BITS Pilani

  • Last updated on Monday, September 19, 2022

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BITS Pilani, K K Birla Goa Campus CONVOCATION 2022

Convocation 2022 was held in the magnificent auditorium of BITS Pilani, K K Birla Goa Campus on 11th September 2022. Dr. Rajesh S. Gokhale, Secretary, Department of Biotechnology, Government of India was the Chief Guest for the Convocation.

 

Dr. Kumar Mangalam Birla, Chancellor, BITS Pilani; Mr. Dilip Gaur, Member of the Board of Governors; Prof. Souvik Bhattacharyya, Vice-Chancellor, BITS Pilani; Prof. Suman Kundu, Director, BITS Pilani, Goa Campus; Prof. Sudhir Kumar Barai, Director, BITS Pilani, Pilani Campus; Prof. Prof. Srinivasan Madapusi, Director, BITS Pilani, Dubai Campus; Members of the Senate, Faculty & staff members of Goa campus and several distinguished guests, along with the graduating students and their family members were present on this joyous occasion.

 

In his convocation address, Dr. Rajesh Gokhale, lauded BITS Pilani University as a veritable center of innovation, research and entrepreneurial energy. He urged the graduating students to carry forward the innovative spirit embedded in the BITS system and work towards positioning our nation as a global power.

In his address, Dr. Kumar Mangalam Birla, Chancellor of BITS Pilani University, pointed out that the pandemic opened up opportunities for innovation in technology and science. He motivated the graduating students to use the knowledge acquired at BITS and transform this world through their expertise in science and technology.

Prof. Souvik Bhattacharyya, the Vice-Chancellor of BITS Pilani University, presented an overview of the University’s accomplishments, and in particular, highlighted its pioneering role in fostering innovation and entrepreneurship in higher education. The Director, Prof. Suman Kundu gave a detailed report of BITS Pilani Goa Campus, offering a comprehensive overview of the advances in research, new initiatives and collaborations of the Institute.

 

The medal winners from the Bachelor’s degree programs include: Mr. Jagtap Nishant Nanasaheb (Gold Medal), Mr. Yash Joshi (Silver Medal) and Mr. Aryan Sanjay Ochani (Bronze Medal). This year 1029 students were declared eligible to receive their degree, of which 36 were Doctoral degree, 157 were ME, 4 were MPhil, 593 were BE and 239 were MSc. Over 70% of the students received their degree in person at this convocation while the remaining students were dispatched their degrees to them. In this convocation ceremony, 150 students who graduated through the Work Integrated Learning program (WILP) also received their degrees.

 

This year altogether eighteen awards - Distinguished Alumnus, Distinguished Services and BITS Ratna Award, presented to BITS Alumni for outstanding contributions to BITS, the community, and society, were announced. Two alumni: Mr. J C Chaudhry, Managing Director of Aakash Institute/Aakash IIT-JEE and Mr. Diaz Nesamoney, Founder, President, and CEO Jivox received their awards in Goa Convocation. Mr. Chaudhry has won the award in the Category of Entrepreneurship whereas Mr. Nesamoney has in the Category of Public Life/ Entrepreneurship/ Philanthropy.

 

Mr. Prashanth Palakurthi, (Founder, Reflexis systems) was the recipient of the first BITS Ratna Award which was presented to him in Pilani Convocation. Shri Palakurthi made a generous donation of $1M to BITS Pilani, his alma mater, the largest individual pledge ever received by BITS Pilani, for setting up the Anuradha and Prashanth Palakurthi Centre for Artificial Intelligence Research (APPCAIR) in Goa campus and to support the Innovation Centre in Pilani campus.

 

Prof. D M Kulkarni, Dean, Administration, BITS Pilani, Goa campus, concluded the ceremony by presenting the Vote of Thanks.

 

The recipients of the Distinguished Alumnus Award are Prof. Sameer Sonkusale (Professor, Tufts University), Prof. Nasir Memon (Vice- Dean, New York University), Prof. Kartik Hosanagar (Professor, Wharton School) Prof. Arul Jayaraman (Professor, Texas A&M University), Ms. Pramad Jandhyala (Co-Founder, LatentView Analytics), Mr. J. C. Chaudhry (Chairman, Aakash Educational Services), Mr. Bhuvan Gupta (Co-founder of two Unicorns), Dr. Jagadeesh Babu Rangisetty (Founder & CEO, Biophore India Pharmaceuticals), Mr. Samay Kohli ( Co – founder, GreyOrange), Mr. Akash Gupta ( Chief Technology Officer, GreyOrange), Dr. Thampy Thomas (Entrepreneur), Mr. Sushil Kumar Roongta (Chairman, BALCO), Mr. Vivek Paul (Adjunct Professor, Stanford University), Dr. Vikram Sampath ( Writer & Historian), Prof. T.N. Vijay kumar (Professor, Purdue University), Prof. Padmanabhan Seshaiyer (Professor, George Mason University), Prof. Malla Raghava Rao ( Deputy Chief, National Institute of Health, Bethesda), Mr. Nandan Reddy (Co-founder, Swiggy), Mr. Diaz Nesomoney (Founder & CEO, Jivox), Mr. Sriharsha Majety (Co-founder, Swiggy), Mr. Abhinav Asthana (Co-founder & CEO, Postman), Mr. Abhijit Kane (Co-founder, Postman), Mr. T.M. Vijay Bhaskar (Chairman, Second Karnataka Administrative Reforms Commission), Mr. Sukumar Ranganathan (Editor-in –chief, Hindustan Times), Mr. Ranjan Kumar Mohapatra (Director, Human Resources, Indian Oil Corporation), Ms. Ramkripa Ananthan (Chief of Design, Mahindra & Mahindra), Mr. Pratik Pota (CEO, Jubilant Foodworks), Prof. Madan Pillutla (Professor, London Business School), Prof. Milind Tambe (Gordon Mckay Professor, Harvard University), Prof. Krishnan Balasubramanian (Emeritus Professor, Arizona State University), Prof. Gerard George (Dean, Lee Kong Chian Business School), Prof. Aditya P. Mathur (Emeritus Professor, Purdue University), Mr. Jayan Raman Kutty (Co-founder, KRK Ventures), Mr. Rakesh Verma (Co-Founder, MapmyIndia), Mr. Sunil Nanda (Founder, Pilani Atmanirbhar Resource Centre), Mr. Anurag Jain (Managing Partner, Perot Jain), Mr. Subhash Malhotra (CEO & Founder, Claridge Homes), Ms. Revathi Advaithi (CEO, Flex), and Mr. Kishore Rajvanshy (Managing Director, Fleet Management).

 

The Distinguished Services Award has been conferred posthumously to Captain Ravi Shankar of the Indian army. Other recipients of the Distinguished Services Award are Mr. M.P. Sharma (Chairman, Techmart Group), Mr. Ramaswami Nagarajan (Coordinator, BITSSAA Australia), Mr. Srikanth Krishnamurthy (Managing Director, Alpha Rubber & Springs), and Mr. Pradeep Sethi (CEO, Corporate Insight).

 

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Synergistic Training program Utilizing the Scientific and Technological Infrastructure (STUTI)

A Special Talk Series with Hands-on Training/Demo on Sophisticated instruments
 
September 26 - October 2, 2022
 
 
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TEACHERS’ DAY CELEBRATION-2022

The Teaching-Learning Center (TLC) of BITS Pilani, K K Birla Goa Campus celebrated the teachers' day event "Samarpan 2022" on 5th September 2022.

During the event, faculty members who completed more than 10 years of service in BITS-Pilani University were felicitated by the Director, Prof Suman Kundu.

Teaching Excellence Awards (TEA-2022) were awarded to our faculty members Dr. Pravin Mane (EEE), Dr. Mayank Goel (Mathematics), Prof. Ranjan Dey (Chemistry) and Prof. Manoj Kumar Pandey (Mathematics).
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Congratulations to Prof. Rajesh Mehrotra for winning the V S Rao Foundation’s C R Mitra Best Faculty Award 2021

Rajesh Mehrotra is the winner of VS Rao foundation CR Mitra best Faculty award 2021.It comes with a certificate and a cash prize of Rs 100000.
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BITS Pilani Goa Campus alumnus awarded prestigious Skoll Scholarship (2022-23)

Mr. Avinash Kothuri, a 2010 batch alumnus of BITS Pilani, K K Birla Goa Campus has been awarded the prestigious Skoll Scholarship (2022-23) - a fully-funded scholarship for the Oxford MBA at the Saïd Business School, University of Oxford, provided by the Skoll Centre for Social Entrepreneurship. Avinash is one of the four students who are awarded this fellowship this year.

 

Avinash Kothuri was Director of inclusive education at Thinkerbell Labs, which builds ed-tech solutions to improve learning outcomes for the visually impaired. Thinkerbell Lab’s flagship product, Annie, is the world's first Braille literacy device. Avi was a core part of Annie's journey from a prototype to a fully-fledged Braille teaching device, being used by children across continents. Prior to this, Avi worked with SocialCops to help governments and nonprofit organisations make better decisions using data. Avi is a mechanical engineering graduate from BITS Pilani Goa. In 2019, he was one of 25 people selected worldwide for the Dalai Lama Fellowship Program.

Thinkerbell Labs was founded by four BITS Pilani Goa Campus students in 2016 - Sanskriti Dawle, Aman Srivastava, Dilip Ramesh and Saif Shaikh. Earlier this year they participated in Shark Tank India, an Indian business reality television show and were able to attract funding of Rs. 1.05 Cr by three Sharks - Namita Thapar, Peyush Bansal and Anupam Mittal.

 

The Skoll Scholarship provides funding for entrepreneurs who have set up or have been working in entrepreneurial initiatives with a social purpose or who have pursued an impact career, and who wish to improve their knowledge of market-oriented practices so they can be more effective in their subsequent social change pursuits.

 

In addition to financial support, the Scholarship also provides access to the Skoll Scholar community, a group of leaders who are positively impacting the world through innovation and systems change, as well as exclusive opportunities to meet with world-renowned entrepreneurs, thought leaders, and investors.

 

Applications for the Skoll Scholarship (2023/2024) are now open and applications are due during stages 1, 2 or 3 of the MBA admissions process. Visit Skoll Scholarship website to find out more!

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International Conference on Drug Discovery - 2022

Schrödinger and BITS Pilani K. K. Birla Goa Campus are organizing the fourth edition of the International Conference on Drug Discovery - 2022 (ICDD-2022): Success Stories - From Computation to Clinical Trials. Scientists from pharmaceutical companies across the globe will be presenting their breakthroughs in designing novel drug molecules using advanced computational tools. This event will provide a unique opportunity to interact and network with top scientists and learn about the exciting developments and trends in computer-driven drug discovery. Participants will also have the opportunity to present their scientific work during the poster sessions. The conference will conclude with a panel discussion on current and future trends in drug discovery.

 

For more details, please visit: https://www.schrodinger.com/ICDD-2022

 

You may also write to icdd2022@goa.bits-pilani.ac.in

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Chemical Engineering PhD Student, Fehad Nabi Khan recommended to receive the Prime Minister's Fellowship

Mr. Fehad Nabi Khan, a PhD student in the Department of Chemical Engineering at BITS Pilani, K K Birla Goa campus has been recommended to receive the prestigious Prime Minister's Fellowship to pursue Doctoral research. The fellowship is tenable for a maximum period of 4 years.

 

Mr. Fehad will be working under the supervision of Prof. Srinivas Krishnaswamy from the Department of Chemical Engineering on investigating “Multicomponent Phase Equilibria Studies in Water of Gaseous Components Present in Tail Gas Streams of Carbon Black Plants”.

 

The present work is part of a larger project which aims to recover water from tail gas streams of carbon black plants. The research will involve conducting experimental studies on the solubility of multicomponent gas mixtures (present in tail gas exiting carbon black plants) in water and understanding the associated phase equilibria. This work will provide an insight of the energetics of separation based on which a process scheme to recover water from tail gas can be synthesized. 

 

Birla Carbon is the industrial partner in this work. 

 

Synopsis of work

As fresh water is becoming a less abundant natural resource, retrieving water from different wastewater sources, such as industrial wastewater, brackish water, produced water, as well as sea water, becomes a promising choice to produce fresh water. But these processes are typically energy intensive and still not cost competitive for wide commercial use. On the other hand, there is another wastewater source that was not given enough attention. This is the water vapor contained in many waste gas streams (exiting stacks), which is present in many industrial processes like a carbon black plant. Any attempt to recover this water will have advantages of recycling / reuse of water and energy, reduction of stress on nearby water bodies and environmental pollution. 

 

The present work is part of a larger project which aims to recover water from the tail gas stream of carbon black plants. This stream is rich in water content (~30-50% by volume) and contains hydrocarbons, NOx, SOx, H2S, CO/CO2, N2, Hand other species in varying concentrations. Any attempt to separate water from this mixture will require detailed understanding of the solubility of these gases in water on an individual and/or combined basis.

 

It is therefore proposed to conduct experimental studies on the solubility of multicomponent gas mixtures (representative of the gaseous mixture in tail gas streams) in water and the associated phase equilibria. The significance of understanding the solubility and associated phase equilibria will provide an insight of the energetics of separation based on which a process scheme can be synthesized. 

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Goa Police and BITS Pilani Goa Campus Collaborate for Innovation in Policing

BITS Pilani, K K Birla Goa Campus and Goa Police are set to work together to bring innovative solutions to strengthen policing in the state. 

 

Director General of Police, Shri Jaspal Singh IPS and Prof. Suman Kundu, Director BITS Pilani Goa Campus, exchanged a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in this regard. The MoU will enable them to jointly explore research and development projects involving Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, and other technologies to enable predictive policing and anticipate the demands of the future. They will also work on cybersecurity related initiatives to fight cybercrime.

 

BITS Goa and Goa Police will work together to create large scale awareness among citizens. Both the institutions plan sharing of expertise, technical know-how and resources for the stated goals. Possibilities of conducting specialized courses for training of police officers and students in subjects related to technology and crime were also discussed.

 

On this occasion, Prof. Kundu said, academic institutes have the potential to help in providing scientific insights to investigators on a practical level. Modern digital tools coupled with out of the box thinking can extend the realm of possibilities in areas of digital forensics and cybercrime. Director, BITS Goa further said that this initiative will enable them to contribute to Goa Police as well as to the country through student internship, hackathons, etc. DGP Shri Jaspal Singh commented, that there is huge scope to apply artificial intelligence to solve complex security related problems. The shared understanding between both BITS Goa and Goa Police will go a long way to serve citizens of Goa in a more efficient and effective manner. The MoU ceremony was witnessed by IGP Goa, SP (Crime), Dean (Administration) and Associate Dean (Sponsored Research and Consultancy Division) of BITS Goa.

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76th Independence Day Celebrations at BITS Pilani K K Birla Goa Campus

National Flag hoisted by
 
Prof. Suman Kundu, Director BITS Pilani K K Birla Goa Campus
 
Mr. Nidhin Valsan, IPS Supdt of Police, Crime Branch & Special Branch, Goa Police
 
Capt. Anand Revi, Captain (Technical) at INS Hansa
 
Prof. D M Kulkarni, Dean Administration, BITS Pilani K K Goa Campus
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Azadi ka Amrit Mohatsav at BITS Pilani K K Birla Goa campus

BITS Pilani, K K Birla Goa Campus celebrates Azadi ka Amrit Mohatsav and Har Ghar Tiranga
 
The Schedule is as follows
 
1. 13th August: Painting Competition at 5:00 pm in SAC.
 
2. 14th August: Dance and Singing Competition in SAC from 5:00 pm onwards
 
3. 15th August: Flag Hoisting and singing of National Anthem and National Song in Flag Hoisting Area. This will be followed by Sweet distribution and Cultural Programs in the mini auditorium.
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BITS Pilani’s Project Kratos secured 2nd rank at Anatolian Rover Challenge, Turkey

Project Kratos, a Mars Rover team from BITS Pilani, K K Birla Goa Campus secured a worldwide rank of 2nd and stood 1st in Asia in the finals of the Anatolian Rover Challenge (ARC) held in Istanbul, Turkey. The team has also been awarded the best ‘Autonomous and Controls Vertical’ and ‘Science Vertical’ by consensus of the Judges and Jury. Kratos scored the most points amongst all the teams in Mission 3 (Testing capabilities of Robotic Arm) and Mission 4 (Testing Science vertical), with a 98 out of 100 score in the latter. Prof. Suman Kundu, Director of BITS Pilani, K K Birla Goa Campus congratulated the team on behalf of the Institute.

 

The Challenge, held from 22nd to 25th July 2022, was organized by the Space Exploration Society (UKET), and the final round of the competition hosted over 12 participant teams from all across the world. The competition was highly multidisciplinary and the tasks tested every aspect of the rover. Besides BITS Pilani, IIT Madras was another team from India that participated in the finals.

 

The various challenges in competition included picking soil samples and identifying them for signs of life, using a robotic arm to lift and manipulate heavy payloads and traversing autonomously through undulating terrain.

 

The project has participated in the Indian Rover Challenge 2020, the International Mars Hackathon (IMH) conducted by MSSA, International Rover Design Challenge (IRDC) 2021 and URC 2022. At the International Rover Challenge 2020, Project Kratos has qualified top among the new teams. The team secured the topmost position among the Indian competitors, ranked 2nd in Asia and finished 20th worldwide in URC 2022 (held in June 2022 at Utah, the USA). In the Science Task category, the team ranked 12th worldwide.

 

The students’ team was led by Mr. Saurabh Kalra and supervised by Prof. Toby Joseph (Faculty at Dept. of Physics).

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Congratulations to Prof. Ranjan Dey and Prof. Prasanta Kumar Das

BITS Pilani’s Prof. Ranjan Dey invited to Statistical Mechanics and Thermodynamics Group Committee of the Royal Society of Chemistry

 

Recently, Prof. Ranjan Dey from BITS Pilani, K K Birla Goa Campus has been invited to join the Statistical Mechanics and Thermodynamics Group Committee of the Royal Society of Chemistry. Prof. Dey is Associate Professor, Department of Chemistry, and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry (FRSC), U.K. The designation FRSC is given to a small group of elected Fellows of the Society who have made outstanding contribution in the field of Chemistry.

 

Dr. Ranjan Dey has over 20 years of teaching experience, first at the University of Allahabad, Prayagraj and since 2006 at BITS Pilani, K K Birla Goa Campus, during which he has taught a number of discipline, interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary courses. He has delivered several keynote and invited lectures in India and abroad including for THERMAM 2019 in Izmir in Turkey; at University of Heidelberg, Germany; and at NTUST, Taipei, Taiwan where he was also a Visiting Associate Professor in 2016.

 

He has around 75 publications in various peer reviewed journals with more than 1000 citations and is a Reviewer for over 10 international journals. He has been awarded Outstanding Reviewer from Journal of Molecular Liquids and International Journal of Biological Macromolecules in recognition of the contributions made to the quality of the journal. He was invited as Academic Visitor to the Department of Chemistry, Cambridge University, U.K. and spent the summer of 2018 working under the mentorship of Prof. David Wales, a world-renowned authority in the field of Potential Energy Landscapes. His areas of research interest are Thermophysical Properties of Liquid Mixtures, Prediction of Properties, Water- Energy Nexus and New and Renewable Energy.

 

 

 

BITS Pilani’s Prof. Prasanta Kumar Das selected in the Visiting Associateship Programme at the Inter-University Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics (IUCAA), Pune

 

Recently, Prof. Prasanta Kumar Das, a faculty in the Department of Physics of BITS Pilani K K Birla Goa Campus has been selected in the Visiting Associateship Programme at the Inter-University Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics (IUCAA), Pune.

 

IUCAA plays a center of excellence within the university sector for teaching, research and development in Astronomy and Astrophysics and the Visiting Associateship Programme of IUCAA gives a mobility to a faculty member of Indian University can visit IUCAA to develop his or her interest and expertise in Astronomy and Astrophysics.  

 

Dr. Das works in the area of Astrophysics, Cosmology and High Energy Physics.  His primary interest is in Inflationary Cosmology, Collider and Astrophysical Signature of Dark Matter and Extra dimension(s) and Quantum Computation in High Energy Physics/Astrophysics.

 

Dr. Das has 36 publications in peer-reviewed International Journals. He has collaborators from Institutes/Universities of National and International repute. He is a Reviewer of several International Journals like European Physical Journal C, International Journal of High Energy Physics, Progress of Theoretical and Experimental Physics., Journal of Statistical Mechanics: Theory and Experiment.  

 

He has been invited to visit several universities in the USA e.g. University of Kansas, Kansas; University of Washington at St. Louis, Syracuse University, NY and Kansas State University at Kansas.  Dr. Das is currently the Member of the Executive Council of the Square Kilometer Array (SKA) - India Consortium and he is also associated with the LIGO India Collaboration at present.
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Congratulations to Mr. Sukrut Tamhankar Goa Campus alumni (ME Embedded System, 2020) for performing on Professional Stage.

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BITS Pilani Goa Campus student selected for semester exchange at the University of Guelph, Canada

Mr. Advait Anil Menon (2019A4PS0414G), a fourth-year student of Dept. of Mechanical Engineering has been selected for a semester exchange at the prestigious University of Guelph, Canada in Semester I of AY 2022-23 (i.e. Sept - Dec 2022).

 

Mr. Advait will be receiving a scholarship of total tuition fees waiver during his semester exchange at the host university.  The selection was a competitive process amongst BITS students and was based on the overall academic performance of students. The entire process of shortlisting and selection of the student was coordinated by International Programmes & Collaboration Division (IPCD), BITS Pilani, K K Goa Campus and Centre for International Programs Office, University of Guelph.

 

BITS Pilani congratulates and wishes Advait all the best for his semester exchange at University of Guelph.

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BITSAT 2022 (Session II)

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The Young Entrepreneur/ Alumni Meet held on 9th & 10th July 2022

Prof. Souvik Bhattacharya, Vice Chancellor of BITS Pilani along with Prof. Sudhirkumar Barai, Director of Pilani Campus; Prof. Suman Kundu, Director of K K Birla Goa Campus; and Prof. Srinivasan M, Director of Dubai Campus interacted with 17 BITS Pilani alumni during an exclusive ‘Young Entrepreneur/ Alumni Meet’ organised at BITS Pilani, K K Birla Goa Campus on 9th & 10th July 2022. 

 

The meet was organised by Alumni Relations Division (ARD) of the K. K. Birla Goa Campus under the guidance of Prof. Veeky Baths, Associate Dean, ARD of Goa Campus.

 

BITS leadership invited and interacted with these distinguished BITS alumni who have left a significant mark in the start-up and business world. Various issues regarding the start-up ecosystem were discussed during the meet. The discussion also focussed on possible policies that could be adopted to encourage start-up culture across the BITS campuses, and measures to increase student engagement. The alumni felt that such fruitful discussion would certainly help improve the thriving entrepreneurial culture in BITS and encourage students to risk the start-up path.

 
Participants of the Young Entrepreneur/Alumni Meet
 
 

Sr

Name of Alumnus

Campus

Designation

Company

1

Sarthak Singh

Goa

Investor

Accel partners

2

Yashoraj Tyagi

Goa

CTO/ CBO

Cashe

3

Shourya Agrawal

Goa

Co-founder

Flam

4

Mohit Bhandari

Goa

Co-founder & CTO

Stratzy

5

Sangle Gaurav Rajendra

Goa

Co-founder & CTO

Stratzy

6

Balasubramanian Sundararaman

Pilani

Founder & CEO

Klinik Everywhere Technologies Pvt Ltd.

7

Anmol Shrivastava

Goa

Founder

Stealth Mode

8

Shreyans Sancheti

Goa

Co-founder

Bluelearn

9

Harish Uthayakumar

Goa

Co-founder

Bluelearn

10

Aishwarya Das

Goa

Head of Strategy & Partnerships

Graviky labs

11

Anand Dhamsaniya

Goa

Head Foreign Trade

Jebruna International Private Limited

12

Vignesh Mallya

Goa

Associate Director-Business Operations

ElevateHQ

13

Vatsal Sanghvi

Goa

Business Development Manager

Flipkart

14

Taaha Nizam

Goa

CEO

Incepthinks

15

Ishan sharma

Goa

Co-Founder

MarkitUp.in

16

Mehul Mohan

Goa

CEO

Codedamn

17

Hitesh Mehta

Goa

Business Analyst

Udaan

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Conference on Education Outside the Classroom

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BITS Pilani participates in the first “Biotech Startup Expo-2022”

The first “Biotech Startup Expo-2022”, organized by the Department of Biotechnology (DBT), GoI together with BIRAC and other Co-Partners (Ministry of Higher Education, DPIIT and DST), was held during 9th – 10th June 2022. The expo was inaugurated by Honourable Prime Minister of India, Shri Narenda Modi.

 

The objective of this Expo was to bring together  #startups, #investors, #manufacturers and #Academic & #research institutions on a common platform.   More than 300 Exhibitors (both Startups and Bio-incubators) participated in this Expo.

 

BITS Pilani participated in the event with a contingent of 15 faculties and displayed multiple technologies developed by the Institute of Excellence.  From the K. K. Birla Goa Campus, Prof. Sunil Bhand and Prof. Meenal Kowshik led the efforts.  Prof. Srikanth Mutnuri (Dept. of Biological Sciences, BITS Pilani, K K Birla Goa Campus), who was one of the participants, expressed his views on the event in the following video.

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8th International Yoga Day observed at BITS Pilani, K K Birla Goa Campus

8th International Yoga Day was observed at the Students Activity Center (SAC) of BITS Pilani, K K Birla Goa Campus. The program was also streamed live on YouTube for the BITS community members who did not attend the programme.

 

The programme was inaugurated by the Director, Prof. Suman Kundu in the presence of the Dean – Administration, Prof. D. M. Kulkarni; Associate Dean (SWD), Prof. Angshuman Sarkar; and Physical Education Instructor & Incharge SAC, Mr. Ajay Kewat.

 

‘Yoga Guru’, Mr. Sharad Chopdekar demonstrated various yoga asanas which were performed by the attendees. Mr. Chopdekar narrated its benefits to the attendees.

 

Prof. Kundu felicitated Yoga Guru Mr. Chopdekar for conducting the programme. Prof. Kundu appreciated the efforts of Dean Administration, Associate Dean SWD, Mr. A K Patil, and Mr. Baiju and the AV Unit in making the programme successful.

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DUO-SWEDEN 2022 Student Fellowship Award to Goa Campus Student

IPCD is pleased to inform you that one of our Goa Campus student Mr Atharva Rahul Bhamburkar Institute ID: 2019A3PS0456G, Department of Electrical & Electronics Engineering, has been selected for a semester exchange at KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Sweden in Semester II AY 2022-23 (January 2023- May 2023). The student is awarded the prestigious DUO-SWEDEN 2022 Fellowship Award and will be receiving a scholarship amount of €4000/- (Euros) during his semester exchange (January 2023- August 2023) at KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Sweden. The selection was a competitive process and was based on several parameters including overall academic performance of student.

Simultaneously, student Ms Elin Saks from KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Sweden will be spending a semester at Goa Campus in SEM II AY 2022-23 and will be receiving a scholarship of € 3000/- under the DUO-SWEDEN Fellowship Programme. The student's selection details are published on the ASEM DUO Fellowship programme website at the following link(Duo-Sweden 2022 Finalists.pdf). 

About DUO-Sweden 2022 Fellowship Programme
 
The DUO-Sweden Fellowship Programme was established in 2010 with the aim of promoting exchanges of students between Sweden and 21 Asian countries, Contributing to setting up regular-basis exchange programs between Asian and European countries and establishing deeper understanding between two regions

The entire process of shortlisting and selection of students was coordinated by IPCD, BITS Pilani K K Goa Campus and International Student Recruitment & Mobility office, KTH Sweden.
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Empowered Septic Tank as Decentralized Wastewater Treatment System by BITS Pilani Goa Campus inaugurated at Bogmalo Beach

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2 students got selected for the prestigious JNCASR SRFP 2-month Summer Research Fellowship Programme

Two students, Aniruddha Nayak (2020B1AA0711G) and Sumiran Kasturi (2020B1B22041G), studying in the Biological Sciences department of BITS Pilani, K K Birla Goa Campus got selected for the prestigious JNCASR SRFP - a 2-months Summer Research Fellowship Programme at the Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research (JNCASR) in Bengaluru.
 
Only 36 students got selected for the Life Sciences track while only about 75 students all over India got it in total.
 
Every year, around 2000 applications are received out of which a select few are chosen for the programme. Approximately 2500 students have benefitted from this programme since its inception in 1990.  It's one of the most highly acclaimed programmes of the Centre, enabling the students to get inspired towards scientific research during the early stage of their education.
 
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Another BITSian Start-up Joins the Unicorn Club

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Environmental Surveillance Laboratory

WASTEWATER BASED EPEDEMIOLOGY AND SCREENING FOR COVID 19

Srikanth Mutnuri, Anasuya Ganguly, Tusar T Saha

Funded by DBT BIRAC and Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

SUMMARY

The primary aim of the proposal is to connect the analytical data from determining SARS-CoV-2 in multiple wastewaters with the known COVID-19 infection rate of a fixed population in India. Environmental surveillance by testing of wastewater has been widely used to detect the spread of Poliovirus and the same approach is being used to detect the spread of SARS CoV2 Virus during the current pandemic by many researchers across the world. Detection of non-infective RNA fragments of SARS-CoV-2 in untreated wastewater and/or sludge demonstrated a correlation between wastewater SARS-CoV-2 RNA concentrations and COVID-19 clinical case reports; the latter two further suggesting that the RNA concentrations could provide a 4- to 7-day advanced notice ahead of COVID-19 confirmed case data (WHO 2020).
 

Most studies published to date on the use of environmental surveillance for SARS-CoV-2 have been from high-resource settings. However, approaches are needed that can be applied in lower-resource settings, where a greater proportion of the population is not connected to sewers and instead uses pit toilets or septic tanks.

 

The viral load of SARS-CoV-2 will be determined by: sample collection and preparation protocols, adopted from current global publications, which will be adapted as required; followed by a rapid screening system that is tested for applicability to detect SRAS-CoV-2; and if proven valid those samples indicated as positive for SARS-CoV-2 will be confirmed and quantified by RT-PCR. Sampling and analysis will be conducted at different wastewater treatment systems in an effort to expose the impact of the different wastewater matrices on the methodology allowing for further method adaptation towards different use cases.

 

Initially, the work will take place at the BITS-Pilani Goa campus looking at the sites exclusive wastewater treatment plant and a septic tank processing system that is connected to a student dormitory. Give that students will return to the campus mid-July 2020, and the campus is an enclosed wastewater collection shed, it allows the opportunity to correlate the viral load in the wastewater to any increase in campus COVID-19 detection that we may, unfortunately, encounter. We are currently collecting and storing samples in anticipation of funding to allow the establishment on a solid baseline. We collected samples Since May 2020 from PhD student dormitory, BITS Pilani Goa Central Sewage treatment plant and Baina Sewage treatment plant. Initially the work will take place using the above samples. Samples will be collected simultaneously from the above mentioned sites as well as from sewage treatment plants of other sites like the two State run Medical Hospitals which are housing Covid 19 patients and 5 other community toilet complexes.

 

As method are optimized and developed the monitoring can be carried out in different zones of India as our BITS campuses are spread in different zones. West of India by the Goa campus, East of India by the Hyderabad campus and North of India by Pilani campus. Moreover, as all our campuses are Residential campuses, monitoring in such set ups helps us in developing early detection methods for closed groups such as refugee camps, public places etc. Alternatively Larsen & Toubro has agreed to give us samples from ten different treatment plants.

 

In addition, SARS-CoV-2 detection will be undertaken at different stages of the wastewater treatment processes to understand the viability of the viral load moving through the plant. This will generate information that will be vital for the understanding of health and safety impacts on wastewater and septic tank treatment operators

 

Tracking the import of SARS CoV2 and its variants by surveillance of Airport wastewater

Srikanth Mutnuri, Anasuya Ganguly, Tusar T Saha and P Danumjaya

Funded by SERB

 

SUMMARY

Environmental surveillance by testing of wastewater has been widely used to detect the spread of Poliovirus and the same approach is being used to detect the spread of SARS CoV2 Virus during the current pandemic by many researchers across the world including us. We monitored for the past four months, 5 community toilet septic tanks, One hospital wastewater, one city sewage treatment plant and our Institute sewage treatment plant for SARS CoV2. Initially few samples were giving positive and as Omicron wave started all the samples started showing positive for SARS CoV2 indicating faster infection rate. During this study we also saw RNA survives for longer in septic tanks. With travel restrictions easing out and Covid becoming part of our life, it is necessary to monitor the community transmissions and import of SARS CoV2 to cities. Wastewater Surveillance is one such tool which can be implemented in places like Airports to advice government on travel restrictions before the onset of next waves. Goa is a touristic place attracting tourists from all over the world. In 2019, the domestic tourists arriving to the state of Goa accounted for approximately 7.1 million, while the foreign tourist arrivals accounted for over 0.9 million. In fiscal year 2017–2018, the Goa airport handled over 7.6 million passengers and 8.36 million in fiscal year 2019–2020. Several European and Russian charter airlines fly to Goa seasonally, typically between November and May. Controlling importation of new strains through travellers is highly essential so as to manage community transmissions. The primary aim of this proposal is to connect the analytical data from determining SARS-CoV-2 in wastewater at Goa airport with the known COVID-19 infection rate with the import risk and flight data.  Permission from Goa airport for wastewater collection has been received. Detection of non-infective RNA fragments of SARS-CoV-2 in untreated wastewater and/or sludge demonstrated a correlation between wastewater SARS-CoV-2 RNA concentrations and COVID-19 clinical case reports; the latter two further suggesting that the RNA concentrations could provide a 4- to 7-day advanced notice ahead of COVID-19 confirmed case data (WHO 2020). In this proposal we would like to track wastewater at Airport to understand the import of SARS CoV2 risk and its different variants. We will collect samples every day for one year. We will look for variants from weekly samples that has been positive for SARS CoV2 by sequencing. The viral load of SARS-CoV-2 will be determined by: sample collection and preparation protocols, positive for SARS-CoV-2 will be confirmed and quantified by RT-PCR.  Air travel data, SARS COV2 data in wastewater and SARS CoV2 infections data from hospitals can be modelled together to help policymakers and health officials with reference to air travel restrictions. A modelling tool will be developed to estimate future patterns of SARS CoV2 transmission.

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Feedback video by Enrico Sartor (Student of Politecnico Di Milano, Italy after completing a semester at BITS Goa under Academic Exchange & Teaching Programme)

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BITS BIRAC BioNEST ranked in top 5 Private Bio-Incubator in India in Biospectrum India’s Bio-incubator Survey

BITS BIRAC BioNEST bio-incubator, established at BITS Pilani, K K Birla Goa campus, has ranked 4th in the list of life sciences incubators in the private incubators category in the recent survey conducted by BioSpectrum India, a leading B2B media platform in Life Sciences. Overall BITS BIRAC BioNEST has ranked 7th in India among 40 participating incubators and was applauded for the quality of its incubated startups and funding raised. It is the only bio-incubator in Goa.

 

Delighted with the honour, Prof. Mridula Goel, Professor In-charge, BITS BIRAC BioNEST stated “It is an incredible feeling to get acknowledged for our efforts & is a truly glorious moment for the entire team of BITS BIRAC BioNEST. We are keen to further support startups who are working in deeptech, healthcare and environment with both mentoring and funds. We thank all our ecosystem partners and commit to continue striving on our mission of strengthening the Startup Ecosystem in India”.

 

The incubator is under the aegis of the BITS Goa Innovation, Incubation and Entrepreneurship Society (BGIIES). She further added, “we are happy to announce that recently we have been also selected for Startup India Seed Fund Scheme by Department of Policy and Promotion. This enables us to provide support to deeptech startups across the country”.

 

The BioSpectrum survey focused on both private and public incubators’ achievements in the past financial year on four parameters - number of incubatees, funds raised, space available, MoUs signed with other agencies to attract enterprises/ entrepreneurs. BioSpectrum has worked to identify the factors behind successful business incubation in the Life sciences. Through their Study, BioSpectrum assesses and benchmarks incubation programs from around India. The first three positions are with Venture Center, KIIT TBI and Crescent Incubator Chennai. The category in which BITS BIRAC BioNEST was included represented 90% of the total field.

 

BITS BIRAC Incubator with its high touch mentorship program and networks, meets the needs of early stage startups, and provides a comprehensive road map for their development. Since 2019, the incubator has supported more than 25 ideas/ startups. The selected start-ups of BITS BIRAC BioNEST receive seed funding, advice & mentoring, network connections and other essential support for technology and business development.

 

BITS BIRAC BioNEST is also known for its accelerated preincubation programs, HealthXcel and EnvironXcel which we support startups in the healthcare and greentech sector respectively.

 

Article Link:  http://biospectrumindia.com/e-magazine


Contact: Mr. Ebin Ephrem Elavathingal, General Manager, BITS BIRAC BioNEST, Goa

+91 8608871834 /gmbionest@goa.bits-pilani.ac.in

Website: https://www.bits-pilani.ac.in/Goa/BITSBIRAC/Home

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World Environment Day observed at BITS Pilani, K K Birla Goa Campus

On 5th June, the BITS community observed "World Environment Day" starting with planting around 15 tree saplings of varieties like Jamun, Jackfruit, Gulmohar, Lakshmi Taru etc. at the hands of the Director, Prof. Suman Kundu along with faculty, staff and students of the campus.
 
The community members also participated in the cleanliness drive on this occasion to create awareness about this year's theme of "Only one earth".
 
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Project Kratos team ranked 2nd in Asia at URC 2022 finals in USA

Project Kratos team of BITS Pilani, K K Birla Goa Campus consisting of 12 multi-disciplinary students represented the Institute at the finals of the University Rover Challenge (URC) 2022 held from 1st to 4th June 2022 at Utah, the USA.

 

The team secured the topmost position among the Indian competitors, ranked 2nd in Asia and finished 21st worldwide in URC 2022. In the Science Task category, the team ranked 12th worldwide. The team leader, Ithihas Madala (2018B1AA0607G), reported from Utah, the USA.

 

The final competition had 36 teams from top universities of 10 different countries. This year, with a record 99 registrations, BITS Pilani was one of the only 4 teams that qualified from India. The competition took place at Mars Desert Research Station (MDRS), where NASA also tests its rovers.

 

The URC is the world's premier robotics competition held annually in the desert of southern Utah in the United States to design and build the next generation of Mars rovers that will one day work alongside astronauts exploring the Red Planet.

 

BITS Pilani team continuously worked on the development of the rover and took the best version of the Rover to Utah. The competition was highly multi-disciplinary and the tasks involved are Extreme Retrieval across rough terrain, Equipment Servicing with robotic Arm, Autonomous Navigation and Life Detection.

More about the competition: https://urc.marssociety.org/

 

To augment the help rendered by the Institute, proud Alumni of BITS Pilani, Mr. Prashanth Palakurthi and Mrs. Anuradha Palakurthi generously supported the team with US$ 15,000.

 

Prof. Souvik Bhattacharyya, Vice Chancellor of BITS Pilani had unveiled the rover designed by the team of students of BITS Pilani, K K Birla Goa Campus in presence of Prof. D M Kulkarni, Dean Administration in November 2021. The multidisciplinary team of students which started in 2018 is called Project Kratos: Mars Rover. The team consists of about 70 students lead by Mr. Ithihas Madala and supervised by Prof. Toby Joseph (Faculty at Dept. of Physics). Project Kratos aspires to develop a Mars Rovers equipped with advanced subsystems suitable for interplanetary deep space missions, seeking to study the application of engineering and scientific research into rover robotics, autonomous traversal, and detection of extraterrestrial life.

 

Project Kratos involves various subsystems which contribute to the making of the rover.

1.      Mechanical - Works on the mechanical framework, designing and manufacturing of the entire rover. We will be using SOLIDWORKS as our main CAD software along with ANSYS for the FEA of the design.

2.     Autonomous - Is responsible for autonomous traversal of the rover in a non-discovered environment. We perform tasks like path planning, object detection and localization to enable the rover to calculate an optimum path using data from various sensors. ROS (Robotics Operating System) is used, and a firm grasp on Python or C++ is required.

3.      Life Detection - its objective is to design experimental techniques to detect life. The system uses Computation and Spectroscopic techniques to study soil and rocks characteristics, traditional lab techniques and emerging techniques like bioelectronics and biosensors.

4.      Electronics - Looks after interfacing between all on board electronics including a 5 Degree of freedom robotic arm, communication to the base station and powering the rover with the help of a customized Battery Management System.

 

A 5-minute video about the rover: https://youtu.be/_h06yqiy6YQ

 

We wish the team all the best in their endeavour.

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Workshop on ‘Industrial Bioprocess and Bioreactor Operations’ organized at BITS Pilani, Goa Campus

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BITS Pilani students featured in Forbes 30 under 30 – Asia 2022 list

BITS Pilani University proudly announces that eight young BITS Pilani students/ alumni have featured in the recently released Forbes 30 under 30 – Asia 2022 list. Of these, five students/ alumni are from K K Birla Goa Campus.

 

After release of the list, Prof. Suman Kundu, Director, BITS Pilani, K K Birla Goa Campus invited and felicitated co-founders of Bluelearn, Mr. Harish Uthayakumar and Mr. Shreyans Sancheti (2018-2022 batch students of Goa Campus), who have featured in this list. Harish and Shreyans were pleased and felt that Prof. Kundu’s views on the growth of the startup ecosystem and empowering student builders are incredible. They believe that this will lead to more founders coming out of the Goa Campus. Prof. Veeky Baths, Associate Dean, Alumni Relations was also present during this felicitation meeting.

 

Forbes 30 under 30 Asia 2022 list released on 27th May 2022 highlights Young Entrepreneurs and Rising Stars who are redefining the future of business and society in Asia and who are inspiring change and driving innovation in their respective fields amid the challenges brought about by the Covid-19 pandemic.

 

A common theme in all these startups is that they started their venture while being on campus, and have been invested in by BITS Alumni Angels.

 

Malhar Patil, Rajat Gupta, and Shourya Agarwal (all K. K. Birla Goa Campus alumni), are the founders of Flam App. They have raised $3.5 million recently and their current valuation is in the range of $50-$75 million.

Harish Uthayakumar and Shreyans Sancheti (both K. K. Birla Goa Campus students and soon to be alumni in 2022), are the founders of Bluelearn. They have raised a pre-seed round of $500,000 recently and their current valuation is in the range of $4-$6 million.

Ahmed Faraaz, Harshit Awasthi, and Sashakt Tripathi (all Pilani campus students and soon to be alumni in 2022), are the founders of Kalam Labs, a Y-Combinator backed venture. They have raised a pre-seed round of $450,000 and undisclosed sum in the seed round recently and their current valuation is in the range of $10-$14 million.

 

Other inclusions: 

Health Care and Sciences Category

Prasanna Date, Research Scientist, Oak Ridge National Laboratory. Date is developing novel quantum machine learning techniques that are faster than current technology. His work seeks to enable faster and more effective data analysis in scientific and consumer applications such as high-energy physics and self-driving cars.

 

Finance & Venture Capital

Sajal Khanna co-founded Akudo along with Lavika Aggarwal and Jagveer Gandhi (over 30) of IITR in 2020. The digital bank offers prepaid debit cards for teenagers while helping them to manage their expenses and save money. Akudo, whose name means "peaceful wealth" in Nigeria's Igbo language, has already raised $4.2 million in seed funding led by Y-Combinator. 

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Admission to Higher Degree programme (M.E. / M.Pharm.) Application deadline has been extended to June 5, 2022 (5.00 PM)

Admission to Higher Degree programme (M.E. / M.Pharm.) Application deadline has been extended to June 5, 2022 (5.00 PM)
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“Project Kratos - A BITSian Mars Rover” qualified for the URC-2022, Utah U.S.A.

BITS Pilani, K K Birla Goa Campus is happy to announce that our Project Kratos team has qualified for the finals of the University Rover Challenge, 2022.

The University Rover Challenge (URC) is the world's premier robotics competition held annually in the desert of southern Utah in the United States to design and build the next generation of Mars rovers that will one day work alongside astronauts exploring the Red Planet.

In URC 2022, 36 teams from top universities around the world are shortlisted and have been invited to the on-field competition in Utah (USA) from 1st to 4th June 2022.  “Project Kratos: A Mars Rover” team from BITS Pilani is one of the 4 teams that qualified from India.  The competition will take place at Mars Desert Research Station (MDRS), where NASA also tests its rovers. Our Team is continuously working on the development of the rover till then and taking the best version of our Rover to Utah.

To augment the help rendered by the Institute, our proud Alumni Mr. Prashanth Palakurthi and Mrs. Anuradha Palakurthi generously supported the team with US$ 15,000. We wish the team all the best in their endeavour.
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SUMMER INTERNSHIP ASSISTANCE WINNERS

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University of Nottingham (UK) delegation visits BITS Pilani, K K Birla Goa Campus

A delegation from University of Nottingham (UoN), United Kingdom, visited BITS Pilani, K K Birla Goa Campus on 25th May 2022.  The UoN delegation comprised of Dr. Nagamani Bora - Director of Biotechnology Degree Programmes; Dr. Steve Greedy - Associate Professor and member of the George Green Institute for Electromagnetics Research; Ms. Lucy Rose - Senior Education & Student Experience Manager - Admissions, Faculty of Engineering; and Mr. Matt Bonner, International Partnership Manager.

The visit was aimed to enhance collaborations between BITS Pilani and UoN in the field of research, students exchange and Off-Campus Thesis.  The possibility of including experts in relevant areas from University of Nottingham for joint supervision of PhDs was also discussed.

The UoN delegation had a very fruitful interaction with Prof Suman Kundu, Director, K K Birla Goa Campus, Deans, Associate Deans and faculty members of BITS Pilani, Goa Campus.  The event was coordinated by Prof. Rajesh Mehrotra, Associate Dean, International Programmes & Collaboration Division (IPCD) and Professor, Dept of Biological Sciences, Goa Campus.
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Congratulations to all BITSians for making to Forbes 30 under 30 - Asia 2022 list.

Forbes 30 under 30 Asia 2022 list released today highlights Young Entrepreneurs and Rising Stars Who Are Redefining the Future of Business and Society in Asia and who are inspiring change and driving innovation in their respective fields amid the challenges brought about by the Covid-19 pandemic.
 
Happy to share that eight young BITS alumni have been featured in the Forbes 30 under 30 – Asia 2022  list:
 
Malhar Patil, Rajat Gupta, and Shourya Agarwal (all K. K. Birla Goa Campus alumni), are the founders of Flam App. They have raised $3.5 million recently and their current valuation is in the range of $50-$75 million.
 
Harish Uthayakumar and Shreyans Sancheti (both K. K. Birla Goa Campus students and soon to be alumni in 2022), are the founders of Bluelearn. They have raised a pre-seed round of $500,000 recently and their current valuation is in the range of $4-$6 million.
Ahmed Faraaz, Harshit Awasthi, and Sashakt Tripathi (all Pilani campus students and soon to be alumni in 2022), are the founders of Kalam Labs, a Y-Combinator backed venture. They have raised a pre-seed round of $450,000 and undisclosed some in the seed round recently and their current valuation is in the range of $10-$14 million.
 
