ANNUAL QUALITY ASSURANCE REPORT (AQAR) OF THE ...Jidnyasa Mahila Mandal, Phoolpada, Virar (E) 1 day 35 46. 17.03.12 Perfume Making Course Jidnyasa Mahila Mandal, Phoolpada, Virar (E)

1

ANNUAL QUALITY ASSURANCE REPORT (AQAR) OF THE IQAC

Name of the Institution: Year of Report:

SOPHIA COLLEGE FOR WOMEN 2011-2012

(Affiliated to the University of Mumbai)

Part A: What is the plan of action chalked out by the IQAC in the beginning of the

year towards quality enhancement and what is the outcome by the end of the year?

The IQAC was set up at Sophia College in November 2003. In 2011-2012 it comprised the

following members:

Dr. (Sr.) Anila Verghese – Principal (Chairperson of IQAC)

Ms. Jennie Mendes – Vice-Principal (Arts)

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Dr. Roshan D’Souza – Vice-Principal (Science)

Dr. (Sr.) Ananda Amritmahal – Vice-Principal (Admin.) & Co-ordinator of

SCWSD

Sr. Annie Peter – Vice-Principal (Junior College)

Dr. Medha Rajadhyaksha – faculty member

Ms. Gilda Pereira – faculty member

Ms. Bina Gonsalves – faculty member

Ms. Nivedita Iyer – faculty member

Ms. Prabha Suresh – Librarian

Ms Juliana D’Costa – representative of office staff

Mr.Ramesh Ramane – representative of other non-teaching staff

Mrs. Nevah D’Mello – ex-student

Mrs. Sheila Master – ex-student (Member Co-ordinator IQAC)

Sr. Teresa Pereira – Management Representative

The following plans for 2011-2012 were chalked out for quality enhancement in the College, and

were included in the IQAC Report of 2010-2011:

1) To introduce MIS, beginning with the FYBA/FYBSc and FYBMM class of 2011-2012.

(Outcome: this was introduced; but more work needs to be done on it)

2) To apply for affiliation for the BSc in Information Technology

(Outcome: the application was sent to the University; the college representatives

were called to the University for a meeting on December 12, 2011 regarding this

application; a local enquiry committee appointed by the University visited the

College in February 2012 in this respect; the University forwarded the application

to the Government. The Government permission is awaited)

3) To introduce the Model United Nations (MUN) on a trial basis, as an intra and inter-

collegiate student activity, to which even higher secondary school students could be

invited. The MUN at Sophia would be on a socially relevant theme. For the year 2011,

it was proposed to be on the theme of ‘Human Rights, Justice, Peace and the Integrity of

Nature’.

(Outcome: this was carried out very successfully)

4) To carry forward the activities planned under ‘Strategic Planning’ and ‘Brand Building’

of the College.

(Outcome: this was done to some extent)

5) To further enhance the College Infrastructure and ICT Teaching-Learning facilities

(Outcome: this has been done to some extent)

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6) To launch a fund-raising campaign towards building up a corpus for College

Development

(Outcome: a fund-raising drive was launched with a beautiful appeal prepared for

the same and a ‘gifting tree’ being worked out. Some funds have been raised; but

much of it went into further infrastructure development)

ALL OTHER GOOD AND HEALTHY PRACTICES AND PROGRAMMES THAT WE

HAVE AT SOPHIA COLLEGE FOR WOMEN WILL BE CONTINUED IN 2011-2012 IN

ORDER TO IMPART QUALITY, VALUE-BASED EDUCATION TO OUR STUDENTS.

Part B: 1. ACTIVITIES REFLECTING THE GOALS AND OBJECTIVES OF THE

INSTITUTION:

Sophia College Goals (as reformulated in 2001)

“Sophia is essentially a women’s college, committed to the integrated development of women for

individual and societal transformation.

Our goals therefore are:

1. To enable each student to develop her full intellectual potential through a focused

academic experience that is simultaneously rich, extensive and collaborative.

2. To offer students scope for critical thinking and discernment, leading to the

development of value-based convictions.

3. To help students develop a degree of self-reliance and determination to respond with

courage and sensitivity to personal and social issues.

4. To generate among students an awareness of women’s issues, human rights and

environmental issues, so that they understand and respond constructively to these.

5. To sensitize students to look at the world from the perspective of the less privileged

and to respond with concern and in a humane manner.

6. In the context of globalization, to foster in students a sense of national identity that is

secular and multicultural, with respect and tolerance of all cultures and religions.

7. To encourage Christian students develop their religious convictions in an atmosphere

of respect for other faiths and for each individual’s personal beliefs.”

At the beginning of the academic year, in June 2011, each department met and chose specific

goal(s) to focus on and drew up activities for the same. An end-of-the-year report of what was

done/achieved during the year was submitted by the departments to the Principal. This included

activities carried out reflecting the goals of the College.

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All the activities carried out by the departments under the theme of the year of ‘Education for

Justice and Peace’ were in keeping with Goal 4. All the activities of innovative teaching as well

as of research work were in line with Goals 1 and 2. The community services and outreach

programmes conducted reflect Goal 5, while the activities of our Counselling Centre are in

keeping with Goal 3. We have also tried to implement Goal 3 through the co-curricular activities

as well as through the social service programmes. Goals 6 and 7 were lived out in the Peace

Fortnight activities as well as in various inter-religious prayer services conducted during the

year.

The details of all of the above are given under the various points listed below.

2. NEW ACADEMIC PROGRAMMES INITIATED

Certificate Courses

The Sophia Centre for Women’s Studies and Development (SCWSD), set up in 2001, conducted

the following certificate courses:

Certificate Course in Food & Nutrition

Certificate Course in Women’s Empowerment

Certificate Course in Social Work Focussing on Issues related to Women and Girls

Certificate Course in Baking

In addition, several outreach courses and other programmes, especially for school drop-outs and

other girls from marginalized backgrounds, were conducted by SCWSD:

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No. Date Course Venue Duration Participants

1 17.09.11 Perfume Making Viva College, Virar (W) 1 day 85

2 23.09.11

Dantamanjan

Making Viva College, Virar (W) 1 day

65

3 24.09.11 Perfume Making

Sai Mandir Hall,

Nallasopara (W) 1 day

35


Mahanagar Palika

Vachanalay, Virar (E) 1 day

28


YST Club, Chanakya

Chowk, Virar (W) 1 day

35


Ram Mandir Hall, Bolinj,

Virar (W) 1 day

56

7 14.10.11

Utne Making and

Dantmanjan

Making

YST Club, Chalpeth,

Agashi, Virar (W) 1 day

45


YST Club, Chalpeth,

Agashi, Virar (W) 1 day

48

9. 21.10.11

Orientation of

Outreach course &

Chocolate Making

demo

Navjeevan, Remand

Home, Chembur. 1 day

26


Vasai Pragati Co. Credit

Soc., Virar (W) 1 day

24

11. 04.11.11 Face pack Making



24

12. 05.11.11 Chocolate Making



47

13. 08.11.11 Perfume Making Arnalagaon, Virar (W) 1 day 22

14. 09.11.11 Chocolate Making Arnalagaon, Virar (W) 1 day 26

15. 11.11.11 Perfume Making

Z.P.School, Kalamb gaon,


36


Z.P.School, Kalamb gaon,


42

17. 12.11.11 Chocolate Making SCWSD, Mumbai 1 day 07


Lakshmi Narayan Mandir,

Kathe Pada Navapur,

Virar (W) 1 day

16


Lakshmi Narayan Mandir,

Kathe Pada Navapur,

Virar (W) 1 day

26

20. 22.11.11 Chocolate Making Satpala village, Virar (W) 1 day 110


Lucky Compound,

Bhayandar (E) 1 day

55


Hakela Nagar, Mira Road

(E) 1 day

35

23. 03.12.11

Perfume & Face

pack making SCWSD, Mumbai 1 day

08

24. 21.12.11

Workshop on

Communication

Skill SCWSD, Mumbai 1 day

18


Tiles Factory, Shanti Ngr,

Mira Road (E) 1 day

120

26. 23.12.11 Chocolate Making Near Ayappa Mandir, 1 day 55

6

Bhayandar (E)

27. 11.01.12 Chocolate Making Manvel pada, Virar (E) 1 day 125


Nirankar Bhawan,

Naringi gaon, Virar (E) 1 day

65


Gaurangi Bldg. Jivdani

Pach Payri, Virar (E) 1 day

85


Prakash Deep, Naringi

Rd., Virar (E) 1 day

45


Siddhartha Nagar, Kargir


135


Siddhartha Nagar, Kargir


147


Vishwakarma Hall, Vasai

(W) 1 day

43


Ram Mandir Hall, Bolinj,

Virar (W) 1 day

77


Vartak High School Hall,

Vasai (W) 1 day

161


Anandi Hall, Nallasopara

(E) 1 day

28

37.

21.01.12

to

18.02.12

(on Sats.)

Food Craft (Cake

Making) SCWSD, Mumbai 5 days

15

38. 01.02.12

Food Craft (Cake

Making) SCWSD, Mumbai 7 days

14


J.B.Vartak High School,

Vasai (W) 1 Day

350

40. 22.02.12

Dantmanjan &

Face Pack Making

Ram Mandir, Bolinj,

Virar (W) 1 day

43

41. 23.02.12

Dantmanjan &

Face Pack Making

Shiva Temple, Bhati

Bandar, Aagashi, Virar

(W) 1 day

56

42. 24.02.12

Dantmanjan &

Face Pack Making Kargir Nagar, Virar (E) 1 day

123

43. 25.02.12

Dantmanjan &

Face Pack Making

Vidya Sadan Apt.,

Manvel Pada, Manvel

Pada, Virar (E) 1 day

126

44.

12.03.12

to

28.03.12

Food Craft Course

(Breakfast items) SCWSD, Mumbai 12 days

17

45. 16.03.12

Chocolate Making

Course

Jidnyasa Mahila Mandal,

Phoolpada, Virar (E) 1 day

35

46. 17.03.12

Perfume Making

Course

Jidnyasa Mahila Mandal,

Phoolpada, Virar (E) 1 day

32

47. 21.03.12

Liquid Soap &

Face Pack

Anandi Sabhagriha,

Nallasopara (E) 1 day

24

48. 22.03.12 Dantamanjan

Anandi Sabhagriha,

Nallasopara (E) 1 day

24

49. 27.03.12

Liquid Soap &

Face Pack

Shankeshwar Nagar

Rahiwasi Kalyankari

Samaj Hall, Nallasopara 1 day

32

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3. INNOVATIONS IN CURRICULAR DESIGN AND TRANSACTION:

As an affiliated institution, it is not possible for the College to design the curriculum of

the regular courses. However, in our autonomous P.G. Courses, namely, the Post-

graduate Diploma in Clinical Analysis (DCA), the Post-graduate Diploma in Laboratory

Management and the Post-graduate Diploma in Quality Assurance in the Foods and

Pharmaceuticals Industry (QA), we are able to vary the curriculum to meet the needs of

industry.

The Sophia Centre for Women’s Studies and Development designs the curricula of the

courses it offers and these are constantly being upgraded or changed to suit the changing

needs.

A number of staff members were elected / nominated to the Boards of Studies of their

respective subjects or were on syllabus revision committees of the University of Mumbai.

For example:

Dr. Trevor Allis was elected as member of the Board of Studies in Logic and

Philosophy and he was also a member of the MA Syllabus Review Committee.

Dr. Aninha Lobo was elected as member of the Board of Studies in Psychology.

Dr. Perpetua Miranda was elected as member of the Board of Studies in Sociology.

She was also appointed as convenor for the syllabus revision committee for 2012-

2013 for the TYBA papers in ‘Social Theory’ and ‘Research Methodology’

Dr. Trevor Allis, Dr. Aninha Lobo and Dr. Perpetua Miranda were also elected as

members of Faculty of Arts. Dr. Aninha Lobo is also on the Faculty of Science.

Dr. Roshan D’Souza is on the Board of Studies of Zoology and the MSc Part I

syllabus revision committee in Zoology.

Ms Gilda Pereira is on the syllabus revision committee for Sociology Paper III.

Ms Anagha Tendulkar is on the syllabus revision committee for Sociology Paper II.

Dr. Yasmin Khan is on the syllabus revision committee for the FYBSc Life Science

paper, for revision required for the credit/semester system.

Dr. Gail Carneiro is a member of the syllabus committee for MSc Part I – Organic

Chemistry.

Dr. Chinmoyee Vatsyayan is a member of the Board of Studies in Biochemistry as

well as a member of the core committee for the MSc syllabus revision.

(E)

50. 28.03.12

Dantamanjan &

Chocolate Making

Shankeshwar Nagar

Rahiwasi Kalyankari

Samaj Hall, Nallasopara

(E) 1 day

40

51.

16.03.12

to

28.03.12

Food Craft Course

(Meal Items) SCWSD, Mumbai 12 days

8

Dr. Nirmala Tripathi is a member of the SYBA Syllabus reviewing sub-committee in

Hindi.

A number of our teachers are on the Board of Studies of St. Xavier’s College

(Autonomous), Mumbai, e.g. Dr. Roshan D’Souza (Zoology), Ms Swarupa Kamat

(History), Dr. Gail Carneiro (Chemistry), Dr. Chinmoyee Vatsyayan (Biochemistry), Dr.

Nirmala Tripathi (Hindi).

Innovative academic activities are carried out through our Excellence Programmes in

Arts (EXAP) and Science (EXSP).

In the Excellence Programmes a variety of creative papers were prepared / presented:

EXAP (Education to Excellence in Arts Programme)

EXAP (Batch XVII) students prepared and presented the following research papers:

Divya Das, Diya Anna John and Shruti Asokan, “Conformity in Education and

Career Choices – A Comparative Study of Chennai and Mumbai” (staff guides: Ms

Gilda Pereira and Dr. Andrea Coutinho)

Nalika Braganza, Sweta Narsale and Nehal Jain, “Contemporary Urban Teenage

Poetry in English: The Representations of the Theme of ‘Self’” (staff guide: Dr.

Sufiya Pathan)

Ria Patnaik and Devika Kher, “The Impact of Foreign Investment on the Indian

Banking Sector” (staff guide: Ms Sunita Jadhav)

Dhvani Doshi and Madhuri Dhariwal, “Facebook: A Comparative Study of the

Social Impact of Facebook on 12-40 year olds in the cities of Mumbai and Raipur”

(staff guide: Ms. Rashna Poncha)

EXAP (Batch XVIII) presented the following seminar papers:

Ketaki Savnal, “The History of Women’s Education in Bombay City from 1840 to

1947 – A Look at the Contribution of Different Communities” (staff guide: Ms.

Rashna Poncha)

Harini Alladi, Devika Kerkar and Marina George, “In His Shoes – Conquering Male

Bastions” (staff guide: Ms. Jaya Kanoria)

Farah Chitalwala, Gitanjali Hiranandani and Vitasta Kaul, “Our Leading Ladies –

The Face of Theatre in Mumbai” (staff guide: Dr. Jennie Mendes)

EXAP (Batch XVIII) cultural component papers were presented as follows:

Vitasta Kaul, Madhurima Chatterjee and Farah Chitalwala, “The Echo of Mt.

Olympus in the Renaissance” (staff guide: Dr. (Sr.) Ananda Amritmahal)

Ketaki Savnal, Hiral Shah and Binita Modi, “The ‘Mane’ Story” (staff guide: Ms

Swarupa Kamat)

Sampurna Maitra, Garima Raghuvanshy and Ayesha Thomas, “Brassieres and

Feminine Identity” (staff guide: Mr. Ivan John)

Harini Alladi, Gitanjali Hiranandani and Marina George, “Westward Ho! Pioneer

Life in the American West” (staff guide: Ms Jihasa Vachcharajani)

9

Aisharya Pillai, Ruchika Radhakrishnan, “The Aborigines: Indigenous Australian

Culture” (staff guide: Ms Rashna Poncha)

EXSP (Education to Excellence in Science Programme):

BATCH XXI (2011-2014):

The FYBSc EXSP students prepared and presented seminars. The details are given

below:

Sr. No. Name of

Student

Name of Guide Topic

1. Almeida Ulrica Ms Tanaz Asha Biopolymers

2. Qureshi Rabia Ms Tanaz Asha Biopolymers

3. Karol Haiquea Mr M Garud Explosives

4. Rosario Zenia Dr R. D’Souza Progeria

5. Pereira Smeetal Dr R. D’Souza Progeria

6. Khan Juveria Ms Latika Sethi ART

7. Khan Saima Ms Latika Sethi ART

8. Mayekar

Mithila

Ms Latika Sethi ART

9. Khalid Zoya Ms S. Prabhu Extremophiles

10. Khaire Divya Ms S. Prabhu Extremophiles

11. Doma Mariya Dr. H.

Ramachandran

Plant-Animal interactions-Fig

Wasp

12. Arvind Chiti Dr. H.

Ramachandran

Mitochondrial DNA

13. Dutt Mohini Dr. H.

Ramachandran

Mitochondrial DNA

14. Banerjee

Shibanti

Ms Sandhya

Kadiru

Anaemia

15. Mascarenhas

Ria

Mr. M.R. Garud Explosives

BATCH XX (2010-2013)

The SYBSc EXSP students prepared Literature surveys and were evaluated for the same.

The details are given below:

SR.

No.

Name of student Topic Name of the guide

1. Leandra

Fernandes

Oat Meal Best Meal Ms Archana

Kulkarni

2. Marina John Bacterial Bioluminescence Ms Shraddha Prabhu

3. Pearl Rodrigues Cancer prevention in Women Ms Jyoti Mantri

10

4. Mubashira Ghure Oat Meal Best Meal Ms Archana

Kulkarni

5. Sirat Shaikh Chromosome 15 Dr. Sree Kumar

6. Steffie Rodrigues Designer Babies Ms Latika Sethi

7. Janki Fulwala Chromosome 15 Dr. Sree Kumar

8. Eram Ansari Human Embryonic Stem Cell and

regenerative Medicine

Dr. R. D’Souza

9. Ammara Ansari Problems related to foetus Dr. Sree Kumar

10. Noorafsha Khatri Schizophrenia – Types and

Remedies

Ms S. Dugal

11. Lisa Marak Schizophrenia – Types and

Remedies

Ms S. Dugal

12. Purva

Phaterpekar

Problems related to foetus Dr. Sree Kumar

13. Nazia Chaudhary Bacterial Bioluminescence Ms Sandhya Kadiru

14. Saima Nakhwa Human Embryonic Stem Cell and

regenerative Medicine

Dr. R. D’Souza

The above students have also started working on their research projects and will complete

and submit the same at the beginning of the next academic year.

BATCH XIX (2009-2012)

The TYBSc EXSP students have completed their research component as well as their

literature survey and were evaluated for the same. The details of which are given below:

Name of student

Research Topic

Guide

1. Rosemary Humstoe Antimicrobial effects of

Cow’s Urine Mrs. Ila Shah

2. Saranya Govindan

The antibacterial action of

herbs and spices on skin

microflora

Dr. R. Dehiya

3. Anjum Sarigat Reduction of algal blooms Ms Jyoti Mantri

4. Fatema Husain

To develop a model to study

regeneration using zebra

fish larvae.

Dr. Yasmin Khan

5. Pratednya Sakpal Antimicrobial effects of

Cow’s Urine Mrs. Ila Shah

6. Brucena Barretto Protein estimation of

various food stuff. Dr. H. Ramachandran

11

Though the curriculum for our regular courses is set by the University, each department

uses innovative teaching-learning methods. In addition, various activities were carried

out under the theme of the year, ‘Education to Justice, Peace and the Integrity of Nature’

The following are some of the creative / innovative methods of teaching and learning: use

of ICT, audio-visuals, OHP and Power-point presentations by teachers; the screening of

films followed by discussion; class seminars, workshops and student presentations; field

trips, guest lectures; wall newspapers; class debates and discussions;

placement/internships; hands on research work; creative project and assignment work

etc. The following are some examples of these:

Use of ICT

For FYBA History Paper I, which is on the History of Mumbai and Maharashtra,

aspects of geography of Maharashtra and Mumbai were taught using Google Earth.

The TYBA History Single Major students were given a session in the computer

laboratory to teach them how to access information from websites and how to

acknowledge these.

The Psychology Department regularly uses various interactive ICT programmes in

class such as the Live Psych, MyPsychLab etc.

For the FYBSc students of Mathematics a computer workshop on EXCEL and

‘MathLab for Unique Mathematical Functions’ was conducted in August 2011. In

December 2011 an ICT workshop was organised for the students in which they learnt

how to make power-point presentations and use MathMax software. On January 10,

2012, a one-day workshop on ‘Math – 3 d graphs using MathLab’ was held for the

FYBSc mathematics students in the computer centre by Ms Sandra Mendes. The

7. Stephanie Mascarenhas To develop a model to study

regenation using zebra fish. Dr. Yasmin Khan

8. Flora Chettiar



microflora

Dr. R Dehiya

9. Srivani Sirpuram

Toxicity testing of copper

and diclofenac using zebra

fish embryos

Dr. Yasmin Khan

10. Saniya Thomas Protein estimation of

various food stuff. Dr. H. Ramachandran

11. Aalifiya Maimoon

To develop a model to study

regeneration using zebra

fish larvae.

Dr. Yasmin Khan

12. Priyanka Solanki



microflora

Dr. R. Dehiya

13. Minoshka Xavier Habituation in snails and

tracing of its neural pathway

Ms L. Sethi and Dr. M.

Rajyadhyaksha

12

students also made power-point presentations on mathematicians like Euclid,

Newton, Aryabhatta, Euler, Taylor, Lagrange, Pascal etc.

The Education Departments gets its students to make power-point presentations on

topics related to the syllabus as part of their internal assessment work.

Ms Shraddha Prabhu (Microbiology Department) organised an E-learning workshop

for her FYBSc class on November 22, 23 and 24, 2011.

