31^st Convocation            

Nirma University held its 31^st Convocation Ceremony on Dec 10, 2022 where 2,584 students from constituent institutes of the university received their degrees. Hon’ble Ms Justice Belaben Trivedi, Judge – Supreme Court of India was the Chief Guest. Dr Karsanbhai K Patel, President, Nirma University, presided over the event. This year the university conferred degrees on 31 PhD, 833 postgraduate and 1,720 graduate students. The university also awarded 60 medals to 51 students for their exemplary performance in academics.

Celebration of Important Days

74^th Republic Day Celebrations   

The 74^th Republic Day of our nation was celebrated on Jan 26, 2023. The day marks the adoption of the Indian Constitution, which came into effect on Jan 26, 1950 replacing the Government of India Act (1935). Hon’ble Justice Kalpesh Jhaveri, Former Chief Justice-High Court of Orissa, Former Acting Chief Justice-High Court of Rajasthan, and Former Judge-High Court of Gujarat unfurled the national flag at the campus. The event was attended by all HoIs, HoDs, students, faculty and staff members with full vigour and enthusiasm.

World Habitat Day Celebration

Institute of Architecture and Planning observed World Habitat Day 2022 by hosting special lecture sessions by experts on Oct 4, 2022. Architect-planner Ms Zigisha Mhaskar from Pune gave a lecture on ‘Housing the urban poor – What they want and what architect/designer can offer’. Building material entrepreneur from Ahmedabad, Mr Keyur Sarda spoke on ‘Pathways to the circular economy in the construction sector’.

Celebration of World Standards Day     

The Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS), the National Standards Body of India celebrated World Standards Day 2022 in Oct 2022 to pay tribute to the collaborative efforts of thousands of experts worldwide who contribute to the field of standardisation at the national and international levels. To celebrate this day, BIS Ahmedabad organised a ‘Walk/Run for quality’ at the Nirma University campus on Oct 13, 2022. The purpose of this walk was to make the students aware of the standards and quality. The event was organised with the support of the Indian Society for Technical Education (ISTE) Students’ Chapter and Students Welfare Board.

Celebration of National Unity Day   

The NCC Unit at Nirma University attached to 9 Gujarat Battalion celebrated ‘National Unity Day’ on Oct 31, 2022 in coordination with the Students Welfare Board, Nirma University. The celebration was organised to remember the contribution of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel to unite India at the time of independence. As a part of the celebration a ‘Unity Walk’ from the Nirma University campus to Sardardham Campus near Vaishnodevi Circle, Ahmedabad was organised. The NCC cadets took a pledge of  ‘National Unity’ at Sardardham.

National Voluntary Blood Donation Day Celebration

As part of National Voluntary Blood Donation Day which is celebrated in India on Oct 1 every year to share the need for and importance of blood in the life of an individual, the university felicitated members who have donated blood at least five times. A total of 11 students, teaching and non-teaching staff members were felicitated on this occasion.

National Constitution Day Celebration     

Constitution Day was celebrated by the NSS Unit of the Institute of Commerce on Nov 24, 2022. The event began with the reading of the preamble. A quiz and crossword puzzle followed it. The event’s objective was to enhance the awareness of the participating students about the constitution. Khushi Malukani was the winner, and Apeksha Chaudhary was the runner-up in the quiz and crossword puzzle. The event saw the participation of 37 NSS volunteers.

On this occasion, the Institute of Law organised a session on ‘Constitutional Review’ by Prof M P Jain (Research Professor of Law, Director-Centre for Comparative Law, Jindal Global University, India) on Nov 26, 2022.

Vigilance Awareness Week Celebration      

On the occasion of Vigilance Awareness Week, an initiative of the Central Vigilance Commission of India, the NSS Unit of the Institute of Commerce held a discussion session on the topic ‘Corruption in India: Its causes and consequences’ on Nov 7, 2022. The discussion was led by Dr Ashutosh Pandey, NSS Programme Officer, Institute of Commerce. The students discussed the causes and consequences of corruption. They pledged to obey the nation’s rules and regulations, and not to be a part of any corrupt practice. A total of 40 students were present in the session.

Janjatiya Gaurav Diwas Celebration

On the occasion of Janjatiya Gaurav Diwas, the birth anniversary of Bhagwan Birsa Munda, the Institute of Law in association with the Students Welfare Board, Nirma University organised a Debate competition on the theme ‘Contribution of Janjati Heroes in Freedom Struggle’ on Nov 15, 2022. Dr Kunal Kishore and Dr Abhas Srivastava from the Institute of Law were the judges. Aditya Das from the Institute of Law stood first, and Aryaraj Parmar from the Institute of Management stood second.

