Webinars and Seminars

 “Career Counselling Session held on 19th August 2023

An “Online Career Counselling Session” was organized on 19th August 2023 by Department of Botany, Botanical Society “Vrinda” in collaboration with the Placement cell “Cyfle”, Deshbandhu College. The convenors of the event were Prof. Surabhi Dhingra, Convenor, Placement Cell and Dr. Preeti Rawat, Advisor, Botanical Society “Vrinda”. The session commenced with the introduction of the event by Dr. Preeti Rawat, followed by welcome address by Prof. Surabhi Dhingra and Dr. Kumar Shantanu, Teacher-in-Charge, Department of Botany. The Principal, Prof. Kamal Kumar Gupta, graced the event with his presence and addressed the participants with his motivating and inspiring words. The event was attended by more than 100 participants which included faculty members and students from various departments of the college. For those who could not be accommodated in the session, live streaming of the event was done on the YouTube channel of Deshbandhu College.

Dr. Sanjeev Kumar, Associate Professor and Area Director, Biotechnology and Bioinformatics, NIIT University, Neemrana, Rajasthan was the invited speaker for the session. The topic of his talk was “Career DIY”, as according to him no one else but we ourselves make our career.  Dr. Sanjeev shared his vast expertise and knowledge in the area of teaching and career development with the students. He acquainted the students with the myriad career opportunities available in the field of biology and allied disciplines. He also shed light on the skills and attributes required to excel in these areas. He had an interesting and engaging approach with his words and the talk. He also emphasised how being happy should be the end goal and suggested a book ‘The Happiness Advantage’ and ted talk by Shawn Achor. Through his talk Dr. Sanjeev inspired and motivated young minds in the audience to pursue their journey towards a brighter and more fulfilling future.

Some key points covered by the speaker were:

-        Industries to go in and their needs

-        Job profiles to consider

-        Soft skills and communication skills needed

-        Examples of building careers through real life examples

The talk was followed by a question-answers session in which students got their doubts and queries clarified by the speaker. The event concluded with a formal vote of thanks by Dr. Preeti Rawat.

On 19th April 2023, Department of Botany, Deshbandhu College, organised a seminar on the topic ““Biodiversity Conservation Status, Mitigation Efforts and Protection Laws” on 19 th April. Speakers for the day were Dr. Sudipto Chatterjee, Associate Professor and Head, TERI School of Advance Studies and Dr Pankaj Choudhary, Assistant Professor of International Law, Faculty of Law, University of Delhi. The event was convened by Dr Roshni R Mathur and Dr Neha Yadav. The event was graced by the presence of Vice Principal, Prof Kamal Kumar Gupta, IQAC Co-ordinator, Dr Aditya Saxena. The audience accounted for nearly 180 students and faculty from different streams. Both the speakers ignited young minds and inspired them to be a conservationist and help towards biodiversity conservation. The event culminated by a formal vote of thanks by the Teacher-In Charge Dr Kumar Shantanu.

On Monday, May 16th 2022, a lecture was conducted on “Cellular Respiration Revisited" on the occasion of second annual Dr Dharmendra K. Mallick Memorial Alumni lecture. 

The function started with an introductory remarks by our Teacher In-Charge, Dr. Aparna Nautiyal. Our Vice-Principal sir, Prof. Kamal K Gupta, addressed the participants and shared his vision to promote knowledge beyond borders, as Mallick sir wanted to. He motivated the students to pursue their dreams. 

Our invited speaker, Dr. Eklavya Chauhan, an alumnus student of Deshbandhu college as well as former Associate Professor in Department of Botany was introduced by Dr Madhu Rani. Dr Chauhan delivered an illuminating lecture and clarified the queries of participants taken up by Dr Rubina Chongtham during the Question-answer session. Dr Preeti Rawat moderated the webinar. The webinar was attended by over 110 students and faculty members from Deshbandhu College as well as other colleges of University of Delhi.

