance education programme also received their diplomas. Chief guest A.K. Patnaik conferred the gold medals to the toppers of various programmes. While Welspun gold medal was awarded to PGDM topper Shivani Sahoo, topper of PGDM-International Business Bhaskar Mantri received Dhanush gold medal. The topper of PGDM-Retail Sumeet Kumar got KKCL gold medal while PGDM-BIFS topper Kavita Kedia bagged the State Bank of Hyderabad gold medal. The PGDM-LSCM topper Malay Ranjan Behera was awarded Gati gold medal while the PGDM topper of ASBM-Hyderabad, Soumita Bannerjee won the Sew Gold Medal.

Skill upgrade

The students of Premier Women’s College, Kendrapara, participated in a UGC-sponsored ‘Skill Development Programme’, which was organised to boost their career prospects. “The programme was an attempt to divert the students from the stress and rigour of textbooks and aimed at exploring the hidden personality traits of college students,” said Bipin Behari Nayan, coordinator of the programme. “We tried to inculcate in them communication skills, personality development skills and skills required to face job interviews. Emphasis was laid on improving spoken English,” director of Kendrapara Multimedia and Animation Institute, Pravat Kumar Parida, said. Recruitment drive nAt a recent campus recruitment drive at Berhampur-based National Institute of Science and Technology (NIST), students created a record for the 2011 batch with over 550 offers, including 138 from Infosys, 129 from Capgemini, 69 from Wipro Technologies, 83 from HCL Technologies and 55 from Mahindra Satyam, said placement director Geetika Mudali. In the past one month, Wipro, TVS, Sankalp Semiconductors, Gennum Technologies, Net Logic, Entuple, HFSS, FTD, Sovereign Technologies, Cadence, AWR have hired more than 55 NIST engineers for working in the field of Very Large Scale Integration (VLSI). The dean of the institute, who is the brainchild behind the VLSI program at NIST, said intense industry level training is being imparted to students in the VLSI Cadence Center of Excellence. compiled by Manoj Kar, Sunil Patnaik, Vikash Sharma and Shilpi Sampad