Health Care and Sciences Category
Prasanna Date, Research Scientist, Oak Ridge National Laboratory. Date is developing novel quantum machine learning techniques that are faster than current technology. His work seeks to enable faster and more effective data analysis in scientific and consumer applications such as high-energy physics and self-driving cars.
 
Finance & Venture Capital
Sajal Khanna co-founded Akudo along with Lavika Agarqwal  and Jagveer Gandhi (over 30) of IITR in 2020. The digital bank offers prepaid debit cards for teenagers while helping them to manage their expenses and save money. Akudo, whose name means "peaceful wealth" in Nigeria's Igbo language, has already raised $4.2 million in seed funding led by Y-Combinator. 
 
 A common theme in all these above startups is that they started their venture while being on campus, and have been invested in by BITS Alumni Angels. 
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Alumni take BITS ahead in AI

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KTH Royal InstituKTH Royal Institute of Technology, Sweden delegation visits Goa Campus

Recently a delegation from KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Sweden visited BITS Pilani, K K Birla Goa Campus. The KTH delegation comprised of Ms. Pia Schmitt, Project Support IRO, Mr Jairam Vijayakumar Sujaya, International Student Recruitment & Mobility, IRO and Dr. Shareq Mohd Nazir, Asst. Professor, CBH school - a BITS Pilani Alumnus – B.E. Chemical Engineering (2005-2009 Goa Campus Batch), M.E. Chemical Engineering (2009-2011 Goa Campus Batch).

 
The visit was aimed to enhance research and students exchange collaborations between BITS Pilani and KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Sweden.

The KTH delegation had a very fruitful interaction with Prof Suman Kundu, Director, K K Birla Goa Campus, Prof S K Barai, Director Pilani campus (through online mode), Associate Deans and Faculty members of Goa Campus. The visit was coordinated by Prof Rajesh Mehrotra, Associate Dean, International Programmes & Collaboration Division (IPCD), and Professor, Dept. of Biological Sciences, Goa Campus.
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BITS Pilani alumni who donated 1 million USD to BITS Pilani visits Goa Campus

Proud alumni of BITS Pilani University, Mr. Prashanth Palakurthi, founder of the US-based Reflexis system, and Mrs. Anuradha Palakurthi, founder of Juju Productions, visited BITS Pilani, K K Birla Goa Campus this week.

 

In 2018-19, Mr. Prashant and Mrs. Anuradha Palakurthi donated 1 million USD to BITS Pilani University for setting-up a Centre which is named Anuradha and Prashanth Palakurthi Centre for Artificial Intelligence Research (APPCAIR) for promoting research in the area of Artificial Intelligence.   The APPCAIR Centre was set up at Goa Campus and inaugurated in February 2020.

 

They were welcomed by Prof. Suman Kundu, Director - Goa Campus, Prof. Arya Kumar, Dean (University wide) - Alumni Relations, Prof. Veeky Baths, Associate Dean - Alumni Relations, Goa Campus, and Mr. Sachin Arya, Head - Technology Business Incubator, Alumni Relations. They were also greeted virtually by Prof. Souvik Bhattacharyya, Vice-Chancellor, BITS Pilani.

 

They visited the APPCAIR lab where Prof. Ashwin Srinivasan, Head APPCAIR Centre appraised the alumni couple of the achievements and future objectives of the Centre in the presence of APPCAIR members from all the BITS Pilani Campuses and the Vice-Chancellor. This was followed by Interaction with Students. At the event, students in AI and ML presented their ideas, projects, and start-ups. The passion of the students was evident as some of them joined through teleconferencing as well. The projects included Project Dwarka, Project Kratos, and the start-up Nawgati.

 

Mr. Prashanth and Mrs. Anuradha were elated to meet the students and gave them valuable insights into their ideas.  This was followed by a campus tour. They were hosted by Prof. Veeky Baths and the Alumni Relation team of BITS Goa.


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BITS Pilani, Goa Campus Faculty wins Prestigious Fulbright-Nehru Fellowship

Prof. Rayson K. Alex, Associate Professor from the Department of Humanities & Social Sciences at BITS Pilani, K K Birla Goa Campus has won the prestigious Fulbright-Nehru Academic and Professional Excellence Award for the academic year 2022-23.
 

Awarded by the United States-India Educational Foundation (USIEF), the fellowship is awarded to the most outstanding academics and professionals in India to research and teach at a host Institution in the US. Prof. Alex will teach and conduct research at W. Washington University for a period of six months. 

The fellowship will begin in July 2022.  While he teaches a course titled, ‘Environmental Justice movements in India’ to the graduate students at the Fairhaven Interdisciplinary College at the University, he will conduct his research on environmental humanities pedagogies in India and the US.

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Admission to Higher Degree Program

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Prof. Suman Kundu assumed charge as Director of the K K Birla Goa Campus on 7th April 2022

Prof. Kundu has served as Director of the South Campus, Director of the Centre for India-Canada Studies, and Acting Pro Vice Chancellor at the University of Delhi.

 

Prof. Kundu obtained his PhD from Banaras Hindu University (1999), was a post-doctoral fellow at Iowa State University, USA and a Research Associate at Pioneer Hi-Bred, Dupont, USA. He was a Lecturer in School of Biotechnology, BHU (2006) before moving to Department of Biochemistry at the University of Delhi as a Reader (2006), where he was subsequently promoted to Associate Professor (2009) and Professor (2012).

 

He was honored with The Indo-US Research Fellowship (2010) and The S.P. Tyagi Oration Award (2017). Dr Kundu was inducted as an Elected Fellow of The Indian Academy of Biomedical Sciences in 2021. He has published over 75 research papers and 3 book chapters; he has 1 patent to his credit and is applicant for 5 others.

 

Dr Kundu has supervised several PhD, MPhil and MSc theses and delivered numerous talks in India and abroad. His research interest focuses on structure-function-stability relationship in blood substitutes; his laboratory is actively involved in engineering heme and polypeptide stability in recombinant hemoglobin for application as hemoglobin based oxygen carrier. His group is also engaged in understanding the pathophysiology of sickle cell disease using metabolomics and proteomics approaches and is attempting to decipher effective therapeutics to combat the debilitating disease. Currently, the laboratory is dedicated towards structure-aided drug discovery initiatives to identify novel small molecules to treat cardiovascular diseases and rheumatoid arthritis.

 

He is the Founder Editor-in-Chief of Journal of Proteins and Proteomics (Springer Nature) and executive council member of Proteomics Society (India) and Protein Society (India). He is the recipient of multiple grants from several funding agencies and has peer reviewed grant proposals and manuscripts for international journals.

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International Women’s Day celebrated at BITS Pilani, K K Birla Goa Campus

'This International Women’s Day, BITS Pilani, K K Birla Goa Campus expressed appreciation & gratitude to all its female employees by gifting them a package with a flower, a chocolate & bookmarks with inspirational women-centric quotes. Dressed in International Women’s Day colors of purple, green & white, all female employees gathered together & engaged in cheerful conversations, as a mark of acknowledging the significance of this day.'
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International conference on Education Outside the Classroom from 29-30th July, 2022

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Over 2.6 billion USD raised by startups founded by BITS Pilani Goa Campus students

2020 and 2021 have been phenomenal years for the startups founded by the students of BITS Pilani, K K Birla Goa Campus. Between June 2021 to January 2022, 14 startups founded / co-founded by students/ alumni of BITS Pilani, K K Birla Goa Campus raised funding of over 2.6 billion USD from different sources. 

 

Of these, 8 startups were founded in 2020 & 2021 and were able to raise over 13.5 million USD. The remaining 6 startups were founded between 2014 and 2018. 5 out of 14 startups that were founded by the students while studying in BITS Goa in 2016, 2020 & 2021, raised nearly 2 million USD during last 6 months.

 

Standing tall amongst them is MPL - India’s largest esports and gaming platform, co-founded in 2018 by a 2005 batch student Mr. Shubham Malhotra, raised 2.3 billion USD and became India's second gaming startup unicorn.

Postman, co-founded in 2014 by a 2006 batch student Mr. Abhinav Asthana raised 225 million USD dollars. Postman is India’s fourth SaaS unicorn, which provides a platform that helps software developers accelerate the development process through collaboration with various stakeholders. The platform is used by over 11 million developers across the world, and more than 500,000 companies globally, including the likes of Microsoft and Twitter.

A California based start-up Locus, founded in 2015 by a 2007 batch student Mr. Nishith Rastogi received 50 million USD. Locus is an intelligent logistics automation platform that has developed a solution to help on-demand and scheduled businesses, dispatch, track and manage their on-field workforce.

 

Remaining 11 startups founded / co-founded by the Goa Campus students have raised over 60 million dollars since June 2021. The details of all 14 startups are as follows:

 

 

Name

(Founded in)

Founder/s (Batch of)

Brief info of startup

Funding Received (in month & year)

Funding Agency

Locus

(2015)

Nishith Rastogi (2007-12)

Locus uses technology and proprietary algorithms to provide smart logistics solutions such as route optimisation, real-time tracking, insights and analytics, vehicle allocation, and utilisation.

$50 MILLION

 

(June 2021)

1)GIC

2)Qualcomm Ventures

3)Falcon Edge Capital

4)Blume Ventures

5)Tiger Global

6)Pi Ventures

7)Exfinity Venture Partners

Codedamn

(2020)

Mehul Mohan (2017-21)

It is an interactive learn to code platform, for first-time coders and experienced developers to learn, practice, build projects and get instant feedback in real-time.

Undisclosed

 

(July 2021)

 

Antler India

Burncal

(2020)

Chetan Reddy & Vichar Shroff (both 2013-17)

It is a virtualised personal fitness app. It was founded during COVID, to tackle the problem faced by people while doing workouts which was consistency.

$330,000

 

(July 2021)

1)Titan Capital

2)SenseAI Ventures

3)100X

4)FirstCheque

5)2 AM VC

Flam

(2021)

1)Shourya Agarwal (2013-18)

2)Rajat Gupta (2013-17)

Flam is the world’s first Augmented Reality (AR) based social media network built for a global audience.

$3.5 million

 

(July 2021)

1)SVQuad

2)ICP

3)Kwaish Ventures

4)9Unicorns

BlueLearn

(2020)

1)Harish Uthayakumar

2)Shreyans Sancheti (both 2018-22)

The company provides a one-stop platform for students to learn new skills, network with peers, and apply for internships, especially for students in Tier-2 and Tier-3 colleges.

$450,000

 

(August 2021)

 

1)LightSpeed

2)100X

3)Titan Capital

4)2 AM VC

 

Postman

(2014)

Abhinav Asthana (2006-10)

It is a SAAS based startup that aims to simplify API development, it became worlds most valued SAAS s

$225million

 

(August 2021)

1)Bond Capital

2)Battery Ventures

Habbit

(2020)

1)Raghav Goyal (2015-20)

2)Somnath Sandeep (2015-19)

Habbit is an online experiential learning company that aims to bridge the gap between passionate mentors and creative learners through live mentorship and community building.

$320,000

 

(September 2021)

 

1)Ashok Goyal

2)Sanjeev Goenka Group

 

MPL

(2018)

Shubham Malhotra (2005-09)

It is India’s largest e-sports and gaming platform.

$2.3 Billion

 

(September 2021)

Legatum Capital

FloBiz

(2018)

Aditya Naik (2009-14)

Neobanking services to Indian SMBs.

$31 Million

 

(September 2021)

 

Sequoia Capital

Questt

(2020)

Akhil Singh (2010-14)

Questt is an assessment/ homework platform that automates homework assessment for teachers, saving 90% of their time and gamifies assignments for students.

$6.75 Million

 

(October 2021)

1)Celestia Capital

2)Premji Invest

Stratzy

(2021)

1)Gaurav Sangle

2)MohIt Bhandari (both 2016-21

Stratzy is a platform that helps users choose from our curated created ideas and strategies for investments.

$800,000

 

(October 2021)

1)Titan Capital

2)First Cheque

3)Leo Capital

Stoa School

(2020)

1)Raj Kunkolienkar (2012-15)

 

 

 

Online business school focused on developing talent for the startup economy

$1.5 Million

 

(October 2021)

1)Kunal Shah

2)Nitin Kamath

3)Gagan Bayani

Pyxis One

(2017)

1)Vrushali Prasade

2)Harikrishna Valiyath

3)Shubham Mishra

(All 2012-16)

AI-based marketing cloud to automate creative management and generation at scale. Pyxis is powered by AI-led creative automation which enables one to rapidly create, launch and iterate best performing ads across digital marketing platforms.

$17 Million

 

(January 2022)

 

1)General Atlantic

2)Celestia Capital

3)Premji Invest

4)Chiratae Ventures

Thinkerbell Labs

(2016)

1)Sanskriti Dawle

2)Aman Srivastava

3)Dilip Ramesh

(2012-16)

4)Saif Shaikh

(2013-17)

They make products that help improve learning outcomes for the visually impaired.

Rs 1.05 Cr

 

(January 2022)

 

1)Namita Thapar

2)Peyush Bansal

3)Anupam Mittal

 

In Shark Tank India, an Indian business reality television show

 

We can arrange to put you in touch with any of these startup founders for an exclusive interaction.

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Celebration of 71st Founder's Day

Basant Panchami also known as Saraswati Pooja, is a festival that marks the preparation for the arrival of spring and is dedicated to Goddess Saraswati, the goddess of knowledge and arts.

On this auspicious day, in 1951 the Vidya Vihar Campus of BITS Pilani was formally inaugurated by the First President of India, Dr. Rajendra Prasad and we celebrate it as our founder’s day.

We celebrated this occasion on 5th Feb, 2022 by paying floral tribute to our Founder Chairman Shri G D Birlaji.
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73rd Republic Day Celebrations

73rd Republic Day Celebrations at BITS Pilani K K Birla Goa Campus
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Lubna Muzamil Rehman has won the Innovative Student Projects Award 2021

Lubna Muzamil Rehman has won the Innovative Student Projects Award 2021 at Master’s Level for her Thesis [Supervisor: Dr Anirban Roy] titled Understanding the Thermodynamics of Salt-water systems awarded by the Indian National Academy of Engineering (INAE).
 
The INAE Award includes a cash prize of Rs. 15,000 and a INAE-Student Membership for the next 5 Years. Lubna is currently pursuing her PhD at KAUST, SA in Membrane Technology.
 
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Prof. G Raghurama successfully completes his tenure as Director of BITS Pilani, K K Birla Goa Campus

Prof. Raghurama completed his five-year tenure as the Director of BITS Pilani, K K Birla Goa Campus on 30th Oct 2021. He was given a very affectionate and reluctant farewell by the BITS family on 14th Dec 2021, where he served for the last 34 years. He announced that he will be soon joining Dehradun Institute of Technology University (DITU) as its Vice Chancellor.

 

He joined BITS Pilani at Pilani in Rajasthan as an assistant lecturer in 1987 and became a Senior Professor in the EEE department in 2012. He had completed his MSc in Physics with first rank and distinction from IIT Madras and obtained his PhD from IISc Bangalore. He is an accomplished teacher, teaching and guiding students in the areas of Electronic Sciences, Instrumentation, Computer Organization, Communication Engineering, Telecommunication Networks and Management.

 

In 2007, he was appointed as Deputy Director (Academic) in-charge of academic affairs at BITS Pilani, including faculty recruitment. Prof. Raghurama had rich experience in academic administration holding positions such as Dean of Faculty Division, Dean of Admissions and Placement for over 14 years before he took charge as Deputy Director.  During his tenure as Dean of Admissions at BITS, he was a key person in the design and implementation of the fully computer based Online test BITSAT for admission to BITS, which has become a benchmark in Online testing in India. Later in 2009, he pioneered the first draft of ‘Vision 2020’ for BITS Pilani which subsequently became the ‘Vision 2020: Mission 2012’ project for BITS Pilani.

 

In 2010, Prof Raghurama was appointed as the Director of BITS Pilani, Pilani campus, during which time he made significant contributions to the growth of the Institute. During his tenure as Director, he also led the Phase I of ‘Project Parivartan’ at Pilani campus and was responsible for expansion and modernization of physical infrastructure at Pilani campus. 

 

In 2015, he shifted to BITS Pilani, Goa campus and was appointed as Director of the campus in 2016. In 2017, he spearheaded the “Project Lakshya”, a strategic planning exercise for BITS Pilani in consultation with the Boston Consulting Group (BCG). And later in the same year he successfully represented BITS Pilani as its nodal official at the MHRD, IoE Secretariat and UGC right from the application stage for the status of ‘Institute of Eminence’ which was finally granted in 2018. Prof. Raghurama also guided completion of construction of 6 hostel buildings and the New Academic Block as part of the Phase II Infrastructure Development of Goa Campus.

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Project Kratos: A Mars Rover

BITS Pilani Vice Chancellor, Prof. Souvik Bhattacharyya unveils a rover designed by BITS Goa students

Prof. Souvik Bhattacharyya, Vice Chancellor of BITS Pilani recently unveiled a rover designed by a team of students of BITS Pilani, K K Birla Goa Campus in presence of Prof. D M Kulkarni, Dean Administration. The multidisciplinary team of students which started in 2018 is called Project Kratos: Mars Rover. Presently the team comprises of about 70 students lead by Mr. Ithihas Madala and supervised by Prof. Toby Joseph (Dept. of Physics). Project Kratos aspires to develop a Mars Rovers equipped with advanced subsystems suitable for interplanetary deep space missions, seeking to study the application of engineering and scientific research into rover robotics, autonomous traversal, and detection of extraterrestrial life.

 

The team is preparing to participate in the competitions such as International Rover Competition (IRC), University Rover Competition (URC), International Mars Hackathon and the International Rover Design Challenge. In these competitions the rover is expected to fulfill tasks such as Extreme Retrieval task through rough terrain, Equipment Servicing task to perform intricate operations with 5 Degrees of Freedom arm, Autonomous Navigation and Life Detection.

Project Kratos involves various subsystems which contribute to the making of the rover.

1.       Mechanical - Works on the mechanical framework, designing and manufacturing of the entire rover. We will be using SOLIDWORKS as our main CAD software along with ANSYS for the FEA of the design.

2.       Autonomous - Is responsible for autonomous traversal of the rover in a non-discovered environment. We perform tasks like path planning, object detection and localization to enable the rover to calculate an optimum path using data from various sensors. ROS (Robotics Operating System) is used, and a firm grasp on Python or C++ is required.

3.       Life Detection - its objective is to design experimental techniques to detect life. The system uses Computation and Spectroscopic techniques to study soil and rocks characteristics, traditional lab techniques and emerging techniques like bioelectronics and biosensors.

4.       Electronics - Looks after interfacing between all on board electronics including a 5 Degree of freedom robotic arm, communication to the base station and powering the rover with the help of a customized Battery Management System.

 

A 5 minute video about the rover: https://youtu.be/_h06yqiy6YQ

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BITSAA International supports distribution of school kits to government primary schools at Zari and Zuarinagar

Recently BITS Pilani, K K Birla Goa Campus, with the help of financial support from BITSAA International, distributed 67 school kits consisting of a school bag, note-books and other stationery material to the students of two government primary schools in Zari and Zuarinagar - located in the vicinity of the campus. Funding of about Rs. 30,000/- for distributing these school kits was coordinated and arranged by Prof. Veeky Baths, Associate Dean, Alumni Relations at BITS Pilani, K K Birla Goa Campus through BITSAA International.
 
These underprivileged students, who were directly affected due to the spread of COVID-19 pandemic, were very happy to receive the kits. The distribution function was organized by the respective school at their premises in presence of the teachers and students’ parents. Heads of both schools appreciated BITS Pilani’s efforts in reaching out to the underprivileged students and supporting them with such necessary items.
 
On behalf of BITS Pilani, Estate Manager Mr. A K Patil, Faculty In-Charge of Community Welfare Dr. Rashmi Chauhan, PRO Mr. Arjun Halarnkar and Alumni Relations Cell official Mr. Bhalwinder Singh Sohal attended the functions held at the respective schools.
 
BITSAA (BITS Pilani Alumni Association) has over 84000 alumni spanning over six decades. BITSAA International engages in charitable and educational activities by raising funds for setting up endowments, creating scholarships, rewarding teaching and research and generally promoting the development of resources at Birla Institute of Technology and Science at Pilani, Dubai, Goa & Hyderabad campuses. For more information log on to https://www.bitsaa.org/
 
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Prof. Suresh Ramaswamy Memorial Award 2021

‘Smart Stick for Visually Impaired’ project wins Prof. Suresh Ramaswamy Memorial Award at BITS Pilani Goa Campus
 
Mr. Aviral Kumar Goel and Mr. Vaibhav Ganatra, students of the Computer Science Department of BITS Pilani, K K Birla Goa Campus have won this year’s Prof. Suresh Ramaswamy Memorial Award for their innovative and humanitarian project titled ‘Smart Stick for Visually Impaired’. This team was selected from amongst 10 shortlisted projects.
 
BITS Pilani Alumni instituted this prestigious award to honour the indelible, inspirational memories and lasting impact of late Professor Suresh Ramaswamy on the lives as well as the minds of alumni whom he mentored. The award, comprising of ₹ 40,000/- and certificate, is awarded annually to a team of students with an aim to encourage and nurture them to work on a project idea in the field of science/ engineering. This award is aimed to be a milestone in inspiring young and innovative minds to adventure in the realm of untapped propositions.
 
The Smart Stick, envisaged under their innovative project, will prove to be of immense help for the visually impaired to navigate independently. The camera module can be attached easily to any walking cane and it sends a real-time video stream to a mobile application that performs object recognition and object detection, and guides the visually impaired using audio feedback. This helps the visually impaired connect better to their surroundings and enables situational as well as navigational awareness. This will uplift and boost their self-esteem and confidence as well.
 
This year’s award panel included Prof. Veeky Baths & Prof. Raviprasad Aduri (Biological Sciences), Prof. Ramprasad Joshi (Computer Science), Prof. Karthikeyan Ganesarethinam (Mechanical Engineering), Prof. Gaurav Dar, Prof. P. Nandakumar, Prof. Toby Joseph & Prof. Deepak N. Murthy Pachattu (Physics).
 
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BITS Goa students win IIM Ahmedabad's Annual Flagship Case Study Competition, 'Armageddon'

A three member-team from BITS Pilani, K K Birla Goa Campus won IIM Ahmedabad's Annual Flagship Case Study Competition, 'Armageddon' at their annual 'Red Bricks Summit'. The Red Bricks Summit is Asia's largest management symposium that attracts over 60,000 participants every year.

 

The team consisted of: Bhanupratap Bhardwaj (2019A4PS0723G), Chirag Goyle (2019A4PS0534G) and Heman Ketan Shah (2019A4PS0772G). The competition had over 1550 participating teams, with a prize pool of INR 80,000.

 

This is the first time that an undergraduate team has won this competition, considered India's most prestigious Case Study competition.  

 

The case study competition was conducted in 3 rounds, with 2 case studies. The first case study was related to the digital growth strategy of a traditional brick-and-mortar retail company in India. The second case study was a case study on UPI Payments apps. It included formulating an expansion strategy and a revenue growth model for a UPI company in India by understanding the market and regulatory landscape to devise a GTM strategy for generating revenue in the next 5 years.

 

The runners-up and second runners-up were from IIM Ahmedabad and IIM Bangalore respectively.

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Former faculty members of BITS Pilani felicitated

The Teaching Learning Centre (TLC) at BITS Pilani, K K Birla Goa Campus organized felicitation function of four former faculty members of the Goa Campus as part of its programmes on the occasion of Teacher’s Day. The event was held in an online mode.
 
Director, Prof. G Raghurama delivered an introductory remarks followed by felicitation of Prof. K E Raman, Prof. Meenakshi Raman, Prof. Aditya Koley and Prof. J V Rao by faculty members of their respective departments viz. Prof. K R Anupama, Prof. Sunil Bhand, Prof. Shalini Upadhyay and Prof. Biju K Raveendran respectively.
 
Dr. Nilak Datta delivered a short talk on ‘Remembering my Teachers: Teacher’s Day 2021’ during the function. All former faculty members were overwhelmed with the felicitation programme and thanked the TLC and the institute for organizing this programme.
 
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75th Independence Day Celebrations at BITS Pilani K K Birla Goa Campus

75th Independence Day Celebrations at BITS Pilani K K Birla Goa Campus
 
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BITS Pilani, Goa Campus team wins Design Report of the Aero Design Challenge 2021

Team Pegasus from BITS Pilani, K K Birla Goa Campus secured 1st place in the Design Report and 3rd place in the Technical Presentation sections of the SAEISS Aero Design Challenge 202159 teams from reputed institutions from across India participated in the challenge that was held in an online mode. The event ran over ten months in which teams had to conceptualize and design a UAV that met the mission profile of the competition. The students of Team Pegasus created two innovative UAVs for the challenge, one with a morphing wing that made it capable of carrying varied payloads with different flight times. The other is a joined wing configuration that significantly reduces drag without sacrificing lift.

 

The Aero Design Challenge is a UAV design competition conducted by the Society of Automobile Engineers India Southern Section (SAEISS). Each team is required to conceive, design, and develop a prototype of a fixed-wing UAV meeting the mission requirements. The challenge features two classes, Regular and Micro. The competition featured five categories for each of the two classes: Video Presentation, Application Report, Fabrication Report, Design Report, and Technical Presentation.


The Design report was the primary means of conveying how the aircraft was designed for the mission focusing on the design process and the aerodynamics of the proposed UAV. The Technical Presentation involved pitching the design in front of a panel of judges. The team followed an innovative approach in design and presentation to bridge the gap that the team had in terms of experience as this was their second time participating in the competition.


Prof. Ranjit S. Patil, head of the Mechanical Engineering Department, BITS Pilani, Goa Campus, mentored the team which consisted of Ashvin Ramesh (Captain), Pragalbh Singh (Vice-Captain), Pranjal Anand, Deven Paul, Paul Jacob, Vardhan Shah, Ishan Neogi, Rachit Gupta, Dritiman Sinha, Shivank Maheshwari, Rajat Garg and Gaurav Shinde as it members.

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MANTRA Awards Winners 2021

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Research Scholarship Winners

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Admission to the Ph.D Programme

Click here for details
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OBSERVENCE OF 7th INTERNATIONAL DAY OF “YOGA” @ BITS PILANI K K BIRLA GOA CAMPUS

Through Digital Platform – ‘Yoga @ Home & Yoga with Family’
 
In accordance with the directions of MHRD and Ministry of “AYUSH”, BITS Pilani K K Birla Goa Campus observed the 7th ‘International Day of Yoga’ through Digital Platform, primarily due to ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, on Monday, 21st June 2021. This year’s theme was Yoga @ Home and Yoga with Family. The program started by lighting the traditional lamp and introducing Yoga Guru Dr. Namdev Chopdekar by Dr. Chandu Lamani, Physical Education Officer.
 
Dr. Chandu Lamani stated that yoga is a way to maintain physical and mental health, because it can achieve a balance between body and mind, so that professional work and thinking can be better. A large number of students, teachers, professors and their families participated in online yoga session through “YouTube”, Google Hangout and Facebook Live.
 
On this occasion, the yoga guru Dr. Namdev Chopdekar said that in today's mechanical life Environment and pollution, yoga is a necessary condition for maintaining physical and mental health. He also explained the various benefits of yoga and organized group yoga classes for teachers, staff, and students. All yoga and pranayama asanas have received proper scientific instruction. In addition, all participants performed according to the instructions of the digital platform.
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Summer Internship Assistance Winners

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!!! CONGRATULATIONS !!! : SAE BAJA Students (AY 2020-21)

Team GreaseMonkeys SAE-BAJA of BITS Pilani, K K Birla Goa Campus won 1st place in the Sales Event, 2nd place in the Cost Event and secured the 3rd best team position in Overall Static Events among 150 mbaja teams from all over India.
 
Baja SAE is a Collegiate Design Series competition run by the Society of Automotive Engineers International (SAE International). Teams of students from universities all over the world design and build small off-road cars. All cars have engines of the same specifications. The goal in Baja SAE racing is to design, build and race off-road vehicles that can withstand the harshest elements of rough terrain.
 
The 13th edition of BAJA SAEINDIA in the year 2021 received a total of 282 registrations from all over the country. The competition takes place in two phases that are The Virtuals and The Main Event. Only the teams clearing virtuals go for the main event. Top 150 mBAJA teams and Top 50 eBAJA teams are selected from the virtuals to show their skills and knowledge in the main event.
 
The Main Event took place over 5 days (from 21st to 25th April 2021) with various events divided in two categories - Static and Dynamic events. Due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic scenario, the BAJA SAEINDIA OC decided to have a virtual main event with Static and Dynamic events conducted on different platforms online.
Team GreaseMonkeys SAE-BAJA accepted the challenge with a highly motivated team of 25 students and worked hard to design an ATV virtually to compete in BAJA SAEINDIA 2021. The team excelled with clearing Virtuals and participated in the Main event with full confidence and determination.
 
The Static Event is the combination of Design, Manufacturing, CAE analysis, Sales and cost events where teams have to submit reports and then present them in front of a panel of judges. Static events are one of the most important parts of the main event as it caters the students to learn all the basics of setting up their own project as an automobile Company.
 
Team GreaseMonkeys SAE-BAJA was among the top 15 teams who got selected for the vehicle design finals. From the overall awards in the static events, the team was placed 1st in the Sales Event, 2nd in the Cost Event and secured the 3rd best team position in Overall Static Events among 150 mbaja teams from all over India.
 
The entire team has put in a very valiant effort throughout the year and at a difficult time in achieving these results.
 
 
The Core Coordinating Team Members:

  • Shashank Sonpawale                 2018A4PS0533G
  • Suhas Badadal                           2018B1A40600G
  • Yagyant Thacker                         2018A4PS0529G
  • Smit Joshi                                  2018A4PS0516G
  • Amal Nair                                   2018A4PS0802G
  • Shresth Agarwal                        2018A4PS0944G
 
Other Team Members

  • Sharvil Bartake                          2019A4PS0274G
  • Anshul Kumar                             2019A4PS0651G
  • Aksh Rajput                                2019A4PS0745G
  • Soham Mahajan                          2019A4PS0040G
  • Siddharth Awale                         2019A4PS0808G
  • Agam                                          2019A4PS0521G
  • Anurag Goyal                             2019A4PS0475G
  • Ameya Saunshimath                  2019A4PS0626G
  • Sagar Batra                               2019A4PS0569G
  • Dev Mehta                                 2019B1A41084G
  • Zainah Shaikh                            2019B2A11078G
  • Prakriti Srivastava                      2019A4PS0628G
  • Ishant                                        2019A4PS0531G
  • Akshay Sheth                            2019A4PS0797G
  • Hemant Srivastava                    2018B1A40956G
  • Prashant Raghava                     2019A4PS0763G
  • Aditya                                       2019A4PS0766G
  • Ayush Gupta                             2019A4PS0743G
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'So you become COVID Positive, What Next?'

'So you become COVID Positive, What Next?'

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BITS PILANI Celebrates International Women’s Day

On the occasion of International Women’s Day, Alumni Relations Division of BITS Pilani conducted a virtual event. The event was graced by Sandhya Prakash (Founder, Beacon Energy Solutions and Technology), Sukhnandan Vohra (Photographer, Farmer & Writer), Shruthi Veena Vishwanath (Singer, Composer & Educator), Salini Vineeth (Fiction Writer), Reshmi Mukherjee (Co-founder, The Bhukkad Cafe) and Aditi Sinha (Co-founder, Locale.ai).
 
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BITSAT-2021

The admissions to all the Integrated First Degree programmes of BITS Pilani, at Pilani campus, Goa campus, and Hyderabad Campus for the academic year 2021-22 will be made on the basis of a computer based online test conducted by BITS, Pilani. This test is known as ‘BITS Admission Test – 2021’, in short BITSAT-2021. 

The online portal to apply for BITSAT -2021 (First Degree Programmes) for the academic year 2021-22 is now open. Refer the following link for the online application process.
 

The last date to apply online is 30th June 2021.
 
For more information click on Brochure; Advertisement; Pharmacy Advt.
 


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Celebration of 70th Founder's Day at BITS Pilani K K Birla Goa Campus

Celebration of 70th Founder's Day at BITS Pilani K K Birla Goa Campus
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Hackathon 2021 held at BITS Pilani, K K Birla Goa Campus

BITS BIRAC BioNEST, Goa and CIIE - BITS Pilani, K. K. Birla Goa Campus, organized Hackathon 2021 in online mode from 26th to 28th January 2021. The Hackathon was supported by Stademy, an accelerator that mentors start-ups from Goa and Australia. Applications from interested participants were invited on the themes of Health, Genetics, Water and Waste. The innovations were based on technologies like Artificial Intelligence (AI), Machine Learning, Biotechnology, Bioinformatics, etc. 

 

Top three winning ideas and teams are as follows: 

‘Visio- Smart device enabling navigation for visually impaired’ by BITS Pilani, K K Birla Goa Campus

‘Removal of emerging contaminants from waste water using sustainable Bio-material’ SRM University Chennai

‘Ointment formulation for Acne & Anti Scarring using Trash Fish’ St. Joseph's College, Chennai

 

Teams from colleges located in Goa, Bangalore and Chennai participated in the three day hackathon in online mode. Out of about 40 ideas, 10 shortlisted teams having ideas in health care diagnosis, treatment, cure and assistive devices, waste segregation and water purification technology presented their Technical and Business Plan in the final round of the Hackathon. Each team worked with assigned technical and business mentors to develop their prototype and business plan during the event. Selected ideas were awarded cash prizes and opportunity to avail six months free incubation support at the BITS BIRAC BioNEST, Goa.

 

The jury team comprising of Prof. Sunil Bhand - Dean of BITS Pilani’s Sponsored Research & Consultancy Division (SRCD); Prof. Mridula Goel - Incharge of the BITS BIRAC BioNEST, Goa; Ms. Jyothi Iyer - founder of Stademy, Australia; Mr. Rajneesh Kumar - BITS Pilani’s Technology Transfer Officer and CA Ashutosh Kharangate - MD & Founder, Mangal Analytics and Research Consulting, Goa; decided the finalists.

 

BITS BIRAC BioNEST is an incubator set up by in the BITS Pilani Goa Campus and promotes innovation and entrepreneurship in Healthcare & Environment. The incubator is supported by BIRAC (Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council), a Non-profit organization under Department of Biotechnology (DBT), Government of India.

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72nd Republic Day Flag Hoisting Ceremony at BITS Pilani K K Birla Goa Campus

72nd Republic Day Flag Hoisting Ceremony at BITS Pilani, K K Birla Goa Campus
 
Flag Hoisting Ceremony YouTube link:  https://youtu.be/klauO0MqkMQ
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Ph.D Admissions ( II Semester 2020-21)

Admissions portal for accepting applications for admission to II Semester Ph.D. programmes is now open.
 
 
 
Please Click Here for more information.


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BITSPilani–Goa team won Gold Medal at iGEM 2020

Team BITSPilani-Goa led by Ms. Shruti Sridhar, with Prof. Sumit Biswas as the PI, won the Gold Medal at the iGEM 2020 Giant Jamboree on 22nd November, 2020. The Team also won special awards for the Best Software and the Best Composite Part.

 

Team BITSPilani-Goa is the first ever BITSian team to participated in iGEM 2020. The iGEM (International Genetically Engineered Machines) Foundation is an independent, non-profit organisation dedicated to the advancement of synthetic biology. Each year, they host the iGEM competition, where they give 250+ student teams an opportunity to push the boundaries of bioengineering through designing, building, testing and measuring systems of interchangeable biological modules with standard biological methods.

 

For iGEM 2020, BITS Goa focused on a problem plaguing the sugarcane industry: the problem of post-harvest sucrose deterioration. With an interdisciplinary team of twelve members from the departments of Biological Sciences, Chemical Engineering, Physics, Computer Science, Mechanical Engineering, and Electrical branches, they came up with a solution — SugarGain, to help reduce the loss plaguing both the farmers and the mill owners. SugarGain contains genetically-engineered Escherichia coli that target the invertase enzyme responsible for this deterioration.

 

More information about the project and the team can be found at the team Wiki (https://2020.igem.org/Team:BITSPilani-Goa_India).

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Welcome to newly admitted students, AY 2020-21

Welcome to newly admitted students, AY 2020-21
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Prof. SSR Memorial Teaching Excellence Award Felicitation Ceremony

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Prof. K. R. Anupama, Professor, Electrical and Electronics Engineering Department is conferred with Prof. S S Ranganathan (SSR) Memorial Teaching Excellence Award - 2020

Prof. K. R. Anupama, Professor, Electrical and Electronics Engineering Department is conferred with Prof. S S Ranganathan (SSR) Memorial Teaching Excellence Award - 2020, Instituted by BITS Alumni in recognition of her excellence and consistent high standard of teaching at BITS Pilani, K K Birla Goa Campus.
 
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74th Independence Day Celebration in BITS Pilani K K Birla Goa Campus

74th Independence Day Celebration in BITS Pilani, K K Birla Goa Campus
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Admission to Higher Degree programme Application deadline has been extended till 8th June, 2020 (5.00 PM)

Please click here for more details
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Enactus BITS Goa's Project Sivaar enters the Top 24 Projects globally!

Project Sivaar by Enactus BITS Goa led by Naman Gupta and Yash Agarwal enters the Top 24 Teams globally out of 1730 active Enactus teams. The team of 15 students participated in Enactus 1 Race 4 Oceans with Project Sivaar. Project Sivaar: aims to tackle the problem of ocean acidification, marine habitat loss and climate change through the creation of sustainable and innovative ocean farms and seaweed cultivation while creating micro-social entrepreneurs out of underprivileged communities and farmers around Goa. The Team has partnered with organisations like TERI & NIO for this endeavour and is guided by Prof. Mridula Goel.
 
Out of 107 innovative projects from 20 countries, the project has been selected in the Top 24 projects worldwide and will be going to the final round of incubation & mentorship. Top 3-5 teams get a funding opportunity of $25000 and a fully-sponsored trip to Utrecht, Netherlands. The team will also be representative of the Ocean Student Advisory Group for Impact 4 Oceans during UN Global Goals Week. We wish them the best of luck for the finals!
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Team InfinityBox wins the World Regionals of HULT Prize 2020

Team InfinityBox has won the World Regionals of HULT Prize 2020 and is one among the Top 50 startups worldwide who will attend the accelerator at Boston and aim for the $1 Million Prize! InfinityBox is a team of IIT KGP and BITS Pilani students solving the challenge of rising usage of single-use plastics by following a circular economy model for food delivery containers.

 

BITS student Shiv Kumar along with 3 IIT Kharagpur students namely - Shashwat Gangwal, Soham Chandorkar and Keshav Godala constitute Team InfinityBox.

 

Across three pilots in Kharagpur, Gurugram and Mumbai, they have had an outstanding adoption rate of 75% among the consumers. The latest Mumbai pilot was in partnership with Swiggy. The team is looking at replicating this success and have a bigger impact alongside Swiggy. Once operational, InfinityBox would reduce at least 200,000 Kgs of plastic within 2 years.

 

Read more about InfinityBox at https://www.infinityboxkgp.com/

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BITS Higher Degree Admission

 
 
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International Conference on Innovations for Water Treatment

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Alumni Research Talks (ART) 2020

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International Conference on Economics and Finance 2020

The 2nd International Conference on Economics and Finance (ICEF) was organized by the Department of Economics, BITS PILANI, K K Birla Goa Campus in collaboration with University of Missouri during 23-25 January 2020. In the inaugural address, Director Prof. Raghurama G emphasized on asking the right questions and creating solutions that can be used by the society. Prof. Aswini K Mishra, the Head of the Department of Economics shed light on the ongoing collaboration between academia and industry.  

 

During the 3 day event, the audience was enlightened by current research insights from the eminent speakers from India and abroad. The Keynote Speaker, Mr Jeffrey C. Thomson, President and CEO of IMA (Institute of Management Accountants), stressed on the growing need and motivation for the businesses to incorporate social & environmental considerations and adopting “purpose based leadership”.

 

Prof. Avanidhar Subrahmanyam, Distinguished Professor of Finance, Goldyne and Irwin Hearsh Chair in Money and Banking, The John E. Anderson Graduate School of Management, University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA), gave an insightful plenary lecture on challenges of big data in finance and explained how economic fundamentals & consumer sentiments predict stock returns. Dr. Hamza Ali Malik (Director, Macroeconomic Policy and Financing for Development Division, United Nations ESCAP) stressed on prioritizing and mapping the progress of SDGs and the need to invest in People, Planet and Prosperity for sustainable long term development. Dr Sweta Saxena (Chief, Macroeconomic Policy and Analysis, UN-ESCAP)) shed light on economic Booms, Crises, and Recoveries and explained the “illusionary phase” of economic recovery post-crises.

 

Prof. Sanket Mohapatra, IIM Ahmedabad explained how stronger insolvency regimes can reduce firms’ default risk. Mr. Jaywardhan Semwal, VP, Hewlett Packard elucidated the evolving nature of Finance from being retrospective to predictive to now being prescriptive. Prof. Sujeet K. Sharma, IIM Trichy, elaborated on the research opportunities for social science scholars in data analytics.  Dr. Joyojeet Pal, Microsoft Research India, provided amazing insights on how social media drives election campaigns and results. He presented ‘Politwictionary’ a database of nearly 18,500 Indian politicians, tracking their activities, consistency and popularity on social media platforms. Prof. Prakash Singh, IIM Lucknow, explained the importance of non-quantitative component of company Annual Reports. Prof. Vairam Arunachalam, (Director of the School of Accountancy & PWC/ Joseph A. Silvoso Distinguished Professor, University of Missouri) provided insights on asset misappropriation and financial statement fraud.

 

The conference provided insights on latest advancements like Global Economic Conditions Survey (GECS) conducted by IMA. Despite improved consumer sentiments and recovery of global confidence, the downside risk and uncertainties persist in the global economy in the light of on-going US-China trade tensions and Brexit. Overall, the 3-day event, which was funded by IMA and NABARD, enriched the audience with applications of AI, ML, social media on the economic landscape of the world in general and India in particular.

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BITSAA Global Meet 2020

BITSAA Global Meet 2020 inaugurated on 17th Jan 2020 with a keynote address by Mr. Sonam Wangchuk - Engineer, innovator, reformer, ecowarrior.
 
 
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International Grant awarded for Cognitive Neuroscience Lab

Cognitive neuroscience Lab, Department of biological sciences has received a multi-institutional Erasmus+ International grant for the proposal titled “Integrated Track in Brain and Cognitive Sciences (iBRAIN)” under the Capacity Building in Higher Education 2019 scheme. The total grant amount sanctioned is EUR 967160.00 (762 Lakhs INR). Prof. Veeky Baths, Associate Professor at the Dept. of Biological Sciences and Principal Investigator at the Cognitive Neuroscience Lab is one of the PIs.

The primary purpose of this project is the modernisation of the curriculum in cognitive studies by developing new and innovative courses and methodologies in the partner countries. The project also aims to update existing courses in cognitive neurosciences, psycholinguistics, neuropsychology and related areas.

This consortium of international universities and institutes was proposed through a collective proposal between several researchers. The project was conceptualised by Prof. Boris Gutkin (Ecole Normal Superior, France) in collaboration with Prof. Veeky Baths (BITS, Pilani Goa Campus, India) Prof. Ramesh Mishra (UoH, India), Prof. Yury Shtyrov (Aarhus University, Denmark), Prof. Andriy Myachykov (Northumbria University, UK), Prof. Vasily Klucharev (National Research University, Higher School of Economics, Russia) and Prof. Raul Gainetdinov (Saint Petersburg State University, Russia). This project aims to develop an educational track from Master level to Doctoral level of education in Cognitive Sciences, which will combine Psychology, Neurobiology, Mathematics and Computer Sciences.

The project duration is up to 3 years, starting in January 2020. The grant will promote the internationalisation of training/ teaching in cognitive sciences among the consortium partners and allow student mobility. Several workshops and conferences will be organised to implement activities planned within the project. The first meeting of all the PI’s from the partner countries will be held in Paris in 2020.

Prof. Veeky Baths and his team at Cognitive Neuroscience Lab, BITS Goa is actively pursuing research in Cognitive Sciences. It houses a research-grade EEG recording system from EGI (Phillips) with the doctoral students currently working in the domains of EEG based Home and Wheelchair Automation, the study of Neurodegeneration due to Alzheimer’s disease, Psycholinguistics and Neuromarketing.

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BITSAA Global Meet 2020

BITSAA Global Meet 2020 inaugurated on 17th Jan 2020 with a keynote address by Mr. Sonam Wangchuk - Engineer, innovator, reformer, ecowarrior.
 
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BITSAT 2020

Please visit  https://www.bitsadmission.com to apply BITSAT-2020 . 
 
All information about admission at BITS Pilani will be available on https://www.bitsadmission.com website only. 
 
All other websites falsely claiming to be BITSAT website are not ours and to be used with caution.
 
Click here for BITSAT-2020 Brochure
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IAPT - UGCP (Winter Camp in Physics & Astronomy) for all India and Goa Meritorious students

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International Conference on ‘Secure Knowledge Management in Artificial Intelligence Era’ (SKM)

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3rd edition of “New Frontiers in Chemistry-from Fundamentals to Applications (NFCFA)”

3rd edition of the biennial national conference New Frontiers in Chemistry-from Fundamentals to Applications-III (NFCFA2019)” was organized by the Department of Chemistry, BITS Pilani K K Birla Goa Campus, during 21st-22nd December 2019. 

 

Inaugural function was graced by Prof. B K Mishra, Director of IIT Goa as the Chief Guest and Prof. Ashwini K Nangia, Director of CSIR-National Chemical Laboratory, Pune as the Guest of Honor. The conference was inaugurated in presence of the Director of BITS Pilani, K K Birla Goa Campus, Prof. G Raghurama; HoD of Chemistry, Prof. Halan Prakash; Chairman NFCFA2019, Prof. N N Ghosh, Conveners of NFCFA2019, Prof. Mainak Banerjee and Prof. Amrita Chatterjee, by lightning of traditional lamp.

 

About 150 delegates representing reputed organizations such as IISC, Bangalore; IIT Bombay; IIT Delhi; NCL, Pune; IISER, Kolkata; IISER, Pune; IISER Bhopal; BARC, Mumbai; NISER Bhubaneswar; NIIST, Trivandum; Jadavpur University, Kolkata; Goa University; NIO, Goa participated as speakers and participants. An exciting two days scientific programme included three keynote addresses, 30 invited speakers, 14 oral presentations. In addition, an NFCFA-ACS oral contest for research scholars and over 100 poster presentations were lined up in two days. There were total nine awards both by Royal Society of Chemistry and American Chemical Society for oral and poster presentations. Certificates were given both by RSC and ACS.