Celebration of 60 years of Customs Act of 1962     

An Interactive session on ‘Customs Law’ was organised by the Institute of Law on Dec 7, 2022 to celebrate the 60 years of the Customs Act of 1962. The expert panel for the sessions comprised Mr Lalit Prasad (Commissioner, Customs Ahmedabad), Mr Mohit Agarwal (Additional Commissioner, Customs Gujarat), Mr Abhilash Sreenivasan (Additional Commissioner, Customs Surat), and Mr Vishal Malani (Additional Commissioner, Customs Ahmedabad). The speakers discussed the role of the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs, the types of customs, the role of Customs Department in providing security to the nation, how it prevents the economic security of the country, how the department trace smuggling activities at the entry channels, and how it deters illegal import and smuggling.

National Youth Day Celebration

To mark the 160^th birth anniversary of Swami Vivekananda, the Students Welfare Board and Institute of Law celebrated National Youth Day on Jan 12, 2023. The institute organised a screening of a documentary film titled ‘Documentary on Swami Vivekananda by Film Division, Government of India’ followed by a discussion by Mr Nitesh Chaudhary (Assistant Professor, Institute of Law). In line with the essential teachings of Swami Vivekananda, Mr Chaudhary urged young minds to be critical and creative about our past, to be able to see God in human beings around us and to feel pluralism and empower people through education.

Conferences, Workshops, Seminars and Webinars

International Conference on Future is Urban  

Institute of Architecture and Planning organised an international conference in hybrid mode on ‘Future is Urban’ from Dec 16-18, 2022. The conference concurs with the U20 agenda highlighting urban challenges in G20 where India holds the Presidency for 2023. The main themes of the conference were Urban Planning and Resilience, Nature Based Solutions, and Capacity Building as part of the ERASMUS funded ‘URGENT’ Project. Dr D S Meshram, President, Institute of Town Planners, India (ITPI) was the Chief Guest and Dr Hitesh Vaidya, Director, National Institute of Urban Affairs was the Guest of Honour. Twenty academicians from partner countries Germany, Estonia, Italy, Mongolia and India attended the conference in person. All the participants along with the international delegation were taken on an exploratory tour to GIFT City on Dec 16, 2022 to showcase its unique planning and approach. They visited the AWCS Plant, Utility Tunnel and District Cooling Plant at GIFT City. An exhibition of BArch students’ work showcasing their innovative projects was also held. The participants also went for a Heritage Walk early in the morning to the dynamic old city of Ahmedabad followed by a visit to Sarkhej Roza complex, Gandhi Ashram, and Adalaj step-well.

NICOM 2023 

26^th Nirma International Conference on Management (NICOM 2023) was organised by the Institute of Management from Jan 5-7, 2023. The theme of the conference was ‘Technology, Agility and Transformation: Neo-Business Paradigms and Practices’. NICOM aims at bringing together academicians, researchers and practising managers to deliberate on contemporary developments and issues pertaining to businesses in the modern era. The conference featured pre-conference workshops conducted by Ms Bhawna Gulati, Joint Director at Competition Commission of India (CCI), Government of India; Dr Vinaytosh Mishra, Associate Professor, College of Healthcare Management, Gulf Medical University, UAE; and Mr Vivek Mehra, Founder – Vikramshila Research Pvt Ltd, on ‘Emergence of Big-Tech and Role of Competition Law’, ‘Systems Thinking in Management’, and ‘Challenges of Publications for Indian scholars’ respectively.

The inaugural session was graced by Dr Karsanbhai K Patel, President, Nirma University, along with the Chief Guest Shri Dwarakanath Patnam, Former Chairman – Glaxosmithkline Consumer Healthcare Ltd, and Head – Group Human Capital, Max India Limited; and the Guest of Honour Dr Mario Schmidt, Managing Director, Lingel Windows; along with other dignitaries. The conference included a host of track sessions, panel discussions, and keynote addresses. The Chief Guest for the Valedictory session was Dr D J Pandian, Vice President and Chief Investment Officer, Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB); and the Guest of Honour was Shri M Anna Durai, Executive Director & State Head, Gujarat State Office, Indian Oil Corporation Ltd.

Nirma e-Conference for International Connect (NCIC)

Institute of Pharmacy organised the 2^nd Nirma e-Conference for International Connect (NCIC) 2023 on ‘Recent Advances in Nanotechnology: Drug Discovery and Therapeutics’ during Jan 24-25, 2023. Prof Yashwant V Pathak, Associate Dean for Faculty Affairs, USF Health Taneja College of Pharmacy, University of South Florida, USA was the Chief Guest, and Prof Om Prakash Katare, University Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences (UIPS), Panjab University, Chandigarh was the Guest of Honour of the inaugural programme. Prof Shailendra Saraf, Director, NIPER, Ahmedabad was the Chief Guest during the valedictory programme.