Use of OHP, slides and power-point presentations:

Teachers of various departments use the Overhead Projector and transparencies or slides

and power-point presentations quite regularly. For example, in English Paper VIII a

power-point presentation on ‘The Russian Revolution’ was shown, while for Paper VII

there was one on ‘Thomas Hardy’ and for Paper IV one on ‘A Midsummer Night’s

Dream’ and one on ‘The Theatre as a Playhouse’. For Paper V, ‘the History of English

Language’ was presented both as a power-point presentation as well as through a lecture.

In History, during the first term for FYBA Paper I, a power-point presentations on ‘Early

Modes of Transport in Bombay’, ‘Architecture in Mumbai City’ etc. were shown. The

SYBA students were shown power-point presentations on ‘Renaissance Art, Architecture

and Sculpture’, ‘Indus Valley Civilisation’, ‘Buddhist Art and Architecture’ etc. For

TYBA Paper VI power-point presentations on ‘Caves’ and ‘Numismatics’ were shown in

class. The TYBA class was also shown a power-point on ‘History of Bombay’. In the

second term, for the paper on Medieval India, power-point presentations or slide-shows

on the topics ‘Art and Architecture of the Delhi Sultanate’, ‘Mughal Art and

Architecture’, Vijayanagara Art and Architecture’ and ‘Bahmani Art and Architecture’

were shown to the TYBA class.

The Zoology Department showed power-point presentations on topics such as

‘Arthropoda’ and ‘Mollusca’.

Screening of relevant films / documentaries/VCDs:

The BMM Film Society:

- ‘The Black Swan’ (June 17, 2011)

- ‘Little Miss Sunshine’ (July 1, 2011)

- ‘Million Dollar Baby’ (July 8, 2011)

- ‘Where is the Friend’s Home’ (July 15, 2011)

- ‘The French Lieutenant’s Woman’ (July 23, 2011)

- ‘An Inconvenient Truth’ (July 29, 2011)

- ‘Chicago’ (August 6, 2011)

- ‘Jogwa’ (August 19, 2011)

- ‘ET: The Extra-Terrestrial’ (November 18, 2011)

- ‘Silence of the Lambs’ (November 25, 2011)

- ‘Bend it Like Beckham’ (January 13, 2012)

- ‘Vertigo’ (January 21, 2012)

- ‘The Magnificent Seven’ (January 27, 2012)

- ‘Match Point’ (February 3, 2012)

13

- ‘Persepolis’ (February 17, 2012)

Other film screenings by BMM

- On August 20, 2011 there was the Film screening of the documentary film

‘Aamakar’ by Surabhi Sharma for all the BMM classes as part of the enrichment

programme.

- September 6, 2011: Ms. Harini Calamur screened two films, ‘The Story of India’

and ‘Freakonomics’, for the TYBMM Journalism class as a part of Feature and

Opinion (Journalism course).

- September 6, 2011: Documentary film ‘The Days that Shook the World: The

Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand and Hitler’s Suicide’, was screened

for the FYBMM History class.

- September 7, 2011: Vaishali Sinha screened and discussed ‘Made in India’, a film

on surrogacy, for the FYBMM Sociology class.

- September 10, 2011: Documentary film ‘India Untouched’, on the issue of

untouchability in India, was screened for the FYBMM Sociology class.

- November 19, 2011: the film ‘Land Gold Women’, written and directed by

Avantika Hari, on the issue of honour killings, was screened for all the BMM

classes.

- November 29, 2011: TYBMM Journalism students viewed a documentary ‘The

Corporation’ by Mark Achbar and Jennifer Abbott.

- November 30, 2011: TYBMM Journalism students viewed a film ‘Wall Street’

directed by Oliver Stone, starring Shia LaBeouf, Michael Douglas and Carey

Mulligan.

- January 10, 2012: Ms Harini Calamur guided a film-viewing session of ‘News

War Part 1’ by Director Raney Aronsan Rath, for the TYBMM Journalism class.

- January 12, 2012: Ms Harini Calamur guided a film-viewing session of ‘News

War Part 2, Part 3, Part 4’ by Director Raney Aronsan Rath, for the TYBMM

Journalism class.

- January 27, 2012: Ms Reena Agarwal guided a film-viewing session of ‘Bombay

Our City’, by Anand Patwardhan, for the TYBMM Advertising students.

History Department regularly screened films / documentary films for its TYBA single

major class touching on various issues related to the syllabi:

- 21/6/11:'Truman Show' (Globalisation and Media)

- 28/6/11: 'Ayatollah Khomeini ', a documentary film (Revolution in Iran)

- 5/7/11: 'Crash' (Racism in USA)

- 19/7/11: ‘Nero's Guests: The Age of Inequality' (Poverty)

- 26/7/11: ‘The Inconvenient Truth' (Development and Environment )

- 2/8/11: 'Bicycle Thieves' (Poverty in post-war Europe)

- 9/8/11: 'Letter of Iwo Jima' (World War II in Asia)

- 5/9/11: 'Turning Against the West' (Racism in Japan during World War II)

- 13/9/11: 'Death before Surrender' (Shintoism and Militarism in Japan during

World War II )

- 15/9/11: ‘Little Miss Sunshine' (Subjectivity of Perception)

- 27/9/11: ‘The Pianist' (Anti-Semitism in Poland )

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0009788/

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0007989/

14

- 15/11/11: ‘Mirch Masala’ (Women’s Rights)

- 14/12/11: ‘Krisallnacht and the Birth of Israel’ (Hitler and the Birth of Israel)

- 7/2/212: ‘Mussolini’ (Dictatorship in Italy)

- 14/2/12: ‘Hitler’ (Dictatorship in Germany)

The English Department organised regular film weekly screenings for its TYBA class

in connection with Paper IX on Film and Literature. The following were screened:

‘The Bicycle Thieves’ (16/6/11), ‘Day for Night’ (23/6/11), ‘Rome, Open City’

(30/6/11),‘Psycho’, ‘Citizen Kane’, ‘The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari’, ‘Metropolis’,

‘Battleship Potemkin’, ‘Breathless’, ‘Rashomon’, ‘400 Blows’ (15/9/11), Zeffirelli’s

‘Romeo and Juliet’ (22/9/11), Luhraman’s ‘Romeo and Juliet’ (29/9/11), ‘Pride and

Prejudice’ (BBC series) (17.11.11), Joe Wright’s ‘Pride and Prejudice’ (24.11.11),

Roman Polanski's ‘Macbeth’ (8.12.11), ‘Throne of Blood’ (15.12.11), ‘Maqbool’,

‘The French Lieutenant’s Woman (19.1.12), and ‘Charulata’.

Others:

- The Chemistry students of TYBSc were shown a film on the ‘Origin, Nature and

Use of Radioactivity’ in July 2011.

- The students of Political Science Paper IV were shown the film ‘Ram ke Naam’

on September 27, 2011. This was followed by a discussion.

- The Zoology Department screened documentary films such as ‘Seasonal Forests’

for its FYBSc class on July 7, 2011 and ‘Deserts’ for its SYBSc class on October

1, 2011 from the Planet Earth Series during the first term. During the second term

the following were screened: ‘Great Plains’ (November 17, 2011), ‘Life of

Mammals: Return to Water’ (November 26, 2011), and ‘Drift Fishing’ (December

15, 2011) for the SYBSc class, and ‘Fresh Water’ (January 5, 2012) and

‘Recombinant Technology’ (January 13, 2012) for the FYBSc class.

- The Psychology Department has a large number of videos and video clippings on

various subject-related topics which were shown in class, usually integrated with

the lecture. In addition, during the first term the film ‘Mathrubhoomi’ was

screened and also the movie ‘Fly Away Home’.

- The Philosophy Department screened the movie the movie ‘Matrix’ for its TYBA

class on June 25, 2011; the movie ‘Fire’ for its SYBA class on July 4, 2011; ‘An

Inconvenient Truth’ for the TYBA class on July 16, 2011; and the movie

‘Platoon’ for its SYBA class on February 3, 2012.

- The Education Department screened ‘Taare Zameen Par’ for its SYBA class on

February 13, 2012.

The Life Science Department has a ‘Movie Maker’s Club’ which met on many Saturdays

in the year for the screening of movies followed by a discussion on the movie.

Peer Teaching / Student Presentations:

For FYBA English Paper I students made presentations in class on various aspects

related to The Man-Eater of Malgudi. In SYBA English Paper II, students gave

introductions on Mathew Arnold and on Eunice de Souza; students, working in

15

groups, also did an analysis of three poems from Arun Kolatkar’s Jejuri which they

presented in class. For SYBA English Paper III, students presented in class for the

benefit of peers, the following background topics: ‘Early Indian Novel’ on

September 13, 2011, ‘Early Indian Poetry’ on September 15, 2011, ‘Partition

Literature’ on September 20, 2011, and ‘Diaspora Literature’ on September 22,

2011. In TYBA Paper VII there were student presentations on ‘The Life and Work

of Tennyson’, ‘Life and Work of Browning’, and ‘Browning’s Patriot’.

For TYBA History Paper VIII, students made presentations in class on topics such as

‘USA’s role in Vietnam’, ‘UNO and its Organisational Structure’, ‘Arab-Israeli

Wars’, ‘Economic Miracle in Japan’ etc. during the first term.

The Psychology Department organised various student presentations in class,

following which the teachers gave some additional information and explanation. In

the FYBA Psychology class presentations were made by students on the following

topics: ‘Problem Solving and Creative Thinking’, ‘Hunger Motivation’, ‘Eating

Disorders’, ‘Freud’s Theory of Personality’, ‘NeoFreudians’, ‘Freud: Division of

Mind and Personality’, ‘Trait Theories’ and ‘Behavioural Genetics’. For TYBA

Paper VI on Industrial-Organisational Psychology, the following power-point

presentations were made by student in class during the year: ‘Quality of Modern

Leadership’, ‘Leadership Theories’, ‘Leader Member Exchange’, ‘Characteristics of

Successful Leaders’, ‘Leadership Styles’, ‘Role of Power’, ‘Pressures and Problems

of Leaders’, ‘Leader Functions’, ‘Diversity and Management’, ‘Working Mothers,

Flexibility and Work-Life Balance’, ‘People of Indian Origin in Mauritius’, ‘Job

Training’, ‘Performance Appraisal’, ‘Advertising Strategies for Effective

Communication’, ‘Network Markets and their Marketing’. Some other presentations

in the TY class for other papers included ‘Art Therapy’, ‘Effect and Handling

Menopause’, ‘Street Children and their Problems’ etc.

A peer teaching instrumentation workshop was conducted in October –November

2009 by seniors of the Life Science Department (i.e. M.Sc. part II and a JRF) to

induct their juniors (M.Sc. Part I) into good lab practices, basic instrumentation and

protocols.

Participation by students in seminars, workshops, talks and sessions outside College

Some FYBSc students of Physics attended a lecture on Astronomy held at the

Nehru Planetarium on July 16, 2011.

Some of the SYBMM and TYBMM (total 27 students) attended the ‘Citizen

Journalism Workshop’ conducted by ‘Journalism Mentor’ at St. Andrew’s

College, July 22 to 24, 2011.

Staff and TYBA S/M students of the English Department attended a two-day

national seminar, entitled ‘From Script to Screen’ at St. Andrew’s College,

Bandra, Mumbai, on September 9-10, 2011.

16

Economics students, accompanied by a staff member, attended a panel discussion

on the theme ‘India: A Sustainable Economic Power’ organised by NMIMS and

BSE and held at the Bombay Stock Exchange on September 22, 2011.

Two staff members and 18 TYBA students of the Sociology Department attended

a one-day National Seminar held at the Tata Institute of Social Sciences on

‘Financial Accessibility of the Street Vendors in India: Cases of Inclusion and

Exclusion’, on September 24, 2011.

Six TYBA single major students of Sociology attended an International

Conference on ‘Global Communication – 2011 and International Communication

Fest (ICF) – Ankura 2011’, held at Bengaluru University, November 17-18, 2011.

Two TYBA History students attended a workshop on Indian Art and Architecture

organised by Heras Institute, July 11-15, 2011. Some students attended a talk on

‘Bombay and the HK Maritime Linkages in the Colonial Period’ organised by the

Maritime History Society on July 15, 2011. A few attended a talk by Dr. Tristram

Hunt on ‘Marx, Engels and Colonialism’ held at St. Xavier’s College on

November 25, 2011. A number of History students attended the international

seminar on ‘Krishnadevaraya and His Times: Cultural Perspectives’, held by the

K.R. Cama Oriental Institute on December 7-8, 2011.

FYBSc Physics students were taken to the Nehru Science Centre on January 21,

2012 for their Science Festival and move screening on the evolution of our planet

earth.

MSc Analytical Chemistry students participated in an ‘Industry Academia

Conclave’, organised by BASF, and held at the Seminar Area of the Indo-German

Urban Mela, on April 19, 2012.

Field trips:

The Life Science Department organized an industrial visit to United Breweries for

its TYBSc students on June 16, 2011.

On July 3, 2011 the Chemistry Department organised a monsoon trip to Lohagad.

On July 30, 2011, the Economics Department organised an educational trip to

Khandala.

During the first term, the TYBA students of History were taken to the Chhatrapati

Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya for an exhibition on Sir Gilbert Scott on July

30, 2011, and to the RBI Numismatics Museum on September 17, 2011. After the

latter visit, they were also taken on a walking tour of the Fort and Churchgate

areas of Mumbai city.

On September 3-4, 2011, the Department of Life Science organised its annual

‘Khandala Workshop’ for its students of TYBSc and MSc. The staff of the

department and 45 students attended the workshop at which MSc Part II students

made presentations on their projects. Dr. Robin Mukhopadhyaya of ACTREC,

Mumbai, and Mr. Annirudha Chouji from Pugmarks, Pune, were the outside

resource persons at this workshop.

The SYBSc students of Zoology were taken on a field trip to Taraporevala

Aquarium on September 9, 2011.

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On September 20 – 21, 2011, a two-day field trip and off site seminar for

FYBMM students was held at the Yusuf Merally Center, Karnala. The seminar

had three objectives: first, a Sociological academic seminar; second, a co-

curricular rural orientation programme to sensitise the students; lastly, with the

help of various group therapy sessions, introspective and retrospective exercises

and trust exercises to bring about a greater self awareness among the students.

The Economics Department took students for a visit to the Bombay Stock

Exchange on September 22, 2011. On the same day some students accompanied

by one staff member attended a panel discussion at the Stock Exchange on ‘India:

A Sustainable Economic Power’.

On December 8, 2011, the Microbiology Department took SYBSc students to

visit the Nehru Science Centre

The Microbiology Department organised a field trip for its FY, SY, TY and MSc

Part I students to Pune on December 22-23, 2011, in order to visit the Serum

Institute and Govardhan Diary. Four staff members of the department

accompanied the students on this trip.

On September 22, 2011, the MSc Part I and II students of Biochemistry visited

PRS Permacel, an Indo Swiss venture.

On January 10, 2011 the FYBSc Microbiology class was taken on a visit to

Jijamata Udyan (Zoo) at Byculla.

On January 11, 2012, the History Department took its TYBA students to the

Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya to visit the museum and three

exhibitions that were on display, namely the Maritime Exhibition, an exhibition

on Headgear and an exhibition on Kalighat paintings.

On January 21, 2012, the Physics Department took students to the Nehru Science

Centre and Nehru Planetarium.

On January 23, 2011, the SYBSc class of Microbiology was taken on a visit to

Shantivan.

The QA Department took its students on a field trip to Bangalore and Mysore

from February 2 to 10, 2012. In Bangalore they visited Bangalore Dairy, National

Dairy, Research Institute, Brittania Biscuits, Hindustan Unilever, and Monsanto.

In Mysore they visited the Silk Factory and the Central Food Technology and

Research Centre.

A field trip was organised for its FYBSc class by the Life Science Department to

the Mangroves at Vikhroli on February 3, 2012.

A field trip to Taraporevala Aquarium was organised by the Zoology Department

for its FYBSc class on February 8, 2012.

On February 12, 2012, FYBA and SYBA History students were taken on an open-

deck bus trip around South Mumbai to view the heritage buildings.

On February 18, 2012, the History Department organised a field trip to Elephanta

Caves for its TYBA class.

February 10-11, 2012, the TYBMM students went for a field trip to the Yusuf

Meherally Centre at Karnala for a seminar which had three objectives: an

academic seminar on contemporary issues, a rural orientation programme,

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introspective and retrospective exercises to bring about greater self awareness and

group bonding.

Guest lectures / sessions:

The BMM Department organised interactive sessions, talks and other creative sessions,

especially on Saturdays for the students:

On July 2, 2011, Dr. Aloke Thakore conducted an interactive session on

‘Communications’ with the students of all three classes.

On July 16, 2011, Paromita Vohra, well-known documentary film-maker, screened

her film ‘Partners in Crime’, followed by a discussion.

On July 29, 2011, Mrs. Reena Agarwal conducted a session with SYBMM on ‘Amar

Chitra Katha and the Construction of Identities’ as part of their Cultural Studies

course.

On July 30, 2011, eight former students of the department, who are now media

professionals, had an interactive session with the current students of all three years to

share their work experiences and to speak about career choices and to evaluate the

academic programme at the undergraduate level with reference to professional

requirements.

On August 5, 2011 an interactive session was conducted by Smruti Koppikar,

Associate Editor (West) Outlook, on ‘Why Journalism? The Journalist’s Role in

Society’.

September 3, 2011: an interactive session was conducted by Kiran Rao on the five

stages of film making.

September 9, 2011: Abhay Kumar screened and discussed his film ‘Just that Sort of

a Day’.

September 17, 2011: Subir Chatterjee conducted a workshop on narration in film,

editing films and the making of advertising films.

November 26, 2011: an interactive session was conducted by the national and

international award-winning filmmaker Ram Madhvani, Equinox Films, on ‘The

Craft of Advertising Films: the Making of the Airtel and Bisleri Advertisements’.

December 10, 2011: An interactive session was held with Dr. Binayak Sen,

Magsaysay award winner, National Rural Health Scheme programme developer and

Human Rights activist.

January 14, 2011: An interactive session was conducted by Amba Salelkar, criminal

lawyer, and Siddharta Sarangal on ‘Women and the Law’.

January 21, 2012: An interactive session was conducted by Neeta Kolhatkar, Bureau

Chief News X Channel Senior Assistant Editor at DNA newspaper.

January 28, 2012: Film viewing and interactive session with Sr. Eileen Gaitonde,

Directress, S. P. J. Sadhana School. A short film of the work of the Sadhana School

was screened, and it was followed by a question and answer session with Sr.

Gaitonde.

The BMM Department also organised training programmes by experts that were

conducted over a number of sessions:

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An Advanced Computer Skills Workshop was conducted by Mr. Andrew Gonsalves

of ‘Font and Pixel Media Pvt. Ltd.’ for the TYBMM Journalism class during the first

term, in order to give the students in depth knowledge of Adobe Photoshop and

Quark Xpress.

Dr. Aloke Thakore conducted special sessions on ‘Newspaper and Magazine

Making’ for the TYBMM Journalism class during the first term.

During the first term, an in-service training with the advertising agency ‘Yes, Yes.

Why Not’, was organised for the TYBMM advertising class wherein each student

spent 8-10 hours on two consecutive days writing a brief, participating in a brain-

storming session leading to the production of a “Mind Map” and making one

advertisement. The project was supervised by Mr. Tapan Mody.

Other sessions / guest lectures held for BMM students:

August 2, 2011: Dr. Sufiya Pathan conducted a session on ‘Orientalism’ with the

SYBMM for Cultural Studies.

September 7, 2011: Vaishali Sinha screened and discussed ‘Made in India’, a film on

surrogacy, for FYBMM Sociology.

September 14, 2011: Supriya Nair, journalist, Mint Lounge, discussed Urdu

Journalism in India and Mumbai with the TYBMM Journalism students.

September 16, 2011: An interactive session with Manisha Lakhe on film criticism

was organised for the SYBMM and TYBMM (Journalism) students.

September 17 and 28, 2011: An interactive session with Shoaib Ahmed, CNN IBN

on ‘Reporting’ was organised for TYBMM Journalism students.

September 23, 2011: Dr. Aloke Thakore conducted a session on ‘Newspaper and

Magazine making’ for TYBMM Journalism.

November 23, 2011: TYBMM students attended an interactive session with

Professor Sudhakar Solomon Raj on ‘The Geo Political History of the 20th Century’.

Others:

On June 20, 2011, the Departments of Psychology and Life Science held a guest

lecture by Neha Gothe of the University of Illinois on ‘Kinesiology and Community

Health’.

The Life Science Department invited Dr. Momna Hejmadi of the University of Bath,

U.K., to give a lecture on ‘Hypoxia and Mutants of C.elegans’ on June 24, 2011.

Mrs Hira Steven gave two guest lectures to the TYBA S/M students of the English

Department on ‘The Language of Film’ on June 21 and 28, 2011.

Ex-students Sharanya Murali (who has just done her MA in “Staging Shakespeare”

at the University of Exeter, UK) and Pallavi Patel (doing MA Part II at the

University of Delhi) addressed the SYBA Eng A/M students in August 2011 about

what studying literature has done for them, and the possibilities that open up after a

BA in English Literature.

On August 10, 2011, the Life Science Department organised a lecture by Dr.

Kaumidi Joshi, University of Pennsylvania, USA, on ‘Gene Duplication and

Evolution of Cortex’.

20

On September 7, 2011, the Chemistry Department organised a lecture on the

‘Peaceful Uses of Nuclear Energy’.

On September 12, 2011, the English Department organised a guest lecture by Parvati

Sharma, an author of contemporary Indian literature, who read out excerpts from her

collection of short stories entitled ‘The Dead Camel and Other Stories and Other

Stories of Love’.

On September 17, 2011, the Departments of Psychology and Life Science organised

two guest lectures on ‘Functional MRI’ by Dr. Wayne Lee and Dr. Margot Taylor

both from the Hospital for Sick Kids, Toronto, Canada. Faculty and students from

others colleges as well as some from KEM hospital attended these talks.

On September 17, 2011, the Chemistry Department organised a talk by Dr. P. Chobe

of BASF on the ‘Scope and Importance of Analytical Chemistry’.

