Category: Sidebar News

QUICK BITE – India of my dreams, a winning entry essay on ‘My Ideal India’ by Christopher D’Souza, organized by the Life Skills Committee in association with the Literary Committee In light of Gandhi Jayanti

Leo Tolstoy once said, Everyone thinks of changing the world, but nobody thinks about changing himself. He stands true to his word, because if you take a look at today’s people, politics, education and finance, you’ll really be lost in thought about how messed up the world has come to be. Not just the world, if we take a look at our own country we will be really taken aback. If we picture our country as a plant, we will come to the realization that it does need a great deal of healing and nurturing. Its roots are damaged, its leaves are withered and its branches are almost broken into a thousand pieces. India, for long, has been termed as a Developing country, and heaven knows for how long it will continue to be called so. So, what exactly is keeping India back and what can we, as human beings and citizens of the country, do to save our Motherland? Let us take a closer look at some of the changes we can bring about, as a family, to our country.

Education

India is a country with a lot of people and a vast diversity. But a vast diversity also means a vast variety of problems among people. The first one of them, in my opinion, would be to improve the educational infrastructure of every state. In my past elementary school, I can distinctly remember how the computer lab had 13 computers, out of which only 3 worked. My classmates would always have to be selected 3 at a time, just to practice for the Computer Education lectures. It took around 3 weeks for the entire class of 36 to finally finish one chapter practically. Another really bad example of its infrastructure would be the teaching methods used. Most teachers would just ramble on, force feed the students with notes and in the end, make them throw it all up on the tests. That’s not education; that’s bulimia.

There are many other examples of how the school lacked in supplying adequate drinking water facilities, toilet sanitation and much more. Looking back, most of what I can remember is how the infrastructure lacked on so many levels and could do better. Dyllan McGee rightly stated, I believe in change. I believe in the power it has to unite us and ignite us and I agree with him. I do feel that a change in India’s education system can be brought about, but it will only be possible if we each take initiatives by ourselves and deal with it together. The education system of India, for India to take its first leap towards development, should be greatly improved in every state, town and locality. That’s how an ideal education would constitute to an ideal India, according to me.

The Department of Commerce organized a webinar on 02-02-2021, for students in the department on the topic “Awareness on Banking Ombudsman Scheme”. The session was handled by Mr. Sreenath L., Assistant Manager, Office of the Banking Ombudsman, Thiruvanthapuram. Topics covered : 1) Banking Ombudsman. 2) List of complaints one can lodge with the Banking Ombudsman. 3) Situations in which the complaint can be rejected by the Banking Ombudsman. 4) The procedure for filing a complaint with Banking Ombudsman.

Don Bosco College of Engineering, Fatorda- Goa is one of the institutes to be selected for establishing MHRD – Institute Innovation Council (IIC). Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD), Govt. of India has established MHRD’s Innovation Cell (MIC) (https://www.mic.gov.in/) to systematically foster the culture of Innovation amongst all Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) pan India. The primary mandate of MIC is to encourage, inspire and nurture young students by supporting them to work with new ideas while they are in formative years

As part of the above, an Internal Idea/PoC competition was held on February 8, 2021 in online mode to invite ideas from young minds. This event helped validate a product/ business idea for potential.

Two eminent jury members – Mr. Venugopal T R, Corporate Relations Manager at Forum for Innovation Incubation Research & Entrepreneurship and Prof Flavia Leitao, Assistant Professor ETC Department, Don Bosco College of Engineering, were invited to judge the event.

Prof Swapnil Ramani, host and Co-ordinator of the event welcomed the judges and introduced the teams. A total of 100 plus students joined the meet and the participating teams presented fabulous ideas that addressed various socio-economic issues faced by the society. Students from first year engineering demonstrated highly professional presentation skills with great innovative solutions to problems that left the judges impressed.

The finalists of the competition were Team Hexacore and Solutionism at its finest, followed by team Fabulous Five and SATRN Squad. In conclusion, the event was a great success leaving all students very motivated and giving them a reason to explore the world of Innovation and Entrepreneurship.

IEEE Student Branch of Don Bosco College of Engineering, Goa organized a Workshop on Circuit Design & Simulation for second year students of ETC Department. To bridge the gap between industry & academia, Prof. Yeshudas Muttu conducted a hands on workshop using the trending software in companies like Proteus & TinkerCad Circuits. The main objective of this course was to design & simulate the circuits and understand its working in detail that keeps students engaged with Practical applications.

The workshop commenced with a brief introduction on TinkerCad circuits, followed by a brief session on initialization of the online platform, to simulate simple circuits like ohms law setup, series parallel connections, use of breadboard, power supply, oscilloscope and building rectifiers circuits. Later, Prof. Yeshudas Muttu explained Proteus software & its use in industry. This was followed by simulation of simple circuits like rectifiers, filters, amplifiers, oscillators, Multivibrators and RC circuits.

