Events and Activities @ St.Mira's
Webinar
ST MIRA’S COLLEGE STEPS INTO THE FUTURE WITH ITS VIRTUAL INTERNATIONAL EDUCATION PROGRAMME
The Department of English, St Mira's College organised an FDP on 6th July 2020 at 6.30 pm (IST) titled "An Introduction to COIL-Collaborative Online International Learning" along with LaGuardia Community College, City University of New York to begin the process of training its staff for collaborative international online learning (COIL) with faculty across the world.
COVID-19 may have brought in its wake closing of borders but in the virtual world it opened up wonderful possibilities. Due to the success of its COIL project on the partition of India, the English department has taken the initiative to form a virtual learning centre for the college. The first step is this webinar to introduce the staff to the process of collaborative learning. It will be followed by several more interactive workshops and training sessions.
Dr Olga Aksakalova, COIL Co-ordinator City University of New York that has 17 colleges under its purview, spoke on the purpose, scope and objective of COIL. She covered topics like course content and teaching methodology, intra and interdisciplinary collaborations, student-generated learning and the use of technology for brainstorming, getting to know partners and to execute a programme of about 12-15 weeks. She said that one of the advantages of COIL is that, “it provides readiness for a globalized workforce by imparting 21st-century skills like the ability to communicate with or for a global audience via digital means.”
Dr Tuli Chatterjee (LaGuardia Community College) explained the difficulties of the Partition of India COIL programme and its aims which was to craft narratives of healing out of narratives of partition by educating students to work together and build bridges that remind us we are all human.
Dr Maya Avva and Dr Alice Baldwin- Jones explained their various COIL projects. Dr Avva is from the Department of Education and wishes to explore the parallels between Spanish and Hindi whilst Dr Baldwin-Jones a social anthropologist is researching food and the politics of hunger.
The staff at St Mira’s as well as the students are all fired up to share and learn and in the process hopefully contribute to a more peaceful, tolerant and inclusive world.
Webinar on Post COVID Job Scenario and Interview Skills
On 26th June 2020, students of St. Mira’s college were offered an opportunity to address one of the major roadblocks that they were facing in their career due to COVID-19, through a webinar on “Post COVID Job Scenario and Interview Skills”
The webinar was conducted in collaboration with PIBM (Pune Institute of Business Management), by Mr. Parijat Pushp, Talent acquisition head - Mahindra insurance Brokers limited), and Mr. Ramanpreet (Chairman –PIBM) The aim of the webinar was equipping students with modern ways of presenting themselves and their resume for interviews. Mr. Pushp and Mr. Ramanpreet gave several insights on changing requirements in today’s scenario. The students were guided on the pathways to achieve the right kind of value addition to their profile.
They also highlighted the need of being aware of current affairs, knowing the game changers and encouraged the students to enhance their knowledge through reading. They emphasized the importance of JD in an interview process and knowledge of company details.
This informative session imparted wisdom which enabled the students to evaluate their understanding of interview skills and improving their strategy for job interviews. The webinar was successful in educating the students on the formation of a strong base in the career of their choice. More than 250 students of all streams of TY and PG courses attended the session through the Zoom platform for two hours. This interactive session was helpful to students to chart their career path, not only in ways to move forward with a strong focus on their career but also gave them the motivation to look at challenging times like these with positivity.
Managing Mental Health in COVID-19 organized by Yellow Club, Kerala
Yellow Club a community-based organization based on social media initiative Humans of Kerala invited Ms. Pooja Jain, in house Counselling Psychologist and Mental Well-being program Coordinator to conduct a webinar on ways of managing mental health in COVID-19 for 12 th - grade students of Kendriya Vidyalaya Ernakulam, Kerala.
Yellow Club has been creating a significant impact on the youth community in our country, especially in Kerala. The webinar was organized on 19 th August 2020 at 5:00 pm.
This 90-minute intense session focused on understanding the importance of mental health, identifying mental health concerns and ways of managing mental health during COVID-19. Ms. Jain highlighted the importance, impacts, and social and cultural contributors to student mental health. During the open discussion, students talked about examination anxiety and peer pressure that they experience which may impact their mental health. Speaker focused on daily practices, ways of managing exam anxiety and introduced and practical use of some self-care and relaxation techniques.
Feedback:
“We got an exceptionally good response from students. Some of them were literally in need of such classes and more than that in this present situation most of the students found it helpful. Even my daughter who is in 12th grade gave a very impressive feedback.” - School Teacher
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College Level Activities
Co-Curricular Activities
Extra-Curricular Activities
Cultural Activities
Seminar & Conferences
Annual Events
Student Activities
Library Activities
Faculty Events and Activities
UGC/ SPPU Activities
UGC/ SPPU Activities
Voters Awareness Week - The Electoral Club, The Department of NSS and the Department of Political Science
The Electoral Club, The Department of NSS and the Department of Political Science of St. Mira’s College for Girls celebrated ‘Voters Awareness Week’ from 15th December to 21st December 2021. The activities like Orientation of the proposed Voters, Online Registration Drive and Awareness through Posters were organized as a part of Voters Awareness Week.
Three videos about the convenience of online registration, procedure of online registration, were screened online to all the classes by the class teachers. Awareness about the voters’ registration benefitted 677 students. The links for online voters’ registration were shared with the students and students were encouraged to register as voters. Twelve students registered online using given links. NSS volunteers made posters and displayed them as their status. Total twenty-two NSS volunteers made posters on voters’ awareness. All the posters together received 1000 views. Dr. Meenal Sumant, Ms. Veena Kenchi, Dr. Sandhya Pandit and Ms. Manjita Kulkarni coordinated the events.
Deeksharambh – Student Induction Programme 2021-22
The SIP committee organised orientation programme for FYBA/BCOM/BBA/BBA(CA) and BSC(Comp Sc) students on 18th September 2021 and from 25th to 30th September 2021. The objective of this Student Induction Programme was to make the FY students familiar with the institution, institution ethos, academic environment, various activities, credit courses conducted for them and facilities available to them.
All the FY students were given information about the college, staff, autonomy, subject choices available to them, credit courses, activities like NSS, Earn while Learn scheme, Social Outreach Programmes, MILE, Green Club, CWE, orientation regarding Library system, Placement Cell, Mental Wellbeing programme, etc. A special session on Yoga and Meditation was conducted for them. Various games based on Bollywood quiz, etc. were conducted. A cultural programme was organised to enhance the interaction among them. All the students enthusiastically participated in all the activities and gave positive feedback about the programme. Mentors were assigned to them during the orientation and mentoring sessions were organised too. The College faculty Dr. Jaya Rajgopalan, the Principal-In-charge, Dr. Shalini Iyer, the Vice-principal; Dr. Snober Sataravala, Mrs. Suhaile Azavedo, Ms. Jyoti Chintan, Ms. Abhradita Chatterji, Ms. Amrita Basu, Dr. Geeta Bora (Founder- Spherule NGO), Dr. Dimple Buche, Ms. Veena Kenchi, Dr. Sandhya Pandit, Ms. Manjita Kulkarni, Ms. Swati Sarawate, Ms. Ekta Jadhav, Ms. Pooja Jain, Ms. Devinder Kaur and Ms. Hasina Shaikh interacted with the students on various topics. Ms. Elizabeth Kanade and Ms.Veena Kenchi, the coordinators, managed all the events successfully. They coordinated the Inaugural and Valedictory sessions. Dr. Sangita Deshmukh and Dr. Meenal Sumant conducted the sessions for day 2 and 3; Ms. Shubhangi Jagtap and Ms. Monika Rajguru conducted the sessions of day 4 and day 5.
Jan Andolan Campaign for Covid-19
Covid-Awareness Govt Hoarding
Ek Bharat Shreshta Bharat (EBSB) Programme (2019-20)
UGC has initiated the EBSB programme for making Unity in Diversity a reality. It focuses on establishing relations with other states in the Indian Federation and enables bonding with the partner state. Maharashtra is paired with Odisha for socio-cultural and educational exchange. Dr. Arwah Madan and Ms. Veena Kenchi coordinated the events for this programme. The activities undertaken in this programme are-
Formation of the EBSB Club - The college has initiated the formation of the EBSB club with staff and student representation in the club. The members of this Club are - Principal- Dr. Gulshan Gidwani; Vice-Principal- Dr. Shalini Iyer; Dr. Arwah Madan and Ms.Veena Kenchi. Ms. Pooja Singh; Ms.Vaishnavi P; Ms. Alisha Bagh; Ms. Namrata Dutta and Ms. Simran Nayak are the student representatives in the club.
