Panjab University Alumni Association ,Panjab University organized a webinar on “Right to Information: Story of Radical Shift in India’s Governance Culture” by Smt. Urvashi Gulati, former Chief Secretary, Govt. of Haryana and former Head State Information Commission, Haryana (2016-2017).
Prof. Deepti Gupta, Dean Alumni Relations, welcomed and introduced Smt. Urvashi Gulati. Many of the participants knew Smt Gulati as she is an alumna of Panjab University and was also the Chairman of the advisory committee of the IAS coaching centre in PU. They greeted and welcomed her personally.
Smt Gulati enlightened everyone on the details about the RTI Act and discussed many interesting cases from her vast experience. She talked about what all information an individual is entitled to under this Act, in what format and in what timeframe i.e. 30 days. The basic object of the Right to Information Act is to empower the citizens, promote transparency and accountability in the working of the Government, contain corruption, and make our democracy work for the people in real sense.
RTI is a master key to good governance, democratic processes, human development, and realisation of human rights. Democracy requires informed citizenry, and transparency of information – in order to contain corruption and hold governments and their instrumentalities accountable to the governed.
The participants asked many questions from Smt. Gulati which she answered to their satisfaction with examples. The webinar ended with a warm vote of thanks from PUAA.
Urvashi Gulati has been a career civil servant. She joined 1975 batch of the Indian Administrative Service and was allotted to Haryana Cadre. Her areas of expertise include rural development, health, sanitation, disaster management, electoral law, and Right to Information. She has the distinction of serving as the Chief Secretary of Haryana from 2009 to 2012. Mrs. Gulati was appointed State Information Commissioner, Haryana in 2012. She headed the Commission during 2016-2017. Currently she is serving as Member, Ghaggar Monitoring Committee and Member, Executive Committee, Solid Waste Management of the National Green Tribunal.
https://news7world.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/s1.jpg160162News 7 Worldhttps://news7world.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/Untitled.jpgNews 7 World2020-06-25 16:14:132020-06-25 16:14:17RTI is a Master Key to Good Governance — Urvashi Gulati
Taking cognizance of the fact that an employee posted in re-evaluation branch of Panjab University, Chandigarh is found Corona positive and that it is suspected that she and her family might had contact tracing with employees of other branches, The Competent Authority has approved that, as a matter of caution, the Administrative block and Aruna Ranjit Chandra Hall of PU shall remain closed for 3 days i.e. upto 26th June 2020.
In the mean time all the officers (Deputy Registrars and Assistant Registrars) posted in these blocks shall seek information from officials under their charge as to whether they had any contact with the employees who have been found Corona positive.
Prof Karamjeet Singh, Registrar informed that if there is any scheduled meeting or last date for submission of document during these days, the same stand postponed to next working day. However, the situation will be reviewed on 26th June 2020 for chalking out the further course of action, he added. In the meantime, complete sanitisation of the two buildings has been done today.
With the initiatives of Ministry of Human Resource and Development, under the aegis of Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya National Mission on Teachers and Teaching, the Center for Academic Leadership and Education Management (CALEM) running in Panjab University Chandigarh has taken an initiative to arrange an Online seven days Faculty Development Programme from June 24-29, 2020 on the theme of “Managing Virtual Classroom and Open Education Resources”.
More than 700 participants from 30 universities from India got registered for this workshop. More than 100 teachers of Panjab University, Chandigarh are also participating in this workshop. The course is coordinated by Dr Vishal Sharma (Coordinator, Swayam), Dr Kanwalpreet Kaur (Chairperson, IETVE), Dr Tejinderpal Singh, (UBS), Prof. Kirandeep Singh (Chairperson, Deptt. of Education); Prof. Jatinder Grover (Coordinator CALEM and Dean, Faculty of Education), Panjab University, Chandigarh.
