Monday 17 March 2014

Report: Seminar on Poverty and Social Exclusion



The Department of Sociology, Christ University in collaboration with Institute for Social and Economic Change (ISEC), Bangalore organized a two day national seminar on 12 and 13 March 2014, on the theme ‘Poverty and social exclusion in India: Need for paradigm shift towards an inclusive society’. It was funded by Indian Council of Social Science Research (ICSSR), New Delhi. The seminar aimed at enabling dialogues on the conceptualization of poverty and social exclusion in India. It was attended by several   academicians, faculty and research scholars, policy planners, officials, representatives of civil society, NGOs, media, social and development practitioners from Bangalore and all across India.  

Various aspects of poverty and social exclusion, especially the multidimensionality with respect to its intersection with social, economic and political exclusion were presented and discussed in this seminar.  We hope that the deliberations and discussions have given the participants an opportunity to reflect on the theory and practice of poverty and social exclusion to build an inclusive society.

In his key note address, Dr. Binay Kumar Pattnaik, Director, Institute for Social and Economic Change (ISEC) set the tone for the seminar by introducing the concepts of poverty and social exclusion. He started with various theories of poverty and how it has been understood and debated by various scholars in different parts of the world. He elaborated on the four theories of poverty starting from the theory of Oscar Lewis to Anthony Giddens. He strongly disagreed with the idea of social exclusion given by Giddens. 

He also explained the changing definitions of poverty from just economic dimension to that of a standard social living. Thus, he could contextualize the theme of the seminar and its relevance in the Indian context.

 The proceedings of the seminar as well as a research series were released by the dignitaries during the inaugural session. The seminar had four sessions per day. Each session was defined with a specific conceptual framework. 

Dr. Anil J Pinto, Registrar, Christ University, in his valedictory address stressed the role of higher education institutions like Christ University in bridging theory and practice. 

The two day intellectual exercise ended by leaving lot of inputs for the academic fraternity to reflect on and to work upon.

Sunday 9 March 2014

Visit to Sneha Care Home, Sarjapur-27 February2014



“The greatest gift you can give someone is your time, your affection, your love and your concern.”- Anonymous

Millions of people are affected by HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus) every year and millions die as a result of it. But the worst part of this disease the social stigma and aversion they face from the society. The isolation and discrimination they face from the society is the hardest part of being a HIV-AIDS patient. 

 

The quote which is stated above served as an inspiration for the students of Class 1BCOM ‘B’ who spend a day of their lives at an AIDS care home centre. The main purpose of the visit was to interact with a few HIV patients of all age group and bring happiness for them and most importantly a smile on their faces.

Friday 7 March 2014

Computer Hacking Public Lecture : The changing face of malicious hacking: closing the crackers window of opportunity

Department of Computer Science and Engineering & Department of Information Technology, CUFE

As a part of the South Asia Hacking Tour - Delhi      Hack 2014, a team from Sheffield Hallam University headed by Mr. Neil Richardson delivered a technical talk on ethical hacking on 5th March 2014 at Christ University   Faculty of Engineering, Kengeri. The event comprised of three elements- a talk, a workshop and launch of competition.

The speaker Neil Richardson is a senior lecturer in the faculty of Arts, Computing, Engineering and Sciences at Sheffield Hallam University. He has a specialist interest in ethical hacking and mobile security as well as web-app security, firewalls and Linux System Security. He was accompanied by Mr. Stephen Lofthouse who is a senior lecturer within the Faculty of ACES at Sheffield Hallam University and works within the field of business computing. He teaches web programming, business process modelling and enterprise computing (specifically SAP technologies.). The team also included Ms. Anita Sandham, international marketing manager for India and Ms. Sudha Toppo, Regional Coordinator at South Asia Office, Sheffield Hallam University.

The talk saw participation of over 120 students and faculty members from Department of Computer Science and Engineering & Department of Information Technology. Following the talk, a hands-on workshop was conducted by Mr. Neil Richardson and Mr. Stephen Lofthouse, which was attended by 20 students from the pre-final and final year B.Tech. The workshop was mainly focused on how to use different tools to help in network scanning and identification of vulnerabilities across systems in the network. It was well appreciated by the students and faculty members alike.