 

Prof. G. Raghurama in his speech briefed the gathering about BITS Pilani University. He also shared his view about the shorting of boundaries of conventional subjects. He mentioned that chemistry has broken the barrier of organic, inorganic and physical and expanded its wings to biology, material science and even to electronics. Prof. Mishra in his address expressed caution about generation of a huge quantity of carbon-di-oxide gas and proposed the requirement of green technologies for its conversion to value added products. Prof. Nangia has shared his view about the present need of changing the current educational system in view of on-line availability of information galore and giving more flexibility to students in choosing the subjects. In the beginning, Prof. N. N. Ghosh welcomed the delegates and Prof. Halan Prakash briefed about the Chemistry department’s performance. Inaugural function concluded with the vote of thanks proposed by Prof. Mainak Banerjee.

 

The aim of the national conference, NFCFA2019 was to hold an open deliberation on the state of art developments in important areas of R&D of chemistry and allied sciences, a firsthand assessment of the existing challenges with an ambition to arrive at prospective solution and define future strategy. This conference covered a wide range of contemporary research areas of chemistry and allied sciences such as Chemical Biology, Environmental Science, Material Science with an emphasis on practical applications. It provided a forum for young research scholars to interact with senior scientists/academicians and discuss the new frontiers in separation science and share their current research interests so as to have a fusion of viable ideas to be realized in future.
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13th IEEE International Conference on Advanced Networks and Telecommunications Systems (IEEE ANTS)

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6th Annual Conference of Cognitive Science (ACCS 2019)

The Cognitive Neuroscience Lab of the Department of Biological Sciences, BITS Pilani, K K Birla Goa Campus successfully hosted the 6th Annual Conference of Cognitive Sciences (ACCS 2019).

 

Local organizing chair, Prof. Veeky Baths, Associate Professor, Department of Biological Sciences, BITS Pilani, Goa Campus and Prof. Harish Karnick from IIT Kanpur on behalf of Association for Cognitive Science (ACS-India) welcomed the participants. Prof. G. Raghurama, Director of BITS Pilani, Goa Campus presented encouraging introductory thoughts and Prof. Shrikanth Mutnuri, Head of the Biological Sciences Department thanked the guests and participants for their participation.

 

The first keynote lecture was delivered by Mr. Raghavendra Singh, Director of Computer Vision and Data Science, Oyla Inc. on the relation between 3D processing and Cognition. The second keynote address was by Dr. Venkatasubramanian Ganesan, NIMHANS, on WISER Neuromodulation of Brain Plasticity. The third keynote address was by Prof. Malatesha Joshi on the Implications for the Assessment of Instruction of Dyslexia and Related Reading Problems. The final keynote lecture was by Prof. Supratim Ray on using Gamma oscillations and SSVEPs as tools to investigate brain function in health and disease.

 

The three day event brought together around 150 scientists and academic scholars from all around the country to discuss and present their research findings in the field of cognition, linguistics, decision making etc.  

 

The themes broadly covered as many fields within Cognitive Science as possible with domains as varied as computer science, signal processing, HCI , psychology, Linguistics, philosophy of mind and so on. This ever expanding domain offers exciting research and innovation opportunities for the future generation of researchers.

 

The conference included 30 Oral and 70 Poster presentations. The conference concluded with feedback being taken from the participants and discussions on collaborative research. The next ACCS will be held at IISc, Bangalore.

 

The Cognitive Neuroscience Lab thanks the Department of Science and Technology - Cognitive Science Research Initiative (DST-CSRI) and Mr. Parag Amodkar (Tobii Inc.) for supporting the conference and making it a grand success.

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International Conference on Secure Knowledge Management in Artificial Intelligence Era

With the advent of revolutionary technologies such as artificial intelligence, machine learning, cloud computing, big data, and IoT; Secure Knowledge Management (SKM) continues to be an important research area that deals with methodologies for systematically gathering, organizing, and disseminating information in a secure manner. The recent development of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the security arena shows a promising future, and there is no doubt that AI can provide new ideas and tools for SKM. Therefore, this conference on SKM will bring together researchers & practitioners from academia, industry, and government on a global scale. The scope and focus of SKM-2019 conference are to present and discuss the most recent innovations, trends, and concerns including practical challenges encountered and the solution adopted with special emphasis on AI. SKM 2017 was held in Tampa Florida and past iterations of SKM were held in SUNY Buffalo, SUNY Albany, SUNY Stony Brook, UT Dallas, Rutgers University, BITS Dubai and University of South Florida. Following the biennial tradition of the Secure Knowledge Management Workshop that began in 2004.
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3rd edition of “New Frontiers in Chemistry-from Fundamentals to Applications (NFCFA)”

NFCFA 2019 is the 3rd edition of the biennial event “nd 2019. New Frontiers in Chemistry-from Fundamentals to Applications (NFCFA)” to be held at the Department of Chemistry, BITS Pilani KK Birla Goa Campus, during December 20th-22

 

The aim of this national conference, NFCFA 2019 is to hold an open deliberation on the state of art developments in important areas of R&D of chemistry and allied sciences, a firsthand assessment of the existing challenges with an ambition to arrive at prospective solution and define future strategy. It is supposed to provide a proper forum where senior academicians/experts and young researchers/scholars would get ample opportunity to interact and discuss the new frontiers in chemistry and share their research interests so as to have a fusion of viable ideas to be realized in future as a gift to the youngsters by their expert predecessors.

 

During the conference there will be Key-note/ Invited lectures by eminent scientists and also Oral presentations by young Scientists. In addition, oral and poster sessions will give ample opportunity to Research Scholars for presentation of their recent results. There will be an NFCFA-ACS oral contest for research scholars and awards for poster presentations. Certificates will be given both by RSC and ACS. The previous editions of this conference, NFCFA2015 and NFCFA2017 were of great success with participation from more than 30 reputed institutes and industries (over 200 participants), quality of talks, posters, awards by RSC etc.

 

This conference will cover a wide range of contemporary research areas of chemistry and allied Sciences such as Chemical Biology, Environmental Science, Material Science with an emphasis on practical applications. Specific topics to be discussed will include but not limited to:

·         New Synthetic Approaches, Reagents & Catalysts

·         Green Chemistry & Environmental Science

·         Supramolecular chemistry and Nanochemistry

·         Sensors & Nanodevices

·         Natural Products & Heterocycles

·         Medicinal Chemistry & Chemical Biology

·         Coordination & Bio-inorganic Chemistry

·         Reaction Dynamics & Electrochemistry

·         Theoretical and Computational Chemistry

·         Renewable Energy & Energy Storage

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Sixth Annual Conference of Cognitive Sciences (ACCS 2019)

The inaugural ceremony was presided by Prof. Raghurama G., Director of BITS Pilani K K Birla Goa Campus and Prof. Harish Karnick (IIT Kanpur), Prof. Veeky Baths (Cognitive Neuroscience Lab), and Prof. Shrikanth Mutnuri (HOD, Dept. of Biological Sciences) shared the dais. Prof. Veeky Baths delivered the welcome address. Prof. Harish Karnick spoke about the background of the Association of Cognitive Science, India. Conference was attended by around 140 participants.


Keynote lectures were delivered by Raghavendra Singh (Oyla Inc), Dr. Venkatasubramanian Ganesan (NIMHANS), Prof. Malatesha Joshi (Texas A&M University) and Prof. Supratim Ray (IISc). The conference will feature over 30 Oral Presentations and 70 Poster presentations. You can find more details at www.accs2019.blogspot.com

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BITS Pilani to host 13th IEEE International Conference on ‘Advanced Networks and Telecommunications Systems’

BITS Pilani, K K Birla Goa Campus is hosting 13th IEEE International Conference on Advanced Networks and Telecommunications Systems (IEEE ANTS) 2019 from 16th to 19th December 2019. Conference will be inaugurated at 2 pm on 16th December 2019 at the Institute Auditorium.

 

IEEE ANTS is a premier IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers) forum on advanced networking and telecommunications topics. IEEE ANTS is financially and technically supported by IEEE Communications Society. The distinguishing characteristic of IEEE ANTS is the promotion of an intense dialogue between academia and industry to bridge the gap between academic research, industry initiatives, and governmental policies. This is fostered through panel discussions, keynotes, invited talks, and industry exhibits, where academia is exposed to state-of-the-practice and results from trials and interoperability experiments. The industry, in turn, benefits from exposure to leading-edge research in networking as well as the opportunity to communicate with academic researchers regarding practical problems that require further research.

 

This year the theme of the conference is “BCET- Bridge to Connect EveryThing". More than 300 delegates from around 21 different countries will be attending the conference.

 

For any queries, contact Prof. K R Anupama on anupkr@goa.bits-pilani.ac.in
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ADMISSION OPEN for PhD PROGRAMMES (Second Semester 2019-20)

The online portal to apply for admission to PhDProgrammes (Full-Time & Part-Time) for the Academic Year 2019-20 (Sem- II)  is now open. Refer the following link for online application process
 
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Global Bio-India Road Show - Goa - IDEATHON 2019 at BITS BIRAC BioNEST, BITS Pilani

BITS BIRAC BioNEST and Centre for Innovation Incubation and Entrepreneurship, BITS Pilani K K Birla Goa Campus, organized a Global Bio-India Road Show – Goa - IDEATHON - 2019’ on 15th October 2019 with the purpose to create awareness about Global Bio-India 2019, the largest Bio event, that would showcase opportunities in Indian Biotechnology sector to the world.

 

Prof. Mridula Goel, In-charge, BITS BIRAC BioNEST introduced the activities of incubator and the theme of IDEATHON 2019. Dr. Abhiram Dukkipati, Founder, Magellan Life Sciences Ltd, spoke on “Innovation and Commercialization” of his unique product. Mr. Sudip Faldesai, Project Officer, Goa State Innovation Council (GSIC), Government of Goa, gave details about the activities of GSIC in encouraging young talent in local universities, colleges, schools, medium and small scale industries and R&D institutes.

 

Ms. Shilpy Kochchar, Senior Manager, Entrepreneurship Development, BIRAC, delivered her talk on innovation capabilities of the Indian biotech industry and various funding schemes to foster and empower startups to commercialize their discoveries. She also highlighted on the opportunities for startups, SMEs, large industries and investors at Global Bio-India Summit 2019 to be held from 21-23, November, 2019 at Aerocity, Delhi.

 

As a part of the road show, IDEATHON 2019 was conducted to discover solutions for the growing water, health and environmental problems. Faculty members, research scholars and students  from reputed educational institutes such as National Institute of Technology, Goa, Parvatibai Chowgule College of Arts & Science, Margao; Dhempe College of Arts & Science, Panaji; PES R.S.N College of Arts and Science, Ponda and BITS Pilani K K Birla Goa Campus participated in the IDEATHON.

 

Shortlisted 15 ideas were presented at the event, addressing the major environmental problems like degradable and non-degradable waste management; alternate for plastic; food adulteration; water conservation; e-commerce waste management etc to the panel of judges viz Mr. Lalit Saraswat, Chairman, CII Goa; Mr. Sudip Faldesai Project Officer, GSIC; Mr. Tarun Krishnakumar, Investment Manager, FIIRE Goa; Prof. Sunil Bhand, Dept. of Chemistry, BITS Goa Campus and Dr. Anirban Roy, Dept. of Chemical Engineering, BITS Goa Campus and Dr. Rajorshi Sen Gupta, In-charge, CIIE, BITS Goa Campus

 

Prizes for 1st, 2nd and 3rd places were given to “Piezoelectric soles for foot desensitization problem of diabetic patients” (BITS Pilani K K Birla, Goa Campus), “Bioaccumulation” (Dhempe College of Arts & Science, Panaji) and “Swachchak – Dustbin Monitoring” (BITS Pilani K K Birla, Goa Campus) respectively by Mr. Lalit Saraswat, Chairman, CII Goa.

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Workshop held on DNA Binding & DNA Cleavage studies using chemical compounds

A three day workshop on “DNA Binding and DNA Cleavage using Chemical Compounds” was organized at BITS BIRAC BioNEST, Innovation Lab set up at BITS Pilani, K K Birla Goa Campus from 11th to 13th Oct 2019.

 
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BITS students excel at Boeing University Innovation Leadership Development (BUILD) program

Student team of BITS Pilani, K K Birla Goa Campus – Project PINAKA – was declared winners at the recently concluded Boeing University Innovation Leadership Development (BUILD) program. Six winning teams, 3 student teams and 3 teams amongst early-stage start-ups were selected from 26 finalist teams. The program attracted a record number of entrants, many from tier II and III cities, with more than 850 student and early-stage innovation teams applying from across India. 82 teams were shortlisted through a stringent evaluation process to enter the program’s regional boot camps. The team was mentored by Prof. Shibu Clement, Associate Professor, Dept. of Mechanical Engineering.

 

Project PINAKA is a team of motivated engineers working to introduce AI into Aviation. The team innovated Solar Endurance UAV. It is an artificially intelligent autopilot system which is being made to be deployed on electric fixed wing drone.  An array of sensors are placed in different configurations, this data is fused together and processed by an AI system which then predicts wind patterns. The post processing system then uses this data to enter air streams to conserve energy.  So far the team has made one prototype to collect test data.

 

The BUILD program is Boeing’s unique aerospace innovation, leadership and talent nurturing program for university students, faculty and early-stage start-ups. The program invited ideas in the fields of aerospace, autonomous vehicles, advanced manufacturing, augmented and virtual reality, artificial intelligence and machine learning, materials, robotics and the Internet of Things. The incubator program launched in collaboration with seven incubators: IIT Delhi, IIT Gandhinagar, IIT Bombay, IIT Madras, IISc Bangalore, T-Hub Hyderabad and KIIT Bhubaneshwar.

 

The BITS teams entered Boeing BUILD competition 4 months ago and since then Boeing has provided students rigorous training in understanding the entrepreneurial process along with Business modelling. Students passed through 5 stages of the competition where 2 rounds were interviews with the jury and 2 rounds were Regional and National level pitch competitions.

 

TEAM MEMBERS

 

Students’ Name

Designation

Student ID

Saksham Agrawal

Team Lead

2017B3A70581G

Kshitij Chhabra

Head of Electronics

2017A8PS0691G

Harshwardhan Shirodkar

Head of Construction

2017AAPS0169G

Devanshu Wakhale

Head of Design

2017A4PS0293G

Srisreyas S

Head of Automation

2017A7PS0065G

Harshvardhan Chandirasekar

Member

2018A4PS0523G

Bharat Gupta

Member

2018A3PS0448G

Prithvi Ramesh

Member

2018A4PS0502G

Shambhavi Singh

Member

2018B5A30276G

Devansh Gupta

Member

2018AAPS0275G

 
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METANOIA 2019

The 5th edition of BITS Pilani, K K Birla Goa Campus’ annual Alumni Summit - Metanoia concluded successfully on 17th August 2019. This year’s edition of Metanoia featured the journey of change of six BITSians - Ms. Divya Nawale, Mr. Jyoti Kalyan Sura, Air vice Marshal (retd.) Prof. Ajit Tyagi, Ms. Nikita Tanwani, Ms. Rashmi Datt and Mr. Kunal Bhatia. In his introductory address, the Director of Goa Campus, Prof. Raghurama G, spoke about how BITS focuses on the development of alumni bond with the Alma Mater and highlighted the fact that the all speakers are from very diverse fields - be it defence, modelling, author, etc.

 

An avid traveller Ms. Divya Nawale has been to Antarctica, and all the 7 continents. She is a winner of 30-Under-30 Award in 2012, granted by the BITS Alumni Association (BITSAA) under the category ‘Social Entrepreneurship & Community Building’. Ms. Nawale spoke about her journey to all the 7 continents, especially the poles and made audience aware about issues related to climate change and foundations which work for environmental protection.

 

Mr. Jyoti Kalyan Sura is a visual effect artist working in DreamWorks animation. He talked about his initial plan of pursuing the civil services and how fate had some completely different in store for him. He further went on to say that he only learnt about visual effects (VFX) once he got into college and studied everything on his own as, at that time, coaching for VFX design commanded a fairly handsome tuition fee. He then gave everyone a peek into his future plans and projects and thus, ended his talk on a high note. Some of the projects that he worked on include How to train your dragon 2, Penguins of Madagascar, Detective Pokemon Pikachu, Dark Phoenix.

 

Air Vice-Marshal (retired) Professor Ajit Tyagi is Chairman, IDC Foundation; Senior Adviser, IRADe; Member, WMO Working Group on Tropical Meteorology. Professor Tyagi emphasised on the importance of environmental conservation. He even provided some insightful and eye-opening data about climate change to the audience. He also went on to add some titbits on leadership, further corroborated by his air-force background. He is former Director General of Meteorology & Member, World Meteorological Organization’s (WMO) Executive Council.

 

The winner of Miss Andhra Pradesh 2019 and first BITSian Femina Miss India finalist, Ms. Nikita Tanwani spoke about her journey from an engineer to an extremely successful model. She talked about her passion for modelling and how she was part of the fashion club even in college. She also brought to light the hurdles she faced in her journey, one of them being her parents’ reluctance to her pursuing a career in modelling. She talked about life as a model as, an engineer and credited the college for forming her personality and for making her who she is today.

 

An Organisation Development consultant and coach, Ms. Rashmi Datt helps teams and individuals move from EQ (Emotional Intelligence) to WeQ (collaborative intelligence). She is one of India's few certified psychodramtists and author of two books on EQ. She is Leadership Development Advisor at IIT Gandhinagar. She shed light on the various types of emotions and the power that emotions hold in our lives. She went on to talk about dealing with depression, anxiety and other forms of mental stress which are increasingly becoming commonplace with a lot of the youth. She advised everyone to call out for help instead of keeping the emotions bottled up within themselves. The talk truly brought forth much needed clarity on the psyche of college students today.

 

Mr. Kunal Bhatia, political consultant to national political leaders, spoke about his experience garnered over the years in a plethora of fields including, but not limited to politics. He shared his journey from the time he was the head organiser of the national music competition, Sea Rock as a part of college, to being a part of the prime ministerial campaign of 2014 and 2019.

 

The event concluded with the vote of thanks proposed by Prof. Veeky Baths, Associate Dean of Alumni Relations Cell. He thanked the Director, Prof. Raghurama G, eminent speakers and the faculty for being a part of the Summit. He thanked all the speakers for sparing their valuable time to speak at the Goa campus. He emphasized on the importance of alumni participation for a university and spoke about how BITS established a strong and symbiotic relationship with its alumni which lasts for life. He also thanked the students who were involved in organization of the Summit and those who attended it.

 

In conclusion, this year’s edition of Metanoia was a focal point of some successful alumni that BITS Pilani is proud to have, involved in a variety of different fields, but still having something extremely strong in common- the BITSian spirit!

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Independence Day Celebrations

Independence Day Celebrations at BITS Pilani K K Birla Goa Campus
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‘AI Research Lab to start at BITS Pilani Goa campus’ announced during Convocation 2019

BITS Pilani is setting-up a centre named Anuradha and Prashanth Palakurthi Centre for Artificial Intelligence Research (APPCAIR) for promoting research in the area of Artificial Intelligence at BITS Pilani, K K Birla Goa Campus. Announcing this during the Convocation 2019, Director of Goa Campus, Prof G Raghurama said “This lab is being set up with the help of a generous contribution by BITS Alumni Anuradha and Prashanth Palakurthi who have made a commitment to contribute at least 1 million USD for this. We are grateful to the alumni and look forward to similar support from our Alumni in our future efforts to take this campus to greater heights”.

 

Prof. K VijayRaghavan, Principal Scientific Adviser to the Govt. of India, Padma Shri awardee and former Secretary, Department of Biotechnology, Govt. of India graced the annual convocation of BITS Pilani Goa Campus as the Chief Guest. Vice-Chancellor, BITS Pilani - Prof. Souvik Bhattacharyya; Registrar, BITS Pilani – Mr. Ernest Samuel Ratnakumar J; and Director of Goa Campus - Prof. G. Raghurama along with members of the Board of Governors, members of the senate, faculty members were also present. Drawing attention to the deterioration of our planet, Prof. VijayRaghavan, in his convocation address, emphasized on the need to democratize knowledge and urged youngsters to become the agents of change.

 

This year, out of 1148 students who qualified to receive various degrees such as BE (Hons), MSc (Hons) ME and PhD, 678 students received their degrees during today’s convocation. Of these 14 students received their PhDs. Three students from the Bachelor’s degree programs, Mr. Madhu Adav, Mr. Kathan Kashiparekh and Mr. Devritt were awarded Gold, Silver and Bronze medals respectively. 139 students, who graduated through the Work Integrated Learning program (WILP), also received their degrees in this convocation ceremony. Prof. Arun Kumar Sharma, Deputy Vice Chancellor & Vice President, Queensland University, Australia received the Distinguished Alumnus Awards of 2019. The award was conferred upon 11 alumni from varied fields of expertise for their significant and outstanding contribution to the society.

 

The APPCAIR lab will start its operations from Goa campus, but affiliates to the centre can be on any of the BITS campuses (Pilani, Goa, Hyderabad or Dubai).  APPCAIR will be headed by Ashwin Srinivasan, who is a Senior Professor in the Department of Computer Science at BITS Goa. Professor Ashwin has worked for nearly 30 years in the field of AI in places like the Turing Institute (Scotland), University of Oxford, and IBM Research and is one of the leading researchers in the field combining Machine Learning and Logic. He says: “We are now at a point where AI techniques, especially data-driven ones are expected to play an important role in the Sciences, Engineering, Business and even the Humanities. We at BITS want to be part of shaping this future, and to contribute positively to the nation’s strategy for applications of AI in areas like Healthcare, Agriculture, Education, Urban Planning, Transport and so on”.

 

BITS alumni Prashanth Palakurthi and his wife Anuradha said: We wanted to give back to our alma mater which gave us so much and where we started our journey. We hope our contribution is followed up by many more from the family of hugely successful alumni”.

 

Prashanth Palakurthi is the Founder and CEO of US-based Reflexis Systems. His wife Anuradha, the founder of Juju Productions, is a professional singer and radio personality in the United States. Prashanth founded the company in 2001 and with his team of co-founders pioneered the category of Retail Execution Management solutions. In 2014, he received an Award from the Asian American Business Development Center in New York for building a successful business and contributing to the community.

 

BITS Pilani was conferred with the ‘Institute of Eminence (IoE)’ status by the MHRD, Government of India in the year 2018. BITS Pilani in this phase of its growth is giving a strategic thrust to its research agenda that would contribute to innovations and entrepreneurship ventures. Prashanth and Anuradha’s contribution at this juncture would give a momentum to research agenda of the institute by way of attracting research-driven faculty, post-doctoral fellows and research scholars in an area that is going to see significant opportunities over the next decade.

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Convocation 2019

Convocation 2019 Live Webcast
 
Webcast Link : http://webcast.vmukti.com/bits-pilani
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BITS Goa students took part in the SKA Week at Vigyan Samagam 2019

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Five-day workshop on‘Basic Molecular Biology Laboratory Tools and Techniques’ organized byBITS BIRAC BioNEST

BITS BIRAC BioNEST, Innovation Lab set up at BITS Pilani, K K Birla Goa Campus, organized a five-day workshop on Basic Molecular Biology Laboratory Tools and Techniques’ from 9th to 13th July 2019.

 

The workshop was conducted by faculty members and doctoral students of BITS Pilani’s Department of Biological Sciences.  Course Director, Dr. MalabikaBiswas and Resource Persons, Dr. Arnab Banerjee & Dr. IndraniTalukdardesigned the workshop and conducted the sessions.  Prof. AnasuyaGanguly and Prof. SumitBiswaswere invited as guest speakers.Our PhD scholars viz.Vijay,Fiona, Pranjita&Pooja also conducted few hands-on sessions.

 

Faculty members, researcher scholars and students from various institutes from Goa as well as from neighbouring states participated in this workshop.  Participants from reputed educational institutes such as Kamaraj College of Engineering & Technology, Tamil Nadu; St. Aloysius Autonomous College, Mangaluru; NMAM Institute of Technology, Udipi and from our own campus participated in the hands-on workshop.  Institutions from Goa such as Chowgule College of Arts & Science, Margao; Govt. College of Arts, Science &Commerce,Khandola; Dhempe College of Arts & Science, Panaji; and Goa College of Pharmacy, Panaji nominated their faculty members and students.

 

The workshop focused on basic molecular biology theoretical knowledge with emphasis on hands-on training through experimentation. The workshop was intended to enable participants to clone and over express the gene of interest themselves.  Participants received the training with enthusiasm and expressed keenness to use the BioNESTfor future projects.

 

BITS BIRAC BioNEST, set up in January this year,would be conductingmany such workshops with the aim of providingyoung scientists a chance to learn by doing.This Innovation Lab would provide incubation support to the entrepreneurs in the verticals of healthcare and environment by providing them equipment, space and supporting facilities to test their ideas, prototype in the lab and take it to the market. 
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BITS Pilani, K K Birla Goa Campus celebrates Vth International “Day of Yoga”

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BITS Pilani, K K Birla Goa Campus celebrates Vth International “Day of Yoga”

Friday, 21st June 2019 from 6:45 am to 7:45 am

at Student Activity Center (SAC)

organised by Student Welfare Division (SWD)

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Workshop on ‘Role of forest ecosystems in meeting SDGs in South Asia’


Participants of the workshop with

 

Chief Guest: Mr. Subhash Chandra, IFS Principal Chief Conservator of Forests, Government of Goa (5th from right)

Guest of Hounour: Mrs. Kamakshi Pai, General Manager Goa regional office NABARD (4th from right)

Dr. Madhav Karki, Deputy Global Chair of the IUCN Commission on Ecosystem Management (5th from left)

Prof. B K Tiwari, Professor, Northeastern Hill University, Shillong (2nd from left)

Dr. Pradip Sarmokadam, Member Secretary, Goa State Biodiversity Board (2nd from right)

Dr. Himlal Baral, Senior Scientist, Climate Change, Energy and Low Carbon Development, Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR), Bogor, Indonesia and Chair IUCN Forest Systems Group (4th from left)

Dr. Rajiv Kumar Chaturvedi, Assistant Professor, Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, BITS Pilani, Goa Campus and Co-Chair IUCN Forest Systems Group (standing extreme left)
 
 
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BITS Pilani, Goa Campus Students win design prototype competition

Two students of BITS Pilani, K K Birla Goa Campus, Mr. Suraj Gupta (2017B2A30329G) and Mr. Taaha Nizam (2017A8PS0582G) have secured first place for their design prototype namely ‘Smart Sole’ presented during ‘Open Innovation in Community Based Rehabilitation (CBR) for People with Disabilities (PWD)’ and ‘Interdisciplinary Design Thinking Hackathon' organized by Cognitive Neuroscience Lab, Department of Biological Sciences, BITS Pilani, K K Birla Goa Campus and Leeds Business School of University of Leeds from 15th to 17th March 2019. The winners were announced in April 2019.

 

SMART SOLE

The 'Smart Sole' is an ingenious assistive device that aims to help people with neuropathic feet. Such people are sufferers of foot de-sensitization and this leads to their nerves getting embedded and ultimately causing ulcers among other symptoms. Our device aims to demolish the root of the problem by taking a sensory input and transferring it to a band on the wrist or some other place. Apart from being simple (Smart Sole itself requires no charging), cost effective and durable, it also serves as a base for other customizations and future products to be embedded in the Sole which serves one of the most important parts of the body.

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New ME programme in Sanitation Science, Technology and Management in collaboration with IHE Delft, Netherlands

This is a research track programme wherein the student pursues two semesters of coursework and starts a Dissertation in the third semester (possibly concurrent with some remaining coursework) and spends the entire fourth semester pursuing the ME Dissertation. The curriculum also focuses on on-field best practice aspects to impart skills to the students. The programme will be run at BITS Pilani K K Birla Goa campus and degree will be awarded by BITS Pilani.
 

"BITS Pilani has been recently recognised as Institute of Eminence by MHRD, Govt. of India. It is also India’s highest ranked non-Government Institute as declared in various reputed world rankings of 2019 such as QS BRICS, QS Asia, and QS India. BITS Pilani has recently secured a place in the World top 500 QS Subject Rankings 2019 in Mechanical & Manufacturing, Electrical & Electronics and Computer Science and THE 2019 World top 500 Subject Ranking in Life Sciences where BITS Pilani is among the top 8 from India. It was ranked 17th in the University category and 5th in the Pharmacy category in 2018 by the National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) released by MHRD, Govt of India.



This programme is in collaboration with IHE Delft, Netherlands and is part of Global Sanitation Graduate school (https://sanitationeducation.org/global-sanitation-graduate-school/). IHE Delft Institute for Water Education, Netherlands has signed an agreement with Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to transfer the Delft-based Postgraduate Program in Sanitation to Universities in South Asia and Sub Saharan Africa as part of the recently established Global Sanitation Graduate School. BITS Pilani has been recognized as a sub-grantee of this agreement among a selected few across the globe and is launching this new ME Programme in Sanitation Science, Technology and Management in collaboration with IHE Delft at its Goa campus.
 

Why this programme?

United Nations General Assembly set in the year 2015 a set of 17 goals that needs to be achieved by the year 2030. These goals are called as Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). SDG 6 focusses on Water and Sanitation and it is high on Indian Government’s agenda as evident from Swachh Bharat Abhiyaan Mission. Capacity building in this area is an important task and International Water Association (IWA), an association of water professionals around the world, predicted the requirement of professional capacity needs in Water and Sanitation. According to IWA, “the gap in 2014 was 700,000 individuals, but that gap has widened with the adoption of the Sustainable Development Goals” - www.iwa-network.org/iwa-learn.

 
Admissions will be made on the basis of marks obtained in the BITS HD admission test or based on GATE / GPAT score

 
Further details are available at

https://www.bits-pilani.ac.in/goa/biologicalScience/biologicalScience
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2nd Workshop on ‘Open Innovation in Community Based Rehabilitation (CBR) for People with Disabilities (PWD)’ and Interdisciplinary Design Thinking Hackathon

The Cognitive Neuroscience Lab of BITS Pilani, K K Birla Goa Campus recently organized the 2nd workshop on ‘Open Innovation in Community Based Rehabilitation (CBR) for People with Disabilities (PWD)’ and an Interdisciplinary Design Hackathon from 15th to 17th March 2019. The Hackathon and workshop were organized in collaboration with the Leeds Business School of University of Leeds and was sponsored by Leeds Social Sciences Institute and the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), United Kingdom.

 

After successfully doing the first workshop on Open Innovation in CBR in September 2018, the second workshop focused on the progress in the field since then. Different members presented and discussed their progress in the field. Plan of action for the future was also designed with an aim to meet for the third iteration of the workshop by the end of the year. The workshop was moderated by Dr. Samit Chakrabarty and Dr. Tabish Zaman from the University of Leeds.

 

The Design Thinking Hackathon was targeted at presenting the participants with real problems and asking them to come with a solution using Design Thinking. Dr. Emilee Simmons from the University of Leeds organized the Hackathon to 32 participants. The problems were designed by the workshop members with each group having a mentor to elaborate on the problem and discuss solutions. In addition, dedicated mentors were also present to help the participants in implementing the design thinking approach in creating the solution.

 

Mr. Mohan Sundaram, the Founding CEO and Director of Artilab, the first Innovative Disability Focused Incubator participated in the workshop and was a mentor for the participants. He provided valuable inputs to both the members of the workshop and the participants at the Hackathon.

 

Ms. Ira Singhal who is the topper of the UPSC Civil Services Exam for the year 2014 was also present at the workshop and Hackathon. Currently serving as the Deputy Commissioner at the North Delhi Municipal Corporation, she discussed different initiatives the government was taking to help rehabilitate people with disabilities into the normal workforce. She shared her perspective on the problems faced in India with the Hackathon participants which was important to create a more relevant and implementable solution to the problem.

Prof. Veeky Baths of the Cognitive Neuroscience Lab introduced and demonstrated electric wheelchair movement using the signals produced in the brain. He also thanked all the participants and workshop members for their dedication towards the cause of rehabilitation for people with disabilities.

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BITS Pilani announces 2019–20 admissions to M.E./M.Pharm./M.Phil. programmes.

The Birla Institute of Technology and Science (BITS) Pilani announces admissions for 2019 - 2020 to its Higher Degree (HD) Programmes, i.e. M.E/M.Pharm./MPhil. to be offered across its 3 campuses in Pilani, Goa and Hyderabad. While candidates will be admitted based on marks obtained in the HD Test score conducted by BITS Pilani, admissions to these programmes will also be offered to candidates based on GATE / GPAT scores. BITS Pilani will be launching two new programmes this year leading to a M.E. Degree in Sanitation Science, Technology and Management and M.Phil. Degree in Liberal studies.
 
The HD programme structure offers sufficient flexibility catering to students interested in a career in industry or pursuing research. Admitted students will be eligible for financial assistance in the form of a stipend / waiver. 
 
For exact eligibility conditions, how to apply and other details, candidates should refer to the admission notification on the official website of BITS Pilani, i.e. www.bitsadmission.com/hd
 
About BITS Pilani
BITS Pilani is a Deemed to be University, offering on-campus programmes to around 13,000 UG, 800 PG and 1,100 Doctoral students across its campuses in Pilani, Goa, Hyderabad and Dubai. It also offers programmes to nearly 19,000 working professionals through its Work Integrated Learning Programmes.
 
Having pioneered the credit based semester system in technical education in the country, BITS Pilani has a vision to be amongst the top research led Institutes in the country. The Institute has secured more than Rs. 120 crore funding through 445 sponsored projects in the last 5 years. State of the art facilities have been developed to support cutting edge research, led by around 750 faculty and students, leading to over 8100 SCI publications with 77,900 citations and 60 patents being filed till date.
 
BITS Pilani has been recently recognised as “Institute of Eminence” by MHRD. It was ranked 17th in the University category and 5th in the Pharmacy category in 2018 by the National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) released by Ministry of HRD, Govt of India. It is also India’s highest ranked non-Government Institute as declared in various reputed world rankings like QS BRICS, QS Asia, and QS India in 2019. BITS Pilani has recently secured a place in the World top 500 QS Subject Rankings 2019 in Mechanical & Manufacturing, Electrical & Electronics and Computer Science and THE 2019 World top 500 Subject Ranking in Life Sciences where BITS Pilani is among the top 8 from India. 
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3rd Annual Conference of the Association for Reading and Writing in Asia held at BITS Pilani, Goa Campus

Cognitive Neuroscience Lab of the Department of Biological Sciences, BITS Pilani, K K Birla Goa Campus successfully hosted the 3rd Annual Conference of the Association for Reading and Writing in Asia (ARWA) on 28th February and 1st March 2019. This year’s theme of the conference was “Dyslexia”.

 

Local organizing chair, Prof. Veeky Baths, Associate Professor, Department of Biological Sciences, BITS Pilani, Goa Campus and Prof. Malatesha Joshi from the Texas A&M University (USA) on behalf of ARWA welcomed the participants. Prof. G. Raghurama, Director of BITS Pilani, Goa Campus presented encouraging introductory thoughts while Prof. Catherine McBride, President of ARWA delivered the inaugural address.

 

The first day’s keynote lecture was delivered by Dr. Pooja Nakamura on the theory, practice and policy of literacy acquisition in multilingual context. The second day’s keynote address was by Dr. Julie Washington on the impact of community dialects on reading acquisition in children growing up in poverty.

 

The two day event brought together around 120 scientists and academic scholars from all around the world to discuss and present their research findings in the field of literacy, linguistics, reading and writing disabilities.  The presentations were focused on the impact of multilingual environments on literacy and learning.  Focus was also given to understanding the problems in reading and writing for children suffering from different forms and severity of dyslexia.

 

The themes for the presentations were Spelling, Assessment, Technology in Education, Bilingualism, Memory and Fluency, Bridging gap between research and education, Attention and executive functions in reading, Technological interventions for struggling readers, Reading writing relations, Cross-linguistic studies, Reading comprehension, Learning mechanisms, Orthographic processing, Diglossia, dialects and multilingualism, Curriculum and instruction, Orthographic awareness and spelling and Reading across cultures. Conference also included Poster sessions with 23 posters being presented from various scientists. The conference concluded with feedback being taken from the participants and discussions on collaborative research.

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Two BITS Pilani, Goa Campus teams win Grand Finale of MHRD’s Smart India Hackathon, 2019

Two teams representing BITS Pilani, K K Birla Goa Campus, bagged the first position in two different categories in the Grand Finale of Smart India Hackathon, 2019 (SIH, 2019) organised by MHRD, Government of India. SIH, one of the world's biggest Hackathon, was held at 48 centres across India on 2nd - 3rd March 2019.

 

Smart India Hackathon 2019 is a nationwide initiative to provide students a platform to solve some of pressing problems we face in our daily lives, and thus inculcate a culture of product innovation and a mindset of problem solving. Out of about 2 Lakh students across India, 300 Teams consisting of approx. 1500 students were declared Winner of SIH 2019 under their respective problem statements. 

 

Two teams representing BITS Pilani, Goa Campus - Team ZENIITH at Nagpur and Team APPTHLETES at Ahmedabad, were among the winning teams. Both teams competed against top colleges of India and won in two different Categories under different Department/ Organisation. Team ZENIITH, comprising of Ahan M R, Vedashree Kulkarni, Gaurav Sangle, Aryan Agarwal and Sanket Badgujar, won a cash prize of Rs. 50,000/- in their problem statement under the Ministry of Railways. Team APPTHLETES won a cash prize of Rs. 1,00,000/- in their problem statement under ISRO. The team comprised of Gargi Balasubramaniam, Adithya R., Abhiraj Hinge, Mayank Manuja, Pranav Agarwal and Samarth Jain.

 

Both teams were mentored by Prof. Vinayak Naik, Professor in Dept. of Computer Science and Information Systems, BITS Pilani, Goa Campus. Students were also guided and supported by Prof. Ramesha C K, Associate Dean, Student Welfare Division (SWD) and Dr. Rajorshi Sen Gupta, Faculty-Incharge, Centre for Innovation, Incubation and Entrepreneurship (CIIE).

 

BITS Pilani administration congratulated both teams for winning laurels for the institute.

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BITS Pilani Goa Campus students performed street plays at 6 locations

Recently students of BITS Pilani, K K Birla Goa Campus performed street plays at 6 different locations including Zari, Lamani Colony & Birla in Zuarinagar, Market area and Church Square in Panaji and at Vasco, in one day. The street plays were performed by volunteers of Nirmaan - organisation founded by BITS Pilani students with a passion to fulfill their responsibility towards the less privileged people of the society.

 

The Nirmaan street play participants took to the streets of Goa to convey important messages with uninhibited vigor. From the municipal market of Panaji to the busy streets of Vasco, they passionately raised awareness for their topics.  The immediate relevancy of the issues and their portrayal was striking and unavoidable - from drug abuse and domestic violence to the miseries of the Indian election system and improper garbage disposal. 

 

In a society that succumbs too often to apathy and quiet suffering in the darker recesses of life, Nirmaan forced people to sit up and take notice.  They proved that the privilege of a good education is laden with social responsibilities, and rather than shirking away, they stepped up and cried out for people to work towards a better nation.

 

Surges of enraptured audiences appeared at each destination, their reactions varying from moments of quiet reflection to gracious appreciation.  At one location, a woman approached the team and sought the helpline number for drug abuse, and at another a person asked how an abuse victim can be helped.  While it is easy to slump into blissful denial about the state of our world, there is an innate duty as a citizen to work towards the good.  The students of the Nirmaan street play were unstoppable under the incessant sun as they performed in circles of youthful and inspiring humanity.

 

Nirmaan volunteers regularly organize various programmes such as health camps, teaching kids, spending time at old age homes, etc. in areas neighbouring BITS campus.
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BITS Students Lucky Kaul and Shiv Kumar win Goa edition of Tata Crucible Campus Quiz, 2019

BITS Goa hosted the Goa edition of Tata Crucible Campus Quiz, 2019 on 27 January 2019. A total of 100 teams took part in the preliminary round of the quiz from which the top 6 teams went through to the on-stage final.  The quiz was conducted by quizmaster Giri 'Pickbrain' Balasubramaniam in his usual energetic style. The audience was treated to a high-paced 45 minute show where the 6 teams faced tough questions. Lucky Kaul and Shiv Kumar from BITS Goa dominated the final, leaving all the other teams behind and eventually brought back the title to BITS Goa after a gap of three years. Audience prizes were given to those who answered questions that the teams on stage could not answer. 

 

The winning duo walked away with a cheque of INR 75000, which was presented by Prof Sunil Bhand, Dean, Sponsored Research and Consulting Division, BITS Pilani. The team will represent Goa at the Western Zonal Final in Mumbai. 

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International Student Admissions 2019

BITS Pilani invites applications for admission to the First Degree programmes of BITS, Pilani at Pilani Campus, K K Birla Goa Campus & Hyderabad Campus under the International Student Admission Scheme 2019 – 20.


For more details please visit: http://sites.bits-hyderabad.ac.in/internationalstuadm/

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BITS Pilani signed MoU with International Water Association (IWA)

BITS Pilani and International Water Association (IWA) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to further the collaboration between the two organisations. Prof. Kala Vairavamoorthy, Executive Director, IWA, The Hague, Netherlands visited BITS Pilani, K K Birla Goa Campus to interact with the senior management and sign the MoU on 10th January 2019. BITS Pilani team was led by its Vice Chancellor Prof. Souvik Bhattacharyya along with the Director of Goa campus, Prof. G. Raghurama and Deans, Associate Deans, Professors and Researchers.

 

IWA Programmes establish change agendas on key themes for a water-wise world that contribute to sustainable development; these programmes are: Basins of the Future, Cities of the Future and Water and Sanitation Services. In shaping and furthering these agendas, IWA engages with a variety of individuals and organisations through projects, events and publications.

 

BITS Pilani and IWA share a common objective to support the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030, and the need to strengthen professional capacity in the sector to achieve global sustainable development. BITS Pilani and IWA also recognize the important catalytic value of promoting positive change in service provision through training, education, knowledge development and research with and through a range of audiences in low and middle income countries.

 

Through this MoU, both BITS and IWA will develop a range of activities that leverage each other’s comparative advantages to support the achievement of the SDG targets goal 6: Clean Water and Sanitation.
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First Alumni Research Talks (ART) 2019

Alumni Relations Cell and the IEEE chapter of BITS Pilani – K K Birla Goa Campus organised the first ever Alumni Research Talks (ART) on 12th January 2019. The event featured talks cum interactive sessions with five eminent alumni of BITS Pilani, who shared their success stories, and delved into their research interests, and how they could affect the future.  The event was graced by the Director of BITS Pilani Goa Campus, Prof G. Raghurama, Ms. Sai Kothai, daughter of the late Prof S.S. Ranganathan and Mr. N. S. Parthasarathy, Executive Vice Chairman and COO of Mindtree Ltd.

 

ART 2019 talks were delivered by eminent alumni of BITS Pilani, including: Prof. Umesh Garg (Nuclear Physicist, University of Notre Dame, USA), Dr. Surendra Pal (Program Director, ISRO, Bangalore), Prof. Sharmila C. Chatterjee (Professor of Marketing, MIT, USA), Mr. Sanjay Padode (Secretary, Centre of Developmental Education, IFIM Institutions, Bangalore) and Prof. Govindan Rangarajan (Professor of Mathematics, IISc, Bangalore). The talks were very enlightening for the attending students, who felt like dipping their toes into their research interests, and inspiring them with their tales of successes.

 

Prof. Biju K. Raveendran, Associate Professor, Department of Computer Science and Information Systems, was awarded Prof. SSR Memorial Teaching Excellence Award in a felicitation ceremony that followed after the talks. The award citation was presented at the hands of Mr. N. S. Parthasarathy, Executive Vice Chairman and COO of Mindtree Ltd. The award also included a cash prize of rupees one lakh. In his award acceptance speech, Prof. Biju, in accordance with the theme of the event, spoke about how he was always inspired by his own professors, and that the best teachers always remember to teach from heart, and never from the mind. Ms. Sai Kothai also spoke about the award, in remembrance of her late father, as did Mr. N. S. Parthasarathy.

 

Besides the BITS students, students from other colleges, including IIT Goa, GEC, Agnel Polytechnic and the Padre Conceicao College of Engineering attended the talks.

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BITSAT-2019

BITSAT-2019 is a Computer based online test for Admissions to Integrated First Degree Programmes of BITS Pilani Campuses in Pilani, Goa and Hyderabad.

The link to apply for BITSAT-2019 is now Open. The last date to apply online along with application fee is 5:00 PM, 20th March 2019
 
 
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BITS BIRAC BioNest Innovation Lab inaugurated at BITS Goa

A state-of-the-art 3500 sq. ft. BITS BIRAC BioNest Innovation Lab, set up by BITS Pilani, K K Birla Goa Campus with financial support of Rs. Three Crores from Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council (BIRAC), a not-for-profit Public Sector Enterprise, set up by Department of Biotechnology (DBT), Government of India, was inaugurated by Prof. Varun Sahni, Vice-Chancellor of Goa University. In his inaugural address, Prof. Sahni emphasized on the role of interdisciplinary research in creating innovations and welcomed joint research by Goa University and BITS faculty members and researchers.

 

This Innovation Lab would provide incubation support to the entrepreneurs in the verticals of healthcare and environment by providing them equipment, space and supporting facilities to test their ideas, prototype in the lab and take it to the market. In his introductory address, the Director of BITS Pilani Goa Campus, Prof. Raghurama G stated that this facility would lead to innovations in terms of affordable healthcare and sustainable solutions to solve the pressing environmental problems of the country.

 

Prof. Mridula Goel, In-charge of the Incubator, invited scientists and startups from across the state to use the facility to take their ideas to proof of concept.  She informed that the incubatees would be provided technical guidance by the Technical Directors of the BioNEST, Prof. Sunil Bhand, Professor of Chemistry and Dean of Sponsored Research and Consulting Division and Prof. Srikanth Mutnuri, Head of Biological Sciences department. Students and faculty from educational institutions were invited to participate in the regular trainings conducted on equipments like Spray Dryer, TOC, RT PCR, PCR, Gel-doc system, etc. that are installed in the lab.

 

Dr. Manish Diwan, Head of Strategic Partnership & Entrepreneurship Development, BIRAC, explained how the journey from ideation to commercialization involves solid teamwork and harnessing mutual advantages from within India and abroad. Inauguration was followed by an illuminating panel discussion on “Opportunities in Healthcare” with Dr. N. Sriram, Director of Molbio Diagnostics, Dr. Shekhar Salkar, Head of Department of Oncology, Manipal Hospitals, Dr. Praveen Khullar, Head of Global Development Center, Sanofi-Synthelabo India Pvt. Ltd. and Mr Vibhav Joshi, the co-founder of Sattva Medtech along with Dr. Diwan.

 

During the panel discussion, it was noted that innovators need to have passion and in order to solve problems related to healthcare they need to understand the real challenges by visiting hospitals and PHCs. This direct observational experience can create an understanding of key problems faced by the users. The product/ solution developed by the innovator should be affordable to the user and utmost care should be taken to make sure that the product is beneficial and does not harm the user through its side effects. The panelists stressed on various critical issues that are relevant for the changing healthcare sector in India. Experts said that the entrepreneurs should design products to suit Indian requirement into consideration while innovating and not just produce cheaper version of existing products.