Conclave on Family Law     

Institute of Law conducted a series of expert lectures from Nov 15-17, 2022 as a part of its conclave on Family Law. During the conclave, Justice Roshan Dalvi, former Chief Justice of the High Court of Bombay spoke on ‘Family Courts in India: Establishment and Procedural Challenges (Gender Justice)’. Justice Jyotsna Yagnik, retired Districts and Sessions Judge spoke on ‘Matrimonial Rights and Remedies: Family Courts in India and Procedural Challenges’. Advocate Jitendra Malkan, former Assistant Solicitor General of India spoke on ‘Family Courts in India: Procedure, Powers and Functions under the Family Courts Act, 1984’.

National Workshop on Computer-Aided Drug Design Software

Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, Institute of Pharmacy in association with Centre for Continuing Education (CCE), Nirma University organised a ‘National Workshop on Computer-Aided Drug Design Software’ on Feb 23, 2023. Dr Jignasa Savjani, Dr Vivek Vyas, and Dr Bhumika Patel from the Institute of Pharmacy, Nirma University delivered lectures on recent advances in computer-aided drug design, and took hands-on training sessions on various drug design software like GOLD, Authodock, Chem draw and ADMET property predictions.  Around 42 participants across Gujarat attended the workshop.

Institute Lecture Series at Institute of Management

• Mr Bobby Achettu, CEO-Accelerated Growth delivered a guest lecture on the theme ‘Entrepreneurial Perspective from the United States’ on Nov 9, 2022 at the Institute of Management. Mr Achettu shared his journey of first-generation entrepreneurship and topics pertaining to leadership qualities and chasing opportunities.
• Mr Sulay Lavsi, Founder and CEO of Bummer delivered a guest lecture on the theme ‘Branding in E-commerce’ on Nov 14, 2022 at the Institute of Management. Mr Lavsi shared his insights on developing an e-commerce business in the unique category of designer underwear with sustainable fabric. His interactions with the students delved into micro-managing the branding of a new venture in an intensely competitive market.

Pragaman 7.0  

Pragaman 7.0, the Annual Entrepreneurship Conclave of the Institute of Management was organised on the theme ‘Realm of Technopreneurs’ by Swayam, The Entrepreneurship Club of the Institute of Management on Nov 15, 2022. The conclave featured speakers and resource persons from a variety of fields who are prominent entrepreneurs and role models. Renowned Co-founders from Start-up ecosystems like Mr Sidharth Gupta (Cofounder – Treebo Hotels), Mr Sanachit Mehra (Cofounder – Cateina Technologies), Mr Arnab Mitra (Cofounder – Digiboxx), Mr Sushil Singh (Director- SSR Techvision), Mr Shivam Bansal (Cofounder – JJ Plastalloy), Mr Siddharthsinh Vaghela (Business Head- GTPL) enlightened students about their journey and learnings. Approximately 300 students attended the event.

11^th Annual Conference on Quality Management 

Institute of Management in association with the American Society of Quality (ASQ) India section organised the 11^th Annual Conference on Quality Management on the theme ‘Transformation through Quality in a Hybrid Era’ on Nov 25-26, 2022. The conference witnessed participation from leading industries. The best-case study presentations were awarded at the event. An industrial visit to eight company premises and plants was organised on Nov 26, 2022. Leading industrialist Dr Viranchi Shah was the Chief Guest in the Inaugural event, and Mr Vimal Manchanda, Industrialist was the Guest of Honour, along with Mr Anindya Sarangi, Head of South Asia, ASQ. Approximately 80 industry delegates and 20 students participated in the event.

Pratidhwani

Institute of Management organised the 10^th Alumni Conclave on the theme ‘The Alchemy of Change’ on Feb 4, 2023. Mr Jyotil Mankad, Director and Business Head of Ingram Micro; Mr Vishal Chopra, CGO of Hiver; Mr Keyur Jathal, Executive Director of Ishan Technologies; Ms Pranjal Dixit, Senior Associate Lead in Infosys; and Mr Suvodeep Mukherjee, Senior General Manager of TUV Sud South Asia Pvt Ltd delivered sessions on a wide range of topics including transformation in technologies, dynamics of business ecosystem, SaaS, etc. A panel discussion with Mr Rituraj Saxena, President & Vertical Head in Yes Bank; and Mr Himank Sharma, Director at CRISIL Ratings as panellists was organised on ‘Various aspects of the business transformation’.

Robotics Masters Training and Certificate Programme

The Department of Mechanical Engineering, Institute of Technology organised ‘Robotics Masters Training and Certificate Programme’, a state-level training programme under the TEERTH scheme of Knowledge Consortium of Gujarat (KCG), Government of Gujarat during Jan 3-13, 2023. The main theme of the event was the basics of Arduino, Python Programming, Robotics, and Drone Technology. A total of 40 participants attended the training programme provided by the trainers from iSTEM foundation under KCG.