A “Virtual Tour To The Indian Sundarbans" was organized by Department of Botany, Deshbandhu College, University of Delhi on April 26, 2022. The invited Speaker for the event was Dr. Krishna Ray, Associate Professor, Department of Botany, West Bengal State University, India. The speaker took the participants on a virtual tour of Indian Sundarbans through her awe-inspiring videos and photographs. The participants were mesmerized by beauty and diversity of the flora and fauna of this beautiful mangrove ecosystem. The event provided the participants an opportunity to get a first-hand experience of the ecological restoration work done by Dr. Ray and her team to protect this fragile ecosystem from degradation. 

The virtual tour was attended by more than 85 student and faculty members from different colleges and universities. The event was convened by Dr. Preeti Rawat, Assistant Professor, Department of Botany, Deshbandhu College, University of Delhi under the guidance of the Teacher-In-Charge, Dr. Aparna Nautiyal.

A career counselling online session was organized by Department of Botany, Deshbandhu College, under the aegis of IQAC and DBT-Star College Scheme on "How to crack NET LS/JRF in Life Sciences?". Dr. (Er.) Pradeep Kumar Singh, eminent speaker for the event, gave an insight of the syllabus, pattern of exam and method to prepare for the CSIR-UGC NET Exam 2022. He also elaborated the marking scheme and qualifying conditions for the exam. Dr Singh also elaborated about similar other exams, Like-ICMR-JRF, IARI-NET, etc. The webinar was attended by more that 130 student and faculty members from different colleges of University of Delhi as well as other Universities. The event was coordinated by Dr Anju K Chhibbar and Dr Madhu Rani in convenorship of Teacher in-charge Dr Aparna Nautiyal. 

Department of Botany, Deshbandhu College, University of Delhi, Delhi, organised an International Webinar on- "Plant Biotechnology- RNAi and CRISPR/Cas9 Methods" on March 12, 2022 for career counselling of B.Sc. (H) Botany and B.Sc. (P) Life Sciences final year students. Dr. Beena M Ravindran, Scientist at Leibniz Institute for plant Genetics and Crop Plant Research, Gatersleben, Germany was our esteemed speaker. She gave an insight of the RNAinterference technology and CRISPR/Cas9 methods for making transgenic plants/organisms. Students were able to learn the techniques and clear all the doubts/queries. the session provided elaborate information about the applications of these techniques in present day research and learned about the scopes of the subject for their future perspectives. 

The webinar was attended by over 120 students, Research Scholars and faculty members from Deshbandhu as well as other colleges of University of Delhi, and some other universities as well.

Department of Botany

World Wetlands Day

2nd February 2022

Department of Botany, Deshbandhu College celebrated World Wetlands Day on February 2, 2022 under the aegis of IQAC and DBT-Star College Scheme. The celebration started with a paper reading contest held at 11:00 am on “Wetlands Conservation”. The contest was judged by a panel of Jury consisting of esteemed faculty members from different colleges of University of Delhi. The contest posed tough competition among 9 participants from different colleges. Ms Tanya Saxena, B. Sc. (H) Botany, Deshbandhu College secured first position in the contest. Ms Pratishtha Sajwan B. Sc. (H) Botany, Deshbandhu College secured second position and Mr Drishtant Sen, B.Sc. (H) Zoology from Deshbandhu College secured third position. The event was attended by 180 participants from different colleges.

A webinar was also organised on this occasion to familiarize the students with importance and conservation of Wetland ecosystems. Dr Gurmeet Singh, Scientist C at the Futuristic Research Division of National Centre for Sustainable Coastal Management, Ministry of Environment and Forests situated in Tamil Nadu delivered a captivating talk on “Coastal Wetlands and Climate Change”. The event was attended by over 190 faculty and students from different colleges and Institutes.

"The earth has enough resources for our need, but not for our greed."

- Mahatma Gandhi

The Ozone layer covers the entire planet and protects life on earth by absorbing harmful ultraviolet-B (UV-B) radiation from the sun. We celebrate World Ozone Day (International Day for the Preservation of the Ozone Layer) on September 16th every year to spread awareness among people about the depletion of Ozone Layer and find possible solutions to preserve it.