 

The details of the facility are available at https://www.bionestgoa.com/

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XLII (42nd) All India Cell Biology Conference inaugurated at BITS Pilani, Goa Campus

Padma Bhushan Prof. Padmanabhan Balaram, an Indian biochemist and former Director of the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, inaugurated the XLII (42nd) All India Cell Biology Conference (ISCB) on the theme of ‘Trends in Cell and Molecular Biology’ at BITS Pilani, K K Birla Goa Campus. 

 

Prof. Jagat Roy, Professor at Department of Zoology, BHU, Varanasi and President of Indian Society of Cell Biology; Prof. Raghurama G, Director of BITS Pilani Goa Campus; Prof. Angshuman Sarkar, Faculty at Dept. of Biological Sciences of BITS Pilani Goa Campus and Convenor of the Conference; and Prof. Vijayashree Nayak, Acting HoD of Dept. of Biological Sciences of BITS Pilani Goa Campus addressed the audience during the inaugural function. This prestigious conference, scheduled from 21st to 23rd December 2018 is being held for the first time in Goa and is organized by Dept. of Biological Sciences of BITS Pilani Goa Campus.

 

Renowned scientists from across the country including Prof. S. C. Lakhotia (BHU, Varanasi), Dr. Samit Chattopadhyay (Director, IICB, Kolkata), Dr. Kishore Paknikar (Director, ARI, Pune), Dr. Debashis Mitra (Director, CDFD, Hyderabad), Dr. Gopal Kundu (Director, NCCS, Pune), Dr. Saumitra Das (Director, National Institute of Biomedical Genomics, Kalyani, WB), Dr. J. K. Pal (Director, D.Y. Patil Biotechnology & Bioinformatics Institute, Pune) attended and will be delivering lectures in the conference.

 

The conference is attended by around 300 scientists and researchers from across the country. Around 50 lectures will be delivered by prominent scientists of different biological sciences field and almost 200 posters based on latest research will be presented across the three days.

 

This conference aims to provide opportunities and bring together acclaimed Cell Biologists, Biochemists, Molecular Biologists and Computational Biologists to a common platform to present their exciting and new findings; also to establish research and to find global partners for future collaboration.  The goal of this conference is to push the frontiers of cellular response to various stresses, cytotoxicity, molecular revolution in cancer management and approach to computational system biology. Cutting-edge technical developments and new paradigms in eukaryotic cells will be discussed with a view to fostering interactions between graduate students, post-doctoral fellows and established investigators across the world.

 

‘Cancer’ is still one of the most challenging diseases across the world and in this conference a special session is contributed to understand the upcoming development in this field, nationally and internationally. ‘Nanotechnology’ has also gained much importance in today’s treatment of some important diseases. In this conference the discussion will not only be related to how this technology is beneficial but also understand its drawbacks.  ‘Toxicity’, which is one of the major health concerns, is whether due to an environmental stresses or due to unknowingly exposure to some toxic substances needs to be re-looked in depth. This conference will provide an opportunity for researchers across the globe to understand and showcase their data related to ‘Toxicity’. Immunology and Computational and systems biology are other major areas which are evolving and need to be integrated with modern cell biology as a whole to understand and predict the things much better.

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BITS Pilani signed MoU with University of Illinois System

A delegation comprising of senior officials of University of Illinois System, USA representing its three campuses: Urbana–Champaign,Chicago and Springfield visited BITS Pilani K K Birla Goa Campus on 8th December 2018 to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) and discuss possible collaboration between the two organizations.
 

The delegation from University of Illinois System was led by its President Prof. Timothy L Killen, accompanied by its Vice President and other senior professors.BITS Pilani team was led by itsVice Chancellor Prof. Souvik Bhattacharyya along with the Directors of all four campuses, Deans, Associate Deans and senior professors.

 

Both teams discussed possible areas of research collaboration including submission of joint research proposals to various funding agencies, joint research supervision, and faculty and student mobility.BITS Pilani signed the MoU with University of Illinois System and agreed to look at specific proposals to follow-up in near future.

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2nd Basic Life Support training session held at BITS Pilani, Goa Campus

Dr. Jorson Fernandes, Chairman, St Johns Ambulance Association & certified trainer for Basic Life Support (BLS) in Goa conducted second BLS training at BITS Pilani, K K Birla Goa Campus on 24th November 2018. 24 participants from various departments and divisions participated in this training session. BITS Pilani, Goa Campus now has 50 certified BLS trained staff. The session was organized under the leadership of campus Director, Prof. Raghurama G. and campus Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Raghavendra K. M.

 

Mr. Ernest Samuel Ratnakumar J, Registrar of BITS Pilani University, who was on his maiden visit to Goa Campus, interacted with the training team and appreciated the efforts.

 

Areas covered in the training include:

·        Course Introduction (Purpose & Objectives of the Course and Ground Rules)

·        Emergency Medical Services & First Aider.

·        General Principles in First Aid

·        Anatomy and Physiology of Human Body System

·        Initial Assessment and Emergency Action Principles

·        Basic Life Supports ( Air way emergencies, Non Breathing casualty, Choking Casualty & CPR)

·        Ethane Message

·        Examinations and Course Review

·        Practical sessions with manikins

 

BASIC LIFE SUPPORT course is conducted to enhance the skilled life support provider while dealing with the emergencies in our workplace/community before the arrival of ambulance/medical team.

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School on Advanced Oxidation Processes (S-AOP)

BITS Pilani, K K Birla Goa Campus in association with Society of Environmental Chemistry and Allied Sciences (SECAS), organized a School on Advanced Oxidation Processes (S-AOP) on 16-17th Nov 2018 at its premises in Zuarinagar Goa. 

 

Several young investigators working in the area of AOPs from IIT, Madras and Hyderabad, IISc Bengaluru, NIT Raipur, ICT Mumbai, Mahatma Gandhi University, Kerala and BITS Pilani, presented their latest research findings. Also, representatives from industries such as Aditya Birla Group, Mumbai; Deccan Chemical, Goa; Goa State Infrastructure Development Corporation (GSIDC), Goa; participated in S-AOP.

 

Prof. Ch. Subrahmanyam, IIT Hyderabad, delivered lectures on fundamentals and application of plasma methods for AOPs developed at IITH. Prof. Ligy Philip, IIT Mumbai conducted a session pulsed power technologies in water treatment, and some of AOP modules developed at IITM. Prof. Parag Gogate, ICT, Mumbai delivered lectures on application of Ultrasonic AOP technologies to address the complex wastewater problems. In the young investigators sessions, Ms. Bhanupriya, IISc Bengaluru, Ms. Jeeva Philip, M.G. University, Kerala, and Mr. Aswath A K, Aditya Birla Science and Technology Company Ltd, Mumbai won the best presentation awards for their work on screening, and removal of pollutants in complex water matrices.

 

In his opening remarks, Prof. Halan Prakash, BITS Pilani K K Birla Goa Campus, Convener of S-AOP-2018, said that the intent of S-AOP was to expose the young Research Scholar to advanced topics on the Sources, Migration and Fate of CECs in the environment, treatment of CECs by latest AOPs, and provide a platform for the students to directly interact with experts from different higher educational institutes and industries. During his inaugural address to the audience, Prof. Raghurama, Director BITS Pilani, K K Birla Goa Campus, mentioned the need for interdisciplinary approach to solve the complex pollution issues, and higher education institute have a major responsibility to have such schools and bring students, faculty from various discipline, and industrial professional together for effective deliberations and training of young students.  

 

S-AOP-2018 deliberation was programmed to be highly interdisciplinary. S-AOP was participated by Chemists, Physicists, Biologists, Environmental Scientists and Engineers, to discuss potential avenues in chemical and biological oxidative decomposition pathways of organic and inorganic contaminants in water. S-AOP also coordinated discussion on efficiency of various AOPs in the degradation of pollutants, and in fundamental understanding of degradation mechanisms. 

 

Today, Scientists have detected many persistent organic pollutants such as pharmaceuticals, personal care products, surfactants from soap, laundry waste chemicals, oil wastes from vehicles, pesticides, insecticides and other chemicals in water bodies. These groups of chemicals are considered as Contaminants of Emerging Concerns (CECs). CECs are predominantly non-biodegradable in nature, and can easily escape biological wastewater treatment processes commonly employed by all municipal bodies. Hence, CECs are high risk chemicals that could enter into food chain, deteriorate the quality of water and environment with toxic effects.

 

Advanced Oxidation Processes (AOPs) are chemical based emerging technologies for removal of organic pollutants, including CECs in water, soil and air. These processes primarily involve generation of highly reactive hydroxyl radical for treatment of contaminants.

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International Symposium on Bilingualism and Cognition

The Cognitive Neuroscience Lab, Dept. of Biological Sciences at BITS Pilani, K K Birla Goa Campus and Centre for Neural and Cognitive Sciences (CNCS) at the University of Hyderabad jointly organized a 3-day International symposium on “Bilingualism and Cognition” from Nov 1-3, 2018.

 

The core themes of the symposium were to discuss the effects of bilingualism on cognitive functions like speech, rehabilitation through speech therapy, memory, investigating the science of bilingualism, effects on neurodegeneration, identifying the cortical structures involved in language processing, cognitive aspects of communication disorders and treatment of communication impairments, cognitive control focus on language switching, psychology of language and communication with a focus on syntax and semantics and many more.

 

Prof. Jubin Abutalebi, Cognitive Neurologist and Associate Professor of Neuropsychology at the University Vita Salute San Raffaele in Milan, Italy was the chief guest for the inauguration. Prof. G. Raghurama, Director; Dr. Veeky Baths, In-charge of the Cognitive Neuroscience Lab and Associate Professor at the Dept. of Biological Sciences (BITS Pilani, K K Birla Goa Campus); and Prof. Ramesh Mishra, Co-Convener and Dean, Centre for Neural and Cognitive Sciences (University of Hyderabad) addressed the gathering during the inaugural function.

 

12 keynote addresses were organized as part of the conference by Indian and International research experts in the field of bilingualism and its effect on Neurophysiology and Cognition. Dr. Suvarna Alladi from NIMHANS, Bangalore spoke about how bilingualism could provide resilience against Dementia. Prof. Bhoomika Kar from the Centre for Behavioral and Cognitive Sciences at the University of Allahabad spoke about the temporal dynamics of proactive control in bilinguals in her keynote address.

Oral and Poster presentations were also organized as part of the conference. Best Poster and Oral presentations were sponsored by the Journal “Bilingualism: Language and Cognition” (Cambridge University Press).

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Admission to PhD Programme (full-time and part-time) for 2nd semester 2018-19, starting January 2019 Open


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University of Tartu, Estonia (Europe) partners with BITS Goa for an Erasmus+ programme

Department of Chemistry of BITS Pilani, K K Birla Goa Campus, through a MoU, became an Associate Partner of the prestigious 17th Century University of Tartu, Estonia (a country in Northern Europe) for an international two-year joint master degree programme ‘Excellence in Analytical Chemistry (EACH)’.

 

This EACH programme is funded by the Education, Audiovisual & Culture Executive Agency (EACEA) of the Commission of the European Communities (the European Commission) under the Erasmus+ Framework programme. This programme educates specialists in analytical chemistry well qualified to work in the industry (such as food, pharmaceutical, materials, energy, etc.) and chemical analysis laboratories worldwide. EACH programme provides knowledge and skills in both fundamental and applied aspects of modern analytical chemistry.

 

Recently the University of Tartu invited Prof. Narendra Nath Ghosh, Professor of Chemistry at BITS Pilani, Goa Campus with a Visiting Scholar Award to teach there in the EACH programme. During his visit, Prof Ghosh taught a course on Nanoscience and Nanotechnology, and its application in Analytical Chemistry.

 

EACH programme is taught in four universities: University of Tartu (coordinator), Estonia; Uppsala University (Sweden); University Claude Bernard Lyon (France); and Åbo Akademi University (Finland).

 

Apart from BITS Pilani, K K Birla Goa Campus, other Associate Partners of this programme are University of Shanghai for Science and Technology, and Tongji University (China), Nebraska Wesleyan University, and Rochester Institute of technology (USA), University of Urbino “Carlo Bo” (Italy), University of Zagreb (Croatia), Universitat de les Illes Balears (Spain), University of Regensburg (Germany), Saint-Petersburg State University (Russia), Dublin City University and National Centre for Sensor Research (Ireland), University of Oulu (Finland), Vienna University of Technology (Austria).

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International Workshop on Data sharing for open innovation in community-based rehabilitation held at BITS

The Cognitive Neuroscience Lab, Dept. of Biological Sciences of BITS Pilani, K K Birla Goa Campus and School of Biomedical Sciences at Leeds University jointly organized a 2-day International workshop on “Data sharing for open innovation in community-based rehabilitation”. This workshop, held on 28-29 September 2018, centered on creating a forum for an open discussion of opportunities and avenues for the sharing of data documenting unmet rehabilitation needs and best practices in community-based rehabilitation (CBR) in resource-poor areas.

 

The workshop also focused on creating Networking and development of a joint research agenda, how CBR data should be collected and shared by partner organization, and Discussion of opportunities for data sharing and associated ethical issues and data management challenges. The workshop also had an innovation and design thinking session for exploration of how different kinds of data could enable the development of more appropriate devices. The workshop concluded with all participants heartily agreeing to contribute and collaborate for better rehabilitation programs and creation of policy proposals for government approval and implementation.

 

Participants:

Prominent participant of the workshop included Dr. Shashikala Gopalaswamy, Founder of the Indian Association of Cerebral Palsy (IACP), Prof. Meenakshi Girish, Associate Professor and Head at the NKP Salve Institute of Medical Sciences, Nagpur, Dr. Ranjana           Pandey Panigrahi, Research Head, SDRC Pvt. Ltd., Bhubaneshwar, Prof. Veeky Baths, Associate Professor, BITS Pilani Goa Campus and many more. The workshop was conducted by Lena Jasperson and Samit Chakrabarty from University of Leeds.

 

After deliberations for 2 days, the participants decided to focus on the following areas:

         >> Identification of key areas of concern/ unmet needs and plan for drafting of preliminary design thinking brief.
 
         >> Drafting of a preliminary data collection and data sharing strategy that could inform the development of an online data repository, including the identification of relevant data sets and data sources.
 
          >> Discussion of opportunities for larger grant applications.
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Inauguration of the MPower Cell at BITS Pilani K K Birla Goa Campus

Inauguration of the MPower Cell at BITS Pilani, K K Birla Goa Campus by Mrs. Neerja Birla, Founder and Chairperson, MPower
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METANOIA 2018

Alumni, for a university, are like branches of trees that bear the juiciest fruits. They are the source of a university's name and fame. They are the pride of a university. This weekend, BITS Pilani K K Birla Goa Campus conducted the fourth edition of annual Alumni Summit- METANOIA. BITS Pilani, known globally for its strong and extremely well connected alumni base, continues to grow with nurturing of the university's well versed staff, administration and faculty. Today, BITSians can be seen globally as pioneers not only in the field of engineering and science, but also in entrepreneurship, film making, music, sports and literature. This Sunday, Goa saw a confluence of eminent BITS alumni.

The opening speaker was Ms. Shruthi Vishwanath. Trained extensively in Carnatic music, she is an extremely talented musician, composer and educator. A disciple of the works of Kabir, and the mystic poets, she is now exploring the intersections of classical and folk. She inspired students by performing live during the event and through her incredible story of struggle and perseverance.

The next speaker was Mr. Jatin Adlakha. He is the founder and director of WanderGupt. His company organises free-flowing travel with minimum planning which makes the trip full of spell bounding surprises. A full-time traveller, travel writer and storyteller. Jatin has surely found his passion and purpose of life in travelling.

Mr. Chintan Zalani, the third speaker is one of the highest paid content writers in the country. His areas of interest include psychology, self-improvement, philosophy and digital marketing. Chintan writes for publications such as The Times of India and AOI Huffington Media catering his clients through his website. Being from the Goa campus itself, he shared his fond memories of the place and how it shaped his future.

The fourth speaker was Mr. Sameer Qayoom. He is the perfect combination of sports and technology. Currently the youngest Program Manager at Microsoft, Hyderabad, he is also a sports entrepreneur and a football enthusiast. The founder of Kashmir Football Festival, he has helped the state organize different sports events.

The next speaker was Mr. Mani Shankar. He is the proud Guinness World Record Holder for the most simultaneous live holographic shows. An extremely experienced member of the film industry, he also owns a production house- Bhairavi Films. Mani Shankar finds solace in writing emotional films with great social relevance that direct his audience towards soul-searching and self-introspection, while also creating holographic ad films.

Next up came the Founder and CEO of CareerGuide.com, Ms. Surabhi Dewra. Her venture is a marketplace for various students across the country to interact with career experts and get the much needed counselling. Her company won the 'Best Career Guidance Platform' award in 2012.

The final speaker of the event was Mr. Prithiviraj Chavan, Former Chief Minister of Maharashtra for the term November 2010 to September 2014. He is currently the MLA from the South Karad constituency. He has also made significant contributions to research in the field of Indian language computing. He encouraged students to participate in politics through his story.

Students, who attended the event found a source of inspiration, felt a kick of motivation when they saw the glitter in the eyes of these successful alumni. The Institution, the alumni and students hope that BITS lives up to the brand it has created and will nurture the stories of the flag-bearers of tomorrow.

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Rotational Moulding Center of Excellence for Education and Research (RMCEER) Inaugurated at BITS

Department of Mechanical Engineering of BITS Pilani K K Birla Goa Campus in collaboration with Society of Asian Rotomoulders (StAR) jointly inaugurated the Rotational Moulding Centre of Excellence for Education and Research (RMCEER) at BITS Pilani Goa Campus on 21st July 2018. This centre will serve as a unique hub of knowledge and research for rotational moulding industry in the country. Representatives of around 38 industries from India and abroad were present for the inaugural function. The objectives of the centre are to provide testing services for rotationally moulded materials and products, develop industry standards for products and processes, analyze and design RM products, application development for RM products, Industrial training and development, joint research projects with Industry, etc.  

 

Mr. Ravi Mehra, Founder Chairman, StAR; Prof. G Raghurama, Director of BITS Pilani K K Birla Goa Campus; Mr. Ashish Baheti, Managing Director of Vectus industries; Mr. Mukesh Ambani, Managing Director of Infra technologies and Dr. Ranjit Patil, Head of the Mechanical Engineering Department inaugurated the Centre of Excellence symbolically by lighting the lamp.

 

Prof. G Raghurama welcomed the participants and expressed his views about the collaborative Industrial Research in BITS.  Mr. Ravi Mehra delivered a keynote talk on potential of this Centre for the rotomoulding industry in India. Mr. Ashish Baheti spoke about the vision for this Center. Prof. Sunil Bhand, Dean SRCD, BITS Pilani delivered a talk on the Industrial Research at BITS.  The program witnessed several talks by eminent Industrialist in the country. Dr. Sachin Waigaonkar from BITS coordinated the program and also delivered technical talks while updating the StAR BITS activities and the future plans.

 

Participants from industry visited various laboratories in the campus to understand the research capabilities of BITS for the industry.

 

Prior to this program, StAR and BITS signed a MOU for the bilateral Cooperation for enhancing the R&D capabilities and knowledge in the areas of Rotational Moulding. The MOU signing was attended by the office bearers of StAR, Director of BITS Pilani Goa Campus, Deans and other faculty members.

 

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One Day Conclave on “CATALYZING STARTUP ECOSYSTEM THROUGH ACADEMIA-INDUSTRY COLLABORATIONS” held at BITS Pilani Goa Campus

Department of Electrical and Electronics Engineering, BITS Pilani K K Birla Goa Campus organized a one day Conclave titled “CATALYZING STARTUP ECOSYSTEM THROUGH ACADEMIA-INDUSTRY COLLABORATIONS” on August 18, 2018 in its auditorium.

 

About 25 startups and industries participated in the Conclave. Lt. Gen PJS Pannu, PVSM, AVSM, VSM - Deputy Chief, Integrated Defense Staff HQs, New Delhi was the Chief Guest and Rear Admiral V M Doss, VSM - Assistant Chief of Naval Staff, Naval HQs, New Delhi was the guest of honor for the inaugural function. Prof. G. Raghurama, Director, BITS Pilani K K Birla Goa Campus and Prof. Souvik Bhattacharyya, Vice Chancellor, BITS Pilani presided the function.

 

Padma Shri Dr. R. Prahlada (former Distinguished Scientist, DRDO HQs) and Mr. R. Ramanan (Mission Director, Atal Innovation Mission, NITI AAYOG) and several renowned dignitaries graced the occasion. The conclave focused on synergy between Industry and Academia in fostering startup in niche area of electronic system design and manufacturing. The event consisted of sessions on Innovative Startups, Opportunities in Development of Electronics System Design & Manufacturing and Angel Investor Fund & Venture Capital Fund for Startups & MSMEs.

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A Conclave on "CATALYZING STARTUP ECOSYSTEM THROUGH ACADEMIA-INDUSTRY COLLABORATIONS"

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BITS Pilani, Goa Campus’ CONVOCATION 2018 held

BITS Pilani, K K Birla Goa Campus’ Convocation 2018 was held in its magnificent auditorium on 5th August, 2018. Prof. Souvik Bhattacharyya, the Vice-Chancellor, BITS Pilani; Prof. G, Raghurama, the Director of BITS Pilani, Goa Campus; Prof. S C Sivasubramanian, the Acting Registrar, BITS Pilani; members of the Senate, and faculty members of Goa campus, along with the graduating students and their family members were present on this joyous occasion.

 

This year, 810 students received their degrees, of which 30 were PhDs. Three students from the Bachelor’s degree programs were awarded Medals: Gold medal — Mr. Amit Agarwal, Silver medal – Ms. Quadros Karen Aditi and Bronze medal – Mr. Advait Prasad Koparkar.

 

Distinguished Alumnus Award for 2018 was received by Prof. Reena Aggarwal (Vice-Provost, George town University), Prof. Prabhu L. Pingali (Founding Director, Tata – Cornell Institute), Prof. Arun S. Somani (Associate Dean, Iowa State University), Mr. Ajoyendra Mukherjee (Executive Vice-President, TCS), Mr. Prasanna Gopalakrishnan (Chief Information officer, Bank of America), Dr. Anand S. Rao (Global Innovation Lead, Princewater House Coopers), Mr. Anupendra Sharma (Global VP, Siemens)and Mr. Tushar Jain(Director, Automat Irrigation Ltd)/.

 

Prof. Sauvik Bhattacharyya, the Vice-chancellor of BITS Pilani, presented an overview of the University’s accomplishments, and in particular, highlighted its pioneering role in fostering innovation and entrepreneurship in higher education. He concluded by stressing upon the need for students to be humane and contribute to the betterment of the society with the knowledge and skills that they have gained at BITS. The Director, Prof G. Raghurama gave a detailed report of BITS Pilani, Goa Campus, offering a comprehensive overview of the advances in research, new initiatives and collaborations of the Institute. The Dean, Prof. D M Kulkarni, concluded the ceremony with the Vote of Thanks.

 
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PMP - A Students’ Initiative

Every aspirant who clears BITSAT and chooses BITS Goa to spend their 4 or 5 years in this beautiful campus comes with a dream and a plan. Some students make their own way, but others need someone to help them during their early college days with some of their basic problems during the first month if not the entire semester. Peer Mentorship Program aims to provide every student a mentor who would help them in the same.

What is Peer Mentoring?
Starting college can be an overwhelming experience. From learning simpler things like finding your way around, or where to go for help; to discovering ways to balance classwork, home, job and figuring out which student organisations or experiences to be a part of; or, even choosing a major – it’s a big adjustment! It is a lot to learn, plan and keep track of! To alleviate much of the confusion when transitioning to college, the Peer Mentoring Program at BITS Goa helps new students adjust to the college environment, make connections on campus and feel empowered to chart their own course to success. The program matches old students with new students, connecting them as partners for a semester-long experience.

Program Overview
The Peer Mentor Program, simply put, aims to let existing students help new students in a purposeful way. Current students who are looking for an empowering interpersonal leadership experience and want to help their juniors in the process are encouraged to apply to become Mentors. BITS Goa’s Peer Mentors are committed to sharing their own experiences to motivate others, help them grow, set goals and become successful.
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First ever students’ conference ‘SWAYAM 2018’ held at BITS Pilani, Goa Campus

First ever students’ conference “Symposium and Workshop for Analytical Youth on Applied Mechanics (SWAYAM-2018)” was successfully organized by Department of Mechanical Engineering – BITS Pilani, K K Birla Goa Campus during 4th-6th July 2018.  Around 120 quality research papers and around 150 participants presented their research work in the area of solid mechanics, fluid mechanics, biomechanics, material science, etc. SWAYAM-2018 received encouraging & positive feedback from the participants, especially from the faculty members / invited speakers from IISC Bangalore, IIT Madras, IIT Ropar, IIT Delhi, NIT Allahabad, scientists from DRDO, etc.

 

Chief Guest, Prof. Sarit K Das, Professor of Mechanical Engineering at IIT Madras, currently Director IIT Ropar delivered a plenary lecture on “Augmented thermophysical and electromagnetic transport properties of grapheme nanosuspensions”.  Eminent scientists and academician such as Prof. B.P. Patel (IIT Delhi), Prof. Ananth Ramaswamy (IISc Bangalore), Dr. V Narayanamurthy (Research Centre Imarat, Hyderabad), Prof. Natarajan (IIT Madras), Prof. Anupam Dewan (IIT Delhi), and Prof. S. Vengadesan (IIT Madras), delivered Keynote Lectures during the 3-day conference.

 

The objective of this first ever students’ conference SWAYAM-2018 was to provide a forum for young scientists, academicians, analysts, designers and practising engineers from around the nation to interact, exchange ideas and establish relationships in the core as well as interdisciplinary areas of Applied Mechanics, including theoretical, analytical, computational and experimental aspects, as well as modelling and analysis, design optimization, reliability assessment, instrumentation and product development besides setting directions for future growth. One of the major outcomes of the conference is that interaction between scientists belonging premier institutions in India such as BITS, IITs, NITs, DRDO will soon convert into writing joint research proposals, research papers, providing research facilities to PhD students, etc. which will add lot of value to the society.

 

Local organizing committee is thankful to patron Prof. Raghurama G, Director, BITS Pilani, K K Birla Goa campus, Goa for providing institute facility to organize the event successfully. Dr. Ranjit S Patil, Chairman, SWAYAM-2018 and Head, Department of Mechanical Engineering would like to express their gratitude to advisory committee, local organizing committee, reviewers, plenary and keynote speakers, sponsors and volunteers for their support and valuable contributions.

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International Conference on Discrete Mathematics and its Applications to Network Science held at BITS Pilani, Goa Campus

“Modern mathematical research collaborations increasingly include scientists based in different countries, different disciplines including Social Sciences, Economics and Humanities. We need to be more interdisciplinary, access innovative methods to problem solving, and gain knowledge beyond what our own research group tackles. It is also equally important to establish a worldwide network of researchers with a variety of backgrounds - mathematical, biotechnical, social, political, etc.” said Prof. Arumugam, Visiting Professor, Department of Computer Science, Liverpool Hope University, Liverpool.

 

Prof. Arumugam was delivering the inaugural address as the chief guest at the inaugural function of International Conference on Discrete Mathematics and its Applications to Network Scienceorganised by and held at BITS Pilani, K K Birla Goa Campus from 7th to 10th July, 2018. He also mentioned that cultivating this awareness would offer rich returns to globally minded researchers, given that effective research collaborations continue to expand, and drive research that is applicable to real life problems.

 

Guest of Honour, Prof. D M Kulkarni spoke about the evolution of BITS Pilani and explained about its unique features. In the four-day conference eminent mathematicians like Prof. Jay S. Bagga from Ball State University, USA; Prof. Jozef Siran from Slovak University of Technology, Slovakia; Prof. Ming Wang from Tunghai University Taiwan; Prof. Hinz from University of Munich, Germany and Prof. Martin Baca from Technical University of Kosice Slovak Republic gave plenary lectures on various applications of Discrete Mathematics. Over 100 delegates from India and other countries like Germany, Slovakia, USA, Taiwan, Indonesia participated in the conference.

 

The conference was organized by Department of Mathematics, BITS Pilani K K Birla Goa Campus. Head of the department Dr. Prasanna Kumar welcomed the gathering and Convener Prof. T Singh proposed the vote of thanks. Dr. Bijil Prakash compered the program.

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BITS Pilani granted 'Institute of Eminence' status

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Faculty Excellence Award to Prof. Srinivas Krishnaswamy

Prof. Srinivas Krishnaswamy, Department of Chemical Engineering, BITS Pilani, KK Birla Goa Campus has been awarded Prof. I J Nagrath Faculty Excellence Award, for the academic year 2017-2018.

BITS Pilani Alumni Association (BITSAA) gives two awards annually to any full-time faculty member with experience of at least three years in any of the BITS campuses at Pilani, Goa, Hyderabad and Dubai. The award is instituted by the generosity of BITS Alumnus Mr. Karthik Krishna (1993 batch) in the name of Prof. S. Venkateswaran, former Director & Vice Chancellor, BITS Pilani and Prof. I. J. Nagrath former Deputy Director, BITS Pilani.

These awards aim to recognize BITS faculty for excellence in their teaching, research, and administrative achievements and commitment towards BITS Pilani. A few measurable parameters for selection of the awardees, while not exhaustive, include innovation in Instruction, professional achievements, contributions to BITS Pilani in activities outside the classroom, commitment to student success and contributions towards neighbourhood societal development. Both awards consist of a Rolling Plaque (with name of the winner inscribed), and framed along with a certificate and a cash reward of INR 100,000.

Prof. Anil Kumar, Department of Chemistry, BITS Pilani, Pilani Campus has been awarded Prof. S Venkateswaran Faculty Excellence Award for 2017 - 2018.

                                                                             

Congratulations, to both the Professors!!

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BITS Pilani donated computers & projectors to neighborhood school

BITS Pilani, K K Birla Goa Campus donated 2 computers and 2 LCD projectors to Shree Yallalingeshwar Sharda Mandir High School, Zari – Zuarinagar located near its campus.

 

Mr. A K Patil, Head of Dept. of Purchase, Stores & Estate Maintenance of BITS Pilani, Goa Campus was invited to be the chief guest for the inaugural function for using these computers and projectors in classrooms. The inaugural function, hosted by Ms. Sujata Mannikeri, Headmistress of the school was also attended by Mr. Shivanand Bhinge, Ex-Panch, Sancoale Panchayat and Mr. Raman Gowdar, Member of Goa Kannada Mahasangh.

 

With the help of these computers and projectors the school will start to use e-teaching tools for teaching its students. The teachers, students and the management of the school were thankful to BITS Pilani for this initiative.

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Observance of IVth International Day of Yoga at BITS, Pilani K.K. Birla Goa Campus

BITS, Pilani K.K.Birla Goa Campus, had observed ‘International Day of Yoga’ on Thursday, the 21st June 2018 in the campus student activity center (SAC) from 6:30 am to 7:45 am.
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Fulbright Specialist Business Development Workshop (FSBDW) mid-term evaluation seminars held at BITS

Fulbright Specialist Business Development Workshop (FSBDW)organized by Dr. AnasuyaGanguly, faculty of Dept. of Biological Sciences of BITS Pilani KK Birla Goa Campus and mentored by Dr. Ashok Kumar Ghosh of New Mexico Tech, USA, had their mid-term evaluation seminar on 15thJune at BITS Pilani Goa Campus. Over 25 students and faculty members attended the seminar to evaluate two business cases. 
 

Dr. Gauri Achari, a Post-Doc in Dept. of Biological Sciences, presented her business plan on“Bio-Fertilizer Production” that addressed the ill-effects of Chemical Fertilizer overuse and Popular Pesticides.Bio fertilizers are living microorganisms that enhance the nutrient use efficiency and plant growth by mechanisms known as nitrogen fixation, phosphate and zinc solubilization. The result of using Bio fertilizers can reduce the requirement of chemical fertilizer inputs upto 25% while increasing the yield by 20%. At a sale price of Rs.80 per Kg for eggplant (Agassaim and Taleigao) and Rs.50 per Kg for rice (Jyoti), a profit of Rs. 2,40,000 for eggplant and Rs. 26,500 for rice, can be reaped by Farmers using a land of one hectare in one year. This is equivalent to a Benefit to Cost ratio of 1600 and 176 for eggplant and rice respectively in 1 hectare land in one year.

 The second presenter, Mr. AnantYadav, a Research Scholar in Dept. of Biological Sciences, presented a business plan for the production of Ethanol and Bio-Gas using Food and other wastes. His process involves pre-digestion of food waste that will produce both Biogas and Ethanol simultaneously. Ethanol produced will havevery high demand in the market and thus will fetch high value.

Both presentations were part of a six-week workshop on Engineering-Economics-Entrepreneurship organized by BITS Pilani K K Birla Goa Campus in collaboration with Fulbright Educational Exchange Program.

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BITS Pilani hosted the 12th World Congress on Regional Science

BITS Pilani, K K Birla Goa Campus hosted and organized the 12th World Congress of the Regional Science Association International in collaboration with Town and Country Planning Department of Goa and the Regional Science Association (RSA), India from 29th May to 1st June 2018. The Congress, attended by over 500 delegates from India and abroad, was held for the first time in India at Goa. The objective of the Congress was to provide an encouraging environment for researchers across the globe, to interact and learn from one another, and create a network that will be attractive and inspiring for young students and scholars. It further aimed to strengthen the community of regional scientists and achieve a better understanding of our future needs.

 

Her Excellency, Dr. Smt. Mridula Sinha, Governor of Goa, inaugurated the Congress in presence of Director of BITS Pilani Goa Campus, Prof G. Raghurama, Professors Budy Resosudarmo (President of RSAI), Guest of Honor, Bibek Debroy (Chief Economic Advisor to the Prime Minister of India and Member, NITI Aayog) and the venerable C R Pathak. In his introductory remarks, Dr. Debasis Patnaik spoke of the need for integration of disciplines because of regional needs and aspirations after providing a brief outline of the evolutionary progress of the Cosmos and the Humans and the inevitable pitfalls and mistakes that the world is passing through. Prof Sumona Banerjee, President of RSA-India, proposed the vote of thanks at the inaugural function.

 

The Theme of the Conference “Spatial Systems: Social Integration, Regional Development and Sustainability” was demonstrably brought to light by eminent speakers like Professors Peter Nijkamp, Andre Torre, Lee Yeung, Manfred Fisher, Yoshiro Higano, Xie ling, Zeynap Elburz, Paulo Casaca, Janet Kohlhase (USA), Andres Rodriguez Pose (LSE), Satish Kumar, Hiroyuki Shibusawa, and others. The Valedictory Address was delivered by Prof. Amitabh Kundu, Regional Advisor on Poverty-EDID, UN ESCWA, India.

 

Local Converers of this Congress including the faculty members of BITS Pilani, Goa Campus Dr. Debasis Patnaik (Department of Economics) and Dr. R P Pradhan (Humanities and Social Sciences) along with Chief Town Planner Dr. S T Puttaraju successfully organized this Congress. The Executive Director of RSAI, Prof. Tomaz Dentinho provided overall guidance to the Organizers.

 

The sub-themes were aimed at providing a platform for debates and discussions around the key issues of contemporary regional science and carve out the way to future research agenda. The sub-themes discussed during the course of Congress include: Regional Inequality, Regional and Urban planning, Regional Finance, Innovation, Disaster Management, Governance Issues, Health Issues, Environment and Climate Change, Locational Activity, Growth and Development Issues in Latin America, Africa, Europe, South Asia, Goa, West Bengal and India, Spatial Econometrics, Tourism, Real Estate and Housing, Water Management, Co-operation and Diaspora, Social Integration, Rural Development and Methodological Issues in Regional Sciences. A Special Session on Braille Mapping by NATMO was also held.

 

Across the world, communities are striving to achieve an ecologically and socially secure future. The intricately linked ideas of sustainability and integration are the key to achieving our development goals. As regional scientists, common pursuit of a sustainable future may be attained with more efficient understanding of the ‘region’ as a spatial unit. Keeping this objective in mind, the theme of the 2018 Congress highlights the importance of analyzing spatial systems as not just physical space or social space, but shared space.

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BITS Pilani, Goa Campus participated in Aviation Indigenisation Expo 2018

BITS Pilani K K Birla Goa Campus was the only Academic institute, invited to participate in the recently concluded ‘Aviation Indigenisation Expo 2018’. The Expo was organized by Naval Aircraft Yard (Goa), Indian Navy and Aeronautical Society of India, Goa on May 18 - 19, at Rajhans Auditorium, Dabolim, Goa. Vice Admiral Girish Luthra PVSM, AVSM, VSM, ADC, Flag Officer Commanding in Chief, Western Naval Command inaugurated the Expo and Vice Admiral G Ashok Kumar, Deputy Chief of the Naval Staff (DCNS) delivered the keynote address.

 

Prof. Sunil Bhand (Dean, Sponsored Research and Consulting Division), Prof. N N Ghosh (Associate Dean, International Programmes and Collaboration Division), Dr. Nitin Sharma (Assistant Professor, Dept. of Electrical and Electronics Engineering), Mr. Gibin George and Mr. Abhijit Dey (both PhD Scholars) represented BITS Pilani Goa Campus at the Expo. 

 

BITS presented its infrastructure and strength in handling government and Industrial R&D projects through demos and posters. Information about several projects including funded by agencies such as Melinda & Gates foundation, GAIL, ISRO, BRNS, DRDO, etc. were presented during the 2-days Expo. Demos for Multi-Constellation multi-frequency Software GNSS Receiver developed by Dr. Nitin Sharma and his team for ISRO and FPGA Based Fuzzy Logic Picomotor Controller for Laser Beam Pointing Stability Correction developed by Dr. Amalin Prince and his team for BRNS were also presented.

 

Chief Guest, top Naval officers and other industry delegates visited BITS stall for detailed discussion with its representatives and appreciated its work. BITS representatives at the stall are expecting some of the discussions with Naval Officers and industry delegates to materialize in form of research projects in the near future.

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Eighth DAE-BRNS biennial symposium SESTEC 2018 inaugurated at BITS Pilani Goa Campus

Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) in association with Department of Chemistry, BITS Pilani K K Birla Goa Campus and the Association of Separation Scientists and Technologists (ASSET) organized the eighth edition of DAE-BRNS biennial symposium on “Emerging Trends in Separation Science and Technology (SESTEC-2018)” at BITS Pilani, Goa Campus, from 23rd to 26th May 2018.

 

The four-day symposium attended by about 250 delegates from India and abroad, was inaugurated by Prof. P R Vasudeva Rao, Vice Chancellor, Homi Bhabha National Institute, Mumbai. The Director of BITS Pilani Goa Campus, Prof. G. Raghurama; Dr. P. K. Pujari, Co-Chairman of SESTEC-2018 and Associate Director, RC & I group, BARC, conveners and secretary of SESTEC-2018 were also present for the inaugural function. Dr. Mainak Banerjee, Co-convener of SESTEC 2018 and faculty at BITS Pilani Goa Campus welcomed the dignitaries and delegates of the symposium on behalf of the organisers.

 

In his remarks, Prof. G. Raghurama mentioned about the history and legacy BITS is carrying for last over half a century. He also highlighted the importance of collaboration of premier national research institutes with academia, in particular, privately funded universities. Prof. Rao shared the recent advancement and future in separation science in India.  He also mentioned about the large uranium resource in sea water, which can generate large quantum of nuclear energy and cater the society as the alternative power source. Dr. P K Pujari in his address mentioned about difficulties and the recent breakthroughs in separation of actinides and lanthandes.

 

SESTEC series involves eminent separation scientists and technologists from India and abroad. The aim of this symposium is to hold an open deliberation on state-of- the-art developments in the important areas of R&D of separation science and technologies and allied areas. The major areas of the conference were separations in nuclear fuel cycle, membrane science and technology, treatment of industrial effluents, chromatography and pyrochemical separations, computational chemistry in separation science, radiochemical separations, green separations, speciation studies etc. It provided a forum for young research scholars to interact with senior scientists/ academicians and discuss the new frontiers in separation science and share their current research interests so as to have a fusion of viable ideas to be realized in future.

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Symposium on Emerging Trends in Separation Science and Technology at BITS Pilani, K K Birla Goa Campus

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BITS Pilani Goa Campus students awarded prestigious scholarships at world renowned Institutes

Mr. Aman Dalal, an early-graduate from the department for being awarded the following: Holland Scholarship from the Dutch Ministry of Education and Delft Faculty Scholarship to pursue his MSc in Integrated Product Design at TU Delft, The Netherlands.

Aman will pursue a 2-year masters degree in a course that is a unique multidisciplinary blend of design and engineering. The IPD Master’s programme provides an integrated approach to the disciplines involved: advanced studies in innovative design theory and methods, aesthetics, ergonomics, engineering, and sustainability.

Having a background in mechanical engineering from BITS Goa, extensive experience in graphics at his design firm Pixelworks, and a thesis in sustainable product design at National Institute of Design - Ahmedabad, Aman found a perfect fit in the design degree offered by TU Delft, which is one of its kind in the world.


Mr. Suparno Pal, a third year student in the department, for being awarded the prestigious DAAD WISE Scholarship 2018.

As part of this scholarship, Suparno will be pursuing a 12 week summer research project at TU Munich, Germany.

He will be working with the Neuroelectronics Group to develop a portable device for screening nanoparticle impurities in water. This project has a larger scope towards developing better sensing platforms for neurodegenerative applications in vitro.

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Workshop on Writing

A workshop on Academic Writing with Prof. Mart Stewart, a Fulbright Senior scholar at BITS-Goa campus (Environment and Food Historian at Western Washington University, USA) as resource person was organised by Dr. Rayson K. Alex and Mr. Ranajoy Roy on 07 April, 2018. The workshop discussed the various aspects of writing including, how to write sharp reports and essays. Prof. Stewart elaborated in detail about how to write the introduction in an essay/article which is the most important aspect of the same. The students gained detailed insights into the topic which they could further implement in their writings.

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Five BITS Pilani Goa Campus students awarded prestigious scholarships at world renowned Institutes

Five students of BITS Pilani, K K Birla Goa Campus have been awarded prestigious scholarships to undertake summer research programmes/ projects at world renowned Institutes viz. Massachusetts Institute of Technology (USA); University of Sherbrooke and Université Laval, Quebec (Canada); California Institute of Technology (USA); and Université Paul Sabatier, Toulouse (France).

 

Heer Joisher has been awarded the prestigious Khorana Scholarship 2018 sponsored by the Department of Biotechnology, Govt. of India, Indo-US Science and technology Forum (IUSSTF) and WINStep Forward. As a part of this program, Heer will be pursuing a two month summer research project at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, MA, USA. She will be working under the mentorship of Prof. Graham Walker at the Department of Biology, MIT on a project involving expressing antimicrobial peptides and peptides related to symbiosis from various sub cellular compartments of the cell.

 

Honey Jain and Jaychandran Padayasi has been awarded the prestigious Mitacs Globalink Research Internship 2018 sponsored by Government of Canada. The Mitacs Globalink Research Internship is a competitive initiative for students from 10 countries of Australia, Brazil, China, France, India, Germany, Mexico, Saudi Arabia, Tunisia, and Ukraine. From May to October of each year, top-ranked applicants participate in a fully-funded 12-week research internship under the supervision of Canadian university faculty members in a variety of academic disciplines, from science, engineering and mathematics to the humanities and social sciences. 

As a part of this program, Honey will be pursuing a 12-week summer research project at the Université Laval, Quebec under the mentorship of Prof. Christian Landry on a project based on computational biology involving protein interaction networks. While Jaychandran will be pursuing a 12-week summer research project at the University of Sherbrooke, Quebec under the guidance of Prof. André-Marie Tremblay, on the topic, Spin fluctuations in Weyl semimetals.

 

Nissim Gore-Datar has been awarded the prestigious Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship of the California Institute of Technology (Caltech SURF 2018). As part of this program, Nissim will work under the guidance of Prof. Michael Hoffmann from the Department of Environmental Science and Engineering at Caltech on a project titled 'Electro-Fenton Process for Decentralized Treatment of Municipal Wastewater', which aims to design and prototype on-site electrochemical reactors to treat wastewater for reuse.

 

Rachith Aiyappa has been awarded the prestigious Charpak Research Internship Scholarship 2018 sponsored by the French Government. As part of this programme, Rachith will be pursuing a summer internship at the Centre de Recherches sur la Cognition Animale at Université Paul Sabatier, Toulouse, France. He will be working under the guidance of Dr. Guy Theraulaz in the field of Collective Behaviour.

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Higher Degree Admissions for 2018-19 academic year

In the effort towards being a comprehensive (teaching and research) university, BITS, Pilani plans to admit students into various higher degree programmes (M.E/ M.Pharm) with a substantial increase in the Intake numbers at three of its’ Indian campuses this academic year (2018-19). The increase planned is around 55% more than the total number of students admitted last year to 33 different higher degree programmes across it’s campuses at Pilani, Goa and Hyderabad. This year, BITS Pilani additionally permits prospective candidates to apply for these courses with a valid GATE/ GPAT score. Almost every candidate admitted to higher degree programmes is given a teaching assistantship and/or tuition fee waiver of about Rs 13, 400/- per month, for which the student has to contribute about 8 to 10 hours per week assisting in teaching, in laboratories, etc as assigned by the department.


Application portal opens on 9th April 2018 and closes at 5.00 PM on 5th May 2018. For applying online, please click here.
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Spree ’18 – A Recap

Coming in as one of India’s biggest collegiate sports festivals, the 2018 edition of Spree, BITS Goa’s annual sports festival, had the hype train rolling at full steam from the get-go.

The action began soon after the inauguration ceremony on day zero, with a massive crowd thronging the basketball court, loud and proud, to support the home team, as the BITS Goa men’s basketball team blew out their hapless opponents in a lopsided victory in the first match of the evening. Later that night, the Department of Creative Works organised their first event of the fest, a mock IPL auction, with more events such as a football trade-off, a hogathon, a drinkathon, a paintball arena and more to come over the next three days.

Matches resumed on the morning of day one, with the favourites marching through the rounds of 16 and 8, on to the semifinals in their respective sports. BITS FC, the men’s and women’s basketball teams, the table tennis team, and the cricket team, were among those moving on to the final four. The evening featured talks by retired ICC umpire Simon Taufel, and Paralympic Gold medallist and world record holder, Devendra Jhajharia. The former spoke about his experiences as an umpire and the life lessons he learnt from it, while the latter spoke about the challenges faced by differently-abled athletes in India, and his journey to two Olympic gold medals and a world record in the javelin throw, overcoming those challenges, with both speakers giving the audience something to think about.