Panel Discussion on the Future of Accounting Education and Research  

The Institute of Commerce in association with the Indian Accounting Association, Ahmedabad Branch organised a Panel Discussion on the ‘Future of Accounting Education and Research’ on Feb 17, 2023. Prof Nageshwar Rao, VC, IGNOU Delhi; CA Vandana Nagpal, Director, Board of Studies, ICAI; Prof Pratap Singh Chouhan, VC, SSGU Godhra; Prof G Soral, Retd Professor, Mohanlal Sukhadia University, Udaipur; Prof Rajendra Srivastava, Prof Emeritus, University of Kansas; Prof Sanjay Bhayani, Head, Department of Business Management, Saurashtra University; and CA Bishan Shah, Member, Faculty Board shared their thoughts on the future of the accounting profession with reference to the New Education Policy (NEP). They highlighted the role shifting of analysts and professionals from financial reporting to non-financial reporting. The event was attended by 160 participants in offline mode and 50 participants in online mode from Oman, Mauritius, Rwanda, South Africa, Namibia and India.

Antitrust Moot and Conference

Institute of Law hosted the ‘XII ILNU Antitrust Moot and Conference 2023’ from Feb 24-26, 2023. The Moot Court Committee, Institute of Law collaborated with FTI Consulting, Compass Lexecon, and ASSOCHAM as Principal Partners, and AZB & Partners, Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas, Trilegal, Lakshmikumaran & Sridharan, Nishith Desai & Associates, Chandhiok & Mahajan, Axiom5 Law Chambers, DSK Legal, Saraf & Partners, and Anant Law as Associate Partners for this event. The aim of the event was to provide a common platform for law students across India having interests in competition law and the art of mooting. The winner of the moot was the team of NALSAR University of Law, Hyderabad.

Tree Talk  

Mr Nagendra Purohit, a senior horticulturist and founder of M/s Grass Roots with expertise in bio-dynamics, organic practices, nature conservation, and ecosystem design-development was invited as an expert speaker on Oct 15, 2022 at the Institute of Architecture and Planning’s Social Services and Introduction to Ecology and Landscape Design course conducted for the second-year architecture students. Mr Purohit led the students on a campus tour where they learned about the significance of specific trees and other vegetation. For the students, learning about the 83 varieties of trees on their campus and the diverse fauna it supports including the birds, bees, butterflies, and insects was an eye-opening experience.

