The IIC in Collaboration with the Department of Mathematics and Department of Physics, Suren Das College, Hajo, Assam went on an Exposure Visit to the Incubation Unit MSME, Technology Centre, Guwahati, Assam on 27^th August, 2022. Around 20 students and 06 faculty members took part in the technological visit.  The motto behind the visit was to create awareness and give exposure to the students to the different facilities provided by the Incubation Centre of Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises so that they can make best use of these facilities and become entrepreneurs. Also to encourage the students with an entrepreneurial bent of mind, to come up with creative and innovative ideas and given ideas to make their efforts to start new ventures, and provide a platform for budding entrepreneurs to create new and innovative ventures by providing required infrastructure and guidance

A talk on “Ornamental fisheries’ opportunities for livelihood improvement in the North-East” was conducted on 26/08/2022 by Institution Innovation Council (IIC), Suren Das College in collaboration with the Department of Zoology, Suren Das College. Mr Jayanta Kumar Nath, Assistant Professor, Dept. of Zoology served as the resource person for the programme, Ms Amilee Konwar and Dr, Mukesh Sharma(Innovation Ambassador) was the convener for the programme. The lecture focussed on the scope and application of Ornamental fish farming as a means of livelihood and employment. A total of 39 students from various departments participated in the programme.

Institutions Innovation Council (IIC) of Suren Das College, Hajo in collaboration with the Physics Department of Suren Das College on 21st Aug 2022 organised an extension activity at Hajo,VPK Lower primary school as part of a skill development initiative. As a part of the activity, two students from Department of physics, Sanidul Islam and Ritul Ali adressed the school students and showcase some of interesting aspects of studying physics and mathematics. The faculty members also interacted with the school students. The programme was successful and informative on various levels for the school students as well as for students of the Physics department, Suren Das College, Hajo. The activity has also encouraged cognitive skill development for the two B.Sc students taking part.

The IIC, Suren Das College, Hajo organized an online poster competition on the themes “Women Entrepreneur’s in Rural India” and “Homegrown  Entrepreneur’s” on the occasion of World Entrepreneur’s Day from 15^th August to 20^th August, 2022. Active participation from students and faculties was received in the online activity program. Overall the program was highly satisfying and successful. Two best posters were awarded the first and second prizes.

The Session 2 of the Impact Lecture Series was organized by the IIC, Suren Das College, Hajo, Assam on 7^th August, 2022. Ms. TinatAtifa Masood, a successful Business Communication and Soft Skills Trainer, Personality Development Coach, Educationist, Socio-Political Activist, was invited as the resource person for both the sessions.

Topic 1: Essential Skills required for Employment generation

Topic 2: Skill Development of Rural Youths-Challenges and Opportunities

The lectures were highly informative and both students as well as faculties actively participated in the online lecture series. The speaker, Ms. TinatAtifa Masood, an oft Skills Trainer, Personality Development Coach delivered quite an informative lecture on the essential skills required to improve their efficiency and on building up their employability skills. She talked about different employability skills such as the soft skills that help to make one stand out from other candidates aiming for the same job with similar academic qualifications. Such skills are not clearly illustrated in job descriptions but they are vital to possess in order to secure a role where the employability skills match the job profile. She discussed at length few some basic employability skills that are desired in employees such as Communication skills, Leadership, Problem solving, Teamwork, Reliability, Self-management, Planning and organisation, Technology, Initiative, Learning etc. The student fraternity was highly benefitted through her deliberation.

The IIC members of the IIC, Suren Das College participated in the regional IIC meeting held at the Royal Global University, Assam on 4^th August, 2022. Four IIC members from the council attended the program and presented a poster. The meeting was highly informative and well organized. The members participated in the dedicated sessions for exchanging ideas and sharing of knowledge. Overall the meeting was highly beneficial. 

The Session 1 of the Impact Lecture Series was organized by the IIC, Suren Das College, Hajo, Assam on 30^th July, 2022. Dr. Pranjal Phukan was invited as the resource person for the first session and Mr. Subhas Bhattacharjee was invited as the resource person for the second session.

Topic 1: Innovations and Inventions in Agriculture-Applicability in Rural Areas

Topic 2: Emerging Opportunities in Agro-based and Food Processing Industries.