The Biochemistry Department organised some sessions with guest speakers for its

MSc Part I students, e.g. on ‘Chromatography’ by Prof. P. Nabar on September 14,

2011, on ‘Perfumery’ by Prof. P. Nabar on September 20, 2011 and two sessions on

personality development by Mr. Hoshang Velati on September 7 and 21, 2011.

On November 21, 2011 the English and History Departments organised a guest

lecture by Anna Funder, an Australian novelist, who read excerpts of her book ‘All

that I Am’, followed by discussion.

On November 24, 2011, the History Department organised a guest lecture by Prof.

Frank Conlon on ‘Bombay’s Trams’.

On December 8, 2011, the English Department invited Dr. Shireen Vakil to give a

lecture on Polanski’s ‘Macbeth’.

On December 10, 2011, the Department of Chemistry organised a popular science

lecture on ‘The Life and Work of Marie Curie’ by Dr. Reddy, Head of the

department of Analytical Chemistry at BARC (in commemoration of the Centenary

of Marie Curie’s Nobel Prize in Chemistry which was conferred on December 10,

2011).

On December 19, 2011, the Department of Chemistry hosted a popular science

lecture, sponsored by the Royal Society of Chemistry – West India, as the closing

function of the International Year of Chemistry – 2011, on ‘The Role of Chemistry

in Moulding Materials of the Future’ by Dr. Sourav Pal, Director of the National

Chemical Laboratory, Pune. The talk was chaired by Dr. Nand Kishore, Head of the

Chemistry Department of IIT – Mumbai.

On December 21, 2011, the English Department organised a guest lecture by Prof.

Akeel Bilgrami, Professor of Philosophy and Director of the Centre for Humanities

of Columbia University, on ‘The Political Possibilities of the Long Romantic

Period’.

The Economics Department organised talk by Mr. Purv Shah of the Bombay Stock

Exchange on ‘Financial Markets’ on January 13, 2012.

On February 11, 2012, Dr. Sanjana Seth gave a talk to the FYBA Psychology class

on ‘Personality Assessment’.

The Life Science Department invited Dr. Shubha Tole, of the Tata Institute of

Fundamental Research, Mumbai, to address its students on ‘How to do Scientific

and Thesis writing’ on February 22, 2012.

21

The Life Science Department also invited a number of its former MSc students, who

are currently doing doctoral research at various prestigious institutions in India to

share on their research work with the current MSc students.

Class debates and discussions, quizzes:

The Economics Department organised a debate on July 26, 2011 on the topic ‘An

Ordinary Hawaldar Today has to be Corrupt if he Wishes to Survive’.

The Departments of Life Science, Philosophy and Education organised a discussion

on the Jan Lokpal Bill on August 26, 2011.

On December 10, 2011 the Chemistry Department organised an inter-collegiate

Chemistry quiz. This was held in commemoration of the centenary of Marie Curie’s

Nobel Prize in Chemistry (conferred on December 10, 1911).

Internships / Placements and other forms of experiential learning:

FYBA students of Sociology are sent to work with NGOs such as Alert India which

works for the eradication of Leprosy, and Akanksha which works for the education

of underprivileged children.

Psychology students of SYBA Paper III are placed with NGOs working with the

underprivileged or handicapped in order to give them an exposure to career

opportunities in Psychology and to provide them with skill training. The students

submit a written report on their experience.

Six students of Economics were selected through interviews conducted in College

for Internship at HDFC

Subject-related activities going beyond the syllabi:

The Chemistry Department organised a number of activities through the Chem-

Club. For example, intra-collegiate poster and Chem-crossword competitions were

held on July 27 and 29, 2011 respectively. An intercollegiate poster and Chem-

crossword competition was also organised on August 2, 2011, for the Chemistry

students of South Mumbai colleges as part of the celebrations of the ‘International

Year of Chemistry – 2011’.

The FYBSc Mathematics students were asked to present posters in class on any one

application of the topics that they were studying. The topics on which students

made poster presentations were ‘Simpson’s Paradox’, ‘Hilbert’s Hotel Paradox’,

‘Tanagram’, ‘Tower of Hanoi’, ‘Cantor’s Paradox’, ‘Four-colour Problem’,

Boolean Algebra’, Game of Nim’, ‘Seven Bridges of Konigsburg’ etc.

The Microbiology Department held a festival called M-Xtravaganza on December

21, 2011, at which various events and competitions related to the subject were

organised. The events included Micro-housie; poster display on topics such as

‘Genetically Modified Organisms – pros and cons’, ‘Antibiotic Resistant Bacteria’

and ‘Bioremediation’; Movie making on topics such as ‘Extreme Microbes’, ‘A

Day with a Microbiologist’ and ‘Microbes – Angels or Devils?’; a quiz

competition; and a treasure hunt.

22

The Philosophy Department celebrated ‘Philosophy Day’ on January 20, 2012,

which was attended by students of all three classes of the degree college. A number

of fun-related activities all connected with Philosophy were held on this day.

Creative projects, assignment work teaching methods:

For the SYBA Applied Component paper on Nutrition and Dietetics, the students

were each given a dietary score card and a food guide pyramid in order that they

could monitor their eating habits on a daily basis and analyse the scores.

Wall-newspaper / Update board:

The Microbiology Department has an update board where newspaper articles on current

developments in the field of Microbiology are regularly displayed.

Mentoring:

The English department had a Contact Group system for the TYBA S/M class; the

students were met regularly throughout the year to solve difficulties, to forge a

closer relationship and give individual attention. The department also had google

groups for its TYBA single and double major groups. These groups were used

extensively to provide e-material to the students.

Many other departments, e.g. History, kept in contact with their third year students

through Facebook groups.

Self-Study Programmes:

TYBA History Paper IX is on General Knowledge and Current Affairs. This paper is

mainly done through the self-study method. For General Knowledge, various topics

are assigned to the students and they are given weekly tests. Current Affairs is taught

by students taking up topics which they research and on which they write précis, for

circulation to classmates after the same has been corrected by the teacher.

Exhibitions:

The Microbiology Department organised an exhibition showcasing Career Options in

Microbiology on December 8 and 9, 2011 which was visited not only by students of

Sophia College, but also children from Anjuman-e-Islam School and Greenlawns

School.

The Chemistry Department, in collaboration with the Department of Atomic Energy,

Government of India, organised an exhibition on ‘Atomic Energy and its Uses for

Peaceful Purposes’ for school children from December 9 to 10, 2011. This was held

in commemoration of the centenary of Marie Curie’s Nobel Prize in Chemistry and to

celebrate the International Year of Chemistry – 2011.

Remedial Teaching / Enhancement Classes:

Students of the FYBA Com Skills Group A, have special remedial classes as well as

weekly tutorial sessions in language skills.

23

The Economics Department organised a number of remedial coaching / enhancement

classes during both terms: Ms Vartika Arora from CRISIL and Ms Anuradha Pandey

conducted remedial coaching in SYBA Economics; an Economics Enhancement

Course for TYBA Paper VI was conducted by Ms Fatema Shahabuddin.

The Chemistry Department organised remedial coaching in English for some of its

students who were weak in English.

4. INTER-DISCIPLINARY PROGRAMMES STARTED:

Interdisciplinary / Interdepartmental / Intercollegiate programme conducted:

Sept. 7, 2012: A talk on ‘Nuclear Energy’ by Dr. Ignat Mendes was attended by the

students of the Departments of History, Mathematics and Statistics and Political

Science.

In addition, many of the seminars conducted during the year were interdisciplinary in

nature.

5. EXAMINATION REFORMS IMPLEMENTED:

Among our on-going examination reform initiatives are the following:

From this year the University of Mumbai has introduced the semester-cum-credit

based grading system, beginning with the FY class of 2011-12. Under this

scheme, regular class tests were administered and assignments were given to the

students.

Internal Assessment Scheme: Although the University system does not require it,

at Sophia we have the system of continuous testing and evaluation for other

classes as well. For the second year class, a schedule of tests, assignments and

projects for the year in every paper is drawn up and the comprehensive schedule

is displayed on the student notice-board. For the Third Year classes, generally

two tests/assignments are held in the First Term and one in the Second Term.

Unsupervised Examination Scheme: This was introduced for the first time in

1969, the Gandhi Birth Centenary Year. Since then, with modifications it has

continued. The facility of unsupervised tests and examinations is only offered to

the Third Year classes.

Analysis of performance at tests and examinations is also a practice at Sophia

College.

All the teachers discuss the test and examination papers with their respective classes.

Question Banks are also given to students. Some use creative evaluation method such as

quizzes, crosswords, open books tests etc.

6. NUMBER OF CANDIDATES QUALIFIED IN NET/SLET:

Nil

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7. INITIATIVE TOWARDS FACULTY DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME

In order to strengthen the teaching-learning process, as well as for the enhancement of

teacher quality, the faculty members are encouraged to keep abreast with the latest

developments in their field by the book grant scheme every year (whereby all permanent

teachers are given reimbursement for any book bought for personal work up to Rs. 500/-

per teacher) and also by encouraging them to attend seminars, conferences and

workshops as follows.

Regular staff seminars for the entire teaching faculty are a feature at Sophia. In addition,

staff members are encouraged to attend seminars and workshops outside college and to

take up research assignments (details are given under other questions 8 and 9).

The following attended Orientation / Refresher Courses during the year:

Ms Shraddha Prabhu (Dept. of Microbiology) attended a Refresher Course in

Biosciences, organised by the UGC Academic Staff College, University of Mumbai,

and held at Guru Nanak Khalsa College from September 26 to October 15, 2011.

Ms Sirisha Murthy (Dept. of Chemistry) attended an Orientation Course held by the

Academic Staff College from February 7 to March 6, 2012.

8. TOTAL NUMBER OF SEMINARS/WORKSHOPS:

a) SEMINARS/WORKSHOPS CONDUCTED:

Staff Seminars

An orientation for new staff members was held on two afternoons, namely, on June 9

and June 16, 2011. It was organised by Dr. (Sr.) Ananda Amritmahal. Sessions

were conducted by Dr. (Sr.) Anila Verghese, Dr. (Sr.) Ananda Amritmahal, Ms

Swarupa Kamat and Mr. Ivan John.

On February 25, 2012 there was a staff seminar on ‘Gender Concerns in Women's

Studies and Women's Movement in a Contemporary Context’. The resource person

was Dr. Vibhuti Patel.

On March 21, 2012 a workshop for teaching staff on ‘Common Health Problems of

Teachers and Remedies Using Ergonomics and Physiotherapy’ was conducted by

Dr. K.S. Ramakrishnan and colleague.

Seminars Conducted by Departments

(held in College and attended by students and faculty, besides outsiders) in many

cases):

The workshop on ‘Investigative, Financial and Magazine Journalism’, conducted

by Professors Steve Schifferes, Barbara Rowlands and Rosie Waterhouse of the Post-

graduate department of Journalism, City University, London, on August 1, 2011. It

25

was attended by the SYBMM and TYBMM Journalism students as well as by some

of the TYBA students.

The National Level Seminar, organised by Sahitya Academy, Delhi, jointly with our

Department of English was held on September 16-17-18, 2011, on ‘Idea of the

Demonic in the Indian Tradition’. The seminar was conducted by Dr. Alok Bhalla,

Convener, English Board, Sahitya Akademi. The keynote speaker, Mr. Prasanna,

well-known Kannada theatre personality, threw open the seminar with the thought-

provoking distinction that the Indian traditions, unlike the Western Christian

traditions, did not see good and evil as being mutually exclusive polarities. The

seminar took up this and many other such insights for close examination. The papers

presented were clearly from inter-disciplinary perspectives and speakers included

experts in Literature, Anthropology, Psychology, Psychiatry and Indology. The areas

of investigation were also extremely varied, covering the idea of the ‘rakshasas’ or

‘dasyus’ in the Indian traditions and how we may interpret these figures through

literary and psychological approaches; cases of ‘possession’ and its treatment in the

Indian traditions; the study of tribal practices related to blood sacrifices and to

temples dedicated to the ‘anti-heroes’ such as Duryodhana in the Mahabharata. The

seminar very interestingly wove together scientific, social and literary approaches to

the notion of the ‘demonic’ while also staying conscious of the political implications

of such a category and its use in history.

The one-day city level seminar organised by the Department of Microbiology on

September 17, 2011, on ‘Understanding Mathematical Concepts in Biology’.

The Lecture-Workshop on ‘Science in Research and Industry’ organised on

November 25, 2011, by the Department of Biochemistry

The National level Refresher Course on ‘Techniques in Neurosciences – From

Behaviour to Molecules’ conducted by the Department of Life Science, Sophia

College for Women, from November 23 to December 8, 2011. This refresher course

was aimed at providing hands on training in model systems to study neurosciences at

organismic, cellular and molecular level. The course was conducted by kind support

of the Science Academies, The Indian Academy of Sciences, Bangalore; Indian

National Science Academy, New Delhi; Indian National Academy of Sciences,

Allahabad. Eleven out station candidates from various parts of the country and nine

local candidates were selected from a large number who responded to the

announcement in Current Science, August 25, 2011.The faculty consisted of eminent

scientists/ Professors.

The academic session started with a brilliant introduction to basic anatomy of the

human brain and the imaging methodology (especially FMRI) used to understand its

function by Dr. Meher Ursekar. The new and complex science of cognitive

neurobiology was discussed by Dr. N. Srinivasan. Dr. H. Ramachandran and Dr. A.

26

Lobo demonstrated how these protocols were actually used. A day-long session on

overview on Drosophila and its use as models for neurodegenerative diseases was

conducted by Prof. Subash Lakhotia. An equally exciting session was conducted by

Dr. Sandhya Kaushika on maintenance and neurobiology of Ceanorabhditis elegans.

The third module, in vitro systems in neurobiology, was introduced by Dr. Rajani

Bhisey on tissue culture and cell lines. The microscopy and microphotography

session was conducted by Dr. Nishigandha Naik. A long laboratory session with

hands-on experience was provided by Dr. Yasmin Khan, Mr. Mustafa Motiwala and

Ms Archana Iyer. A part of this aspect was continued in NIRRH (National Institute of

Research in Reproductive Health) as demonstration of confocal microscopy by Dr.

Nafisa Balasinor and flow cytometry by Dr. Shraboni Mukherjee. The session on

molecular techniques used to elucidate differential gene function was conducted by

Dr. Rita Mukhopadhyaya and Ms. J Italia. The extension of this module was

demonstration of Real Time PCR by Dr. Gitanjali Sachdeva and microarray

technology by Dr. Deepak Modi at NIRRH.

A very enlightening set of sessions using state-of-art technology were conducted at

NIRRH by Dr. Smita Mahale, si RNA by Dr. Deepak Modi and proteomics by Dr.

Vrinda Khole / Dr. Kaushiki Kadam. The Biostatistics session was conducted by Ms.

Sandra Mendes. Dr. M.C. Arunan conducted a session on neuroscience education. Dr.

Padma Shastry gave an overview on how to write a project proposal. The participants

were encouraged to write project proposals which were presented by the participants

and evaluated by a very senior scientist, namely Dr. H.S. Juneja, Ex –Director,

NIRRH. The refresher course included a visit to the Tata Institute of Fundamental

Research and interactions with the eminent scientist Dr. Shubha Tole. The

participants also attended a talk organized on the campus by Ms Medha Patkar.

The National Symposium on ‘Is Sustainable Development a Distant Dream: in the

context of Gender Equity’, on December 7-8, 2011, organized jointly by the

Economics Department and the Sophia Centre for Women’s Studies and

Development. This was partly funded by the grant from UGC for ‘Human Rights and

Ethics Education’ that the College had received. It included the following:

Address by Chief Guest by Prof. Maithreyi Krishnaraj

Key Note Address by Ms. Anne

Stenhammer, Regional

Programme Director, UN

Women South Asia

Address by Ms Medha Patkar

Valedictory address by Dr.

Vibhuti Patel (SNDT Women’s

University)

and papers by:

Dr. Indra Munshi (EPW) on

"Losing Ground: Land and

Forest Issues Concerning The Adivasi Women"

27

Prof. (Dr.) Padmini Swaminathan (TISS) on “Mainstreaming Gender,

Engendering Development: Re-Interpreting Existing Policies to Achieve Gender

Justice”

Dr. Anuradha Jain & Ms. Ashima Gureja (Delhi) on “Achieving sustainable

development by reducing exploitation of women: with special reference to

media”

Prof.(Dr.) Alka Parikh (DAIICT) on “Women in Agriculture”

Ms. Sangeeta Dubey (Sophia College) on “BT cotton & Employment”

Ms. Swati Vaidya (B.M. Ruia Girl’s College) on “Common Property Resources in

Mumbai”

Ms. Minal Mapuskar (Kirti College) on “Development Induced Displacement : a

gender perspective”

Ms. Nisha Yadav (Sophia College) on “Sustainability of Urbanization”

Dr. Veena Poonacha (RCWS) on “Maharashtra’s Experience with Micro finance”

Dr. Suniti Nagpurkar (VES College) on “Marching towards equality: a journey

continues…..”

Ms.Sunita Jadhav (Sophia College) on “The Economic Empowerment of the SHG

members in the Mumbai district of MAVIM”

Ms. Uzma Nahid (IIWA) on “The Poverty of the Indian women & Solutions”

and a presentation by the Economics students of Sophia College on “ Invisible

Hands of the Rural India”.

The UGC-sponsored National Seminar on ‘Human Rights Education’ hosted by the

Department of Education in collaboration with the Sophia Centre for Women’s

Studies and Development, on December 13, 2011. The National Seminar was

inaugurated by Justice Kshitij Vyas, Chairperson of the State Human Rights

Commission, while the Keynote Address was given by Justice Suresh Hosbet,

Chairperson of the Human Rights Law Network. The Panel Discussion on “Human

Rights & Relevance of Educational Practices” was moderated by Prof. Kannamma

Raman, Prof and Head, Dept of Civics and Politics, University of Mumbai. The

panelists included Ms. Simantini Dhuru, Human Rights Educator, Mumbai, Mr. Ravi

Nair, Executive Director of the South Asia Human Rights Documentation Centre

(SAHRDC), New Delhi, Mr. R.Thirunavukkarasu, Associate Director, Institute of

Human Rights Education, People's Watch, Tamil Nadu, and Mr. Avkash Jadhav,

Associate Professor, Department of History, St. Xavier’s College, Mumbai.

From an academic perspective this National Seminar focussed on Human Rights

Education - Teaching, Training and Research; for the creation of an awareness of

Human Rights for promotion of Peace, Non-Violence and Conflict Resolution. The

main thrust of the seminar was on the global perspective of Human Rights Education

to sensitize college and university students, teachers, administrators and the general

population on Human Rights. The Seminar also focused on Human Rights problems

at various levels – Local, Regional, National levels that dealt with issues pertaining

to rights of women, disabled persons, minority groups & other disadvantaged groups

in India. Student presentations on “Right to Education” were followed by paper-

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presentations on “Human Rights & Relevance of Educational Practices”, “Gender

Disparities in Education”, “Human Rights Education and Access to Education” and

“Formal and Non-formal Modes in Education” by Teachers, NGOs and Researchers.

This year's Mumbai-themed International seminar at Sophia College, ‘Women’s

Spaces, Women’s Voices in Mumbai’, was organized by the Sophia Centre for

Women’s Studies and Development in collaboration with the Departments of English

and Mass Media, Sophia College, and the Social Communications Media

Department, Sophia Polytechnic on January 6-7, 2012. It was an interdisciplinary

seminar attended by around 500 people, including many students. The two-day event

included paper readings by academics and students, panel discussions, a screening of

films made by students, as well as talks and performances by well-known women

artists. This was jointly funded by the Luigi and Laura Dallapiccola Foundation, UK,

and the UGC Human Rights Education Programme.

The city-level workshop and seminar organised by Diploma in Clinical Analysis and

the Microbiology Department on ‘Hemostasis – The Thick and Thin of It All!’ on

February 12, 2012. The speakers and their topics were:

- Dr. Shanaz Khodaiji: ‘Quality Control in Coagulation’

- Dr. Rajesh Munde: ‘Normal Hemostasis’

- Dr. Kunal Sehgal: ‘Principles of Basic Coagulation Assays’

- Dr. Tina Dadu: ‘Case Based Studies’

Besides the talks, there was also a presentation on ‘Manual v/s Optical Methods in

Coagulation’.

Seminars Conducted / Papers read at Seminars and Conferences / Public Lectures

Delivered by Staff Members

Dr. (Sr.) Anila Verghese (Dept. of History, Principal) presented:

The following papers at an International Seminar on “Krishnadevaraya and His

Times: Cultural Perspectives”, organised by the K.R. Cama Oriental Institute,

Mumbai, on January 7-8, 2011:

- ‘Krishnadevaraya and the development of South Indian Temple Architecture’

- ‘Growth of the Capital City of Vijayanagara under Krishnadevaraya and the

Tuluvas’

A paper on ‘Ramayana at Vijayanagara: Sacred Topography, Temples and Culture’ at

the National Seminar held at the Ananthacharya Institute, Mumbai, on March 24-25,

2012 on ‘Valmiki Ramayana: with Reference to Ethics, Religion, Philosophy and

Social Life in It’.

Dr. (Sr.) Ananda Amritmahal (Dept. of English and Hon. Coordinator of Sophia

Women’s Centre):

Presented a paper ‘Through a Glass Darkly: Artistic Representations of Biblical

Women’ at two day national seminar on “From Script to Screen” at St. Andrew’s

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College, Bandra on September 9-10, 2011, and also chaired a session on ‘Literature in

Art, Music and Drama’.

Gave the keynote address at a one-day seminar on “Myth” at Jai Hind College, at

which she was the chief guest, on August 10, 2011.

Presented a paper on ‘Chick Lit literature in Mumbai’ at the National Seminar on

“Women’s Spaces, Women’s Voices” held at Sophia College on January 6-7, 2012.

While on her Fulbright Teaching Fellowship in the US:

Was invited, with all expenses paid, to the Sacred Heart School at Atherton,

California, USA, March 24-25, 2012, where she lectured to the Class XI and XII

students on Indian Postcolonial writing, and on E.M. Forster’s A Passage to India.

She also delivered a lecture to faculty and students on ‘Education of Girls and

Women in the Indian Context’. On March 25, she was a resource person at the India

Project Retreat for faculty and senior students.