Annual Socials - This year the Degree College and Junior College celebrated unity in diversity through various programmes in the annual social gathering. The theme for the annual socials 2020 was- Ek Bharat Shreshta Bharat. The students participated enthusiastically and performed folk dances and popular dance forms from various parts of the country. Bhangra, Bharatnatyam, Kathak, as well as tribal dance forms from North East regions, which left the spectators spellbound. Namrata Dutta led the North-East performance which was well appreciated and applauded by the audience.
Traditional day - A traditional day was organised by the Student Council of the college. Marathi culture was represented along with cultural representation from various states in the country. The college campus turned colourful and vibrant this traditional day.
Hindi Bhasha Diwas - The Hindi Department of the college celebrated the Hindi Bhasha Diwas focusing on Hindi poetry and literature. An exhibition was organised where students from the first year exhibited Hindi posters on Social Awareness. An essay competition was also organised on this occasion. Students also participated enthusiastically in the Hindi poetry recitation competition.
Marathi Bhasha Diwas - Marathi Bhasha Diwas was celebrated enthusiastically by the Department of Marathi. Various programmes were organised in this connection including a Marathi Signature Campaign, Poster Making, Marathi Bhakti Sangeet programme and a guest lecture.
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Convocation Ceremony of 2018-19 Graduates
St. Mira’s College hosted the Graduation Ceremony for the 2018-2019 batch of graduates on Friday, 7 th February 2020 at 10.30 am in the College Auditorium. 10 toppers from each stream walked down the aisle in formation along with the dignitaries. The procession was headed by the Controller of Examinations, Dr Soniya Chavan followed by our esteemed Chief Guest, Mrs Ritu Chhabria; Principal, Dr. G.H. Gidwani; Working Chairperson, Ms Krishna Kumari; and, Major General G.H. Israni, CEO of the Sadhu Vaswani Mission, (as local management representatives). The current University Representative, Ms Pooja Singh accompanied the procession. The Programme commenced with the traditional lighting of the lamp, rendition of the University Song and the introduction of Chief Guest. Our esteemed Chief Guest , Mrs Ritu Chhabria, Managing Trustee, Mukul Madhav Foundation-the CSR arm of Finolex Industries Ltd, Director of Finolex Industries and Chairperson of FLO (FICCI Ladies Organisation) delivered the inspiring Graduation Address. Mrs Chhabria spoke of aspiration, following one’s passion and valuing people’s time as the key ingredients for success coupled with humility and dedication. Principal, Dr Gidwani, in her heart- warming speech thereafter, eulogised the virtues of the distinction holders and the students who had impressed us. Mrs Chhabria graciously conferred the Degree Certificates to the graduating students. The Programme drew to a conclusion with the Vote of Thanks and the singing of the National Anthem.
Report of Swachhata Pakhwada-January, 16-31, 2020
To commemorate Mahatma Gandhi’s 150th birth anniversary and to sensitize the staff and students on the importance of cleanliness, a Swachhata Pakhwada was observed between January 16-31, 2020.
Jan 16 th 2020 Swachhata Pledge: 400 students and more than 20 teachers pledged to spread the message of Clean Environment Pledge administered by Dr. Meenal Sumant NSS.
Jan 18 th , 2020 Cleaning of Hostel of the Sadhu Vaswani College Of Nursing (SVCON): undertaken by 24 NSS student volunteers.
Jan 18 th , 2020 Guest Lecture: on “Innovative Techniques for Waste Recycling & Energy Conservation” by Mr. Niranjan Upasani, Sustainability Consultant, spoken on challenges posed by e-waste, inorganic, bio-medical, human waste and offered solutions through awareness drives, waste segregation, effective treatment of waste prior to disposal, Stressed on promotion of Red Dot Campaign. Attended by 88 BA & BCOM students & 3 faculty.
January 20 th , 2020 Tree Plantation at Sadhu Vaswani Mission’s Gurukul School by NSS Dept. (11 student volunteers and NSS Officers). They planted 20 saplings of Neem, Peepal, Amala and Saptaparni- plants are high CO2 sequesters & good water purifiers.
January 20 th , 2020 Poster Making Competition on the Theme – ‘Swachh Bharat’organized by the Depts of Economics, Business Eco and Banking, Green Club, NSS, and the Student Council . 20 students from BA, BCOM and BBA(CA) participated The first 3 prize winners - Samrita Guha (SYBA-RNo 2828): Namrata Datta (SYBA-RNo 2712) & Madhavi Bhosale (SYBCom-RNo 3859).
January 21 st , 2020 Campus Cleanliness Drive coordinated by the NSS, the Green Club & the Student Council. Cleaning of Classrooms, Corridors, Garden and Sports ground, along with waste collection, cardboard waste bins, and Red Dot paper bags in restrooms.
January 22nd, 2020 Slogan Writing Competition on “Water Conservation” in Marathi - 21 students participated. The first 3 prize winning entries- Disha Vishwambhar (FYBCom- RNo 3112), Pratiksha Udamale (TYBA-RNo 4875) and Bhakti Kamble (SYBA-RNo 2778).
January 22nd, 2020 Talk Show on Swachhata- Panelists were in-house faculty- Ms. Shanthi Fernandes, Ms. Hasina Shaikh, Ms. Veena Kenchi and Ms. Elizabeth Kanade - topics - personal and physical hygiene, environmental, societal cleanliness and mental cleansing through moral values. Dr. Manisha Pimpalkhare summarized the essence of cleanliness with her poetry.
January 24 th , 2020 Hindi Slogan Competition on theme “Forest Conservation” प्रतियोगिता में 17 छात्राएँ प्रतिभागी हुई| इस प्रतियोगिता में प्रथम, द्वितीय एवं तृतीय पुरस्कार क्रमश: प्रियंका पालकर (MCOM), स्वाति ओझा (FYBCOM) एवं मेघा सामंत (FYBA) आदि ने पुरस्कार प्राप्त किए|
January 27th, 2020 Best-out-of-Waste Workshop on Godhadi Making by CWE. Activity was conducted by Ms Mrunal Shende, homoeopath turned entrepreneur. 70 students participated to creatively sew together the godhadis from old clothes.
January 28 th , 2020 Guest Lecture on Water Conservation Mr. Niranjan Upasani, stressed on need for effective water conservation and suggested practical ways.
January 28 th , 2020 Visit to NAB, Khandala - 21 NSS volunteers carried out a cleanliness drive at NAB- Old Age Home for the Visually-impaired. Volunteers also conversed with the inmates, enacted a street play on ‘Say No to Plastic’, sang a Krishna Bhajan, recited a poem on ‘Female Foeticide’.
Report on Barrier free access o drinking water and toilet facilities for Divyang students. The Green Club Staff interviewed Divyang students regarding ease of access to drinking water and toilet facilities on campus. The students expressed satisfaction with the facilities on campus.
January 31 th , 2020 Prize Distribution under Swachhata Pakhawada
Swachhata Pakhwada - Hindi Slogan Writing Competition on Forest Conservation organized by Hindi Dept
Swachhata Pledge 16th January, 2020
SwachhataPakhwada was inaugurated by taking pledge of Swachhata.Dr. Meenal Sumant discussed the importance of swachhata. All the students of the college were requested to be ‘Clean Volunteers’ and to keep the premises, their houses, locality clean. The schedule of all the activities of Swachhata Pakhwada was read out to the students and students were encouraged to participate in all the activities.
Swachhata pledge was taken by 400 students and 20 teachers to keep the college, college premises and residential locality clean. The students committed to devote 100 hrs throughout the year for cleanliness and encourage other 100 people to take up the cleanliness drive.
Dr. Gulshan Gidwani
The Principal
St. Mira’s College For Girls, Pune
Day celebration
Navratri Garba event held by the Student Council
A Garba evening Navratri event was conducted on October 20th 2021 by the student council of St Mira’s College, Pune. The event was conducted online on the Zoom Meetings platform and was attended by more than 67 participants including college teachers. The event started at 4:00 pm. The introduction of the event was given by Benaaz. A dance was performed by Muskan on the Nagada song which was also taught to the participants who joined in to dance as well. Anuskha conducted a game called Dandiya Masti. There was another dance performance by Muskan on the song “Rangilo”, after which Muskan taught the participants the steps and the participants were encouraged to join in and perform. The event was concluded with a vote of thanks given by Bhagyashree. The event was joyful and the participants and their family members who also joined in the joyous event had a wonderful time.
