The academic year comes to an end with department-wise farewells to the outgoing batches and preparation for the end-semester exams. The campus venues were booked throughout the month for adieu gatherings and award distributions to the deserving candidates.
Well! Not a goodbye really, just a 'see you later.
Scroll down for a glimpse!
-Director, BGR Campus
" If you are brave enough to say goodbye, life will reward you with a new hello" - Paulo Coelho
1776 Syndrome, the flagship event organised by E-Contago, the Economics Association of the Department of Economics, was conducted for students of all disciplines. The theme for the event was ‘Murphy’s law: Anything that can go wrong will go wrong’ which was highlighted by each event. 1776 Syndrome comprised of 6 events namely, Terrain, Embargo, Meltdown, Jaws, Nudge and Jest. The fest began with an Inauguration ceremony and continued for two days. The fest was a huge success with participation from students across all years and several disciplines, each of whom showed great ability and talent.
The Valedictory ceremony held in the main auditorium of the campus featured Mr. Raunak Raj and Mr. Sampat Prajapati as the chief guests. The winners were awarded certificates and cash prizes for their brilliance and efforts.
The HCL Grant is a recognition of the rise of the Fifth Estate – Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) which started in 2015. It is a Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) commitment by HCL through the HCL foundation to strengthen and empower NGOs and recognise them for their pathbreaking work. A total of 5 Crores was granted to the NGOs during this symposium.
The HCL partnered with CHRIST (Deemed to be University) to mark the beginning of Research collaborations for socio-economic sustainable development projects. Dr Jyothi Kumar, Dean of CHRIST Bannerghatta campus who represented CHRIST University pointed out the similarities of values and beliefs between both the partnering institutions and how the Centre for Research of the University vastly collaborates with organisations to contribute to varied SDPs. The dignitaries and officials of HCL continued the symposium with their appreciation of CHRIST (Deemed to be University) for acquainting with them and acknowledging to conduct the HCL Grant symposium in their venue. There were sessions on HCL CSR law and new amendments, a workshop on Programme management for non-profits, a motivational talk on ‘Reimagining Social Work in the post-covid World’ and a panel discussion held on ‘Creating Impact Along with Compliances Under CSR’. The post-lunch session concluded with the HCL Grant process and experience sharing.
The CHRIST Bannerghatta campus Student Welfare Office and its volunteers were highly appreciated for coordinating the entire event.
The exhibition titled Namma Bengaluru (My Bangalore) was held on Wednesday, 4 May 2022, from 12:30–2:30 pm at the Quadrangle of the Bannerghatta Road Campus of the University. It was organised by students from different undergraduate programmes who had opted for the common core course “Reading Cityscapes: Bangalore Histories”. The course aims to familiarise students with historical and contemporary aspects of Bangalore. As part of their final assessment, the students were asked to put up an exhibition to demonstrate their learnings from the course.
The students decided to title the exhibition Namma Bengaluru, as each exhibit presented the student’s own understanding of what Bangalore meant to them personally. The students were divided into pairs, and each pair picked a sub-theme related to Bangalore and designed their exhibit accordingly. Some of the themes chosen by them included locality names, Bangalore as the garden city, Royal Challengers Bangalore, solitude in the city, memories of the city, etc. Based on these themes, games were organised by students, in which they engaged visiting students and faculty members. Some of the games were charades on popular hangout places of Bangalore, Jenga based on identifying the meanings of names of various localities, quizzes on the flowers of Bangalore, etc. The visitors were also encouraged to share their feedback about the various exhibits they saw. Some students also curated visitors’ experiences of the city. For instance, one pair of students asked visitors to share their best and worst experiences in the city, and another pair asked visitors to share about the people they miss the most when they think of their life in Bangalore.
On 14 May 2022, Econtago – The Economics Association organized its Valedictory Ceremony in the Main Auditorium. The ceremony marked the end of the plethora of events organised by the association for the academic year 2021-22. The chief guest for the day was Dr Sandipan Bakshi, the Director of the Foundation for Agrarian Studies. His address to the gathering was insightful and he stressed the importance of research on rural India. The ceremony also included a recap of the year’s events and the announcement of the newly appointed heads for the next year.
The Ellipsis Valedictory ceremony commenced with a welcome note from the MCs Aditi Mazumdar and Pihu Patidar of the day followed by a ritual prayer by the choir members Aman Raj Samantray, Nessa Jojy and Mehul to commemorate the event. Following this, the Director Father Biju K C and Dean Dr Jyothi Kumar of the CHRIST (Deemed To Be University) Bannerghatta Campus addressed the gathering, congratulating the faculty and students on completing a productive year through department and association activities. They appreciated the variety of events that came out of the department and commended the impressive efforts that were put into the same.
Following the address, certificates of appreciation were awarded to the MAECS and BA students for ‘Best outgoing student’ and ‘Best researcher’, along with special recognition certificates for overall performance, academic excellence and research work. Ellipsis members were awarded certificates for their sustained contribution to the association and the wings and clubs. Bibliotheca certificates for achievements in the library were presented to students and faculty members.