The lectures were highly informative and both students as well as faculties actively participated in the online lecture series. The speaker, Dr. Pranjal Phukan, an eminent and experienced industry professional delivered quite an informative lecture on different innovations and Inventions that have been developed in the field of Agriculture for development in the rural areas. His topic for the session was “Innovations and Inventions in Agriculture-Applicability in Rural Areas”. He talked about the use of drones, sensors, big data etc. He also talked about innovative farming such as digital soil mapping and also discussed about start-up application areas suitable for support.

In the following half, Mr. Subhas Bhattacharjee delivered a lecture on “Emerging Opportunities in Agro-based and Food Processing Industries. The resource person delivered a fruitful lecture on the challenges of Agri- and food processing sector in North-East India. He also talked about the opportunities in various agricultural and food processing industry and showed the path from farm to market. He also discussed about few local products available only in the North-Eastern part of India which has been capable of gaining attention in the global market. Overall he passed on valuable information to the students and faculties through his deliberation. 

The IIC, Suren Das College, Hajo, Assam organized an Online Essay Competition on Importance of Entrepreneurship in Society from 20^th -25^th July, 2022 on the theme different themes “Entrepreneurship”, “Innovation” and “Women in Entrepreneurship”. The competition was open to the Undergraduate students of the college. An active participation from the students was received in the program. A total of 12 essays were received in both Assamese and English languages.  The first two best essays were rewarded with certificates and exciting prizes. The competition invoked amongst the students the sense of entrepreneurship and the benefits associated along with entrepreneurship. 

The session on “Hands-on-Training on Preparation of Hand Sanitizer” was announced as a part of the Self-driven activity by IIC in collaboration with the Department of Chemistry on 18^th July 2022. Mr Rahul Kemprai, Assistant Professor, Department of Chemistry, Suren Das College was the resource person of the program which was delivered in an offline mode. The training program provided extensive information on the importance of hand sanitisers as well as the WHO-recommended method for the preparation of alcohol-based sanitisers. The training program was very useful to the students as well as the faculties in this period when cases of COVID-19 are uprising. Overall the program was a success and everyone who attended it benefitted from it.

Session on “OUT OF THE BOX-THINKING FOR PROBLEM SOLVING” was announced as a part of the MIC-driven activity on 28^th June, 2022 which was delivered by Prof. V Kamakoti, Director IIT, Madras in an online mode. As a part of the MIC calendar activity, we at Suren Das College, Hajo, Kamrup, Assam joined the session online on the notified date and time. All the IIC Council members as well as other faculties and a few students joined this online session. The talk was very important to all the faculty persons who attended the session. The talk was highly relevant in terms of training the brain to be creative, and to think differently from the conventional ways. The problem solving session was great and interesting. The session was a real treat to the brain. Overall the session was an excellent one and everyone benefitted from it.

The IIC in collaboration with Internal Quality Assessment Cell and Department of Zoology, Suren Das College, Hajo organized a talk by an eminent Wildlife Biologist, Dr. Purnima Devi Barman, recipient of Green Oscar, Nari Shakti Purashkar and founder of Hargila Army on 6^th June, 2022 in the college auditorium. She delivered the talk on the importance of conservation of wildlife species and her own experience with conserving the Greater Adjutant Stork or Hargila. The talk was highly informative and relevant to the present-day environmental situation. More than 100 students and all faculty members were present on the occasion. Overall the program was highly satisfying and successful. 

The IIC in Collaboration with all the Science Departments of Suren Das College, Hajo, Assam celebrated the National Science Day on 28^th February 2022. The program started with a Lecture on the genesis of National Science Day and then a Quiz competition was organized amongst the students on the recent development in Science. An online essay competition was also organized on this occasion on the theme “Role of Science and Technology for a sustainable future”. Over 100 students participated in the program and around 20 faculties also joined the program. 

The IIC in collaboration with the Green Campus Cell, Suren Das College, Hajo and an NGO named Earthful Foundation; Guwahati organized an exposure visit to Muslimpatty village of Hajo, Kamrup situated at a distance of 2 km from the college campus. The visit was aimed at understanding the economic and social conditions of the local artisans of Hajo involved in the brass metal industries. The brass metal industry is a traditional and local industry of the people of Hajo. So understanding their economic conditions as well as social conditions for their improvement is highly essential. The visit was carried out by a team consisting of 10 students, 3 faculties and 5 members of the NGO. An elaborate report on the survey is under process.  