WorkShops
National Workshop on “Innovative Teaching Skills in Business and Taxation Law”
On 7thAugust 2021,the Department of Accountancy jointly organized the workshop with the Department of Business Law, Ness Wadia College of Commerce. The speaker guest was Dr. Pratapsinh Salunke, Assistant Professor, Army Law College, Pune. The workshop conducted on the Zoom Meetings Platform was attended by 200 B COM and BBA faculty. The workshop aimed at orienting teachers of BCOM and BBA to create an interesting and interactive classroom environment in the subject of law. The workshop was inaugurated at the hands of the Chief Guest Dr. N.S. Umrani, Pro VC, SPPU, Dr. Parag Kalkar, Dean, Commerce and Management, SPPU and Dr. Yashodhan Mithare, Associate Dean, Commerce and Management, SPPU. The dignitaries lauded the initiative taken by both the Colleges for conducting this workshop as a collaborative effort which is the need of the hour and highlighted the significance of participative learning in classrooms.
Prof. Dr. Vrishali Randhir, In-charge Principal, Ness Wadia College of Commerce, in her inaugural address highlighted the significance of making classroom teaching thought-provoking for the learners. Prof. Dr. Prakash Choudhary, Vice Principal of Ness Wadia College of Commerce, presented the opening remarks and the outline of the workshop.
The resource person, Dr. Pratapsinh Salunke, highlighted the challenges faced by the faculty in delivering the content of law subjects to non-law learners. He brought out the distinction between case study, case law and caselet in a lucid manner and emphasized the need for creating interest in the subject by providing sound inputs, explicating the process of reading and interpreting case laws by using different innovative methods of teaching. The speaker discussed cases and showed the participants how to interpretcase laws from the area of business and taxation laws followed by a question-answer session and an evaluation-based assignment mailed to participants on the content of the workshop.
The session concluded with the valedictory address by Prin. Prof. Arun Gaikwad, Chairman BOS, Business law, SPPU followed byclosing remarks by the Principal-in-Charge, Dr. Jaya Rajagopalan, St. Mira’s College for Girls, who emphasized the need for such practical oriented workshops to enable faculty to develop innovative pedagogy for teaching different subjects. Dr. Dimple Buche of the Department of Accountancy and Prof. Dr. Prakash Choudhary, Ness Wadia College of Commerce coordinated the workshop.
Workshop on ‘Searching EBSCO Databases’
Training session “Research with EBSCO Databases for Dance Movement Therapy Topics” (A.Y.2021-22)
The College Library organized a training programme on “Research with EBSCO Databases for Dance Movement Therapy Topics”, for students of the ‘Post Graduate Dip in Dance Movement Therapy’ course on 12 December 2021 on ZOOM platform. This training aimed to equip students with searching skills to access required information from databases namely- Academic Search Elite, Master File Elite and Literary Reference Centre. It was a live demonstration through the college website. Google online form under online catalogue was showcased to get login credentials.
Basic and advance search features and search strategies were explained with key words like: DMT, Kinesthetic Empathy, etc. Tips like using key words instead of sentences for searching, narrowing the search results by using filters and limiters like source type, resource types , thesaurus terms, publications, publisher, companies, language, and relevancy.
Share option was explained for organisation of searched articles, creating email alerts for the needed topics or a journal and magazine. Other tools showcased include- share articles in Google Classroom, via email and saving on Google Drive, referencing formats, audible HTML full text, computerised translation, etc. Next part of the demonstration included EBSCO App downloading and its various features. A total of 07 students participated in the training session. The resource person was Mr Gaurav Date-EBSCO Inf. Services India Pvt, The programme was convened by Mrs Devinder Kaur- Librarian.
Training session “Leveraging Access to E-resources of St. Mira’s College Library”. (A.Y.2021-22)
The College Library organized a training programme for first year undergraduates on “Leveraging Access to E-resources of St. Mira’s College Library”on 29 November, 2021 on ZOOM platform. This training aimed to equip students with searching skills to access required information from subscribed E-resources, namely- NLIST, Sage Pub. Journals, Academic Search Elite, Master File Elite and Literary Reference Center.
Basic and advance search features of Online catalogue were explained. E-books and E-journals available under NLIST were showcased. This included, JSTOR, E-brary, Springer e-books, EPW, etc. Tips like using key words instead of sentences for searching, narrowing the search results by using filters and limiters like source type, resource types, thesaurus terms,publications, publisher, companies, language, and relevancy.
Training session “Research scholarly articles with EBSCO Databases” (A.Y.2021-22)
The College Library organized a training programme on “Research with EBSCO Databases for students, on 15 November, 2021 on ZOOM platform This training aimed to equip students with searching skills to access required information from databases namely- Academic Search Elite, Master File Elite and Literary Reference Centre.
It was a live demonstration through the college website. Google online form under online catalogue was showcased to get login credentials.
Basic and advance search features and search strategies were explained to find results. Tips like using key words instead of sentences for searching, narrowing the search results by using filters and limiters like source type, resource types , thesaurus terms, publications, publisher, companies, language, and relevancy.
The share option was explained for creating email alerts for topics searched to follow a subject for new articles. Organisation of searched articles was demonstrated by creating folder for saving articles in subject wise folders. Creating an e-mail alert for a journal and magazine was also showcased.
Various tools showcased include: share articles in Google Classroom, via email and saving on google drive, refencing formats, audible HTML full text, computerised translation, notes making, etc. Searches for document type- short stories and short reviews were also performed. The demonstration included EBSCO App downloading and its various features. A total of 38 students participated in the training. The resource person was Mr Gaurav Date from -EBSCO Inf. Services India Pvt. The programme was convened by Mrs Devinder Kaur- Librarian.
Training session “Research with EBSCO Databases for Music Therapy Topics” (A.Y.2021-22)
The College Library organized a training programme on “Research with EBSCO Databases for Music Therapy Topics” for students of ‘PGD-Music Therapy’,on 18thSept 2021. This training was aimed to equip students with searching skills to access required information from databases namely- Academic Search Elite, Master File Elite and EBSCO Literary Reference Centre.The training was conducted on ZOOM Platform.
The databases were demonstrated from the library page on the institutional website, where students were shown the online ‘Login Credentials Request Form’. The trainerexplained the searching process with the topics- Music Therapy and Methods and techniques. To get specific results the Boolean operator ‘AND’ was demonstrated by using feature-Search History. To refine resultsvarious filters and facets were explained which included- Full text, Scholarly/Peer-reviewed Journals, Publication dates, Source Type, Publisher, Company, Language, Geography andformat. Various features focused on were - save the full text articles on desktop or folder, share, create E-mail alert, resort the results by using the option-Relevance and ‘Subject Thesaurus Term’ to look for more specific key terms for a broader term, Sharing PDF articles on Google Classroom, viaemail and Permalink, Citing articlesby different styles, listening to html articles, Folder and creating Notes.Also, steps to download the EBSCO Mobile App and its features were showcased.A total of 10 students and 01 faculty participated in the training. The resource person was Mr Gaurav Date-EBSCO Inf. Services India Pvt, The programme was convened by Mrs Devinder Kaur- Librarian.
A Training session on “Choose Right Articles for Assignments & Finding Case Studies with EBSCO Resources” (A.Y.2021-22)
The College Library organized a training programme on “Choose Right Articles for Assignments & Finding Case Studies with EBSCO Resources” on 1st Sept on the virtual meet ZOOM platform from 2.00 to 3.00 p.m. The resource person was Mr Gaurav Date-EBSCO Inf. Services India Pvt. The training aimed to equip students with searching skills to access required information from databases namely- Academic Search Elite, Master File Elite and EBSCO Literary Reference Centre. The databases were demonstrated form the library page on the institutional website, started with the searching process with topics given by students from Economics, Psychology, Financial Accounting, etc., on the chat option. Mr. Date covered the ways to search scholarly information for assignments and case studies and personalized it by creating account and folders. Features like: article sharing, readymade citations, available filters for resource type, year of publication and country of publication were explained. The EBSCO Mobile App features were also demonstrated including-search & read the articles on the move and saving the needed article to listen to the pdf version at one’s convenience. The Librarian informed the students to fill the request form for creating login credentials (remote access 24x7) which will be created and send by the library. Attendees were urged and requested to seek information from reputed resources covered by databases. A total of 106 students from different streams & levels participated in the training. The programme was coordinated by Ms. Devinder Kaur.
