Chandigarh February 21, 2024

Panjab University’s Sanskrit department and Bank of Baroda (Chandigarh zone) organised events to celebrate mother languages on the occasion of International Matribhasha Diwas today 21.2.24. Declamation and poetry recitation competitions were organised in which students of the department participated. Hindi, Punjabi, Awadhi, Bhojpuri, Maithili, Garhwali and many other mother languages were celebrated on the occasion.

Prof. V. K. Alankar congratulated everyone on the occasion and said, “Indians are very fortunate when it comes to variety of languages, because even an illiterate person speaks at least two languages, one being their mother language and the other which is locally used.” Prof. Alankar expressed happiness on the efforts that Bank of Baroda is putting for the promotion of mother languages as well as Sanskrit.

Teachers of the department also participated in the events. Dr. Vikram recited a Punjabi poem on martyrs. Dr. Satyan Sharma recited an excerpt of a Vedantic poem composed in Punjabi by Sant Brahm Kushaal.

Research scholars of the department Shalini and Ritu, along with research scholar of PU’s Dayanand Chair for Vedic studies Apoorav were the judges for the event.

Winners of the declamation contest were; 1st prize won by Vasundhra, 2nd prize by Abhishek and 3rd by Vaishno. Winners of the poetry recitation contest were; 1st prize won by Poonam, 2nd by Smriti and 3rd by Priyanshu. All the winners were given certificates and prizes. Along with this, certificates of participation were also given.

Ms. Monica from the Bank of Baroda said that this was the third time that department of Sanskrit and Bank of Baroda have collaborated. “I had a great opportunity to learn from the students who have delivered well-researched speeches and recited poems in their mother languages”, she added.

Teacher at the department Dr. Vijay Bharadwaj gave a vote of thanks to Prof. Alankar, Bank of Baroda, teachers and all the participants for the successful completion of the events.

PU conducted a pre- conference of the 6th International Conference on Nutraceuticals and Chronic Diseases 2024, spanning from February 21 to 24.

The chief guest of the event was Professor Harsh Nayyar. The delegates from all over the country including GNDU Amritsar, NEHU Shillong, University of Kerala, Shoolini University, CSIR-Gujarat, CSIR-Jammu, DU, CSIR-CSMCRI Gujarat joined the event.

Professor Sanjay Jachak from NIPER, Mohali, shared about the “isolation, characterisation, and purification of Nutraceuticals.” He also shared the significance of natural products in drug discovery like curry leaves for diabesity. Jachak also conducted a session on hands-on experience and training at NIPER. He explained various techniques for extraction and characteristics of nutraceuticals.

Dr Ankit Saneja delivered a lecture on “Novel formulation approaches for augmenting the bio availability and therapeutic efficacy of nutraceuticals.” Saneja explained how a drug enters the human body.

The three -day sessions will feature delegates from US, Japan, and other parts of the world. The discussions will cover several aspects related to nutraceuticals and cancer research.

The University Institute of Applied Management Sciences (UIAMS), under the auspices of the Rashtriya Uchchatar Shiksha Abhiyan (RUSA), organised a Value-Added course focusing on “Ethics in Research.” The course was held from February 12th to February 18th, 2024, at the UIAMS, Panjab University campus. Prof. Devinder Singh, Department of Law and Prof. Rajiv Puri, Department of Physics blessed the participants with their benign presence in the inaugural session. Prof. Sanjiv Sharma, course coordinator highlighted that ethics in research is a critical aspect of academic and professional development, ensuring integrity, credibility, and accountability in scholarly endeavours. Prof. Monika Aggarwal said that this value-added course was aimed to provide participants with a comprehensive understanding of ethical considerations in research practices, including issues related to data collection, analysis, publication, and collaboration. Throughout the week-long course, participants were engaged in interactive lectures, workshops, and discussions led by experts in the field of research ethics.

The experts were drawn from various fields including Prof. Sachidananda Mohanty, Former Vice Chancellor, Central University of Odisha, Prof. Jasveen Kaur, Guru Nanak Dev University, Prof. Sanjeev Chadha, MGSIPA, Dr. Neeraj Singh, Deputy Librarian, Panjab University, Prof. Pampa Mukherjee, Department of Political Sciences, P.U., Prof. Monica Singh Munjal, Social Works, P.U., Prof. Prashant Verma, ICSVS, P.U., Dr. Ajay Dogra, UIAMS, P.U., Dr. Aman Khera, UIAMS, P.U., Prof. Sanjeev K Sharma, UIAMS and Prof. Monika Aggarwal, UIAMS, P.U. and Dr. Shriram, Thapar University, Prof. Mohit Vasdev, Govt. College for Yoga and Prof. Shivani Department of Philosophy, P.U. The resource persons shared their insights related to ethical principles and guidelines governing research conduct, responsible data management and confidentiality, authorship and publication ethics, conflicts of interest and research integrity, and ethical considerations in interdisciplinary and collaborative research.

