Department of Biotechnology - Activities & Events conducted in year 2022-23
PHOTOGRAPHY COMPETITION “CLICK-2022”
In the spirit of the 75th Independence Day Azaadi ka Amrit Mahotsav, the Department of Biotechnology organized a Photography Competition “Click-2022” on14th August, 2022 on the themes of national integration, Unity in Diversity and Biodiversity in Nature. The objective was to inculcate an essence of patriotism and consciousness towards nature and nation. The event received an enthusiastic response in the form of 39 stunning pictures related to the theme.
GUEST LECTURE
“RECENT ADVANCES IN ANTIDIABETIC THERAPIES AND CAREER PROSPECTS IN PHARMA SECTOR”
In order to update students on recent advances in the field of therapeutics, a guest lecture was organized by the department on the topic “Recent Advances in Antidiabetic Therapies and Career Prospects in Pharma Sector” on 27th August, 2022. The resource person was Mr. Abhishek Jaiswal, a member of Diabetes Care section of Bayer Zydus Pharma Pvt. Ltd. He gave an overview of the recent drugs being launched for diseases such CKD and CVD in diabetic patients with their underlying mode of action. The lecture was informative and gave a good understanding to the students. He also discussed the different roles that biotechnology graduates can take up in the pharma sector which was very relevant from the career perspective of the students. A total of 58 biotechnology students from second year and third year were present for the guest lecture.
`EUREKA 2022’
The flag-ship event of the department `Eureka 2022’ an Annual Inter-Collegiate Presentation Competition based on Innovative ideas was organised on 16th November, 2022. Nineteen participants in eight teams presented their ideas in the form of presentations. The ideas stimulated intellectual discussions and thorough brain storming which was enjoyed by the participants and the audience alike. The eminent judges, Dr. Sharad Pasale and Ms. Priya Francis, faculties from chemistry and Lifesciences, TCSC interacted with all the participants and gave their valuable feedback.
“BIOCHROMA 2022”
An Intra-Collegiate art Competition “Biochroma 2022” was held on 16th November, 2022, which was a unique artwork competition based on scientific ideas. The aim of this event was to inspire the artistic abilities of the students. Different topics such as A day in a cell’s Life, Blueprint of life, Warriors of immune system, Gene editing were included which developed a keen interest in students. Eighteen participants competed in the event. Mr. Kerry Dsouza, Faculty from Biology, TCSC Junior college and our alumnus Ms. Aishwarya Ajaykumar from Thakur College of Science (Degree) judged the event.
“LAKSHYAVEDH”
A special student centric career orientation event was organized for the first time by the department titled “Lakshyavedh”. Four events were organized under the aegis of Lakshyavedh: Infotsav, a career fair, MicroKala an exhibition of unique micro-organisms, BITMoji, a biotech based Emoji Competition and a Blood group demonstration. Around 200 college students from various streams as well as teachers visited the exhibition and the career fair.
GUIDANCE LECTURE ON `OPPORTUNITIES ABROAD FOR THE STUDENTS OF BIOTECHNOLOGY’
Since majority of the biotech graduates of the department aim to pursue higher studies especially from international universities, a special guidance lecture on `Opportunities Abroad for the students of Biotechnology’ was organized on 21st December, 2022 to provide information to the students regarding the same. The resource person was Mr. Piyush Jain, an alumnus of the department who pursued his masters in immunology from State University of NEW York (SUNY), Buffalo and is currently employed in a biotech firm in USA. He spoke about the process of applications, tips for visa interviews, pros and cons of living abroad and various hurdles he faced in the entire process. The insights were very important and relevant to the prospective students. Fifty four students of third year, second year and first year attended the session.
HANDS-ON WORKSHOP ON MOLECULAR BIOLOGY TECHNIQUES
A two-day Hands-on Workshop on Molecular Biology Techniques (PCR and Electrophoresis) was organised by the Department of Biotechnology, in association with HiMedia Laboratories Pvt. Ltd on 20th and 22ndFebruary, 2022. The resource person Mr. Nitesh Halwai, product specialist from HiMedia lab gave a demonstration of the PCR machine and the apparatus for agarose gel electrophoresis. Forty two students from the department, got a hands-on experience in a number of techniques including Autopipette handling, PCR reaction mixture preparation, gel loading and gel analysis.
GUEST LECTURE “BIOTECHNOLOGY FOR WASTE MANAGEMENT”
To sensitize the students on the cross cutting issue of waste management, a guest lecture “Biotechnology for Waste Management” was organized on 25th February, 2023. The resource person for the lecture was Dr. Sukhendu Ghosh who is an Ex-Scientist from BARC and a research consultant, Biotechnology and Biogas Industry. He explained the process of biogas production as a solution for solid waste management and also discussed the role biotech graduates can play in the process. The session was informative and enlightening for the students. A total of 64 learners from all the three years participated in the session.
TRAINING AND AWARENESS PROGRAM FOR AYUSHMAN BHARAT & INDRADHANUSH YOJNA
As a part of TCSC's plan to support Prime minister's mission, a training and awareness program for Ayushman Bharat & Indradhanush Yojna was organized from 24th March to 30th March, 2023. As part of the training program, a documentary prepared by students along with a demonstration of the process of determining the eligibility was screened to house helps, security guards and other potential beneficiaries of the scheme.
“WALK WITH ALUMNI”
As a part of the activity “Walk with alumni”, a number of alumni visited the department and interacted with the students. These included alumni who are currently pursuing higher studies in Universities abroad; Rodhan Patke (University of Burghimgham, UK) and Manish Kapoor (University of Glasgow, UK) as well as professionals; Varun Sanil (Australian Govt services) and Diksha Singh (Genome analyst at MedGenome Labs).They shared their experiences and gave an insight into different career opportunities for biotech students.
OPEN DAY AT SCHOOL OF LIFESCIENCES, NMIMS
Apart from the above activities, the students of the department enthusiastically participated in various college level competitions such as Origin, Chemstatic and won prizes. The students participated in activities such as Yoga Day and attended International Conferences. Twenty students of TYBSc Biotech attended the open Day at School of LifeSciences, NMIMS where they got exposure to advanced lab instruments and techniques.
‘BIOTECH-SPECTRUM’
The Department released three issues of e-bulletin ‘Biotech-Spectrum’. Biotech spectrum serves as a platform to inculcate curiosity beyond syllabus and nurture scientific writing skill of the learners.
