In view of its pledge to contribute to the cause of Jammu and Kashmir, the students and faculty members, School of Architecture and Landscape Design (SoALD), SMVD University, met Hon’ble Minister of Tourism (J&K), Shri Tassaduq Hussain Mufti, of JK Tourism at TRC Jammu on February 14, 2018. The School under the leadership of Head Dr Rajeev Garg, Head SoALD made a presentation of their work for improving the potential of tourism in Jammu and Kashmir. The Head, (SoALD) presented credentials and capabilities of faculty team along Dr V K Dogra and Ar Vishal Bhatti. The students of B. Arch. presented their portfolio of project works before Hon’ble Minister and other officials which included Mrs Smita Sethi Director Tourism, Mrs. Anju Gupta. General Manager, Tourism and other officials of department.

Hon’ble minister appreciated work of faculty and students and expressed his trust and interest in association with SoALD and Shri Mata Vaishno Devi University, for the projects of JK Tourism with active involvement of faculty members and the students. He advised to further explore the possibilities of offering internship / job opportunities and engagement of SoALD, SMVDU with projects of JK Tourism.

SMVDU Katra: NSS at Shri Mata Vaishno Devi University Katra distributed warm clothes, shoes, toys, etc. to the construction workers and their families yesterday. Students volunteering for NSS formed a group to initiate collection of clothes and other items from the campus in the month of December 2017. In this, students from Architecture, Electronics, Computer Science and Mechanical Engineering participated. Both faculty and staff members have donated generously for this noble concern. Some people have also given their children’s toys. These were repacked and distributed to the construction workers and their children residing in nearby areas of the University. Vice Chancellor, Dr. Sanjeev Jain has congratulated the team for this stupendous effort.

SMVDU Katra 12th Feb. 2018: A Week-Long Faculty Development Program on Sustainable Design and Manufacturing (SDM-2018) was inaugurated today at the School of Mechanical Engineering, Shri Mata Vaishno Devi University, Katra. The program scheduled from 12 to 16 February is aimed at highlighting the various fundamentals of Sustainability and its role in the present industrial scenario. The program is being coordinated by Dr. Ankush Anand, Assoc. Professor, School of Mechanical Engineering. Dr. Anand briefed all the participants about the need of sustainability in design and manufacturing environment. Dr. Anand also thanked the Vice Chancellor Prof. Sanjeev Jain for his constant encouragement to organize such programs in the University.

Experts from IIT’s, IIITDM, etc. have been invited to deliver lectures on new trends in the area of sustainable design and manufacturing. 37 Faculty members from various disciplines of Engineering, Science and, Technology from various parts of the country have registered for the program, which is sponsored by TEQIP–III (Technical Education Quality Improvement Program) at the University. Dean, Faculty of Engineering, Prof. V. Verma was the chief guest at the occasion. Prof. Verma spoke about the importance of organizing such courses which will keep the faculty abreast with the latest developments in the field of sustainability in Design and Manufacturing. Head, School of Mechanical Engineering, Dr. Balbir Singh also spoke on the occasion.

Prof. Vinay Sharma, Head, Production Engineering Department, Birla Institute of Technology, Mesra delivered the Introductory Lecture on “Sustainable Development through Lean and Six Sigma Tools”. During the inaugural ceremony, Faculty, Staff and Research Scholars of the School were present. The proceedings of the event were carried out by Er. Mir Irfan-Ul-Haq, Asst. Prof., SME. Er. Rajiv Kumar, Asst. Prof., SME proposed the vote of thanks.

SMVDU Katra: School of Physics, Shri Mata Vaishno Devi University inaugurated TEQIP-III and J&K Bank sponsored two-days National Conference on Emerging Trends in Materials Science, NCETMS-2018. Dr. Yugal Khajuria, Conference Chair and Head, School of Physics, welcomed all the dignitaries. Chief Guest Prof. Jagdish P. Singh, who is an Emeritus Professor at Energy Institute and Department of Physics and Astronomy, addressed the audience and emphasized how has nanotechnology evolved over time and has influenced the modern society. Prof. Singh is also the fellow of Optical Society of America, USA, and Laser and Spectroscopy Society of India. This was followed by the address from Guest of Honor Prof. V. K. Bhat, Dean Faculty of Sciences. Dr. Kamni delivered vote of thanks.

