Legal Aid Symposium at Institute of Law      
Legal Aid Clinic, Nirma University organised a Legal Aid Symposium on Feb 10, 2024 in which twelve colleges across Gujarat participated.   Hon’ble Mr Justice Kamal Mehta, (Retd.) Judge of the Gujarat High Court was the chief guest. He delivered a thought-provoking session on the importance of Legal Aid from the perspectives of the Constitution of India, varied landmark judgments of the Hon’ble Supreme Court of India, and the noble work of jurists of law. Dr MRK Prasad from V M Salgaocar College of Law, Goa provided practical aspects of Legal Services work and demonstrated the way of implementation in the law colleges. Dr Kalpesh Gupta, Founder of Pro-Bono India shared his experience on Legal Aid Activities in the different law colleges. Shri R A Trivedi, Member Secretary, Gujarat State Legal Service Authority delivered a distinguished lecture on Free Legal Services provided by the Gujarat State Legal Service Authority. The symposium provided an opportunity to know the Legal Services activities from different perspectives and enhance the knowledge and understanding of the participants for the Legal Services activities.

Elocution Competition 
The NSS Unit of the Institute of Commerce hosted an Elocution Competition on Jan 20, 2024 as part of the Gujarat Cultural Elocution Competition organised by the NSS Department of Higher Education of Gujarat on the theme ‘Save Culture Save Bharat’. The participants spoke on topics such as Nation-building through character building, and Value education: an imperative for the present times. Deekshita Athreya from the Institute of Technology stood first, and Abhilasha Sunil Kajalkar from the Institute of Pharmacy stood second.

Pro-Bono Club Visit
The Pro Bono Club of the Institute of Law conducted a visit to Jammiyatpura village on March 6, 2024. Legal experts highlighted the importance of legal aid services and educated villagers about their rights. The objective of the event was to provide legal assistance, enhance access to governmental services, and empower the community with knowledge about seeking legal help when needed.

NSS Residential Camp at Paliyad    
Institute of Design organised a 7-day NSS residential camp from March 3-10, 2024 at Paliyad village. The camp served as a remarkable platform for the team of 25 volunteers to refine their skill sets and engage in a diverse range of activities. From participating in rallies and workshops to conducting surveys, painting the school walls, and organising plantation drives, the volunteers displayed remarkable dedication and a spirit of service. The camp also witnessed the successful execution of events like a Women’s Day celebration, a speech competition, and drawing competition focusing on environmental awareness, and women’s empowerment. Further, the volunteers equipped the village women with valuable insights on product marketing, branding strategies, and utilising social media platforms to enhance their entrepreneurial handicraft business. This initiative has the potential to significantly improve their income generation through innovative marketing techniques.

NSS Residential Camp at Lapkaman
The NSS Unit, Institute of Law organised a residential camp at Lapkaman village from March 1-7, 2024. Students interacted with the villagers through various events and activities like Cleanliness Drive, Voting Awareness Drive, Health Camp, Drawing Competition, CERC session on Financial Fraud, Diya Painting, Career Counselling Session, Self Defence Workshop, Cultural Night which included Prize Distribution, Dance Performances, Music Performances and Nukad Nattak.

Other Activities

• A blood donation camp commemorating the birthday of Shri Acharya Devvrat Ji, the Honorable Governor of Gujarat, was conducted by the Government of Gujarat in collaboration with the Red Cross Society on Jan 18, 2024. NSS volunteers from the Institute of Pharmacy actively participated in this blood donation initiative. This endeavour underscores the Institute of Pharmacy’s commitment to social responsibility, emphasising the significance of engaging students in meaningful social activities.
• The Mechanical Engineering Student Association (MESA), Institute of Technology organised a donation drive in January 2024. For this drive, different items like clothes, footwear, toys etc. were collected and distributed to the needy people residing in the areas nearby to the university campus on Jan 16, 2024.
• A grocery donation drive was conducted by the NSS Unit, Institute of Pharmacy on Feb 21, 2024.
• The NSS Unit at the Institute of Law and Institute of Commerce, in collaboration with Prathama Blood Bank, organised a Blood Donation Camp on Feb 13, 2024. A total of 540 Units of blood was collected in a day.
• The Lawyer Incubation Clinic at the Institute of Law organised a visit to the High Court of Gujarat on Feb 16, 2024. During the visit the students got the opportunity to interact with Adv. Kashyap Joshi who has been practising at Gujarat High Court. He shared his experience of litigation and his journey and gave some valuable insights to all the students concerning the practical aspects of the legal field.
• Institute of Law conducted an outreach initiative at the Jamiyatpura Sreshth Shala on Feb 28, 2024. The team organised a street play to engage students and raise awareness about government scholarship schemes, promoting education accessibility. Initiatives like Skill India and Khelo India for holistic development were endorsed.
• The NSS Unit of the Institute of Pharmacy conducted a ‘Voter Awareness drive’ at the Hirpura village, Mehsana on March 16, 2024. The volunteers actively engaged in disseminating information about the significance of voting in the forthcoming election. Door-to-door campaigns for voter awareness, supplemented by posters, were conducted to boost voter turnout and participation.
• Institute of Pharmacy took a significant step towards enhancing healthcare preparedness by hosting ‘Basic Life Support Skills and CPR training’ for all the new students of the institute on Feb 19, 2024. Dr Vivek Nanda, Consultant in Emergency Medicine from KD Hospital, Ahmedabad, led an insightful session providing hands-on training in CPR techniques with the use of a mannequin.
• Institute of Management in association with the Indian Red Cross Society, Gujarat organised a CPR Training programme from March 18-19, 2024. It was attended by 450+ students along with 50+ faculty and staff members.