Prof. R.K. Singla, Dean of University Instructions, Panjab University, Chandigarh welcomed all the dignitaries and participants. He shared that the main objective of this faculty development programme is to create awareness among faculty members about the Open Educational Resources and online teaching-learning tools. Learning of these tools and techniques will help the faculty members to design their own online courses as well as e-content for the virtual classroom teaching. Prof. Rajbir Singh Ji, Honourable Vice-Chancellor, Maharishi Dayanand University, Rohtak inaugurated the workshop. He highlighted the need for training the teachers about using the technology tools to supplement and complement the learning. The status of the teacher cannot be compromised as teachers have to take the responsibility of development of students, society and country. He shared that plenty of material related to all subjects is available at ConsortiumforEducational Communication, aninter-university centre ofUniversityGrantsCommission(UGC) dedicated tothecauseofdigitaleducationinIndia. He endorsed that universities have to take the initiative to orient the teachers to plan teaching models through online mode.
Prof. Rekha Koul, Dean International, Curtin University, Perth, Australia delivered the keynote address. She shared that in the Indian education system there is a gap in theory and practice. Policy planners and teachers have to plan to narrow down this gap. She said that in India, not a single instructional model can work due to socio-cultural diversity. She elaborated on the relevance of constructivist pedagogy, blended learning, flipped classroom in the present scenario. She stressed that collaboration is the major 21st-century skill that every student has to learn for managing all stress and adjustment related issues in the work environment. Indian schools have to adopt new norms for evaluation like the norm- referenced testing, two or three-tier multiple-choice questions to have an in-depth analysis of the knowledge of students. For reliable and valid evaluation, rubrics for evaluation need to be developed. She highlighted the need to change the mindset of parents in India who are still asking about the rank of their kid in the class. Parents have to know the actual learning of their kids. In the second session, Dr Amarendra Behera, Joint Director, CIET, NCERT, New Delhi elaborated upon the initiatives of Govt. of India related to online platforms. During the period of COVID-19, teachers have to learn about the synchronous or asynchronous mode of blending. Television and Radio networks have to be used to cater to the needs of students living in hilly and inaccessible areas.
In the third session, Prof. Srinivasa K.G., NITTTR, Chandigarh dwelled on the usage of Open Education Resources for developing e-content. He demonstrated the application of various open education resources for developing e-content.
Prof. Jatinder Grover, Coordinator CALEM shared that This current COVID-19 pandemic has changed our lifestyle and given us various new normal’s including in the field of education.In the current COVID-19 pandemic, there has been a rise in search on google on the themes “how to teach online”, “best virtual learning platforms”, “online teaching tools”, and “open education resources” etc. Teachers who were not ready to use technology, now have to take the bull by its horns. Others who are efficient in using all these resources and platforms require some re-learning.
https://news7world.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/s1.jpg160162News 7 Worldhttps://news7world.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/Untitled.jpgNews 7 World2020-06-24 17:16:182020-06-24 17:16:217 Days FDP commenced at PU
It is for the information of the general public and students of Panjab University Teaching Departments/Colleges in particular that result of the following examinations have been declared:-
1. Bachelor of Hotel Management & Catering Technology-7th Semester,Dec-19 2. MA-Women Studies-Ist Semester,Dec-19 3. MA-Diploma in Professional Counselling and Psychotherapy(Semester System)-Ist Semester,Dec-19
The students are advised to see their result in their respective Departments/Colleges/University website.
Panjab University, Chandigarh organized Yoga Day today through Cisco Webex on the theme of the International Yoga Day 2020 – “Yoga at Home and Yoga with Family” to observe social distancing measures adopted due to Covid 19 pandemic.
Prof. Raj Kumar, Vice Chancellor, PU along with his wife Ms Kusum Singh practised Yoga at home. PU VC while inaugurating the same, said that practicing Yoga builds immunity and brings harmony between body and mind. He added that in the current scenario of Covid 19, Yoga is being adopted all over to ease out stress.
Earlier, the programme started with a welcome address by Prof. R.K. Singla, Dean University Instructions. Prof. Karamjeet Singh, Registrar, Prof. Parvinder Singh, Controller of Examinations,Prof Parminder Singh,Director Sports , Dr Neeru Malik,PU fellow, Dr Rakesh Malik, Prof S K Tomar ,DSW,Prof. Sukhbir Kaur, Dean Student Welfare(W) and around 90 faculty members attended.
Similarly, Department of Art, History and Visual Arts presented Yoga Sutra, celebrating Yoga day with Guru Raman Kumar.
