Celebrating two decades of the Establishment of Nirma University
Nirma University started its journey of academic contribution on April 17, 2003. The University will be completing two decades of Academic Excellence on April 17, 2023. The University is celebrating this academic journey of two decades by conducting various activities for faculty members as well as students of Nirma University.
To kick-start the year-long celebrations, Dr Avinash Chandra Pandey, Director, Inter-University Accelerator Centre, New Delhi addressed the Nirma University community members on April 18, 2022 where he shared his thoughts on ‘Creating a Strong Nation with Robust Education Policy’.
International Women’s Day celebration
World Water Day 2022
Every year World Water Day is celebrated on March 22 focusing on the approximately 1.8 billion people worldwide who rely on water contaminated with faeces, putting them at risk of contracting cholera, dysentery, typhoid, polio, and other waterborne diseases. The UN’s Sustainable Development Goals, launched in 2015, include a target to ensure everyone has access to safe water by 2030, making water a key issue in the fight to eradicate extreme poverty.
In this context, the Civil Engineering Department, School of Engineering; Organisation of Civil Engineering Students; IGBC Student Chapters along with the NSS Unit, Nirma University observed World Water Day on March 22, 2022. An Expert lecture session on the theme ‘Ground Water: Making Invisible Visible’ was conducted by Dr Ratan Jani, Former Chairman, Central Ground Water Board, Ministry of Jal Shakti, Government of India. Various competitions such as Save it Now: Writing competition, Every Drop Counts: Photography competition, and Leaving water for the future: Videography competition were also conducted. More than 100 students participated in these competitions.
The Institute of Commerce, Nirma University conducted a host of activities for students like essay writing, photography, and quote writing to raise awareness about clean water and sanitation across the country.
Observation of Shaheed Din
The NCC Unit at Nirma University attached to 9-Gujarat Battalion observed the Shaheed Din on March 23, 2022. This event was organised to remember the sacrifice of brave sons of the motherland Shaheed Bhagat Singh, Shivaram Rajguru, and Sukhdev Thapar. The NCC cadets organised Open Mic events including Monoact, Poetry, Storytelling, Singing, and Instrument playing.
World Thinking Day Celebration
Litwits – the literary committee and Prism – the media committee of the Institute of Commerce organised Inklings – the micro tale competition, and Humourously – the meme-making competition on April 21, 2022 on the occasion of World Thinking Day. Rohan Puntambekar from the Institute of Technology, Nirma University was adjudged the winner in Inklings, and Parul Prasad from the Institute of Commerce, Nirma University was adjudged the winner in Humourously event. The judges for Inklings were Ms Kruti Patel, founder of Artist’s Heaven and a writer; and Ms Neha Vyas, freelance writer. The event Humorously was judged by Mr Balram Vishwa Karma, a member.
World Intellectual Property Day
The Centre for IPR, Institute of Law organised a Guest lecture titled ‘Contemporary Developments in Copyrights Law’ on the occasion of World Intellectual Property Day on April 28, 2022. The speakers included Dr Nidhi Buch (Head & Assistant Professor, Centre for IPR, GNLU) who articulated her thoughts on the topic ‘Fan – Fiction: Exploring the Legality within Copyright Law’; and Ms Shaiva Desai (IPR Attorney and Advocate) who spoke on ‘Recent Jurisprudential Developments in Copyright Regime in India: A Comparative Analysis’.
Celebration of World Health Day
As a part of the celebration of World Health Day, the Institute of Pharmacy, Nirma University, organised a guest lecture by Dr Vivek Nanda, Consultant Emergency Medicine, K D Hospital on ‘Fit India Campaign- Reversal of Lifestyle disorders and its practical implications on Mental Health’ on April 7, 2022. The interactive session covered various aspects of mental health and the prevention of lifestyle disorders by nutritional diet.
Celebration of the National Science Day
Institute of Science celebrated the National Science Day on Feb 28, 2022 on the theme ‘Integration of Science and Technology for the Sustainable Future’. Dr Urszula Krzych, Chief, Cellular Immunology Lab, Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, MD USA delivered a talk on ‘T cell-based vaccines, examples from malaria’. Also, as a part of this celebration Essay writing, Sci-biography, Sci-toon, and Sci-model events were organised for the students.