The prime objective of this conference is to exchange scientific knowledge among the researchers and to disseminate information about recent emerging trends in Materials Science. It also provides an opportunity and motivation to young scientists, researchers, students and entrepreneurs in these fields to enrich their knowledge by interacting with their peers in respective areas. The conference has been attended by research students, academics personals and delegates from Industry. Conference includes 2 plenary lectures, 7 Invited talks, 2 Oral Presentations and more than 60 Poster presentations. The various topics broadly pertain to material science and allied fields will be discussed in technical sessions of the conference. The conference was chaired by Dr. Yugal Khajuria, Head School of Physics and convened by Dr. Kamni, under the co-convener-ship of Dr. Jitendra Sharma and Dr. Vivek Kumar Singh. Dr. Ram Praksh and Mr. Pankaj Biswas are the Organizing Secretary and Joint Secretary, respectively.

SMVDU Katra: Mr. Tarun Bali, S/o Sh. Indu Bhushan Bali, and a student of M.Tech. Electronics and Communication Engineering at Shri Mata Vaishno Devi University is offered admission into Master’s Program in Governance by the MIT School of Governance Pune. Mr. Tarun had participated in the Indian Student Parliament, organized by the School in the month of January, when he impressed the organizer by his speech and got encouragement to pursue the program in governance there. He further went through the entrance examination and online interview process last week, in which he was finally declared selected. It is pertinent to mention that Mr. Tarun was awarded the Best Speaker award last year in the North India Student Parliament organized by Shri Mata Vaishno Devi University.

Vikalp – a students’ initiative at Shri Mata Vaishno Devi University Katra distributed shoes to underprivileged children and students of the nearby areas yesterday. The idea to distribute shoes was conceived by Mr. Sumanta S. Sharma, Faculty Coordinator, Vikalp. It was observed that a lot of kids and students of nearby places cannot afford shoes or any other footwear. Thus, it was felt that distributing shoes during winters will be a good idea. The concept plan of this venture took a year to materialize. Mr. Harjit Singh Slathia (Manager, J&K Bank) and Dr. Varun K. Tripathi (Dean of Humanities and Social Sciences) donated generously for the cause. All student volunteers have worked stupendously to make it a reality.

It may be pertinent to note that the students at Shri Mata Vaishno Devi University initiated the Vikalp program in January 2009, with a small team of thoughtful and motivated students, whose main aim was to bring about an overall social change in the society. Today the program has reached a point where more and more people have chosen to become a part of this program. The program has become successful beyond everyone expectations and is best illustrated by the students as ‘an alternative, a step taken by the SMVDU family to provide education to the underprivileged children which has played the role of a candle in their dark lives’.

Mr. Anil Abrol who is currently the Branch Head of Northern region Century Plywood and his Head Mr. Kuldeep Bhan - Country Head of Century Plywood , visited the University campus to interact with the students of School of Business on 23rd January, 2018, alumni. Mr. Anil Abrol discussed his corporate experience and mentioned about the challenges one has to face in corporate. He gave some inputs to the students so that they can prepare themselves well in advance to face those challenges. Mr. Kuldeep Bhan discussed the various career opportunities for students after completing their MBA program. He shared the Mantras for Campus placement. He motivated the students to enhance their communication skills to get a good placement. He discussed the various parameters which company's look for in their future employees. He concluded by saying that, to upgrade ones’ knowledge and skills it is necessary to develop the hobbit of reading on daily basis.