The course also featured case studies, group activities, and practical exercises designed to enhance participants’ critical thinking skills and ethical decision-making abilities. In the valedictory session, Director UIAMS Prof. Monika Aggarwal felicitated the participants with certificates for the successful completion of the course. Prof. Anupama Sharma, Course Coordinator highlighted the vitality of the highest ethical standards for researchers. She extended special thanks to research scholar coordinators Mr. Neeraj Bansal, Ms. Kanika, and Ms. Bhawna of UIAMS for the successful organizing of the course.

In fond memory of Prof. Ram Chand Paul, Department of Chemistry, Panjab University organized a two-day National Symposium on Chemistry for Innovation and Sustainable growth. Nearly 160 participants from all over India were showing their scientific results in form of posters and oral presentations.

In welcoming the gathering, Prof. Sonal Singhal, Chairman, department of chemistry, discussed the objective of conference among the audience. Presenting the significance of scientific temper, Prof. Harsh Nayyar traced the importance of sustainable progress in chemistry in the inauguration session. The symposium has eight invited lectures. Dr. Savita Chaudhary, convener of the conference explains the gathering how the conference will be able to channelize the intellectual resources for betterment of society.

Prof. Y. P. Verma, Registrar Panjab University discussed the significance of innovation in the progress of a nation in the valedictory function. He awarded the students with best poster and oral presentation award. The deliberations of the conference would prove a step forward in updating the knowledge of participants on different aspects of chemistry and enhance their efficiency.

Two-day national seminar on the contributions of Swami Dayanand Saraswati towards Indian knowledge traditions, concluded at the Panjab University today on 30.1.24. This seminar was organised by PU’s Sanskrit department, as a part of the celebrations of Swami Dayanand Saraswati’s 200th birth anniversary. The inaugural session was presided over by Prof. Dinesh Chandra Shastri, Vice Chancellor of Uttarakhand Sanskrit University, Haridwar  and Key note speaker was Prof. Surendra Kumar, MDU Rohatk. The last day was presided over by Shri Hansraj Gandhar, vice president, DAVCMC, New Delhi and the Sarasvat Guest was Prof. Ranvir Singh, former chairperson, Dayanand Chair, Haryana Central University, Mahendragarh.

Scholars from UP, Shimla, Uttarakhand, Punjab and Haryana presented their papers on Dayanand Saraswati and his contribution to Vedas and Indian tradition

The main speaker Prof. Singh told that Swami Dayanand made Vedas accessible to the masses. He also cited various references from Vedas and Vedic texts which support Swami Dayanand’s ideas and philosophy.

Shri Hansraj Gandhar presented an analysis of Sayana’s interpretation of Vedas and contrasted it with that of Swami Dayanand Saraswati. Shri Gandhar said that the approach of Swami ji was scientific.

Prof. V. K. Alankar said in his concluding address that one of the major challenges in transmitting Vedic knowledge is wrong translation. Prof. Alankar told the audience about Swami Dayanand’s contribution towards animal welfare. He told how PU’s VC Prof. Renu Vig showed a lot of interest in the celebration of Swami Dayanand’s 200th birth anniversary. Prof. Alankar thanked the DUI Prof. Rumina Sethi and others for their continuing support towards Sanskrit events.

The National service Scheme (NSS), Panjab University, Chandigarh celebrated the National Youth Day today i.e on 12.01.2024 to commemorate the birthday of Swami Vivekanand. The celebrations began with lamp lightning by the worthy vice chancellor Prof.Renu Vig ,DUI Prof. Rumina Sethi, DSW (W) Prof. Simrit Kahlon and other authorities of Panjab University.

Dr.Parveen Goyal, NSS Coordinator formally welcomed all the dignitaries of Panjab University. Prof.Renu Vig addressed the audience and motivated the NSS cadets, she emphasized that “Hardwork is the Key to success”. Prof.Rumina Sethi addressed the audience and congratulated the whole NSS team for celebrating the National Youth day. She deliberated on the impact of Swami Vivekanand on the Youth. On the eve of National Youth day NSS took the privilege of releasing a calendar which includes the various activities to be held in 2024. Such kind of an activity is first of a kind by the NSS, Panjab University, Chandigarh. The calendar was released in the presence of esteemed Vice Chancellor, DUI, NSS Program officers and other authorities of Panjab University. The chill weather showed no hindrance to the NSS cadets in performing their activities and cultural events with sincierity, and discipline.