Was invited to Winston-Salem State University, Winston-Salem, North Carolina,

USA, with all expenses paid, from April 11 to 13, 2012. Here she gave a public

lecture on ‘Myth, Folklore and Gender-role Prescriptions in India’ at the University,

attended by about 200 people. She also gave a lecture to the undergraduate and

postgraduate students of the English Department, on ‘Women Writing in India’.

Further, she interacted with a number of faculty members of the English, Women’s

Studies, History and Sociology Departments.

Gave a flash seminar organised by the Information Technology Services, the Faculty

Development Center for Ignatian Pedagogy, and the University Libraries, Loyola

University, Chicago, on April 18, 2012, on ‘Buddhism: a Non-violent Path to

Subversion’.

Attended an international conference on “Women and Labour” at Southern

Connecticut State University, New Haven, USA, April 20-21, 2012. Here, she

presented a paper on ‘Woman’s Body Reified: an Examination of Woman’s Work in

some stories by Mahasweta Devi’ and also was part of a panel discussion on ‘The

Work We Do: a Labor of Love and Necessity’. Also, on April 19, she gave a lecture

to the students of the Women’s Studies Department, on ‘Myth, Folklore and Gender-

Role Stereotypes in India’.

Gave a public lecture on April 23, 2012, which was open to faculty and students of

Loyola University, Chicago, as well as to members of the public, entitled ‘Heart to

Heart: the Intimate Discourse of Women Mystic Poets’.

Ms Jaya Kanoria (Dept. of English) attended the National Seminar “Women’s Spaces,

Women’s Voices in Mumbai” held at Sophia College on January 6-7, 2012, where she

presented a paper on ‘Mother and Daughter: Stagestruck in Mumbai’.

Dr. Sufiya Pathan (Dept. of English) was invited with all expenses paid to attend the

Third International Conference on “Rethinking Religion in India: European

Representations and Indian Responses”, held at Pardubice, Czech Republic, October 11

to 14, 2011, where she presented a paper on ‘Secularism: the Indian Trajectory’.

30

Ms Sunita Jadhav (Dept. of Economics):

Presented a paper on ‘The Economic Empowerment of the SHG Members in the

Mumbai District of Mahila Arthik ’ at the National Seminar held at Sophia College

on December 7-8, 2012 on “Is Sustainable Development a Distant Dream: in the

context of Gender Equity?”.

Presented a paper on ‘Harmonising Urbanisation for Inclusive Growth’ on February

7, 2012 at a seminar on “Urbanisation in India- Prospects and Challenges”, organised

by Shailendra College, Dahisar.

Ms Nisha Jadhav Dept. of Economics):

Presented a paper on ‘Urban Sustainability and Women’ at the National Seminar held

at Sophia College on December 7-8, 2012 on “Is Sustainable Development a Distant

Dream: in the context of Gender Equity?”.

Presented a paper on ‘Urban Sustainability’ on February 7, 2012 at a seminar on

“Urbanisation in India- Prospects and Challenges”, organised by Shailendra College,

Dahisar.

Ms Anagha Tendulkar (Dept. of Sociology) attended:

A National Seminar on “Sociology in India and the Bombay School: Retrospect and

Prospects”, organised by the Department of Sociology, University of Mumbai and the

Indian Sociological Society, on September 23-24, 2011, where she presented a paper

on ‘Doing and Teaching Research at the Undergraduate Level’.

The “Indian Sociological Society – Diamond Jubilee Celebrations, XXXVII All India

Sociological Conference”, at the Centre for Study of Social Systems, Jawaharlal

Nehru University, New Delhi, on December 11-13, 2011, where she presented a

paper titled ‘Federation of Senior Citizen’s Organisations of Maharashtra: A Case

Study of the Mumbai Region’. She also chaired a session.

Dr. (Ms) Jennie Mendes (Dept. of Psychology) attended a two-day National Seminar on

“Adolescence: A Journey from conflict to Integration” held at St. Xavier’s College, Goa,

September 23-24, 2011, where she presented a paper on ‘Boredom Interest Continuum in

the Adolescent: A Cognitive Model’.

Sr. Patricia D’Souza (Dept. of Psychology) attended a two-day National Seminar on

“Adolescence: A Journey from conflict to Integration” held at St. Xavier’s College, Goa,

September 23-24, 2011, where she presented a paper on ‘Home Environment and Self

Esteem through the Lenses of Adolescence’.

Dr. Aninha Lobo (Dept. of Psychology) and Dr. Hemlatha Ramachandran (Dept. of Life

Science) attended the XXIst Annual Convention of National Academy of Psychology

(NAOP_ held at Anand, December 12-14, 2011, where they presented a paper titled ‘The

Effect of Aerobic Exercise on Attention’.

Dr. Aninha Lobo (Dept. of Psychology) and Dr. Hemlatha Ramachandran (Dept. of Life

Science) made the following presentations along with MSc Life Science students:

31

‘Music and EEG’, at the one-day research meet in “Biotechnology, Environmental

Science and Phytochemicals”, at Jai Hind College, Mumbai, on December 10, 2011

(Poster presentation).

‘The effect of Aerobic Exercise on Attention’, at the XXI Annual Convention held in

Indian Rural Management Anand, Gujarat held on December 12-14, 2011 (Oral

Presentation).

‘The effect of Mindful music listening on attention and mood’, at the International

Symposium on “Current Trends of Life Sciences held at Department of Life

Sciences”, University of Mumbai, Kalina on March 9, 2012 (Poster presentation).

‘Study of preferred music on attention with mild / moderate dementia patients’, at the

International Symposium on “Current Trends of Life Sciences held at Department of

Life Sciences”, University of Mumbai, Kalina on March 9, 2012 (Poster

presentation).

Dr. Medha Rajadhyaksha and Dr. Yasmin Khan (Dept. of Life Science) made the

following presentation along with MSc Life Science students:

‘Investigation on glial cell death in response to two independent stresses - hypoxia

and glutamate toxicity’, at the DAE-BRNS Life Sciences Symposium (LSS2011) on

“Advances in Molecular and Cell Biology of Stress Response”, held at the Bhabha

Atomic Research Centre, Mumbai, on September 14, 2011.

‘Study of regeneration of zebrafish caudal fin and characteristics of regenerating cells

in vitro’, at the UGC sponsored National Conference on “Evolution of Research and

Development in Bio Sciences”, conducted by Department of Life Sciences, K. C.

College, Mumbai, on January 5-6, 2012 (Poster presentation).

Dr. Medha Rajadhyaksha (Dept. of Life Science) made the following presentation along

with MSc Life Science students:

‘Caenorhabditis elegans- a model system to study the effect of stress on behaviour’,

at the DAE-BRNS Life Sciences Symposium (LSS2011) on “Advances in Molecular

and Cell Biology of Stress Response”, held at the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre,

Mumbai, on September 14, 2011.

‘Investigations on effect of hypoxia on behaviour, using C. elegans as a model

system, at the International Symposium on “Recent Trends in Neurosciences & XXIX

Annual Conference of Indian Academy of Neurosciences - Translation of Knowledge

into Clinical Practice”, held in New Delhi, from October 30 to November 1, 2011


‘Effect of High Concentration of Glucose on Development Chick Retinal Pigment

Epithelium’, at the UGC sponsored “National Conference on Evolution of Research

and Development in Bio Sciences”, conducted by Department of Life Sciences, K. C.


Dr. Hemlatha Ramachandran and Dr. Medha Rajadhyaksha (Dept. of Life Science) made

the following presentation along with MSc Life Science students:

‘Effect of High Concentration of Glucose on Development Chick Retinal Pigment

Epithelium’, at the UGC sponsored “National Conference on Evolution of Research

32

and Development in Bio Sciences”, conducted by Department of Life Sciences, K. C.


Dr. Hema Subramanium (Dept. of Life Science) made the following presentation along

with MSc Life Science students:

‘Comparison of Chironomus and Mosquito olfactory behaviour’, at the “XIth

Symposium on Vectors and Vector-borne Diseases”, held at the Regional Medical

Research Centre, Jabalpur, October 15-17, 2011.

‘Identification of Putative Chemoreceptors involved in Ovipository Behaviour of

Mosquito’, at the International Symposium on “Recent Trends in Neurosciences &

XXIX Annual Conference of Indian Academy of Neurosciences - Translation of

Knowledge into Clinical Practice”, held in New Delhi, from October 30 to

November 1, 2011 (Poster presentation).

Dr. Yasmin Khan (Dept. of Life Science) made the following presentation along with

MSc Life Science students:

‘Effect of Lithium on hypoxia Induced Cell Death on C6 glioma cells’, at the

International Symposium on “Recent Trends in Neurosciences & XXIX Annual

Conference of Indian Academy of Neurosciences - Translation of Knowledge into

Clinical Practice”, held in New Delhi, from October 30 to November 1, 2011 (Poster

presentation).

‘Differential cytotoxic effect of two types of nanoparticles on C6 glioma cells’, at the

International Symposium on “Current Trends of Life Sciences held at Department of

Life Sciences”, University of Mumbai, Kalina on March 9, 2012 (Poster

presentation).

Dr. Sree Kumar (Dept. of Life Science) made the following presentation along with MSc

Life Science students:

‘Chemosensory Behaviour of Daphnia sp. under normoxia and hypoxic condition’, at

the UGC sponsored “National Conference on Evolution of Research and

Development in Bio Sciences”, conducted by Department of Life Sciences, K. C.


Dr. Hemlatha Ramachandran (Dept. of Life Science) attended a two-day “National

Conference on Evolution in Research and Development in Bio Sciences", held on

January 5-6, 2012 at K.C. College, where she presented the paper entitled ‘Recipe for

Success in Science: Boundless Enthusiasm for Teaching and Research!’.

Dr. Sree Kumar (Dept. of Life Science) attended the International Symposium on

“Current Trends in Life Sciences, organised by the Mumbai University Department of

Life Science on March 9, 2012, where she presented a poster, done jointly with Shanta

Nair, on ‘A Study on Players Involved in DMS flux at SW Coast of India Dona Paula

Bay’.

33

Dr. Arjumanara Surti (Dept. of Microbiology) attended a National Symposium on

“Emerging Trends in Life and Material Sciences: Mission Mankind”, held at Vaze

College on January 25, 2012, where she presented a poster on ‘Study of Microorganisms

Degrading PCB Mixture Aroclor 1242 and Analysis of its Biodegradation by Free Cells’.

Ms Suparna Dugal (Dept. of Microbiology) presented two posters, the abstracts of which

were published, at the “National Conference on Recent Trends in Life Sciences with

Special Reference to Animal Physiology, Biotechnology and Biodiversity”, held at

Sadguru Gadage Maharaj College, Karad, October 19-20, 2011. The posters were

entitled:

‘Effect of Nonsteroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs (NSAIDS) on Aquatic Organisms’

‘Formulation and Evaluation of a Novel Mucoadhesive Drug Delivery System for An

Antimycotic Agent to Treat Intestinal Candidiasis in Immunocompromised Patients’

(presented jointly with Andrea Fernandes)

Ms Suparna Dugal also attended a National Symposium on “Emerging Trends in Life and

Material Sciences: Mission Mankind”, held at Vaze College on January 25, 2012, where

she presented a poster, jointly with Monica Gangawane, on ‘Isolation and

Characterization of Heavy Metal Resistant Bacteria and Fungi’.

At the National Conference on “Biotechnology, Bioinformatics and Bioengineering”

organised by the Society for Applied Biotechnology’ and held at Kolhapur on February

24-25, 2012, Andrea Fernandes (co-author) presented the following poster prepared by

her and Suparna Dugal: ‘A New Approach for the Treatment of Abnormal Gut

Fermentation’.

At the International Symposium on “Current Trends in Life Sciences”, organised by the

Mumbai University Department of Life Science on March 9, 2012, the following poster

by Suparna Dugal and Andrea Fernandes was presented: ‘Use of Natural Polymers for

the Preparation of a Sustained Release Medicinal Formulation’.

Dr. Rajbinder Kaur (Dept. of Microbiology) presented a poster that she had prepared

along with one of her MSc students at a National Symposium on “Modern Research

Trends and Applications in Life Sciences”, organised by Elphinstone College and

Bhavan’s College (Andheri) jointly and held on January 7, 2012. The poster was

awarded a certificate of appreciation.

Mrs. Jyoti Mantri (Dept. of Microbiology) presented a poster that she had prepared along

with one of her MSc students at a National Symposium on “Modern Research Trends and

Applications in Life Sciences”, organised by Elphinstone College and Bhavan’s College

(Andheri) jointly and held on January 7, 2012. The poster was awarded the third prize.

34

Seminars/Workshops conducted under the ‘Education for Justice and Peace’ Theme

of the Year, including Ananya (December 2011) (see Point Number 41)

b) SEMINARS/WORKSHOPS AND CONFERENCES ATTENDED BY

FACULTY MEMBERS:

Dr. (Sr.) Anila Verghese (Dept. of History) attended:

The Heras Memorial Lecture on ‘The City and Modernity: Bombay/Mumbai Changes

in the 19th Century’ by Prof. Jim Masselos, held at the Heras Institute, St. Xavier’s

College, on December 14, 2011.

The international seminar on ‘Krishnadevaraya and His Times: Cultural

Perspectives’, held by the K.R. Cama Oriental Institute Mumbai, January 7-8, 2012.

A talk in ‘Krishna in South Indian Painting’ by Dr. Anna Dallapiccola at the

Chattrapati Shivaji Vastu Sangrahalaya (Museum) on January 23, 2012.

The 31st Mahamahopadhyaya Dr. P.V. Kane Memorial Lecture at the Asiatic Society

of Mumbai on ‘Kalamukha and Pashupata Shaivism’, by Dr. Vasundhara Filliozat, on

February 6, 2012.

A lecture by Prof. David Shulman at Jnanapravaha on February 16, 2012, on ‘Making

Things Happen with Your Mind: the Story of Simantini’.

A lecture by Dr. George Michell at NCPA on ‘Discovering the Deccan’ on March 28,

2012.

A lecture by Dr. M.K.Dhavalikar on ‘Kanheri – A Survey’ at the Chhatrapati Shivaji

Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya on March 30, 2012.

Ms Jaya Kanoria (Dept. of English) attended a lecture on ‘The Buddha’s Eight Hair-

relics: An Odyssey to Burma’, by Dr. Donald M. Stadtner, at Jnanapravaha on March 12,

2012.

Ms Jihasa Vachharajani (Dept. of English) attended:

A workshop on the revised FYBA Paper I syllabus on July 6, 2011, held at Jai Hind

College.

A talk by Tristram Hunt on ‘Marx, Engels and Colonialism’ held at St. Xavier’s

College, Mumbai, on November 25, 2011.

Dr. Sufiya Pathan (Dept. of English) attended a workshop on the revised

Communications Skills paper for FYBA held at St. Andrew’s College on July 11, 2011.

Dr. Nirmala Tripathi (Dept. of Hindi) attended:

A workshop on the syllabi of the FYBA AM and Compulsory Hindi paper held on

July 2, 2011 at K.C. College.

A seminar on ‘Vishnu Prabhakar’, organised by the Department of Hindi, University

of Mumbai on January 17-18, 2012.

A seminar on ‘Sahitya Samaj Aur Media’, held at K.C. College, Ferbuary 17-18,

2012.

35

Dr. Sumanika Sethi (Dept. of Hindi) attended a workshop on the syllabi of the FYBA

AM and Compulsory Hindi paper held on July 2, 2011 at K.C. College.

Ms Usha Tiwari (Dept. of Hindi) attended a workshop on the syllabi of the FYBA AM

and Compulsory Hindi paper held on July 2, 2011 at K.C. College.

Ms Swarupa Kamat (Dept. of History) attended:

A seminar on the new credit and grade system, held at Wilson College on June 16,

2011.

A two-day workshop on ‘Hermaneutics’, held at Heras Institute, St. Xavier’s College,

on August 10-11, 2011.

A State-level UGC sponsored seminar on ‘Journey through the History of Tribes in

India’, held at Khalsa College on October 5, 2011.




Mrs. Rashna Poncha (Dept. of History) attended:

A workshop on ‘Research Methodology’, held at Heras Institute, St. Xavier’s

College, on July 25-26, 2011.

A two-day workshop on ‘Hermaneutics’, held at Heras Institute, St. Xavier’s College,

on August 10-11, 2011.




A lecture on ‘Khanbahadur Muncherji C. MUrzban – A “Native” Architect in the 19th

Century Colonial Bombay’, held at the K.R. Cama Oriental Institute on March 10,

2012.

Dr. Aninha Lobo (Dept. of Psychology) attended the ‘Brain and Cognition Workshop’

held at the Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru, July 5 to 14, 2011.

Sr. Patricia D’Souza (Dept. of Psychology) attended a workshop on the Syllabi for

Psychology at the SYBA (Semesters II and III), held at Ruparel College, on April 9,

2012.

Dr. Perpetua Miranda (Dept. of Sociology) attended:

A workshop on the SYBA Paper III syllabus held on July 20, 2011 at St. Andrew’s

College

A one-day National Seminar held at TISS on ‘Financial Accessibility of the Street

Vendors in India: Cases of Inclusion and Exclusion’, on September 24, 2011.

An International Conference on ‘Global Communication – 2011 and International

Communication Fest (ICF) – Ankura 2011’, held at Bengaluru University, November

17-18, 2011.

36

A one-day seminar on ‘Research Avenues and Challenges in Higher Education’,

organised by the University of Mumbai on November 18, 2011.

A one-day Orientation Workshop on the revised syllabi of the SYBA Sociology

papers, held at K.C. College on April 19, 2012.

Ms Gilda Pereira (Dept. of Sociology) attended:

A workshop on the SYBA Paper III syllabus held on July 20, 2011 at St. Andrew’s

College

A one-day National Seminar held at TISS on ‘Financial Accessibility of the Street

Vendors in India: Cases of Inclusion and Exclusion’, on September 24, 2011.

An International Conference on ‘Global Communication – 2011 and International

Communication Fest (ICF) – Ankura 2011’, held at Bengaluru University, November

17-18, 2011.

A one-day Orientation Workshop on the revised syllabi of the SYBA Sociology

papers, held at K.C. College on April 19, 2012.

Ms Anagha Tendulkar (Dept. of Sociology) attended a one-day Orientation Workshop on

the revised syllabi of the SYBA Sociology papers, held at K.C. College on April 19,

2012.

Dr. Andrea Coutinho (Dept. of Education) attended a National Workshop on ‘E-Content

Development for Higher Education’ conducted by Christ University, Bangalore, from

March 29 to 31, 2012.

Ms Nisha Yadav (Dept. of Economics) attended a talk by Kaushik Basu on ‘Is India

Ready for Global Change’, organised by the Forum of Free Enterprise’ and held at K.C.

College on January 6, 2012.

Ms Shahnaz Shaikh (Dept. of Political Science) attended a National Seminar on ‘Trends

in Nuclear Power: One Year after Fukushima’, organised by the Centre for Air Power

Studies and held at the Nehru Centre, on April 10, 2012.

Dr. Hema Subramaniam (Dept. of Life Science) attended the ‘XI Symposium on Vectors

and Vector –Borne Diseases’, organised by the Regional Medical Research Centre for

Tribals, Jabalpur, October 15-17, 2011.

Dr. Gail Carneiro (Dept. of Chemistry) attended:

The lecture series on ‘Lecture Series on NMR Spectroscopy’, held on July 30, 2011

‘Royal Society of Chemistry’s West India Popular Lectures for PG Students’ on

Organic Synthesis, held at SIES College on August 3, 2011, at which there were three

lectures.

A lecture on ‘The Fascinating World of Chemistry’ by Prof. M.M. Sharma, at

K.J.Somaiya College, on December 1, 2011.

37

Dr. Ignat Mendes (Dept. of Chemistry) attended:

Two-day training workshop on Analytical Chemistry Equipment held by BASF on

July 14, 2011 and September 16, 2011.

A National Conference on ‘Advance Materials in Industry’, February 10-11, 2012,

held at Ismail Yusuf College.

A National Conference on ‘Chemistry – Challenges and Opportunities’, February 16-

18, 2012, organised by St. Joseph’s College Bangalore.

A National Seminar on ‘Trends in Nuclear Power: One Year after Fukushima’,

organised by the Centre for Air Power Studies and held at the Nehru Centre, on April

10, 2012.

Dr. Prabha Shetty (Dept. of Chemistry) attended:



A five-day workshop for resource generation for the Chemistry Olympiad, at the

Homi Bhabha Centre for Science Education from September 14 to 18, 2011.

Mr. M.R.Garud (Dept. of Chemistry) attended:



A workshop on ‘Green Chemistry’ held at National College on December 8, 2011.

Ms Rochelle Ferns (Dept. of Chemistry) attended:



10, 2012.

Ms P. Sirisha Murthy (Dept. of Chemistry) attended:

A workshop on the new Credit System for FYBSc Chemistry, held at K.J. Somaiya

College on June 22, 2011.

Royal Society of Chemistry’s West India Popular Lectures for PG Students on

‘Organic Synthesis’, held at SIES College on August 3, 2011, at which there were

three lectures.

Ms Tanaz Asha (Dept. of Chemistry) attended:

A workshop on the new Credit System for FYBSc Chemistry, held at K.J. Somaiya

College on June 22, 2011.

A one-day UGC sponsored National Level Seminar on ‘New Methodologies in

Chemistry Education’, held at Royal College on December 20, 2011.

Ms Bushra Sheikh (Dept. of Chemistry) attended:

Analytical Instrumentation Workshop held at Ramnarain Ruia College, in

collaboration with Shimadzu Analytical (India) Pvt. Ltd. on June 27, 2011.

38



10, 2012.

Ms Suparna Dugal (Dept. of Microbiology) attended the DBT sponsored conference on

‘Interdisciplinary Strategies in Biology’ held at Welingkar Institute of Management and

Research, on December 16-17, 2011.

Dr. Rajbinder Dehiya (Dept. of Microbiology) attended a workshop on ‘Credit Based

Semester and Grading System for FYBSc Microbiology Syllabi’, held on June 24, 2011

at Bhavan’s College, Andheri.