Orientation Session on IIC4.0 was announced as a part of the IIC program on 24^th of January, 2022 which was delivered by Dipan Kumar Sahu. As a part of the MIC calendar activity, we at Suren Das College, Hajo, Kamrup (R), Assam joined the session online on the notified date. All the IIC Council members as well as few students joined this online session. The talk was very important to all the Council members. We understood about how to conduct the IIC activities, the scope of IIC and several other important segments. Overall the orientation program was quite helpful to all the IIC council members.

Session 1 Report

The Session 1 of the Impact Lecture Series was organized by the IIC, Suren Das College, Hajo, Assam on 26^th September 2021 and Dr Pranjal Phukan was invited as the resource person for two sessions. Dr. Phukan delivered two lectures on the following topics:

Topic 1: Intellectual Property Rights in Entertainment Industry

Topic 2: Protection of Geographical Indications (GI) with special focus on North East Region of India.

The lectures were highly informative and both students, as well as faculties, actively participated in the online lecture series.  The speaker, Dr Pranjal Phukan, an eminent and experienced industry professional delivered quite an informative lecture on IPR in the first talk. He discussed how IPR could be used to safeguard one's talent related to composition, music, artistry etc. Overall he delivered a fruitful lecture on the use of IPR in the entertainment industry.

In the following half, he delivered a talk on “Protection of Geographical Indications (GI) with special focus on North East Region of India”. This lecture too was highly informative and relevant. The speaker gave information on Geographical Indications and how people or classes of society can apply for the same. Dr Phukan also threw light on how the local people of Hajo can apply for GI on the basis of their region speciality, which is the bell metal industry. Overall he passed on valuable information to the students and faculties through his deliberations.

Session 2 Report

 The Session 2 of the Impact Lecture Series was organized by the IIC, Suren Das College, Hajo, Assam on 24^th October 2021. For this session, two eminent personalities namely Er. Dulal Choudhury and Dr Ranjit Barman were invited as the resource persons.  The topic of the session was:

Topic: Role of 'Science & Innovation' in Entrepreneurship Development

The lectures were highly informative and students, as well as faculty, actively participated in the online lecture series.  The first speaker, Er. Dulal Choudhury, Consultant cum Motivator, School of Agro & Rural Technology, IIT, Guwahati talked about the “Role of Innovation in Entrepreneurship Development”. The speaker delivered quite an informative lecture on entrepreneurship amongst the students. The students were highly motivated by his talk. He also talked about budding entrepreneurs of the region as well as the scope of entrepreneurship development in our locality. Overall he delivered a fruitful lecture.

The second lecture was delivered by Dr. Ranjit Barman, Former Head, Science & Technology Division, Assam Science Technology & Environment Council, Assam on the “Role of Science in Entrepreneurship Development”.  The lecture focused on how science has evolved over the years and how it is still evolving. His talk motivated the students to take up new science projects and work collectively to solve societal problems through a scientific approach. Overall the session was highly encouraging and enriching and all the students, as well as faculties, were benefitted. 

An online Orientation Program on the theme “Entrepreneurship and Innovation” was held on 27^th August 2021 that was organized by IIC, Suren Das College, Hajo. The key objective of the programme was to orient the students in order to provide an idea on the importance of Entrepreneurship and Innovation in economic development, Entrepreneurial thinking, start-up approaches and practices. The programme was open to H.S., UG Students, and faculty members. A total of almost 80 students from different colleges have fruitfully participated with some of the astounding innovative ideas debated after the program.

Name and Designation of the Resource Person: Mr Ankur Goswami, Assistant Professor, Assam Don Bosco University, Guwahati, Assam, Convener, IIC and Innovation Ambassador

List of participants: 80

The IIC, Suren Das College, Hajo, Assam organized a District Level Online Essay Competition on the Occasion of “WORLD ENTREPRENEURSHIP DAY, 21^st August” from 21^st August to 24^th August, 2021 on the theme “Entrepreneurship Mind-set Creation Amongst Youths”. The competition was open to the Undergraduate students from all colleges of the Kamrup (R) District, Assam. An active participation from the students was received in the program. A total of 12 essays were received in both Assamese and English languages.  The first two best essays were rewarded with certificates and exciting prizes. The competition invoked amongst the students the sense of entrepreneurship and the benefits associated along with entrepreneurship. 