The programme was followed with the funfilled Lohri celebrations.Everyone enjoyed the celebrations with music,dhol and dance.

A seminar on “AI for Forensics: Generalizable and Safe Deep Models for Fingerprint Preprocessing” on3^rd January, 2024 at Panjab University by the Northern Region S & T Cluster (PI-RAHI) as part of the series initiated titled “AI for Good”.  The lecture was delivered by Dr. Indu Joshi,Assistant Professor at National Institute of Technology Delhi and was attended by many students and faculty from the departments of Biochemistry, forensic Science, Microbiology and Anthropology.

In the lecture, Dr. Joshi discussed about the common problems associated with latent fingerprinting. The most common issue with latent fingerprinting is the data uncertainty that originates due to noise present in a given input.Though, many computer-based applications are present that help in fingerprint analysis but due to their lack of generalizability and reliability, along with thelack of safety in deep learning models, they are not widely used in forensic investigations This is particularly important as no methodology is available for the fingerprints of Indian population as the western data is not reliable of indigenous population. However, inadequate ridge structure, overlapping unstructured noise, noisy backgrounds, and other compounding issues make automatic matching of latent fingerprints with a gallery of live scan images extremely difficult. Thus, an efficient enhancement module is required to match latent fingerprints rapidly and enable accurate minutiae extraction. In this lecture, Dr. Joshi discussed about a latent fingerprint improvement approach based on generative adversarial networks to improve low-quality ridges and forecast ridge information. Tests conducted on the IIITD-MOLF and IIITD-MSLFD publicly accessible datasets demonstrate that the suggested enhancement technique enhances the quality of the fingerprints while maintaining the ridge structure.

The AI based application developed by Dr. Joshi is dedicated towards providing consistent, regular data even in presence of perturbations. The application uses Monte-Carlo drop out method to estimate the uncertainties associated with the data. This improvement will not only help the forensics experts by enhancing their precision in finger print matching but will also have many applications in fields like medical imaging. The main target of the application is to provide a precision-based support system that will aid the manual analysis. It is targeted for the standard feature extraction and matching algorithms to boost latent fingerprints matching performance. Recognition of latent fingerprints has several uses in forensics and for law enforcement agencies.

Attendees received an insightful exploration into the nuanced methodologies, ethical considerations, and practical implications associated with leveraging AI for fingerprint analysis. This lecture provided a progressive intersection of technology and forensic science, underlining the commitment to harnessing AI for the greater good while upholding ethical standards and ensuring accountability.

Panjab University is taking significant steps towards global academic collaboration by initiating partnerships with esteemed universities around the world. In this regard, Ms. Rajan Sawhney, Minister of Higher Education, Government of Alberta, Canada met Prof. Renu Vig, Vice Chancellor, Panjab University. Prof. Rumina Sethi, Dean University Instruction, Prof. Harsh Nayyar, Director Research, Prof. Kewal Krishan, Dean International Students, Prof. Anupama Sharma, Chairperson, Dr. SSBUICET, Mr. Gurpreet Sawhney, Senior Alumnus and Prof. Meekashi Goyal from Dr. SSBUICET were present. Highlighting the importance of global collaborations in the education sector, the minister affirmed a dedicated commitment to establishing cooperative initiatives that would positively impact students, faculty, and academic communities in both nations. Professor Renu Vig echoed a resolute commitment to broadening international collaborations, underscoring the potential of implementing the National Education Policy (NEP) at Panjab University. She emphasized that such implementation could catalyze academic exchange, foster research partnerships, and elevate the overall educational environment.

The minister also visited Dr. SSBUICET and met the faculty members and discussed about prospective collaborative ventures.  This move reflects the university’s commitment to fostering international ties, promoting academic exchange, and enhancing the overall educational experience for its students and faculty. The collaboration aims to facilitate joint dual degree programs, research projects, student and faculty exchanges, and collaborative academic programs between Panjab University and select universities in Alberta. By leveraging the strengths of both academic institutions, this partnership seeks to create a platform for shared knowledge, cultural exchange, and research innovation. This collaboration sets the stage for further international partnerships and opens doors for Panjab University to engage in similar initiatives with institutions worldwide. The university aims to continue expanding its global network, providing students with a truly internationalized education.

A Regional Level Competition for the National Environment Youth Parliament was organised by Panjab University, Chandigarh in association with Students for Development & Paryavaran Sanrakshan Gatividhi, bringing together 68 shortlisted candidates representatives across the three states (Punjab, Himachal Pradesh and Uttrakhand)and 8 universities to debate and discuss critical issue of environmental sustainability with more than 100 people attending the inaugural session.