Ms Shraddha Prabhu (Dept. of Microbiology) attended:

The DBT sponsored conference on ‘Interdisciplinary Strategies in Biology’ held at

Welingkar Institute of Management and Research, on December 16-17, 2011.

A workshop on ‘Practicals in Bioinformatics’ held at Wilson College on January 16,

2012.

A workshop at ACTREC on ‘Applications of Bioinformatics’ on February 9-10,

2012.

Dr. Roshan D’Souza (Dept. of Zoology) attended:

A workshop on the Credit Based System in Zoology held at National College on July

12, 2011.

The Ninth Symposium on ‘Reproductive Physiology of Fish, 2011’ held in Cochin,

India, August 9-14, 2011.

A seminar on ‘NAAC Accreditation’, organised by Welingkar Institute of

Management, on March 22, 2012.

Ms Sandhya Kadiru (Dept. of Zoology) attended an international symposium on ‘Current

Trends in Life Sciences’ organised by the Department of Life Sciences, University of

Mumbai, on March 9, 2012.

Ms Vidya Konar (Dept. of Mathematics and Statistics) attended a conference on ‘Indian

Women and Mathematics’ at the Institute of Mathematical Sciences, Chennai, January 8

to 10, 2012.

Ms Fatema Suterwala (Dept of Physics) attended the three day Physics Olympiad,

conducted by the Homi Bhabha Science Centre on March 4-6, 2012, which provided

training to Physics teachers.

Dr. Meeta Saxena (Dept of Physics) attended a National Seminar on ‘Trends in Nuclear

Power: One Year after Fukushima’, organised by the Centre for Air Power Studies and

held at the Nehru Centre, on April 10, 2012.

39

Ms Prabha Suresh (Librarian) attended:

A seminar on ‘Open Access Movement in the Age of Innovation and ICT’ at

Nagindas Khandwala College on January 6-7, 2012.

A State Level Conference on ‘Academic Libraries in the Electronic Era’ organised by

SNDT Women’s University Library on January 17-18, 2012.

9. RESEARCH:

Under-graduate Research:

Through the Excellence Programmes in both Arts and Science undergraduate students are

exposed to research activities. This year, some undergraduate students also got an

opportunity to present papers / posters at conferences:

Madhuri Dhariwal and Dhvani Doshi (TYBA) attended a two-day National Seminar

on ‘Adolescence: A Journey from conflict to Integration’ held at St. Xavier’s College,

Goa, September 23-24, 2011, where they presented a poster on ‘A Study of the Social

Impact of Facebook on 12-20 Year Olds in the Cities of Mumbai and Raipur’.

Moitrayee Das (TYBA) attended a two-day National Seminar on ‘Adolescence: A

Journey from conflict to Integration’ held at St. Xavier’s College, Goa, September

23-24, 2011, where she presented a poster on ‘Street Children in Mumbai and Their

Incomplete Adolescence’.

Pooja Tolia, Radhika Das and Koninika Roy, FYBA Psychology students,

participated in ‘Trishool’, a Psychology Research Convention for students organised

by Smt. Doshi Women’s College, affiliated to SNDT University, and presented a

paper on ‘Internet Addiction and Impulsivity’.

Diya John and Prarthana Sharma participated in the ‘Bombay Psychology Annual

Convention 2012’ held in January 2012. Diya John presented the paper ‘Working

Mothers, Job Flexibility and Work-Life Balance’, while Prarthana Sharma presented

the paper ‘Network Markets and their Marketing’.

Post-graduate Research:

Research is an integral part of the MSc programmes of the College.

The MSc Life Science students carried out the following research projects:

Arun Shankar, ‘Insect Gustatory Receptors’ (Staff Guide: Dr. H. Subramanium)

Vibha Kawa, ‘Acute Aerobic Exercise and Attention: A Neurocognitive Study’ (Staff

Guide: Dr. H. Ramachandran)

Akash Dubey, ‘Mechanisms of Learning and Memory’ (Staff Guide: Dr. M.S.

Rajadhyaksha)

Leanne Gracias, ‘Caenorhabditis elegans- a model organism for Neurosciences with

special reference to olfaction’ (Staff Guide: Dr. M.S. Rajadhyaksha)

Durga Chougule, ‘The regulatory role of Hypoxia Inducible Factor1 (HIF 1) in

hypoxic responses’ (Staff Guide: Dr. Y.Khan)

Sana S., ‘Embryonic and Adult neurogenesis: A comparative perspective’ (Staff

Guide: Dr. Y.Khan)

40

Princely Manbhat, ‘Phylogenetic relationship of Nervous System across the Taxa

Crustacea’ (Staff Guide: Dr. H. Ramachandran)

Neha Taishete, ‘Diabetic Neuropathy and Retinopathy’ (Staff Guide: Dr. H.

Ramachandran)

Charmi Daund, ‘Standardization of Dictyostelium as a model for study of Autophagy’

(Staff Guide: Dr. Y.Khan)

The MSc students of Microbiology carried out the following research projects:

Andrea Fernandes, ‘A Novel Approach for the Treatment of Abnormal Gut

Fermentation’ (Staff Guide: Ms S. Dugal)

Jharna Somaiya, ‘Application of Microbial Fuel Cells in Desalination’ (Staff Guide:

Dr. R. Dehiya)

Neha Jadhav, ‘Evaluation of Antibacterial Activity of Marketed Hand Sanitizers’

(Staff Guide: Ms I. Shah)

Mayuri Chaudhary, ‘A Study of Bacterial Protease and its Applications’ (Staff Guide:

Ms I. Shah)

Monika Gangawane, ‘Evaluation of Heavy Metal Tolerant and Bioaccumulation

Potential of Pencillium spp and Pseudomonas spp and their use in Waste Water

Clean-up Operations’ (Staff Guide: Ms S. Dugal)

Madura Naik, ‘Isolation and Purification of Pyoverdine for “Trojan Hourse”

Mechanism’ (Staff Guide: Dr. R. Dehiya)

Jhanvi Rane, ‘Microbial Synthesis of Polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAS) in Azobacter

spp: Their Optimization and Characterization’ (Staff Guide: Dr. A. Surti)

Benita Pareira, ‘Khadi Honey as a Quorum Quencher: A Novel Therapeutic

Approach to the Treatment of Wounds’ (Staff Guide: Ms J. Mantri)

Mamta Dhavre, ‘Moringa Olifera as a Natural Coagulant to Obtain Potable Water’

(Staff Guide: Ms J. Mantri)

The MSc students of Analytical Chemistry carried out the following research projects:

Preeti Alphanso, ‘Quantative Estimation & Characterisation of antioxidants added in

plastics’

Kalpesh Parab, ‘Quantative Estimation & Characterisation of UV- stabilizers added

in plastics ‘

MSc students are also encouraged to take part in seminars and conferences outside the

College and even to present posters of their research work, e.g. MSc students of Life

Science presented the following papers or posters, along with their teacher-guides during

the year:

Durga Chougule, Afsha Khan, Yasmin Khan and M. S. Rajadhyaksha, ‘Investigation

on glial cell death in response to two independent stresses - hypoxia and glutamate

toxicity’, at the DAE-BRNS Life Sciences Symposium (LSS2011) on ‘Advances in

Molecular and Cell Biology of Stress Response’, held at the Bhabha Atomic

Research Centre, Mumbai, on September 14, 2011.

41

Leanne Gracias, Akash Dubey, Sneha Kumthekar, Nabila Sorathia, M.S.

Rajadhyaksha ‘Caenorhabditis elegans- a model system to study the effect of stress

on behaviour’, at the DAE-BRNS Life Sciences Symposium (LSS2011) on

‘Advances in Molecular and Cell Biology of Stress Response’, held at the Bhabha

Atomic Research Centre, Mumbai, on September 14, 2011.

R. Yelukar, S. Gangavane, S. Fanibunda, A. Shankar and H. Subramaniam,

‘Comparison of Chironomus and Mosquito olfactory behaviour’, at the ‘XIth

Symposium on Vectors and Vector-borne Diseases’, held at the Regional Medical

Research Centre, Jabalpur, October 15-17, 2011.

Leanne Gracias, Akash Dubey, Sneha Kumthekar, Nabila Sorathia, and M.S.

Rajadhyaksha, ‘Investigations on effect of hypoxia on behaviour, using C. elegans as

a model system, at the International Symposium on ‘Recent Trends in Neurosciences

& XXIX Annual Conference of Indian Academy of Neurosciences - Translation of

Knowledge into Clinical Practice’, held in New Delhi, from October 30 to

November 1, 2011 (Poster presentation).

Durga Chougule, Richa Modi and Yasmin Khan ‘Effect of Lithium on hypoxia

Induced Cell Death on C6 glioma cells’, at the International Symposium on ‘Recent

Trends in Neurosciences & XXIX Annual Conference of Indian Academy of

Neurosciences - Translation of Knowledge into Clinical Practice’, held in New Delhi,

from October 30 to November 1, 2011 (Poster presentation).

A. Shankar A, H. Mayekar, R. Yelukar R, and H. Subramaniam, ‘Identification of

Putative Chemoreceptors involved in Ovipository Behaviour of Mosquito’, at the

International Symposium on ‘Recent Trends in Neurosciences & XXIX Annual

Conference of Indian Academy of Neurosciences - Translation of Knowledge into

Clinical Practice’, held in New Delhi, from October 30 to November 1, 2011


Divya Sinha, H Ramachandran and A Lobo, ‘Music and EEG’, at the one-day

research meet in Biotechnology, Environmental Science and Phytochemicals, at Jai

Hind College, Mumbai, on December 10, 2011 (Poster presentation).

Vibha Kawa, Divya Sinha, H. Ramachandran and A. Lobo, ‘The effect of Aerobic

Exercise on Attention’, at the XXI Annual Convention held in Indian Rural

Management Anand, Gujarat held on December 12-14, 2011 (Oral Presentation).

S. Shaikh, M Rajadhyaksha and Y. Khan, ‘Study of regeneration of zebrafish caudal

fin and characteristics of regenerating cells in vitro’, at the UGC sponsored National

Conference on Evolution of Research and Development in Bio Sciences conducted by

Department of Life Sciences, K. C. College, Mumbai, on January 5-6, 2012 (Poster

presentation).

Princely Manbhat and Sree S. Kumar, ‘Chemosensory Behaviour of Daphnia sp.

under normoxia and hypoxic condition’, at the UGC sponsored National Conference

on Evolution of Research and Development in Bio Sciences conducted by

Department of Life Sciences, K. C. College, Mumbai, on January 5-6, 2012 (Poster

presentation).

Neha Taishete, H Ramachandran and M.S. Rajadhyaksha, ‘Effect of High

Concentration of Glucose on Development Chick Retinal Pigment Epithelium’, at the

UGC sponsored National Conference on Evolution of Research and Development in

42

Bio Sciences conducted by Department of Life Sciences, K. C. College, Mumbai, on

January 5-6, 2012 (Poster presentation).

Vibha Kawa, Divya Sinha, H. Ramachandran, and A. Lobo, ‘The effect of a single

bout of aerobic exercise on attention: a neuroscience perspective’, at the International

Symposium on ‘Current Trends of Life Sciences held at Department of Life

Sciences’, University of Mumbai, Kalina on March 9, 2012 (Poster presentation).

Richa Modi, Venissa Machado, Yasmin Khan, ‘Differential cytotoxic effect of two

types of nanoparticles on C6 glioma cells’, at the International Symposium on

‘Current Trends of Life Sciences held at Department of Life Sciences’, University of

Mumbai, Kalina on March 9, 2012 (Poster presentation).

Divya Sinha, A Lobo and H Ramachandran, ‘The effect of Mindful music listening

on attention and mood’, at the International Symposium on ‘Current Trends of Life

Sciences held at Department of Life Sciences’, University of Mumbai, Kalina on

March 9, 2012 (Poster presentation).

Shareha Siddiqui , A Lobo and H Ramachandran, ‘Study of preferred music on

attention with mild / moderate dementia patients’, at the International Symposium on

‘Current Trends of Life Sciences held at Department of Life Sciences’, University of

Mumbai, Kalina on March 9, 2012 (Poster presentation).

MSc students of Microbiology attended seminars and presented their research work as

follows:

Mayuri Chaudhary presented a poster on ‘Study of Bacterial Protease’ at the research

meet held at Jai Hindi College on December 10, 2011.

Monika Gangawane presented a poster on ‘Isolation and Characterization of Heavy

Metal Resistant Organisms’ at the research meet held at Jai Hindi College on

December 10, 2011.

Mamta Dhavre presented a poster on ‘Use of Moringa olifera as a Coagulant to

obtain Potable Water’ at the research meet held at Jai Hindi College on December 10,

2011.

Benita Pereira presented a poster on ‘Honey and its Quorum Quenching Properties’ at

a National Symposium on ‘Modern Research Trends and Applications in Life

Sciences’ organised by Elphinstone College on January 7, 2011. She won the third

prize for this poster.

Staff Research:

PhD RESEARCH:

Under the UGC’s Faculty Improvement Programme during the XIth Plan the

following were on leave for a part of the academic year:

- Ms Anagha Tendulkar (Department of Sociology); topic of her thesis:

‘Community Care for Elderly in Mumbai’. She submitted her thesis during the

year.

- Ms Giani Erevelles Mapara (Department of Microbiology); topic of her thesis:

‘Development of a Rapid Method for Detection of Listeria Monocytogenes in

Food Samples’. She submitted her thesis in April 2012.

43

- Ms Sangeeta Dubey (Department of Economics); topic of her thesis: ‘An Enquiry

into the Viability of BT Cotton’.

PhD Awarded:

Mrs. P. Sirisha Murthy (Dept. of Chemistry) was awarded the PhD Degree in Chemistry

for her thesis ‘Synthesis of biologically interesting oxa- and aza- heterocycles’.

Mr. T.C. Roymon (Dept. of Philosophy) was awarded the PhD Degree in Philosophy for

his thesis ‘The Transcendental Idealist Method of Kant and Shankara: A Comparison’.

FACULTY RESEARCH PROJECTS:

Major Research Grants from the Department of Science and Technology (DST)

Dr. M.C. Arunan (Hon. Professor) who had been sanctioned a DST-SERC project by

the Department of Science and Technology, Government of India, for three years

(2010-2013) continued with his work. The topic of his research: ‘Developing Simple

Model Systems and Experimental Paradigms in Cognitive Sciences for

Undergraduate Science Education’. The total amount of the grant is Rs. 28,74,000/-.

Dr. Aninha Lobo (Department of Psychology), jointly with Dr. H. Ramachandran

(Department of Life Science), had submitted a major research project to the

Department of Science and Technology, under the Cognitive Science Research

Initiative for a project on ‘Exercise to Focus Attention: An ERP Study of the Potential

Benefits of Cognition, Mood and Self Esteem’. The project was approved by DST in

2010-2011 and was sanctioned a JRF for a period of three years and money for

computers, consumables and miscellaneous expenses. The total amount sanctioned

for three years: Rs. 13,55,000/-. Of this amount, the first instalment, totalling Rs.

4,64,600/-, was received in this year.

Major Research Grants from the Department of Biotechnology

Dr. Medha Rajadhyaksha (Department of Life Science) had submitted a major

research project to the Department of Biotechnology, Government of India, for seed

funding for a pilot study entitled “Epigenetic Regulation of Hypoxia Signalling in

Neuronal Models: Role of H1F1 and its Regulation in Behaviour of Ceanorahditis

elegans and in Neuronal Cultures” to be carried out in collaboration with Dr. Momna

Hejmadi of Bath University, UK. While the verbal sanction had been received the

previous year, the sanction order was received this year. The total amount for three

years is Rs. 18,47,000/-; the first instalment of Rs. 5,57,000/- for equipment was

received in the first week of July 2011.

Dr. Yasmin Khan (Department of Life Science) has an on-going a major research

project, as Co-Investigator, from the Department of Biotechnology to be carried out

in collaboration with Dr. Subha Tole of TIFR, Mumbai. The title of the project: “Cell

Migration in the Developing Olfactory Bulb: an evolutionary study”. This project

was sanctioned for a three-year period (2011-2014). The total sanctioned amount is

44

Rs. 74.31 lakhs, of this Dr. Yasmin Khan’s share of the grant, which will come to

Sophia College, is Rs. 34.43 lakhs. Of this, the first instalment of Rs. 18.87 lakhs

was received in April 2011.

Post Doctoral Research Award – UGC Application

Dr. Prabha Shetty had applied for a post doctoral research award to the UGC in 2010-

2011. She was called to the UGC office, New Delhi, for an interface meeting on

September 28, 2011.

Minor Research Grant from UGC

Dr. Arjumanara Surti (Dept of Microbiology) was sanctioned a two-year (2010-2012)

minor research grant by UGC for her research on ‘Screening of Microorganisms

Degrading PCB-118 and Studies on its Biodegradation by Microbial Cells with

Magnetic Nanoparticles’. Total amount of the grant is Rs. 1,20,000/-.

Short term research project

Dr. Roshan D’Souza, Department of Life Science, collaborated with Dr. (Mrs.) Tarala

Nandedkar, Former Deputy Director of the National Institute of Research in

Reproductive Health, Mumbai, on a research project entitled ‘Localization of

Octapeptide, an indigenous anti fertility agent, by using fluorescent labelled antibody

to OP in Zebra fish during development’.

The following Minor Research Scholarship from the Rotary Club was awarded at the

Annual Prize-Day Function, – The Rotary Club of Bombay Mid-Town Smt. Sumitradevi

Jatia Research Award (Rs. 10,000/-) for the year 2011-2012 to:

Dr. Rajbinder Kaur Dehiya for her project ‘Setting up of a Laboratory Scale

Microbial/Bio Desalination Cell’.

The Smt. Dhandevi Mahindra Research Fellowship Award (a Sophia College research

award of Rs. 60,000/-), was awarded for the year 2011-2012 to:

Ms Sirisha Murthy and Ms Tanaz Asha (Dept. of Chemistry) for their project on ‘Use

of Green Methodologies for the Synthesis of Some Organic Compounds’.

The Lobo-Dubey Research Scholarship (a Sophia College research award) was shared

between:

Ms Jyoti Mantri for her project ‘Moringa Olifera (drumstick) as a Natural Coagulant

for Drinking Water’ (Rs. 10,000/-).

Dr. Perpetua Miranda for her project ‘Identifying Multipliers of Talent in an

Organisation; and the Best Practices they Adopt’ (Rs. 8,000/-).

The Dr. (Mrs.) Barbra Naidu Memorial Scholarship (a Sophia College research award of

Rs. 10,000/-) was awarded for the year 2011-2012 to:

45

Dr. Sree Kumar for her project ‘Establishing Dictyostelium as an Effective

Pharmacological Model for the Study of Neuroprotective and Anti Cancer Drugs’.

On-going Research Projects

Dr. (Sr.) Anila Verghese has the following on-going research projects on hand:

“Major Themes in the Arts of Southern India under Vijayanagara and its

Successors”

“Art and Empire in South India under Vijayanagara and the Nayakas – 1350-1700”

In connection with these projects, she undertook a field trip from January 11 to 22, 2011

in southern Tamil Nadu.

Dr. Sufiya Pathan (Dept. of English) received the ‘Avabai Wadia Fellowship’, of Rs.

10,000/- per month and an annual contingency grant of Rs. 5000/-, for her research work

on ‘Reconstructing the Indian Political Lexicon’.

Dr. (Sr.) Ananda Amritmahal (Dept. of English) was appointed, during the period of her

Fulbright Teaching Fellowship, the “Gannon Visiting Scholar” for the year 2012 at the

Gannon Centre for Women’s Studies, Loyola University, Chicago, USA, to continue her

research on “Women Mystic Poets”.

PUBLICATIONS:

Dr. (Sr.) Ananda Amritmahal (Dept. of English), Relatedness and Resistance: A Feminist

Critical Analysis of Some Indian Women Writers, Saarburcken (Germany): Lambert

Academic Publishing, 2012.

Dr. Jennie Mendes (Department of Psychology):

‘Cultural Adaptation of the SDS: A Konkani Translation for Caregiver Relatives of

the Mentally Ill’, Bombay Psychologist, Vol. XXVI, 1 & 2; pp. 14-18.

‘Intimacy in Cyberspace: Preliminary Investigations’, Bombay Psychologist, Vol.

XXVI, 1 & 2; pp. 70-73.

‘Stigma Devaluation Scale for Caregivers of the Mentally Ill in Goa – Konkani

Translation (Roman Script) and Cultural Adaptation’, Indian Journal of Health and

Well Being, Vol. 2, Issue 2.

Mr. T.C. Roy (Department of Philosophy):

The Gateway of Peace: A Sojourn through Religious Traditions, Mumbai: Institute of

Peace Studies and Conflict Resolution, 2012.

Dr. Medha Rajadhyaksha (Dept. of Life Science):

Jennifer Italia, Rita Mukhopadhyaya and Medha S. Rajadhyaksha, “Differential

Display RT-PCR Reveals Genes Associated with Lithium-Induced Neuritogenesis in

SK-N-MC Cells”, Cellular and Molecular Neurobiology, Vol. 31, No. 7, pp. 1021-

1026.

46

Dr. Yasmin Khan (Dept. of Life Science):

Aparna Deshmukh, S. Radha, Y. Khan and Priya Tilak, ‘Ferrite Nanoparticles in

Pharmacological Modulation of Angiogenesis’, in AIP Conf. Proc. 1349, 2011, pp. 437-

38.

Ms Suparna Dugal (Dept. of Microbiology):

Suparna Dugal and Andrea Fernandes, ‘Carbapanem Hydrolysing Metallo-B-

Lactmases: A Review’, International Journal of Current Pharmaceutical Research,

Vol. 3, Issue 3, 2011, pp. 9-16.

Suparna Dugal and Olivia Rao, ‘Enhancement of Acid Tolerance of Entrapped

Probiotic Bacteria by Polyoxyethylene (80) Sorbitan Monooleate’, Journal of

Chemical and Pharmaceutical Research, Vol. 3, Issue 4, 2011, pp. 122-128.

