‘Grand Home Coming’ of Ex-Students

Alumnis of an educational institution should keep in touch with their alma mater and always strive to contribute so that its standard could go up, Prof. Damodar Acharya, Chairman of the Advisory Committee of Siksha ‘O’ Anusandhan Deemed to be University (SOA) here said.

“After passing out of the institute, the student’s relationship continues with the institution and the student has a responsibility towards his or her alma mater,” Prof. Acharya, former Chairman of AICTE and former Director of IIT-Kharagpur, said while addressing a gathering of SOA alumnis on Saturday.

The gathering, dubbed as ‘Grand Home Coming’, was also addressed by Dipanwit Dashmohapatra, actor and former student of the Institute of Technical Education and Research (ITER), faculty of engineering and technology of SOA, as guest of honour. SOA Vice-Chancellor Prof. Pradipta Kumar Nanda, presided.

Prof. Acharya described himself as a ‘former student’ of SOA recalling that he had received an honorary doctorate from the university at its first convocation.

Students who had passed out from the university since 2001 attended the event organised by SOA Alumniz.

Mohapatra, who passed out of ITER in 2013, said that the foundation of his career in acting had been laid while he was a student of SOA. He was an active member of SOA drama club ‘Toneelstuk’ and it led him to choose a career in acting.

Dashmohapatra’s role in the Odia film ‘Daman’ was highly acclaimed and he has since acted in other films including in ‘Pratiksha’. He has won several accolades for his acting skills.

 Addressing the gathering, he urged the students to come forward to support Odia language, culture and tradition and provide a boost to the Odia film industry.

Prof. Nanda, who welcomed the former students, said they would remain an inseparable part of SOA. Stating that the students had done well to occupy important positions in varied fields including education, health, industry, business and politics, he urged them to be proud of their alma mater which was ranked 14th in the country.

Prof. Jyoti Ranjan Das, Dean (Students Welfare) of SOA, said that the former students of the university would have a prominent role in the nation building process. Mr. Ripti Ranjan Dash, Director, Industry Engagement and Corporate Relations, Mr. Rajeev Kumar, Deputy General Manager, SOA-Atal Incubation Centre and Dr. Susmita Panda, President of SOA Alumniz also addressed the gathering.

Twenty of the prominent alumnis of the university were felicitated on the occasion. Mr. Abhishek Pattnaik, Convenor of SOA Alumniz, proposed the vote of thanks.

SOA Cup 2024-25 Closing Ceremony

The general attitude and thinking towards sport has to change in the country for its rise as a sporting powerhouse, eminent sports journalist Mr. Digvijay Singhdeo said.

Countries like USA, China, Japan, France and Germany, which walk away with the maximum number of Olympic medals, have been successful because their athletes do not toil with the objective of winning medals at the Olympics. They do it as part of their daily life, Mr. Singhdeo said while speaking at the prize giving ceremony of ‘SOA Cup’, the annual sports meet of Siksha ‘O’ Anusandhan Deemed to be University here, on Wednesday.

Mr. Singhdeo said people in these successful countries take to sports not to win medals in Olympics but to keep fit and learn skills, teamwork and how to respect opponents.

He said the tremendous progress Odisha had achieved in creating sports infrastructure in recent years had caught the imagination of the country and it had completely changed the state’s identity.

Congratulating the students who had excelled in the competitions, Mr. Singhdeo advised them to chase their passion.

Prof. Pradipta Kumar Nanda, Vice-Chancellor of SOA, also addressed the students and distributed the prizes.

The competitions included football, cricket, volleyball, basketball, kabaddi, badminton, table tennis, softball, tennis, kho kho, chess, throw ball and athletics.

Prof. Jyoti Ranjan Das, SOA’s Dean (Students’ Welfare), Dr. Sourya Ranjan Das, Convenor for SOA Cup this year, and Sports Officer Ms. Sunita Barma were present.

JAAGO--A movement dedicated to the welfare of neglected children

‘Jaago’, a movement involving students of Siksha ‘O’ Anusandhan Deemed to be University (SOA) here, is dedicated to the welfare of children belonging to the lowest strata of society, SOA Vice-President Ms. Saswati Das has said.