Other Conferences, Workshops, Seminars and Webinars

• A workshop on ‘Modeling and Simulation of Power Systems’ was organised from Sep 30- Oct 1, 2022 by the Department of Electrical Engineering, Institute of Technology in association with the Centre for Continuing Education, Nirma University. The sessions were jointly delivered by Dr Akhilesh A Nimje and Dr Sarika S Kanojia, both from the Department of Electrical Engineering, Nirma University.
• Prof Miki Desai, eminent scholar, author and teacher conducted an expert lecture on ‘The Gap between the Enquiry and the Finding: Research in the Field of Vernacular Architecture’ hosted by the Institute of Architecture and Planning on Nov 19, 2022.
• The Centre for Continuing Education organised a workshop on ‘Geographic Information System’ for Architects on Nov 19 and Nov 25, 2022. Mr Mehul Tuvar, GIS Consultant, N Plus Solutions, Gandhinagar, and Dr Pratima Singh, Assistant Professor, Institute of Architecture and Planning, Nirma University were the resource people.
• Centre for Postgraduate Legal Studies, Institute of Law organised an online academic conference on ‘Comparative Constitutional Law’ during Nov 24-26, 2022. The inaugural session was chaired by Prof N K Pathak, Emeritus Resource Faculty, School of Law, Rashtriya Raksha University, Gandhinagar. Other speakers included Dr Venkat Iyer, Barrister and Professor, Ulster University, UK; Prof Manoj Kumar Sinha, Director, Indian Law Institute, New Delhi; Prof M P Singh, Research Professor of Law, Distinguished Scholar in Public Law and Comparative Law on Constitutional Review.
• The Centre for Law and Governance in collaboration with the Centre for Child Rights Advocacy organised a guest lecture on ‘Sensitisation of the Laws Relating to Children’ on Nov 14, 2022. The lecture was delivered by Hon’ble Justice Roshan Dalvi, former Chief Justice of the High Court of Bombay and an eminent figure in the legal field. The objective of this session was to promote knowledge among the attendees about Indian laws that were created in accordance with the constitution to advance and protect children’s welfare in India.
• An expert lecture was conducted by Hon’ble Justice Mr Avinash K Gupta, Retired Principal Judge of Family Court, Bhuj from Nov 14-17, 2022. He discussed the basic tenets and principles of the Juvenile Justice Act. He also discussed the modes of proceedings that are recognised under the law as well as the circumstances in which a case is transferred to the children’s court from the Juvenile Justice Board.
• An expert session on ‘Need for Comparative Constitutional Law’ by Prof N K Pathak, former Director, University School of Law, Gujarat University, Ahmedabad was conducted at the Institute of Law on Nov 24, 2022.
• A distinguished lecture on ‘Criminal Law’ by Hon’ble Justice (Retd) Mr K S Ahluwalia, Calcutta High Court; and Mr Vijayant Singh, Member of Railway Claims Tribunal was organised on Nov 19, 2022 at the Institute of Law.
• An expert lecture on ‘Intellectual Property Rights’ was conducted by Dr Gargi Chakrabarty, DIIPT-IPR Chair, National Law University, Jodhpur on Nov 19, 2022. She discussed the intricacies of the protection of plant varieties in India as provided under Plant Variety Protection and Farmers and Breeders Rights Act 2000, and also provided a detailed overview of the varieties protected under the act and the requisites of variety protection in India.
• A session on ‘Education and Growth of Children in Rural Areas’ was conducted by Mr Sudarshan Suchi, CEO-Save the Children, India by the Centre for Social Justice, Institute of Law on Dec 3, 2022.
• A session on ‘Understanding the Law Behind Start-up Funding’ was conducted by Mr J J Bhatt, Advocate, High Court, Mumbai and Ms Vaneesa Agrawal, Founder and Partner, Thinking Legal, New Delhi by the Centre for Corporate Law Studies, Institute of Law on Dec 2, 2022.
• A guest lecture on ‘AI and Healthcare: Understanding from Patent perspective’ was conducted by Mr Yoganjaneyulu Kasseti, Senior Associate at K&S Partners by the Institute of Law on Dec 2, 2022.
• An expert session was conducted by Hon’ble Justice C K Thakkar at the Institute of Law on Dec 3, 2022. The session focused on the Preamble of The Constitution of India and the significance of the phrase ‘We the people of India’. Justice Thakkar also discussed the Origin of Writs and touched upon the Government of India Act, 1935, Analysis of the intricacies of Article 32 and its relevance.
• Kaizen, the Alumni Relations committee of the Institute of Management organised an interactive session with Mr Prakash Nahata, Head – Controlling and Portfolio Risk, Mercedes-Benz Financial Services India Pvt Ltd on the topic ‘Financial Risk’ on Dec 17, 2022. The speaker explained different verticals which constitute the arena of financial risk and provided insights into the identification and management of various types of risks. The lecture series was attended by 250 students.
• A session on the theme ‘Women Empowerment’ was organised by the Institute of Management on Dec 12, 2022. Speakers included Megha Jhala (Founder and Community Manager, SheUnite), Dr Krupa Mehta (Assistant Professor, Kadi Sarva Vishwavidyalaya), and Ms Priya Gupta (Content Creator and Food Influencer).
• A ‘Self Defense Workshop’ was conducted by Mr Ronak Chhara, 4^th Dan Black Belt National Referee, National Instructor, Dy Sp Self Defence trainer on Dec 13, 2022 at the Institute of Management. He taught about the seven different types of self-defence attacks; how to use hair clips, bags, and dupatta as tools for self-defence for the girls. He also taught basic punch, block, chop and kick activities to the students.
• As part of the celebrations of Two Decades of Academic Excellence of the university, the Internal Quality Assurance Cell (IQAC), Nirma University organised an expert talk on ‘UK-India Relations: Focus on Education and Research’ by Mr Peter Cook – British Deputy High Commissioner for Gujarat and Rajasthan on Jan 21, 2023. More than 300 faculty members and doctoral students from the constituent institutes attended the session.
• Dr Stephen Barnes, Assistant Dean, Penn State Law, US spoke on the ‘American Legal System and Opportunities for Doctoral Studies for the students of LLM’ at the Institute of Law on Jan 30, 2023.
• Department of Pharmacology, Institute of Pharmacy in association with Centre for Continuing Education (CCE), Nirma University organised a symposium on Neuroscience on Feb 17, 2023. Dr Ganesh Sangle, Director & Head, NCE Discovery Research, Kashiv BioSciences LLC, Ahmedabad; and Dr Vinod Tiwari, Associate Professor, IIT BHU, Varanasi were the resource persons. The symposium included plenary lectures by experts on recent advances in neuroscience and various animal models of neurological disorders, hands-on stereotaxic-apparatus and ANYMAZE software. Around 40 participants across Gujarat attended the symposium.
• The Centre for Corporate Law Studies, Institute of Law organised a virtual session on ‘Mergers and Acquisitions’ by Advocate Kunal Sharma, General Manager Legal M&A, project finance at ARISE IIP, Gurgaon on Feb 16, 2023. He shared his first-hand experiences and discussed a career in Merger and Acquisition in Legal Industry and strategising M&A deals as a Legal Consultant.
• Women Development Cell, Institute of Law organised a distinguished lecture on ‘Implicit Bias and Impact of Democracies on Women’ by Judge Mel Flanagan, Judicial Educator, Adjunct Professor and Fulbright Scholar on Feb 24, 2023.

