The Department of BMM, Patkar-Varde College, organized their annual Intra-College festival ‘Mediatainment- Showcase of Young Talent’ on Thursday, February 3, 2011, in the College Auditorium. The young creative minds of Patkar-Varde College’s Department of BMM had a host of events lined up for day. Events from all genres — Films, Journalism, Advertising, PR and many more — were part of Mediatainment.

There was considerable excitement as the various events took place. Participants and audience alike were geared up and on excellent form. Events such as ‘Scene Mera Dialogue Tera’, ‘Comic Strip’ and ‘Song Translation’ had the audience in splits, whereas ‘Drama Ad’ and ‘JAM’ made them put on their thinking caps. These events were followed by the screening by the Silver Screen Society of Charlie Chaplin’s classic, The Kid.

Dr. Suman Pawar, Executive Director, Chikitsak Samuha, was present at the Prize Distribution and handed out the prizes to the winners. She praised the efforts put in by the Organising Committee, volunteers and the participants, who had all contributed towards the success of the festival.

The Departments of Bachelor of Accounting and Finance (BAF) and Bachelor of Banking Insurance (BBI) organised a 3-day industrial visit to Pune and Mahabaleshwar for their students, from January 24 to 26, 2011.

The visit included a trip to the National Institute of Bank Management (NIBM) where students were given an opportunity to observe the processes used to conduct business.

A lecture was conducted by Mr. Nikhil Bagade, from VINSYS Ltd. on the topics of “Behavioural Management” and “Business communication”. As part of the “Behavioural Management” module, students were encouraged to participate in various games that were designed to develop soft skills such as team spirit and co-ordination, and leadership qualities. In the “Business communication” module, Mr. Bagade spoke on the 7 C’s of effective communication and etiquette.

Students were also taken on trips to the Parwati hills, Table-land Point (Panchgani), old Mahabaleshware temple, Mapro factory, and Pratapgarh fort.

The Department of BMM organised an Industrial Visit to Pune and Mahableshwar from January 20 to 22, 2011.
Students visited the National Film Archives of India, which was established in 1964 and is now recognized as a major film archive in the Asian region. Students visited the Archives library and were also taken around the campus.

Students were also taken on trips to the Parwati hills, Table-land Point (Panchgani), old Mahabaleshware temple, Mapro factory, and Pratapgarh fort.

A three-day UGC-sponsored National Seminar “Vision 2025 — Technological Developments in Biological Sciences”, was organised by the Departments of Biological Sciences, from January 17-19, 2011. Eminent researchers, academicians and research students from various colleges, institutes and universities from across the country, from Bodh Gaya to Chennai, attended the Seminar.

Dr. S. D. Kholkute, Director, National Institute of Research in Reproductive Health, was the Chief Guest for the Inaugural Function. He also delivered the Keynote Address on ‘Biodiversity in the Western Ghats’ and released the Book of Abstracts. Other dignitaries who addressed the gathering were Shri. Kishore Rangnekar, President, Chikitsak Samuha, Dr. M. B. Kekare, Principal, Patkar-Varde College, and Dr. Suman Pawar, Executive Director, Self-Financed Courses.

There were a total of 11 technical sessions spread over three days, which included two sessions for oral presentations wherein 28 enthusiastic young researchers presented their research work before the experienced judges and audience.

Among the various resource persons were:

• Dr. B. B. Kaliwal, Faculty, Department of Biotechnology, Karnataka University, Dharwad
• Dr. B. N. Pandey, Dean, Faulty of Science, and Professor and Head, Department of Zoology, Magadh University
• Shri. V. A. Walawalkar, Director, Envirovigil
• Dr. Anupama Gaur, Product Manager, Invitrogen Bioservices India Pvt. Ltd., New Delhi
• Dr. Sagarika Damle, Associate Professor, Department of Life Sciences, K. C. College, Churchgate
• Dr. P. Suprasanna, Senior Scientist and Head, Functional Plant Biology Section in Nuclear Agriculture and Biotechnology, BARC, Mumbai
• Dr. Hemantini Deshpande, Deputy Director, Head, Department of Physics, Forensic Science Laboratories, Kalina, Mumbai
• Dr. G. K. Kulkarni, Ex-Head, Department of Zoology, Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Marathwada University, and Ex-Section President, Indian Science Congress
• Dr. P. N. Pandey, , Ex-Head, Department of Zoology, Ranchi University, and President, Zoological Society of India, Bodh Gaya