Day two was a mixed one for the home crowd, as the men’s basketball team’s championship run ended in heartbreak in a hard-fought loss in the semifinals to the eventual champions OP Jindal, while the women’s basketball team, and the cricket, table tennis and chess teams moved on to the finals, with BITS FC scheduled to play their semifinal game on day 3. The night of day 2 brought with it a performance by Nucleya, someone who needs no introduction in the Indian dance music scene, as he paired unique visuals with his signature high-energy, bass-heavy sound.

The morning of day 3 began with heartbreak for the home crowd, as BITS FC lost the semifinals to eventual champions Jamia Milia, while the table tennis and women’s basketball teams went down fighting in the finals of their respective events to finish at the runners-up position. The evening bore witness to a double-header event in the auditorium as the dance group MJ5 wowed the crowd with their jaw-dropping dance moves, after which comedian Sapan Verma had the audience in splits.

Spree ’18 raised the bar even higher, being the biggest edition of Spree so far, with close games, sportsmanship, enthralling performances, and overall good vibes, giving all those who attended three days to remember.

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BITS Students educate Goa through Nukkad Natak

Nobody knows the importance of education more than we students do. Lack of education and awareness makes people perform some activities to fulfil their short-term wishes and comfort by overlooking the long-term grievous outcome. The agenda of Nirmaan’s Street plays are to dispel away this dearth of knowledge by means of light-hearted entertainment and rejuvenating jingles. This year also we took to the same objective with an enthusiastic team of 20 people and had our final performance on 18 February after a rigorous month-long preparation.

The play was performed at Lamani colony, Zari, Birla, Vasco (in front of Temptations outlet), Panjim (Dona Paula) in order and with an amazing eight performances had an outreach of around 1000 people. The play focused on the topics of- Eve Teasing, Over Population, Drug Abuse, Garbage Disposal and Menstrual Hygiene. Some topics acted as a precursor of Nirmaan’s further activities in the area. For example, the menstrual hygiene and garbage disposal play in Zari was to facilitate the subsequent installment of a pad vending machine and proper dustbins in Zari. The eve teasing play was to encourage the women to join the self-defence classes organised by Nirmaan.

Under the blazing sun, we shouted out slogans and songs to the inquisitive audiences and tried our level best to get our message across. The play received a highly positive outcome in most places apart from women shying away in the menstrual hygiene act, which showed the necessity of education about the still tabooed topic. The team completed the eight performances in a span of seven hours, distributed educational pamphlets, and took feedback after the play at every place. The exhilarated team members received a spectrum of emotions from the audience ranging from tears to hearty applause, from hugs to blessings. The street play or nukkad natak is the foremost front for the educated to inspire the unaware and the less privileged. Because at last –

 “Desh tabhi vikaas karega jab hum sab vikaas karenge”

Nirmaan Goa is an NGO that has been working to bring about a change in the slum of Zari spread over 6.2 acres of land adjoining the Zuari Industries Limited. The chapter has expanded since with a current strength of over 100 active members. We are a student run organisation

We work in knowledge, employment and health sectors in zari. While most of Nirmaan Goa’s projects are still concentrated in Zari, some like Career Counselling, which provides career guidance to school children, have a much wider reach.

Nirmaan Goa is also involved in conducting a number of sessions and events in the BITS Pilani, Goa campus.

 
 
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Quark-2018 Inauguration

Inauguration of Quark-2018 by Ex. Chief Minister, Shri Digambar Kamat
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Workshop on “Biodesign Process: Identity, Invent, Implement and Becoming a Medical Technology Innovator”

BITS Pilani, K K Birla Goa Campus in association with InnAccel Technologies, Bangalore organised a two-day workshop on “Biodesign Process: Identity, Invent, Implement and becoming a Medical technology Innovator”.

A team of product designers and neuroscientists from InnAccel Technologies took the participants through the biodesign process, from need identification to concept generation. “The use of several brain storming techniques by the participating teams helped to cull out interesting solutions to the posed medical challenge in a short time” said Prof. Mridula Goel, Faculty in charge of Center for Innovation, Incubation and Entrepreneurship of BITS Pilani. She further added that “Some of the concepts that were developed will be presented as challenges to students for further research and development”.

The workshop included a live case analysis of Sattva Medtech, co-founded by Vibhav Joshi, an alumnus of BITS Pilani, Goa Campus. The workshop was followed by an interaction with Vibhav Joshi. Participants were presented with copies of the book ‘Inventing Medical Devices: A Perspective from India’, authored by Dr. Jagdish Chaturvedi, Director, Clinical Innovations, InnAccel Technologies.

There is an increase in health challenges facing mankind in the 21st century. Increasing life span on the one hand and new diseases on the other, along with environmental depletion, pose a fertile ground for growing health problems. Globally there are huge efforts being made to create new products, processes and services to address these pressing challenges. BITS Pilani has set up an incubator - BITS BIRAC BioNEST in its Goa Campus with a vision to create innovative start ups in the space of Health and Environment. The workshop was part of the series of workshop organised to fulfil this vision.

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Launch of Project Apeiro Micro-satellite

Project Apeiro is an experiment led by undergraduate students from BITS Pilani K K Birla Goa Campus. The experiment aimed to detect and measure cosmic radiation in stratosphere. This study is important to understand the biologically harmful cosmic radiation incident on earth from outer space. Extended exposure to this radiation leads to an increased risk in cancer and tissue damage. Hence, a thorough understanding of this radiation is essential to develop predictive and preventive mechanisms against their impact.
 
The experiment was conducted using the technique of High Altitude Ballooning. This method allows studies in the near-space environment with the help of a zero-pressure plastic balloon which lifts the experimental payload to desired altitude. The experimental payload consisted of a cosmic radiation detector made with a combination of scintillator and photomultiplier tubes. This detector system was supported by an on-board high and low voltage power supply systems along with data acquisition systems. The development of the detector system was completed at the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR), Mumbai.
 
The flight for this payload was conducted from the TIFR Balloon Facility in Hyderabad, Telangana which is amongst a very few institutes from around the world capable of supporting such kind of a flight. The balloon and all other flight equipment required for the flight of the Project Apeiro payload were completely developed at this facility. The payload was launched at 2:12 am IST on 2nd Feb 2018 and achieved a first float altitude at 24.8 km. The second float altitude was achieved at 26.7 km. The flight was terminated at 5:17 am IST on 2nd Feb 2018. All flight control and experiment equipment were recovered successfully without any damage. This flight sets history by successfully completing the country’s first near-space experiment completely developed by students.
Student Team: Sanket Deshpande, Lucky Kapoor, Shivangi Kamat, Vibhav Joshi and Pankaj Tiple From BITS Pilani K K Birla Goa Campus
 
Project Mentor: Dr. B. Satyanarayana, Scientific Officer (H), TIFR Mumbai
 
Special thanks:
  • Prof. Devendra Ojha, Chairperson, TIFR Balloon Facility, Hyderabad, Telangana, India
  •  Mr. Suneel Kumar, Scientist-in-Charge, TIFR Balloon Facility, Hyderabad, Telangana, India
  • All TIFR Balloon Facility Staff
  • Mr. Srihari Menon, University of Pennsylvania, USA
 
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The first Symposium on Sustainable Technologies for Food Processing and Preservation

Re-FOOD is an international partnership for research and education in energy efficient resource utilization in food value chains between Norway and India. The project is funded by the Research Council of Norway under the INTPART program focusing on developing an integrated approach to deal with the challenges in the field of bio-economy with focus on sustainable utilization of food resources to meet the growing global demand for food and feed ingredients. Re-FOOD will focus on building a long-term cooperation between Norwegian partners SINTEF Ocean and NTNU and Indian partners CSIR-CFTRI, IIT Kharagpur, Amity University and BITS Pilani as well as other industry and governmental stakeholders in both countries.
 
 
An annual symposium will be used to disseminate the research, innovation and education results achieved by Re-FOOD as well as an opportunity to create new contacts to strengthen the cooperation on bio-economy.
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Republic Day Celebrations at BITS Pilani K K Birla Goa Campus

Republic Day Celebrations at BITS Pilani K K Birla Goa Campus
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Online applications for International Student Admissions

Online applications for International student admissions to Pilani, Goa and Hyderabad campuses of BITS are now invited. Pl. click on the below link to know more:
 
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73rd IFIP Working Group 10.4 on Dependable Computing and Fault Tolerance

73rd winter meeting of the WG is organised by BITS Pilani K K Birla Goa Campus from January 11th to 15th, 2018 at Bogmallo Beach Resort, Goa. The theme of the workshop of this WG meeting is “Emerging Challenges for Resilience of Critical Cloud-based Operations: when privacy meets availability”. 
 
The main activity of WG 10.4 is to conduct in-depth discussions of important technical topics in the form of focused workshops. A principal theme since the first meeting has been the understanding and exposition of the fundamental concepts of dependable computing. Other major topics that have been the subject of workshops recently include evaluation of dependability and resiliency, experimental methods, dependable operating systems, and failure diagnosis. In addition to one or more workshops, each meeting also includes research reports that are presented by members and guests, and the WG business meeting.
 
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Workshop on Process Modeling and Simulation

Department of Chemical Engg, BITS Pilani K K Birla Goa Campus, organized a two days’ workshop on Process Modeling and Simulation during 21st-22nd December 2017. This workshop was aimed at providing the working professionals in industries and academics with a platform to enhance their process knowledge on modeling and simulation of the process under study.


The chief guest for the inaugural function of the workshop was Prof Ranjan Kumar Malik, Professor Emeritus, IIT Mumbai. Prof Malik in his speech mentioned the role of modelling and simulation in technological development. Prof Malik emphasized the need of such workshops to train young professionals working in academia and industries. He also spoke about the origin of modelling in India. Guest of honour, Dr. Pramod Pathak, Former Member Secretary, Goa Energy development Agency (GEDA) spoke on his experience in industry and data collection on shop floor. Dr Pathak mentioned the importance of model validation. Prof. G Raghurama,  Director, BITS Pilani K K Birla Goa Campus said that engineers must be acquainted with the modelling and simulation skills in order to innovate new products.

 

The coordinator of the workshop, Prof S D Manjare, introduced the theme of the workshop and outlined the importance of process modelling and simulation. He mentioned that Chemical Industries are facing several challenges such as market competition, fluctuations in market conditions, increased energy prices, stringent environmental norms, safety issues and frequent changes in government policies. He further told that in order to overcome these, chemical processes need to be operated efficiently with various constraints confronting them. Immediate solution to tackle these challenges is the process integration.

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Project Apeiro

Project Apeiro is an experiment led by undergraduate students from BITS Pilani, Goa in collaboration with TIFR. The project aims to determine and analyse the cosmic radiation incident on earth’s surface as a function of altitude. This study helps to understand the cosmic radiation flux and probe radiation exposure for aviation and space flights.


Extended exposure to cosmic radiation is a cause of concern for space and commercial aviation crews. Hence a data driven model of cosmic radiation patterns is essential to determine cosmic radiation exposure for these crews and implement health and safety regulations. The project aims to probe the flux of cosmic radiation as a function of altitude and analyse the accumulation of the charged particles in the lower stratospheric regions. This data will be acquired and correlated with the NAIRAS model developed for space weather by NASA.

 

The flight will be conducted over the central part of the subcontinent and will be launched from the TIFR National Balloon Facility, Hyderabad. The payload will ascend till a floating altitude of 22 kms above the sea level where it will study the accumulation of cosmic radiations. Project Apeiro will be India’s first student-led near space ballooning experiment.

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BITSAT-2018

The link  to apply for writing BITSAT-2018 online exam for admission to Pilani, Goa and Hyderabad campuses for 1st semester 2018-19 is now open.  CLICK HERE to find more details. 
 
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EMCN 2017: 2-Day National Level Workshop on “Experimental Methods in Cognitive Neuroscience”

A 2-Day National workshop on “Experimental Methods in Cognitive Neuroscience” was organized by the Cognitive Neuroscience Lab, Department of Biological Sciences, BITS Pilani, K K Birla Goa Campus from 15th – 16th December, 2017.

The subject of cognitive neuroscience is, in a broad sense, the human mind. Cognitive neuroscience helps to understand how the human brain supports thought, perception, affection, action, social process and other aspects of cognition and behavior. Questions about the mind are studied from different scientific perspectives in philosophy, linguistics, psychology, neuroscience, and computer science. Cognitive Neuroscience is an interdisciplinary approach to understand the neural substrates of mental processes. It is a broad area where insights from psychology, neurobiology, bioengineering, physics, computer science, linguistics, mathematics and philosophy find relevance. This diversity in the researchers’ background necessitates standardization and discussion of latest experimental methods which will be the focus for this workshop.


The inaugural ceremony of the event happened on 15th of December, 2017 where Dr.Veeky Baths, (Organizing Secretary) welcomed the speakers and guests while Raghurama G, Director, BITS Pilani K K Birla Goa Campus addressed the gathering. The Chief Guest for the inaugural ceremony was Prof. Narayanan Srinivasan, Centre for Behavioral and Cognitive Sciences (CBCS), University of Allahabad. Ramesh K Mishra (Co-organizer) gave the Vote of Thanks which marked the conclusion of the ceremony.

The interactive session started soon after the inauguration with 1 International and 7 National Speakers invited:

1.    Samit Chakrabarty, School of Bio-Medical Sciences, University of Leeds.


2.    Ashima Nehra, Department of Neurospsychology, AIIMS, New Delhi


3.    Narayanan Srinivasan,CBCS, University of Allahabad.


4.    Raghavendra Singh, India Research Laboratory IBM.


5.    Sachin Deshmukh, Centre for Neuroscience, IISc Bangalore.


6.    Pratik Mutha, Department of Biological Engineering, IIT Gandhinagar.


7.    Aditya Murthy, Centre for Neuroscience, IISc Bangalore.


8.    Ramesh Kumar Mishra, CNCS University of Hyderabad.



The set of topics on which the discussions happened in the workshop includes:


•    Neural Motor Control

•    Neuropsychological Rehabilitation

•    Introduction to EEG and ERP studies

•    Computation modeling using Deep Learning

•    Neural Representation of spatial maps in the brain.

•    Eye Tracking

•    Neural Organization of the Visuomotor Learning.

Two technical demonstrations from Tobii and EGI were conducted during the workshop. Tobii technologies are front runners in the field of Eye Tracking manufacturing technologies. Vitasta India handles the Indian sales of Tobii products. Kunal and Parag provided hands on demonstration of the screen based eye tracker and the mobile eye trackers to the participants. EGI is one of the largest vendors of dense array EEG, EMG and other neuro-observation systems. At the workshop, EGI representative, Suhas, spoke about the various offerings from EGI and also spoke about the success stories of Neuroscience Labs across the world.

A total of 30 participants attended the workshop from various National colleges and universities. The closing ceremony happened on 16th of December, 2017 that witnessed addressed by all the invited speakers followed by feedback session and Vote of Thanks.

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Cross-campus BITS team presents Hyperloop concept at GES 2017

Hyperloop India
 
A Hyperloop is a mode of passenger and/or freight transportation proposed by Elon Musk in 2012, first used to describe an open-source vacuum train design released by a joint team from Tesla and SpaceX. A hyperloop comprises a sealed tube or system of tubes through which a pod may travel free of air resistance or friction conveying people or objects at high speed while being very efficient. Elon Musk's version of the concept, first publicly mentioned in 2012, incorporates reduced-pressure tubes in which pressurized capsules ride on air bearings driven by electromagnetic levitation and air compressors.
 
The Hyperloop Pod Competition is an incentive prize competition sponsored by SpaceX that is being held in 2015–2018 where a number of student and non-student teams are participating to design and build a subscale prototype transport vehicle to demonstrate technical feasibility of various aspects of the Hyperloop concept. The competitions have been open to participants globally, although all competitions and judging has occurred in the United States.
 
"Hyperloop One" is another international organization working on this technology. In 2016, Hyperloop One launched its Hyperloop One Global Challenge to find the locations for, and develop and construct, the world’s first Hyperloop networks. In January 2017, Hyperloop One announced the 35 semifinalist routes (spread over 17 countries) in the Hyperloop One Global Challenge. Hyperloop One held a series of events showcasing the semifinalists, Vision for India in February, Vision for America in April and Vision for Europe in June. On September 14, 2017, Hyperloop One announced the 10 winners for the Hyperloop One Global Challenge. The countries with teams that won include the US, UK, Canada, Mexico, and India. The winners will now be invited to work closely with Hyperloop One on viability studies to try and bring their respective loops from proposal to reality.
 
Founded in 2015 by a small group of students from BITS Pilani, Team Hyperloop India is a unique multi-disciplinary cross-campus think tank consisting of motivated student volunteers in the fields of engineering and business and design, interested in reinventing transportation by exploring the technical and economic feasibility of this technology in India. The team has been actively involved in developing the technology and business strategies for making Hyperloop a reality in India.

Achievements of the team:
 
1. The team has participated in the Hyperloop One Global Challenge, for which they proposed a feasible business model and implementation strategy for bringing the Hyperloop to India. The proposal is one among the 10 international candidates chosen by Hyperloop One as winners of the competition. 
 
2. The team was one among the 24 finalists in the 2017 SpaceX Hyperloop Pod Competition for which they built an autonomous and fully functional Hyperloop pod capable of running at the mile long test track at SpaceX, California. The project is a massive interdisciplinary collaborative effort that involves work on every aspect of the pod, including structural simulations, fluid dynamics simulation, embedded electronics, real time systems, power systems and vehicle dynamics. 
 
3. The team presented the pod and the Hyperloop concept to the Hon'ble Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Advisor to the President of the United States, Ivanka Trump at the Global Entrepreneurship Summit 2017, Hyderabad.
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Prof. N N Ghosh Elected Fellow of Royal Society of Chemistry, UK

Dr Narendra Nath Ghosh, Associate Professor of Department of Chemistry, BITS Pilani KK Birla Goa campus, Goa has been elected as Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry (FRSC), London, UK. This is a prestigious fellowship awarded through election in recognition of his academic contribution to the field of Chemistry.

Founded in 1841, Royal Society Chemistry (RSC) is the world’s leading chemistry community, advancing excellence in the chemical sciences. RSC partners with industry and academia, advises governments on policy, and promotes the collaboration, innovation, talent, information and ideas that lead to great advances in science. The designation Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry (FRSC) is given to elected fellows who have made significant contributions to the chemical sciences.

Dr Ghosh has been selected for his about 20 years of research efforts in basic and applied science which resulted in the development of novel synthetic methodologies for preparation of varieties of nanostructured materials for various applications, such as advanced catalysts, sensors, microwave absorber, advanced magnetic materials, water pollution, energy storage devices, etc.

His research contributions in the areas of nanomaterials have already been well recognized worldwide, and he has published more than 100 research articles in high-impact international journals, book chapters, and conference proceedings. His research work has been funded by several National funding agencies (DRDO, DST, CSIR, BRNS, DAE-UGC) as well as international funding agencies (such as Royal Academy of Engineering (UK), British council, UKIERI).

He also works very closely with the scientists of various national research organizations, like Defence Lab Jodhpur, IGCAR Kalpakkam, National Centre Compositional Characterisation Of Material Hyderabad, etc. As a visiting professor and scientist Dr Ghosh collaborates with the scientists of various foreign universities, such as Drexel University (USA), University of Tennessee Knoxville (USA), University of Leeds (UK), University Birmingham (UK), Istanbul Technical University (Turkey), etc. 

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Problem Identification, Ideation and Conceptualization

A one day workshop on “Problem Identification, Ideation and Conceptualization” was held on 30th November 2017 at BITS, Pilani K K Birla Goa Campus. The workshop was organized and conducted by Prof. Mridula Goel, Faculty In charge, Centre for Innovation, Incubation and Entrepreneurship, BITS Pilani, K K Birla Goa Campus &  BITS BIRAC BioNEST . The BioNEST is being set up by the institute to support innovations in healthcare & environmental engineering. It will be equipped with state of the art equipment related to Microbiology and Molecular Biology.

The workshop was inaugurated by Mr. J M Noronha, Chairman Goa State Innovation Council. Speaking on the occasion Prof. G. Raghurama,  director of BITS Pilani, K K Birla Goa Campus said that it is important to focus on the problem to develop an effective solution and create a successful start up. Mr. Vibhav Joshi Founder of Sattva Medtech, Bangalore shared his vision of reducing perinatal deaths in the country through the development of a fetal monitor.  Dr. Anirban Roy and Dr.Ravi Aduri , faculty members, shared their experiences in creating innovations that can be commercialized.

The Workshop was well attended by  students , faculty , E-CeLL members and startup enthusiasts from Mumbai and Goa.

Participants identified several health problems related to radiation from mobiles, fast food habits, environmental destruction , loneliness and stress . They proposed solutions to handle these challenges. The first prize was given to a team from MES college for the idea of a smart watch for Blind People to increase their safety.

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Workshop on Process Modeling and Simulation (PMS 2017): 21st -22nd December 2017

The Chemical Industries are facing with several challenges such as market competition, fluctuations in market conditions, increased energy prices, stringent environmental norms, safety issues and frequent changes in government policies. Nevertheless the industries have to continuously keep on increasing their business for survival in the market. In order to achieve this, chemical processes need to be operated efficiently with various constraints confronting them.  An understanding of dynamic behavior of chemical processes is important from this point of view. Process engineers are often responsible for troubleshooting in day to day operations of a   particular chemical process.  This includes redesigning a chemical process to provide more profitability and designing control system for effective operation.  The mathematical model of equipment, process or a system can be used to predict their performance. Dynamic simulators can be used to solve the model equations. Such simulators can be used as a diagnostic tool to identify the operational problems.

In view of above, The Department of Chemical Engineering at BITS Pilani, KK Birla Goa Campus has organized   two days’ workshop on Process Modeling and Simulation (PMS 2017) for working professionals and academicians during 21st - 22nd December 2017.

Please visit:  https://bitsgoa.wixsite.com/pms2017  for more details. 

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One day workshop on "Problem Identification, Ideation and Conceptualization" on November 30,2017

One day workshop on "Problem Identification, Ideation and Conceptualization"  organized by BITS BIRAC BioNEST along with CIIE, BITS Pilani, K K Birla Goa campus on November 30,2017 (Thursday).
 
The activity based workshop aims to sensitize participants to the processes involved in problem identification and ideation. Using the tools of Lean Canvas we also aim to help participants evaluate the commercial feasibility of their ideas. Positioned at a basic level the workshop is meant for everyone, especially beginners, who want to understand the process of creating a startup.
 
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Inauguration of the 55th National Metallurgist’s Day and the 71st Annual Technical Meeting at BITS Pilani K K Birla Goa Campus

The 55th National Metallurgist’s Day and the 71st Annual Technical Meeting was inaugurated at BITS Pilani, K K Birla Goa Campus, on the morning of 11th November 2017. The NMD-ATM 2017 is hosted by the Indian Institute of Metals, Goa chapter, organized jointly with IIM, Mumbai, and IIM Pune chapters. This annual mega-event aims to bring metallurgists and material engineers from the industry and academia to come together to share their experiences and learnings about metallurgy and material engineering, from all over India and abroad. The theme of the international symposium this year is “Light Weighting for Defence, Aerospace and Transportation”.

The international symposium of the NMD-ATM, 2017 was convened by Prof. Amol Gokhale (IIT Bombay), the Chairman of the International Symposium. Prof. Souvik Bhatacharyya, Vice-Chancellor, BITS Pilani welcomed the dignitaries and participants. Dr. Biswajit Basu, President Indian Institute of Metals then gave the welcome address for the symposium. Dr. D. Bhattacharya, Vice Chairman, Hindalco Industries, chaired the panel discussion. The panellists were  Dr. S. Christopher, Chairman, DRDO India, Mr. Arvind Bhardwaj and H. M. Nerurkar.

The chief guest for the symposium, Shri Manohar Parrikar, Honourable Chief Minister of Goa delivered an inaugural address. Shri Parrikar shared about his own experience in the field of metallurgy, being a metallurgical engineer from IIT Bombay himself. He highlighted importance of Carbon materials and nanotechnology alongside the steel. He emphasised light weighting can save crores of rupees in terms of energy and transportation.

NMD-ATM, 2017 is being held during 11th-14th November 2017. This 4-days event at K K Birla Goa Campus will witness presence of many prominent industry and academia. Shri Arun Kumar, Secretary, Ministry of Mining will be inaugurating the Iron Ore Symposium on 12th November and Shri Chaudhary Birender Singh, Union Minister of Steel and Shri Vishnu Deo Sai, Hon’ble Union Minister of State for Steel will be gracing the event with their presence of 14th November. 

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Staff Excellence Awards, 2017

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Workshop on Novel Sanitation approaches and Emerging Trends in Wastewater Treatment Technology

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Happy Diwali from Vice Chancellor, BITS Pilani

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Devashish Vikas Gupta awarded the prestigious Aditya Birla Scholarship

We are proud to announce that our student Devashish Vikas Gupta has been awarded the highly prestigious Aditya Birla Scholarship. Devashish is pursuing his Mechanical engineering degree at BITS-Pilani, K K Birla Goa Campus. Since his early childhood, Devashish was fascinated by Mathematics, Music and Science. While studying in the 11th grade, he got intensely involved in research in the fields of Physics and Mathematics. He has the distinction of having published two research papers in international journals and is currently working on his third research paper.

In addition to academics, Devashish has several other feathers to his cap. He is a self-taught instrumentalist, music composer, producer and orchestrator. He has two international music collaborations with artists from USA and Canada, and has composed over thirty songs in two years (2015-2017). Devashish is also a Badminton player, and has played at the state level. He is a graphic designer as well. Devashish aspires to pursue further studies and research and make significant contributions in building our nations knowledge base.

Instituted in 1999, The Aditya Birla Scholarship Programme is the Aditya Birla Group's way of pursuing Mr. Aditya Vikram Birla's ideals of spawning leaders with a passion to excel. This is achieved through fostering outstanding academic excellence and humane leadership values, in partnership with select IITs, BITS Pilani, IIMs, and Law colleges.

This scholarship covers a large part of the academic fees as well as the hostel fees for the IITs / BITS stream. A total 160 students from the IITs and BITS (Pilani) were evaluated and short listed based on their overall achievements spanning academic and co-curricular excellence and the essays written by them. The shortlisted students were invited for a final round of interview conducted by an eminent panel of luminaries and academicians, which ultimately selects the best 16 students from - engineering and management and are named Aditya Birla Scholars.

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Sursangam 2017; a musical evening

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71st Annual Technical Meeting and International Symposium on “Lightweighting for Defence and Transportation”

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Workshop on Experimental Methods in Cognitive Neuroscience

The subject of cognitive neuroscience is, in a broad sense, the human mind. Cognitive neuroscience helps to understand how the human brain supports thought, perception, affection, action, social process and other aspects of cognition and behaviour. Questions about the mind are studied from different scientific perspectives in philosophy, linguistics, psychology, neuroscience, and computer science. Cognitive Neuroscience is an interdisciplinary approach to understand the neural substrates of mental processes. It is a broad area where insights from psychology, neurobiology, bioengineering, physics, computer science, linguistics, mathematics and philosophy find relevance.

 

With an aim to emphasize the need for experimental protocols in cognitive neuroscience, Cognitive Neuroscience Lab, Dept. of Biological Sciences is conducting a 2-day workshop on “Experimental Methods in Cognitive Neuroscience” at Birla Institute of Technology and Sciences, Pilani, K K Birla Goa Campus.

 

To know more visit www.emcn2017.com

 

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Prof. SS Ranganathan Memorial Teaching Excellence Award, 2017 Conferred to Prof. P. Srinivansan

The Prof. SS Ranganathan Memorial Teaching Excellence Award, 2017 ceremony was held in BITS Pilani, Pilani campus on 4th September 2017. Prof. P. Srinivasan, Associate Professor in Mechanical Engineering Department of BITS Pilani, Pilani Campus was conferred this year’s award. This award carries a certificate and Rs. 100000/- of cash. Prof. Srinivasan was selected for this award through a well-defined procedure where he had to compete with 20 nominations received from three Indian campuses of the institute. A jury consisting of 5 members which included members from all the three campuses, and an alumni representative, went through all the nominations and arrived at a consensus decision to confer this year’s award to Prof. Srinivasan.
 
The Prof. SS Ranganathan Memorial Teaching Excellence Award, 2017 ceremony was graced by the BITS Pilani Vice Chancellor, Prof. Souvik Bhattacharyya, BITS Pilani, Pilani campus Director, Prof. A.K.Sarkar, Dean (Alumni Relations), Prof. Arya Kumar, Family members of Prof. S. S. Ranganathan, and a few alumni who have been instrumental in instituting this award in the memory of their beloved teacher, Prof. S. S. Ranganathan. On this occasion, apart from the Vice Chancellor, and the Director, Prof. Ranganathan’s wife and daughter also spoke on Prof. Ranganathan’s commitment to teaching and his love and care for students. They shared several incidents to highlight Prof. Ranganathan’s humane personality. Mr. NS Parthasarathy, an alumnus who was taught by Prof. Ranganathan shared his experiences and mentioned in detail how he along with some of his friends decided to pay tribute to their beloved teacher by instituting this award in his name. They have contributed a corpus fund of Rs 25 lacs for this purpose.

Prof. P Srinivasan, the awardee of this year’s Prof. SS Ranganathan Memorial Teaching Excellence Award, became quite emotional when his name was announced for this award. In his award acceptance speech, he thanked the jury for selecting him for this award. He mentioned how he decided to come to teaching profession when he saw his father receiving the teaching excellence award from the governor of his state. He dedicated this award to his parents. Prof. Srinivasan discussed about his teaching in great detail.

The function ended with a performance by Ragmalika members.
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METANOIA – The journey of Change

Keeping in mind its resolute mission to keep the alumni of BITS connected to their Alma mater and to maintain the integrity and strength of the vast alumni community, BITS Alumni Affairs Division – Student Team Goa conducted the second edition of Alumni Summit on 26th of August, 2017. The speakers reminisced about their life back at BITS campuses and their journey thereafter. 

 

The Director, Prof. G Raghurama opened the Summit by welcoming all the distinguished speakers. He spoke about how BITS focuses on the holistic development and highlighted the fact that the speakers are all from very diverse fields -be it dance, writing, police service, etc - and how they embody the theme of the Summit - Metanoia: Journey of Change. 

He said that the speakers were driven by their passion and urged the students to be passionate, to enjoy what they do and to pursue their interests. He assured the students that while there are always challenges, they can always be overcome so long as they are passionate.

 

Six speakers who were invited are: 

 

1.      SHREYAS HABBU:

 

Mr. Habbu graduated from BITS-Pilani K K Birla Goa Campus in the year 2014. He is presently the Chief Ministers fellow, Government of Maharashtra. He explained his early life in BITS and how he had no particular interests initially. This explains the importance of Metanoia or change and the way BITS ecosystem can enrich your personality.

 

He also spoke about how change is the only constant and is inevitable. He advised us to learn to embrace and give it our best shot. His advice is summarized here:

 

  • o   Expand your comfort zone- this helps to grow as a person and expand boundaries

  • o   Experience new things- it is transformation and helps understand perspective.

  • o   Discover yourself- invest some time in yourself and discover your strength and weakness

  • o   Ambiguity- One must explore and keep trying. Things might not always go your way but don’t give up and move ahead.

o   And finally, Have Fun!

                   “ You must be the change you want to see in the world “

 - Mahatma Gandhi

 

 

 

2.      BANDAN JOT SINGH:

 

Mr. Singh a BITS Alumnus graduated from BITS Pilani in 2010 and worked in companies like ISB. He currently works as a Leadership Associate with Aditya Birla Group. He is the first Urban Sikh to visit Antarctica under Robert Swan. He has always tried to pursue his passion and career together.

 

In his talk, he spoke about his experience in Antarctica, pointing out its uniqueness. He went to Antarctica in March 2013. He stumbled upon this opportunity after a 5 minute unplanned talk with Robert Swan where he offered to install solar panels at Robert Swan's private base. After getting this amazing opportunity, he tried to make this challenge a reality, managing his job and trying to get sponsors for his expedition. Even after facing hardship in getting sponsors he got support from 2 main firms and that helped him embark on his journey to Antarctica.

 

His time in Antarctica taught him about how small we are in this world. He highlights the change in climatic condition in the world. His experience teaches us;

 If something is important enough,

 Even if the odds are against you,

 You should still do it.

            -ELON MUSK

 

3.      PADMINI CHETTUR:

 

Ms. Chettur spoke about her unique journey in which she started off by telling us how she graduated from BITS Pilani, Pilani Campus. Although she became a dancer later on, she did love science, and during her stay here, had pursued chemistry. She didn’t dance much during her life in BITS, but didn’t really miss it. She loved her stay in BITS nevertheless.

 

She also described her meeting with her mentor in dance, Chandralekha. After completing 3 years in college, during PS2 in Chennai, she met Chandralekha who completely changed her life. She told us that Chandralekha was a radical and political feminist. She worked with her for 10 years and she describes those years as feisty and exhilarating.

 

She also spoke about how the banning of traditional arts during the colonial rule has had a negative impact on these arts. She spoke about how they need to be revived. She also told us how she feels that school co-curricular activities are irrelevant in today’s world and that one should find his\her passion as soon as possible.

 

She spoke about how the world is facing two invasions: the invasion of post globalized markets, and the invasion of technology. She also feels that these days everyone is studying engineering or pure sciences. She also feels people these days have lost their sense of sensuality and are very detached from their inner selves. She advised everyone to engage in some kind of art during their lifetime. All in all, it was an eye opening talk, which opened up our minds to perceive things through a fresh perspective.

 

4.      SHASHI WARRIER:

 

Mr. Warrier started off by telling us about some things about himself. He told us about his journey, his childhood experiences, etc. One such experience that he recollected was related to his admission in BITS Pilani, and how he got admission in the college despite coming late because of a determined parent of one of the people who had also come late. Drawing an inference from this incident, he told us that though luck plays a huge role in life, we must be thoroughly prepared to make use of any bit of luck that comes our way, and work determinedly.

 

He also told us, how he got out of ACB because of a few teachers who believed in him, and gave him wholehearted unprejudiced advice without giving up on him. ‘Don’t give up on people’, he said. He advised all of us to explore all areas of life open-mindedly and thoroughly. This was another piece of advice he derived from an experience of his, in which he explored the application of complicated math in Economics even before the idea was introduced to him.

 

He told us that we are never too late to learn, and recounted how he picked up biking rather late in his life despite having slight vision problems. By telling us how he worked around his blindness in left eye, and still managed to test run bikes at extremely high speeds safely (he explored the biking track multiple times before each ride), he told us that we must never give up. Lastly, he told us that we must never hesitate to ask for help. Hence, it was a very motivational and eye-opening speech.

 

5.      NISHITH RASTOGI:

                                                                             

So, on the stage we had a guy who is the founder and CEO of ‘LOCUS’ a machine learning startup and a global giant. Technically we were looking at a business tycoon, a millionaire but the person who interacted with us was an entirely different dude. The guy on the stage was the student who had faced more than 10 DISCOS, the one credited for installing a 100 kg duck on the top of B-dome, Mr. Nishith Rastogi. He came on the stage and began his talk (titled: 7 life lessons no one will ever give you).

 

Advice 1: Get a good haircut

(Message: Get out of your comfort zone)

“First thing required to achieve anything in your life is having the confidence to go for it and when you are groomed you get an automatic self confidence boost which is very necessary to get out of your comfort zone and stretch your limits and expand your abilities.”

 

Advice 2: Invest in a jacket and put it in hanky

(Message: Respect others’ time)

Mr. Rastogi advised us to always maintain a personality of a person who always respects others’ time and who always is in a condition to be a helping hand for others.

 

“Carry a hanky not for yourself but to offer it to others”, said Nishith.

 

Advice 3: It’s OK not to drink beer, there’s always whisky

(Message: Don’t live in the extremes)

Mr. Rastogi urged not to be a stereotype and discouraged binary thinking (a thing is right or it is absolutely wrong). He suggested adopting an adaptive thinking and doing things for the sake of it. He also suggested doing things for oneself and bothering less about what others think about it.

 

Advice 4: Bag packing is overrated

(Message: Don’t have a FOMO)

He suggested us to keep calm and don’t be in FOMO, rather embrace every moment as it comes to us.

 

Advice 5: Always invest in shoes, mattress, chairs and tires

(Message: Invest in yourself)

“One is one self’s possible investment. So, never should we resist in doing something for us. A class statement should always be made by an individual.”

 

Advice 6: Never snitch

“We should be loyal and respectful in our friendship and should not hesitate in being there for our friends.” This suggestion by Mr. Rastogi was very positive and heartfelt.

 

Advice 7: Maggi is Magic

(Message: Stand up for what’s right)

Mr. Rastogi mentioned about the famous 6th April incident and explained how he and his peers stood up against discrimination and inequality. The main goal for mentioning it was to make one realize that one should never be afraid to stand up for what he believes is right.

 

Mr. Rastogi encouraged the students to actively engage themselves in candid conversations on all relevant topics and whenever we face disagreements we have a choice of dialogue or violence, the former being the preferred one, of course.

 

In his words, “Our generation unlike our parents’ has a vast array of options to choose from; we are spoilt for choice. There is no reason for us to think that our jobs are not as good as expected because we are the ones who chose them.”

 

He also said that commitment is more important than passion. “Life gives everybody a chance to be whatever they want to be. It's your life, live it up”

 

On the whole, it was a very interactive BITS-ian like talk. 

 

 

 

 

6.      B SANDHYA:

 

Dr. B Sandhya is the Additional Director General of the Kerala police with 29 years of active service. She has received recognition both on national and international platforms for her illustrious career and ingenious reforms brought about in Kerala police.

 

Dr. Sandhya had a humble childhood. She was born in a small town in Kerala. Even at a very young age, she wanted to make an impact on the community. On receiving encouragement from her school teacher, she decided to sit for the civil services examination. She completed her masters in Zoology and then cleared the UPSC Exam in 1988. Thereafter she went to the National Police Academy, Hyderabad. She earned her PHD from BITS-Pilani in 2005.

 

Dr. Sandhya is an avid writer and her contribution to Malayalam literature is world renowned. In her own words, "Writing is not a career; it's a part of my life." She is fond of the science and literature equally; and considers both to be enriching on an equal scale.

 

Her contributions to the historic “Jan Maitri Suraksha project” are acknowledged countrywide. As the convener of the Kerala police act, she drafted the community policing system. The “Jan Maitri Suraksha project” proposes a new informal bond between the police and the community. By requiring the police to become more empathetic and accessible, it hopes to improve the police-common man relationship. It also aims to increase the contribution of common man in community; and making them more aware and vigilant.

 

Being one of the established personnel in her field, she holds a strong opinion against excessive use of internet and smartphones. However, she supports advancements in technology, but stresses on its correct usage. Her views on substance abuse and police role in curbing it are also very insightful. 

 

Finally towards the end, Dr. Veeky Baths, Faculty-In-Charge of Alumni Affairs thanked the Director, Prof. G Raghurama, the speakers and the faculty for being a part of the Summit. He thanked all the speakers for their time and their valuable words. He emphasized the importance of alumni participation for a university. He spoke about how BITS established a strong and symbiotic relationship with its alumni which lasts for life. He also thanked the students who were involved in the organization of the Summit and also those who attended it.

 

 

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Formula Student 2017 Car Unveil

The FS 2017 Car "SIEG 3.0" was unveiled to campus by Prof. Raghurama G, Director alongwith Prof. D M Kulkarni, Associate Dean Administration, Dr. Shibu Clement, H.O.D. Mechanical Department and Dr. Ranjit S Patil, Faculty Advisor SAE Club.

The student team designed and manufactured this vehicle in house and participated in SUPRA 2017, held at Buddha International Circuit, Greater Noida. The design was appreciated by the judges and the after sales head of Ferrari India personally visited the pit to interact with the team and discuss the automobile.
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Convocation 2017

The annual-convocation ceremony of BITS Pilani, K K Birla Goa Campus for the graduates of 2017 was held on Sunday, 13 August 2017. The Chief Guest on this occasion was Shri. Ramachandra Guha – an eminent Indian historian and biographer.

The ceremony was formally opened by reading out the message of Chancellor-BITS Pilani, Dr. Kumar Mangalam Birla by Vice Chancellor, Prof. Souvik Battacharya. The Hon’ble chief guest conveyed his message on the plurality in India to the audience. The Vice Chancellor reviewed the achievement of BITS Pilani University and Dr. G. Reghurama, Director – K K Birla Goa Campus presented the Annual Report of the Campus.

The Distinguished Alumnus award ceremony was also held on the occasion. This year’s award in the entrepreneurship category was conferred on Harihar Menon, Co-founder of Online Shop – Big Basket.

This year 456 students were awarded degree , 416 of first degree, 24 of higher degree and 16 of PhD programmes - on the occasion. Talluri Varsheet, Ayush Sharma and Sudeep Mishra were awarded Gold medal, Silver medal and Bronze medal respectively.
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PMP - A Students’ Initiative

Every aspirant who clears BITSAT and chooses BITS Goa to spend their 4 or 5 years in this beautiful campus comes with a dream and a plan. Some students make their own way, but others need someone to help them during their early college days with some of their basic problems during the first month if not the entire semester. Peer Mentorship Program aims to provide every student a mentor who would help them in the same.

What is Peer Mentoring?
 
Starting college can be an overwhelming experience. From learning simpler things like finding your way around, or where to go for help; to discovering ways to balance classwork, home, job and figuring out which student organisations or experiences to be a part of; or, even choosing a major – it’s a big adjustment! It is a lot to learn, plan and keep track of!

To alleviate much of the confusion when transitioning to college, the Peer Mentoring Program at BITS Goa helps new students adjust to the college environment, make connections on campus and feel empowered to chart their own course to success. The program matches old students with new students, connecting them as partners for a semester-long experience.

Program Overview
 
The Peer Mentor Program, simply put, aims to let existing students help new students in a purposeful way. Current students who are looking for an empowering interpersonal leadership experience and want to help their juniors in the process are encouraged to apply to become Mentors. BITS Goa’s Peer Mentors are committed to sharing their own experiences to motivate others, help them grow, set goals and become successful.
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Convocation 2017

Convocation ceremony for the graduating students who have completed the eligibility requirements in the academic year 2016-17 of First Degree, Higher Degree and Ph.D Programmes from BITS Pilani, K K Birla Goa Campus shall be held at 10:30 AM (Tentative) on Sunday, 13th of August, 2017 at Goa Campus.

Important Dates:

 
 
 
 
 

 

Click here for further information and registration.
 
Convocation 2017 Live Webcast
 
 
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Information for New Admission Students

 
New Admission Students
 
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Campus Facilities at K K Birla Goa Campus
 
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BITS Pilani Rating

Ranking Outlook June 2017
 
 
 
The Week: Best Universities Survey 2017 Results
 
 
 
India Today Ranking-2017
 
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QS World Ranking 2018



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Ranking Outlook June 2017

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Candidates with BITSAT-2017 scores can now apply for various First-degree programs at BITS - Pilani, Goa, and Hyderabad campuses

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Admissions 2017

Admissions to all undergraduate programmes in BITS Pilani – Pilani, Goa and Hyderabad Campuses are enabledthrough BITSAT. All candidates who have successfully completed BITSAT can apply for admissions; candidates have to fill only a single application form for seeking admission to programmes offered at Pilani, Goa and Hyderabad Campuses.

A merit list of candidates who have applied and are eligible for admissions will be prepared based on the criteria given in admission modality. Admission offers are made based on the candidate’s order of preference for different programmes at different campuses. This may take a few iterations and at each stage, the status is made available to the candidates at Admissions Website.

It is possible that a student who gets an admission offer for a programme in one campus can get slided up for another programme at other campus in the next iteration. Once a student reports for admission at a particular campus, he/she may get slided up to his/her higher preferences at other campuses in further iterations. He/she will be also given a chance to opt out of the race for programmes offered at other campuses and he/she will be considered for programmes of his/her higher preferences at the campus where he/she has joined.

BITS also offer admission to board toppers and International Students via different schemes.

For more details: http://www.bitsadmission.com

Admissions at K.K.Birla Goa Campus

KK Birla Goa Campus was commissioned in 2004 and established as an Institute of excellence in Science and Technology. As said above, admissions to KK Birla Goa Campus is made through the single admission process. At Goa Campus, we offer six BE Programmes and five MSc Programmes.

 

Programmes Offered

Details of Programmes offered are as follows:

·         Integrated First Degree (BE and MSc.) (Admissions through BITSAT)

·         Higher Degree (ME) (Admissions through BITS Online Test)

·         Doctoral Programmes (Admissions through Test & Interview)

 

Dual Degree

To meet the ambitions of the students who could not get admission to B.E. Programmes, the Institute has created facilities by which a student who is admitted to M.Sc. Programme will be given an opportunity to work under the dual degree scheme for a second degree in B.E. programme. This assignment is made by competition on their performance at BITS at the end of first year, separately in Pilani, Goa and Hyderabad Campuses.

Requirements of both the degrees are structured to be completed normally in five years.


Frequently Asked Questions

Campus Overview:
 

The Campus is spread over an area of 180 acres and the location on campus is unique with respect to scenic beauty and panoramic view of picturesque surroundings with Zuari River, hillocks, waterways and forest. Read more..

Campus Facilities:

BITS Pilani – KK Birla Goa Campus is well known for its academic as well as other student facilities. The Institute is fully residential. High speed internet is available throughout the campus. The Central Library with 37,000+ books and international journals, Tele-presence facility and labs with all modern equipment are some of unique facilities in the campus. The campus also has a 24X7 medical center, shopping complex and SBI branch which makes the student life easier inside the campus .Read more:..

Student Activities:

To enhance the overall educational experience of students, institute provides the opportunity to be a part of a wide range extra-curricular activities and events. There a handful number of clubs and departments, both technical and non-technical functioning in the campus which give students the exposure to variety of opportunities and challenges. Read more:..

Clubs & Departments

Events & Festivals

Picture Gallery

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The Week: Best Universities Survey 2017 Results

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India Today Ranking-2017

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The startup DRONE NATION by Vichar Shroff, Chetan Reddy & Nikhil Khedekar wins Nidhi Prayas Grant

Drone Nation, a team from BITS Pilani KK Birla Goa campus was selected for receiving incubation support and finance grant from Nidhi-Prayas, DST, Government of India to develop a Drone for Agriculture at the iCreate campus in Ahmedabad. Drone Nation is one of the 5 teams selected in the final round from among more than 2000 teams that participated from the entire country.NIDHI-PRomotion and Acceleration of Young and ASpiring innovators and start-ups (PRAYAS) is a DST program that focuses on supporting innovators to develop their innovative idea into a prototype and also turning nurturing ideas and innovations into successful startups. The selected innovators would get access to prototype grant up to Rs.10.00 lakhs, infrastructure, and mentorship, thus bridging the gap between idea and prototyping.
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A Brief report on Workshop on Teaching Strategies in Mathematics

Workshop Sponsored by: Elsevier Mathematical Sciences Sponsorship Fund-2017

Aiming to provide an intense training on teaching mathematics at undergraduate level for college and university faculty, a two-day workshop on ‘Teaching Strategies in Mathematics’ held during April 28-29, 2017 at Birla Institute of Technology and Science Pilani, K K Birla Goa Campus.  Department of Mathematics, BITS Goa which is the first Indian academic institute ever win the prestigious Elsevier Mathematical Sciences Sponsorship Fund – 2017, to promote mathematical sciences in its neighborhood, hosted the event.