“It is a challenge and it aims at the overall development of children who are neglected because of their circumstances,” she said on Monday while speaking at a program organised at the Institute of Technical Education and Research (ITER) and attended by the new batch of students who have taken admission in different streams in the university.

While welcoming the new students, she thanked the those continuing their studies in the university for taking keen interest in social work and programs intended to benefit the society.

Large number of SOA students have been spending their leisure hours after classes teaching slum children while the university takes care of their health and other needs. The children are brought to the campus by university buses in the evening to be taught by students.

Ms. Das said poverty often caused rare talents to fade away unnoticed but Jaago’s objective was to ensure the all round development of such children and shape their personality.

She also mentioned about the contribution made by the faculty members, staff and students of SOA for the growth and accomplishments of the university over the years.

Prof. Pradipta Kumar Nanda, Vice-Chancellor of SOA, who also attended the program, said ‘Jaago’ was launched soon after it was accorded the Deemed to be University status in July 2007. Students who were involved in the movement were developing into responsible citizens, he said.

The program was also addressed by Prof. (Dr.) Sanghamitra Mishra, Dean, Institute of Medical Sciences and SUM Hospital, Prof. (Dr.) Neeta Mohanty, Dean, Institute of Dental Sciences, Prof. Renu Sharma, Additional Dean (Student Affairs), ITER and Prof. Anita Panda, Mentor of Jaago.

Prof. P.K. Sahoo, Dean, ITER, Prof. Manas Kumar Mallick, Director, ITER and Prof. (Dr.) Basanta Kumar Pati of IMS and SUM Hospital, were present.

International Physiotherapy Conference

Keeping aside medication and surgical intervention, physiotherapy has been playing a crucial role in the healing of patients, Prof. (Dr.) Brajakishore Das, Additional Director, Medical Education and Training, in the Odisha government, said on Saturday.

Prof. (Dr.) Das said that medical students should realize the importance of physiotherapy as they go through their academic grind. He was addressing the inaugural session of the International Physiotherapy Conference being held in Siksha ‘O’ Anusandhan Deemed to be University (SOA) here.

The conference has been jointly organised by the Physiotherapy department of Institute of Medical Sciences and SUM Hospital, faculty of medicine of SOA, Utkal unit of Indian Association of Physiotherapy (IAP) and Women’s Cell of IPA.

The session was also addressed by Prof. (Dr.) Sanghamitra Mishra, Dean of IMS and SUM Hospital who praised the work being done by the hospital’s physiotherapy department.

Prof. (Dr.) Pusparaj Samantasinhar, Medical Superintendent of the hospital, said that physiotherapy was aiding the recovery of many patients suffering from cardiac issues and complex problems.

The program was also addressed by IAP’s national president Dr. Sanjeev Jha and President of IAP’s Women’s Cell Dr. Ruchi Varshney and Chairperson of the conference Dr. Stitipragya Dalabehera who is also Head of the department of Physiotherapy in IMS and SUM Hospital.

Two-Day National Seminar on Biotechnology

Antibiotics, which played a huge role in combating the Covid-19 virus that killed more than 5.3 lakh people in India, should be viewed as a kind of national security, an expert in the field of biotechnology said on Monday.

There was a need for development in this field for which the cooperation of the society at large was needed, Prof. N. Tajuddin, Pro-Vice Chancellor of B.S. Abdur Rehman Crescent Institute of Science and Technology, a Deemed to be University at Chennai, said while addressing the inaugural program of the two-day national seminar on ‘Research and Innovations in Industrial and Marine Biotechnology: A Circular Economy’ at the Siksha ‘O’ Anusandhan (SOA) here.

Pointing out that environmental pollution and malnutrition had emerged as huge problems for the world, Prof. Tajuddin said biotechnology had a huge role to play in mitigating these problems.