Consequently, the band ‘One Man Down’ performed three songs for the ceremony post which the heads of each wing and club of Ellipsis presented the progress report for the academic year 2021-2022. The new Ellipsis Coordinator, Dr Nivea Thomas K, added to this by talking about the highlights of the year and a new plan of action for the upcoming year. An increased social media presence and a new production house with newer events are the main focus areas for the upcoming year.
Next off, the band ‘Moodboard’ performed for the gathering and sang their original composition to the crowd. The Ellipsis Highlight video with a summary of all the events conducted was played. Sequentially, certificates of appreciation were awarded to the present Ellipsis heads for their commendable work, and the new Ellipsis heads were sworn in and presented with their badges.
Lastly, the HOD, Professor Renu Elizabeth Abraham, addressed the gathering, congratulating the association and bidding farewell to graduating students. A final after movie of the ceremony was played, followed by a vote of thanks by the Overall Heads of the academic year 2021-22, Aryan Gulati and Manasa Rao expressing their gratitude to everyone who contributed to the growth of Ellipsis to conclude the event.
A film screening of The Great Indian Kitchen was held on the 6th of May, 2020 by the fourth-semester students of the Culture and Food Project from the final year of English and Cultural Studies Masters students. The screening began at 13:30 to 15:30 hours at the Mini Auditorium, following which Upasana Bose moderated a half-hour-long panel discussion. The screening was organised to shine a light on the politics of food in our everyday lives beyond the classroom walls. The event was attended by students and professors from various courses across the university, with audience members enthusiastically receiving the film.
The panel consisted of speakers assistant professor Dr Arundhati, scholars Ms Navya Narayanan, Ms Sharon Serrao and Ms Satavisha Mallick. Over the course of the panel discussions, the speakers raised several pertinent questions on the role of food in our lives and the effects and consequences of food outside of the kitchen space. The panel successfully explored different spaces, functions and roles occupied by food and gave the audience much food for thought.
A lively question and answer session began after the panel session, where audience members actively participated, sharing their experiences with food and women’s role in making meals and how they witnessed instances from the film manifest in their surroundings. The activity wrapped up around 16:15 hours after closing remarks and felicitations.
The event was organised by the MBA senior batch of 2022 on 6 May 2022 to give a token of thanks and appreciation to the efforts of their teaching faculty. The event comprised of Thank you speeches by students, offering gifts and tokens of appreciation to the faculty and acknowledgement speeches.
The celebration of Gratitude Day was a medium of expression to extend the heartfelt gratitude of every student and the teaching staff to the non-teaching staff for their continuous efforts for ensuring a safe and clean campus.
The event kick-started with a band performance to engage the audience and marked the beginning of the event. After the performance, the Director of CHRIST Bannerghatta Road campus Dr.Fr. Biju addressed the gathering on behalf of the campus. He presented a token of gratitude to all the non-teaching staff members.
The audience was addressed in different regional languages by the student council committee to establish a better connection with the non-teaching staff to extend gratitude. Lastly, the event had a DJ setup for students to engage the audience and encourage them to dance.
The event was successful in establishing a bond with the non-teaching staff of CHRIST (Deemed to be University) Bannerghatta Road campus.
The CHRIST Student Welfare Office and its volunteers were highly appreciated for assisting and coordinating the entire event.
The Psychology Association of BGR and Kengeri Campuses is the student working body that organizes and conducts fests, events and workshops/webinars on behalf of the Department of Psychology.
Despite the challenges faced last year, the association was successful in conducting multiple events. One such vibrant and high-spirited event that was celebrated by everyone on campus was Pràv. Pràv- The mental health awareness week was conducted from 8-13 November 2021 in a hybrid mode. As a part of this weeklong event, various activities promoting mental health were set up in the Quadrangle during lunch hours. The theme for this year was Kintsugi, which represents the Japanese art of repairing broken pottery by mending the areas of breakage with lacquer dusted with powdered silver or gold. The event started with a power-packed flashmob by all the students in the department followed by the inaugural welcome speech by the honorable Dean, Mrs. Jyoti Kumar.
Fun games related to the field of psychology were carried out during this event as a part of the ‘Carnival’ (promotions). The core activities commenced from 10 November and include Blindfolded conversations, Catharsis, Postcards, Time capsule, Persona, Meditative Reading, Theater for Therapy, Wheel of Feeling and Storyed voices. Students from different departments were encouraged to engage in these activities. Additionally, prominent mental health advocates were invited to facilitate various webinars and workshops. These include ‘Mindfulness based techniques’, ‘Expressive Arts and Stress’, ‘Sex education and Sexuality’. A student panel discussion was also held to discuss ‘Mental Health Post Covid-19 Pandemic’ moderated by Dr. Vijayalaya Srinivas (HoD, Department of Psychology). Other student working cells under the Department of Psychology- Mentoring and Counseling Service (MACS), Service Learning Cell (SLC), and Centre for Academic and Professional Support (CAPS) also participated in the event. Pràv officially came to an end on 13 November 2021, with a valedictory ceremony in the mini auditorium. Director Fr. Biju K. C., members of the psychology association, students, and the teaching staff were present for the same. After almost two years, Pràv 2021 definitely did bring back the enthusiasm in students. Pràv 2021 was a great success and was able to impart valuable learning experiences.