Speaking on the occasion, Prof. Raghurama G Director of BITS Goa said “With the learning, there is a strong need of unlearning, relearning how to teach the new generation students in this highly technological world.   Teachers in this liquid society must be ‘a meddler in the middle’ and the process of teaching is mutual learning for both teachers and students. We should move from the attitude of ‘I do, you do’ to an effective and inclusive approach of ‘we do’.” He felt that availability of all information at the clique of the mouse for the students made the 21st century teaching a very challenging one and teachers should mould themselves to the required environment. He gave some   informative examples of how unlearning can be used to understand, rectify, and avert the teaching collapses to some extent.

Prof. Nagaraj, IMSc Chennai, delivered a lecture on Groups as automorphism of sets,  Prof. Veerappa Gowda, TIFR Bengaluru, spoke on mathematical analysis and applications to PDEs Prof. V. D. Sharma IIT Bombay, presented a lecture on Hyperbolic PDEs and Associated Nonlinear Wave Phenomena. Prof. Arumugam, BITS Goa gave a lecture about Methodology of teaching mathematics and Dr. Aravind, Wolfrm Research trained the participants on   Teaching mathematics using mathematica. The event was basically designed to bring the college mathematics teachers in Goa on a single platform and share the information on teaching strategies needed for effective learning process in mathematics. Around sixty college/university faculty participated in the workshop from various parts of India.

Dr. Amit Setia and Dr. Manoj Kumar Pandey, assistant professors in mathematics, BITS-Goa convened the event. The workshop was organized jointly by Department of Mathematics, BITS-Goa and Elsevier Publishing Company, Amsterdam, Netherlands.

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Applications are now invited for Ph D programmes

Applications are now invited for Ph D programmes. The last date for applying online  is 5:00 PM on 16th May 2017. Please visit www.bitsadmission.com for details.
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3 Minutes Thesis Competition

A 15000-25000 words First Degree Thesis or Higher Degree Dissertation requires one hour presentation, while a  70000-100000 words PhD Thesis requires 4-5  hours presentation.  What about the idea of a 3 minutes(MT) presentation? Students   have 3 minutes to present their  exciting research. 

 
History: The first Three Minutes Thesis (3MT) competition was held at The University of Queensland in 2008 with 160 Research Higher Degree students competing. In 2009 and 2010 the 3MT competition was promoted to other Australian and New Zealand universities and enthusiasm for the concept grew. Due to its adoption in numerous universities, a multi-national event was developed, and the Inaugural Trans-Tasman 3MT competition was held at UQ in 2010.Since 2011, the popularity of the competition has increased and 3MT competitions are now held in over 170 universities across more than 18 countries worldwide. 
 
Benefits: The 3MT Thesis competition helps in cultivating students' academic, presentation, and research communication skills. It develops their capacity to effectively explain their research in three minutes, in a language appropriate to a non-specialist audience.
 

Promoting  yourself with 3MT Thesis: click here.

 

Who is eligible? Final year BITS students who are currently doing their First Degree Thesis(on or off-campus) or Higher Degree Dissertation or working for their PhD( in the 3rd/4th year and above) are eligible to apply.

 

Form for participation: If you are interested to participate in this 3MT Thesis competition, you are requested to fill up the online participation form  on or before 24th April,2017.  

 
Participation fees: Nil
 
 

Contact
Prasanta Kumar Das, PhD

Associate Dean, Academic Research Division                                                
BITS-Pilani K K Birla Goa Campus, Goa-403726,IndiaPhone: 0832-2580-448(O)

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Workshop on Teaching Strategies in Mathematics

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Acoustic Night

As the semester comes to a close and before the comprehensive examination fever begins, come and groove to some beautiful melodies this acoustic night. Witness the allusive musicians of the Music Society perform some of your all-time favourites this Acoustic night under a starlit sky. Join us, relax and enjoy some good music this evening. (April 19th, 2017)

Here is the line-up of songs:

1) Take me to church – Hozier

2) Phir le aaya dil - Barfi

3) Sexy and I know it - LMFAO

4) Tears in heaven - Eric Clapton

5) A Cappella - Pehla nasha

6) If I ain't got you - Alicia Keys

7) Aao Huzoor Tumko - Asha Bhonsle

8) Snuff - Slipknot 

9) Darmiyaa - Jodi Breakers

10) Dream on - Aerosmith 

11) Sau aasmaan - Baar baar dekho

12) Sway - Dean Martin

13) Aitebar - Zeb and haniya

14) How to fly - Sticky Fingers

15) The Local Train Mash up!

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Hyperloop India Qualifies for SpaceX Hyperloop Pod Competition

After a series of design reviews which spanned a period of 6 months, Team Hyperloop India from BITS Pilani has been selected as one of the 24 teams from all over the world (only second team from whole of Asia) by SpaceX to build and race their Hyperloop pod on the SpaceX test track at California.
 
This marks an important milestone in the development of the fifth mode of transport, the “Hyperloop” proposed by Elon Musk, in India. Working alongside Hyperloop One and SpaceX, and student teams from colleges like Princeton, Purdue, UT-Austin and TU Munich, our team’s next step would be to manufacture India's first indigenously developed Hyperloop vehicleat
 
BITS Hyperloop was founded at BITS Pilani in 2015 as a student initiative that grew in all facets and in due course of time got renamed to Hyperloop India. Team Hyperloop India is a part of BITS, Pilani. It comprises of students currently enrolled in BITS Pilani across its three Indian campuses in Pilani, Goa and Hyderabad. The team is led by Mr. Sibesh Kar, student of this University and the team is supervised by Prof. M. S. Dasgupta, Professor from Mechanical Engineering Department.
 
HyperLoop India is a unique, non-profit think tank having more than 60 motivated student volunteers from various Indian Institutes from the fields of Engineering and Business, who are  interested in reinventing transportation in India. The project is attracting cooperation and patronage from the fields of transportation, logistics, infrastructure and data experts from organizations like RITES, NITI Aayog & DP World India and is backed by a government of India initiative.
 
Following are links related to Hyperloop India which has been previously covered in the media:
 
 
 
 


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Sandbox Inauguration

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Kala Night

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Dance Night

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Nirmaan Talks

Nirmaan Talks - Opening Dimensions
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BITS GOA ECONOMICS CONCLAVE 2017: A Snapshot

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Higher Degree Admissions

Applications are now invited for Higher Degree programmes (M.E/M.Pharm). Deadline for receiving higher degree applications is 5:00 PM on 29th April 2017. Visit www.bitsadmission.com for applying online.
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SAE BAJA Vehicle – Unveiling

On 18th march, 2017, the Grease Monkeys BAJA team of Bits Pilani KK Birla Goa Campus unveiled their annual BAJA vehicle -‘Garud’ built for the SAE BAJA 2017, as well as its associated design process. The in-house designed & built vehicle is an all-terrain single seater.

Garud has seen a significant upgrade from its predecessor. It has also become the first BAJA vehicle from BITS Goa to clear the endurance test. During the event the car was running around the roads of the campus in full action.
Details of the vehicle:

The major change in the design of the new vehicle was in terms of the reduction of weight of the vehicle. The Grease Monkeys team brought a mass reduction of about 110kg in their new vehicle which now weighs 218kg. All the four sub-systems, namely: chassis, steering, braking & engines were looked after with utmost care. During designing of the chassis, the safety concerns of the driver were given the first priority. The gearbox which provides automatic transmission was custom made by the students and which only weighs 10kg.The maneuvering and suspension were designed according to the analysis of the track on which the car had to run. The fabrication was done by using Carbon composite sheet which was made in the campus Workshop.

The vehicle faced braking, acceleration, speed, maneuverability over all terrain and hill climb tests during the SAE Baja event held in Indore.

The efforts of the Grease Monkeys team were greatly appreciated by the Director of the campus at the end of the event.

Video Link:
 
 
 
 
Photographs Link: 
 
 
 
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BITS GOA ECONOMICS CONCLAVE

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AttLis 2017: ATTENTIVE LISTENER IN THE VISUAL WORLD

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Workshop on Teaching Strategies in Mathematics

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Conference on Algorithms and Discrete Applied Mathematics

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55th National Metallurgists’ Day (Under the aegis of Ministry of Steel, Government of India) and 71st Annual Technical Meeting of the Indian Institute of Metals

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Regional Workshop On Outcome Based Learning Using Pedagogy Framework Model

The Teaching Learning Centre, BITS Pilani, KK Birla Goa Campus organized a two day Regional Workshop On "Outcome Based Learning Using Pedagogy Framework Model" in collaboration with Centre for Educational Technology(CET), Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Kharagpur, under the MHRD government of India funded project “Developing suitable pedagogical methods for various classes, intellectual calibers and research in e-learning (Main Phase)” at BITS Pilani KK Birla Goa Campus during 10th -11th February, 2017. About 43 participants, from institutions in and around Goa participated in the event.

 

The event was inaugurated by the Prof. G. Raghurama, Director, BITS Pilani KK Birla Goa Campus along with Prof. K. E. Raman, Professor Emeritus, Department of EEE, BITS Pilani KK Birla Goa Campus. Dr. Varinder Singh, Faculty-In-Charge, Teaching Learning Centre, BITS Pilani KK Birla Goa Campus in his welcome address highlighted the need and importance of the workshop. Prof. Raghurama highlighted the importance of outcome driven approach to higher education. Prof. K.E. Raman discussed the importance that BITS Pilani has been attaching to teaching learning processes throughout its history right from 1970’s by focusing on micro teaching aspects through intensive teaching workshops as well as subject workshops to ensure best possible learning environment. Dr. Tamali Bhattacharyya welcomed the participants on behalf of IIT Kharagpur and thanked BITS Pilani KK Birla Goa Campus for hosting the workshop.

 

Several lectures were organized during the workshops addressing topics related to Outcome Based Education and Instructional Objectives, Outcome-based Curriculum Design and Software, Assessment and Evaluation, Outcome Based Curriculum etc. The sessions highlighted the need to recognize different cognitive ability of the students and encouragement of the learning by doing process in the classroom, preparing balance question paper. The resource persons included prominent faculty members of IIT, Kharagpur as well as BITS Pilani namely Prof. Anupam Basu, Chairman, entre for Educational Technology, IIT Kharagpur. Dr. Tamali Bhattachryya, CET, IIT Kharagpur, Dr. Tapomoy G Sarkar, Department of Physics, BITS Pilani and Dr. Harikrishnan Gopinandhan Nair, Department of HSS, BITS Pilani.


Finally the vote of thanks was proposed by Dr. Varinder Singh.

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Republic Day 2017

Flag Hoisting Ceremony at BITS Pilani, K K Birla Goa Campus
 
Chief Guest: Hon'ble V C Prof. Souvik Bhattacharyya
 
 
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BITS Pilani, K K Birla Goa Campus student Avidipto Chakraborty scores perfect 100 percentile in CAT 2016

Avidipto Chakraborty has scored a perfect 100 percentile in CAT 2016. In his first attempt itself, Chakraborty cleared the prestigious examination conducted on December 4, 2016. He attributes his success to the number of mock tests he has taken for the Common Admission Test preparation. “I completely relied on self-studies and did not take get enrolled in any coaching centres,” said Chakraborty who is at present doing internship with a private company.
 
However, this BITS-Pilani student focussed on mock tests. “I took 86 mock tests for preparation and trusted almost 90 per cent on the analysis,” said he.
 
Besides CAT, Avidipto appeared for GMAT and IIFT.

Was it not a little taxing to balance between studies and CAT preparation?

“Weekends were my saviour. I, therefore, attempted three mock test in those two days to gain confidence,” said he.
Chakraborty now targets MBA from IIM-Ahmedabad. “I always wanted to crack MBA and get admission in IIM-A. I wish to be an entrepreneur in the future.”
 
In his final year, Chakraborty has already got an offer from his dream company — McKinsey & Company. “I may opt for the deferred admission policy and will join the Indian Institute of Management later. I wish to become a consultant,” he said.


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International Student Admissions-2017

Admissions to International students is now open at BITS, Pilani. Students interested to apply with valid SAT scores to Pilani, Goa, and Hyderabad campuses of BITS are welcome to apply online at: http://sites.bits-hyderabad.ac.in/internationalstuadm/index.php.
 
Application process closes at 5.00pm on 15th March 2017.
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BITSAT-2017

The link to apply for BITSAT-2017 is now open. The last date to apply online along with application fee is 6th March 2017 (Monday), 5:00 PM. Click here to know more about the application procedure and other details.
 
Click here for viewing the BITSAT advertisement.
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NFCFA 2017

The aim of the national conference, NFCFA is to hold an open deliberation on the state of art developments in important areas of R&D of chemistry and allied sciences, a firsthand assessment of the existing challenges with an ambition to arrive at prospective solution and define future strategy. It is supposed to provide a proper forum where senior academicians/experts and young researchers/scholars would get ample opportunity to interact and discuss the new frontiers in chemistry and share their research interests so as to have a fusion of viable ideas to be realized in future as a gift to the youngsters by their expert predecessors. During the conference there will be Plenary/Invited lectures of eminent scientists and also Oral presentations by young researchers. In addition, poster sessions will give ample opportunity to Research Scholars for presentation of their recent results. Selected poster of Research Scholars will be chosen for Oral Presentation followed by Best poster award to recognize their achievements. Support for travel and accommodation for some young scientists will be considered.

This conference will cover a wide range of contemporary research areas of chemistry and allied Sciences such as Chemical Biology, Environmental Science, Material Science with an emphasis on practical applications. Specific topics to be discussed will include but not limited to:

 

Ø New Synthetic Approaches, Reagents & Catalysts

Ø  Green Chemistry & Environmental Science

Ø  Supramolecular chemistry and Nanochemistry

Ø  Sensors & Nanodevices

Ø  Natural Products & Heterocycles

Ø  Medicinal Chemistry & Chemical Biology

Ø  Coordination & Bio-inorganic Chemistry

Ø  Reaction Dynamics & Electrochemistry

Ø Theoretical and Computational Chemistry

Ø  Renewable Energy & Energy Storage

 

Visit Website: Click Here

 

In the last NFCFA (NFCFA2015), an exciting two days scientific programme was completed with 3 key-notes, 22 invited, 22 oral, around 160 poster presentations, exhibitions, etc. There were ten theme sessions on different topics, two poster sessions and a panel discussion session on “The present need of academia and industry engagement”. There was an NFCFA-RSC BEST POSTER Contest in the last session before valedictory function. Three best posters were awarded with prize and certificates from RSC and next three best posters were appreciated with prize and certificates on behalf of organizers. We were fortunate to have many eminent scientists, outstanding researchers, academicians and industry personnel as speakers amongst more than 225 participants from all over India. 15 senior Indian scientists and 10 young scientists from organizations including IISC, Bangalore; IIT Bombay; IIT Delhi; NCL, Pune; IISER, Kolkata; IISER, Pune; IISER Bhopal; NIPER, Mohali; BARC, Mumbai; NISER Bhubaneswar; HEMRL, Pune; IACS, Kolkata; Goa University; NIO, Goa delivered talk on their area of expertise.
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FOURTH INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON ADVANCED OXIDATION PROCESSES, AOP-2016, December, 17-20, 2016

AOP-2016 intends to bring together Chemists, Physicists, Biologists, Environmental Scientists and Engineers to display their latest findings and to discuss potential avenues in both chemical and biological oxidative decomposition pathways of organic and inorganic contaminants. It also aims to coordinate discussions on both efficiency of various AOPs in the degradation of pollutants and the fundamental understanding of degradation mechanism. Chemical, photochemical, radiation chemical, sonochemical and biological oxidation mechanisms and the related technologies will be discussed
 
For more information, visit www.aop2016.com
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Public lecture on :From the Dawn of Time to Life in the Universe, how SKA will change our perception of the cosmos

The Square Kilometre Array, a next-generation radio telescope, will change the way humanity views the Universe. Building on 70 years of radio astronomy developments, astronomers and engineers are designing what will be the largest scientific instrument on the planet. The SKA, currently in the detailed design phase, will be built in Australia and South Africa by an international consortium, currently of 10 nations. India is one of the principal members of the partnership. The science to be done by SKA encompasses almost the entire history of the Universe, from exploring the so-called Cosmic Dawn, when the first stars and galaxies were formed, to understanding how planets are formed in the present day. Along the way SKA will enable precise studies of the secrets of gravity, dark energy, dark matter and the molecular building blocks of life.

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Prof. G Raghurama assumes charge as Director of BITS Pilani K K Birla Goa Campus

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Workshop on Environmental Management Systems

Department of Chemical Engg, BITS Pilani K K Birla Goa campus, Goa, in collaboration with Goa State Pollution Control Board organized two day workshop on Environmental Management Systems for Industries in Goa on 20th October and 21st October 2016 at K K Birla Goa Campus. The workshop was aimed at providing to the working professions in Goa with the platform to enhance knowledge about best management practices for the reduction in all forms of pollution.

The chief guest for the inaugural function of the workshop was honorable Minister for Dept of Science and Technology, Govt of Goa Mrs. Alina Saldanha. Mrs Saldhanda in her speech emphasized industries role in sustainable development. She mentioned that industries must contribute towards clean water & sanitation; affordable & clean energy; innovation & infrastructure development; sustainable cities & communities; responsible consumption & production; and actions on climate change. She further mentioned that we must harness solar energy and non conventional energy sources for power generation. Mrs Saldhanda told that more efforts should be taken to   preserve and conserve water resources which are otherwise getting polluted due to large anthropogenic activities.  She also mentioned that the hotel industry in Goa is expected to address the pollution issue by laying stress not only on legal compliance but on recycling and reuse of waste by investing in modern technology for sustainable tourism. The Scientist from Goa State Pollution Control Board, Prof Mohan Girap, Guest of Honour for the workshop, highlighted the amendments in exiting environmental laws and induction of new environmental regulations for e-waste.

The Director, BITS Pilani K K Birla Goa Prof R.N. Saha, said that local environmental problems should be dealt jointly by academic institutions and industries supported by concerned Government agencies. The coordinator of the workshop, Prof S D Manjare, introduced the theme of the workshop and outlined the importance of proactive measures along with reactive measure for environmental pollution control. The head of department of chemical engg, Prof S S Baral, presented the report on department activities and highlighted the avenues for academic and research collaboration with industries in Goa. Prof Sutapa Roy Ramanan proposed vote of thanks. Forty participants from various industries from Goa participated in the workshop. On this occasion officials from Goa State Pollution Control Board, Goa Biodiversity Board, experts from various consultancies were present.
 
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IIM Goa Chapter Inauguration Report

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Participants of Bharat Ko Jaaniye Yatra visited BITS Pilani K K Birla Goa Campus

Recently participants of Bharat Ko Jaaniye Yatra, organized by Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India visited BITS Pilani K K Birla Goa Campus. The group of 9 participants from South Africa, USA, Mauritius, Ireland, Qatar and Netherlands were welcomed by Deputy Director of BITS Goa, Prof. Ashwin Srinivasan.


Prof. Srinivas Krishnaswamy made a presentation introducing BITS University and its four campuses at Pilani, Goa, Hyderabad and Dubai to the participants. He spoke about the history of BITS and admission process followed at its campuses. Prof. Mridula Goel made a presentation about Entrepreneurial Leadership at BITS Goa Campus. Later 2 students, Mr. Akshay Sonankar and Shaikh Saif made presentations about their projects. Akshay spoke about a unique product innovated by his team. The product – Hitchtag, helps in locating valuable mis-placed items such as luggage, wallet, phones, etc. While Saif spoke about the Mudra Project which is in the process of designing a teaching tool for teachers of visually impaired persons.

 

The participants also visited the state-or-the-art Tele-presence conference room and seminar hall. Participants were given a demonstration of how Tele-presence facility connects all four BITS campuses in real time through audio and video. Regular classes and meetings across the four campuses are held using this high-end video-conferencing facility.

 

Deputy Registrar, Mr. Sailesh Narayan Mohanty and PRO, Mr. Arjun Halarnkar were also present for the function. The visit was facilitated and arranged by the NRI Commission of Goa.

 
 
 
 
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BITS Pilani announces Alumni Instituted Prof SSR Memorial Teaching Excellence Award

A teacher affects eternity and one can never tell where the influence stops. Prof SS Ranganathan (1940 – 2015) popularly known as SSR who taught at BITS Pilani was an epitome of teaching excellence who demonstrated an outstanding commitment and contribution to his students and colleagues.

Even though he endured his fight against a killer disease for several years, he always stood for strength, dignity, courage and hope and served the cause of students, guiding them, being part of their joys, struggles and being a great example of living a life for others, thus leaving an unparalleled legacy for all those who are interested in learning and living life to the fullest. With the dual intention of remembering Prof. SSR as well as encouraging the teaching community, a group of alumni have joined hands with BITS Pilani to institute an award called as “Prof. SSR Memorial Teaching Excellence Award”.

This award which will be announced on Teachers' Day every year aims to honor one member of the teaching staff from any of the Indian campuses of BITS who has been full time teaching for a minimum of six semesters. The selection criteria will be decided by a joint committee constituted by the Vice Chancellor BITS which will include key alumni representatives also. The award includes Rs. One Lakh in cash, a plaque and a Citation.
 
The Memorandum of Understanding giving the details of the award was signed by Prof Souvik Bhattacharyya Vice Chancellor and a group of alumni of BITS Pilani represented by Proud to be BITSians and well known Chennai academic Prof S Seshasayee and NS Parthasarathy, Co-Founder, President & COO of Mindtree Limited, Bengaluru. This would not have been possible but for the whole hearted support of VC Prof Souvik Bhattacharyya as well as Prof AK Sarkar Director BITS Pilani. Seshasayee and NS Parthasarathy took up the mission with alumni across various batches for working out the initial corpus amount of Rs 25 Lakhs for the award to get going.  

The family members of Prof SSR conveyed that the gesture of the alumni indeed touched them deeply and said that Prof SSR considered each and every student as his own family member.

This initiative of giving back by the Alumni to its alma mater, demonstrates once again the reason why BITS, Pilani continues to be amongst one among the top ranking institutions in India today.
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Alumni Summit 2.0

Keeping in mind its resolute mission to keep the alumni of BITS connected to their Alma mater and to maintain the integrity and strength of the vast alumni community, BITS Alumni Affairs Division – Student Team Goa conducted the second edition of Alumni Summit on 28th of August, 2016. The speakers reminisced about their life back at BITS campuses and their journey thereafter. 

Seven speakers who were invited for BITS Alumni Summit 2.0 are: 

1.                1. Mr. Kartik Aneja, CEO and Co-Founder at Nayi Disha Studios.

2.                   2. Mr. Rishabh Goel, Associate Relationship Manager at Prodigy Finance

3.                3. Mr. Ankit Taparia, Co-Founder of Teramatrix Technologies

4.                4. Mr. Sanchit Sethi, CEO and Founder of StayUncle

5.                5. Mr. Prakhar Bindal, CEO & founder of NameCart(formerly Axsiom)

6.                6. Mr. Bhaskar E V, Under-Secretary to Ministry of Finance, Government of India

7.                7. Mr. Nikhil Tavora, Former Match Coordinator & Operations Executive at FC Goa

Kartik Aneja, co-founder and CEO of Nayi Disha Studios started his speech by expressing how happy he was to come back on campus. He walked us through his BITS life and the experiences he had being a part of the Goa campus. College taught him major life lessons. He talked about different ways of teaching and the skills that made his company a part of 100+ schools. He encouraged everyone to bank upon hard work for success, instead of shortcuts. 

 

He was followed by Rishabh Goel, Associate Relationship Manager at Prodigy Finance. He started off with his interest in joining BITS Goa campus. Being more interested in extra-curricular activities, he opted for doing some work by his own. He spoke about the fact that he loved reading and loved to work at weekends unlike all the people. Having done his masters in London Business School (LBS), he told about the perks of studying abroad, the freedom and experience of being one of those. Then he spoke about his work with the Prodigy finance and its expansion process. He concluded his speech specifying the facts which included that hard work has no substitute and the importance of BITSian tag.

 

Ankit Taparia, the alumnus from Pilani campus shared his inspiring story and the hardships he faced in the journey to his own start-up. As most of the students, even he entered college without any idea of what to do in life. He spent his first Practice School in Goa and realized in his later years that he was interested in telecommunications. He completed his masters from U.S and Europe. He then talked about his publications with IEEE and work experience which was pushing him to the field of research. Unwilling to pursue research, he came to India to start his own start up and founded Teramatrix Technologies. It took him more than 3 years to get 9 clients for his company. He said that failure is a part of journey and one must not be disheartened by that. He emphasizes the importance of alumni network of BITS and its great potential. At last he shared photos from his Antarctic expedition and concludes the talk with general tips to enjoy life and maintaining a healthy lifestyle.

 

Sanchit Sethi, Founder and CEO at StayUncle took the stage next. He said that he started his journey of success from BITS Pilani, Pilani Campus. In earlier days he used to attend start-up events in India. He got the motivation of doing something on his own from this. While he was doing his job in Goa, he interviewed 48 people and found out the problems people were facing on tourist places, this motivated him to establish StayUncle. After 2 years of hard work, StayUncle was a huge success. Then he started getting calls from couples, which let him built new business strategies like renting hotels to unmarried couples on an hourly basis. Initially his conversion rate was too low, but today StayUncle is doing very well.

Prakhar Bindal is the CEO of NameCart, India's domain registrar and web hosting company. He formerly worked as a financial employee at D.E.Shaw, a global investment management firm. He spoke about his campus life and heartfully expressed himself out as being very poor at academics and his poor performance at practically every interview he had given. Being very enthusiastic in entrepreneurship, he with the help of 12 people started the domain NameCart. He then threw some light on entrepreneurship. He took examples from his life experiences, thereby showing us what it actually took him to reach his current position. His speech about entrepreneurship included a few disciplines like ideologies, strategies, effort and dedication which were to be followed, not only for being a successful entrepreneur, but to be the best at one's own work. He concluded by stating the consequences that one faces during the initial period of becoming entrepreneur.

 

The next speaker, Bhaskar E.V. is Under Secretary to Government of India, Ministry of Finance. He shared his journey from ‘BITS to Bureaucracy’. Leaving behind engaging job offers, he followed his heart to civil services. The 9 pointer from Pilani Campus shared his thoughts about Civil Services and the attitude required to pursue such jobs. He stated civil services to be as exciting as start-ups, as one requires 360-degree vision to excel in both of them.  In the end, he expressed his satisfaction and pride in the job as he gets to serve his nation through it.

 

Last speaker was Nikhil Tavora who cofounded Vahanalytics. He is a serial entrepreneur. He founded amazing things like book-bank and BITS FC league during his college days. Despite lacking interest in field of electronics, he found his own ways on campus. He said that football runs through his veins. He started working with Zeppo after being an operations manager of FC Goa. BITSian tag helped him irrespective of his calling. His sabbaticals consist of travelling and scuba diving. He concluded by saying that he has also been to Antarctica and he is an adventurous person.

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Convocation 2016

“Knowledge without values is futile. Technological development should work in tandem with environmental protection for the betterment of the society” said Shri Manohar Parrikar, the Honorable Minister of Defence and the Chief Guest at the grand Convocation ceremony of BITS Pilani , K K Birla Goa Campus held in the magnificent auditorium of the campus on 7th August 2016. He addressed a large gathering of about 2000 people comprising the graduating students, their parents and the faculty members of the campus. The joyous occasion was graced by the presence of Chancellor Dr. Kumar Mangalam Birla, Vice Chancellor Dr. Souvik Bhattacharya and Directors of other BITS Pilani campuses in Pilani, Dubai and Hyderabad.

 In his address, Dr. Kumar Mangalam Birla, Chancellor of BITS Pilani reminisced and acknowledged the support extended by Shri Manohar Parrikar in bringing up the BITS Pilani campus in Goa. Dr. Birla rightly pointed out that the holistic education that students had received in BITS places them in a privileged position, and they have an implicit obligation and responsibility to help those who are less fortunate in the society.

 This year, 616 students received their degrees, of which 12 were PhD’s. Four students from Bachelor’s degree programs were awarded Medals: Gold medal --Ms. Vishakha Gupta ; Silver medal – Mr. Shah Ujash Dipakbhai ;  and Bronze medals – Ms. Dave Mihika Himanshu and Ms. Vasundhara Bhargava.

 Prof. Souvik Bhattacharyya, the Vice-chancellor of BITS Pilani presented an overview of the University’s accomplishments and in particular highlighted its pioneering role in fostering innovation, and entrepreneurship in higher education. The Director, Prof. Sasikumar Punnekkat gave a detailed report of BITS Pilani Goa Campus, offering a comprehensive overview of the advances in research, new initiatives and collaborations of the Institute. Prof. D M. Kulkarni Convener of Convocation 2016 concluded the ceremony with the Vote of thanks.

Video Link: Click Here
 
Photos Link: Click Here
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Symposium on "Digital Humanities: Perspectives and Challenges" on 9 September 2016.

Digital Humanities (DH) has revolutionized academic and pedagogical scholarship by applying the force of new technologies to rethink and reframe the discipline of the humanities. Disregarding traditional disciplinary hierarchies and boundaries, DH has brought together the humanist and the technologist to carry out collaborative research activities.

With a view to having a better understanding of the field of Digital Humanities and of the prospects of conducting DH projects, the Department of Humanities and Social Sciences at BITS Pilani, K. K. Birla Goa Campus is organizing a one-day national symposium “Digital Humanities: Perspectives and Challenges” on 9 September 2016The following senior and distinguished academicians working in this relatively new and exciting field of teaching and research have kindly consented to participate in the symposium as experts.

Sukanta Chaudhuri, Professor Emeritus and former Director, Centre for
Cultural Texts and Records, Jadavpur University, Kolkata,

Supriya Chaudhuri, Professor Emeritus and former Head, Department of
English, Jadavpur University, Kolkata,

D. Venkat Rao, Professor & former Dean, School of Critical Humanities, The
English & Foreign Languages University, Hyderabad,

Orijit Sen, Graphic Artist and Designer

Padmini Ray Murray, Srishti School of Art, Design and Technology,
Bengaluru, and

Dilip D’Souza, Writer & Journalist, Mumbai (Panel Discussion Moderator).
 


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DataQuest-CMR Survey 2016

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BITS Pilani Ranked 6th amongst Top 100 Engineering Colleges: Outlook Magazine

BITS Pilani Ranked 6th amongst Top 100 Engineering Colleges: Outlook Magazine-- 4th July 2016
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Prof. Souvik Bhattacharyya – Vice Chancellor, BITS Pilani

Prof. Souvik Bhattacharyya, Deputy Director, IIT Kharagpur has joined Birla Institute of Technology and Science, Pilani (BITS Pilani)  as Vice Chancellor on 13th June 2016.  Prof. V.S. Rao who was the Acting Vice-Chancellor, after serving the BITS Pilani for over four decades will be leaving on 15th July 2016  to take up a new position  with NIIT University  as President and Vice-Chancellor.
 
Making these announcements,  Mr. Kumar Mangalam Birla, the  Chancellor of Birla Institute of Technology and Science, Pilani (BITS, Pilani) said " throughout his long, dedicated and meritorious service to BITS,  as a teacher, researcher and administrator, Prof. Rao  has served with distinction as his career trajectory demonstrates.  His passion has been teaching  and his love for students earned him the respect of  students everywhere."  While wishing Prof. Rao and Mrs. Rao  all success in next phase of Prof. Rao's career, he  said that Prof. Rao represented BITS in many external forums, and is a champion of Research and strong industry - academia relations.
 
Prof. V.S. Rao obtained his masters in Science from BITS Pilani in 1974 and his PhD in Chemistry in 1979. He took up a faculty position as Assistant Professor at BITS Pilani in 1982.  Prof. Rao rose steadily to Sr. Professor and held a variety of important administrative positions.  He was selected in 2006 as Founder Director to build and commence the operations of BITS Pilani Hyderabad campus. Prof. Rao  took over as the Acting Vice Chancellor of BITS Pilani  on 31st July 2015.
 
The new Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Souvik Bhattacharyya earned his Bachelor's from Jadavpur University, Kolkata , his MS from University of Cincinnati, USA and his PhD from Texas A&M University, USA, all in Mechanical Engineering, specializing in Thermal sciences. After a postdoctoral research stint at Texas A&M, he joined the faculty of IIT Kharagpur in 1991 where he was Dean (student affairs) & Deputy Director including visiting professorships at University of Canterbury, Christchurch, New Zealand, at Rhein-Waal University, Germany and has been a visiting fellow at Texas  A & M University.
 
In 2012 Prof. Bhattacharyya returned to his Alma mater, Jadavpur University, as Vice-Chancellor where he led a number of reforms. 
 
While welcoming Prof. Bhattacharyya and his wife Dr. Tamali Bhattacharyya to BITS Pilani family, Mr. Kumar Mangalam Birla said " Prof. Bhattacharyya is a fellow of the Indian National Academy of Engineering (INAE), fellow of the National Academy of Science India(NASI) and Member of many reputed Science, Technology and Research  committees in India and abroad. He is also on the editorial boards of many international journals and has published over hundred articles in international journals and supervised 12 PhD dissertations.  Besides, he has been  principal investigator of a large number of sponsored research projects and has worked with organizations  such as Tata Steel, Coal India, DRDO, BARC, Tata Power, CESC and WBSEDCL. He remains an adored teacher and was the first recipient of the Indian National Academy of Engineering (INAE) Outstanding Teacher Award 2013.
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Education World 2016 Ranking

In Education World India Private Engineering Colleges Rankings 2016, the Birla Institute of Technology and Science, Pilani (Rajasthan) has been voted India's top Private Engineering Institute.
 
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The Week Magazine Ranking Survey 2016

Click here for more details
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BITS Pilani has been ranked 3rd by India Today Magazine

Click here for more details
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Inauguration of Goa Regional Centre, Indian Institute of Chemical Engineers at Chemical Engineering Department, BITS Pilani, KK Goa Campus, Goa

Prof. Man Mohan Sharma, Padma Bhushan, Padma Vibhushan, former director ICT Mumbai, inaugurated the Goa Regional Centre of Indian Institute of Chemical Engineers (IIChE) at the Department of Chemical Engineering, BITS Pilani, K K Birla Goa Campus on 6th April 2016. He also inaugurated the Central Analytical and Characterization facilities and participated in the Department day ceremony.


The Goa Regional Centre IIChE will provide a symbiosis between leading academic centres, premier professional bodies and industries to create new dynamism and new areas of activities in Chemical engineering, Biotechnology, Energy engineering and Environmental engineering.


Several distinguished dignitaries were present during the inauguration of Goa Regional Centre, IIChE including Vice Chancellor Goa University, Head Goa Energy Development Agency, CMO Zuari Industries, Head Hindustan Unilever and many representatives from academia and industry.


The list of guests  present during the event were

Prof. Man Mohan Sharma, Padma Bhushan, Padma Vibhushan (Chief Guest)

Dr. Satish Ramnath Shetye, Vice Chancellor, Goa University, Goa

Dr. P. V. Pathak, Head, Goa Energy Development Agency; Secretary, Goa State Pollution Assessment Board, Goa

Mr. Ranjit Singh Chugh, Chief Manufacturing Officer, Zuari Industries, Goa

Prof. Aniruddh Pandit, ICT, Mumbai

Mr. Hardev Singh, Head, Hindustan Unilever Ltd., Goa.

The programme started with the inauguration ceremony followed by lectures from eminent guests and panel discussion. This was followed by Chemical Engineering Department Day activities comprising of research showcased by poster sessions and technical quiz for under graduate students.

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3 MT Thesis competition

A 15000-25000 words First Degree Thesis or Higher Degree Dissertation requires one hour presentation, while a  70000-100000 words PhD Thesis requires 4-5  hours presentation.  What  about  the idea of a 3 minutes(MT) presentation? Students   have 3 minutes to present their  exciting research. 
 
History: The first Three Minutes Thesis (3MT) competition was held at The University of Queensland in 2008 with 160 Research Higher Degree students competing. In 2009 and 2010 the 3MT competition was promoted to other Australian and New Zealand universities and enthusiasm for the concept grew. Due to its adoption in numerous universities, a multi-national event was developed, and the Inaugural Trans-Tasman 3MT competition was held at UQ in 2010.Since 2011, the popularity of the competition has increased and 3MT competitions are now held in over 170 universities across more than 18 countries worldwide. 
 
Benefits: The 3MT Thesis competition helps in cultivating students' academic, presentation, and research communication skills. It develops their capacity to effectively explain their research in three minutes, in a language appropriate to a non-specialist audience.
 
Promoting yourself with 3MT Thesis: click here.
 
Who is eligible? Final year students who are currently doing their First Degree Thesis(on or off-campus) or Higher Degree Dissertation or working for their PhD( in the 3rd/4th year and above) are eligible to apply.
.  
Form for participation: If you are interested to participate in this 3MT Thesis competition, you are requested to fill up the online participation form on or before 26th March(Saturday), 2016
 
Participation fees: Nil
 
Contact: Prasanta Kumar Das, PhD
Member, 3 MT Thesis committee
Associate Dean, Academic Research Division                                                
BITS-Pilani K K Birla Goa Campus, Goa-403726,India
Phone: 0832-2580-448(O)
 
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BITS, Pilani has Ranked 9th Top University by NIRF

The Ministry of Human Resources and Development on Monday 4 April 2016 released a list of top 10 educational institutions in the country under the National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) – a first-of-its-kind indigenous ranking framework.   BITS Pilani has ranked 9th top university under top 10 Universities category.
 
This is the first time that the exercise of compiling rankings for various institutions has been undertaken by the government. An independent agency, the National Bureau of Accreditation, working with the government was responsible for validating the data submitted by the institutions.
 
Union Human Resource Development Minister Smriti Irani released the ‘India Rankings 2016’ at Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi.  Acting Vice- Chancellor Prof. V S Rao has received the award from the Minister.

For more details please click the following link: https://www.nirfindia.org/univ
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Workshop on Career in Civil Services: Empowering For Change (Perspectives From Within)

The Department of Economics is organising a Workshop on "Career in Civil Services: Empowering For Change (Perspectives From Within)" with the following programme details: 
 
Date: 05/04/2016 (Tuesday)
 
Time: 4.45 pm- 7.00 pm
 
Venue: Telepresence Class room
 
SPEAKERS:
 
1) Mr. Ameya Abhyankar, IAS, Special Secretary to The Chief Minister and Secretary, information Technology
 
2) Mrs. Nila Mohanan, IAS, Collector and District Magistrate, North Goa.

3) Dr. Sachin Shinde, IAS, Collector and District Magistrate, South Goa.
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Inauguration of Goa Regional Centre, Indian Institute of Chemical Engineers on 6th April 2016

The Department of Chemical Engineering, BITS Pilani K K Birla Goa Campus has been sanctioned to establish the Goa Regional Centre of the premier national body of Indian Institute of Chemical Engineers, (IIChE). As the first milestone, the department is poised to jubilantly announce the inauguration of the IIChE Goa Regional Centre on 6th April 2016 at 9 am, LC-101.

On this auspicious occasion, Prof. Man Mohan Sharma, Padma Vibhushan, Former director of ICT, Mumbai has kindly agreed to inaugurate the session as Chief Guest. The theme of the event is "Chemical Engineering: Towards Green and Sustainable Future".

Indian Institute of Chemical Engineers (IIChE), established in 1947, is an internationally and nationally recognized organization. It is confluence of streams of professionals from academia, research institutes and industry. It is recognized by the Department of Science and Technology, Government of India, as a Scientific and Industrial Research Organization. The activities of the Institute are spread across the country through its 33 Regional Centres and 58 Student Chapters, apart from the HQ located at the Jadavpur University campus, Kolkata.

The list of invited delegates from academia and industry include: Dr. Satish Ramnath Shetye, Vice Chancellor, Goa University, Goa, Prof. Faisal Khan, Memorial University Newfoundland, Canada (Overseas Partner), Mr. Jose Manuel Noronha, Chairman, Goa Public Service Commission, Goa, Mr. R. S. Dwarakanath, Director, Syngenta India, Goa, Dr. P. V. Pathak, Secretary, Goa State Pollution Assessment Board, Goa, Dr. Vinod Nowal, Dy Managing Director, JSW, Jindal Steel Bellary & Mumbai, Mr. Ranjit Singh Chugh, Chief Manufacturing Officer, Zuari Industries, Goa, Dr. R. R. Sonde, Executive Vice President, Technology and R & D Thermax, Pune, Prof. Aniruddh Pandit, ICT, Mumbai, Mr. Hardev Singh, Head, Hindustan Unilever Ltd., Goa

Faculty and students with chemical engineering background including Biotechnology, Energy engineering and Environmental engineering have been invited to join the Goa Regional Centre and actively participate in nurturing professional excellence.

The programme will start with the inauguration ceremony followed by lectures from eminent guests and panel discussion. This will be followed by Chemical Engineering Department Day activities comprising of poster sessions and other student programmes.

 

Inauguration of

GOA REGIONAL CENTRE

Indian Institute of Chemical Engineers

 

  Wednesday: 6th April 2016

 

EVENT SCHEDULE

9:00 am                                  Arrival of Chief Guest and Dignitaries to B-Dome/ LC 101

 

9:10 – 9:15 am                      Prayer recital by students

 

9:15 – 9:20 am                      Welcome address by HOD, Dept. of Chemical Engg.

 

9:20 – 9:25 am                      Director’s Address

 

9:25 – 9:30 am                      Lighting of Lamp by Chief Guest and Dignitaries

 

9:30 – 9:35 am                      Introduction about Dept. of Chemical Engg.

 

9:35 – 10:20 am                    Plenary Lecture by Chief Guest

 

10:20 – 10:30 am                 Felicitation of Chief Guest and Dignitaries

 

10:30 – 10:45 am                 Tea Break

 

10:45 – 1:00 pm                    Seminars by Dignitaries (20 – 30 mins. each)

 

1:00 – 2:30 pm                      Lunch at Visitor’s Guest House (VGH)

 

2:30 – 3:30 pm                      “IIChE Goa Regional Centre: Way forward” (Interaction with Dept. of Chemical Engg. at B-Dome Conference Room)

 

3:30 – 3:45 pm                      Tea break

 

2:30 – 5:00 pm                    Student programs and Poster Sessions

 

Department of Chemical Engineering

BITS Pilani, K K Birla Goa Campus

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Workshop on Cadence, Synopsys and Mentor Graphics on 16 - 20 May 2016

About Workshop

 
 

 

EDA tools such as Cadence, Synopsys and Mentor Graphics are becoming ever more important with the continuous scaling of semiconductor devices and the growing complexities of their use in circuits and systems. Demands for lower-power, higher-reliability and more agile electronic systems raise new challenges to both design and design automation. The available EDA packages target VLSI design engineers offering wide range of design, simulation and validation tools.

Workshop Objectives

The objective is to train beginners and to crack technical and design issues for current researchers using EDA tools such as Mentor Graphics, Synopsys and Cadence. Collectively these three tools have the largest market share in VLSI design. This workshop will provide fruitful insight of the comparative features of tools used VLSI teaching and designing apart from creating interest on each tool to open further clientele.

Expected Outcomes

1.            To be able to use EDA packages – Mentor Graphics, Cadence and Synopsis and to apply it in micro/ nano-electronics research and teaching

2.            To create awareness and to pursue research and teaching in VLSI design.

3.            To get knowledge of comparative features for need based selection of tool(s).

 

Workshop Brochure

 

Registration Fee

₹ 1500 (Includes Workshop-Kit, Certificate of Participation, Workshop Dinner, all Working Lunch, snacks, tea)

Note: The number of seats is limited to 50. The registration will be on

First Come First Serve basis.
 

Instructions

Applicants must email a scanned copy of filled-in registration form to

EDA2016@goa.bits-pilani.ac.in for provisional registration. Deadline for receiving the duly filled-in registration form is May 5, 2016. A “Provisional Seat Code” will be emailed to you in reply to your application from aforesaid email-address. After receiving the “Provisional Seat Code”, Bank Transfer (NEFT) of ₹ 1500.00 should be done within 2 working days to the Current A/c of BITS Pilani K K Birla Goa Campus (A/c # 30803684122, IFSC SBIN0010720). You have to mention your allotted “Provisional Seat Code” in Remarks / Description while executing NEFT and send the UTR Number of NEFT to the above email address.

After receiving

UTR Number, you will get your Seat Confirmation Code” from us and your registration will be confirmed.

Accommodation

1. In-campus accommodation is based payment, on availability and on First Come First Serve Basis.

2. Assistance may however be provided to find accommodation (on payment) outside, at reasonable charges although it cannot be guaranteed. Please contact us for more details.

3. The link below lists the hotels in Goa. Individuals may contact the respective hotels for details and facilities included in the tariff. Reference of BITS-Pilani, Goa Campus may be beneficial although the Institute is not responsible for any tariff/ facility whatsoever.

http://www.bits-pilani.ac.in/goa/goaHotels

Contact us:

EDA2016@goa.bits-pilani.ac.in

+91-832-2580-256 (Dr. Dipankar Pal, Convener)

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BITS Goa Economics Conclave

The Department of Economics at BITS Pilani, K K Birla Goa Campus is organizing BITS GOA ECONOMICS CONCLAVE with an intention to stimulate debate and critical thinking on various topics related to sustainable growth and development with special reference to India. The two-day event intends to bring together academicians, scholars, practitioners and experts from different disciplines to discuss diverse development policy issues and concerns. It provides an avenue for disseminating contemporary public policy research and emerging practices with special reference to India across a wide set of domains, including Urban Sustainability; Political Ecology of Resource Conflicts; Democracy and Welfare; Issues of Growth, Development & Distribution; High Growth Entrepreneurship; Innovation, Technology & SMEs.

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Workshop on Observational Astronomy

Pursuing Astronomy is very interesting and not very expensive too. Even though we may be no where near the realm of this science, its nevertheless very satisfying to know and understand them a bit. The workshop on Observational Astronomy is one such event where we can learn and take our knowledge to the next level. All interested are invited to register, attend and benifit from this event. The lectures will be in the evenings followed by hands on experience.

Coordinator: Dr. T K Jha
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ISEC 2016

ISEC (India Software Engineering Conference)--the distinguished annual conference of iSOFT, the India chapter of ACM SIGSOFT (http://isoft.acm.org) under ACM India umbrella.