Sponsored by the Department of Science and Technology’s Science and Engineering Research Board (DST-SERB), the seminar is being organised by SOA’s Centre for Industrial Biotechnology Research (CIBR) in collaboration with National Research Development Corporation (NRDC) and Biotechnology Research Society of India (BRSI), Thiruvananthapuram.

The seminar, being attended by researchers, industry experts and policy makers, aimed to foster discussions on innovative biotechnological solutions which align with circular economy principles. “The subject of the seminar is very important in the present scenario as industrial and marine biotechnology are poised to play critical roles in addressing contemporary global challenges such as resource scarcity, environmental degradation and climate change,” Prof. Hrudaynath Thatoi, Director of CIBR, said.

Addressing the program, Prof. Pravat Kumar Roul, Vice-Chancellor of Odisha University of Agriculture and Technology (OUAT), said that biotechnology was the tool which could help in development of agriculture. “Biotechnology is the future of technology,” he said adding there were 6000 start ups, 760 companies and 800 products in the field of biotechnology.

Prof. Pradipta Kumar Nanda, Vice-Chancellor of SOA, who presided over the session, said SOA was focusing on biotechnology and was in the process of organising an international conference on the subject in November next year.

SOA had been laying a lot of thrust on research and had set up 19 research centres including CIBR till now, he said.

The program was also addressed by Dr. Anindita Chakraborty, Scientist, UGC-DAE CSR, Kolkata Center who opined that science had no existence without biotechnology.

Dr. Sibani Mohapatra and Dr. Amrita Banerjee also addressed the program which was conducted by Dr. Sasmita Mohanty.

Rise Conclave

Springer Nature, the global publisher which provides content, services and platforms to the research community, on Tuesday launched its Research Integrity in Science and Education (RISE) initiative as part of the RISE Conclave at the Siksha ‘O’ Anusandhan Deemed to be University (SOA) here with Odisha’s Deputy Chief Minister Ms. Pravati Parida saying the endeavour would create a conducive ecosystem for research in higher education.

This pan India research integrity focused on accessibility, empowerment, advocacy and cultural shift to enhance best research practices in Indian research communities. This event will be followed by RISE road shows comprising workshops, knowledge sessions and learning courses for researchers across India as part of Springer Nature’s India Research Tour 2024 next month.

Ms. Parida said the conclave was not an academic event but opened the door for dialogue, collaboration and innovation while upholding the concept of ethical excellence in research.

“Such endeavours are of great importance as the objectives align with India’s National Education Policy 2020,” she said adding the need today was for academicians and researchers to think innovatively and look for sustainable solutions to address various issues facing the country.

The conclave, attended by researchers and educationists from across the country, was organised by Springer Nature in collaboration with Indian Council of Social Science Research (ICSSR), Ministry of Education and SOA.

The inaugural session was also addressed by Prof. T.G. Sitharam, Chairman of All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE), Mr. Steven Inchcoombe, President, Research, Springer Nature Group, Prof. Sudhir Kumar V. Barai, Director, BITS, Pilani, Prof. Dhananjay Singh, Member Secretary, ICSSR, Prof. Pradipta Kumar Nanda, Vice-Chancellor, SOA, Mr. Venkatesh Sarvasiddhi, Managing Director, Springer Nature India, Prof. Prasanta Kumar Panigrahi, Director, SOA’s Center for Quantum Science and Technology and Prof. Manas Kumar Mallick, Director, Institute of Technical Education and Research (ITER).

Ms. Parida, who holds the portfolios of Women and Child Development, Mission Shakti and Tourism, congratulated SOA for collaborating with Springer Nature to hold the event while describing it as one of the highest ranked universities in eastern India. “SOA has been blazing a trail in the field of professional education and healthcare in the state,” she said.

Ms. Parida said her daughter, who studied engineering in SOA, could get admission into the famous Stony Brook University in New York. She also praised SOA Founder President Prof. (Dr.) Manojranjan Nayak for his visionary initiatives in the field of higher education and research.

She launched Springer Nature’s landing page and India Research Tour 2024 which will commence at New Delhi and pass through ten states and 16 cities and have events in 28 eminent institutions during the months of September and October.