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https://news7world.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/s1.jpg160162News 7 Worldhttps://news7world.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/Untitled.jpgNews 7 World2020-06-21 13:38:352020-06-21 13:41:47Yoga Day celebrated at PU through Cisco Webex
Prof Sandeep Sahijpal, Physics Deptt informed that the umbra phase of the eclipse started around 10:30 AM. The eclipse reached its peak around 12:00 Noon. The eclipse was seen in projection mode of the telescope, whereby, the image is projected on the screen. The seeing condition was in general good throughout the observations except for the scattered clouds. The images represent the partial blocking of the sun by our Moon.
He aded that the eclipse does not bring any good or bad influence on any individual. There is no correlation between the eclipse and corona virus,he shared. This is a normal celestial event that happens quite often. The Moon simply passes between Earth and Sun. The Moon casts shadow on Earth just like the clouds cast shadow.
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“Career Overseas: Un-fogging the Future” University Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences (UIPS) organized an international webinar on “Career Overseas: Un-fogging the Future” by the alumnus Ms Aarushi Grover Genentech, Member of Roche Pharma, USA, Ms Sugandha Gupta, University of Kansas, USA and Ms Deepshikha Uppal, Community Pharmacy, Canada all from the B-Pharm 2013-2017 batch of UIPS. Ms Aarushi Grover shared on how to prepare for the exam GRE. She also discussed at length how to prepare application package including preparation of statement of purpose, getting recommendation letters, transcripts. She gave an insight into the minutest details which require attention. She very explicitly shared about the visa application. She emphasized that supervisors in foreign universities are keen to know about student’s behavior. Behavior is very important aspect of one’s personality and they are really serious about it. They usually ask behavioral questions like “Please recall how you reacted when someone hurt you? Or how you handled a particular real-life situation you faced?” In brief she suggested that what ever claims you make in your application you must have examples or situations to back it. Sugandha explained details of TOEFL exam, and how to prepare for it. She deliberated upon whether to apply for MS or a PhD Program and shared that Masters is always a good place to start with, which you can finish in short time and can get a job right after that. She said that if one is interested in getting into academics and research, then opting for PhD is a good option. Also, she shared her experience about choosing right university and how geographical location plays an important role in landing a good job. She contemplated upon creating a good network with faculty, academicians, and industry people, which helps you excel in your career. She also emphasized that making an informed decision is very important. She discussed about available options of funding after getting admission including the part time work options.
Deepshikha shared that not too many fellowships are available for pursuing your studies in Canada. So, one need be careful while filing the applications. She said we need to shortlist places which are amenable to a relatively comfortable life as it is very cold to live in Canada. She discussed about preparing for IELTS and emphasized that coaching usually helps. One may also need to hire a consultant to know about the fee structure and one must also purchase GIC which is guaranteed investment certificate which really helps you once you land in Canada. She emphasized on engaging oneself in research programs for the students while doing your graduation also. She detailed about the Pharmacy examining board of Canada and pointed out the most important things about the schools of Pharmacy and examination patterns in Canada.
As several students seek opportunities to move abroad for higher education, so this lecture was organized under the MHRD Institution’s Innovation Council and Placement Cell of UIPS. It was indeed a very interactive session with many queries of the students being resolved. This would surely help the students to decide for their career at an early stage so that effective planning can be done and executed accordingly.
Professor Indu Pal Kaur, Chairperson UIPS & President IIC and Head Placement cell informed that more than 130 participants from Panjab University and other National Institutes along with faculty members of UIPS attended the webinar.
Few specific questions put forth by the B Pharm Students included: Priyansha Singh asked “Is it worth studying abroad, when I have everything in my city like the best of the universities and good job opportunities.” Yashdeep Mukheja asked “Do you think it’s worth it to study abroad? And is it that we return with better skills? Answer: It is worth studying in India no doubt about that. However, training from abroad opens new vistas, helps you better unfold your personality as you are exposed to a foreign environ and definitely broadens your horizons. It will further sharpen your technical skills that will give you an edge in your future career whether in India or abroad.
Ananya Singh asked “Which specific field of Pharmacy is more renowned overseas? (Both in Canada as well as US)” Answer: All fields of Pharmacy are more or less equally renowned overseas. However, it is individual zeal and understanding of subject that matters and creates difference in one’s life not the specific field that one has chosen.