Ms. Shafi Gupta, Alumni, School of Business, SMVDU interacted with students of management on 5th February, 2018. Ms. Gupta presently is working with ICICI Pru Life Insurance as Key Relationship Management. During her interaction with students, she talked about difference in her experience in University and the corporate. She mentioned about the obstacles she faced initially in her corporate service and her how she come out of those due to her positive attitude. She also talked about the impact of demonetization and GST on insurance business. At the end she concluded by saying that corporate life is not easy, many hardships are faced but one have to make one’s way and excel. She guided the students to be a SMART worker is which is required in the corporate world.

Ms. Ila Sharma, 2014 pass out interacted with students of MBA. Presently she is working as Senior Analyst in Ernest & Young in risk management research. While sharing her corporate experience and learning from Ernest & Young with students, she gave them successful mantras for success in corporate. She advised the student to do smart work and take initiative in life which will always give returns to them in corporate life. while talking about failure stories of Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, etc. the mentioned that consider failure as one of the stepping stone towards success in life.

Alone we cannot do much, together we can reach the zenith - Anonymous

Volunteers registered for VIKALP – a students’ initiative at SMVDU have been doing a substantial job since the onset of these initiatives in the university. These students realize their social responsibility and try their best to offer it to the destitute and needy. Despite hectic academic schedule, volunteers at Vikalp reach to fulfil their duties towards the society. They are the real life heroes in the lives of those they have helped and still helping. Their efforts cannot be paid in pennies and pounds but have already gathered a lot of love and goodwill. They realize that every drop of their sweat will go towards the nation building as they are engaged in giving basic education to the under-privileged children of nearby places.

This is to acknowledge the diligent efforts put forward by Ms. Mithali Bhat(16BCS026), pursuing B.Tech in Computer Science and Engineering along with Mr. Akhil Kalsi(16BCS002),pursuing B.Tech in Computer Science and Engineering as the best volunteers of Vikalp for the month of January 2018. They were responsible, rendering overall counselling, lessons on general health and hygiene, and imparting basic education to the children. As sophomores they participated in every initiative taken forward and are still offering commendable services in shoes distribution activity. Vikalp family extends their cordial gratitude towards these volunteers and wish them the very best for all future endeavours. We also wish that they can inspire other students and take this altruistic effort to the next level.

SMVDU Katra: Upon the approval of the Chancellor and the Governor of J&K State, Sh. N.N. Vohra, who is also the Chairman of the Executive Council of Shri Mata Vaishno Devi University, three new engineering programs (B.Tech.) are being introduced in the University from the academic session beginning from July 2018. These programs are B.Tech. in Civil Engineering, Electrical Engineering and Food Technology; and will be run fully as per All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) norms. Keeping in view the demand of these programs in the region, and for better educational opportunity for youth, the Universities identified these disciplines. Accordingly, new departments are being created and their respective Board of Studies are meeting shortly for designing curriculum, keeping in view the need of the industry, infrastructure sector, and significant rise in the food processing industry. The Academic Council of the University will be discussing the curriculum in its meeting to be held in the next week.

Vice Chancellor Prof. Sanjeev Jain is taking all measures and supervision all necessary development and establishment activities for launching the new programs. The University is also initiating its own entrance examination – Shri Mata Vaishno Devi University Engineering Entrance (SMVDUEE) from this year for encouraging quality intake from all corners of the country. This examination will be held in the month of April this year. By addition of these new programs, there are now 7 engineering programs (including Bachelor of Architecture) in the University.

SMVDU Katra: One-week National Level training programme for Indian Forest Service Officers on ‘Effective Decision Making’ at Shri Mata Vaishno Devi University successfully concluded. Considering the relevance of problem solving and decision making as critical competencies for every executive officer, the programme aimed at providing a promoting hand to the officers to get an understanding and sensitization about the different aspects of problems, generation of creative solutions and then deciding of which solution most closely matches their needs. The programme was organized by School of Business, Faculty of Management, with the financial support from Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change, Government of India. The event was national in character as IFS officers participating in this program were from 19 different States of India, including Gujarat, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Assam, Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra, Nagaland, Rajasthan, J&K etc. Earlier, during the last day of the event, a brain storming session on ‘Improvement in the Working of Forests Department Need for Career Development through Training and Improvement of Skills’ was accomplished under the chairmanship of Dr. Suneesh Buxi, Deputy Inspector General (RT), Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change, GoI, New Delhi.