 

Invited Talks

*      Gabi Zodik from Department Group Manager (DGM), Software and Services Haifa Research Lab, Haifa, Israel

*      Stefano Russo (Professor at Universita` di Napoli Federico II Naples Area, Italy)

*      John Krogstie (Professor at Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU))

*      Kavita Vemuri (IIIT- Hyderabad)

*      Raoul Jetley (ABB India Corporate Research Center)

*      S.D. Sudarshan (ABB India Corporate Research Center)

*      Biplav Srivastava (IBM Research, India)

 
 

ICSE 2015 Distinguished Papers

*      Adrian Nistor from Schmid College of Science and Technology (Chapman University)

*      Michele Tufano from The College of William and Mary

 

Social Event on 19th Feb 2016

*      Pandit Nayan Ghosh: recipient of the prestigious Sangeet Natak Akademy Award 2014

 

Program Overview

Ø Three tracks: research, industry and mobile software engineering

Ø Acceptance: research track is 16% , industry track is 50% , and mobile SE track is 23% (3/13)

 

Workshops

Ø Modelling Symposium (ModSym) –by TRDDC and IIIT-H

Ø Software Architectures for Adaptive Autonomous Systems (SAAAS). – by Ericsson Research, IIIT-B

 

Tutorials

1. By Kesav V Nori (IIIT-H), Swaminathan Natarajan (TCS) and Padmalata V Nistala (TCS)

2. By PVR Murthy (M.S.Ramaiah Bangalore).

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DBT BIRAC Workshop on Bio-Entrepreneurship, Grant writing and Intellectual Property Management

DBT BIRAC Workshop on Bio-Entrepreneurship, Grant Writing and Intellectual Property Management will be held on 18-19th February 2016 at  BITS Pilani, K K Birla Goa Campus. For details download Flyer 
 
Download Registration Form here
 
Download Programme Details here
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International Student Admissions

Students who are citizens of a country other than India are invited to apply for admissions to Hyderabad and Goa Campuses of BITS-Pilani in the following degree programmes:
 
1. 4-year Bachelor of Engineering
2. 4-year Bachelor of Pharmacy
3. 4-year integrated Master of Science
 

Important Dates:

Activity Date
Online application window 18th January to 5th March 2016
Last date to receive SAT Subject scores 15th March 2016
Last date to receive SAT scores 25th June 2016
Offer of Admissions 1st week of April 2016
First Semester Commences 1st August, 2016
 
Interested candidates should apply online at http://www.bitsadmission.com/ois on or before March 5, 2016
 
For further information, visit website http://www.bitsadmission.com/ois or write to ois@hyderabad.bits-pilani.ac.in
 
or call  +91-40-66303664 (Hyderabad).
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Conference on Trends in Cell and Molecular Biology

TCMB 2015: Research in Cell and Molecular Biology has made tremendous stride over time. This conference aims to provide opportunities and bring together biochemists, molecular biologists, cell and developmental biologists, computational biologists on a common platform to present their exciting and new findings and also to establish research and to find global partners for future collaboration.

 ‘Toxicity’ as this is one of the major health concerns, whether due to environmental stresses or due to unknowing exposure to some toxic substances needs to be re-looked in depth. This conference will create an opportunity for researchers across the globe to understand and showcase their data related to ‘Toxicity’.

‘Cancer’ is still one of the most challenging diseases across the world and in this conference a special session is contributed to understand the upcoming development in this field. ‘Nanotechnology’ has gained much importance in today’s treatment of some important diseases. In this conference we would like to discuss not only how this technology is beneficial but also its draw backs as well.

Computational and systems biology is one of the major areawhich needs to be integrated with modern cell biology as a whole to understand and predict the things much better.

Hopefully this conference will act as an excellent knowledge-sharing platform, to generate many new ideas and evolve several future collaborative efforts.

 http://www.tcmb2015.org

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BITS Pilani receives Dataquest - CMR Top T School Award

BITS Pilani has topped the chart in the private T-School ranking, with high scores in almost all the parameters. The institute has been setting high standards and playing a benchmarking role in the field of education. The Birla Institute of Technology & Science is an all-India institute for higher education. BITS Pilani has scored high on parameters such as top institute, human resources, and alumni.
 
Over the years, BITS has provided the highest quality technical education to students from all over India, admitted on the basis of merit. Its graduates may be found throughout the world in various areas of engineering, science, and commerce. BITS symbolizes the maturing of Indian technical ability and ‘can-do’ entrepreneurial spirit, especially as derived from the private sector. Its students are placed in the top companies and draw high pay packages. Most IT companies line up to hire students from this institute.
 
Dataquest-CMR Top T School Survey is India's premier survey of engineering colleges. The T School Rankings are a benchmark in the industry and is used by students and recruiters alike. It is no coincidence that many employers use this as their prime list to select the campuses that they want to go to.
 
BITS Pilani has been ranked No. 1 under India's top-Tech Schools 2015 based on DQ-CMR survey of colleges, employers and Alumni. India's T-Schools empower the IT companies around the globe with the best and skilled minds.
 
More details, follow the link below:
 
 

 
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tiNai Ecofilm Festival (TEFF) 2015

The second edition of tiNai Ecofilm Festival (TEFF) 2015 and National Conference on Ecocinema recently concluded in BITS Pilani, K K Birla Goa Campus. Inaugurated on 8th October 2015, the event hosted by the Department of Humanities and Social Sciences , was spread over three days, screened 20 ecofilms selected out of 82 entries, conducted a national conference with twenty paper presentations along with two workshops by eminent filmmakers and activists.

The title tiNai refers to an Indian ecophilosophy which integrates nature, culture and sacred, similar to the Greek concept, oikos, meaning “household” or “family.”

Prof. Salma Monani, Gettysburg College, USA, and Rachel Carson Fellow, Munich, the Chief Guest of the conference delivered the keynote address on “Ecocinema Studies: Past, Present and Future”. Nandan Saxena and Kavita Bahl, National Award winning fillmmakers , Chief Guests for the Film Festival had an in depth interaction of their film Dammed with the audience on the inaugural day after the screening.

A workshop on ''Photography and Digital Filmmaking'' supported by Sony India was conducted by Nandan Saxena and Kavita Bahl on the 08 & 09 October, 2015 and a workshop on ''Documentary as a tool for Social Change'' was conducted by Saraswati Kavula, a filmmaker, farmer and activist, on 10 October 2015. More than 200 young ecoenthusiasts and students from across India participated in the event from across India.

An international ecodocumentary competition was organized as part of the festival for three categories: Indian Short Ecodocumentary, Indian Feature Ecodocumentary and International Ecodocumentary. Shifting Undercurrents, Directed by Rita Banerji, won the Best Indian Short Ecodocumentary award followed by Chintan Gohil’s A Commons Sense (Best Indian Short Ecodocumentary – Runner-up), The Red Data Book: An Appendix (Best Indian Feature Ecodocumentary) by Sreemith Sekar, Shrinking Shores ((Best Indian feature Ecodocumentary – Runner-up) by Ashish Rao, a French film, Jikoo, a wish (Best International Ecodocumentary) by Christophe Leroy and Adrien Camus and the Taiwanese film, The Lost Sea (Best International Ecodocumentary – Runner-up) by Hung Chun-Hsiu.

 

Coordinated by Dr. Rayson K Alex and Dr. Reena Cheruvalath of the Department, the festival attempted towards enriching the academic and research endeavors pertaining to the fields of Ecocinema and Ecocriticism.

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TEFF-2015

Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, BITS Pilani, K K Birla Goa Campus is organizing a three day tiNai Ecofilm Festival (TEFF) and a National Conference with the theme 'Celebrating Landscapes and Waterscapes' on 08, 09 & 10 October, 2015 at BITS Pilani, K.K. Birla Goa Campus. The three-day ecofilm festival will cover a range of ecology/environment based films from India, France, Canada, Denmark, Africa and China among other countries.

TEFF-2015 will hold competition in three categories of films – Indian short eco-documentary, Indian feature eco-documentary and International Eco-documentary films alongside screening over twenty ecofilms, a professional workshop on 'Photography and Digital Filming' supported by Sony India and conducted by National Award winning filmmakers, Nandan Saxena and Kavita Bahl and a National Conference.

The National Conference is sponsored by Indian Council for Social and Scientific Research (ICSSR), New Delhi while TEFF 2015 is sponsored by Gettysburg College, U.S.A and Zorse Labs, Kerala, held in collaboration with Kuala Lumpur Ecofiilm Festival, Malaysia; School of Media and Cultural Studies, Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai; Bangalore Film Society; 48 Hour Ecofilm Festival, Australia; Lila Foundation for Translocal Initiatives, New Delhi; Auroville Film Festival, Puthucherry; CMS Vatavaran, New Delhi and Kolkata International Wildlife & Environment Film Festival. The festival invites participation from in and around schools and colleges in Goa. For more information www.teff.in or contact us at info@teff.in. The Inauguration is scheduled for the 8th of October 2015, at 06.30 p.m. in the LC 101.
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Sursangam-2015, a tribute concert to the legendary Prof. Suresh Ramaswamy

'Srutilaya', the Classical Music and Dance group of BITS Pilani, K K Birla Goa Campus, in association with Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR), organized  Sursangam - 2015, a tribute concert to the legendary Prof. Suresh Ramaswamy on 3rd and 4th October 2015. It was a grand two days festival of Indian classical dance and music of Carnatic, Hindustani and Dhrupad styles.

On the 3rd of October, Mr. Balakrishnan Raghavan on Carnatic Vocals accompanied by Mr. Hancel Salim on Synth and Mr. Sreecharan Shatdarsanam on the Mridangam opened with Cheta Sri in the Raga Dwijavanti, a classic Mutthuswami Dikshithar piece following which was an alapanai and tanam in keeravani for the main piece karunakarane by papanasam sivan which was followed by a brisk tani by Sreecharan S. A padam in yadukulakambhoji Upamu Gaane and a javali 'Modi Jesevelara' in khamas marked the end of his concert.

The main concert of the evening was by Vidwan Manasa Nayana. He started with the famous Maha Ganapatim followed by brisk swaraprasthara. He then presented a ragam tanam Pallavi in Hindolam which showed his complete virtuosity in the creative space of the carnatic idiom.

Following the Carnatic concert was a Bharatnatyam recital by Ms. Lalan Desai and her students which featured pieces on Ardhanareeshwara, following which was a Marathi composition about playful Parvathi and Lord Shiva, following which a piece on playful Lord Krishna through the song "Krishna nee Begane Baro" and a piece on Kalinga Mardhanam by Ms. Lalan's Students and it ended with a Bhajan leaving the audience enchanted.

On the 4th of October, Rajat Mishra, an accomplished singer in the Hindustani style opened the concert with Mohe manaawan, a bada khyal bandish set to vilambit ektaal followed by Naahak naahak tumne which is a chhota khyal set to ek taal madhyalaya and finally Balma mori a chhota khyal set to teen taal in madhyalaya, in the raag bageshri.

Post the hindustani concert was a Dhrupad performance by Dr. Aparna Shastri. Dr. Aparna Shastri started her performance with a short introduction to traditional dhrupad that consists of alaap, jhod, jhala and then the composition to which pakhawaj is the rhythmic accompaniment. The piece that was chosen for the evening was a behag composition set to dhamar.

The star performance of the evening was the mesmerising rendition by Vidushi Jyoti Hegde on the Rudra Veena. Her divine performance of alaap, jhod, jhaala in raag shree followed by bandish set to chou taal left all the listeners in deep peace. Pandit Sanjay Pant Agle on pakhwaaj left the audience spellbound.

Prof. Radhika Vathsan and the Director, Prof. Sasikumar Punnekat felicitated all artists and Mr. Madhukar drew the curtains with the vote of thanks.

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EURAXESS Information Session

Department of Economics and International Programmes and Collaboration Division of  BITS Pilani K K Birla Goa campus  jointly organised EURAXESS Information Session on Friday 25th September 2015 at  BITS Pilani, K K Birla Goa Campus.

The Objectives of the event were

1. To offer understanding of European funding and fellowship opportunities available to Indian researchers including rules of participation and grant management.
 
2. To showcase examples of research cooperation between India and Europe (e.g. France).
 
3. To share experience of BITS Pilani researchers/faculty in or with Europe (testimonies)
 
4. To promote “EURAXESS-Researchers in Motion” as an innovative tool for researchers and EURAXESS Links India as an attractive networking and career-supporting platform for researchers in India.
 
5. To facilitate networking opportunities for researchers and academic/research institutions.
 
Participants were encouraged to submit Sate-of-the-art research grants to International schemes namely Marie Sklodowska-Curie actions (MSCA) and European Research Council (ERC) under Horizon 2020 (EU Research &Innovation Framework Programme). The speakers wereDr.VivekDham;  EU Delegation to India,  Dr.SriniKaveri; Director – CNRS, Dr. Sandrine Maximillien; Scientific Attache - Emabssy of France, Dr.ArhetsPhillippe; Scientific Attache - Emabssy of Franceand  Mrs.AinhitzeBB, Country Coordinator Euraxess
 

The session was attended by 158 participants from BITS Pilani, K K Birla Goa campus, NIO - Goa and NIT - Goa. Apart from the said participation, colleagues from BITS Pilani’s campuses at Pilani, Hyderabad and Dubai participated throughTelepresence.

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‘Outreach Programme-2015’ by Reserve Bank of India (RBI)

Reserve Bank of India conducts the 'Outreach programme', on publication of their Annual Report to increase awareness of the roles and functions of the Bank among students in different parts of the country. This year BITS Pilani, K K  Birla Goa Campus was shortlisted for this programme. The programme was held on 11th September 2015. A team of five senior officers from the Reserve Bank led by Dr. Sanjay Hansda ( Director, Department of Economics and Policy Research) made a presentation on the economy, its prospect and challenges and on the working of the Reserve Bank of India.

Prof. Sasikumar Punnekkat, Director, K K Birla Goa Campus emphasized on the role of RBI in the growth and development of the Indian economy. Dr.Hansda provided an overall outlook on the Indian economy and shared the different perspectives taken by RBI for the smooth functioning of the economy. His presentation was followed by a presentation by Dr. Saurav Ghosh and Dr, Jai Chander. They emphasized on the underlying dynamics of the monetary policy stances that RBI takes to manage the economy.  Ms. Upasana Sharma shared the opportunities available with the RBI for students and the different modules which can be suitable for students at different grades. This was followed by a question answer session mainly on the issues covered in the Annual Report. Faculty and students participated enthusiastically. To make the programme truly participatory few other local academic institutions were also invited and the response from them was also praiseworthy. Dr. Debasis Patnaik, Head of the Department of Economics thanked the RBI and all others to make this programme a grand success.

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Coalescence 2015

Coalescence 2015 was held at BITS Pilani, K K Birla Goa Campus on 5-6th September 2015 in association with Intelliber. The B- Plan competition Novatia served as a platform for start-ups to pitch their ideas for funding and mentorships from various partner incubators and accelerators. The competition winners in the general category were Fizzible Tech Pvt. Ltd. An online electronics components store at Pune and the runners up were Hyderabad based Endless Robotics. In the social category the winners were Greensole a sport shoe recycling company at Udaipur.

Students were shown the tricks of the trade by start-up enthusiast Pranay Gupta from 91 Springboard. The students also participated in a workshop conducted by Business simulation gaming company Knolscape.

For more details click here.

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Grand Ceremony of Convocation 2015 at BITS Pilani, K K Birla Goa campus

“Do what you love to do... It’s an amazing era to be in India… Be the architects of the changed India” said the Chief Guest  Mr. Naveen Tewari, Founder and CEO, InMobi and alumnus of IIT Kanpur, Harvard and McKinsey and Co in his Convocation address to the graduating students of the Class of 2015 at BITS Pilani, K K Birla Goa Campus.

The students gathered in large numbers with their parents and relatives for the grand convocation ceremony held at the at the magnificent auditorium of the campus on 9th August.  Mr. Tewari urged the students to give a massive round of applause to their parents who have made many sacrifices and dedicated their lives for their children’s future.  

Prof. V. S. Rao,  Acting Vice-Chancellor, Dr. Sasikumar Punnekkat, Director, K K Birla Goa Campus, Prof. A.K. Sarkar, Director, Pilani Campus, members of the Senate, faculty members of Goa campus and other distinguished guests along with the graduating students and their family members were present on the joyous occasion.

This year, 673 of our students received their degrees. The three medalists were: Gold medal: Ms. Muthkhod Shridevi Sharangowda, Silver medal: Ms. Pooja Malik and  Bronze medal: Ms. Zantye Manali Sunil.

Presenting the Convocation Report 2015, Prof. V. S. Rao, Vice-Chancellor, BITS Pilani reaffirmed the long-term vision to be listed as one of India's top 3 research-led technical Institutes by the academic year 2015 – 16. The Vice Chancellor also talked about big-ticket imperatives as part of BITS Pilani’s “Mission 2015”, such as faculty and staff development, industry engagement, innovation and entrepreneurship, internalisation, inter-disciplinary research, technology enablement and quality assessment and assurance.

Chancellor Dr. Kumar Mangalam Birla in his message congratulated the graduating students and their parents and told them to keep a few key points in mind. He talked about the need to leverage on innovation and succeed. The Director of the Goa campus, Professor Sasikumar Punnekkat gave a detailed report specific for the Goa Campus which highlighted the achievements of its faculty and students.  Dr. Veeky Baths, Convener of the Convocation ceremony concluded with the Vote of thanks.

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7th August - BITSians Day 2015

I wish to convey my greetings on the BITSians’ Day being celebrated on August, 7th, this year. This day celebrated with great zeal and fervor, now forms a significant and important segment of BITS Pilani.

Celebrating its Golden Jubilee, on behalf of BITS Pilani Community, I would like to assure you that today’s glory is not just in celebrating it in a way to really discover yourself but also to relive.

BITSian – It's a message in a name; one that inspires our development and progress as an individual and as an Institution.

Once again, I wish an amazing and a very happy BITSians’ day!
 
Prof. K. E. Raman
Chairman,
Alumni Affairs Division,
Birla Institute of Technology and Science
Pilani | Dubai | Goa | Hyderabad
 
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Prof. V. S. Rao takes over as the Acting Vice Chancellor, BITS Pilani

A BITS Pilani alumnus, Prof. V. Sambasiva Rao has taken over as the Acting Vice Chancellor of BITS Pilani  on 31st July 2015. Prof. Rao has been associated with BITS Pilani for over four decades in various capacities such as Dean Practice School, Deputy Director Off campus programs and Director, BITS Pilani, Hyderabad campus.
 
He did his  M.Sc and Ph.D from BITS Pilani and obtained a certificate on Educational Economics & Research from University of Bielfeld, Germany.  
 
As a Director, he established BITS-Pilani, Hyderabad campus in a sprawling 200 acres of land making it fully residential that accommodates 3200 students and 160 faculty members. He is an educationist with specializations in Training Need Assessment, Institution-Industry interface design, Curriculum Development, Development of Practice School,  Off-campus infrastructure, Project Management, His specializations also include Organic Chemistry, Drug Design and Synthesis and Green Chemistry. 
 
Prof. Rao is a member of many professional and research bodies such as CII, FICCI State Coucils, Telengana Academy for Skill and Knwoledge (TASK),Institute of Public Health,  Research Advisory Committee of SHARE INDIA and Mediciti Institute of Medical Sciences. He has also Spearheaded the Centre for Entrepreneurial Leadership, and Technology Business Incubation in BITS-Pilani. He had received an eminent educationist award at Indo Global Education Summit 2013, 
 
He has guided many Ph.D students and authored several articles that are published in national and international scientific  journals. He has travelled extensively all over the world visiting world renowned organizations and universities.   His passion for teaching has earned accolades from several batches of BITS students and was honoured at the BITS Alumni Association Global Meet 2014 for making “learning a wonderful experience.”
 
Prof. V.S. Rao said " BITS Pilani is very much on the path of excellence with its established values. I would like to march along with my colleagues in continuing the journey and reaching new heights. Along with our deeper and committed industry engagement, we continue to lay emphasis on teaching, research, innovation and entrepreneurship."


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Admissions 2015

For Admission related information please click here
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Prof. Roland Yves Siegwart inaugurates Conference on Advances in Robotics

The second International conference ‘Advances in Robotics’ (AIR-2015) is scheduled to be held from 2nd to 4th July at BITS Pilani, K K Birla Goa Campus. It was inaugurated on 2nd July 2015 by Chief Guest, Prof. Dr. Roland Yves Siegwart, Professor of Robotics, ETH Zurich, Switzerland and Prof. Sasikumar Punnekkat (Director, BITS Pilani, K K Birla Goa Campus). The conference is jointly organized by ‘The Robotics Society of India’ and BITS Pilani, K K Birla Goa Campus.

The conference aims to create a forum to present and exchange new ideas by researchers and developers from India and abroad working in the area of robotics and allied fields. The Scope of the Conference includes Machine learning artificial intelligence for robotics; Medical and Assistive Robotics, Bio- mimetic and Bio-inspired Robotics etc.

 Many notable scientists from IITs, DRDO and other prestigious Institutions are attending the conference. Over 70 papers in various areas of robotics will be presented over the course of the conference. Keynote speakers include Dr. Steven LaValle (University of Illinois) and Dr. Jae Bok Song (Korea University). Prof. Siegwart will give a talk to conclude the conference on the last day. A special symposium is scheduled specifically for PhD scholars on 5th July 2015. For more information contact Prof. Anupama K. R. (email: anupkr@goa.bits-pilani.ac.in).

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Vichar Shroff, student from BITS Pilani, K K Birla Goa Campus

Mr. Vichar Shroff from BITS Pilani K.K. Birla Goa campus presently at Practice School -1  participated as a panelist in a TV show representing HelpAge India -Gujarat on the occasion of World Awareness Day Against Elderly Abuse  held on 15th June 2015
 
Follow the link to watch the show:
 
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India Today ranks nation's top colleges

Birla Institute of Technology and Science, Pilani (BITS, Pilani) ranked No. 3 by the leading magazine India Today under Best Engineering Colleges in India. Last year BITS Pilani was ranked No. 6. This year it is stepped up by 3 ranks.
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Doctoral Training Centre in Computational Biology

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Visit of French Ambassador, H.E. Mr. François Richier to BITS Pilani, K K Birla Goa Campus

The 21st Conference of the Parties (COP21) of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) will take place in Paris in December this year. An effective and equitable international agreement will be critical for reducing greenhouse gas emissions to limit global temperature rise to 2 degree Celsius and for supporting adaptation to climate impacts. France, as the host and chair of the COP21 is committed to the role of an impartial facilitator for forging an ambitious agreement at COP 21.

In this context, Ambassador of France, H.E. Mr. François Richier addressed several issues related to the global fight against climate change and the role of France as chair of the upcoming conference in December. This was followed by a discussion on alternate energy sources, and how important technology transfer and cooperation between countries is to achieving a cleaner world, and dropping CO2 emission levels. A question and answer session soon followed with thoughts on government intervention, nuclear energy as a resource, and the role of diplomacy in climate change were all debated and discussed.

The Ambassador also interacted with the Director, Prof. Sasikumar and key officials of BITS Pilani, Goa Campus. He was open to the idea of academic and research collaboration between India and Franceand said that presently about 3150 Indian students are in France while 1600 French students are in India. He also highlighted the schemes for Indian students graduating from French schools, wherein students will be given a 5 year Visa so that they benefit beyond their educational period. The Visit was coordinated by Prof. Srikanth Mutnuri, Associate Dean, International Programmes and Collaborations Division.

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Spree 2015

The Spree 2015 Inauguration started off with the traditional and auspicious lighting of the lamp lighting ceremony followed by a speech by the Deputy Director, Prof. Ashwin Srinivasan. The Chief Guest, Shri Karthik Kashyap, Superintendent of Police, Goa, cautioned the perils of yielding to unhealthy habits which was the underlying theme of the event.

The trophies were unveiled with great excitement and then the Spree Convenor, Rohan Noronha, declared the fest open. This was followed by a classical dance performance by the Dance Club. The music club of Goa Campus performed melodiously to the tunes of Kelly Clarkson, Laksh and the Script. Various inspirational videos of eminent  sports personalities were screened.
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Prof. Sasikumar Punnekkat takes over as Director, BITS Pilani, K K Birla Goa Campus

Prof. Sasikumar Punnekkat has joined BITS Pilani, K K Birla Goa Campus in the capacity of Director and Sr. Professor (Computer Science & Information Systems) on 25th February, 2015.He took charge from  Prof. K. E. Raman who had over 37 years of experience at BITS Pilani in various capacities. The formal handing over of the charge took place between the two Directors in the virtual presence of Prof.B N Jain, the Vice Chancellor who joined the occasion through telepresence facility from Pilani campus.

Prof. Sasikumar Punnekkat holds a D.Phil. in Computer Science (1997) from University of York, UK. He comes to us with over 30 years rich experience in academics, research & administration. His research & development experience of 15 years at Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is of noteworthy mention. He was serving as a Professor of Dependable Software Engineering at School of Innovation, Design & Engineering, Sweden prior to joining us.

Prof. Sasikumar Punnekkat has numerous awards and honours to his credit. An excellent academician & researcher, Prof. Sasikumar Punnekkat has authored books, book chapters and 100+ research articles, undertaken significant R&D projects, received the prestigious commonwealth scholarship award and occupied scientific / administrative lead roles in various large European and Swedish research and educational projects.

Prof. K E Raman introduced the new Director to the senior officials of the campus and also briefed him on the ongoing activities after which Prof.Sasikumar interacted with the officials.

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Lecture by Nobel Laureate Prof. Jean-Marie Lehn held on 21st February 2015.

A lecture and interactive session by Prof. Jean-Marie Lehn, Institute of Supramolecular Science and Engineering, University Louis Pasteur of Strasbourg was held at BITS Pilani, K K Birla Goa Campus on 21st February 2015. Professor Jean-Marie Lehn, together with Charles J. Pedersen and Donald J. Cram, was awarded the Nobel Prize for Chemistry in 1987 for their development and use of molecules with structure-specific interactions of high selectivity. This chemical basis of “molecular recognition” also plays a fundamental role in biological processes.

At BITS Goa Prof. Lehn interacted with the Director, Prof. K. E. Raman, Deputy Director, Prof. Ashwin Srinivasan, Dean SRCD, Prof. Sunil Bhand, Dean Administration, Prof. D. M. Kulkarni and Faculty of the Department of Chemistry. Prof. R.N Behera, HOD, Chemistry gave an overview of the Research projects of the Department.

Prof. Lehn in his lecture spoke about the evolution of the universe leading to more and more complex matter through self-organization, up to living and thinking matter. Animate as well as inanimate matter, living organisms as well as materials, are formed of molecules and of the organized entities resulting from the interaction of molecules with each other. He says that it is Chemistry that provides the bridge between the molecules of inanimate matter and the highly complex molecular architectures and systems which make up living organisms. Molecular chemistry has developed a very powerful set of methods for constructing ever more complex molecules. Supramolecular chemistry seeks to control the formation of molecular assemblies by means of the interactions between the partners.

The talk was followed by an interactive session with the audience where he answered queries by faculty and students alike.

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IACLALS ANNUAL CONFERENCE, 2015 (GOA, INDIA) on SPACE, PLACE, TRAVEL, DISPLACEMENT, EXILE

Padma Shri Dr. Maria Aurora Couto in her keynote address drew a broad overview of Goa's history punctuated with vignettes from personal experience. She traversed Goa's late colonial and post-colonial histories and drew out the resultant tensions of these periods for Goan identity, politics, economy and environment. She was the Chief Guest at the IACLALS (Indian Association of Commonwealth Literature and Language Studies) Annual Conference 2015 on “Space, Place, Travel, Displacement, Exile” organized by the Department of Humanities and Social Sciences of BITS Pilani, K K Birla Goa Campus in association with IACLALS during 12-14 February 2015. ICSSR ( Indian Council of Social Science Research) New Delhi, VMSIIHE ( VM Salgaocar International Institute of Hospitality Education) Goa and AXIS Bank, Vasco da Gama branch are the associate sponsors for the event.

 

Prof. Ashwin Srinivasan, Deputy Director of the Campus welcomed the gathering while Prof. Meenakshi Raman, Head of the Department and the Convener gave a brief overview of her department and also of the conference. Prof. Mohd. Asaduddin and Prof. GJV Prasad from IACLALS presented a glimpse of the activities of the association and discussed the theme of the conference. The inaugural function concluded with the vote of thanks by the organizing secretary of the conference, Dr. Nilak Datta from the Campus and Dr. Rina Ramdev, Secretary of IACLALS.

 

About 100 participants from India, Sri Lanka, Nepal, France, Spain, UK, South Africa and USA, are participating and presenting papers on various authors and themes related to the conference in 32 sessions organized for this purpose. Dr. Elgar Noronha, High Court advocate and Shri. Damodar Mauzo, eminent writer both from Goa will deliver a plenary talk and the valedictory address respectively.
 
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QUARK 2015

Quark 2015 was inaugurated on 5th February, 2015 at 7:30 P.M. The Chief Guest, Dr.  Mathai Joseph and Guest of honor Mr. Shail Maniar were welcomed with the customary bouquet of flowers. The guests, along with Prof. K. E. Raman, Director, BITS Pilani, K K Birla Goa Campus, CSA President, Mr. Anmol Srivastava and Quark convener, Mr. Aum Jadhav marked the inauguration of the fest by the auspicious lighting of a lamp. Anmol Shrivastava elevated the stature of Quark from a mere techfest to a MOVEMENT. The Chief guest, Dr. Mathai Joseph, one of the earliest pioneers in computer science, reminisced about his meager baby steps in the world of programming and the exhilaration that came associated with it. He further urged the audience to follow their hearts.  After this, the audience received a glimpse of the sponsors, including Sabre and Bluemix that made Quark possible. And then, to everyone's delight, Quark 2015 was declared officially open.

Prodigy and entrepreneur Nirman Dave shared some insight about his endeavors, of which Antable and Circuitricks were the most prominent. German artist, Lorenz Potthast, then spoke with great enthusiasm about using technology to produce mind-bending art. He previewed his Decelerator Helmet and shared light on the art of projection mapping.

The performance by the Mime Club was marked by eclectic combination of fluorescent lights and subtle play of shadows. In a display of sheer brilliance which was clearly a result of weeks of hard work, Mime Club enchanted the audience as they played with stars and tweaked the very passage of time. Through this scintillating performance the Mime Club compelled the audience to chase their dreams.

The inauguration ceremony was followed by a tele-presence lecture by Dr. Robert Curl, Nobel Laureate in the field of chemistry. Dr. Robert Curl, discoverer of the carbon football, buckminsterfullerene, enlightened students about using nanotechnology in Biomedical science. He specifically emphasized the use of technology against cancer.
 
Day 0 of Quark compelled people, not to be afraid of trying something new and striking out on their own, to transcend their perceptions of things as they are and to ALTER THE OBVIOUS.
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TEDx BITS Goa

TEDxBITSGoa, India’s first university-hosted, student-run TEDx event is also the longest-running TEDx event in the country. It hosted its annual conference on the 25th of January, 2015. The theme chosen for the event for 'Pushing a Pull Door'. The event was organized with the concept that breaking away from the reigns of societal pressures, and working in ways deemed unconventional is the key to revolutionize society. The event showcased exemplary speakers, who having come from ordinary backgrounds, challenged the norms society set for them. Any and all social constructs rang hollow for them, and all they could think about was this new, exciting thing they had thought of. And their ideas are the key to being alive, and to move towards leading a life of fulfillment and sustainability.

Excerpts from the talks of some speakers are given below:

Clea Chandmal is a passionate believer; practitioner and teacher of permaculture, a style of creating sustainable habitats that mimic nature’s patterns and do not burden the earth. Her talk was centered on the sustainability of this style of cultivation. Her own home and farm are modeled after her ideas.

Mani Vajipeyajula is the founder of Banyan Nation, an organization that aims to transform the solid waste management landscape in India through technological innovation, better practices and grassroot activism. His practicality and the results that his organization achieved gave his speech a lot of recognition and credibility.

Adm. Arun Prakash has served as Chief of Naval Staff of the Indian Navy. His persona was impressive and commanding. He spoke about reviving the former maritime glory of India, the importance of it, and the pragmatic way to go about it.

Subodh Kerkar is a visual artist. Having experimented with different kinds of media for over 20 years now, his presentation consisted of images of  his works as an installation artist. He spoke about his inspirations, the thought process that goes behind each installation. His talk was received very well by the audience.

Rohit Gupta introduced himself as a science historian. He spoke about what it takes to fuel a scientific revolution with a historical backdrop. Having an audience of only science-oriented students, everyone was very impressed with the technical depth his speech had.

Monica Dogra's performance was the last, and it was the perfect finish for the event. She sang one of her most popular numbers, and had the audience thoroughly appreciating it. She spoke about her struggle as an artist in India, where all art in compartmentalized, and the thought behind her T.V. show, The Dewarists.

There were a total of 9 talks, and a performance by the Goan band, Grace. Grace, played their acoustic covers of popular pop music, and had everyone clicking their fingers to the rhythms’ of their music.

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We Care Film Festival : Inauguration at 11 am on 20 January 2015 in the Auditorium

The Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, Community Welfare Unit and the Nirmaan-Goa jointly organize the Inaugural Ceremony of the We Care Film Festival at 11 am on 20th January 2015 (Tuesday) at our campus auditorium. Award winning films of 1/2/3/15 minute duration on disability issues will be screened followed by a cultural program.

About WE CARE FILM FESTIVAL

Brotherhood, an NGO, founded the We Care Film Festival in 2003. UNESCO and UN Information Centre for India and Bhutan (UNIC) came on board as founding partners of this pioneering film festival along with the Government of India’s National Trust. The We Care Film Festival encourages universal participation and seeks entries of short films and documentaries on disability issues from all over the world.

Recently, We Care Film Festival was the chosen partner of the UNESCO’s Unique International Conference “From Exclusion to Empowerment: The Role of ICTs for People with Disabilities which was held from 24-26 November 2014 at VigyanBhawan, New Delhi. During the concluding session a lots of participants from across the globe appreciated the efforts of the film festival and recommended that We Care Film Festival should be an integral part of the above said conference in future also. This was noted and included in the Outcome document of UNESCO International Conference.

The film festival’s efforts underline the UN’s commitment to inclusion – in both development and human rights perspectives and that is why We Care Film Festival will be a powerful platform for the UNIC as they have embraced the next International Decade for Persons with Disabilities by the UN for the period 2013-2022.

The WE CARE Film Festival is held annually to raise awareness about disability issues, dispel misconceptions and prejudices about persons with disabilities, drive attitudinal and behavior change and foster their integration into society. The Festival aims to promote a rights-based approach to people with disabilities that treats them as people first and focuses on abilities and positives rather than disabilities.

The We Care Film Festival is a pioneering effort initiated in 2003 by Brotherhood, an NGO working on bringing disability issues into mainstream human rights discourse. Since then it has travelled extensively through India, covering more than a 114 venues. It has also taken its message overseas and has been showcased in more than a dozen countries.

Since its inception, the We Care Film Festival has become a leading ambassador for raising awareness on the rights of persons with disability across the globe and is a beacon for promoting a positive attitude towards disability.   It also acts as a vehicle in bringing disability issues to the fore amongst advocacy bodies, government agencies, civil society and specifically the youth, affecting both institutional and grassroots level attitudinal and behavioural change.

This annual international travelling and educational film festival of shorts films and documentaries on disability issues is showcased at universities, educational institutions and schools and aims sensitizing and engaging youth in the disability sector on the one hand, and instilling confidence in persons with disability on the other. 

Outreach

The We Care Film Festival archive has a repository of more than 650 short films and documentaries out of which 90 are award winning. These have been showcased to a large global audience:-


Venues travelled to (India and abroad

114

Average number of viewers per venue

600

Average films screened per venue

30

Total number of screenings

3420

Total viewers reached out to

68400

 

 


About Partners 

The National Trust sponsors awards to filmmakers and promoted the film festival amongst registered organizations. UNESCO works to promote the film festival amongst its 195 member countries and 9 associate member countries. UN Information Centre for India and Bhutan promotes the film festival in India and abroad through the entire UN network in addition to developing advocacy strategies.

For more details please visit

http://wecarefilmfest.net/

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IACLALS ANNUAL CONFERENCE, 2015 (GOA, INDIA) on SPACE, PLACE, TRAVEL, DISPLACEMENT, EXILE

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BITS Pilani: BITSian, A Tag Every Engineering Aspirant Aspires to Achieve

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16th International Conference on Distributed Computing & Networking from January 4-7, 2015

Birla Institute of Technology and Science (BITS) Pilani, K K Birla Goa campus, Goa, India is organizing the 16th International Conference on Distributed Computing and Networking (ICDCN 2015) during January 4-7, 2015. ICDCN is a premier international conference dedicated to addressing advances in Distributed Computing and Communication Networks, which over the years, has become a leading forum for disseminating the latest research results in these fields. As in the past, ICDCN 2015 will be organized in two tracks: Distributed Computing and Networking, and will comprise a highly selective technical program consisting of refereed concise papers, panel discussions as well as focused workshops on emerging topics. Conference papers will be published by the ACM Digital Library. This year nearly 70% of the accepted papers in the distributed computing track, 23% of the accepted papers from the networking track are from various renowned international universities.This conference will act as a unique catalyst to accelerate the involvement of Indian industries in the area of distributed systems and networks in the following way: 
 
   >> Speakers from Duke University and Microsoft Research US are visiting ICDCN 2015 to deliver keynote talks on emerging research areas
 
   >> A strong technical program consisting of invited talks by eminent researchers and industry leaders in the field from all over the world, as well as high-quality submitted papers
 
   >> We are organizing four highly focused workshops organized by IBM Research, TCS Research group, and Indian academia
 
   >> Panel discussions
 
   >> Industry Forum
 
   >> Student Forum for graduate students to present their ongoing research
 
For more details, visit www.icdcn.org
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Conference on Decentralized Biogas Digesters held on 20-21 November 2014

Birla Institute of Technology and Science (BITS) Pilani, K K Birla Goa campus, Goa,   India in association with Institute of Agricultural and Urban Ecological Projects affiliated to Humboldt University, Berlin, Germany organized a conference on “Decentralized biogas digesters and their slurry management”. This conference was scheduled during November 20 – 21, 2014 at BITS – Pilani, K K Birla Goa campus, Goa, India.  The conference focused on biogas digestors running on different types of wastes as well as their slurry management. The keynote talk was given by Padmashri Dr Sharad Kale from Bhabha Atomic Research Centre and the conference was inaugurated by Dr. Pramod Pathak, Member Secretary, Goa Energy Development Agency. This conference had participants from Academic Institutions and Industries from all over the country. It concluded on 22nd November 2014 by a visit to the biogas plant running on vegetable waste and fish waste built by DeerTree Technologies Pvt. Ltd under technical collaboration with BITS Pilani, K K Birla Goa campus. Further information can be had by contacting Prof. Srikanth Mutnuri at srikanth@goa.bits-pilani.ac.in.

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BITS Pilani receives Excellence in ICT integration award from FICCI

 
The Birla Institute of Technology and Science, Pilani has received the prestigious "Excellence in ICT integration" award by Federation of Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) during the first “FICCI Higher Education Awards 2014”ceremony held on November 13, 2014 at New Delhi, as a part of the FICCI Higher Education Summit 2014. The award was presented by Mr. Greg Clark, UK's Minister of State for Universities  to  Prof. B.N. Jain, Vice-Chancellor and Prof. R. K Mittal, Director, Special Projects, BITS Pilani in the presence of Smt. Smriti Zubin Irani Hon’ble,Union Minister for HRD and Ms. Niikki Randhawa Haley, Governor of South Carolina (USA), Mr. Mohandas Pai Chair, FICCI HE Committee.
 
This award is given in recognition of the efforts made by BITS Pilani in exhibiting excellence in Information and Communication Technology integration in the sphere of Indian Higher Education. The award was open to all public and private higher education institutionsand BITS Pilani was judged bestby the jury among the 60 institutions that participated.
 
The selection for the award was done by a high level Jury, chaired by Hon’ble M. Damodaran Former Chairman SEBI, UTI and IDBI.  Some of the other key members of the jury included Ms. Amita Sharma, Additional Secretary, Technical Education MHRD, Government of India, Mr. T V Mohandas Pai, Chairman, Manipal Global Education Services Pvt. Ltd., Mr. K Venkataramanan, CEO & MD, Larsen & Toubro Limited (L&T).
 
Among other things, BITS was recognized for use of ICT in online BITSAT exam since 2005, ERP integration for academic and administrative functions since 2013, TelePresence based classrooms and conference facilities since 2013, and for recent efforts to introduce e-Attendance and edX based MOOCs/SPOCs courses. This is not to mention the massive ICT infrastructure, portals and the various application services/software developed in-house and run for several years.
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Rashtriya Ekta Diwas observed at BITS Pilani, K K Birla Goa Campus

To commemorate the Birth Anniversary ( 31st October ) and to revere the efforts of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, the first Union Home Minister of India to unite the nation, BITS Pilani, K K Birla Goa Campus observed Rashtriya Ekta Diwas.  This day is being observed as National Unity Day across the country. 
 
A Run for Unity, as a part of nationwide celebrations, was organized at the campus to commemorate the efforts made by Sardar Patel towards the unification of India. Students, faculty and staff members actively participated in this run. Briefly explaining the importance of this day, the President of the Council of Student Affairs of the campus, Anmol Srivastava administered the pledge to a large number of students gathered at the inaugural event of the annual cultural festival of the campus. Students of the campus as well as from various parts of India took the pledge to preserve the unity, integrity and security of India and also spread this message across their countrymen.
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International Conference Towards Ecocultural Ethics: Recent Trends and Future Directions

“The Ecological Arts : Humanities, Technology and Science” was the topic on which Prof. Mark C Long, President ASLE (American Society for Literature and Environment) and Professor at Keene State University, USA delivered the inaugural address at the three day International Conference "Towards Eco cultural Ethics: Recent Trends and Future Directions" being hosted by the Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, BITS Pilani, K K Birla Goa Campus during 9-11 October 2014. Chief Guest at the inaugural ceremony held at the campus auditorium on 9th October 2014, Prof. Mark explored the historical and ethical imperative to build intellectual collaborations across the humanities and sciences to address global issues of environmental concerns.
 
Environmental Humanities or Ecological Humanities, an interdisciplinary area of research that has emerged in the Humanities discipline over the past few decades is the topic of deliberations at the conference. The term “Ecoculture” brings the two disciplines namely ecology and culture on a single platform. The present conference strives to build a platform to initiate an ecocultural dialogue between theorists and practitioners belonging to various disciplines. It is here that ethics becomes a relevant and a vital point of focus. As the methodologies of the fused disciplines are diverse, the perspectives on ethics can also be seen from various dimensions.
 
Realizing the importance of research in the area of Environmental Humanities, the conference has brought together about 160 participants across India and abroad to present papers on various related issues. Prof. K. E. Raman, Director, at the inaugural ceremony emphasized the environmental concerns researchers need to take up and also the need for promoting interdisciplinary research.  Prof. Meenakshi Raman, Dr. Reena Cheruvaleth, Dr. Rayson K. Alex and Dr. Gyan Prakash are the organizers of the event which is co-sponsored by ASLE, USA and Esteem Builders and Developers, Goa . 
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Waves 2014

It is that time of the year again, when the campus is charged with electricity that is almost palpable in the air. Day Zero of Waves 2014 ushered in a 3 day period of high octane excitement, melodrama and MAYHEM which promises to be unforgettable.

The guests were treated to the first of BITS’ cultural traits, that is, high standards of punctuality as the inaugural began at 7pm. Director Prof. K. E. Raman welcomed the Chief Guest, Mr. K.R. Srinivasa, Chief Editor of the Times of India, and the Guests of Honor, the founders of Art Escape. The Guests then, along with the Director, CSA President and Waves Convener marked the inauguration of the fest by the auspicious lighting of a lamp in honor of Goddess Saraswati. The President of CSA, Anmol Shrivastava, then talked about the journey of Waves from its very genesis to the attainment of its present stature as one of the fastest growing cultural fest in India. The Chief Guest addressed the students with an inspiring speech and declared Waves 2014 officially open. Vinesh, co-founder of Art Escape, then took to the microphone and told the audience about how Art Escape serves as a platform for independent artists.

The convener of Waves Abhishek Mohta outlined the struggles involved in the process of organizing a fest and congratulated the organizing committee for successfully pulling of the preparations. In order to honor Sardar Vallabh Bhai Patel on the occasion of his birthday, a pledge was taken, to instill a sense of national unity amongst the audience.

A plethora of cultural delights started off with a scintillating performance by the dance club. Maitri and Jai held the audience spellbound with their energetic display of finer nuances of the classical dance form; Bharatnatyam. Members of Kala, the art club, then took to the stage and mesmerized the audience with a spontaneous display of creativity working in tandem to create beautiful art on canvas.

The highlight of the cultural program was the performance by the Mime Club. In a display of sheer ingenuity the Mime Club presented the age old adage, which tells us to live life on one’s own terms in a manner which captivated the issues faced by Bitsians were highlighted through humor. The mime club got a standing ovation for their brilliant performance and the inaugural ceremony was wrapped up by the recitation of our National Anthem.

 

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Dr. Sukanta Mondal's research paper featured on Global Medical Discovery as a Key Scientific Article

About Global Medical Discovery (GMD; https://globalmedicaldiscovery.com):

Canadian based company established in 2002, and features papers of exceptional scientific importance for broad scientific audience. Featured papers are assessed primarily on their scientific validity and merit. GMD is highly selective; the invited articles are less than 0.1% of the whole published literature (that is 20 per week chosen by a team of advisers and experts).

For more details click the following link:


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International Conference Towards Ecocultural Ethics: Recent Trends and Future Directions

“The Ecological Arts : Humanities, Technology and Science” was the topic on which Prof. Mark C Long, President ASLE (American Society for Literature and Environment) and Professor at Keene State University, USA delivered the inaugural address at the three day International Conference "Towards Eco cultural Ethics: Recent Trends and Future Directions" being hosted by the Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, BITS Pilani, K K Birla Goa Campus during 9-11 October 2014. Chief Guest at the inaugural ceremony held at the campus auditorium on 9th October 2014, Prof. Mark explored the historical and ethical imperative to build intellectual collaborations across the humanities and sciences to address global issues of environmental concerns.
 
Environmental Humanities or Ecological Humanities, an interdisciplinary area of research that has emerged in the Humanities discipline over the past few decades is the topic of deliberations at the conference. The term “Ecoculture” brings the two disciplines namely ecology and culture on a single platform. The present conference strives to build a platform to initiate an ecocultural dialogue between theorists and practitioners belonging to various disciplines. It is here that ethics becomes a relevant and a vital point of focus. As the methodologies of the fused disciplines are diverse, the perspectives on ethics can also be seen from various dimensions.
 
Realizing the importance of research in the area of Environmental Humanities, the conference has brought together about 160 participants across India and abroad to present papers on various related issues. Prof. K. E. Raman, Director, at the inaugural ceremony emphasized the environmental concerns researchers need to take up and also the need for promoting interdisciplinary research.  Prof. Meenakshi Raman, Dr. Reena Cheruvaleth, Dr. Rayson K. Alex and Dr. Gyan Prakash are the organizers of the event which is co-sponsored by ASLE, USA and Esteem Builders and Developers, Goa . 
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Prof. N N Ghosh's research paper awarded Top Cited Paper for 2011 and 2012 by Catalysis Communications, Elsevier USA

Click here to view "The research paper published by Dr. N N Ghosh"
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Memorandum of Understanding signed between WindSim AS, Norway and BITS Pilani

A Memorandum of Understanding was signed between WindSim AS, Norway and BITS Pilani at K K Birla Goa Campus. The parties agree to undertake collaborative research projects and to improve the exchange of knowledge and experience within the area of wind energy technology. The MoU was signed by Er. Dr. Arne R. Gravdahl, Founder and CTO, of WindSim AS, Norway and Prof. K. E. Raman, Director, K K Birla Goa Campus. This was followed by technical session on Application of CFD based WindSim software tools for developing Wind Power Project, as practiced in Wind Industry. The WindSim software is originally invented by Dr. Arne R, Gravdahl and can be used for Wind Atlas development in a region. The session was attended by faculty and researchers. 