Suparna Dugal and Andrea Fernandes, ‘Formulation and Evaluation of a Novel

Mucoadhesive Drug Delivery System to Treat Intestinal Candidiasis in

Immunocompromised Patients’, Research in Pharmacy, Vol. 1, Issue 4, 2011, pp. 10-

16.

10. PATENTS GENERATED, IF ANY:

Nil

11. NEW COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH PROGRAMMES:

Dr. Medha Rajadhyaksha (Dept. of Life Science) has a major research project in

collaboration with Dr. Momna Hejmadi of Bath University.

Dr. Yasmin Khan (Dept. of Life Science) has a major research project in

collaboration with Dr. Subha Tole of TIFR, Mumbai.

12. TOTAL RESEARCH GRANTS RECEIVED FROM VARIOUS AGENCIES:

From Department of Biotechnology, Government of India:

a) For project of Dr. Medha Rajadhyaksha: Rs. 5,57,000/-

b) For the project of Dr. Yasmin Khan: Rs. 18,87,000/-

From Department of Science and Technology, Government of India:

a) For the project of Dr. Hemlatha Ramachandran and Dr. Aninha Lobo: Rs.

4,64,600/-

From Rotary Club of Bombay Mid-town for minor research project: Rs. 10,000/-

From Smt. Dhandevi Mahindra Fellowship Award: Rs. 60,000/-

From the Lobo-Dubey Research Fellowship Award Fund: Rs. 20,000/-

47

From the Mrs. Barbra Naidu Research Scholarship Fund: Rs. 10,000/-

From the UGC Minor Research Grants: Rs. 35,000/-

From University of Mumbai (Minor Research Grant): Rs. 8,300/-

13. NUMBER OF RESEARCH SCHOLARS:

PhD Guidance:

Dr. (Sr.) Anila Verghese (Dept. of History) is a recognised research guide in History

through St. Xavier’s College. The following continued work for the PhD degree under

her guidance during the course of the year:

Mrs. Rashna Poncha on ‘Development of Frere Town, Bombay (1862-1947)’

Ms Lata Pujari on ‘Women at Vijayanagara (1336-1565)’

Mrs. Poncha has registered for the PhD while Ms Pujari is still to register. Both have

a research grant to the Luigi and Laura Dallapiccola Foundation of 4500 UK pounds

each.

Dr. Nirmala Tripathi (Dept. of Hindi) is a recognised research guide in Hindi through the

Department of Hindi of the University of Mumbai. Three students have registered for

PhD work under her guidance:

Reshma Dube; topic: ‘Mithileshwar Kee Kahaniyon Mein Pratibimbil Grameen

Jeevan Ka Swaroop’

Saraswati R. Laxmi Anand Iyyer; her topic: ‘Bharatiya Rail Mein Rajbhasha Hindi

Aur Paribhashik Shabdawali: Ek Anusheelan’

Ravindranath Tiwari; his topic: ‘Vidyaniwas Mishra Ke Srijan-jagat Mein

Loksanskriti Ka Swaroop’

Dr. Medha Rajadhyaksha and Dr. Yasmin Khan (Dept. of Life Science) are both

recognized guides for research in Applied Biology through Sophia College. Dr. Medha

Rajadhyaksha has one student under her guidance who has registered for the PhD degree,

namely Ms Jennifer Italia. The topic of her PhD research: “Gene Expression Profiles of

Lithium Induced Neuronal Differentiation and Protection against Radiation”.

Dr. Yasmin Khan has two students who have registered for PhD under her guidance,

namely Mr. Mustafa Motiwalla and Ms Archana Iyer. The topic of Mr. Motiwalla’s

research is ‘Differential gene expression in Mycobacterium leprae infected Schwann cells

to investigate Nerve Damage in Leprosy’. The title of Ms Iyer’s research topic is

‘Patterning of boundary structures in the developing brain: an evo-devo approach’.

Ms. Veena J. Kinare as JRF, Life Science Department, has a grant under the scheme of

Junior Research Fellowship of the University Grants Commission (fellowship of Rs.

16000/- per month, and contingency grant of Rs. 12000/- per annum) and is doing

preliminary work prior to registration for PhD under the guidance of Dr. Medha

48

Rajadhyaksha. Her research proposal was approved by the University of Mumbai and

she was given permission in May 2012 to register for the PhD degree.

Ms Anuttama Kulkarni is doing the preliminary work prior to registration for PhD in

Applied Biology under the guidance of Dr. Yasmin Khan. She has also been granted a

JRF by the UGC.

14. CITATION INDEX OF FACULTY MEMBERS AND IMPACT FACTOR:

Citation

None this year to be the best of our knowledge

Impact Factor:

By Staff Members as Experts in their Respective Fields:

Dr. (Sr.) Anila Verghese (Dept. of History) is an authority on Vijayanagara:

Consultation with reference to Vijayanagara Research Work

Was academic advisor to the K.R. Cama Oriental Institute for the proposed seminar,

to be held on January 7-8, 2012, on ‘Krishnadevaraya and His Times: Cultural

Perspectives’;

Ms R. Ramalakshmi from CEPT, Ahmedabad, pursuing M.Arch (in Theory and

Design), working for her thesis under Prof. Snehal Shah, corresponded via email in

January 2012 regarding her thesis topic on the ‘Evolution of Kalyana Mandapa in

general and the one in Vitthala temple at Hampi in particular’.

Was invited by the Vijayanagar Punschetana Pratistana (Trust), under ministry of

Tourism, Government of Karnataka, to visit their office on February 11, 2012, in

order to discuss the Heritage Theme Park Project they are undertaking. However, at

the last minute the meeting was cancelled.

Other areas of consultancy:

Is a member of the ‘Medals and Honorary Fellows Committee of the Asiatic Society

of Mumbai’ and attended the meeting held on March 19, 2012.

Is on the Advisory Committee of the Heras Institute for Historical Research, St.

Xavier’s College.

Is on the list of peer reviewers for Indica, the Journal of the Heras Institute for

Historical Research and did the review in early April 2012 of: “Phillippa’s Sisters:

‘Portuguese’ Camp Followers, Slave-Wives and Concubines in Southern India in the

18th Century”, by Ruchira Banerjee.

Was invited as subject expert for the selection of Principal for Nirmala Niketan –

College of Social Work, on June 25, 2011.

Was requested in July 2011 by Dr. Perpetua Machado, Principal of Nirmala Niketan –

College of Home Science, to be an external referee for her application for the

49

‘Fulbright-Nehru International Education Administrators’ Seminar’; the needful was

done.

Was invited as subject expert for the selection of Principal for Jai Hind College on

May 15, 2012.

Is a member of the Advisory Board of the Sophia Shri B.K.Somani Polytechnic and

attended the meetings held on September 12, 2011 and February 9, 2012.

Is a member of the Executive Committee of the Association of Minority Colleges.

Sr. Ananda Amritmahal (Dept. of English and Hon. Coordinator of SCWSD):

Was a resource person at a Syllabus Orientation Workshop, organised by the

Department of English, Lions Juhu Nandlal Jalan Mahila Mahavidyalaya, on

December 16, 2011.

Was a subject expert for placement interviews held at St. Andrew’s College in August

2011.

Was an external expert for the Women’s Development Cell of Wilson College for the

academic year 2011-2012.

Ms Jaya Kanoria (Dept. of English) was a speaker and panelist for a book discussion on

Fatima Bhutto’s book Songs of Blood and Sword, held at the Nehru Centre, on January

20, 2012.

Dr. Sufiya Pathan (Dept. of English) was a respondent to a paper entitled ‘The ‘whole’

Truth: Unintended Consequences of the Colonial Legal System’, at the Sixth

International Dharma and Ethics Conference – “Tradition, Religion and Law”, held at

Hubli, January 28-29, 2012.

Dr. Aninha Lobo (Dept. of Psychology) was:

A resource person at a one-day workshop held at Ruparel College on June 28, 2011,

on ‘Syllabi for Psychology Courses at the FYBA (Semester I and II) under the Credit

Based Semester and Grading System’.

Reviewed a manuscript on Counselling for Tata McGraw-Hills

Conducted a workshop on ‘On Being Assertive’ at the Lord’s Universal College of

Education on November 4, 2011.

A resource person at a workshop on the ‘Syllabi for Psychology at the SYBA

(Semesters II and III), held at Ruparel College, on April 9, 2012.

Dr. Nirmala Tripathi (Dept. of Hindi):

Was a resource person at the workshop on the new grading system at the FYBA level

in Hindi, held at K.C. College on July 2, 2011.

Is a panel member for PET, for candidates wishing to register for PhD in Hindi from

the University of Mumbai.

Was a course writer for the Hindi TYBA Paper VI (Functional Hindi) for the

Distance Learning Department of the University of Mumbai.

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Ms Sunita Jadhav (Dept. of Economics) was invited to attend a seminar on ‘Inclusive

Growth’ held by the PG Department of Economics, SNDT University, in order to judge

the presentations by PG students of the department, on August 30, 2011.

Dr. Prabha Shetty (Dept. of Chemistry) was invited to attend a Resource Generation

Camp for the Chemistry Olympiad at the Homi Bhabha Centre for Science Education

(HBSCE) as a resource person, September 14 to 18, 2011.

Dr. Roshan D’Souza (Dept. of Zoology) was invited to judge the intercollegiate Zoology

competition at Royal College during ‘Gyan Manthan’ on September 14, 2011.

Dr. Hemalatha Ramachandran (Dept. of Life Science) was asked by the Kerala State

Council for Science, Technology and Environment to evaluate a research proposal titled

‘Earthworm Diversity and its Influence on Carbon Requestration in Silent Valley

National Park’ by Dr. E.V. Ramaswamy. She did the needful.

Dr. Madhavi Kaji is a member of the Committee of the Diploma in Medical Laboratory

Technology, P.V. Polytechnic, S.N.D.T. Women’s University and she attended a meeting

held on April 3, 2012.

Dr. Roshan D’Souza (Dept. of Zoology) collaborated with Dr. Tarala Nandedkar, Former

Depty Director of the National Institute of Research in Reproductive Health, Mumbai, as

a co-guide for the summer fellowship programme conducted by the National Science

Academies. They guided Ms. S. Charupriya, from Sastra University, Tanjavur, on an

eight-week summer project on Zebra fish reproductive physiology.

Ms Suparna Dugal (Dept. of Microbiology) was invited in October 2011 to do a peer

review of an article for the British Biotechnology Journal.

Ms Sandra Mendes (Dept. of Mathematics and Statistics) was invited on September 14,

2011, to judge a project exhibition entitled ‘Mathshow’ as part of ‘Gyan Manthan’, the

Intercollegiate Academic Festival held at Royal College of Arts, Science and Commerce.

At the University and Collegiate Levels:

A number of lecturers give lectures at the MA, MSc and MPhil classes conducted both by

the University of Mumbai and SNDT Women’s University.

Departmental Consultancy

The Microbiology Department arranged for a visit to its laboratory and some practicals

for nursing students of SNDT College of Nursing.

Consultancy rendered to other colleges for NAAC accreditation, re-accreditation

Some colleges contacted either our IQAC co-ordinator, Mrs. S. Master, or our library

for help in this area. For example, Mrs. S. Master went to Rizvi College to help them

prepare for re-accreditation.

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Dr. (Sr.) Anila Verghese (Principal) was invited to:

- Wilson College on August 9, 2011, to address the entire senior college teaching

staff about NAAC Re-accreditation and to have an interaction with their Principal,

NAAC Co-ordinator and team.

- Bhavan’s College, Andheri, on September 28, 2011, to address the teaching staff

about NAAC Re-accreditation and to have an interaction with their NAAC Co-

ordinator and team.

15. HONOURS/AWARDS TO FACULTY AND THE COLLEGE:

Dr. (Sr.) Ananda Amritmahal (Dept. of English) was in the US at Loyola University,

Chicago, from mid-January 2012 to mid-May 2012, on a Fulbright Teaching

Fellowship. From January 17 to May 1, 2012 (i.e. the spring semester), Sr. Ananda

conducted a course on ‘Women in Indian Literature’ as part of the Global Feminisms

component offered by the Women’s Studies and Gender Studies Department at

Loyola University, Chicago. During her stay in the US, she also attended seminars

and gave lectures etc. She also visited a number of colleges to explore possibilities of

collaboration, e.g.:

- On February 17, 2012, she had a meeting with faculty members of the Women’s

Studies Department at the State University of New York, Albany, during which

ideas and experiences were shared, and possibilities for future collaboration were

explored.

- On May 7, 2012, she met with various members of the faculty (Departments of

English, Women’s Studies and Religion) as well as with the Asst. Provost and

Dean for International Programmes at Barnard College, for an exchange of ideas

and experiences and for a discussion of possibilities for future collaboration.

- On May 8, 2012, she met with members of the faculty and the Director of the

Office of Global Initiatives at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, for a

discussion of possibilities for future collaboration.

Dr. Yasmin Khan (Dept. of Life Science), who had applied for a Fulbright-Nehru

Senior Research Fellowship 2012-2013, was selected for the same and will be

proceeding to the US in September 2012.

16. INTERNAL RESOURCES GENERATED:

From consultancy: Rs. 2200/-

By the annual inter-collegiate youth-festival, called Kaleidoscope, which also raises

some funds for the College: approximately Rs. 2,00,000/- (net amount after all

costs)

By letting out of premises for functions, film-shootings etc. also funds were generated

of approximately Rs. 25,00,000/-

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For Student Aid for helping financially needy students: Rs. 1,00,000/- was received

in June 2011 from Vasundhara and Karun Sanghi, an ex-student and her husband

towards student aid. In addition, from various other donors a total of Rs. 54,000/- was

received for student aid.

Donations towards the College Improvement Fund: Total Rs. 2,48,600/-

From the Central Solidarity Fund for the outreach programmes of the Sophia Centre

for Women’s Studies and Development: Rs. 2,53,537-

From other donors for the outreach programmes of the Sophia Centre for Women’s

Studies and Development: Rs. 55,000/-

Contributions towards the BMM Development Fund: Rs. 5000/-

Donation to the College Equipment Fund: Rs. 10,000/-

From the Luigi and Laura Dallapiccola Foundation for the Mumbai Conference on

‘Women’s Spaces, Women’s Voices’: Rs. 3,60,252/-

From Dr. Zaibun Jasdanwalla for the renovation of the assembly hall / multipurpose

hall: Rs. 25,00,000/-

From Mrs. Griselda Dias for the renovation of the Staff Tea Room: Rs. 2,00,000/-

From Mrs. Anuradha Mahindra for the conservation and painting of the heritage Arts

Building: Rs. 15,00,000/-

17. DETAILS OF DEPARTMENTS GETTING SAP, COSIST, DST/FIST ETC.

ASSISTANCE AND RECOGNITION:

There are four major research grants: two sanctioned by Department of Biotechnology,

Government of India and two from the Department of Science and Technology,

Government of India.

The DST-FIST grant for equipment has also been sanctioned by the Department of

Science and Technology, Government of India. Of this, Rs. 40,50,000/- was received this

year.

18. COMMUNITY SERVICES:

This has been done through a variety of outreach activities. The main examples of these

are:

1. Of Sophia Centre for Women’s Studies and Development:

This has already been outlined in response to question no. 2.

2. The Municipal School Outreach Project of NSS

Two camps were held during the year:

i) The Municipal School Project camp was held in October from the 19th to the 25th.

Around a hundred children from standards 8, 9 and 10 were on campus where

they were taught and given help with their academic difficulties. Laboratory

practicals were conducted for children of Stds. IX and X. This camp was

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residential one for the NSS volunteers. About a hundred NSS volunteers lived on

campus during these days.

ii) In the month of April 2012, the N.S.S. unit of Sophia College decided to have a

workshop for children of Municipal Schools and Akanksha who appeared for the

SSC examination in March 2012.

The objectives of the workshop were:

1. To give the students an idea about the options in the different educational streams

after 10thStd and to impart career guidance

2. To teach the students about certain life skills which would be of use at this stage

of their lives (First aid techniques, Defense against molestation, Anger

management & Prevention of child abuse)

No of Student Participants:

1. Akansha Foundation : 17

2. Worli Municipal School : 11

Total Participants: 28

No of NSS Student Volunteers: 13

No of Staff Members: 03

(Ms. Anu Srinivasan, Ms. Tanaz Asha & Ms. Sandhya Kadiru)

Duration: April 9 – 24, 2012

The programme was divided into 2 phases. The first phase was the educational

programme for municipal school children

Phase I – April 9 – 12, 2012

Programme schedule:

DATE TIME PROGRAMME

April 9, 2012

9.00 – 11.00 am

Workshop on First Aid

(Resource Person : Ms. Anjali Joglekar)

12.30 am –1.30pm

WARDA – Women against Rape

(Resouce Person : Mr. Chitalwala& associates)

April 10, 2012

9.00 – 11.00 am

Session on Education

Options & Career choices after S.S.C

Counselling for Online admissions for FYJC

11.30 am –1.30pm

Warli Art

(Resource person : Ms. Roshni Shah)

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April 11, 2012 9.00 – 11.00 am Warli Art

(Resource person : Ms. Roshni Shah)

11.30 am –1.30pm

Workshop on Anger management

( Resource Person : Ms.AshrafiChitalwala)

April 12, 2012

9.00 – 11.00 am

Session on Education

Alternative Career Options after S.S.C & H.S.C

( SCWSD, Sophia College & Seva Sadan)

11.30 am –1.30pm

Workshop on Child Abuse & its Prevention

(Organized by ARPAN)

Phase II – April 16– 24, 2012

The students were given the option to join a basic computer training course for 7 days.

The course was sponsored by the teaching staff of Sophia College.

There were two batches consisting of 12 students in the first batch and 4 in the second

batch (the second batch will be conducted in the month of May 2012).

They were taught the following programmes:

MS Paint

MS Word

MS Excel

Internet usage

On-line admission procedures

3. Other NSS Activities

CANKIDS PROGRAMMES

CANKIDS or Kids-scan is an NGO dealing with kids who have cancer. The work of this

NGO was introduced through a power-point presentation by the organization on the

October 19, 2011. Dr. Peppy Miranda of the Sociology Department and the Chemistry

department under Dr. Gail Carneiro actively participated in the CANKIDS activities

organized during the year. For example, a successful Birthday Party was conducted on

the October 21, 2011 at the Jerbai Wadia Hospital by the Sociology Department. Food

and Gifts were entirely contributed by students of FYBA.

On November 29, 2011, the second CANKIDS party was organized by the Chemistry

department at the Jerbai Wadia Cancer Hospital. Food and Gifts were entirely contributed

by students of BSc.

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On December 20, 2011, the third party for the cancer children was organized at the Jerbai

Wadia Cancer Hospital; this it was again by the Sociology department. Food and Gifts

were entirely contributed by students of FYBA.

On February 11, 2011 a party was arranged on Sophia College campus for 100 children

& 120 escorts & staff from CANKIDS. This project was supported by all the classes of

the college in commemoration of World Children Cancer Month. Sixty volunteers helped

in the organization and success of the party.

ACTIVITIES AT DSIS (David Sassoon Industrial School) Remand Home for Boys

A cultural programme was conducted for the children of the remand home in celebration

of Ganesh Chaturthi, on the September 2, 2011, at the remand home in Matunga. The

programme was in collaboration with BSP. Forty student volunteers participated. There

were 130 children along with staff at the remand home. Song and dance events were put

up by both sides.

November 14, 2011: Children’s day at DSIS was celebrated by the Children’s Aid

Society wherein 2,500 children participated in a day of fun and games. The NSS unit of

Sophia College actively helped with the organization and execution of this celebration.

The events organized were 1) Funfair, where Sophia College put up a game’s stall. 2)

Magic shows 3) Film shows and 4) Children’s mela. The programme was inaugurated by

Ms Varsha Gaikwad, Hon. Minister for State Child Welfare. And the closing ceremony

saw the Chief Minister of the State in attendance.

A funfair was organized at the DSIS Remand home on the January 30, 2012 for the

children. This was organized for 160 inmates by 62 students who contributed food, gifts

and games and time for the children.

DISASTER MANAGEMENT ACTIVITIES

Energy Saving Project:

In the month of June a format was made by the staff and students of Sophia College,

which gave detailed information about saving

a) Electricity

b) Gas

c) Water

d) Fuel

A training session was held at the college by the Zoology department for first batch of

students participating in the programme. Almost 100 students adopted 3 or more

families for educating them regarding this project. The programme was successful

and we hope to continue with this project.

First Aid:

A two-day workshop was conducted by Mrs. Joglekar on first aid in the month of

August. 1 day practice session was held and then the students were given duties and

help the injured during our youth festival. 38 students participated.

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Yoga:

A two-day workshop was conducted for relieving stress through yoga.

Save Water:

A campaign was conducted in the College.

Paper Bag:

4000 paper bags were made and distributed to small vendors. The project was

undertaken to “SAY NO TO PLASTIC”

Book Making:

Seven hundred and fifty note- books were made and distributed to municipal school

students and tribal children in Mumbai and Jharkhand.

ACTIVITIES WITH ARPAN

In the month of September, Arpan organized 3 sessions on Child Sexual Abuse in

collaboration with the Psychology Department for FYBA Psychology students. The first

session was an introduction to Child Sexual Abuse and a sensitization to the abuse, Along

with an explanation of the concept and role of Arpan. Interested students then applied for

the next two levels. The second session was a sensitization to societal pressures that are

instrumental in leading to the silence of the victim. The third session dealt with the

stressful and traumatic nature of Child Sexual Abuse which results in fragmented

memories and dreams which raise doubts about the authenticity of the event.

ACTIVITIES AT NAB (National Association for the Blind)

A workshop for the blind was conducted at NAB on the December 30, 2011. One

hundred and twenty visually impaired individuals were given HIV/AIDS training by Mr.

Santosh Pathare in an interactive session that helped spread awareness and solve their

doubts to a large extent on the issue. This was the first time that such a camp was

organized for the visually impaired individuals.

At NAB the NSS unit organized a cultural programme on January 16 and 21, 2012. Six

competitions were conducted. They were Elocution, Singing, Mono Acting, Quiz, Mr. &

Ms. Personality.