NIPiCON 2022
Institute of Pharmacy organised the 6th International eConference (NIPiCON) jointly with the Indian Pharmacological Society (IPS) on the theme ‘Emerging Opportunities and Challenges in Pharmacology and Pharmaceutical Sciences for Drug Discovery and Healthcare Innovations’ during Feb 17-19, 2022. Dr Michael Spedding, Secretary General, International Union of Basic & Clinical Pharmacology (IUPHAR), and President, Spedding Research Solutions SAS, France was the Chief Guest and Shri K K Patel, Vice President, Nirma University presided at the inaugural event.
Prof Ingolf Cascorbi, President, International Union of Basic & Clinical Pharmacology (IUPHAR), Germany, and Professor, Institute of Experimental and Clinical Pharmacology, UKSH, Germany was the Chief Guest and Prof Y K Gupta, President, AIIMS Bhopal, and AIIMS Jammu was the Guest of Honour in the Valedictory event. Dr Anup K Singh, Director General, Nirma University presided at the event.
National Webinar on Research Avenues in VLSI Design
The Department of Electronics and Communication Engineering, Institute of Technology organised a National Webinar on ‘Research Avenues in VLSI Design’ on Feb 18-19, 2022. The keynote address was delivered by Shri Vibhumauli Hunsigida, Software Development Director, Advanced Micro Devices, Hyderabad. More than 110 researchers across the country from leading industries, academic institutions, and research organisations participated in the webinar. Speakers included: Dr Joycee Makie, IIT Gandhinagar; Dr Santanu Chattopadhyay, IIIT Kalyani; Dr Pallab Dasgupta, IIT Kharagpur; Dr Tarun Kanti, IIT Kharagpur; Dr Rajesh Zele, IIT Bombay; Dr Sudeb Dasgupta, IIT Roorkee; Dr Maryam Shojaei Baghini, IIT Bombay; and Dr Preeti Ranjan, IIT Delhi. Interactions in the key areas of VLSI Design like, Device Modelling, MEMS, RF Circuits, Testing and Verification, Machine Learning in VLSI etc. were conducted during the course of this webinar.
Kalp 2022
Kalp, the annual fest of the Institute of Architecture and Planning was conducted during March 8-10, 2022. The event started with the inauguration of the exhibition of student’s work done throughout the year. The three-day event included lectures by esteemed guests: Prof Jitendra Singh, former director at Amity University, Jaipur; Ms Nafeesa Barot, co-founder of NGO Utthan; Ar Jwalant Mahadevwala, founder of And Black Studio; and Prof Nirav Hirpara, former director Vadodara Design Academy. The event further included an in-house quiz competition, workshops on Knife art and Tie & Dye, a Talent hunt, an Open Mic event, and a Cultural night, among others. A Panel discussion on Architectural Education included panelists like Prof Habeeb Khan, President – Council of Architecture; Prof Jitendra Singh, former director at Amity University, Jaipur; Prof Amogh Kumar Gupta, Chairperson at School of Planning and Architecture, Delhi; and Prof Rajesh Mehta, Director, Institute of Architecture & Interior Designing, Veer Narmad South Gujarat University.
Vichar Vinimay
Institute of Management hosted a session ‘Vichar Vinimay’ on Feb 10, 2022 for its alumni. Mr Preet Shah, founder of Revolve Green, Ahmedabad, a concept marketing firm in recycled fabrics that make and promote fabrics out of waste PET bottles; and Mr Ashish Rochwani, founder of Bonding Gifts, provides a wide range of gifts online from paper products to wooden gifts designed and manufactured by them participated in the session. They both presented the case studies of their organisations to the faculty members of the Institute of Management and discussed the future course of action for their respective organisation.
Virtual Reality Workshop
As a part of research capacity building for faculty and students of the BArch programme, a Workshop on Virtual Reality was organised from Feb 21-25, 2022 in collaboration with ENSA, Nantes, France. Students from France and Nirma University worked on various projects, under the theme Matryochka-The marketplace. The workshop was conducted by Prof Laurent Lescop, an Architect and a Doctorate in Sciences with Habilitation, a Scholar-Professor at the Nantes’ Superior School of Architecture (ENSA Nantes, France), and Dr Haddas Sopher, a Postdoctoral Researcher at the CRENAU/AAU UMR CNRS at France. The students worked with various 3d software and Spatial – a virtual reality immersive software to generate virtual environments that generate shared immersive experiences.