This was followed by round table discussion for evolving agenda items for joint implementation under the MoU for developing R&D projects, for possible funding by national, International agencies. The participants were Er. Dr. Arne R. Gravdahl, Er.Dr. Pramod V. Pathak, Mr. Jayasurya, T.F., Country Manager, WindSim India, Member Secretary, GEDA and Er. Prof, Dr. N. Ponnani, BITS Pilani, K K Birla Goa Campus. Prof. M. K. Deshmukh led the discussions.

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BITS Goa Alumnus Electrifies a 1000 year Old Village in Himalayas

Pranav Mehrotra (2009A4PS125G), an alumnus of BITS Pilani, K K Birla Goa Campus recently participated in the Global Himalayan Expedition (GHE) as a participant and a thought leader. GHE 2014, a second edition brought together a team of sustainability experts, climate change crusaders and explorers from across 6 nations (India, UAE, Denmark, Sri Lanka, US, Hong Kong) laden with trekking and electrification equipments and supplies for the 11 – day Himalayan challenge.

GHE 2014 focused on providing the participants a holistic Himalayan experience while making a social impact along with adventure. The participants trekked for 2 days; crossing mountain passes 16000 ft above the sea level to reach a 1000 year old village – Sumda Chenmo in the Zanskar Valley of Ladakh. The village, which in itself is an ancient Asian heritage site, had never seen electricity before. GHE Team and the participants set up 3 DC grids of 1000W total power to electrify 14 homes in the village. The team installed more than 100 DC bulbs and one DC television that were specially designed for this village.

Pranav, is  a volunteer of Community Solutions Initiative, USA,  a signature program of IEEE Power and Energy Society that focuses on providing low cost lighting solutions to developing communities around the world. During the expedition, Pranav while representing CSI in India led the CSI initiative to set up a CSI Knowledge Center at Mahabodhi School in Leh. This center will provide students of the school, several platforms such as solar learning and mechanical kits, electricity cycle that will help them learn more about renewable energy and sustainability. This initiative provides an avenue to create awareness among the local folks as well as among young children, who are the next generation of entrepreneurs, thereby instilling a sense of responsibility for environmental protection.

Describing his experience in the expedition, Pranav says, “Initiatives like GHE provide an opportunity to realize the impact of technological development in terms of social benefits and improvement in the quality of people’s lives. It is also important to realize the potential that collaborations can have. The notable impact of expedition on the lives of the people could be created because people from different countries representing diverse cultural, social and professional backgrounds, came together to work for a common goal of creating positive impact on social life”.

Pranav believes that the seeds of his interest in such initiatives were sown during his undergraduate study at BITS Pilani, K K Birla Goa Campus, where he participated in several projects for reducing the carbon footprint. He had initiated the student chapter of Engineers without Borders.

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Convocation 2014 held on 3rd August 2014

“E=F where E stands for Education and F stands for Future” said renowned academician and scientist Padma Vibhushan Dr. Raghunath Anant Mashelkar, the Chief Guest, amidst roaring applause at the  grand Convocation ceremony held at BITS Pilani, K K Birla Goa Campus on 3rd August 2014. At this Convocation 670 students were eligible to receive their degrees, out of which 422 of them received their first degrees, 178 of them their dual degree under the dual degree scheme, 59 of them their higher degrees and 11 of them their PhD degree. Three students were awarded medals Ms. Namita Paul (Gold), Mr Bapat Shounak Vinayak (Silver) and Mr. Rahul Ameya Ravindra (Bronze) respectively.

The Convocation celebrations kicked off with the unveiling of the mural of Late Shri G. D Birla, the Founder-Chairman of the BITS Pilani University by the Chief Guest Dr. Raghunath Mashelkar. While delivering his Convocation address, Dr. Mashelkar emphasized the need for education in today’s society, how Institutes of higher learning in India should bring education to the world class standards and should focus on Right to Education, Right Education and Education for all. He talked about massive Expansion, Inclusion and Excellence, the tripod on which we should move on in the Education sector. He also appreciated the tireless efforts put forth by the top ranking Institution BITS Pilani.

Presenting the Convocation Report 2014, Prof. B.N. Jain, Vice-Chancellor, BITS Pilani reaffirmed the long-term vision to be listed as one of India's top 3 research-led technical Institutes by the academic year 2015 – 16. The Vice Chancellor also talked about big-ticket imperatives as part of BITS Pilani’s “Mission 2015”, such as faculty and staff development, industry engagement, innovation and entrepreneurship, internalisation, inter-disciplinary research, technology enablement and quality assessment and assurance.

Chancellor Kumar Mangalam Birla in his message congratulated the graduating students and their parents and told them to keep a few key points in mind. He talked about the need for continuous learning and picking up unprecedented opportunities and not letting them slide by, about giving back to society and maintaining one’s character and practicing the values of honesty, integrity and compassion, and about giving back to one’s alma mater.

The Director of the Goa campus, Professor K. E. Raman, gave a detailed report specific for the Goa Campus which highlighted the achievements of its faculty and students.   He also spoke about the active entrepreneurial cell on campus and its ongoing collaborations. Dr. Radhika Vathsan concluded with the Vote of thanks.
 
 
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1st August - BITSians' Day '14

Greetings on  BITSians’ Day being celebrated on August, 1st, every year. This day celebrated with great zeal and fervor, now forms a significant and important segment of BITS Pilani.

Celebrating its Golden Jubilee, on behalf of BITS Pilani Community, I would like to assure you that today’s glory is not just in celebrating it in a way to really discover yourself but also to relive.

BITSian – It's a message in a name; one that inspires our development and progress as an individual and as an Institution.
 
Once again, I wish an amazing and a very happy BITSians’ day!
 
Warm Regards,
Prof. K E Raman
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Convocation 2014 on 03 August 2014

Convocation ceremony for the graduating students of the academic year 2013-14 of BITS Pilani, K K Birla Goa Campus will be held on Sunday, 03 of August, 2014. The Chief Guest for the occasion is Dr. Raghunath A. Mashelkar. The Convocation ceremony will be streamed live from 10.00 am on Sunday 03 August at the following link http://estv.in/bitsgoa/

For other details click http://convocation.bits-goa.ac.in/

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BITS Pilani Distinguished Alumnus Awardees, 2014

The following alumni have been chosen for the 'BITS Pilani Distinguished Alumnus Award 2014'
  • Prof. Anil Pahwa (Professor at Kansas State University) for Academic Teaching and Research
  • Prof. Gurinder Sohi (Professor at University of Winconsin-Madison) for Academic Teaching and Resaerch
  • Dr. Chandrashekhar (Director CEERI, Pilani) for Professional Management of Businesses
  • Mr. Pradeep Kashyap (Founder and CEO, MART) for Social Entrepreneurship
  • Mr. Raju Reddy (Chairman, BITSAA International) for Entrepreneurship
The awardees have been selected by a panel consisting of:
  • Mr. K V Kamath, Chairman,ICICI Bank(as Chairman)
  • Prof. Devang Khakhar, Director, IIT Bombay
  • Mr. Kris Ramachandran, Advisor to the Chancellor, BITS Pilani
  • Prof. B N Jain, Vice Chancellor, BITS Pilani
  • Prof. K E Raman, Director, BITS Pilani K K Birla Goa Campus
The selection was based on the impact of one’s contribution to (a) Dissemination or creation of knowledge, (b) Enrichment of lives of people,  (c)Distribution or creation of wealth, or   (d)Promotion or establishment of high ethical standards in private or public life, as also upon the person’s integrity and stature, and who thereby makes his alma mater proud.
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The Braille Dicta-teacher - An innovative endeavor by Sanskriti and Aman

Sanskriti Dawle and Aman Srivastava of BITS Pilani, K K Birla Goa Cmapus have made their university proud by initiating an innovative project “ Project Mudra ” –a Braille Dicta-teacher .

This project is so insightful to Braille learning that a user simply has to say a letter / number and the tactile interface denotes the corresponding Braille character. It works in two modes : browse and auto.

Mudra aims to be a low cost Braille learning device and Sanskriti and Aman are now in the process of testing the device to check whether it can be produced at a mass scale.


 

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Dr. Srikanth Mutnuri wins award from Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

Dr. Srikanth Mutnuri, an Associate Professor, Department of Biological Sciences, BITS Pilani, KK Birla Goa Campus is one of the six selected innovators for the award under Grand Challenges India - Re-invent the Toilet Challenge -India. The Department of Biotechnology (BIRAC), Government of India and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation awarded grants to six teams of Scientists and entrepreneurs to build a next-generation toilet.

Dr. Srikant’s  project entitled 'Empowered septic tank as decentralized wastewater treatment system'  (EST) is based on Bioelectrolysis of wastewater which will exhibit an activated biogas ( H2+ CH4) production combined with a higher retention of ammonium which could be potential fertilizer . The effluent of the EST thus will have a lower load in COD and a lower odor and in turn the treated water coming out can be flocculated by physico chemical methods. The primary sludge that gets accumulated will be processed by Terra Preta composting. The Terra Preta (TP) is a special form of soil with very high nutrition storage characteristics. It was found in the Brazilian forests in the Amazon area. This system is a very promising option for new sanitation approaches, solving the problem of the fecal waste disposal by creating multiple products.

The project is in collaboration with Ghent University and Sustainable Biosolutions LLP. The award was formally announced on 22nd March 2014 at the Re-invent the Toilet Fair, New Delhi.

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Lecture by Prof. Walter Lewin

Prof. Walter H. G. Lewin, renowned  Dutch Astrophysicist and Professor Emeritus of Physics at Massachusetts Institute of Technology,  explained 'Birth and Death of stars' at BITS Pilani, K K Birla Goa Campus auditorium on 14th March, 2014 as a part of BITS Pilani University's Golden Jubilee Celebrations.
 

Dr. Gaurav Dar, Professor and Head, Department of Physics  introduced Prof. Lewin, calling him 'one of the most famous professors in the world.' Lewin is popular for his video lecture series on Physics and massive online courses taught on MIT OCW (Open Course Ware). In 2012, Princeton Review named him among 'The Best 300 Professors in the US.'

A member of Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences and a fellow at American Physical Society, Prof. Walter Lewin started the lecture by explaining the birth of stars by the gravitational collapse of a gaseous nebula of material composed primarily of hydrogen and helium. He discussed the nuclear fusion of hydrogen into helium in the stars' core, which releases massive amounts of energy. Then he enlightened the audience on the death of stars where the core becomes a stellar remnant: a white dwarf, a neutron star or a black hole depending on the star's mass;  the Sun, being fairly light in mass, will turn into a white dwarf in around 5 billion years.

Recipient of various awards including the NASA Award for Exceptional Scientific Achievement (1978) and  NASA Group Achievement Award for the Discovery of the Bursting Pulsar (1997), Prof. Lewin is renowned for his propensity for teaching concepts of Physics using practical examples in a dynamic style. After he explained the Doppler Shift using two lucid examples  that of a tuning fork and a rotating frequency emitter, it was apparent as to why his video lecture series is a sensation on the internet. He explained, "Doppler Shift of spectral lines in binary systems played a key role in the discovery of stellar mass black holes."

After explaining about the X-ray binaries, a class of binary stars which produce X-rays when matter falls from donor star to accretor star (white dwarfneutron star, or black hole), Prof. Lewin concluded the lecture by commenting, "For stars, there is really life after death, provided they find the right companion and it is my wish that all of you during life-not after death-find the right companion, radiate and be happy." He also offered to sign souvenirs for anyone interested in meeting him after the lecture. The auditorium was packed to capacity by students from various colleges of Goa.

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Spree 2014

Rise, Run, Reach: Spree 2014 Sporting Extravaganza

Matthew Foschini, the 23 year old Australian footballer currently playing in the I-league for Salgaonkar Football Club urged the students to be passionate about what they would like to do in their lives and wished them good luck at the opening ceremony of Spree 2014. This sporting extravaganza,  the annual national sports festival of BITS Goa, and one of the largest sports festivals in our country kicked off at the campus cricket grounds on 6th March.  The Opening ceremony was marked by the lighting of Spree torch , fantastic display of fire crackers and an amazing laser show.

With its inspiring  theme Rise, Run and Reach, the festival include events  from all the major sports such as Cricket, Football, Basketball, Tennis, Table Tennis, Badminton, Volleyball, Chess and Carom. With state of the art badminton and tennis courts, a BCCI maintained cricket ground and a football pitch maintained by Salgaocar FC, BITS Goa has all the necessary facilities to hold a sports festival of the magnitude of Spree. Apart from these conventional competitions, Spree also boasts of a wide variety of offbeat and special events such as Tug of War, 3v3 (volleyball), 3BA (basketball), Anti-Chess as well as Body Building. The theme for Spree 2014 is ‘Rise. Run. Reach’, something which truly captures the motto and goal of every sportsperson.

Spree 2014 has recorded more than 18000 registrations from colleges all over India. 70 different colleges are set to take the field at Spree. These include VIT, MNIT Jaipur, MIT Manipal, IIM Indore, Motilal Nehru College Delhi, IIIT Gwalior and NMIMS Mumbai, to name just a few.

A number of exciting events and special nights have been lined up as a part of Spree. These include an LED Laser and light show, a freestyle football performance as well as a workshop organized by footballers from the Freestlye Football Federation (F3), a stunt biking performance by a team from Throttlerz, and finally, a DJ Night with Goa’s leading Club DJ – DJ Claudio.

Over the years, Spree has supported numerous social causes and initiatives. This year, through Act to Inspire, Spree 2014 is associating with a number of notable NGOs such as CRY, PETA as well as YSF (Yuvraj Singh Foundation). CRY will be setting up a World Kiosk on campus to gain support for their social cause – ‘Vote for Child Rights’. A variety of other campaigns have also been initiated as a part of Act to Inspire such as a Beach Cleanup Drive, a Tree Plantation Drive, Goa half marathon as well as a Cancer Awareness Campaign. By having such a wide variety of events and initiatives, Spree hopes to make its humble contributions to uplifting society in a number of different ways.

Spree 2014 is more than just an ordinary sports festival. With such a wide set of events and initiatives, Spree 2014 is sure to keep everyone involved and entertained, and live up to its reputation of being one of India’s leading sports festivals.

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tiNai Ecofilm Festival 2014

The two day Ecofilm festival, tiNai Ecofilm Festival (TEFF) 2014 was held at BITS Pilani, K K Birla Goa campus on the 31 January and 1 February, 2014. Twenty-two films whose themes centered around issues on ecological and environmental relevance were screened in the festival. Around two hundred students from Colleges in and around Goa and fifty delegates from India and abroad participated in the festival by attending lectures, workshops, discussions and watching films. 

Surviving Progress directed by Canadian filmmaker Mathieu Roy and produced by Martin Scorcesese was the inaugural film of TEFF 2014. Four films from the seventy entries, won awards. The films Have you seen the Arana? (Best Eco-documentary Feature); City's Edge (Best Short Eco-documentary); In God's Land (Eco-documentary Feature - Runner-up) and Timbaktu (Short Eco-documentary - Runner Up) were given Rs.20, 000 and Rs.10, 000 as cash awards along with certificates and trophies.

Eminent Social and Environmental Scientist, Padma Bhushan and Padma Sri awardee, Prof. Madhav Gadgil delivered a lecture on the role of teachers and students of Goa in environment monitoring leading to preservation. He was also a part of the panel discussion titled, ‘Can development be Ecocentric?’ along with Professors, Activists and Filmmakers.

Alongside screening films, four workshops, three lectures, one lecture-cum-demonstration and a panel discussion were also organized as part of TEFF 2014. The festival concluded with the screening of four award-winning films of TEFF 2014.

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63rd Founder's Day Celebrations

The 63rd Founder’s Day was celebrated on 4th February 2014 with a grand concert by Oscar nominated Carnatic singer Bombay Jayashri Ramnath. The concert was organized by Srutilaya-- the Indian Classical Music and Dance Society of BITS Pilani, K K Birla Goa Campus. The Chief Guest for the event was renowned musician Pandit Dinkar Panshikar, ex-Director, Kala Academy Goa.

The event started off with a bewitching Bharatanatyam performance by BITS alumnus Anand Satheendran. It was followed by a captivating two-hour concert by Smt. Jayashri where she sang a wide variety of kirtanas and thillanas ragas like Abheri, Sindhubhairavi and others, many times inviting applause from the audience. She was accompanied by Ms. Chaitrra and Ms. Shweta (vocal support), Mr. H N Bhaskar (violin), Mr. Anirudh Athreya (kanjira) and Mr. Sairam (mridangam). The audience also witnessed some amazing violin, mridangam and kanjira solos and were also spellbound by the beautiful jugalbandi betweent the instrumentalists.

In his address to the audience after the conclusion of the performance, Pandit Panshikar prasied the students and called the performance "scintillating". The Director, Prof. K.E Raman, in his address, wished to see more of Smt. Jayashri's concerts at BITS Pilani. The Chief Guest and all the performers were presented with ponnadais (golden brocaded shawls) and Smt. Jayashri herself was presented with a beautiful portrait of her drawn by Miss Pravinya Reddy. The event concluded with Rajat Mishra delivering the vote of thanks.

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Quark 2014

BITS Pilani, K K Birla Goa Campus is hosting its Annual International Technical and Innovation festival, QUARK 2014, from 7th to 9th of February, 2014. It was inaugurated by BITS Alumnus and Sahitya Academy winning author, Mr. Vikram Sampath. Reminscing his past years at BITS Pilani and appreciating the BITS experience, Vikram urged the students not to be mediocre but to excel in whatever they choose to do.
 
Director, Prof. K. E. Raman welcomed and addressed the guests. Talks  by Mr. Angad Daryani, the 15 year old child prodigy, and the youngest researcher at MIT media labs, Mr. Vishal Gondal, the Indian king of games who is popular for his company Indiagames and Mr. Jun Fujiwara, inventor of Sound Bottle and winner of the Mitsubishi Chemical Junior Designer Award were exciting and inspirational.  The inaugural ceremony concluded with excellent demonstration and performances by the Robotics club and Mime club.
 
The QUARK banner is synonymous with innovation as each edition boasts of events, guest lectures, workshops and special nights. Quark 2014 is showcasing various guest exhibits like Pratham,a student made satellite from IIT B, Hovis Eco, an advanced humanoid bot, F1 car/Electric Car(IIT B/Grease Monkeys, BITSG) and 4D car. The 3D printer invented by Angad Daryani and Sound Bottle of Jun Fujiwara are also part of the exhibits at the festival.
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INDO- UK INTERNATIONAL WORKSHOP

INDO-UK INTERNATIONAL WORKSHOP ON ADVANCED MATERIALS AND THEIR APPLICATIONS IN NANOTECHNOLOGY during May 17 - 19th 2014.
 
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Sad demise of Director Prof. Sanjeev K. Aggarwal

Students, faculty and staff of BITS Pilani, K K Birla Goa Campus deeply mourn the sad, sudden and untimely demise of their Director Prof. Sanjeev K Aggarwal. He breathed his last at about 1 pm on Saturday the 11th of January 2014 due to a massive cardiac arrest. He is survived by his parents, wife Mrs.Vinita Aggarwal, son Keshav and daughter Anupama.
 
Prof. Aggarwal took charge as the Director of the campus on 13th August 2013. He received his MTech and PhD from IIT Kanpur. A reputed Professor of Computer Science, Prof. Aggarwal joined BITS Pilani, Goa Campus after his successful stint of about 25 years at IIT Kanpur important portfolios in the Institute’s Administration. With his extensive research and teaching experience in the area of Compiler Design, he had presented and published a large number of papers in international forums and had handled a large number of industry/government funded projects. He worked with Tata Research Development and Design Centre, Pune from 1986 to 1990. He held the Class of 1981 Chair Professorship in Engineering and the Poonam and Prabhu Goel Chair Professorship at IIT Kanpur. Prof. Aggarwal was passionate about teaching courses in Compiler Design, Advanced Compiler Design, Compilers for Multicore Architectures, Programming languages and  Software Engineering.

The funeral procession of Prof S.K. Aggarwal will leave from his residence at 10:00 a.m. on Monday, 13th Jan, 2014 to Crematorium at Bogda, Sada, Vasco (Near NACOR). A Condolence meeting will be held at the Auditorium at 5:00 p.m. on Monday, 13th Jan, 2014.

Within a short span of just five months on the campus, Prof. Aggarwal had won the hearts of all alike with his active administration, critical acumen and innovative ideas.  The faculty, staff and students pray to the Almighty for his soul to rest in peace and to give his family enough courage to bear this irreparable and unjustifiable loss.   
 
27th December 1957 - 11th January 2014
 
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TSICON 2013

The 3rd Annual Conference of the Toxinological Society of India and 1st International Conference on “Biology of Natural Toxins” was inaugurated by Prof. Alan Harvey, Professor of Pharmacology, University of Strathclyde, on the 19th of December, 2013. The Director of K K Birla Goa Campus, Prof Sanjeev K. Aggarwal, Prof. C. R. Maity, President TSI and Prof. Anthony Gomes, Secretary TSI also addressed the gathering. The Lifetime achievement award was presented to Prof. Anthony Tu, Professor Emeritus, Colorado State University, USA, for his immense contribution to this field. The Conference was coordinated by  Prof. Dibakar Chakrabarty, Organising Secretary and Dr. Angshuman Sarkar delivered the Vote of Thanks. This conference aims to provide a common platform for all researchers, clinicians, students, conservationists and industries working on different aspects of natural toxins of animals, microbes and plant, snake bite management and related environmental issues to discuss their research findings. The conference consisted of plenary sessions, invited lectures, oral and poster presentations. http://www.tsicon2013.org/

 

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Waves 2013

BITS Pilani, K K Birla Goa Campus saw the inauguration of its annual cultural festival, Waves in the wee hours of the evening of 7th November 2013. The event saw a turnout of nearly 3000 students from across the country. It began with a rendition by the music club of the hosts. This was followed by an address by the Chief guest, Prof. Sanjeev K. Aggarwal who emphasized the importance of cultural festivals and advised the students to stay safe. This was followed by a short speech by the President of the Council of Student Affairs enlightening the crowd about the growth of the festival. Following this, the Convener, Waves 2013, declared the fest open. The fine arts club Kala, had an impromptu painting exhibition on stage followed by a moving performance of the Mime Club of the Institute. They drew light on the building values of any individual - hope, innovation and inspiration. The performance received a standing ovation from the audience. The inauguration closed with an international performance by French street performer MonsuierGusteau. He displayed his juggling skills and left the crowd in guffaws by the end of his act.

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National Network Security Championship - 2014

For the details visit http://www.nnscindia.com/
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INDO- UK INTERNATIONAL WORKSHOP

INDO-UK INTERNATIONAL WORKSHOP ON ADVANCED MATERIALS AND THEIR APPLICATIONS IN NANOTECHNOLOGY during May 17 - 19th 2014.
 
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Workshop on Employability Skills by the Department of Humanities and Management

Workshop on Employability Skills

30 teachers and placement officers from various engineering institutions across India actively participated in the 3 day workshop on Innovative Pedagogies for Enhancing the Employability Skills of Students organized by the Department of Humanities and Management of BITS Pilani, K K Birla Goa Campus . The participants enjoyed and were benefitted by the sessions on Verbal and Nonverbal communication, Small Talk, Job Interviews, Effective Presentations and Group Discussions conducted by the faculty members of the department. Presided over by Prof.Sanjeev K.Aggarwal, the Director and inaugurated by Shri. AtulPai Kane, President, CII Goa Chapter the workshop also presented three sessions by noted executives and corporate trainers. Mr.BlaiseCostabirMD GMI ZarhakMouldersPvt Ltd., and Mr.SiddeshKhurade of Persistent Systems Ltd., delivered interactive sessions on the topics, Personality & Career Success and Employers’ Expectations from Fresh Graduates respectively. Mr.AmeyHegde, eminent corporate trainer conducted a dynamic and an interesting session on Motivation for the participants. As the training of students in employability skills plays a crucial role in their job search and placement, participants considered the workshop very topical and useful. Various activities which teachers can use in their classrooms were discussed and demonstrated at the sessions. Mock Presentations and Mock Group Discussions delivered by the students of BITS Pilani, Goa were appreciated very much.

Participants were from Engineering Colleges in Goa, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh , Rajasthan, and Uttar Pradesh.
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Conference on Biology of Natural Toxins from 19 - 21 December 2013

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Waves 2013, “Hit the Rewind”

From its humble origin in 2007, Waves has come a long way, evolving into one of the largest cultural festivals of the country. With scintillating performances by the country’s best artists every year, Waves 2012 went international.And now, after scaling unmapped heights and astounding many a great minds, Waves 2013 is ready to surpass its predecessors and give the country a festival to remember.
 
This year, Waves takes you on a journey, a journey from where it all began to everything it has become today. Waves 2013, “Hit the Rewind”, is a celebration of the best of art, music, literature and films the world has ever seen. Join us as we go back and walk through the defining points of cultural history, be it the iconic moonwalk,The Beatles (who redefined rock music in the 1960s),six people in a coffee house, a whirlwind blood saga of the American Mafia (what we know as The Godfather), Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet,Jimi Hendrix and Marilyn Monroe. Waves 2013 has a story to tell, a story of greatness, a story of how over the century legends revolutionized art and how we see it. So, press the rewind button, sit back and let this tale drown you in a sea of nostalgia and reminiscence.
 
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A workshop on Higgs boson and top quark physics

BITS Pilani, K K Birla Goa Campus organized a 3 day workshop from 25th – 27th February, 2013 on Higgs boson and top quark physics: HIGGSTOP-2013.
 
With 39 participants(6 Postdoctoral fellows and  19 PhD scholars) from 5 countries and eminent speakers from USA, Taiwan and from different parts of India, BITS Pilani in collaboration with RECAPP (Regional Center for Accelerator based Particle Physics), Harish-Chandra Research Institute(HRI, a autonomous DAE Institute), Allahabad and Department of Science & Technology(DST), Government of India jointly  organize the workshop, HiggStop-2013. Inaugurated by Prof. BiswarupMukhopadhyaya, RECAPP, HRI (Allahabad), Prof. K.E.Raman welcomed the participants.

Although officially the workshop started on 25th February, the tune of the workshop was set by Prof. SreerupRaychaudhuri (TIFR, Mumbai) through his public lecture on 22nd  February. The lecture was primarily intended to our undergraduate students: The evolution of science: starting from the age of stone he guided our students to the era of periodic table of elements and finally to the Higgs boson discovery at the Large Hadron Collider at CERN, Switzerland  in July, 2012

There were 5 keynote speakers, experts in their respective area. Prof. Bruce Mellado (LHC,CERN and University of Wisconsin, Madison, USA) gave a Skype talk on the recent LHC results: Experimental viewpoint. Prof. T. C. Yuan from Academia Sinica, Taiwan told us about how to distinguish various models of the 125-126 GeV Higgs boson.
Prof. AnirbanKundu from University of Calcutta discussed about the recent developments in B physics in the post Higgs discovery period. Prof. Rahul Sinha throws light on how to identify the spin and parity of the newly found scalar boson.  Prof. ManasMaity (Visva-Bharati University, Santiniketan, CMS group, LHC) discussed at a length about how to search charged Higgs boson.
 
 In addition we have 9 talks from invited speakers. Dr. Prakash Mathews from Saha Institute of Nuclear Physics, Kolkata talked about Spin identification of resonances at the LHC to NLO QCD. Dr. AnindyaDatta from University of Calcutta discussed about the Vacuum Stability constraints on Universal Extra Dimensional Models in the light of Higgs: Discovery and its impact on LHC search. Prof. Sourov Roy from IACS, Kolkata discussed about SUSY Inverse Seesaw and its signatures at LHC. Prof. V. Ravindran from IMSc, Chennai discussed on the QCD effects in Higgs production. Dr. SudhirVempati from CHEP, IISc, Bangalore discusse several SUSY models in the light of LHC data. Dr. Srihari talked on vector-like fermion at the LHC, Dr. ParthaKonar discussed on the mass and spin determination at the LHC, Dr. Santosh K. Rai discussed coloured exotic quark searches at the LHC and Dr. Narendra K. Sahu discussed on the consequences of 125 GeV Higgs for Asymmetric Dark Matter and Leptogenesis.  Besides these talks we have several brain storming discussion sessions, the purpose of which was  to initiate new direction of research, new project work.

Coordinated by Drs. Prasanta Kumar Das(Convener), V. Sunil Kumar, P. Nandakumar, Chandradew Sharma, Madhu K, Tarun Kr.  Jha, Ram S. Patel, E. S. Kannan and their teams made the program a success.
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Workshop on Negotiations and Negotiating

Do we always get what we want?

Workshop  on Negotiations and Negotiating

“We negotiate everyday at home and at office though we may not sit at a table for the process of negotiating”saidMr. Peter Francis Xavier D’Lima, the former director, President and CEO of the Goa Institute of Management who inaugurated the workshop on “Negotiations and Negotiating” organized by the Department of Humanities and Management at the Goa campus of BITS Pilani on 8th March 2013. Conducted by D J Sarkar, Project PSCM Manager atBP, UK, the workshop aims to impart skills in commercial negotiations. The workshop is structured to offer insights to those who are new to negotiating in a business environment. Apart from the interactive exercises and role-playing, the facilitator uses live examples from his experience to demonstrate the subtle nuances of negotiating. While Day 1 is meant for business managers, Day 2 is for students.

Coordinated by Dr.BasavadattaMitra of the Department of Humanities and Management, the workshop witnessed the participation of about 25 managers from 11 organizations in Goa:Sanofi Pharmaceuticals, Smart Link Network Systems, GMI ZarhakMoulders, VergoPharma Research Lab, Wockhardt, Nestle, Pentair, Berger Becker Coatings, M/s. Parle (Exports) Pvt. Ltd, V.M.Salgaocar&Bro.Pvt.Ltd., and House of Rajaram N.S Bandekar. On 9th March, 46 students from BITS Pilani Goa campus, Goa University and GITIC ( Goa IT Innovation Centre at Goa Chamber of Commerce and Industries) participated in various activities based on negotiation case studies and enjoyed learning the process of negotiation.

Before introducing the theme of the workshop, Prof. Meenakshi Raman HoD, Humanities and Management presented a brief overview of the department. She emphasized that negotiation is an integral part of all businesses and it enables the businesses to thrive and grow continuously. Prof. Sutapa Roy Ramanan, Assistant Dean of the Practice School Division of BITS Pilani, K KBirla Goa Campus, elaborated on the Practice School Scheme that aims at enabling students to put the classroom concepts into industrial applications.

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International Workshop on Data Analytics & Applications 2013 (IWDAA 2013)

International Workshop on Data Analytics & Applications 2013 (IWDAA 2013) was successfully held at BITS-Pilani, KK Birla Goa Campus from 26th February to 1st March, 2013. Jointly organized by Departments of Computer Science and Information Systems of Pilani and KK Birla Goa campuses, IWDAA attracted more than 50 external participants and 41 BITS students and faculty. The participants learnt about many ongoing trends and researches in field of data mining from a total of 13 speakers which included 6 academicians, 3 scientists, 2 entrepreneurs and 2 representatives from industry. Few participants from Pilani and Hyderabad campuses also attended the workshop via the Telepresence facility.
 
IWDAA'13 was inaugurated by Prof. B.N. Jain, Vice-chancellor, BITS-Pilani along with Prof. G. Raghurama, Director, Pilani campus and Prof. K.E. Raman, Director, KK Birla Goa Campus through Telepresence facility. While first day was dedicated to ongoing and future trends in data analytics, the second day was devoted to diverse applications of data analytics. Following day saw speakers talking about challenges and innovative solutions for efficient web mining and information retrieval. Last day focus was on High Performance Computing and its ever increasing role in solving Big Data related problems.
 
This 4 day long workshop not only enhanced participants' knowledge in concerned fields but also gave them ample opportunity to interact with experts. At the end of workshop, everybody agreed that the future will see unprecedented growth of data, and there is an urgent need to devise innovative solutions to manage and make best use of the new 'oil'.
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Emerging Technologies in Micro to Nano (ETMN – 2013)

http://emtm2n.bits-pilani.ac.in

With 235 participants from 14 countries and eminent speakers from Japan, USA, Germany, UK and Sweden, BITS Pilani in collaboration with CEERI(CentralElectronics Engineering Research Institute-CSIR)Pilani hosted the International Conference on Emerging Technologies: Micro to Nano (ETMN-2013) at its Goa campus from 23rd – 24th February 2013. Inaugurated by Dr. Chandra Shekhar, Director, CEERI, The ETMN-2013 is designed to showcase cutting edge research and accomplishments, and to enrich the educational experience in these frontal and emerging fields in Science and Engineering. Prof.K E Raman, Director of the campus welcomed the guests and participants.

Dr.SumioIijima, a Japanese Physicist and a Professor at Meijouniversity, cited as the inventor of carbon nanotubes (CNT), spoke briefly about the CNT technology and its application in drug testing.Dr. M. Meyappan of NASA, USA spoke about Biochip system and its utility in Biosensor field while Dr. Paul Milner, Professor of Bionanotechnology at the University of Leeds, UK talked about Biosensor technology and Solar energy uses in water purification.Prof. Magnus Willander, Linköping University, Sweden talked about how to measure chemicals in small volumes and with high sensitivity and selectivity is of practical interest using different nanostructures like dots, nanowires, nanotubes, nanofibers, nanoflakes, nanosheets. Dr. AndeasManz, KIST (Korea Institute of Science and Technolgy) Germanydelivered his keynote address Lab-on-chip and related technology for infectious disease applications.

Twelve invited speakers from IITs, IISc, BARC delivered invited lectures while eighteen companies in the field of nanotechnology and MEMS exhibited their products. 46 research papers and 105 student posters were presented in the conference. Coordinated by Dr. P.M. Singru, Prof. Sunil Bhand, Dr. N.N. Ghosh and Prof. N.N. Sharma from BITSPilani and Dr. JamilAkhtar from CEERI Pilaniand their  teams made the programturne out to be a great success.

In near future, Nanotechnology, and Micro-electro-mechanical Systems (MEMS) will be dominating new frontiers of technology to maintain and improve human life. These technologies are advancing at a rapid pace and require new engineering techniques, new materials, newer or altogether different concepts of design and controls. These emerging technologies, indispensable for developing adaptable man-machine interface, equipment and artificial organs for life support, are going to be another technical revolution in all pervading science and engineering fields.

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BITSConnect 2.0 a Multi-Campus Education Model launched

 

 

BITS Pilani launches new model for Multi-Campus Education with BITSConnect 2.0

Birla Institute of Technology and Science (BITS), Pilani, India’s premier independent University, along with BITSAA, its global alumni association, today launched a first of its kind multi-million dollar cross-campus technology initiative named BITSConnect 2.0. Pioneering a unique model of multi-campus education in India, the initiative comprises Immersive Telepresence, High-definition Video Conferencing and Live Streaming technologies, that are set to transform the learning experience by connecting all campuses at an unprecedented scale. This University-Alumni initiative was launched simultaneously at Pilani, Goa and Hyderabad campuses, while being connected to Cisco’s offices in San Jose and Boston, jointly by Prof. BijendraNath Jain, Vice Chancellor, BITS Pilani and Raju Reddy, Chairman, BITSAA, in the presence of His Excellency the Governor of Goa, Shri Bharat VirWanchoo and Shri J Satyanarayana, Secretary, Department of IT, Government of India.

BITS Pilani aspires to be among the top research-driven institutions in Asia by 2020. On course to realize its vision, BITS Pilani became one of the first Indian universities to set up IP Telephony, Gigabit Ethernet and Wireless accessibility on campus with BITSConnect 1.0 in 2003. With this latest initiative, the University takes a giant leap forward in using technology for education. By bridging the geographical distance across campuses and global knowledge centers, this platform will facilitate collaboration among its faculty, students, industry partners and alumni, for education, research and mentorship.


Additional information on the BITSConnect 2.0 project can be found athttp://bitsconnect20.bitsaa.org or via e-mail at rahul@pilani.bits-pilani.ac.in
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Dr. N. N. Ghosh receives a prestigious research grant

Dr. N. N. Ghosh receives a prestigious research grant under the DST UKIERI Thematic Partnership Scheme

The UK India Education and Research Initiative (UKIERI) has approved a research project under DST UKIERI Thematic Partnerships scheme to the Department of Chemistry BITS Pilani, KK Birla Goa campus (Indian Lead Institute) and University of Leeds (UK Lead Institute). Dr. NarendraNathGhosh is Indian Project Leader and Prof Paul A Milner is UK Project leader. Other partners are Dr. Sunil Bhand (BITS Pilani, KK Birla Goa campus) and Prof C Mitra (University of Hyderabad). The main area of the project is “Advanced Materials including Nanotechnology” and title of the project is “Development and characterization of nanomaterials for biosensors and biocatalysts”.

For detailed information www.ukieri.org
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Reflections 2012

Reflections 2012, a celebration to review Mission 2012 as well as redefine Mission 2015 as a part of Vision 2020 programme was organized at the K K Birla Goa Campus on 21st November 2012.With the presence and participation of Dr. Kumar Mangalam Birla, Prof. B.N. Jain, Prof. L. K. Maheshwari, Prof. M. Ramachandran, Mr. Kris Ramachandran, Directors of four campuses, Project Managers, Task Force leaders and members from all campuses, Reflections 2012 witnessed the Task Forces presenting their accomplishments and the tasks yet to be achieved. Members of the staff, both teaching and non-teaching of the K K Birla Goa campus were also present at the event. The event was telecast live to the other three campuses.


The Vision 2020 program aims at identifying and implementing measures that would establish BITS Pilani as one of India’s top three research led universities by 2015 and to be counted among the leading 25 technical universities in Asia by 2020. The need to take BITS global was first recognised in 2006 by the top level administration of BITS Pilani University, and through an intense collaborative process, involving faculty, students, and (non-teaching) staff from all four campuses, a shape was given to a set of clearly articulated goals around seven key domains: faculty development, curriculum development and pedagogy, research, infrastructure and facilities, work integrated learning programs, governance and administration, and quality of life. This later became BITS’s strategic plan and Mission 2012 and Vision 2020 were born. Reflections 2012 primarily focused on discussions pertaining to the achievements and shortcomings of the programs listed in accordance with the objectives of the Mission 2012 document.

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General V K Singh Visits BITS Pilani, K K Birla Goa campus

Retired Army Chief, General V. K. Singh interacted with the Faculty and Staff of  BITSPilani, K K Birla Goa campus on 17th October 2012. General V. K. Singh, PVSM, AVSM, YSM, ADC is a third generation officer of the Rajput Regiment. He is an alumnus of the Birla Public School, Pilani, Rajasthan and the prestigious National Defence Academy. General Singh has been in action in the liberation War of Bangladesh in 1971. He has vast operational experience in Counter Insurgency Operations, LC, LAC and HAA environment. He has been an instructor at Inf. School, Mhow and Chief Instructor at JLW (Commando Wing) at Belgaum. He has also served as an Instructor at HQ IMTRAT.

Praising the education offered by BITS, General Singh was happy to see the three campuses of BITS Pilaniexcelling. According to him, India has more than 500 universities, and risks have to be taken and not be content by maintain a status quo,“Aim for the moon, so that at least you can hit the ceiling” he said.

Talking about the scientific community, General Singh said that a “Silent revolution within the scientific community needsto take place in order to take the country forward.Innovation should be harnessed within the country to change things. The faculty should encourage innovation, research and thus channelize the student’s aptitude to get the most out of them” he said. General Singh praised the great level of transparency in the BITS education system. According to him it will lead to tremendous amount of confidence build-up amongst the students and inculcate faith in the faculty.

General V K Singh opined that technologies such as robotics, artificial intelligence, electronics and communications can be used in the army. Shifting his focus to leadership, General Singh said that it is the duty of the Educational Institutes to train people to lead and motivate others. He suggested that we motivate people to become leaders not managers, as leaders need to keep working hard to maintain the standards and do the right things the right way. He concluded by mentioning that he would like to see BITSis excel to greater heights and be betterthan institutes as renowned as Harvard.

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SPICMACAY Goa State Convention

“On meeting young people, my mind and heart leap with anticipation and the hope of a greater future”,- His Excellency, Bharat Vir Wanchoo.

BITS Pilani K.K. Birla Goa Campus was host to the Goa State Convention 2012 organized by SPIC MACAY (The Society for the Promotion of Indian Classical Music And Culture Amongst Youth). His Excellency Bharat Vir Wanchoo, the Governor of Goa; Padmashree Dr. Kiran Seth, founder of SPIC MACAY; Shree Mata Kunda Mahurkar, Regional Head of SPIC MACAY and Dr. K.E. Raman, Director of BITS Pilani K.K. Birla Goa Campus, graced the occasion. The evening was witness to performances by musical maestros Pandit Vishwa Mohan Bhatt, Pandit Ramkumar Mishra and Pandit Jayateerth Mevundi.

Padmashree Dr. Kiran Seth addressed the audience, stressing on the importance of promoting and safeguarding Indian cultural heritage. “Neglecting what our ancestors have bequeathed to us after years of experience would not be signs of a wise man”, he said. Classical artists have been sidelined in today’s competition driven world and have been reduced to a marketable commodity. “In India, the Cultural Budget is worth a mere 0.17% of the total budget. Cultural growth is lacking severely. Human sensitivity, the ability to understand the abstract, the mystical is fast vanishing”, said the IIT Delhi professor. He urged one and all to support SPICMACAY in its effort to retouch the lives of children across 16 lakh institutions by 2020.

His Excellency Bharat Vir Wanchoo, the Governor of Goa spoke about harnessing the untapped potential of the vibrant student community, thus striving towards greater national growth. “On meeting young people, my mind and heart leap with anticipation and the hope of a greater future”, he said. India’s repertoire of art and culture form the core and kernel of its existence. “From Kashmir to Kanyakumari, an unseen and eternal cultural current flows which integrates us emotionally and keeps us rooted to our motherland”, he said.

The cultural extravaganza commenced with Padmashree Pandit Vishwa Mohan Bhatt’s performance on his self-created instrument – the Mohan Veena. A disciple of Pandit Ravi Shankar and recipient of the Grammy Award (1994), Pandit Bhatt has performed in 55 countries and is well known for his pristine, delicate music. Pandit Ramkumar Mishra of the Banaras Gharana accompanied him on the tabla. The duo’s interactive performance was much appreciated by the audience. The evening concluded with Pandit Jayateerth Mevundi of the Kirana Gharana’s performance on Hindustani Vocals.


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Grand Ceremony of Convocation 2012

“Graduate as citizens of Planet Earth”: Dr RK Pachauri

Speaking at the Convocation Ceremony of BITS Pilani, K K Birla Goa Campus on 5th August 2012,  Chief Guest Dr. R.K Pachauri, Nobel Laureate, Director General of The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) and Chairman of Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), stressed the impact of climate change on human life, citing statistics and anecdotes. He commenced his address by speaking about his interactions with a BITS Pilani undergraduate undergoing Practice School Training. “The young man’s enthusiasm and efficiency inspired me to entrust young and bright people with greater responsibilities in my future endeavours”, he said.

Dr. Pachauri, holds doctorate in Industrial Engineering and Economics. He has held faculty and / or research positions with North Carolina State University, West Virginia University, Yale University and The World Bank Washington DC, amongst others. He urged students to move towards a pattern of sustainable development, sensitive to the needs of this generation as well as those to come. “As you graduate from this institution I hope you would also remember to graduate as successful citizens of planet earth”, was his parting message to the outgoing students.

The Vice Chancellor of BITS-Pilani University, Professor Bijendra Nath Jain spoke on behalf of the Chancellor (eminent industrialist Kumar Mangalam Birla). Paying tribute to G.D Birla (founder, BITS Pilani), he highlighted the rich tradition, heritage and culture that BITS-Pilani had developed over the years. He also brought to light the unique features of the BITS education system and spoke of the University’s major renewal project- ‘Vision 2020, Mission 2012’. Prof. K.E Raman, Director of the Goa campus, speaking of the inception of BITS Pilani K K Birla Goa campus said, “When Dr. K. K Birla decided to build campuses outside Pilani, Goa was his first choice”. He highlighted the prestigious research grants fellowship received by the faculty members in different domains of Science and Engineering and the multifarious achievements of the students of BITS Pilani, K K Birla Goa campus.

The graduating students were then awarded with their rolls of honour by the Vice Chancellor. The  2007 and 2008 admission batches received their degrees.Prachetaa R was awarded the Gold Medal, while Kedar Soparkar and Murtuza Kutub received the Silver and Bronze Medals respectively.

The grand ceremony held in the BITS auditorium filled with the graduating students, their proud parents, faculty and staff concluded with Prof. Suresh Ramaswamy, Dean of Administration at BITS Pilani, K.K Birla Goa Campus, delivering the Vote of Thanks.

 
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‘An Evening with Lord Meghnad Desai’ held on 03 April 2012: A Report

K K Birla Goa Campus was honored to have had an interactive session with the world renowned economist, author and British Labour Life Peer- Lord Meghnad Desai on 3rd April 2012. Present on the occasion were Vice Chancellor Prof. B N Jain, Director Prof. K E Raman, Advisor to the Chancellor Mr. Kris Ramachandran, faculty members, staff and students. Lord Meghnad Desai gave a brief address to the staff and students at the auditorium which was followed by an interactive session. 

Mentioning that today’s youth are fortunate to be living in times with great opportunities and a unique, bright future ahead, Lord Desai said . “India has never been so united as today, never as rich, never so educated. Education is equipping today’s youth to control their destiny”, said Lord Desai.   Youth of the country will realize the hitherto unexploited potential of capitalism, he said.

Stressing the need for shifting the government’s focus to health and education, Lord Desai pointed out that in today’s world, the quality of human life in terms of health and literacy is the gauge for measuring the progress of a developing country like India, rather than conventional benchmarks of industrial growth. "The value for human life is the mark of a civilized society which I believe India is yet to display " Lord Desai added.

Answering questions floated by students, Lord Desai expressed his views on a range of topics. He elucidated the inherent correlation of poverty with the caste system, the only way out being, eradication of the caste system. In his words, “Lower castes should get a foot in the doorway”. Mobility, he believed, is a possible solution to poverty. “A fulfilled literacy revolution along with improved health facilities would give the poor their passport to an improved life”, Lord Desai said. As for governance, Lord Desai favored the coalition model over the two-party model. In his view, “India is yet to learn efficient means of running a coalition government”. He preferred capitalism over socialism, attributing the romanticism for socialism to false assumptions.

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