Literary and Cultural Festivals

Praveg 22

The Mechanical Engineering Students’ Association (MESA), Institute of Technology organised Praveg 22 on Oct 12-13, 2022 on the theme ‘Know Our Forces’. The event was inaugurated by Air Marshal Vikram Singh, AVSM VSM, Air Officer Commanding in Chief, South Western Air Command, Indian Air Force, and Shri K K Patel, Vice President, Nirma University. An exhibition of advanced weapons and artillery was organised by the Border Security Force and an Induction Publicity Exhibition Vehicle (IPEV) of the Indian Air Force with an aircraft simulator was positioned at the campus of Nirma University. More than 3000 people including college students, school students and faculty members visited the exhibition from different parts of the city. Four Talk Shows were organised as a sub-part of this event. Guest speakers included Lt Gen Asit Mistry (Retd), PVSM AVSM VSM SM, Indian Army; Mr Pulkit Gaur, Chief Technology Officer and Founder, Gridbots Technologies Pvt Ltd; Mr Anant Ladha, Finance Guru and Youtube Sensation; and Mr Abhishek Jain, Director and Producer of Gujarati Movies, CineMan Productions. More than 1500 students attended the Talk Shows. A host of workshops were conducted on Robotics, Aerodynamics, Computer-Aided Design, Computer Aided Manufacturing, Internet of Things, Automobile, Autonomous Underwater Vehicle, and Subconscious Mind. Other than the workshops, technical and non-technical events like Debate, Quiz, Gaming, Talent Hunt, Treasure Hunt, Mechanical Design, and Hackathon were organised with more than 700 participants. A cultural show was organised at the end of the event on Oct 13, 2022 in which a group of Border Security Force presented a Bhangra performance followed by Meghdhanoosh band performance on Gujarati folk songs.

Technophilia 2022     

The International Society of Automation Students’ Chapter at Nirma University organised Technophilia 2022, an amalgamation of socio-technical events on Nov 28-29, 2022. It included robotic workshops like ‘RoboSpree’ which taught the participants how to operate a robotic manipulator arm and ‘RoboKarts’ where participants had the opportunity to assemble a robotic car and control it using the gyroscope of a mobile phone. Other activities were Treasure Hunt, Drum Circle by Rujul Vora, and a talk show ‘Tea with Techies’.

Nirman 22

The organisation of Civil Engineering Students (OrCES), Civil Engineering Department, Institute of Technology organised its annual tech-fest ‘Nirman 22’ on Nov 11-12, 2022 on the theme ‘Innovation and Engineering’. It consisted of various technical and non-technical events, workshops, talk shows and Fire Safety Mock Drill, among others. Technical events include CAD Design, Spot Level, Bridge Fabrication, Geosynthesis, Placement guru, and Best out of Waste. Non-technical events included Box Cricket, War Zone, Treasure Hunt and Talent Hunt. The event was inaugurated by Mr S Mohan Babu, Digital Head, Mumbai-Ahmedabad High-Speed Rail project, L&T Ltd. He conducted a session on the use of digital technologies in the MAHSR project. Mr Vishal Gunani, a TEDx Speaker, published author and entrepreneur headed the Talk Show. The event saw a footfall of more than 700 students from various institutes across all its events.

Rostrum   

Rostrum 2022, the annual cultural programme of the Institute of Pharmacy was organised on Nov 16-17, 2022. Events like song, dance, drama, AD-MAD, Mr and Ms Rostrum, Musical Instruments competition, and mimicry were organised. This year a new event called ‘Pinnacle’ was also introduced in which the students had an opportunity to show their creativity in form of acrobatic formations.

NUZEAL 2023     

NUZEAL 2023, the Inter-Institute cultural festival was organised during Feb 13-16, 2023. As part of the opening ceremony and to mark Nirma University’s two decades of academic excellence, a Cultural Walk was organised on Feb 13, 2023. Mr Mayur Vakani (Sundar), from the popular television show Tarak Mehta Ka Ulta Chasma, joined the ceremony as the Chief Guest. It was followed by musical and dance performances by the students. The day also marked the launch of Nirma University’s first music band. A host of competitions in the field of dance, music, theatre, literature, and fine arts were organised on Feb 14–16, 2023. A drum circle was organised in collaboration with Mr Rujul Vora (The Drum Circle) where close to 500 students, faculty, and staff members participated.

Perspective Richter 10       

Perspective Richter 10, the annual cultural festival of the Institute of Management was organised from Feb 24-26, 2023. The event encompassed 20 competitions and a host of other activities and performances by eminent artists, like Ms Helly Shah, a noted poet presented an evening of soulful poetry; Mr Samay Raina performed a stand-up comedy show; DJ NAC and Progressive brothers performed at the DJ night; and, Zaeden and Stebin Ben presented a soulful music concert. The ‘Nirmatatva’ organised on the theme ‘ACT – Actions Change Things’ hosted the Mumbai Dabbawallas as eminent guest speakers.