Leveraging Access to E-resources of St Mira’s College Library: A Webinar (2021-22)
St Mira’s College Library conducted a webinar focusing on e-resources available under NLIST, EBSCO Databases, TOCs, and New Arrivals, including Online Catalogue was organized on Aug 11, 2021. Participants were made aware of the various access links available under the Library Section on the College Website. Online Catalogue was demonstrated to students with live searches including basic search, advance search, location of the book, live status of an item, summary, Key Words, QR Codes. Book Covers among others.The EBSCO Database Search Box available through the library catalogue was demonstrated by searching the term ’marketing’ and showing features like the pdf and html (audio facility) formats of articles, exporting/sharing, citing references, choosing the need-based databases from-Literary Reference Center and Academic Search Elite, Master File Elite and Green File.The contents highlighted under NLIST-programme included: e-Journals, e-books, live searching for the term-Counselling- that displayed sub-topics wise collection, source types, citations, Table of Contents, download facility, sharing, etc. Information on standard publishers was also provided including Oxford Univ. Press, Springer, Sage Publications, Cambridge University Press, Taylor & Francis, and JSTOR among others.Other resources explained were E-Table of Contents of subscribed journals, SWAYAM, Shodhganga, Shodhgangotri, National Digital Library of India, Project Gutenberg, Hathi Trust Digital Library, and archive.org.Information was also provided on creating login credentials by filling the ‘Request Form’. A total of 96 participated in the programme. All were encouraged to utilize these resources for enriching their class notes, writing a research article, doing assignments, project and preparing for various competitions. The resource person was Mrs Devinder Kaur (Librarian)
Online Webinar on ‘Online Teaching-Learning: Effective use of Learning Management System by Integration of Subscribed EBSCO Databases’ (2021-22)
An online webinarwas organized, on Zoom, by the IQAC and the College Library on 30th June 2021 asa faculty enrichment initiative.The aim of this session was to stimulate the academic environment for the promotion of quality online teaching-learning; to facilitate the accessibility of subscribed E-resources right into the LMS and to strengthen the Key-indicator 2.3 Teaching-Learning Process of NAAC Criterion II by the application of ICT resources and use of digital resources for making learning more creative and dynamic.The EBSCOhost platform was integrated into the institutional LMS-MOODLE for live demonstration of working of e-resources in MOODLE. Also, Google classroom was integrated into the EBSCOhost subscribed to by the college. Basic working of the Google Classroom and the procedure to post the required article from EBSCO databases into the Google Classroom for the specific class was explained by Mr. Gaurav V Date. Various filters to find the pinpointed information were also showed. EBSCOhost platform accessibility was explained by Dr G K Upadhyaya through live demo of the institutional MOODLE. He demonstrated the steps of searching resources and posting them into the MOODLE and how the same would be received by the student without any authentication was demonstrated too. The session was attended by 44 faculty and staff. The trainers were Dr G K Upadhyaya and Mr Gaurav Date from EBSCO Inf. Services India Pvt. The webinar was convened by the College librarian, Mrs Devinder Kaur.
Celebrations
Reading Inspiration Day’ Celebration (2021-22)
St Mira’s College celebrated ‘Reading Inspiration Day’ on 14 October 2021, to mark the birth anniversary of our former President, Dr. A P J Abdul Kalam. Information on importance of the day was provided by the Librarian- Mrs Devinder Kaur. The screened documentary provided the inspirational account of Dr Kalam’s contribution to our country’s development. The keynote speaker- Mrs Swatee Sarwate-Asst Prof, Dept of Comp Sc, guided the students to read a variety of resources to gain knowledge, develop one’s personality and confidence and to become a part of any discussion. She shared her October read, ‘Man’s Search of Meaning by Viktor Frankl’ with all. The guest of honour—Dr Sangeeta Dhamdhere- Librarian, Modern College of Arts, Com, & Sc, Pune advised students to develop the habit of reading from print and electronic material, including listening to audio books.
16 Miraites from different classes spoken on various close-to-heart books, via videos, and live on ZOOM Meeting. These included- Wings of Fire, The Notebook, Amcha Baap Ani Ami, 12th Fail, Bhagwad Gita, The Book Thief, Being Love, The Fault in our Stars, The Archer, Elon Musk, मी एक स्वप्न पाहिले and Junie B Jones.
The library displayed books on Dr. Abdul Kalam, Literature, Self-help and Biography. Displays also included-Reading Inspiration Day logos, Dr. Kalam’s photos, quotes and views of famous personalities on books at vintage points. The programme was conducted on ZOOM Platform and was attended by 239 participants. The event was coordinated by Mrs Devinder Kaur- Librarian
Celebration of ‘Reading Day’ 19th June 2021
St Mira’s College for Girls celebrated ‘Reading Day’ on 19th June 2021, online. It was celebrated to commemorate the annual remembrance day of late Shri P N Panicker- the father of the ‘Library and Literacy Movement, in Kerala. As per the directions of the Central and State Govt., St Mira’s College Library undertook various activities to motivate all to readand further aimed at spreading awareness about the COVID-19 pandemic.
An Introduction andthe importance of the day was provided by the Librarian. All participants took the ‘Reading Day Pledge’ by the P N Panicker Foundation. The message of which is to promote the development of the country through the judicious reading of knowledge resources in print and digital media.
Ms. Komal Tujare, Asst. Prof- Dept. of English-St Mira’s College for Girls, delivered atalk on ‘The Benefits of Reading”. She highlighted thatreading a variety of resourcesmakes one calm and empowered. Also,reading makes one understand and communicate with others better.
21 students participated in the planned activities-‘Poster Making and Reading’ and ‘Digital Reading. These were centred on ‘COVID Appropriate Behaviour’ and ‘COVID-19 Vaccination, including reading from the sites of MoHFW and WHO.
The celebration witnessed an overwhelming response from students, faculty and staff. Organised by the college library, the event was coordinated by the Junior College.
Study Tour
Public Lecture
‘Social Movements of Denotified and Nomadic Tribes’ - Jointly organized by Departments of Sociology, St. Mira’s College for Girls, Pune and Dattajirao Kadam College, Ichalkaranji
A public lecture, ‘Social Movements of Denotified and Nomadic Tribes’, was organized on Friday 24th September 2021 from 11 am to 1 pm. on G-Meet platform. The session was conducted by Dr Arjun Jadhav, Head and Assistant Professor at Sociology Department, Dattajirao Kadam College, Ichalkaranji. 75 participants including faculty and students from Maharashtra attended the session. The session aimed at providing a detail overview of the history of the marginalization of nomadic and denotified tribes since colonial times. The session also focussed on explaining the challenges to bring these communities in mainstream development and provide them equal opportunities with dignity and self-respect. Dr Jadhav gave insights into social movements of denotified and nomadic tribes with reference to specific issues like poverty, educational backwardness and negligible political representation. At the end, he noted that the movement suffers from a lack of common ideological foundation which would bind these diverse communities together in their fight for civil rights. The session ended with equally enriching discussions on questions raised by the participants.
SVM Activities
Session on ‘Keeping Calm No Matter What’ - Sanctuary/Mulya Pravaha Committee
The Sanctuary/Mulya Pravaha Committee organized a session on “KEEPING CALM NO MATTER WHAT” by Didi BK Monica Gupta on 21st August 2021 on the Zoom platform at 11.00 a.m. The committee aims to provide students with life skills which will assist them in self-improvement and self-knowledge. In sync with this aim, a session was organized to provide students with an insight into techniques of cultivating solution-oriented mind-sets to convert dreams into goals and goals into reality. 448 students enrolled for this session. The session was conducted by BK Monica Gupta, Director, Interactive Bees Pvt. Ltd. She is an innate spiritualist and associated with Brahmakumaris for past 36 years. Monica Didi’s session was very informative and engaging. Explaining the causes of distractions and fears pouring on us in various forms like our own thoughts, gossips and things like competition, comparison and jealousy, she narrated the techniques of CAT (Counter Affirmative Thought) which leads to positive thoughts and develops a will to do the task. Towards the end, Didi led the participants into active meditation. Students mentioned that Monica Didi’s calming voice gave them positive energy and they experienced calmness within and peace flowing through out the mind. The programme was coordinated by Dr. Vaishali Joshi.
Festivals
Ganesh Utsav Program - Cultural Committee
The Cultural Committee organized a program to celebrate Ganesh Utsav. The program was conducted virtually through G-Meet on 17th September 2021, at 4 p.m.15 students, who are the members of the Mira Cultural Club, presented the program. The program was a feast for the audience in the form of beautiful offerings, by the students, of classical dances, songs and interesting stories and narrations about Lord Ganesh. The program was well appreciated by the audience. It ended with an Aarti and a prayer to Lord Ganesh to give us strength to overcome the crisis of COVID-19.
Ganapati Bappa Morya!!!
Competition
General Knowledge Quiz 2021
The Annual General Knowledge Quiz was conducted on 18th December 2021 at 12 pm on Google Meet. Total 105 students from across the streams registered for the quiz and 44 students appeared for the quiz. Forty students gave the test in English language and four students gave it in Marathi. The general knowledge question paper for the first-round included 30 questions – comprising of 15 questions on general knowledge and current affairs, 5 questions each on mathematical reasoning, logical reasoning and English language. Six students were shortlisted for the second round and out of these six students four were shortlisted for third round.