On the occasion of World Ozone Day 2021 Department of Botany, Deshbandhu College, University of Delhi under the aegis of IQAC and DBT-Star College Scheme organized a virtual talk on “प्रकृति के प्रश्नः” by Padma Bhushan (2020) & Padma Shree (2006) awardee Dr Anil Prakash Joshi Ji, fondly known as Mountain man.

The Program was Presided by Chief Guest Honorable Prof PC Joshi, Acting Vice Chancellor, University of Delhi.

The event commenced with a warm welcome by Teacher In-Charge of Department, Dr. Aparna Nautiyal. She expressed gratitude towards the guests for joining us for the event. Our dynamic Principal sir, Prof. Rajiv Aggarwal also addressed the gathering and welcomed Chief Guest Prof P.C. Joshi Sir, Acting Vice Chancellor of University of Delhi. Prof. Joshi encouraged the Department of Botany and highlighted their efficacy in providing a huge platform for organizing special event to spread awareness about importance of Ozone blanket and devastating outcomes of its depletion. Our Invited Guest speaker Dr. Anil Prakash Joshi Sir was formally introduced by Dr. Rubina Chongtham, Assistant Professor, Department of Botany. A mesmerizing video was also displayed regarding sir's achievements compiled by Ms Priyanka Barua, B.Sc. (H) Botany 3rd Year student.

Dr Joshi started his talk with a brief account of formation of earth and evolution of life on earth. He highlighted how cities played major role in contributing to pollution of all kinds. Sir also emphasized on need for educating and sensitizing our Children about the environment. Sir highlighted how we all can play a key role together to save ozone layer.

Dr. Neha Yadav, Assistant Professor, thanked Dr. Joshi for such a lucid yet powerful session and widening the horizon of all the participants with his wisdom. He motivated the gathering with his fact-filled and enlightening views. He is a real “Karm veer”, inspiring the youth to be faithful to mother earth. Event was concluded with a formal Vote of Thanks proposed by Dr Anju K. Chhibbar, Assistant Professor. The Webinar was attended by over 300 participants including faculty, Research Scholars and students of various departments of Deshbandhu College, as well as of other colleges and universities from Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Rajasthan, Ladakh, Uttarakhand, Bihar, Jammu & Kashmir, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu.

Compiled by- Shreyansh Gupta, B. Sc. (H) Botany 3rd Year

                     Vikram Sehrawat, B. Sc. (P) Life sciences 3rd Year

   Dr Madhu Rani, Assistant Professor

Great people have rightly said – “It is health which is the real wealth & not merely the pieces of gold and silver ”

The right to health includes an access to good quality palliative care. Raising awareness is a key plank towards the public health approach. To make students aware about the significance of public health and to throw light on different job opportunities in public health care & the courses offered at Public Health Foundation of India (PHFI); Deshbandhu College, University of Delhi (under the aegis of IQAC) in association with Indian Institute of Public Health – Delhi, Public Health Foundation of India jointly organised a webinar on the topic – ‘AVENUES IN PUBLIC HEALTH CARE’ on Saturday, July 24, 2021. The speaker of the session was Dr. Habib Hasan Farooqui, MBBS, MD (Community Medicine), Additional Professor at Indian Institute of Public Health – Delhi, Public Health Foundation of India. The speaker was welcomed by the honourable Principal sir of Deshbandhu College, Prof. Rajiv Aggarwal & Dr. Aditya Saxena (IQAC Coordinator). The webinar was convened Dr. Shalender Singh Chauhan (Librarian), Dr. Aparna Nautiyal (Department of Botany) and Dr. Anand Kumar (Department of Sanskrit). Dr. Madhu Rani (Department of Botany) was the event-coordinator.