SPIC MACAY  

The Students’ Welfare Board and Institute of Pharmacy jointly organised a special performance of Team SPIC MACAY (Society for the Promotion of Indian Classical Music and Culture Amongst Youth) on Feb 16, 2023. It was a privilege to witness the performance of Lakshmi Parthasarathy Athreya, a noted Bharatanatyam soloist of her generation, and recipient of ‘Central Sangeet Natak Akademy Bismillah Khan Yuva Puraskar’.

Elysian 5.0     

Institute of Commerce hosted Elysian 5.0, the fifth edition of its cultural and literary festival during Feb 2-4, 2023. On this occasion, Mr Apoorva Vora, CEO and Founder, Finolutions LLP, GIFT City, Gandhinagar held a session on ‘Career Opportunities with Start-Ups’. Further, a host of competitions were organised under the category of Dance, Music, Literature, Media, Theatre, Fashion, and Fine-Arts. The event ended with a DJ Night performed by renowned DJ – Sound Avatar. The fest received participation of over 550+ students from colleges and universities across the country.

Celebration of Raas Garba   

Institute of Architecture and Planning in association with the Students Welfare Board, Nirma University organised Raas Garba on Oct 7, 2022 for students, faculty and staff members of Nirma University. Mr Mayank Dave (Hon Managing Trustee and Director- Surmadhur – Institution of Music and Dance), Ms Sheetal Makwana (Director, Nrutyasangini Dance Institute) and Mr Tushar Vyas (Dance Teacher, Zydus School for Excellence, Godhavi) were invited as external judges. Around 6000 students and faculty-staff members participated in the Raas Garba. For the Best Performance, Siddharth Solanki from the Institute of Technology was adjudged the winner in the students-male category, Mahek Joshi from the Institute of Commerce was adjudged the winner in the students-female category, Dr Jitendra Menghani from the Institute of Architecture and Planning was adjudged winner in staff/faculty-male category, and Dr Dipal Gandhi from the Institute of Pharmacy was adjudged winner in staff/faculty-female category. Besides this, Harshil Patel from the Institute of Science received the Best Dressing award in the students-male category, and Priyanshi Doshi from the Institute of Design received the Best Dressing award in the students-female category.

Other Events

Hackathon 4.0

The E-Cell of Nirma University hosted the 4^th edition of its flagship event, Hackathon 4.0 during Nov 11-13, 2022. A total of 58 students across Gujarat participated in the event. The aim was to build an idea out of scratch and present it as a feasible business idea. After the brainstorming sessions and problem identification, the teams finally pitched their business ideas to a panel of renowned start-up founders. The mentors included Ms Nikita Lalwani, founder of the Crooze app; Mr Karan Shah, SDG Practitioner and Climate Reality Leader; Mr Niraj Harlalka, CEO and co-founder of Eduberance; and Ms Nikita Maheshwari, co-founder of Tilebazaar and Tatkalorry. The judges for the final pitching were Mr Pratik Patel, an alumnus of Nirma University and co-founder of Yudiz Solutions, a prominent software development company; and Mr Samkit Gandhi, an entrepreneur. Team Feelz from the Institute of Management, Nirma University comprising Komal Thakor (leader), Soumya Sharma, Anshdeepkaur Ajmani, Twisha Trivedi, and Nirja Raghani secured the first position. Their product was a shoe that had heels that could be detached and converted into flat-sole shoes.

FinTalk 2.0

Finesse, the Finance Club of the Institute of Management invited Mr Salim Meman, Assistant Manager, Tata Consultancy Services to give an online talk on ‘Significance of Environmental Social Governance (ESG)’ on Dec 11, 2022.

Parakram 2023  

Institute of Management organised ‘Parakram’, an Inter-Business School Sports Tournament from Jan 23-25, 2023 in which 213 participants from six B-Schools competed in different sports. While the Institute of Management, Nirma University emerged as the winning team MICA finished as the runners-up for the coveted title.

ILNU British Parliamentary Debate 2023   

Debate Society of the Institute of Law conducted ‘The ILNU BPD 2023’ from Feb 17-19, 2023. It hosted 88 teams and more than 60 judges, which made ILNU BPD the biggest British Parliamentary Debate Tournament in the country. The finals of ILNU BPD comprised teams from Stanford University (USA), Osaka University (Japan), UP Diliman (Philippines) and Miranda House (Delhi University). Seamus Allen and Tejas Subramaniam from Stanford University won the tournament.

Foundation Day at Institute of Pharmacy

The 20^th Foundation Day of the Institute of Pharmacy was celebrated on Oct 1, 2022. Shri Amit Bakshi, Chairman and Managing Director, Eris Life Sciences, Ahmedabad was the Chief Guest. On this occasion, meritorious students were given gold medals and the students, faculty, staff and alumni were felicitated for their outstanding achievements. Various competitions were also organised like Elocution, Extempore, Debate, Photography, T-shirt painting and Rangoli making.