25th Nirma International Conference on Management (NICOM)
The Nirma International Conference on Management (NICOM) was organised by the Institute of Management, from Feb 17-19, 2022 based on the theme ‘Strategies for Architecting Sustainable Competitive Excellence: Reimagining the Future’. The objective of the conference was to provide a platform for an interactive discussion between academicians and industry veterans on a plethora of topics under a common theme. Mr Shailesh Pathak, Head-Special Initiatives, Development Projects at Larsen & Turbo, and a Co-head, FICCI National Committee on Infrastructure was the chief guest at the inaugural event. The conference received 80 abstracts and 11 full papers from academicians and practitioners, presenting their research in seventeen concurrent tracks during the three days of the conference. The Plenary Session on the second day was initiated by Ms Nitya Bhalla- Global Product Lead, Data Science, Nielsen IQ. Other speakers included Mr Deepak Prajapati, Director and Regional Head, Care Ratings; Mr Anindo D Burman, ex AVP-HR, Maruti Suzuki. Towards the end of the conference, a workshop on ‘Bibliometric Analysis’ was conducted by Dr Dhaval Maheta, Assistant Professor, Veer Narmad South Gujarat University, Surat. The conference concluded with a Valedictory function wherein the chief guest was Prof Manoj Kumar Tiwari, Director, National Institute of Industrial Engineering, Mumbai.
Perspective Richter 10
Perspective Richter 10, the annual cultural management fest of the Institute of Management was organised virtually from Feb 25-27, 2022. The event comprised a plethora of managerial and cultural events. A series of workshops were organised on ‘CryptoCurrency & Digital Assets’ by Mr Atulya Bhatt, CMO & Co-Founder, BuyUCoiN, Blockchain Consultant at Blockriti along with Priya Bhati, Financial analyst, BuyUCoin, and Tushar Bakshi, Marketing Executive, BuyUCoin; ‘Job vs Entrepreneurship vs Higher Education’ by Ms Aishwarya Chauhan, Director, student engagement at TALERANG; ‘How to handle your first boss’ by Mr Animesh Bhatt, Deputy Chief Manager, BCCL. Besides this, eminent personalities and speakers who excel in their respective domains shared their life experiences and journey with the students on Feb 25, 2022.
MINeD 2022
A National level online hackathon MINeD 2022 was organised by the Centre of Excellence in Data Science, CSE Department in collaboration with the SUNY Binghamton University during March 3-5, 2022. Based on the themes such as Smart Healthcare, AI and ML, and Open Innovations the event was sponsored by SUNY Binghamton University with total prize money of USD 1000. Four industry partners namely, Cactus Communications, D360 Technologies, HOPS Healthcare, and J K Lakshmi Cement Ltd also sponsored the track prizes. More than 500 participants from across the nation registered for this flagship event. Team TensorFellows (Manan Davawala, Harsh Bhatt, Aayush Gohil, Jaynil Vaidya, and Harsh Mankodiya) of the CSE Department, Institute of Technology, Nirma University were declared the first prize winner bagging USD 500.
Capacity Building Programme on Contemporary Issues in Accounting Education and Research
Institute of Commerce, Nirma University organised a Capacity Building Programme on Contemporary Issues in Accounting Education and Research in association with ICSSR during Feb 28-March 12, 2022. 31 faculty members in the area of Accounting, Finance, and Commerce from six states in India: Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Gujarat participated in the programme. The programme was facilitated by a total of 23 resource persons from institutes like XIMB, Bhubaneshwar; SRCC, Delhi; Sardar Patel University, Anand; Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad; and Nirma University, Ahmedabad, among others.
Pratidhwani
Pratidhwani, the 9th alumni conclave of the Institute of Management was organised by the Kaizen Committee of the Institute of Management on March 26, 2022. A virtual conference in the form of a panel discussion on the theme ‘Envisioning the PhyGital future’ was conducted by alumni with experience in diverse fields such as IT, Finance, Entrepreneurship, Marketing and Sales, and HR. A total of nine panelists Saurav Gupta – Finance Controller, Capgemini; Mitesh Manubarwala – General Manager (HR), A P Moller Maersk; Vidhya Iyer – Senior Process Manager, eClerx; Sonika Gupta – Executive Director, Nielsen IQ; Kunal Mathuria – Director Specialist Management, Microsoft India; Vivek Rao – DGM (HR), Mahindra Group; Sukhvinder Singh – Director, Singh Sports Ventures Pvt Ltd; Amit Toshniwal – Head of PMO, L&T Financial Services; and Shalin Talajia – CEO- Founder, Grabenord and Healthy Gut imparted valuable insights to the students.