The panelist emphasized the relevance, significance and criticality of such kind of training programmes and underlined on regular conduction of such kind of training programmes. During the valedictory ceremony, Sh. Ravi Kesar, PCCF, J&K and Chief Guest of the ceremony acknowledged the sincere efforts put by School of Business in organizing of such kind of training programmes. He was accompanied by Mr. Mohan Pant, PCCF (Wildlife) in the valedictory ceremony. Dr. Suneesh Buxi, DIG (RT), MoEF, GoI, New Delhi also emphasized on the essence of conduction of such kind of training programmes. During the function Prof.D.Mukopadhyay, Dean, Faculty of Management emphasized that with the successful completion of this training programme a new journey to learn and unlearn will be started for the officers. Earlier, Programme coordinator, Dr Jyoti Sharma while extending welcome to the chief guest of the programme mentioned the history of organization of such kind of training programme for IFS officers at SMVDU. Dr. Sanjeev Jain, Vice Chancellor, SMVDU, congratulated the School of Business for the successful organization of this programme. Head School of Business also spoken during the ceremony.

During this five days training programme, on fourth Day, a field visit to the Central Office and Spiritual Growth Center, SMVD Shrine Board, Katra was also made wherein Dr. M. Kumar Addl. CEO, SMVD Shrine Board apprised the officers regarding the administrative and managerial aspects of the shrine board and process of decision making at SMVDSB. The training programme has comprised of various interactive practical training sessions, role plays, lecture sessions,exercises,case study analysis, concept notes review/analysis by the enriched and experienced expert resource persons to highlight a variety of creative problems solving and decision making tools and techniques and to develop successful and effective and multiple solutions.

SMVDU Katra: Medical Aid Centre of Shri Mata Vaishno Devi University Katra organized General Medical & ENT Check-up Camp of 1st year students of the University. The camp was conducted under the instruction of the Vice Chancellor Dr. Sanjeev Jain. Dr. Anju Sharma in-charge Medical Officer/ENT Specialist along with her team Dr. Supinder Singh and Dr. R. Z. Ahmed examined of 1st year students and provided free medicines and Lab services during screening of students and health education to them.

Besides above the following Paramedical Staff Mrs. Basanti Kumari, Ms. Alka Saini, Mr. Manish Kumar, Mr. Vijay Kumar also participated in the camp for screening various students. Total 200 students of 1st year were examined. The aim of medical camp was to screen students for communicable and Non- communicable diseases and health awareness among students to lead a healthy life.

SMVDU Katra: NSS at Shri Mata Vaishno Devi University organized a special lecture on Understanding Nature and Spirituality as a foundation for Health, Harmony & Happiness, yesterday. The lecture was delivered by Dr. N.C Jain, IFS, Rajasthan Cadre. In this, Dr. Jain explained the notion of nature and how it is related to spirituality. The talk began with a video presentation on spiritual reality – a journey within. This self explanatory and exploratory video discussed how meditation conquers stress and leads to happiness. He further stressed that meditation is the supreme means to attain the path of liberation. The talk was attended by both students and faculty members of the University. Ar. Aditya Kumar Singh, former Head, School of Architecture and Landscape Design, was also present during the lecture.

In the question-answer session, while responding to one of the queries, the speaker said that meditation is actually an easy process which we have chosen to ignore. One can practice meditation anytime in their life. The talk was both informative and comprehensive and thus, got very well appreciated. The session concluded with a vote of thank to the speaker by Mr. Sumanta S. Sharma, Faculty Coordinator, NSS. The event was coordinated by NSS volunteers, namely Mr. Aman Agrawal, Mr. Dhanraj and Ms. Maihak Pandita.