A competition ‘Capture the Hacker - a forensic investigation into malicious attacks’ was launched at the end. The winner would get a full fee scholarship for M.Sc Information Security
Systems to study at Sheffield Hallam University – September 2014 intake.

CANTATA 2014 - Sporting Extravaganza and a Family Day for CUIM


CANTATA 2014 was held on 18th February 2014 at Christ University Kengeri Campus, conducted the by students of Christ University Institute of Management. CANTATA is a Sporting Extravaganza and a family day for CUIM, Where member CUIM got together to showcase their skills in sports and entertainment. It was also the perfect opportunity for every member of CUIM to bond and celebrate together.All the Christites of CUIM participated with the utmost spirit of sportsmanship and camaraderie.

CANTATA 2014 was a mix of Sporting events (Track and Field), Fun activities and cultural revelry.

The day started with the Sports events at 9.00 AM which went on till 12 45. The event included many track and field events both for students and faculty.In the post lunch session, each section in well defined clusters headed to the various FUN ZONES in the campus. FUNZONES hosted some wonderful fun activities like tug-of-war, blind navigation, quizzes etc,. The fun activities lasted till 4.20 PM. In the evening all of us assembled in the Open Auditorium for the cultural and valedictory program,where students were recognized for their achievements in sports, cultural competitions and management fests of different business schools. Director of CUIM Fr. Thomas TV, Campus Coordinator Dr. Jeevananda graced the occasion and  gave some inspring thoughts about the day. The Auditorium then gave way to the DJ evening, followed by dinner at 7 20 PM.

Some of the quotes by the students about the programme have been captured below:
“We got an opportunity to organize and manage the Sporting events at CANTATA 2014.  Using our management skills to turn our passion and interest in sports to organize the events was the best experience ever. We worked under the guidance of the Physical Director Dileep and Professors Sudhindra and Krishna who guided us well through-out. Facilitating students to take part and win in Track and Field events was our goal which we have achieved fairly well. ”

 

James T and Samprathi Alva - Sports Coordinators
“I was given the responsibility of being a Fun zone co-ordinator. True to its name, the event comprised five zones namely Salka, Tug of War, Blind navigation, Brain Scrum and Crazy hurdles which ensured that the CUIM family had a wonderful time and a lot of fun. The three hour session which happened during the afternoon was managed within the stipulated time. I had to ensure that the zones stuck to the time without compromising on the planned rounds in each of the zones. The participants were given chocolates for winning for "FUN".
My learning: Skills of effective communication and listening. To pay attention to details.  To manage unexpected situations tactfully.To stick to targets and meet them irrespective of the situation.”

Divya Elizebeth John - FUN ZONE Coordinator
“The valedictory function of CANTATA 2014started at 5.00 pm. It included the prize distribution of Blossom, Altius and Cantata. External fest and Placement Coordinators were facilitated as well. The cultural performances included a song by Shifin and group and by JAB. There were dances by Red Chillies group,Ridhi group, Parichay and Vasu and Vishnu group. The function ended with a special applause for the entire CANTATA team for their efforts. Then followed the DJ by Rajan Sir. The team work and coordination of stage, technical and cultural team resulted in success of the event.”
 
Archita Jha, Stage and Valediction Coordinator
“As Overall Student Coordinators, we had the uphill task of getting everyone together and getting things done. A constraint was the Mid Sem exams which happened two days before the event. But with a dedicated team and superb guidance from our faculty coordinators we were able to pull it off. We worked as a team and in tandem with each other’s decisions. We set out clearly defined job roles and responsibilities to each POC which helped in proper execution. Effective and constant communication at every stage was very essential. You are held responsible for your team’s performance and so we had to make sure all the teams were going according to the schedule and plan. Overall a true learning experience for us”

R Ramya and Ankit Pandey
Student Coordinators

Milestone Achievement: CHRIST (Deemed-to-be University) Surpasses 1000 Licentiates in Insurance Education

CHRIST (Deemed-to-be University) is proud to announce a significant achievement in insurance education. Surpassing a landmark milestone, we ...