Dr. Faaroqui addressed the audience focussing on importance of research in public health,  avenues in the field & role of IIPH – Delhi in Public health related education. According to WHO, Public Health is the art and science of preventing disease, prolonging life and promoting health through the organized efforts of society. The speaker highlighted the various ways and strategies that the government & citizens of the country should take to live a healthy lifestyle. He talked about statistical indicators like neonatal mortality rate pet year, immunization coverage, etc. and other parameters through which a government gets an idea of health status of its countrymen. Sir also highlighted the agenda of the government programmes and policies under NHP, 2017 like Ayushman Bharat, Swachh Bharat, etc. and various efforts the  government of India has taken to promote best public health services to Indians. Dr. Faaroqui also threw light on various courses and academic programmes: Spectrum that PHFI offers to the students. At last, the speaker answered the various questions of the eager audience. The talk ended with the speaker stressing over the fact that the world requires trained & educated individuals to educate people and spread awareness, then only a country could achieve the best of its public health. Thus, the talked ended on a happy note and was really an informative and an eye opener for all us in matters related to public health interests.

On Saturday, July 17th 2021, a lecture was conducted on “Mendelian Genetics in Genomics Studies in remembrance of our beloved Dr. Dharmendra K. Mallick sir to mark the lunch of an annual alumni lecture series by the Department of Botany. 

The function started with an introductory speech on Dr. Mallick sir’s work and achievements by our Teacher In-Charge, Dr. Aparna Nautiyal. Aparna ma’am delivered an emotional account of his journey with his colleagues, students and seniors. It was indeed a moving experience for all of us. Our Principal sir, Prof. Rajiv Aggarwal, addressed the participants and shared his vision to promote knowledge beyond borders, as Mallick sir wanted to. He motivated the students to pursue their dreams. He states that hard work pays off eventually. 

Our invited speaker, Dr. Kuldeep Kumar, who is also an alumni of Deshbandhu college and one of the most beloved students of Mallick sir, gave a talk on "Mendelian Genetics in Genomic studies". He is currently working as a scientist at Division of Plant Biotechnology in ICAR-IIPR, Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh. After the lecture, a small question answer round was conducted where students clarified their doubts and interacted with Dr. Kuldeep Kumar in order to probe deep into his expertise on Mendelian genetics. A formal Vote of Thanks was proposed at the end of the session. The webinar was attended by over 180 students and faculty members.

Program Co-ordinator:

Dr. Aparna Nautiyal (Teacher In-Charge)

Dr. Bela Bhatia

A webinar was conducted on March 3, 2021 by Department of Botany, Deshbandhu College, under the aegis of IQAC and DBT Star college scheme. A talk was delivered by Prof. Rupam Kapoor, Department of Botany, University of Delhi on “Arbuscular Mycorrhiza: A Promise for Sustainable Cultivation of Crops”. She enlightened the role of AM fungi in enhancing the commercial value of many medicinal plants like Artemisia, Stevia and Tulsi & reducing the cost of treatment of diseases like Malaria and Diabetes. Their role in reducing the effect of metal stress of higher plants was also well explained. The talk ended with a interactive session, questions were asked by students and teachers as well. 

Co-ordinator of the Program: 

Dr. Aparna Nautiyal (Teacher In-Charge)

Dr. Anju Chhibbar, Dr. Neha Yadav

Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I remember. Involve me and I learn.’ –Benjamin Franklin 