Euphoria-Rostrum ’22
Institute of Pharmacy celebrated its annual cultural programme Euphoria-Rostrum on March 16-17, 2022. Events included song, dance, drama, Ad-Mad, Mr and Ms Rostrum, Improv etc. Shri Mahesh Mehta, Deputy Director, State NSS Cell, Commissionerate of Higher Education, Government of Gujarat graced the occasion as the Chief Guest during the valedictory function.
Workshop on Computer-Aided Drug Design Software
Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, Institute of Pharmacy, and Centre for Continuing Education, Nirma University, organised a workshop on Computer-Aided Drug Design Software on March 10, 2022. Resource persons included Assistant Professors from the Institute of Pharmacy, Nirma University. Dr Vivek K Vyas delivered a lecture on physicochemical properties, Dr Bhumika D Patel delivered a lecture on structure-based drug design, and Dr Jignasa Savjani delivered a lecture on the importance of ADMET properties.
Webinar on Popularisation of Alternative and Complementary Medicines in Healthcare Interventions
Department of Pharmacognosy, Institute of Pharmacy, in association with the Centre for Continuing Education, Nirma University organised a webinar on Popularisation of Alternative and Complementary Medicines in Healthcare Interventions on March 11, 2022. Prof Bal Ram Singh, Professor and President at Institute of Advanced Sciences, Dartmouth, MA; Prime Bio, Inc. USA was the chief guest and one of the speakers for the webinar. He gave a talk on ‘Beginning and Building of a New World Order with Ayurveda and Yoga’. Dr Dhiren Sareen, Naturopath Doctor & a Holistic Coach, Ahmedabad discussed water therapy; Mrs Rupa Majmudar talked about Reiki: The Natural Healing Method; and Prof Sanjeev Acharya, Principal, SSR College of Pharmacy, Silvassa conducted a session on ‘Managing Lifestyle with Botanicals for Future Pandemics’.
Workshop on Basic Cell Culture Techniques
A workshop on Basic Cell Culture Techniques was conducted by the Department of Pharmacology, Institute of Pharmacy, in association with the Centre for Continuing Education, Nirma University on March 19, 2022. The workshop intended for beginners who wish to work on animal/human cell culture. It was supported by lectures and demonstrations on cell culture and its application to pharmacological and biological research. The sessions were conducted by Dr Neeta Shrivastava, Deputy Director, B V Patel Education Trust, Ahmedabad, and Dr Snehal Patel, Associate Professor, Institute of Pharmacy, Nirma University.
IoT and Automation using NodeMCU
A workshop on IoT and Automation using NodeMCU was organised by the Centre for Continuing Education on March 26-27, 2022. The workshop was aimed to provide hands-on experience and knowledge to operate a robotics system with various peripheral devices interfaced with automation and robotics application. Participants had exposure to the live demonstration of application-based robotic systems developed at Centre for Robotics and Automation, Nirma University. A total of 50 participants attended the workshop conducted by Dr Akash Mecwan, Assistant Professor, Electronics & Communication Engineering department; Dr Reena Trivedi, Associate Professor; Dr Jatin Dave, Associate Professor; Dr Mihir Chauhan, Assistant Professor; and Dr Darshita Shah, Assistant Professor, Mechanical Engineering department, Institute of Technology, Nirma University.