Others

A Blood Donation Drive was held in the College on January 20, 2012.

19. NUMBER OF TEACHERS AND OFFICERS NEWLY RECRUITED:

Teachers: 4

Non-teaching staff: 2

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20. TEACHING-NON-TEACHING STAFF RATIO:

Approximately 1: 1

21. IMPROVEMENTS IN LIBRARY SERVICES:

With the introduction of the credit based system this year, beginning with the FY

classes, usage of library resources for reference work has increased tremendously.

On an average 350 books/question papers/files were taken for reference from the

Circulation Counter and on an average only 60 books were issued per day.

The extension of library timings by 1 hour daily from Monday to Friday before

and during examinations is still being followed. It was noticed that the use of

library by students beyond 5 p.m. was very minimal.

Table of Contents of Arts & Science journals subscribed are regularly collected

and bound at the end of the year. Staff and students have made good use of them

as it saved their time in searching for information.

College, University and Board examination question papers of Junior and Senior

College classes are available in the library computer database. The response for

this service by the staff and students was tremendous.

The syllabi of various subjects of different classes are well documented and

maintained in the library. Staff and students come regularly to make a copy for

their personal use. The syllabi are very useful for ex-students who go abroad for

further studies.

The library purchased the latest 23rd edition of Dewey Decimal Classification.

This schedule incorporates many of the new subjects that have evolved in recent

years. This would enable the library classification procedure of books to be more

precise and accurate.

The library purchased the Library Management Software SLIM 21. The SLIM 8th

version that the library was using had become outdated and no further updates

were available. The new version has several advanced features which will

enhance the library services and data documentation work.

The library has rewritten three Accession registers, as the original ones are in bad

condition, with their papers very brittle and tearing apart. These serve as useful

library data and need to be preserved.

Students made excellent use of Referral services provided. Many students visited

libraries for their reference work at University of Mumbai at Kalina & Fort

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Campus, SNDT University, St. Xavier’s College, Elphinstone College, David

Sassoon Library, Haffkine Institute, Holy Spirit Hospital Library, TISS, NIRRH,

Jaslok Hospital Library, NCPA Library, HEALTH, SEHAT, Sophia Polytechnic,

Asiatic Library, Nirmala Niketan, YMCA, NIFT, WLC School of Fashion, USIS

Library and other libraries.

7 students enrolled under the Library Ex-students membership and they made

extensive use of library resources. Xerox and Internet services are available to

them.

TYBA History 7 students who opted for applied component paper in Library

Science completed 25 hours in-service training in the library. Each student was

given training in various types of library work. These students assisted the library

users in information retrieval through searches made using the library software.

The total collection of Audio-Visual materials in the library has increased to 585

in numbers. The collection consists of excellent classic movies of renowned

Indian and Hollywood directors. Staff made excellent use of these audio visual

aids in their teaching process. Small classes were held in the audio-visual section

of the library by teachers. BMM students regularly view the film DVD collections

in the library for film review reports. These films were also borrowed by different

departments for screening during Kaleidoscope, Ananya and other cultural

activities of the College.

Several new popular titles were added to the Fiction Library. The books were

regularly issued by both staff and students. Popular titles were purchased from

book sales and exhibitions Staff members also help in suggesting good titles to

purchase for the Fiction library. Junior College students were encouraged and

motivated to read works of eminent writers.

Overhead Projectors available in the library were very much in demand by staff,

EXAP/EXSP and post-graduate students for their lectures / seminar presentations.

The Xerox and Internet Counter have been well utilized by library users since

reference books, journals and newspapers are not issued out of the library. The

Library purchased a new Canon Digital Copier Model No: 2525 in the Month of

March 2012 from UGC XI Plan Grant. The internet services are also available for

library users for reference work. The broadband connectivity helps users’ fast

access to web information.

The Library Committee members for the year 2011-2012 were Principal, Dr. (Sr.)

Anila Verghese, Dr. (Mr.) Ignat Mendes, Dr. (Ms.) Hema Subramaniam, Ms.

Swarupa Kamat, Dr. (Ms.) Sumanika Sethi and the Librarian, Ms. Prabha Suresh.

Two meetings were held during the course of the year, first meeting on 5th

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October 2011 and the second meeting on 9th April 2012. The minutes of the

meeting are maintained in the library.

The institutional membership to The American Library has been renewed. The

USIS library has shifted their premises to the Bandra-Kurla Complex. Several

Books & journals were donated to our college library before they shifted their

premises. Books, journals and AV materials can be borrowed on institutional

membership. Staff and students of various departments have used this facility.

Accesses to online journals have been provided to the college.

Ms Anita Thomas of TYBMM (2010-11) & Ms Nitasha Jhala of TYBA (2010-

11) were awarded the Madeleine Sophie Prize for the most well read student of

the year.

Library held several book exhibitions in the course of the year. Exhibitions by

various departments of the college were also displayed in the library Reading

Room section through the year.

Annual library Stock-Verification was carried out. Bar-coding of books facilitated

the process.

Pest control work in the library was carried out every quarterly in the course of

the year.

The Librarian and Assistant Librarian visited USIS Library, and other libraries

regarding interlibrary networking.

The Librarian assisted Sophia Women Centre Library in their Documentation

work.

The library collection has been greatly enriched through donation of books from

the personal collection of several staff members, students, other individual donors

and institutions.

The Library received donation of several expensive academic journals from USIS

library namely Science, Issues in Science & Technology, PC World, Wired,

Discover, Scientific American, Science News, Popular Science, Signs, American

Economic Policy, etc. This is an ongoing annual arrangement with American

Library.

The library held sale of donated books at very attractive prices in the month of

January 2012. The response was very good.

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Computerized Catalogue cards are regularly printed for all library books. The

Author, Subject and Title cards serve as a back-up for the computerized

catalogue.

The Library had several visitors in the course of the year, namely:

- Visitors from Korea namely the Catholic University of Korea

- SCESA members

- The library had a few other foreign visitors also.

- Students from several Mumbai University colleges and institutes visited the

library for reference work.

All the visitors were very happy will the college ambience, library resources,

services and the hospitality provided to them.

22. NUMBER OF NEW BOOKS/JOURNALS SUBSCRIBED AND THEIR

VALUE:

The library budget for books and journals was greatly enriched by grants received from

library fees of students, and UGC XI Plan Grants under various headings namely, Under

Graduate Assistance, Post Graduate Assistance, Human Rights Education, Additional

Assistance, Remedial Coaching, Bioinformatics Career Oriented Course, Minor Research

etc. This helped to purchase excellent reference books of varied subjects. The details are

as follows:

ITEM NUMBER AMOUNT

Books 1040 Rs. 890226.00

Journals & Newspapers 77 journals & 8

newspapers

Rs. 88134.00

23. NUMBER OF COURSES FOR WHICH STUDENT ASSESSMENT OF

TEACHERS IS INTRODUCED AND THE ACTION TAKEN ON STUDENT

FEEDBACK:

At Sophia there is the tradition of administering the Teacher Assessment Questionnaire

(TAQ) to students. In the case of all new teachers, this is done every year. Permanent

faculty members are encouraged to have the TAQ administered in their classes every few

years, in order to gain feedback from students. The results of the TAQ, which are

computerized, are shown to the concerned teacher so he/she can take the necessary

remedial action. The Principal also studies the TAQ results, and discusses them with the

teacher concerned.

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After our accreditation by NAAC in 2003, years we had initiated the practice of giving

questionnaires dealing with various aspects of the college, including teachers, to the

graduating students. The feedback received is studied by the IQAC, in order to improve

the quality of education at Sophia and in order to see both our strengths and the areas

needing attention.

In addition to feedback from students, we have other methods of teacher assessment and

accountability:

The weekly plan book, which is checked by the Head of Department every week

and the respective Vice-Principal at the end of every month.

The six-monthly report that every teacher writes at the end of each term.

The Confidential Reports prepared by the Principal twice a year for every new

teacher, in consultation with the respective Vice-Principal and Head of

Department. The Confidential Report is discussed with the teacher concerned.

The supervised lecture, which takes place twice a year in the case of every new

teacher. The lectures are supervised by the Principal, Vice-Principal and Head of

Department (any two).

The Performance Appraisal form and the Self Assessment form that are filled in

by the teacher at the end of the academic year.

24. UNIT COST OF EDUCATION:

The unit cost is calculated for the period of the financial year April 1, 2011 to March 31,

2012 (inclusive of UGC grants that have benefited students): approximately Rs.

42,866/-.

However, the above does not take into account the sum of approximately Rs. 70, 00,000/-

that the Management has to put in for Repairs and Maintenance, Salaries of additional

staff appointed by Management beyond the staffing pattern sanctioned by Government,

and the Salaries of staff, teaching and non-teaching, in posts awaiting Government

permission to be filled, and improvement of infrastructure. If this amount is also taken

into account, i.e. if this amount is added along with the expenditure met from

Government Salary Grants and Fees, the approximate unit cost per student per year

would be approximately Rs. 47,441/-.

25. COMPUTERIZATION OF ADMINISTRATION AND THE PROCESS OF

ADMISSIONS AND EXAMINATION RESULTS, ISSUE OF CERTIFICATES:

Both the General Office and the Accounts Office are computerized. Accounts work,

admissions, examination results etc. are computerized. The certificates are computerized,

except those like the leaving certificates which have to be hand-written. The work of

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computerizing results and preparing certificates is outsourced to a professional agency, as

is the case for the computer analysis of the Teacher Assessment Questionnaires.

The library is now fully computerized.

26. INCREASE IN INFRASTRUCTURAL FACILITES:

The first day of the academic year 2011-2012, saw the inauguration of the newly

renovated AV Room, which was renovated as a memorial of the silver jubilee of

Kaleidoscope in 2010, with money raised through Kaleidoscope.

Among other major renovations of the year were those of the Staff Room and that of the

Shed (multipurpose hall). A generous donation towards the cost of the latter’s renovation

was received from Dr. Zaibun Jasdanwalla, former Head of the Department of Economics

and it was, therefore, renamed ‘The Dr. Zaibun Y. Jasdanwalla Multipurpose Hall’. The

renovation of the Staff Room was sponsored by the Narotam Sekhsaria Foundation.

Besides these, the Staff Tea Room was also renovated in October-November through a

donation received from Mrs. Griselda Dias, former Head of the Department of History.

Mrs. Anuradha Mahindra (ex-student) gave a personal grant of Rs. 15 lakhs towards the

painting and conservation of the heritage Arts Building and this work was carried out

between October 2011 and May 2012.

Gathering in the newly renovated Dr. Zaibun Y. Jasdanwalla Multipurpose Hall – Oct. 1, 2011

The most significant infrastructural improvement during the year was the construction of

one more floor on the Sophia Andersson Annexe. This work commenced in early

November 2011 and will be completed in the latter half of 2012. In addition, various

classrooms were painted.

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27. TECHNOLOGY UPRGRADATION:

Four more LCD projectors, with laptops, were installed (namely one each in classrooms

4, 11, 21 and 32). The BMM Department purchased new cameras.

28. COMPUTER AND INTERNET ACCESS AND TRAINING TO TEACHERS

AND STUDENTS:

Many departments have their own computers. In addition, in the staff room there are two

computers with internet facilities exclusively for the use of staff members. Wi-fi facility

is available in the college hostel.

29. FINANCIAL AID TO STUDENTS:

We were very grateful to receive once again a donation of Rs. 1 lakh from Vasundhara

and Karan Sanghi towards SAF. Others also donated, the total of other donations

received being Rs. 54,000/-. The total amount disbursed during the year as student aid to

cover college fees was Rs. 2,07,440/-. In addition, the Keshav and Daphne Verma

Scholarship (to cover hostel and college fees of one student for the full three years of the

degree course) was given for the first time this year to Renata Millet (FYBMM), who

received Rs. 77,000/- for 2011-12. The donor, Dr. Meera Verma (an ex-student), also

discussed the possibilities with the college authorities of making this an annual

scholarship.

30. ACTIVITIES AND SUPPORT FROM ALUMNI ASSOCIATION:

The College is fortunate in having a full-set up alumni association with its own office on

campus. The association is known as THE SOPHIA COLLEGE EX-STUDENTS

ASSOCIATION (SCESA)

The Managing Committee of SCESA met every month to plan activities both with

relation to the College as well as its outreach activities. The following were some of the

activities arranged in the College by SCESA:

The Alumnae Day was held on October 1, 2011. At this function, three distinguished

ex-students were felicitated, namely Mrs. Zakia Khatib, Mrs. Zelma Nazareth and Ms

Kiran Rao

The SCESA Bazaar ‘Shop for a Cause’ was held on October 1, 2011

On November 25, 2011, SCESA organised a get-together over ‘coffee and cakes’ for

teaching staff at which three former staff members were felicitated, namely Mrs. Griselda

Dias (former Head of the Department of History), Mrs. Hira Steven (former lecturer,

Department of English) and Mrs. Tazeen Canteenwala (former Head of the Department

of English). In February a get-together was organised by SCESA for non-teaching staff.

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31. ACTIVITIES AND SUPPORT FROM THE PARENT-TEACHER

ASSOCIATION:

There is no parent-teacher association as such. However, parents are invited to the

Orientation Programme held at the beginning of the year for each class. There was also

an ‘Open Day’, held on December 3, 2011, when parents were invited to College to meet

with faculty.

32. HEALTH SERVICES:

There are four major hospitals within the distance of less than one or two kilometres from

the College (Jaslok Hospital, Breach Candy Hospital, Cumballa Hill Hospital and Bhatia

Hospital). In case of any emergency, students are taken immediately to the casualty

department of any one of these hospitals, especially the former two, by the College van.

Besides this, first aid facilities are provided by the College Wardens (Arts and Science);

two doctors in the neighbourhood of the College are also available for medical assistance

in case of any emergency.

33. PERFORMANCE IN SPORTS ACTIVITIES:

The College has a well set up gymnasium as well as a basket-ball and volley-ball courts

on campus. In the multipurpose hall there is an indoor badminton court. Facilities for

table-tennis, carom, chess etc. exists. Besides the annual athletic meet (Annual Sports

Day), the students are coached in basketball, volleyball, football and various other games

and they participate in various inter-collegiate tournaments.

34. INCENTIVES TO OUTSTANDING SPORTSPERSONS:

The University scheme of additional marks for active participation in sports is an

incentive. Some attendance remission is also provided if lectures are missed due to

participation in sports meets. Besides trophies, including the championship trophy, at

the Annual Athletic Meet, certificates are given to outstanding sportspersons at the

Annual Prize Day Function. There is also a prize for an outstanding sportsperson, given

at the Annual Prize Day Function.

35. STUDENT ACHIEVEMENTS AND AWARDS:

University Ranks and Prizes:

In the TYBA examinations held in April-May 2011 the following students secured ranks:

Snehal Chandak secured the over-all seventh rank with 83.17%

Nitasha Jhala secured the third rank in Philosophy with 74.67%

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Other Academic / Cultural Achievements:

Diana Cardoz (SYBA) won the first prize in the on the spot essay writing competition

organised the International Institute of Population Sciences (IIPS) on July 6, 2011.

The topic of the essay: ‘Role of Youth in National Development. She received a

certificate of award and cash prize of Rs. 2000/- and the College received a memento

on July 11, 2011, at the World Population Day Symposium.

Parul Rawat, Ruchika Radhakrishnan and Saloni Singh, SYBA students of

Economics, participated in the zonal level debate competition held on July 30, 2011,

on the topic ‘Is the Women’s Reservation Bill One Step Backward for a Growing

Nation?’ Parul Rawat won the best speaker award.

Zoya Hanif Tungekar (TYBA - Hindi) took part in a painting competition on ‘Paint

Your Heritage on Canvas’, held by the Department of Ancient Indian Culture of St.

Xavier’s College and the Museum Society of Bombay on July 28, 2011, and won the

consolation prize.

TYBA Psychology students Prarthana Sharma and Munira Sayeed participated in an

article writing competition which was part of the Mental Health Week held at Masina

Hospital. They won the third prize for their article ‘Post Partum Blues’.

Two FYBA students of Political Science, Pooja Tolia and Sonakshi Jain, won the

second prize in the group event ‘Asia 2011-Asian Summit’ in the inter-collegiate

event ‘We the People’, organised by Ruia College on September 14, 2011.

Paloma Noronha (SYBSc) submitted an essay entitled ‘Radioisotopes and Radiation

Technology for Improving the Quality of Life’ for the ‘23rd All India Essay

Competition on Nuclear Science and Technology’, held by the Department of Atomic

Energy, Government of India. She was one of 31 students selected from all over

India level present her essay and to stay on the BARC Campus for a visit to various

atomic energy centre, October 20-28, 2011.

Gitanjali Hiranandani and Harini Alladi (SYBA) won the third prize in an inter-

collegiate power point presentation competition organised by the Dept. of History,

G.N.Khalsa College on November 24, 2011. The theme was 'Depicting History

through Tourism'. The students' presentation was on Mumbai. There were 16 teams

participating in the event.

Four students, namely Neethi Kumar and Akshata Jadhav of SYBSc and Juhi Pande

and Abhilasha Khetan of SYBMM, of the College were selected for the Study Visit

to the Parliament of India, organised by Mr. Milind Deora (M.P., Lok Sabha, South

Mumbai Constituency) on December 8, 2011, where they visited both the houses of

the Indian Parliament and had an interaction with the Speaker of the Lok Sabha, Ms

Meira Kumar.

Diya John and Divya Das (TYBA Psychology) participated in ‘Psynergy’, an inter-

collegiate Psychology festival organised by Ruparel College on January 11, 2012,

where they won the prize in the ‘Guess What?...’ Dumb Charades and Pictionary

event.

Chiti Arvind (FYBSc) was selected for POBE (Project Oriented Biological

Education) by JNCASR (Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research

(Bangalore) from 21st of May to 13th of July, 2012.

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A team of seven FYJC Vocational (Office Management) students (Ahilya Rajani,

Ankita Yadav, Aliza Shaikh, Ridhi Vartak, Caroline Martis, Daniella Danson and

Palak Shah) participated in the ‘Vocational Education Technical Exhibition 2011-

2012’ on December 8-9, 2011, where they had to display a project on ‘Means of

Communication’. They won the second prize.

36. ACTIVITIES OF THE GUIDANCE AND COUNSELLING UNIT:

At Sophia College we have a fully set up counselling centre, called the Sophia

J.N.Heredia Counselling Centre.

This year there were two part-time counsellors working in the Sophia J.N.Heredia

Counselling Centre: Ms Ashrafi Chittalwala and Ms Jamila Ali. The former was

available in the Centre on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays and the latter on Tuesdays,

Thursdays and Saturdays. Unfortunately, because her husband got posted out of Mumbai,

Ms Jamila Ali left at the end of the first term. In addition, Ms Tripti Singh was available

in the Centre for counselling for foreign study on Wednesdays. Dr. Jennie Mendes from

the Department of Psychology was over-all in charge of the Centre and its activities.

Sessions with Classes/Groups

A total of 13 sessions were conducted with various classes.

Individual Counselling Sessions

A total of 105 individuals have approached the Counseling Centre for personal and career

counseling and there have been a total of 124 counseling sessions. Students have been

approaching the Counseling Centre, bringing in friends and parents and sometimes

referred by teaching staff, to cope with their problems. The natures of problems faced by

some students are serious. But, most continue to face usual adolescent problems, career

and subject choices, which are resolved in 1 or 2 sessions.

Consultative Activities:

There was an interaction with Nilofer Lokhandwala, student counselor and social

worker of Nirmala Niketan College, regarding activities and work done by

Counseling Centre of Sophia College.

Sharmila Menezes, counsellor of Smt Parvatibai Chowgule College of Arts &

Science, Goa, visited the Centre for an exchange of ideas on activities and work

carried out by the counselling department of Sophia College and their college.

Christian Faith Formation Activities

Besides the First Friday masses and other masses on special occasions such as College

Day,

Dr. Perpetua Miranda, a minister of the Word (MOW), conducted a BIBLE CLASS as

follows:

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Date of the Bible

class

Topic Room

June 23, 2011 The Word: a lecture and planning of charts to be

made by the students to advertise the Bible class

Room 8

June 30, 2011 Lecture on the books in the Bible Room 8

July 7, 2011 Lecture on Women in the Old Testament Room 8

July 21, 2011 Lecture on Esther Room 30

July 28, 2011 Movie on Esther and discussion Room 30

August 4, 2011 A lecture on Ruth and Naomi and a movie on

Ruth and discussion

Room 30

September 8, 2011 Lecture on Mary and her qualities Room 30

September 14, 2011 Lecture on Delilah and Judith Room 30

September 22, 2011 Lecture on Manoah’s wife, a movie ‘Samson and

Delilah’, Discussion

Room 30

November 17, 2011 Screening of a CD, ‘Knowing God Better’, and

discussion

Room 30

December 1, 2011 Lecture and Discussion on JMJ- Madrid (World

Youth Day)booklet of catechism

Room 30

December 8, 2011 Recollection in the college chapel: an hour of

prayer, rosary and psalms

Room 29

December 15, 2011 Session on Luke’s Gospel and the importance of

going to confession

Room 29

December 22, 2011 Session on Luke’s Gospel and the importance of

doing kind deeds for Christmas; a movie on the

Nativity

Room 29

(No sessions were held from 1st October to mid-November because of examinations and

Diwali vacations)

The students who attended these classes are from FYBA, SYBA and TYBA classes in

Sophia College. Approximately 15 students attend a session.

The following activities were also done during the year 2011 by Dr. Perpetua Miranda:

five girls from the hostel were taken for the programme of Bishop Angelo’s at

the Mount Mary’s hall, Bandra on March 20, 2011 “Be My Witnesses” (4 p.m.

to 8 p.m.)

fifteen students of the College were for the Diocesan Leadership programme

‘Live Life Fully’ on July 10, 2011 at Holy Name School hall, where they also

met Cardinal Oswald Gracias for an open question answer session.

eighteen Catholic students and those from different faiths were taken to St

Xavier’s College to participate and attend an inter-religious seminar on November

20, 2011 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on ‘Love in the World’s Wisdom Traditions’.