Department of Botany, Deshbandhu college, University of Delhi under the aegis of IQAC and DBT Star College Scheme organised a student counselling session on the topic “IPR: Basic concepts, Its relevance and opportunities” on 28th Jan 2021 from 10.30 AM to 12.30 PM via zoom platform. The event commenced with a warm welcome by Teachers in charge of Department Dr Aparna Nautiyal and Dr Neha Yadav on behalf of the department and the college. Our keynote speaker for the day was Dr. Arun Kumar Maurya, Asst. Professor, Multani Mal Modi Post Graduate College, CCS University, Modinagar. Dr Maurya has specialization in IPR laws and Environmental laws. Firstly  speaker introduced us with the concept of Intellectual Property which  is a category of property that includes intangible creations of the human intellect and the rights associated with it are called Intellectual Property rights. He also briefed us with the types of IPR that is Patents, Trade marks, copyrights,  trade secrets, etc. He told us about the constitutional remedies such as Article 14 that is equal protection of law, Article 300A of the Indian Constitution provides constitutional safeguards against unlawful deprivation of property,  Article 253 that plays an important role in the context of Intellectual Property Rights as it mandates the recognition of the international aspect of laws, legislations, and agreements. Schedule 7 of Indian constitution which has given Union Government power to make laws on Intellectual Property etc. He highlighted the importance of Intellectual Property rights with regards to a nation, it's people and the person associated with that property. He also briefly discussed few landmark judgements of Indian Supreme Court , High courts of India and Judicial courts of Countries like USA  such as Divyajoti case of Uttarakhand, Annievtribe etc. He also Introduced us with very fascinating topics like- how DNA sequence information can be utilized for protection of released crop varieties under Intellectual Property Rights? Students were highly inquisitive about the subject and impressed with speaker's wide knowledge on the subject. Event concluded with the official vote of Thanks by Dr Anju Chhibbar. The students were highly motivated by the talk and all the queries were resolved by the speaker, the event was a great success and well attended by more than 200 Teachers, Students and research scholars from Various colleges and institutions. 

Co-ordinator of the Program: 

Dr. Rajender Kumar (Teacher In-Charge)

Dr Roshni Rajamohan

Co-ordinator of the Program: 

Dr. Rajender Kumar (Teacher In-Charge)

Dr Dharmendra K. Mallick

On the occasion of Big Butterfly Month India 2020 Mr Ishtiyak Ahamad, Education Officer at Conservation Education Centre, Bombay Natural History Society (CEC-BNHS) at Asola Bhatti Wildlife Sanctuary, Delhi delivered virtual talk on the Amazing world of the "Winged Jewels". About 150 students and faculty members attended the session.

Co-ordinator of the Program: Dr. Aparna Nautiyal

Talk on "The Changing Paradigm of Flowering Plants Systematics" by Prof. Pandey  (Vice Chancellor, Mansarovar Global University, Bhopal, M.P.) on 12th May

Talk on “Walking with Ancestors-Naming Plants and Animals in the Ancient World” by Dr. Rajendra Gupta (Former Associate Professor, Department of Botany, University of Delhi) on the13th May

Two days webinar on “Evolution of Science seen from historical perspective" was organized by Department of Botany, Deshbandhu College, University of Delhi on 12th & 13th May, 2020 from 3:00 pm to 4:30 pm via Google meet by Department of Botany under the convenorship of Dr. Aparna Nautiyal.

First day of webinar was chaired by Principal, Dr. Rajiv Aggarwal who welcomed the speaker, Prof. Arun Kumar Pandey, VC of Mansarovar Global University, Sehore, Madhya Pradesh and former Dean of Colleges & Professor, Department of Botany, Delhi University.

Prof. Pandey orated on the topic “The changing paradigm of flowering plants systematics”, enlightening all the audience on the significance of naming plants in sciences, diversity in flowering plants and how molecular systematics plays an important role in study of different groups of plants. The oration was full of beautiful illustrations of different plants like “Brahmakamal”, that flowers once in 12 years. It was very noteworthy and informative talk.

Second day of the webinar started by another interesting and mesmerizing oration by a well-known Science Popularizer, an independent researcher and a public speaker, Dr. Rajendra Gupta, Former Associate Professor, Department of Botany, University of Delhi on the topic “Walking with the ancestors-Naming Plants and Animals in the Ancient World”. Dr. Gupta;s oration started from evolution of human beings and gradually he explained the origin of naming of plants & animals with linguistics. His oration was very exemplary and interesting in depicting the DNA of Words covering each aspect of life. He also cited illustrations presenting, how words can be interpreted in mythological scripts by their meanings. More than 250 participants were a part of this webinar from the different parts of the country and joined through Google live streaming on different platforms.