Orientation Programme at Institute of Pharmacy

• Institute of Pharmacy organised Orientation Programme for its first batch of PharmD programme students and some of the other batches during Nov 18-19, 2022. Dr Parth Desai, Chief Operating Officer, KD Hospital, Ahmedabad was the Chief Guest.
• The Institute organised an Orientation Programme for new entrants to BPharm Programme during Dec 22-28, 2022. Dr Ganeshchandra Sonavane, Vice President (R&D), FTF Pharma Pvt Ltd, Ahmedabad was the Chief Guest. Various technical and policy-related sessions were organised to give students an idea about the field of Pharmacy, and the systems followed at Nirma University.

IOGA-ILNU Global Roundtable

Institute of Law conducted the IOGA-ILNU Global Roundtable on ‘The Future of Blockchain Technology’ on Nov 20, 2022 in online mode. Some of the speakers included Dr Chandrika Subramanyan, Principal Solicitor, Success Lawyers and Barristers, Sydney, Australia; Mr Alkali Amana, Certified Speaker, Business and Social Causes, Abuja, Nigeria; Dr Josina Rodrigues, Blockchain Advisor, Porto, Portugal; Mr Chintan Oza, Founder, Anantam Ecosystems Pvt Ltd, Mumbai; Dr M K Bhandari, Chief Executive Officer, ILTES, Founding Director, IOGA, Hyderabad; and Mr Kamlesh Nagware, Chief Technology Officer, Blockchain, Snapper Future Tech, Pune.

International Teaching Month

Institute of Law organised the inaugural ceremony of its flagship programme ‘International Teaching Month’ on Feb 13, 2023. Hon’ble Judge Mel Flanagan, Former Circuit Judge USA and Adjunct Professor, University of Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina was the Chief Guest. Dr Ricky Lee, Intellectual Forum Senior Research Associate, Jesus College, University of Cambridge, England was the Guest of Honour at the event. Every year, the institute hosts International Teaching Month as its signature event. This event serves as a symbol of the institute’s dedication to internationalisation, a plan to include an international and intercultural perspective into the legal curriculum. The institute hosted over 40 eminent speakers from across the globe.

Field Visits     

Students visit Mundra Port  

Seventy-five students from first-year BCom (Hons) along with four faculty members visited Adani Port, Adani Wilmar Plant, and Adani Power processing plants at Mundra during Jan 20-21, 2023. The students were briefed on handling container cargo, manufacturing process of edible oils, power generation process, and practical operational and manufacturing aspects of the overall business.

Field Studio at Varkala, Kerala     

Fifty-four students of the 3^rd and 4^th year BArch programme, Institute of Architecture and Planning visited Varkala, Kerala for a Field Studio Programme from Jan 7-16, 2023 along with the faculty mentors. The objective was to study the socio-economic and environmental concerns of the built environment in the famous pilgrim centre and beach tourism destination. Based on their study, students made proposals for urban design interventions and presented them to a jury at Varkala Rangakala Kendram on Jan 14, 2023.

Related Study Programme  

Institute of Architecture and Planning conducted a Related Study Programme in Kerala from Jan 8-21, 2023. A group of 50 students along with three faculty members visited Kochi, Alappuzha and Thiruvananthapuram as a part of this tour. Activities included visit to historically important monuments and urban areas, and a hands-on brick construction workshop at the Laurie Baker Centre, Costford.

Ahmedabad Heritage Documentation

Semester IV students of the Institute of Architecture and Planning were a part of the documentation process at Khadia 1 area of Ahmedabad in collaboration with Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation to list the existing condition of the identified buildings of Grade 3 in the said area. The exercise also involved the measured drawing of the identified building to help them understand the building elements of the traditional buildings of Ahmedabad city situated in the heritage core of the city.

Industrial Visit to Semiconductor Laboratory

An industrial visit to Semiconductor Laboratory, Chandigarh was organised for the postgraduate students of the Electronics and Communications department (Embedded System and VLSI), Institute of Technology on Jan 9, 2023. The purpose of the visit was to help students realise the process of fabrication at 180 nm process node, and explore its various associated devices. The tour started with an introductory video of the organisation, followed by exploring the fabrication process for 6” and 8” inch silicon wafers and ended with packaging and testing of various devices made out of these wafers.

Rural Exposure and Documentation

Eighty-one students (Batch of 2022) of the Institute of Design were a part of the Rural Exposure and Documentation programme conducted during Feb 13-18, 2023. The students were split into three groups where Group 1 went to Jatan Sansthan, Udaipur; Group 2 visited Waghai Dang; and Group 3 visited Bhuj, Kutch. The students were required to observe, absorb, immerse and document the processes and place together their learning in the form of a journal including photographs, sketches and text. Each group was mentored by two faculty members.