ICAI Delegation visits Institute of Commerce, Nirma University
A delegation from the Institute of Cost Accountants of India (ICAI) led by the President of the Institute CMA P Raju Iyer visited the Institute of Commerce on March 27, 2022 to discuss the modus operandi for collaborative activities. Welcoming Mr Iyer who was accompanied by Dr (FCA, FCMA) Murthy, Member of Council – ICAI and Chariman for Journal and Publications Committee; CMA Bhanwarlal Gurjar, Vice Chairman ICMAI, Surat and South Gujarat Chapter; and CMA S N Mundra, Vice President, Kutch Chemical Industries Ltd; Prof Udai Paliwal, Director, Institute of Commerce, Nirma University presented a brief overview of the Institute since inception and shared the future plans including the design of new curriculum for 4-year BCom (Hons) programme. President CMA P Raju Iyer sharing the vision of ICAI provided details about the role of the Institute of Cost Accountants of India in achieving growth and development of the Indian economy towards attaining the coveted goal of a USD 5 trillion economy. Mutual areas of cooperation such as joint organisation of Seminars, Conferences, Webinars, and Workshops; Faculty Development Programmes for Accounting Teachers, Practicing Professionals, Corporate Executives on mutually decided topics at both Regional and National level was discussed in the meeting. Collaboration for exchange of faculty for training and consultancy, and for offering any project in common areas was also explored. The meeting concluded with a proposal that an MoU should be signed between the ICAI and ICNU to fast-track the proposed collaboration.
National Conference on Advancement in Communication, Electronics, Computers, and Automation Technology
A national conference on ‘Advancement in Communication, Electronics, Computers, and Automation Technology’ was organised by the Department of Electronics and Communication Engineering, Institute of Technology during April 29-30, 2022. Ms Minal Sampath, Scientist, SAC – ISRO, Ahmedabad inaugurated the online conference as the chief guest. Four tracks with the expert talks followed by oral presentation sessions were organised as per the following details:
Workshop for realising NEP 2020
Aligning with the vision and mission of Nirma University to augment the facilitation of teaching and learning, and also to realise the New Education Policy 2020, the Department of Humanities and Social Sciences under the aegis of the Institute of Technology, Nirma University organised a workshop on ‘Shaping the way we teach English’ for English faculty members of the University. Mr Soumen Das Chodhary, a Master trainer from British Council, Mumbai conducted the sessions on April 27-28, 2022.
Scintilla 2022
Electrical Engineering Students’ Association (EESA), Institute of Technology, Nirma University organised a technical symposium ‘Scintilla 22’ on the theme ‘Charging the Green Future’ on April 19, 2022. Mr Nihar Raj, Vice President, Adani Transmission Limited was the chief guest and keynote speaker. More than 265 students from Electrical Engineering Department, Nirma University took part in events including Learning with Arduino workshop, Electric Vehicle workshop, Dragon’s Den, Electro Trivia, Assetathon, and Unravel the Knots.
Connaissance 10.0
Institute of Law, Nirma University organised the 10th edition of its Annual Cultural and Literary Festival from April 29-May 1, 2022. The inauguration ceremony was graced by Padma Shri Sitanshu Yashaschandra Mehta, a renowned Gujarati writer and a poet, as the Chief Guest. The festival comprised various events under different categories such as cultural programmes, debate, quizzes, MUN, street fest, and music fest, among others.
Elysian 4.0
The flagship annual cultural and literary event of the Institute of Commerce ‘Elysian’ was organised during April 21-23, 2022. Key speakers for the inaugural day included Mr Parag Parikh, CFO Adani Gas Ltd; CA Bishan R Shah-Chairman, Ahmedabad Branch of WIRC of ICAI; and CA Sunit Shah. The event saw participation from different colleges and universities across Gujarat in various event categories viz, Plan O’ Pitch and Inquisitive under the Academic events; Kavyanjali and Turncoat under the Literary events; Drop a Beat – The Dance event, Cadence – The Music event, Felicia – The Fine Arts event, Melange – The Fashion event and Rangmanch – The Theatre event. A Comedy show was also organised as a part of this event. Mr Manan Desai and Mr Chirayu Mistry entertained close to 500 Nirmaites with their performance.
MESA Day
Mechanical Engineering Students Association (MESA) organised ‘MESA Day’ – an annual event wherein the Mechanical family comes together to celebrate the foundation of the club. MESA Day was organised on April 11, 2022. MESA day is also used as a platform to bid farewell to the students in the 4th year of the Mechanical branch. Students and faculty members shared their experiences. The event was inaugurated by Pujya Shri Aksharvatsal Swami, BAPS. MESA General Body meeting was also held after the inauguration where Cadre Captains and Vice Captains were declared. A guest lecture on ‘Stress Management’ by Mr Sanjay Raval, Motivational speaker, and author was also organised. Followed by the guest lecture, a talent show ‘MESA’s Got Talent’ was held where students of Mechanical Engineering showcased their talent and the best two performers were awarded.
Other Events