These third and fourth rounds contained audio-visual questions on science, economics, politics, culture, mathematics, business, international and national current affairs, etc. The competition was tough and there was a tie between Ms. Achali Dheer and Ms. Manisha Rajpurohit for the third position. A Tie-breaker question was asked to both the students and the tie was broken. Ms. Preksha Chhajed (4831, TYBA A), Ms. Kashish Gulati (22161, FYBBA) and Ms. Manisha Rajpurohit (3618, SYBCOM A) won 1st, 2nd and 3rd prizes respectively.
Guest Lectures
Career Guidance session on CMA course -Department of Accountancy
The Department of Accountancy conducted a Career Guidance Session on Certified Management Accountant (CMA) for the Second and Third Year BCom Students having Cost and Works Accountancy as their specialization subject Today, on 18th December, 2021. This online session was conducted via Google Meet by CMA Jasleen Kaur Raheja, presently pursuing Master of Commerce at St. Mira's College for Girls, Pune.
The session began with the speakers introduction by the subject teacher Dr. Dimple Buche. CMA Jasleen Kaur explained the role of a Management Accountant and was able to aroused the interest of all the participants regarding the course. Further, she gave us an insight into CMA US Course, a Globally Recognized Courses, its eligibility criteria, the subjects, the mode of exam, the time duration, the work experience required and her preparation strategies. Also, she discussed the similarities and differences between CMA India Course and CMA USA Course.
In addition, she guided the students to have flexibility in career choices and change if required as happened in her own case. She elaborated on how a small change in her perspective took a turn for her Career Goals from becoming a CA to CMA. She strongly recommended to take up internships which play a significant role to groom oneself. And, most importantly, failures should never demotivate anyone. The session was very informative and motivational.
“Suicide Awareness: Myths and Fallacies” – Department of English
Nidhi Gandhi from Connecting Trust: A Suicide Prevention NGO conducted an awareness session with the SYBA and TYBA Optional English students discussing mental health and wellbeing, suicide awareness along with the myths and fallacies. Sensitive topics like sexual orientation, self-harm, and what students can do to help fellow humans under stress were discussed. The purpose of the session was to complement writers like Sylvia Plath and to open up a safe space to talk about tabooed but extremely relevant topics like suicide keeping in mind the trauma experienced due to covid. The purpose was to create more compassionate humans whilst also connecting to anyone in need. 34 students attended the session.
TELLING A DATA STORY – Department of BBA-BBA(CA)
St. Mira’s College for Girls, Pune in collaboration with the prestigious institute Meghnad Desai Academy of Economics, Mumbai, conducted a webinar on data analysis titled Telling A Data Story on Saturday the 9th of October 2021 for the BBA-BBA(CA) students. The Resource Person, Mr. Amlesh Kanekar is at present the Director of Academic Programs at the Meghnad Desai Academy of Economics, Mumbai teaching the courses on Python Programming, Data Analysis, Wrangling, SQL and Visualization. He has also worked as a digital banking consultant, project consultant at Oracle Financial Services, Unisys Corporation and many other renowned organizations.
In the webinar, he discussed how a data story can be told using basic Statistics and a visualization tool such as Tableau Public. The first story was about a small business and how it could forecast and set sales targets using basic Statistics in Microsoft Excel. The second story was on the most famous info-visuals the world has seen viz. the story of the meteoric growth in Tesla’s market capitalization. We learnt how to construct such a story using Tableau Public. Mr. Karan Shah, spokesperson and a member of faculty for MDAE outlined the important courses offered by the institute to enrich our students about various career options post-graduation. The students participated in the discussion and appreciated the power of Data Analysis using Statistics. We look forward to a few more sessions on Data Analysis for stimulating the insights of the students.
Department of Business Economics & Banking: Guest Lecture
The Department of Business Economics and Banking organized a guest lecture for the TYBCOM Banking and Finance Specialization students on the topic ‘Practical Aspects of Paying and Collecting Banker’ on Oct 8, 2021, on the Google Meet platform. The Guest Speaker was Dr Kalaynilaxmi Chitta, Manager at the Union Bank of India, Alandi Branch, Pune
Dr Chitta elaborated on the role of the paying and collecting banker, discussed the various reasons for dishonouring of cheques and shared how customer miss out on some important details on the cheque before presenting. She also elaborated on how the banker in the two roles has to take proper action to protect its own interest as well as that of the customer.
The session was well received by the participants as they were able to understand the concepts and role of the banker with the help of practical illustrations.
Peer Buddy Session on “Key Aspects relating to Stock Markets” - Department of Business Economics and Banking
The Department of Business Economics and Banking of the College organized aPeer Buddy Session for the final year commerce students specializing in Banking and Finance, on the topic “Key Aspects relating to Stock Markets” on 15thSeptember 2021, from 03:30pm to 05:30pm. CFP Himanshu Mayne, a CEO of Infinite Financial Academy and co-founder of Infinite Financial Planners coordinated the session and it was conducted by six CFP aspirants (students) – Mr. Parth Nanda, Mr. Mohanish Acharekar, Mr. Kartik Mehta, Mr. Brijesh Jaiswal, Ms. Charmi Gandhi and Ms. Pooja Tirupati. A total of 57 students attended this session.The session commenced with the rationale of the event, followed by the introduction of the College and the speakers. The key topics of the session covered: Impact of FIIs on SENSEX and NIFTY, Micro Indicators impacting Indian Economy and Stock Markets, Macro Indicators impacting Indian Economy and Stock Markets, How to react to the Market News, How to analyse an IPO and Utility of Ratio Analysis in Stock Purchase Decisions. The objective of the session was to give an exposure to the students relating to different aspects of the stock markets through peer interaction. The session also aimed at encouraging them to take up a career in financial markets and related fields and enhance their decision making skills relating to stock market investments by providing insights into the parameters to be considered while selecting stocks.The session concluded with a vote of thanks to the speakers.
Department of Business Studies (Mathematics and Statistics) - Webinar on “Stress Buster Art Techniques”
The Department of Business Studies(Mathematics and Statistics) organized a webinar on “Stress Buster Art Techniques” for F.Y.B.COM students. The Webinar was conducted online using the virtual platform ZOOM on 9thNovember 2020 from 12.00pm to 1.00 pm. It was conducted by Mrs. RichaJain, a Freelancer Artist, Pune. The main aim of the webinar was to familiarise students with simple stress buster art forms like zendoodling, which help in releasing any stress and anxiety. In the session, history of art forms and different types of zendoodling techniques were taught . The students enjoyed and drew with the expert. The session kept the students highly engaged and eager to learn new art forms. The coordinator of the session was Prof. Deepa Krishnamurthi, Mathematics faculty member for F.Y.B.COM.
Guest Lecture on Analysis of Financial Statements and Revised Schedule III Format for the Financial Statements - Department of BBA
On 7 September 2021, the Department of BBA organised a guest lecture on Financial Statement Analysis conducted by Ms. Radhika Kesarkar for the SYBBA and TYBBA students.Ms. Radhika Kesarkar informed the participants about Financial Statements and its revised format as per Schedule III Companies Act, 2013. Financial statements are prominent to evaluate an organization’s financial performance, financial position and in prediction of future performance
Ms. Radhika delivered a very informative session and explained the concepts of the Financial statements in a lucid manner. The items of the Balance Sheet and Profit & Loss Statement were explained followed by Ratio Analysis of Lupin Ltd. The speaker demonstrated the calculation of Ratios and its analysis thereof of the company for the five years ending 31st March 2020. Students were taken through the calculation of Ratios from the financial statements of the company.
The highly informative and enlightening lecture had a good response of 61 participants who raised several questions at the end, which were answered by the speaker. The session concluded with a vote of thanks.
Guest Lecture on Recent trends in HRM - Department of BBA
The Department of BBA had organised a guest lecture on 2nd September 2021 from 10.00 am to 11.00 am, online. It was conducted with the objective to familiarise students with current trends in HRM in the corporate world and with the recent trends adapted by HRM during COVID-19. The guest speaker was Dr. Nishant Kandelwal from SCMS Symbiosis International (Deemed University) who is a management faculty and a corporate trainer in Pune. He introduced the adapted HR activities during COVID-19, the cost saving undertaken by the HR, and the Global HR Conference held on April 21st. The lecture was attended by 75 students of St. Mira’s College, who made it an interactive session.