The chief guest for the event was Professor Renu Vig, Vice Chancellor of Panjab University, along with guest of honour Er. Gopal Arya Ji, Renowned Environmentalist and National Convener, Paryavaran Sanrakshan Gatividhi (PSG).

Prof. Vig highlighted pressing environmental concerns facing the communities, including rising smog levels around the urban areas, the need to reduce vehicle movement and transition to public transit and electric vehicles, the challenges of air conditioning and waste management, and the importance of open markets over malls. She emphasized that global warming remains an overarching threat, especially as energy use continues to climb, and called on youth to lead efforts in environmental protection as climate change threatens health and wellbeing.

Er. Arya discussed the role of youth in identifying solutions, adopting traditional practices, and up skilling themselves through regular skill development. He spoke about different levels of the National Youth Parliament event and the need for a holistic approach.

The 10-member jury included Prof. Devendra S Malik, Gurukul Kangri University, Haridwar; Dr. Kalzang Chodden, National Institute of Hydrology, Roorkee; Dr. Anita Singh, DCRUST, Sonipat; Prof. Rajinder Kaur Gill, GNDU, Amritsar, Dr Neetu Singh, IPU, Dr Bhupender Singh, BPSMV, Khanpur among others, Dr Maninder Kaur and Dr Deepak Kumar, Panjab University, Chandigarh. Prof. Ravindra Khaiwal, Department of Community Medicine & School of Public Health, PGIMER, Chandigarh also coordinated in the success of the event. Selected candidates will participate in National Level event to be held in February 24 at Nagpur.

Participants talked on diverse topics including the Role of Indigenous Knowledge in Environmental Conservation, The Role of Vedic Science in Environmental Sustainability and The Role of Youth in Environment Preservation.“Protecting environmental health is essential for the prosperity of our communities,” said Dr.Suman Mor, Professor, Department of Environment Studies, Panjab University, Coordinator of the NEYP 23, regional level competition. She said that “We are thrilled by the enthusiasm and engagement of youth in tackling these issues, and events like this help build a foundation for a sustainable future.” Indigenous knowledge systems hold time-tested solutions aligned with local ecosystems and cultures, that can significantly inform our sustainability efforts. Integrating such nature-centred approaches with modern solutions can impact a community’s environmental health.”

Most crucially, Dr. Khaiwal emphasized that today’s youth should channelize energy on skill development and advancement with technology to conserve and regenerate environment and society.  Further he also emphasized that there is urgent need to act on local issues by engaging youth and focus on LiFE initiative of Ministry of Environment Forest & Climate Change.

University Institute of Fashion Technology & Vocational Development, Panjab University, Chandigarh celebrated Vigilance Week. Various activities like seminar and competitions like T-shirt painting, poetry recital and reel creation on the theme ‘Anti-Corruption’ and undertaking integrity pledge were conducted throughout the week to create awareness against corruption among the students.

The seminar was on the theme “Say no to corruption, commit to the nation”. The resource person for the session was advocate NavnikaTuteja. She addressed students and inspired them to combat corruption. She discussed the detrimental effects of corruption on various sectors, encouraging students to play an active role in the fight against it. Advocate Tuteja stressed the importance of awareness and individual commitment in this endeavour. Her real-world examples and relatable anecdotes resonated with the audience, fostering meaningful discussions. The event provided a platform for students to engage with an advocate dealing with such cases and left a lasting impact, empowering the future leaders of Panjab University.

Many students participated in a reel making competition. Smali, Yogita, Himanshi, Preet, Sapna and Ardas from  BSc Fashion & Lifestyle Technology Semester 3,  highlighted the issue of bribery by acting in their reel, which was awarded the first position. Anjali, Kali, Jashan and Mitanshali, from Semester 3, conveyed the message of anti-corruption through pictures and quotes in their reel, and were awarded the second position. Arun and Tushar, M.Sc. Semester 3, used drawing as a medium to convey the message of No Corruption in their reel which was awarded third position.

In the poetry recital competition Arsh and Pratigya of B.Sc. semester 3 were awarded with first and second position, respectively. Participants enthusiastically participated in T-Shirt Paintingwhere Kajal, Mandeep, and Raina of B.Sc. Semester 1 bagged first , second and third positions respectively.All faculty, research scholars, staff and students took an integrity pledge to be vigilant and corruption free. The participants pledged to follow the highest standard of integrity in all walks of life.Ms. Arushi, Ms. Ginni, Ms. Kulbir and Ms. Akanksha, Junior Research Fellows at UIFT conducted these events.