To get well trained with the software, after each and every session, small exercises were given to the students. This hands on workshop was conducted on October 22 & 27, 2020, November 3,10 & 24 , 2020, December 15,2020 from 2:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m. and January 7, 2021 from10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. Right from installation of Proteus software till simulation of various circuits was well planned & executed. Through this event, students were able to submit their mid-year document for Electronic Devices & Circuits Lab during the pandemic.

The Women’s Cell of Don Bosco College, Panjim, organised an online session on ‘Reproductive health concerns in young women’ for the female staff and students of the college on 31st December 2020 from 6pm to 7:30pm. Dr. Tanya Chodankar who works for the Voluntary Health Association of Goa [VHAG

Assistant Professor Anaita D’costa, convener of the session, introduced the guest speaker. Several important topics like Menstrual cycles in women, Ovulation and pain associated with ovulation, PMS (Pre Menstrual Syndrome), Painful periods, Menorrhagia (Heavy bleeding and its causes), Cultural taboos associated with menstruation, Menstrual Hygiene, Sexually transmitted infections (STI’s), Medical Termination of pregnancy (MTP), Menstrual abnormalities, Causes of Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome [PCOS], and cervical cancer were covered in great depth during this session.

The session concluded with Dr. Tanya providing the participants with essential takeaways pertaining to sexual health practices and the laws and schemes to promote reproductive health care so that girls and women know how to deal with these issues if they crop up.

Salma Fernandes of FYBAMC and Priya Prabhu of MSW were among the students who raised questions about several related health issues – all of which handled with in-depth responses.

At a time when health and hygiene are of paramount importance to everyone, this session helped young people and those who attended obtain a clearer idea of how they can maintain and promote their health.

MoU will foster and promote an entrepreneurial ecosystem by assisting start-ups during their incubation. The students of Don Bosco College will also benefit through workshops and events that will be conducted under the banner of FiiRE and will give them a platform to showcase their skills and ideas.

To promote business studies and entrepreneurship among young people, Don Bosco College, Panjim and FiiRE (Forum for Innovation Incubation Research & Entrepreneurship) signed a Memorandum of Understanding on 22nd December 2020. The MoU outlined the short-term goal of establishing an extension centre at Don Bosco College, Panjim, to fuel innovation and serve as a hub for start-ups in North Goa to mediate discussions with Mentors, Partners and Investors.

FiiRE is an incubation centre established with the support of the Department of Science & Technology, Government of India under the National Initiative for Developing and Harnessing Innovations housed at Don Bosco College of Engineering, Fatorda. It supports technology start-ups journeying to build sustainable businesses that solve problems, have a global impact, provide value to customers and livelihood opportunities to employees.

The role of Don Bosco College is significant in growing the start-up ecosystem in Goa and works at making students job creators. This incubation centre provides qualifying start-ups with facilities like physical space, shared services, business and legal advice, and financial inputs to facilitate their creation and assist them until they have the capacity to survive in the outside environment.

QUICK BITE – The speech is the winning entry for the speech writing competition that was organised by the Literary Committee to mark the occasion of Liberation Day.

Greetings to one and all, on this solemn occasion of our Liberation, I extend a hearty wish to all my statesmen.

This day is special, because on this day, 59 years ago, Goa broke free from the shackles of the Portuguese rule and on 30th May, 1987, it became an independent state in our Motherland. 19th December marks the day, that with the prolonged struggles of our freedom fighters, the final vestige of colonial rule came to an end. Every Goan heart today is filled with reverence and inspiration because of the glorious, however bloodshed tribute of our jawans.

Goa is known for its beauty, it’s sceneries, and its tourism. That’s why the state, though the smallest in the country, is the most loved and most beautiful tourist attraction. But it only came to be this wonderful Haven today, because of the sacrifices made by our soldiers 59 years ago. You may have heard it said, “Only the dead have seen the end of war;” yes they did, and its because they saw the darkest nights in the deadliest fights, that we get to see each brighter day.

There’s a lot more, Goa is very well literate too; with the state literacy rate being 88.7, Goa will set up the Indian Institute of Science, Education and Research, as well as the Indian Institute of Management by 2035. This will make it a leading hub in education, all over the country.

So, what is freedom in Goan context? In simple words, what is freedom according to us, Goans? We believe that freedom is a right entitled to everyone, and is accompanied by hope and enthusiasm. Before 1961, with the Portuguese ruling in the state, people couldn’t be free and live for themselves. Things began to change when our freedom fighters began to take a stand, one day at a time, against all of them, until finally their dream of liberating Goa became a reality. That persistence flows in every Goan’s blood to this very day. We don’t let ourselves and others be dictated by higher parties that wish to do as they please, without regard to our voices.