Webinar on Investor Awareness Financial Literacy - Department of Economics
The Department of Economics, in association with Board of Industry Academia Partnership organised a webinar on Investor Education and Financial Literacy among the students on 3rd August 2021. The resource person was Ms. Daksha Gogia, a financial expert and trainer for financial literacy. In her lucid and interactive session, Ms. Daksha spoke about the nature, parameters and precautions to be taken while investing in financial markets. The students responded positively to the session. Dr. Manisha Pimpalkhare coordinated the session.
Department of Economics - Inaugural Event of MiRaNomics, the Economics Club
The Department of Economics had organised a guest lecture to mark the inauguration of its Club_MiRaNomics on 27th July 2021 at 4 pm. It was an online event conducted on Google Meet. The objective of the club is to promote a spirit of enquiry and analysis about everything and anything connected to economics.
The guest speaker for the day was Dr. Sujata Khadilkar, Head of the Dept. of Economics at S.K. Somaiya College of Arts, Science and Commerce, Vidyavihar, Mumbai. She spoke about the “Sustainable Cities and National Smart Cities Mission in India”. Dr. Khadilkar presented her views on how smart can also be made sustainable and the natural environment and the environment built by us have to coexist. She further underlined the implications of smart city projects for Pune and its surrounding areas. She suggested a few contemporary and geo-specific topics of research that the members of MiRaNomics can take up.
The lecture was attended by 71 students of St. Mira’s College, who made it an interactive session. Overall, the lecture was very well received by the students.Dr. Manisha Pimpalkhare was the coordinator of the event.
Department of English - Guest Lecture on “Study Abroad – Writing Statements of Purpose”
The Department of English organised a guest lecture on the topic “Study Abroad – Writing Statements of Purpose” on 23rd July 2021, conducted by Ms Revathi Shivakumar of Revadmissions, Mumbai. Ms. Shivakumar elaborated on the different aspects and stages of the admission process to international universities and colleges. She highlighted the strategies of identifying colleges that would be a perfect fit for individual students. In the selection of colleges, she stressed the rationale of choosing colleges from 3 tiers. She covered the admission process and timeline, including the various requisites of the application from transcripts to letters of recommendations and the importance of statements of purpose. She also focused on the strategy of enriching one’s resume with research experience, internships and work experience. She also advised students to create LinkedIn accounts early, right at the onset of their careers.Forty-five students attended the very interactive session, with students raising many relevant questions. Appreciating the session, the students requested a follow-up session on creating a LinkedIn account.
Department of Business Economics and Banking - Industry Academia Interface on – “Mutual Funds Made Easy”
The Department of Business Economics and Banking of the College organized an Industry-Academia Interface on the topic “Mutual Funds Made Easy” on 17th July 2021, conducted by CFP Himanshu Mayne, the CEO of Infinite Financial Academy and co-founder of Infinite Financial Planners. Mr. Mayne elaborated on the different types of Mutual Funds schemes and also the strategies to be adopted while selecting a mutual fund scheme like one’s financial goals, risk appetite, age and investment horizon. Important factors like Assets Under Management, Expense Ratio, Fund Manager’s Experience, Standard Deviation, Beta, Sharpe Ratio, etc., were highlighted while selecting a particular mutual fund scheme of a particular mutual fund company. The comparative pros and cons of the direct versus regular route of investing were also brought to the fore. The importance of concepts like SIPs, STPs, and SWPs as per one’s life cycle needs were also explained along with the benefits of compounding. For instance, the prominence of SWPs in retirement planning was brought out lucidly. The session concluded with a vote of thanks to the speaker.
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BBA-BBA(CA) ORIENTATION FOR 12TH STANDARD STUDENTS 2021
An Orientation Programme was conducted for the St. Mira’s College 12thstandard students by the BBA, BBA(CA) faculty over five sessions. The students from all the streams- Arts, Science and Commerce were present for the sessions on 26-06-21, 28-06-21 and 29-06-21. The students asked questions which were duly attended to by the faculty members. The BBA, BBA(CA) Co-ordinator, Mrs. Rekha Kankariya, the Vice-Principal of Junior College, Mrs. Suvarna Deolankar and other faculty members from the Junior College also attended the sessions. The sessions were interactive and the students reflected a keen interest towards the courses.
Guest Lecture on “Jobs In Top IT Companies And Career Opportunities”
The Computer Science Department of St. Mira’s College for Girls hosted a Guest Lecture on “Jobs In Top IT Companies And Career Opportunities” on5th May 2021 from 5.00 to 6.30 pm for students of the Computer Science Department(B.Sc.(CS)and M.Sc.(CS)). Mr. Rahul Maheshwari, Solutions Engineer –Cloud Architect at Google and founder of LinuxSocials, conducted the lecture.
The lecture aimed to provide knowledge of different technologies and platforms necessary for job opportunities in today’s scenario. Mr. Maheshwari covered the following topics in the lecture - Things to explore in computer Science; How to prepare for placements; How to get placed in Tier-1 Companies; What is Linux Socials and how Linux Socials is helpful for FAANG companies.
Approximately 70 students attended the lecture along with the faculty members of the Computer Science Department. All participants were interactive as well as eager to learn about new things and ways to explore technology as well as how Linux Socials will train students to get placed in IT Companies with a good package. Mr. Maheshwari also helped students explore different career roles and opportunities and how to get on the right path to achieve goals with polls on the webinar for the students to understand the concepts better.
The guest lecture was informative, interactive, well organized, and helpful for all the attendees. It gave them an insight into the technologies and skills needed to acquire jobs in top IT companies.
Whittle Paint and Win Contest
An Inter-Departmental Contest titled - "Whittle, Paint and Win" was held on Saturday, 9th December 2017 at the College Sports Ground. In all, there were 34 teams participating from BA, B.Com, M.Com & BBA Departments. The objective of the activity was to have a fun-filled event by using terms from their favourite subject and creating meaningful quotes relating to love, life, friendship, communication and values by painting them out on T-Shirts.
Our students surprised us with fabulous quotes and also showcased their excellent painting skills.
A few quotes created by our students
- “Residency of Bad Deeds is appropriately taxed in the court of God”
- “Love & Drama are a part of life to drink like a Shake, but don’t forget your Speare, to protect yourself from the evil which lacks faith.”
- “Your sorrow is your loss, and to be happy is your profit, but do not forget, God is your Accountant”
Through this activity, they could link their subject to reality, express and explore their thoughts and emotions in a creative way.
The Launch of Certificate Course in Disability: Awareness & Inclusion
Ekansh Trust in collaboration with St. Mira’s College for Girls launched the certificate course in Disability: Awareness & Inclusion on July 19th, 2018. The course was launched in sacred memory of spiritual guru Dada J P Vaswani. The course has over 62 participants, including undergraduate students and teachers from primary schools.
The idea of the course is to spread awareness about the various kinds of physical, mental, intellectual and learning disabilities; their implications; early intervention; rights of Persons with Disabilities (PwD) etc. The steps before inclusion are awareness, acceptance, sensitization and accessibility. These have to happen on multiple levels and the course seeks to focus on equipping students with enough information and guidance to be able to understand these steps better.
Mrs. Anita Narayan Iyer, Director, Ekansh Trust said that she was proud to be launching this course at St. Mira’s College for Girls and hopes that everything she has learnt in her journey will benefit the students through this course.
Dr. Gidwani, Principal, St. Mira’s College for Girls, also reiterated that this course is important and that many more such efforts must be made together.
The Commissioner, Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disability (PwD), Maharashtra, Shri Ruchesh Jaivanshi was very impressed with the course content and has asked for regular feedback on the progress of the course. He believes that such courses would create a lot of awareness beyond the classroom especially when students begin to advocate inclusion.
Dr. Jaya Rajagopalan, Head, Department of Psychology underlined the importance of acceptance and sensitivity and the underlying educational philosophy of the college to develop mature citizens who have reverence for all. She stated that it was exceedingly important in the context of the growing numbers of persons with different types of disability.
Mrs. Jyoti Nair, parent to a girl on the Autism spectrum emphasized the discriminatory attitude that society has towards PwD and urged the students to be future brand ambassadors of disability awareness. Mr. Sumit suffering from Hemophilia spoke about lack of awareness in society for his condition.
Mrs. Sharmin Palsetia, Assistant Professor, Department of Psychology and the course coordinator compered the event.
Workshops subject-related
Department of Commerce - Understanding Basics of Research in Business.
The Department of Commerce had organised a guest lecture on Understanding Basics of Research in Business on 18th September 2021 at 12 pm. It was an online event conducted on Google Meet. The objective of the session is to understand the basics of business research.