The MIC driven activity was successfully attended by the Faculties as well as teachers of Suren Das College, Hajo, Kamrup, Assam in an Online Mode maintaining all the COVID protocols. A total of around 90 participants (30 Faculties and 50 Students) joined in the National Webinar. The entire webinar as well as all the sessions were well planned and all the participants were quite benefitted by the discussions. The fruitful deliberations on Building Innovation & Entrepreneurial Ecosystem have really motivated the entire college fraternity to come up with some new innovative ideas for creating an enterpreurial environment amongst the faculties and students of our college. The webinar was very fruitful for academicians and a lot of motivating and wonderful suggestions were put forwarded throughout. By attending such webinars and by working together in the enlightened paths, we can be successful in shaping the future of our country’s education and simultaneously improve our global ranking.

A District Level "Innovative Idea Contest" was organized by the IIC Cell of the college on the themes Energy, Agriculture, Information and Communication Technology, Healthcare and Waste Management. The objective was to generate innovative ideas in the demanding area that may lead to future products or technology. The program was based on Design Thinking and Critical Thinking.

All Students

A talk on “Why IP is important in Academia?” was announced as a part of the IIC program on 26^th of April, 2021 which was delivered by Dr. Abhay Jere & Dr. Mohit Gambhir. As a part of the MIC calendar activity, we at Suren Das College, Hajo, Kamrup (R), Assam joined the session online on the notified date and maintained all the COVID protocols during the session. More than 40 numbers of faculties and students had joined this online talk. The talk was very interesting and focused on different aspects of Intellectual Property. The talk encouraged the faculties and the students to pursue research and not to stay limited to just publications but must go a step ahead for filing patents and deliver products to the society. We being an active part of higher education are the flag bearers for performing such responsible work and deliver certain deliverables to the society. Given the increasing role of intellectual property (IP) in academic research, it is important for academic scientists to gain greater awareness and knowledge of the various issues involved with IP resulting from their research and inventions. With the increasing focus on innovation, research and cross-border collaborations need to learn about intellectual property rights (IPRs) to safeguard their inventions has increased among the students. The examples of important innovations from university research put forwarded during the presentation also inspired the faculties and students to think creatively and to do or start up new interventions and provide innovation output.

Students and faculty members

A talk on “From your Ph.D./Master’s Thesis to a start-up” was announced as a part of the IIC program on 23^rd of April, 2021 which was delivered by Dr. Anand Deshpande, Founder and CMD, Persistent Systems. As a part of the MIC calendar activity, we at Suren Das College, Hajo, Kamrup (R), Assam joined the session from 11 AM on the notified date and maintained all the COVID protocols during the session. More than 60 numbers of faculties and students had joined this online talk. The talk was very interesting and was very much aligned with the present-day scenario of being self-reliant. Start-ups are a mind-training opportunity that can shape our thinking from academia into practice. This can help with project management, communication skills and presenting ideas, useful skills for any future job. Start-ups require skills such as self-awareness, teamwork, developing ideas, addressing an audience, and executing a presentation, all these things we also require within the PhD. If we value independence, creativity, and autonomy, we are already suitable for becoming an entrepreneur. A startup might be the right path and with the right motivation and resources, one could make his/her idea work. This talk was an eye-opener to the fact that whilst as a student one could find the right entrepreneurship and train themselves at the college and university level. This training can not only contribute to taking up good entrepreneurship as a potential career path but will also develop the skills that are used during the PhD work and would definitely help in becoming more confident in these.

All students and faculty members

The IIC in collaboration with Internal Quality Assurance Cell (IQAC) of Suren Das College, Hajo organised an offline seminar on Intellectual Property rights, on 12^th April, 2021 in the college auditorium. Dr. Ranjit Kumar Barman, Head, Science & Technology Division & Nodal Officer, Patent Information Centre Assam Science Technology & Environment Council (ASTEC), was the resource person. The event was inaugurated by Dr Hiranya K. Sarma, Principal, Suren Das College, and was also graced by Dr. Jogen C. Kalita, Head, Dept. of Zoology, Gauhati University. Dr. Ranjit Kr. Barman delivered a very enlightening lecture on the topic ‘Importance of IPR: Socio-economic and educational perspective’, and also emphasised how innovation works in natural ecosystems as well. More than 160 students and 30 faculty members participated in the seminar and also engaged themselves in active interaction with the speaker.

• The Innovation Hub provides a platform for students to engage in innovative and creative activities and with this objective, we also conducted the educational tour
• The main idea was to promote creative thinking and problem solving ability through hands-on activities and experiments

Local Expert: Mr Debasish Dutta, Scientist B, Patent Information Centre (PIC), ASTEC, Assam

Central Expert: Mrs Shwetashree Majumdar