In 2019, we celebrated the 151st birthday of Mahatma Gandhi – the fatherly masterpiece of our nation. To commemorate it, a lot of events were held across the state. From dances to plays to entire concerts. The Indian tricolor also unfurled at the highest mast on that special day. And yes, just as Mahatma Gandhi preached love and peace, elements of him can be seen in many Goans today. Just as he used non violence to fight one of the biggest battles of the country, we learnt that the harshest wars can be won without a single weapon, and the toughest freedoms can be achieved without an ounce of hatred.

Goa grows and glows day by day. However, we will always and forever remember the soldiers and true warriors who laid down their lives nearly six decades ago, so that we can live in this state today. As we study about them, we learn about courage and strength, confidence and trust, and power and love. The biggest and most important lesson that they taught us is that if you truly love something, you can go to any extent to achieve it, and one day you will. That proved the infinite amount of love that had for Goa. May our state continue to grow and develop stronger and healthier for the generations to come. Jai Hind, Jai Goa!

It was on 19 December, 1961, 59 years ago our state Goa, was free from the oppressive Portuguese rule of 450 years. Our freedom fighters were successful in their fight for freedom and Goa was finally liberated. Our patriots fought long and hard to achieve this freedom But what is this freedom that we have earned? Is freedom having a free will? Is it the absence of necessity, coercion, or constraint in choice or action? Or is it the ability to act or change without curtailment?

But the more important question is, are we free? Are we Goans really free?

As far as colonization goes, we are free. The shackles of Portuguese colonialism stand shattered. But we aren’t completely free either. Suppression of our own identity has led to a colonist mindset and the development of an inferiority complex. The rampant aping of the west by us, is responsible for eroding our culture and values. Our inferiority complex makes us ditch our own traditions and culture in favor of theirs. Goans are increasingly becoming untethered to their roots and flocking to a western lifestyle. We are suppressing our own identity to appear edgy and cool. If this goes on at this rate, we will slowly lose our identity.

Goa is a small state with a small population therefore, any influx of migrant population can change the demographics of the state which can lead to the erosion of the identity of us goans. The values our people have had for centuries gets diminished everyday slowly. Goa is beginning to look like Las Vegas. Events like sunburn have become more famous than our feasts and festivals. Deleting our own culture as we begin to assimilate that of others’. It’s not wrong to get new ideas and explore other cultures. But our basic identity and the pride that we should have as goans shouldn’t get lost in the process.

We must also realize, our Konkani language, that our patriots have fought for, is losing popularity. Our forefathers had given their all to keep the language relevant. We mustn’t let their efforts go in vain. A lot of Goans are becoming increasingly ashamed of Konkani. We just are not that proud of our own language unlike the citizens of other states. If we only had as much pride as our patriots, we would have more love and respect for our state, our language, our culture and our people.

We aren’t free from needless regulations either. Politicians and lawmakers, completely ignore environmental activists and pass bogus laws to destroy Goa in the name of development. Our pristine beauty is getting destroyed. Unnecessary development projects are killing our ecosystem and our precious mangroves. Destroying what little we have, especially when the earth is reeling under climate change is just going to harm us in the long run.

So, if we introspect and look at what our state has really become, since we were granted this freedom from the Portuguese, the questions that glaringly comes into one’s consciousness are, today 59 years later, do we still possess this Goan identity that our forefathers fought to give us? Have we really moved away from that colonial mindset?

QUICK BITE – The Heritage Club of Don Bosco College was happy to associate in an engaging webinar conducted by the WWF- India Volunteers based on the mangrove ecosystem. The webinar was organized by WWF India and Godrej Boyce Mfg. Ltd. & Co. in association with Don Bosco College, Panjim on 18th December 2020. It

The Heritage Club of Don Bosco College was happy to associate in an engaging webinar conducted by the WWF- India Volunteers based on the mangrove ecosystem. The webinar was organized by WWF India and Godrej Boyce Mfg. Ltd. & Co. in association with Don Bosco College, Panjim on 18th December 2020. It was a session conducted over the span of 3 hours and was attended by all the members of the Heritage Club of Don Bosco College as well as other students.

Nikil Jacob and Shashank Bhosale played a very important part in the success of this webinar. Thanks goes to Nikil Jacob for aiding in the creation of this session and Shashank Bhosale who not only shared the importance of mangroves and its part played in the heritage of Goa but also made it relatable to the students.

It was a great opportunity to learn, understand and appreciate the magnificence of this rich fragile habitat allowing the students to better understand their own impact on the world around them. The webinar also gave the students an opportunity to be included in a National Initiative done across all states along the coastal belt region of India.

It was an interactive session with Q&A, live polls and fresh discussions. The students were excited to be a part of such an initiative and Don Bosco College will collaborate with the organisation to have many more sessions for their students. The Session was open to all age groups, with No registration fee.

This webinar is part of #MagicalMangroves, a nationwide campaign to raise awareness and conservation action for mangroves. It is a new collaboration started in Goa with Don Bosco College and will include other institutes in the course of time as well.