Garima Khanna put her question “Is it possible to know beforehand if a Principal Investigator (PI)/Researcher/Supervisor will allow a TA? Could you name some good Universities to the geographical area? Answer: No, PI won’t give you TA beforehand. Once you land there, and after face to face interaction with you, PI usually give TA depending upon availability of funds. However, one can politely ask about TA before going to that University.
Garima Khanna asked What would be the impact of COVID on all the steps that you mentioned? Tanya Gupta asked is it a good option to continue in India with respect to the current Covid situation. Answer: In current COVID conditions, there is a massive slow down. However, it will recover very soon especially in the field of Pharmaceutical Sciences and biotechnology, by the time you graduate. Further it is good to take one step at a time.
Gauri Goyal asked “Are professors there as welcoming to foreign students as they are to local students?” Answer: Yes. Don’t worry about that. UIPS has very good reputation abroad and majority of faculties from leading institutions in USA as well as Canada are aware of Pharmacy Professionals from Panjab University.
Abhishek Dhirta asked “What were you doing in your 3rd or 4th sem of yours B Pharm other then academia. Divya Bajaj asked “Are other things needed other than academics? Aashish and Guramrit Kaur asked about potential internships during B. Pharm.
Answer: Yes, we need to involve other extracurricular activities as well. During B. Pharm, we involved in various academic activities like volunteering in the DST Inspire Internship Camps organised by UIPS that sharpen our organisational skills. We were also associated with ROTRACT where we were associated with community service. In addition, we also took training in Pharmacovigilance from PGIMER that helped us to understand side effect profile of medicines and unmet medical needs. However, in new Pharmacy Curriculum there is a project work in 7th semester where students will get flavour of research internship with faculty.
Aashish asked “Do we require coaching for GRE or preparation can be done at home?” Answer: Yes one need to go in for coaching. However, group studies are the key to success.
Aastha Bhardwaj asked “America considers a 5 year degree if one wants to get registered as a pharmacist. Is this a problem as we have a 4 year degree here in PU?” Answer: It is not a 5- or a 4- year program that is considered. What they match is the credits and it is possible that you complete your credits of their 5 year program in 4 years of your B Pharm program. Otherwise they may ask you to complete certain credits.
Divya Bajaj asked “What are the chances of acceptance only with normal academics? Answer: It may be difficult, but if you are able to justify why you did not fare well in a particular subject or semester then you could get through. Or you may make your application interesting by adding other skills you have that may compensate for not so promising academics. But you need to work special on your statement of purpose in that case.
https://news7world.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/s1.jpg160162News 7 Worldhttps://news7world.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/Untitled.jpgNews 7 World2020-06-20 12:04:342020-06-20 12:04:43UIPS Innovation, Entrepreneurship & Career (IEC) Series webinar under MHRD Institution’s Innovation Council and Placement Cell
An Indo-UK webinar on Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry was organised by department of SAIF/CIL Panjab University and University of Nottingham UK. This webinar was attended by more than 90 participants from different countries.
Prof. G R Chaudhary, Director SAIF/CIL, Panjab University, Chandigarh welcomed the guests and participants and told that how the series of webinars initiated by worthy Vice-Chancellor is benefiting the students and researchers in this time of difficulty. Prof. Raj Kumar Vice-Chancellor, Panjab University, Chandigarh in his opening remarks articulated that we have to integrate the knowledge of these instruments in wider fields and should engage young scientists and industry for innovative ideas.
The Guest of Honor Prof. Lluisa Perez-Garcia, School of Pharmacy, University of Nottingham, UK in her address anticipated that more such events will be organised in future. Prof. Phil Williams, Director, Research & Knowledge Exchange, School of Pharmacy, University of Nottingham, UK was the Chief Guest. The special talk on secondary ion mass spectrometer was delivered by Dr David J. Scurr, Advanced Materials and Healthcare Technologies, School of Pharmacy, University of Nottingham, and was well appreciated by the participants. This webinar cover two surface analysis instruments, namely Time of flight & 3D Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry, which can be applied in a highly multidisciplinary manner with applications ranging throughout biology, chemistry, pharmacy and engineering.