The guest speaker for the day was Dr.Netra Neelam, Professor & Deputy Director, Symbiosis Centre for Management & Human Resources Development (SCMHRD), Pune. She explained the meaning of research and discussed two definitions of research as well. According to her Research is all about finding something. A good research is conducted in 10 steps. She explained the 10 steps with lucid examples. The steps in research are interrelated. She further explained about research design, research design is the detailed blue print used to guide a research study towards its objective. She also introduced the students with Google Scholar which provides good information, which will be useful to the students when the do research on certain topics.
The session was attended by 83 students of St. Mira’s College, they actively participated and made the session interesting. Overall, the session was very informative and interesting, Dr. Rama Venkatachalam was the coordinator of the event .
Workshop on ‘Government Initiatives on Start-up’ - Department of Commerce
St. Mira’s College for Girls, Department of Commerce Organized a Workshop on ‘Government Initiatives On start-ups’ on 20th October 2021, from 10 am- 11 am, through Google Meet for the S.Y. BCOM students. The resource person for the day was Ms. Shivani Sinha a visiting lecturer, she delivers lectures to undergraduate students on topics such as Business ethics, Business planning and project management, management Control system, international agriculture business etc.
The number of participants attending this session were 42 - 39 students, 2 faculty, and 1 resource person. The main motive of the workshop was to make the students aware of the schemes provided by the government so in future when they aspire to be entrepreneurs they can benefit from it. Ms. Shivani delivered a very informative session and explained the schemes. She elaborated many schemes like Start-up India Scheme, Make in India Scheme, Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY) scheme, Atal Incubation Centre (AIC), NewGen IEDC, MSME Market development assistance, the Women Entrepreneurship Platform (WEP), Swarojgar Credit Card, Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana, ASPIRE, Multiple Grant Scheme. The highly informative and interesting workshop had a good response and was very well received by the students. The event was coordinated by Dr. Rama Venkat.
Webinar on ICICI StockMIND Season 9 - Department of BBA, 4th August 2021
A webinar on the StockMIND Season 9 was conducted by ICICI Securities Ltd. for the SYBBA and TYBBA students. The speaker and key resource person of the webinar was Mr Shubham Chourey, Marketing Manager at ICICI Securities Ltd., with over 12 years of experience in the marketing sector. Mr Chourey enlightened the participants about the StockMIND competition. He explained the meaning of stocks, their trading mechanism, and the reason why this competition was such a brilliant opportunity for the students to get an experience of the stock market through a virtual simulation platform. Mr. Chourey’s presentation and explanations were extremely informative, illustrative, and enlightening. After the presentation, Mr Chourey acknowledged and answered the questions raised by the participants in a short question-answer round. Mr Chourey encouraged the participants of the webinar to register for the free StockMIND virtual trading competition. The webinar was attended by 124 participants who were eager to learn more about the competition. The highly informative webinar was concluded with a vote of thanks by Samruddhi Kale of TYBBA on behalf of the College.
Workshops subject-related
Monthly Forum
Department of Commerce - Department of Accountancy Monthly Forum - A Platform for Skilling through Dialogue and Deliberation PNB Scam
The inaugural session of the Monthly Forum for the month of August open for Dialogue and Deliberation on PNB Nirav Scam was conducted on 11th August 2018. It was guided by CS Rashi Joshi who through videos and newspaper articles opened the house for discussion amongUG and PG students. The forum began with an ice-breaking session with the students to help them open up and come forward to put forth their questions and doubts at a later stage.
The Scam was studied in detail and no more couldit be simply called the Nirav Modi Scam alone since PNB was equally involved. The letter of Understanding, Collaterals, 100% Cash Margins was discussed with an insight into the Core Banking System and the SWIFT key linking.
The forum led to insights on many new angles to the fraud with new questions raised as to the involvement of people, Internal Control System, Audit, RBI Audit and so on.
The session enabled the students to understand the fraud that took place, the authorities involved and how it was exposed. They got an insight on how oneshould protect one’s organisation from such scandals by implementing good Internal Control System, strong IT system, constant job rotation in the organisation, changing the Auditors on a timely basis and keeping a check on Internal Auditors work.
"Day" Celebrations
Virtual Farewell- Batch 2020-2021
A virtual Farewell Party was organized for the passing out batch of 2020-2021 in association with Fastrack and Yuvaa for the students of T.Y. BA, BCom, BBA, BBA(CA), BSc, MA, M.Com and MSc on 29th July 2021. Principal-Incharge, Dr Jaya Rajagopalan, addressed the students; the special guest – Kushal Bharatia played soulful music and wove a sting of melodious tracks to rekindle the memorable time spent on campus- the fun, pranks, laughter, love and friendship. Games, question-answer sessions and various activities were conducted. The students were introduced to the St.Mira’s Alumni Association, its activities and the procedure to enrolthemselvesin the association. It was a fun-filled day for all at Mira’s.
Debate Club
The Mira Debating Society – What do you think?
The Mira Debating Society is an open, student-led club in which students across disciplines come together for discussions and debates on contemporary issues, in all their complexity. At St. Mira’s, we believe it is essential to create a space where students feel free to voice what they think fearlessly. Learning to debate also complements academic instruction. The debating society holds 3 to 4 debate sessions every semester where students learning to debate, engage in research, critical thinking, active listening, public speaking, and essential communication skills. The club initiatives result in students participating in several intercollege competitions and coordinating, wholeheartedly, the annual Sadhu Vaswani Intercollege Debate Competition.
The Mira Debating Society - 2020-21
The Core Coordinators of The Mira Debating Society (TMDS) 2020 - 21 were Ummesalama Karu, Muskaan Khan, Samrita Guha and Namrata Datta from TYBA; Juweria Qureshi and Maitrayee Sangitarao from SYBA. The Mira Debating Society commenced its sessions for the academic year 2020-21 in July 2020, beginning with planning sessions amongst the core team.
Over this COVID_19 year, the debate sessions shifted online. Four official sessions (16/9/20, 28/9/20, 17/10/20, 31/10/20) were organised virtually, via ZOOM Meetings that included group discussions, debate training sessions on topics such as ‘Virtual Education will Replace Classroom Education’, ‘Art has a Moral Responsibility Towards Society’, etc. under the series ‘What Do You Think?’ and training on debate content, speech delivery skills, etc. under the series ‘Debating 101’. Each of these sessions was around an hour and a half long, conducted post-lectures.
The sessions saw a good response from enthusiastic students that eventually culminated in three students (Namrata Datta, Sameeha Arifi, Ummesalama Karu) participating in a virtual debate and elocution competition - winning the runners’ up and winner prizes in these events, respectively.
Miranomics
Club MiRaNomics - Department of Economics PPT Presentation Competition
‘Club MiRNAomes’ of Department of Economics organized Intercollegiate PPT Presentation Competition - ‘Nobel Laureates in Economics’ on 25th September 2021. The competition aimed at enhancing the knowledge about the Nobel Laureates in Economics, making students explore the current developments in the subject economics and at developing their presentation skills. Dr. Soniya Chavan, Retired Head, Department of Economics, St. Mira’s College, Pune and Ms. Shweta Natu, Assistant Professor Department of Economics, Kaveri College, Pune were the judges for the event. Out of hundred registrations, 16 participants from various colleges presented their PPTs on different economists like Ragner Frisch, P.A. Samuelson, Gary Becker, Gunnar Myrdal, Milgrom and Wilson, J. R. Hicks, etc. Each student was given five minutes to present the PPT and two minutes for question and answers with the judges. Participants were evaluated for 100 marks based on their content and presentation. After the enthusiastic presentation of all the participants, Ms. Shweta Natu shared some words of appreciation and also few tips and techniques for effective presentation. Dr. Shalini Iyer, Vice-principal and Head, Department of Business Economics addressed the participants and wished them good luck. Dr. Manisha Pimpalkhare, Head, Department of Economics introduced the club Miranomics and the purpose of organising the competition. Ms. Narayani Singh, introduced the judges and welcomed them. The coordinator Dr. Meenal Sumant introduced the competition. Student Coordinators Ms. Ayushi Dubey, Ms. Samiksha Moon hosted the entire event.
Cultural Club
CULTURAL CLUB INAUGURATION PROGRAM
The inaugural program of “KALARAMBH”, the Cultural club of St Mira's college for girls, Pune was organized on 16th November 2021 at 4.00 pm on Zoom platform. The Club was inaugurated at the hands of Ms. Savani Antarkar, chief guest of the program and our Principal in-charge Dr Jaya Rajagopalan. The club aims to provide a platform to students to showcase their artistic talents. The club also aims to create greater awareness on art and aesthetic and on the rich cultural heritage of India. The Inaugural program was marked by a series of colorful cultural programs starting with a Ganesh Vandana and showcasing talents in Rangoli, Mandala painting, singing and dance. A wonderful performance on Jatiswaram in the classical Bharatnatyam style and a delightful Kathak performance on a Tarana were highlights of the program. The program was staged and completely managed by a team of 30 creative and enthusiastic students.