Union education minister Mr. Dharmendra Pradhan, in a message which was read out, said this event was a strategic initiative by Springer Nature which aimed to revolutionise the research landscape of India.

Mr. Pradhan said the RISE Conclave’s objective was not only to empower the researchers with the tools and knowledge they needed but also about democratizing access to resources which promoted transparency and accountability in research. “Through this conclave, we are endeavouring to lay the foundation for a credible research ecosystem that is globally competitive, ethically sound and committed to the highest standards of integrity,” he said.

The India Research Tour, which will commence on September 19 next, will visit various universities and institutes across the country providing a unique opportunity for young researchers to engage in in-depth discussion about research integrity, publishing opportunities, global dissemination of their work and latest trends in research publishing, Mr. Pradhan said.

The event also witnessed MoU exchange for Springer Nature’s Cureus Journal of Medical Sciences with SOA as also an agreement for the Fully Open Access Journals.

Earlier, Dr. Yatendra Singh Chaudhary, Senior Principal Scientist at CSIR-IMMT, Bhubaneswar, which hosted the RISE Conclave last year, handed over the baton to SOA Vice-Chancellor Prof. Nanda. Prof. Nanda, in turn, handed it over to the ICSSR Member Secretary as it would be part of the India Research Tour.

 Prof. Sitharam said the event underlined the importance of integrity in scientific research while saying that the India Research Tour would be a very important activity.

Today the advent of new technology and tools like Artificial Intelligence and ChatGPT has changed the entire educational and research scenario but the need was to use such tools responsibly. “We have to embrace new technology and tools otherwise we will lag behind others. But we need to establish clear ethical guidelines,” Prof. Sitharam said.

“We have got to pursue values and ethical standards like research ethics, try and prevent plagiarism and promote research with integrity,” he said.

 Mr. Inchcoombe said Springer Nature, as guardians of the academic record, was absolutely dedicated to ensure the integrity of the content it published not only by rigourously assessing the research received by it but also by supporting best practices from the beginning of the research process.

 “RISE is a strategic initiative aimed at strengthening India’s research landscape by nurturing talent, making research more open and transparent, and improving its quality. It ensures that Indian researchers have free access to vital resources and training materials on research integrity, promoting transparency and accountability,” he said.

Mr. Inchcoombe said that as regards scientific research output India stood third in the world behind China and USA. But research has to be ethical and integrity should be upheld, he said.

Mr. Singh said the ICSSR was fully committed to build research integrity in the country and it had collaboration for social science research.

Pointing out that funding for social science research in India had doubled, he said the work being done by women researchers was being encouraged.

Mr. Sarvasiddhi said Springer Nature was aiming to encourage educational institutions and policymakers to integrate mandatory research integrity training into curricula thereby setting a strong foundation to conduct ethical research in India. “Our collaboration with SOA University reflects our shared vision of making science more open, accessible and impactful,” he said.

SOA Vice-Chancellor Prof. Nanda said the RISE initiative and the Fully Open Access Agreement aligned with the university’s mission to promote excellence in research.

Six women researchers of SOA were felicitated on the occasion for their work. The researchers are Prof. Sanghamitra Nayak, Head of Centre of Biotechnology, Prof. (Dr.) Ruchi Bhuyan Goel, Director, Medical Research, Prof. Renu Sharma, Professor in Department of Electrical Engineering, Prof. Sujata Mishra, Head of Department of Chemistry, Prof. Niharbala Devi, Professor in the Department of Chemistry and Prof. Debahuti Mishra, Head of Department of Computer Science Engineering. Besides, Prof. (Dr.) Sanghamitra Mishra, Dean of Institute of Medical Sciences and SUM Hospital, Dr. D.B. Ramesh, Chief Librarian and Dr. Satish Samal, Assistant Professor, were also felicitated.

Prof. Renu Sharma, Additional Dean (Student Affairs), ITER, delivered the welcome address while Prof. Jyoti Ranjan Das, Dean (Students’ Welfare) proposed the vote of thanks.