This is in continuation to this office order bearing No. R02/20/6299 dated 02.06.2020.
Under the prevailing circumstances of Covid-19 pandemic and in the light of the MHA guidelines/SOP and guidelines issued by Govt. of India/UGC/MHRD from time to time, the following is hereby ordered by the University authority: –
1. Teaching will remain suspended till 30th June, 2020 in University. From 16.06.2020 only 1/3rd of the non-teaching staff working in University Departments/Centres and Regional Centres would attend office. However, no employee will be allowed to leave the headquarter without permission, as services of any employee from teaching as well as non-teaching staff may be required during this period. In those teaching departments where number of non-teaching employees are five or less than five, the Chairperson in the Department may invite more than 33% of the staff on duty depending upon the requirement.
2. Office timings shall be from 9.30 am to 5.00 pm (with lunch break from 1.00 pm to 1.30 pm) w.e.f. 16.06.2020.
3. Controlling Officers/Chairpersons/Directors/Unit Heads, etc., shall report for duty in their respective offices/departments/centres, etc., on all working days and the remaining staff shall report on rotational basis, making upto 33% of the staff. Further, in order to maintain social distancing and to follow other precautions/guidelines, issued by the Govt. of India from time to time, the Controlling Officers/Chairpersons/Directors/Unit Heads shall take decision regarding rotation of staff, seating arrangements, and distribution of work and time. Controlling Officers/Chairpersons/Directors/Unit Heads shall use their discretion to call their staff, within the above said office hours, to ensure social distancing.
4. Cleaners, Malis, Maintenance and Security Staff, responsible for maintaining essential services, shall report for duty everyday as per requirement. However, staff residing in areas designated as ‘Containment Zones’ by respective District Administration shall be exempted.
5. Controlling Officers/Chairpersons/Directors/Unit Heads etc., in each Office/department etc., shall regulate/ensure cleanliness, wearing of masks by each staff member, sanitization and social distancing, etc.
6. All staff reporting on duty shall strictly observe/follow COVID-19 protocol and safety precautions issued by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, GOI, from time to time, especially the following:
a. Frequent hand wash/sanitization and maintenance of proper hygiene; b. Maintenance of Social distancing; c. Avoiding crowding of staff members; d. Maintenance, cleanliness and sanitization in the personal area, e.g. table, personal belongings, etc.
7. No public dealing shall be allowed and Chief of University Security in the University shall ensure that only PU staff members are allowed entry at all gates.
8. In affiliated/constituent colleges also teaching will remain suspended till 30th June, 2020. However, Principals of the Colleges may call employees on need basis as per their requirements. Besides this, the affiliated Colleges located in the Union Territory, Chandigarh and Punjab would follow the guidelines issued by the respective Governments.
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State NSS Cell, Parwaaz Foundation and Panjab University came together for the corona pandemic. State Nodal Officer Bikram Rana being Special Incident Commander at Bapu Dham motivated volunteers to break the stigma and assigned the task to State NSS Award Binesh Bhatia from PU to execute the cause.
Parwaaz peeps and NSS volunteers from GMSSS and Panjab University, Chandigarh took the initiative for the wall painting at Village Dhanas.
School Principal Mrs. Seema Kumari gave the node for the school wall to encourage and develop community awareness through wall painting. Theme of the wall painting highlighted hand washing for 20 seconds and social distancing. Wall also demonstrated the burden of pandemic on doctors to fight corona and wear masks to beat the peculiar situation of COVID-19.
Parwaaz Volunteers including Mr. Vikrant, Ashutosh, Ms. Akanksha, Ankita, Gagan and NSS Volunteers Mr. Abhishek, Yashaswi, Balwant, Binesh Bhatia, Ms. Ritika Verma and Priya remained key contributors for wall painting since day one. These volunteers are working for the last three days from morning to evening in spreading the awareness of corona, Vice Principal of the school Mr. Ramesh added.
NSS Programme Coordinator Dr. Navdeep Sharma congratulated volunteers to come forward and highlight the cause for the general public at Dhanas which is one of the adopted villages under Panjab University.
Ms. Shipra, President of Prawaaz Foundation thanked the team for their efforts in this initiative.