Industrial Visits/Field Trips
Virtual Field Visit- Schizophrenia awareness association- Department of Psychology
A virtual field trip to Schizophrenia awareness association was organized by the SY.BA (Psychology special) students on 27th September 2021. The field visit was organized under the guidance of Ms. Pooja Jain and was attended by 26 Students on a whole. Schizophrenia Awareness Association (SAA) is an organization based in Pune, working since 1997 for people with mental illness and their families. The program started at 2:00 pm on 27th September on the ZOOM platform. The virtual field visit was conducted by two guest speakers who are working at the association. The program began with one of the guest speakers Mrs. Kadambari giving an orientation about the formation and working of the association to the students. Followed by which the second guest speaker for the program Mrs Sarika, Joint secretary of the association, shared a case study and spoke about how the association works to create awareness and to remove stigma about schizophrenia and other mental health disorders in the community, to promote self-help group activities, to provide day care and rehabilitation facilities to person with mental health disorder. This was followed by a Question-Answer session wherein the students could ask questions and clear their doubts. The vote of thanks was proposed by Ms. Sherin George. Total participants were 27; the program was coordinated by Ms. Pooja Jain
A virtual field visit to KEM TDH Morris Child Development Centre, Pune - Department of Psychology
A virtual field visit to KEM TDH Morris Child Development Centrewas organized for students of SYBA Psychology special by Department of Psychology on 13thOctober, 2021 at 11am. 27 students of SYBA attended the webinar along with the panellists and Ms. Sharmin Palsetia who coordinated the event.
The session highlighted the importance and challenges of working with children and their families ondiagnostic and therapeutic services. The panellists highlighted the importance of family and social support during development of the children. The students actively participated in the session.
Virtual Field Visit- Connecting NGO - Department of Psychology
On 24th September 2021, a field visit, of 28 students, with Connecting NGO at 11pm, on Google Meet was organised by the students of Psychology Special of St. Mira’s College for Girls, Pune under the Guidance of Ms. Pooja Jain and Department of Psychology. The coordinator for the visit was Ms Rinita Adhikary. The speaker for the visit was Mr Vikramsinh Pawar. He introduced us to the organisation and the various programs that the NGO was running for individuals who feel suicidal, for those who lost their loved ones to suicide, saw others attempting suicide and also survived it. He spoke about the recruitment process of the Volunteers for the NGO. The NGO aims at spreading awareness in the population about suicide and also sensitizing people population towards suicide. There was a Q&A session at the end of the presentation. The virtual field visit ended with a vote of thanks by Ms Janvi Sharma.
Virtual Field Visit- National Institute for the Empowerment of Persons with Intellectual Disabilities -Department of Psychology
A virtual field visit to National Institute for the Empowerment of Persons with Intellectual Disabilities was organized by the SY.BA (Psychology special) students on 24th September 2021. The field visit was organized under the guidance of Ms. Pooja Jain and was attended by 26 students on a whole. National Institute for the Empowerment of Persons with Intellectual Disabilities was established in the year 1984 at Manovikasnagar in Telangana. NIEPID is dedicated to providing quality services to Persons with Intellectual Disabilities (Divyangjan) in the National interest.
The program started at 3pm on 24th September on the Google meet platform. The virtual field visit was conducted by Dr Krishna, faculty in rehabilitation psychology at NIEPID. The program began with the guest speaker Dr Krishna, giving an orientation about the formation and working of the institute to the students.National Institute for the Empowerment of Persons with Intellectual Disabilities was formerly known as the National Institute for the Mentally Handicapped. NIEPID has three regional centers located at Noida/ New Delhi, Kolkata, & Mumbai. The institute endeavors to excel in building capacities and empowering Persons with Intellectual Disabilities. He also spoke briefly about the objectives of the organization. Followed by which he gave a presentation on Cognitive behaviour therapy and the role of positive thinking. At the end there was a Question-Answer session wherein the students could ask questions and clear their doubts. The vote of thanks was proposed by Ms. Malavika Pillai.
Salsa Credit Course
Interesting and innovative credit courses are always our way at St. Mira’s, one of which was a Salsa Styling Credit Course conducted by our very own final year BBA student, Ms. SimranWadhwani, a certified instructor in Performing Arts.
This 15-hour course helped students understand the better utilization of body motion and styling while introducing them to some flavours of international culture. The training was imparted to students from all the streams.
This workshop was an endeavour to introduce different cultures and their art forms to students. The instructor was successful in achieving the set goal of helping the girls learn more about the dance form and build better personalities at the same time.
Practical and theory examinations were conducted at the end of the sessions for students, to evaluate their understanding and learning through the course.
The students enthusiastically look forward to more such opportunities and learnings.
Social outreach
SOUL: Teaching through Storytelling
On the 2nd of January, a session on SOUL was conducted by Maryam Shaikh, an alumnus of St Mira’s College for Girls, where she explained to the student volunteers of SOUL: Social Outreach United Learning various techniques of teaching Spoken English. As a senior volunteer and founder member of SOUL she explained its vision and implementation. The volunteer would take on the role of a SOUL didi and the interaction would be one-on-one. The two groups i.e., those teaching at Aasra and those teaching at Ambral Panchgani were to contact their students and start teaching after the 3rd of January 2022 meeting their partners once a week for half an hour. The lecture would be divided into an initial ice-breaker informal chat session, followed by a 15 min class and concluded with a 5 min pop quiz to recap. The topics and the PPTs have already been fixed. She also introduced another form of teaching through storytelling and reading. A story bank would be collected based on simple stories that were relatable and interactive. The SOUL group of volunteers would meet every week to discuss how the class went and plan for the week . They would take 15 sessions. A pre course and post course questionnaire had to be filled by both the SOUL Didi and the student to analyse the effectiveness of the learning process. Twenty students attended the session.
COVID RESOURCES STUDENTS' ASSOCIATION (2020-21)
Covid Resources Students' Association is an initiative started by Taarini Das, Urvi Shetty and Karuna Das, our students who came together to help India heal via Social Media.
They thought it was important for such a campaign to be carried out because it was the need of the hour. They wanted people to spend time with their loved ones during these times rather than run around for resources.
CRSA India helps people by providing well-researched and accurate verified information to fulfill their requirements. They have a team of enthusiastic volunteers from around the country helping them to be more, learn more and help more. In the span of weeks, they have been able to help around 2000 people around India and have decided to be there for people as long as they need to be.
They have a team for the collection of well-researched data and resources from different social media platforms, websites. , CRSA India volunteers, in every state, make sure that most of the data updated on the spreadsheet consists of all genuine and verified data and this is made available to everyone in need.
The group hosts a Google meeting from 10 AM to 10 PM every day for the entire team, as and when they are free to join. On this call, the team helps in the verification of all data. They call all the resources on the spreadsheet, individually, every day to confirm availabilities.
The team gets a lot of requests through their personal social media handles and also their main Instagram page - @CRSAindia. The teams endeavour to help as many people as they can.
YOUTH EMPOWERMENT PROGRAM
St. Mira’s College for Girls along with IDOBRO and INFINITY RISE FOUNDATION conducted the Youth Empowerment Program, a prestigious endeavour by UNICEF to create FIVE MILLION YOUNG WARRIORS across the globe on 2nd August 2021. We feel immensely proud as our Third Year students across all streams will be a flagbearer for this noble cause. The Orientation for DhanGyan, a financial literary course for women empowerment and YuWaah Walkthrough commenced with a little celebration of Dada’s Birthday and an impressive tour of St. Mira’s. The program was presided over by Ms. Deepali Bhagwate, Impact Manager-Program and Mr. Deepak Nanda, Senior Associate Impact, Communications and Technology, RISE Infinity Foundation. The first program, Dhan Gyan was a CSR activity by TATA Financial Group. It is a skill and value based education to make women aware of financial literacy, proper managing of finances and make effective retirement plan. More than fifty students registered for Dhan Gyan on the spot and the rest of them followed later.
The second program was on Young Warriors conducted by UNICEF, a program instituted to make young generation fight Covid 19 for themselves and the society. YuWaah is a gamified WhatsAppChat for interaction with Young Warriors providing knowledge and various courses on personality development and mental health. The student has to sign up and is entitled to a UID allotted by UNICEF to track her progress. After completion of five tasks asked by UNICEF, the student will get a certificate of Young Warrior and become permanently registeredwith them throughout their life.Most of the students participating for the movement have completed the tasks. It is an ongoing process and will be carried on for some more time.