The girls participated in the debate, and performed a prayer-dance for the above

function. At this seminar, Dr. P. Miranda presented a paper on ‘Love in the

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Christian tradition’. The seminar was conducted by Fr. Lancy Prabhu, the

Director of the Department for Inter Religious studies, St. Xavier’s College.

CAREER GUIDANCE:

On August 5, 2011, a career counselling session for TYBSc students by Ms Tanvi

Singh was held.

On January 28, 2012 the English Department invited ex-students Amy Bharucha,

lawyer, and Sharmeen Hussain, travel journalist, for an interaction with TY and SY

students of all departments in order to guide students about subject and career

choices.

37. PLACEMENT SERVICES PROVIDED TO STUDENTS:

MSc students: Among the Life Science students of MSc Part II of the previous year,

Gareth D’Souza got admission in NCBS for a PhD and Naibila got a placement in Cactus

through a campus interview.

On September 14, 2011, ‘Young Buzz’ gave a career talk which was open to all

students.

On November 24, 2011, representatives from Lotus Eye Care Hospital were invited to

address the SYJC Science students on ‘Career Options after HSC’

Student Placements through the College (Undergraduate):

Madhuri Dhariwal got selected for a teaching job placement with Akanksha

Sharanya Ramesh, Prita Kalyansundaram, Dhvani Doshi and Nallika Braganza were

selected for the prestigious ‘Teach for India’ programme

Placements of the “Post Graduate Diploma In Quality Assurance In

Foods/Pharmaceuticals Industry”, QA Batch XVIII (2010 – 2011):

Sr. no. Name Organization Place

1 Alifiyah Navsariwala Cipla Ltd Vikhroli

2 Bhavishya Shetty Cipla Ltd Vikhroli

3 Devshree Sawant S. Kant Healthcare Worli

4 Fatema Khan Expecting a baby

5 Geeta Shetty Taste-L Goregaon

6 Iram Khan Taste-L Goregaon

7 Karuna Choudhari Pending

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38. DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME FOR NON-TEACHING STAFF:

No special programme for non-teaching staff was organised during the year.

39. HEALTHY PRACTICES OF THE INSTITUTIONS

The following are some of the healthy practices:

Departmental concretization of College Goals: As was done in the previous year, at the

commencement of the academic year, every department was asked to study the

College Goals and choose one or more to focus one. The departmental plans were

submitted to the Principal. At the end of the first term and again at the end of the

second term, departments gave a written feedback on what had been done by them to

concretise the college goals.

Theme for the Year: As has been the practice since 2000, this year too we took up a

theme for the year, namely ‘Education for Justice, Peace and the Integrity of Nature’.

8 Levia Mendonca Cipla Ltd Vikhroli

9 Mahalaxmi

Ramasubramaniyam

Cipla Ltd Vikhroli

10 Mariyam Vadiwala Cipla Ltd Vikhroli

11 Naseema Challangayam Stern Wywiol Gruppe Andheri West

12 Nikita Bhandari Getting married

13 Pooja Shah S. Kant Healthcare Worli

14 Priya D'souza Cipla Ltd Vikhroli

15 Priyanka Puradkar Stern Wywiol Gruppe Umergaon

16 Rachel Kani Cipla Ltd Vikhroli

17 Sneha Shetty Pending

18 Sofia Chettiar Cipla Ltd Vikhroli

19

Vinita Singh

Offered in Stern Wywiol

Gruppe

20 Vibin Abraham Stern Wywiol Gruppe Umergaon

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Staff Seminars / Workshops for teaching staff as already mentioned in the response to

question no. 8 a).

Sophia Nobel Orations

The Annual Sophia-Sophia Nobel Orations were held on January 7, 2012. There were

two talks. The first was on ‘Renaissance of Innate Immunity’ by Dr. S. Chiplunkar,

Head, Department of Immunology, ACTREC’ regarding the work of the Nobel Laureates

of the year in Physiology and Medicine namely Bruce A. Butler and Jules A. Hoffmann

who were awarded the Nobel Prize for their discoveries concerning the activation of

innate immunity and Ralph M. Steinman for his discovery of the dendritic cell and its

role in adaptive immunity. The second entitled ‘Icons of Peace in the Conflict Ridden

World’ by Dr. M.T. Joseph, Director, Institute of Indian Culture, Mumbai, was on the

Nobel Laureates for Peace namely Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, Leymah Gbowee and Tawakkol

Karman who were awarded the Nobel Prize for their non-violent struggle for the safety of

women and for women’s rights to full participation in peace-building work.

Quest Wider than the Sky – Sophia PG Conference on National Science Day, February

28

Just like the Sophia-Nobel Orations which are aimed at creating a wider awareness and

interest in the latest developments in the field of science, in order to foster a climate of

research and interest in science research, the Science faculty of our College started last

year the PG Conference at which our post-graduate students as well as faculty members

put up posters on their research projects. This is done on the occasion of the National

Science Day (February 28). This year we held the second such conference.

The wide range of Outreach Activities of the College, the Sophia Centre for Women’s

Studies and Development and SCESA

Peace Fortnight: as in the past years, Peace Fortnight was celebrated to coincide with

Hiroshima Day (August 6) and Indian Independence Day.

The following activities were conducted, besides the daily prayer on the theme of peace

over the public address system:

Aug. 2: The English Literary Society held and essay writing competition on the

theme;

IRC held a talk by USIEF

Aug. 4: The Art n Design Club held a Friendship Keychain designing competition,

the Sports Club organized a logo design competition and the Association

of Christian Students organized a sale of Friendship bands

Aug. 5: The Art n Design Club organised a poster making competition

Aug. 6: SIGMA and Mass Media Club screened a movie on Hiroshima and

Nagasaki

Aug. 8: The English Literary Society (ELS), the Association of Christian Students

and NSS jointly held a Blood Donation Drive; ELS also organised a

debate on ‘Is Peace a Possibility’

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Aug. 12: The English Literary Society and the Art n Design Club held a slogan

writing competition, BSP had a display and sale of regional cuisine

entitled ‘Dawaat’, the Nature Club held a creative writing session, SCEDA

screened the documentary film ‘Eternal Gandhi’

Aug. 15: The Sports Club organised a Peace March to the August Kranti Maidan

after the morning’s flag hoisting function in the College

40. LINKAGES DEVELOPED WITH NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL,

ACADEMIC/RESEARCH BODIES

Prof. Jan Letherer and a group of students from Spring Arbor University, Michigan,

USA, visited the College and interacted with the faculty and students of the

Department of Education on January 4, 2012.

Prof. Hilary Link from Barnard College, a unit of Columbia University, USA, visited

Sophia on March 14, 2012, in order to discuss possible linkages between the two

institutions.

Dr. Medha Rajadhyaksha (Dept. of Life Science) has a research project in collaboration

with Prof. Momna Hejmadi of the University of Bath.

Dr. (Sr.) Ananda Amritmahal (Dept. of English) was on a Fulbright Teaching Fellowship

for one semester and Dr. Yasmin Khan (Dept. of Life Science) has been selected for a

Fulbright Research Fellowship.

41. ANY OTHER RELEVANT INFORMATION:

Among the Good Practices at Sophia College, which have not been highlighted under any

of the earlier points are:

A. Wide range of co-curricular activities in order to develop the students leadership

capacities and their personalities:

KALEIDOSCOPE

Kaleidoscope, our very popular inter-collegiate youth festival was held between August

24 and 28, 2011. It was a fun-filled event which involved a lot of team work. An

Executive Committee of five and an organising committee of over 100 and a team of

volunteers numbering over 500 worked to make this a great team event.

CLUBS AND ASSOCIATIONS:

All the Clubs participated actively for Glimpses 2011 and during the Peace Fortnight. In

addition:

The Sports Club:

Organised a week-long ‘Sophia Sports Week’ of inter-class tournaments from

November 22, 2011 onwards

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SCEDA:

On August 5, 2011, SCEDA performed ‘Silence! The Court is in Session’, a play by

Vijay Tendulkar, at the Y.B. Chavan Pratishthan Hall, at the invitation of the

organisation called ‘Inner Courtyard’, run by Padmini and Aditya Somani. This was

the last year’s annual play.

On January 14, 2012 the Annual SCEDA Performance took place. This year SCEDA

put up ‘Tapestry: A Collection of Eleven Women’s Voices Across Genres and

Cultures’

The Nature Club organized:

A trek to Matheran was organised on July 10, 2011

An anti-littering campaign was carried out during the Peace Fortnight

On September 23, 2011 there was a talk by Amit Pathak (animal welfare officer),

Rinky Karmaka and Amit Gajria (trustee of the NGO ‘save our stray’) on animal

welfare

A trip to Kerala during the Diwali vacations, from November 2 to 12, 2011

A trip to Murud-Janjira on December 17-18, 2011

A Cycle Rally was held on January 22, 2012 to generate awareness on vehicular

pollution; the theme for the rally was ‘Ride the Green Wave’.

A trip to the north-east was undertaken during the summer vacation of 2012 from

May 14 to June 2, 2012

In addition to the above, the Nature Club also worked along with IRC in setting up a

Student Maintained Garden. They also worked for creating aware on animal welfare, for

which they visited SPCA on December 21, 2011.

The Sigma Club organized:

A crossword puzzle competition on September 30, 2011.

On December 13, 2011, a workshop on ‘Determination of Susceptibility to Dental

Caries’.

The Association of Christian Students (ACS) organised:

A camp to Mt. Abu from October 19 to 25, 2011.

An inter-collegiate carol singing competition on December 20, 2011. It also

organised the First Friday Masses and the mass on College Day.

The Bharatiya Sanskritik Parishad:

Organised a rakhi sale between August 8 and 12, 2011, during the Peace Fortnight

held its annual ‘Sanskruti’ on September 24, 2011, with eliminations on September

21-22. At Sanskruti there were competitions of mehendi, hair-styling, rangoli,

antakashari, solo and group dancing, solo singing and Ms Sanskruti.

The World Music Club organized:

Ripples, the annual music and dance competition, on September 3, 2011.

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A Jazz Funk Dance workshop from November 17, 2011 to January 3, 2012; the

workshop was conducted by SplitSole Dance Academy and it comprised seventeen

sessions.

The International Relations Club (IRC)

IRC and AIESEC-Mumbai jointly held a workshop on ‘Content, Identity and the Art

of New Business’ on July 20, 2011. The workshop was conducted by Drizzlin

Media.

IRC along with Harvard Model United Nations – India held a workshop on MUN on

July 8, 2011.

A Seminar on ‘Higher Education in the US’ was organized by IRC jointly with the

US-India Education Foundation on August 2, 2011.

MUNSOPHICAL training programme were conducted on August 4 and 9, 2011.

IRC helped with the inaugural session of the Harvard Model United National India

2011 held on Sophia College Campus on August 19, 2011.

IRC organised sessions for senior and junior college students on ‘Education in UK’

by the British Council on September 12, 2011.

MUNSOPHICAL 2011 was held on December 9-11, 2011.

The Mass Media Club

Held a theatre workshop on ‘Tamasha’, which comprised twelve sessions, six of

which were held in September and the rest in December 2011.

On December 20, 2011 it organised a photo journalism exhibition on the theme

‘Issues of Mumbai’.

The English Literary Society

Held a JAM workshop on July 18, 2011

Screened the film ‘Alice in Wonderland’ on September 13, 2011

organized a video-screening and discussion by TED, an organization dedicated to

encouraging innovation and creativity on November 22, 2011

Organised a book exhibition on January 19-21, 2012 in the Canteen Extension.

ELS in association with litizens.com invited entries for an anothology of short stories

to be titled ‘Labyrinth’; a number of entries were received; the one judged the best

was submitted for publication.

The Art ‘n’ Design Club

Held an ‘Installation Art Competition’ on July 29, 2011. The theme for the

Competition was ‘The Orient’

Events organised by two or more clubs jointly included:

A logo designing competition for the College T-Shirts on August 4, 2011 by the Art n

Design Club and the Sports Club jointly.

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During the Peace Fortnight, ELS and ACS jointly organised a toy and book donation

drive. The books and toys collected were given to a school for the marginalised in

Jharkhand.

On the occasion of Ganesh Chaturthi, BSP in association with NSS put up a cultural

show for the inmates of the boys’ remand home, namely the David Sassoon Industrial

School, on September 2, 2011.

BSP and NSS jointly put up ‘Pratidhwani’, an inter-collegiate group singing

competition on the theme of ‘peace and patriotism’.

‘Jalsa’, an intra-collegiate folk-festival, which was organised by Prism, BSP and Art

‘n’ Design Club from November 21 to 25, 2011. During Jalsa the following

workshops on folk art were held: ‘Kalamkari’ by Ms Neeta Gandhi; ‘Madhubani’ by

Ms Neeta Gandhi; ‘Warli Art’ by Ms Priti Doshi. In addition, a Photography

Workshop was conducted by Mr. Sagar Joshi and a Theatre Workshop by Mr.

Mujeeb Khan. A Diya Designing competition and a Folk Song competition were also

held. On the final day, there was a photography and folk art exhibition and stalls by

some NGOs and a Mehendi stall by our College students.

B. Activities under the Theme of the Year 2011-2012

As in the past few years, this year, too, a theme for the year for the whole college had

been selected. The Annual Theme chosen for the academic year 2011-2012 was

‘Education for Justice, Peace and the Integrity of Nature’. The activities under this

theme were undertaken in three major ways:

Events/ Activities during the year

An Inter and Intra Collegiate Event: Ananya

Other Projects and Activities

The theme became the focus of a variety of curricular and co-curricular activities, such as

field trips, poster presentations, research projects etc. The following Departmental and

Inter-departmental Activities under the theme for the year:

July 8: Talk on ‘Population & Sustainable Development’ organized by

the Economics Department; speaker: Dr. Aparajita Chattopadhyay

from the International Institute of Population Sciences (IIPS)

July 16: The film ‘Inconvenient Truth’ by Al Gore on Global Warming etc. was

screened by the Philosophy Department

July 21: Workshop by the NGO ‘Arpan’ on ‘Child Sexual Abuse’ organized by

NSS and the Psychology Department

July 22: Junior College celebrated ‘Green Day’: “Go Green, Be Green, Wear

Green”

July 23-24: The Microbiology Department organised a nature trip to Khandala. Three

staff members and forty-three students participated

July 26: Debate organized by Prism (Student Cultural Committee), NSS and

the Economics Department, as part of the University of Mumbai’s Debate

Competition entitled ‘Kartavya’, on ‘Does a Havaldar Today Have to be

Corrupt in order to Survive’.

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July 29: Mrs. Seema Redkar, who is in charge of Solid Waste Management in the

Bombay Municipal Corporation, was invited to give a talk on ‘Go Green:

On the Way to Becoming Green Managers’.

Aug. 3: Philosophy Department organized a workshop on ‘Domestic Violence’ for

its students of all three classes. The resource persons were Dr. Vibhuti

Patel, Ms Sangeeta Rege and Ms Chitra Joshi.

Aug. 5: Hindi Department organised the screening of the film ‘Kairee’ dealing

Issues relating to women.

Aug. 23: The Chemistry Department organised a workshop by Ms Neha Singhal for

its TYBSc students on ‘Sexual Harassment at the Workplace’

Aug. 26: The Chemistry Department organised a workshop for its TYBSc students

on ‘Domestic Violence and Marital Discord’. The resource persons were

the following advocates: Ms Chetna Birjie and Ms Shazia Mukadam.

Sept. 19: The Hindi Department organised a workshop by Ujjwala Mhatre

on ‘Women’s Status and Problems in Society’.

Nov. 15: Ms Shraddha Prabhu (Microbiology Department) organised a poster

display and screening of the film ‘Poison on Platter’ on

genetically modified foods.

Jan.19: The History Department organised a workshop for its TYBA Single Major

class on ‘Women’s Rights’.

Jan. 27: A talk on ‘The Human Face of Human Rights’ by Dr. Siddhi Vyas of

the Azim Premji Foundation was held for the FYBA Foundation class.

Feb. 10: A Debate on ‘Is Distributive Justice Theft or Fairness’ was organised

by the Departments of Philosophy and Political Science

Feb. 10: A session on ‘Climate Change & You ... Your Waste’ was organised

by the Department of Economics, in collaboration with the Centre

for Education & Documentation

Other Projects / Activities

On July 8, 2011, a Model United Nations workshop was organised by IRC and

Harvard Model United Nations – India. This was followed by a number of intra-

collegiate workshops.

On the occasion of World Population Day, i.e. July 11, 2011, the Department of

Students’ Welfare and NSS of SNDT Women's University in collaboration with

Forum Against Sex Selection (FASS) launched a major awareness campaign on the

issue of Sex Selection by way of a special programme in an effort to reach out to a

wider student and youth population. The programme was held at the University's

Patkar Hall Auditorium, Near Marine Lines, from 11.30 a.m. to 2.00 p.m. and was

attended by a sizeable number of students from SNDT and other South Mumbai

colleges, apart from representatives of civil society and the media. Dr. (Sr.) Ananda

Amritmahal and some students attended a part of this programme. The students of

Sophia College presented a dance ballet, choreographed by Sr. Ananda Amritmahal,

entitled ‘Dil hai Chotasa, Chotisi Aasha’, on the theme, as part of the College's

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involvement in Human Rights Education – the right of the girl child to be born – at

the inaugural function of this programme.

The Psychology Department in collaboration with NSS organised three sessions for

its FYBA students with Arpan, an NGO working against Child Sex Abuse.

The Nature Club, the International Relations Club and the Department of

Biochemistry developed a garden of vegetables, shrubs and flowering plants at the

side of the Arts Building (between the property wall and the wing which houses the

offices etc.). Bio-composting was also undertaken at the same location by the

Zoology Department. The work in this garden began on July 27, 2011 and the

garden was inaugurated on March 6, 2012. In addition, the Life Science Department

set up a small kitchen garden in pots on the terrace adjoining the department room as

well as a small fish tank in the herbal garden, both of which were maintained by the

students. An important feature of the new garden area created, besides the fact that it

was a ‘student-maintained garden’ is that we did ‘seed harvesting’ for the same. In

other words, practically all the plants for this garden were from cuttings of from seeds

gathered from other gardens on our campus.

Commencement of work in the student-maintained garden – August, 2011

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A view of a part of the garden – March 6, 2012

A very important event organised under the theme for the year was the Model United

Nations Seminar, MUNSOPHICAL 2011: Ideas for a Better World, organised by

the International Relations Club on the theme of ‘Justice, Peace and the Integrity of

Nature, with special focus on Human Rights’

from December 9 to 11, 2011. Students

from about 150 schools and Colleges from across

the country participated in MUNSOPHICAL 2011.

Binayak Sen addresses the valedictory

session, Dec. 11

Jozias van Aartsen, Mayor of the Hague at Sophia , Dec. 9

There was a session in association with SPIL, Mumbai. Speakers at

MUNSOPHICAL – 2011 included Mr. Jozias van Aartsen, the Mayor of the

Hague (keynote address), Mr. Bittu Sahgal, Mrs. Meera Sanyal, Dr. Ilina Sen,

Prof. Kishu Daswani, and Ambassador Rajendra Abhyankar. The noted activist,

Dr. Binayak Sen, gave the valedictory address.

In keeping with the theme of the year and the UN theme for 2011, namely

‘International Year of the Forests’, the Life Science Department identified and

photographed the trees on Sophia Campus and prepared a planner for the year 2012

using some of these photographs, accompanied by relevant information. The FYBSc

Life Science students did an assignment on ‘Forests of India’; FYBSc and SYBSc

students of the department jointly prepared a presentation entitled the ‘Green Scene’.

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The Biochemistry Department made new labels for all the trees and other plants on

the campus.

Celebrating the centennial of Marie Curie’s Nobel Prize in Chemistry and in keeping

with the theme of the year, the Sophia Centre for Women’s Studies and

Development prepared a calendar for the year 2012 on women path-breakers in the

field of Science.

Ananya (December 2011)

December 13, 2011: The Chemistry Department organised a quiz entitled ‘Mind

Power’

December 14, 2011: The Microbiology Department screened the film ‘Bol’

December 15, 2011: The Zoology Department organised a workshop on ‘Creative

Recycling of Waste Paper Using Origami’. The resource person was Ms Roshni

Shah

December 16, 2011: a) The Political Science Department organised a ‘Pol Jam

Session’; it, along with the Department of Education, also organised a session on

‘Safety on Campus’

b) The Psychology Department screened ‘Temple Grandin’, a film related to Autism.

This deeply moving film was followed by a talk by Dr. Vibha Krishnamurthy a

renowned paediatrician.

December 17, 2011:

a) The Zoology Department organised and interactive session by Mr. Ruben

Mascarenhas from the NGO called Yuva Satta on ‘Eves against Teasing’.

b) The Biochemistry Department and QA jointly organised ‘Save It Up’

c) The NSS unit organised ‘Khoj’ (a treasure hunt).

d) The Life Science and Education Departments jointly organised a workshop at

which firstly the students presented ‘The Green Scene’ and next Dr. Sanjay

Deshmukh gave a talk on ‘Mangroves, Coastal Regions and Climate Change:

Impacts, Challenges and Mitigation Measures’

e) The Life Science and Education Departments jointly organised a table-mat

painting competition on the topic ‘Nature is Vibrant’

f) The Philosophy Department organised a street-play.

December 19, 2011: The Psychology and Sociology Departments jointly held a

session on the topic of ‘Human Trafficking: Moving Beyond’ by Mr. Roque

Coutinho from the NGO ‘Justice and Care’

C. Work done by the IQAC:

The IQAC Cell of the College, headed by Mrs. S. Master as Co-ordinator, did the

following:

At the commencement of the year, a new prospectus was brought out with the help of

Ms Lavanya Varadarajan of the BMM department.

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The Sophia College website was updated in August 2011. Information about forth

coming events, seminars etc was posted on the home page during the year. This year

a brief report with photographs was also posted on the website after the event was

over.

The new MIS software, designed in-house, has been prepared and installed in the

office. Work on the first page that includes details of the student (Name, Roll No. etc

has now been started). Mr. Gauri Prasad Singh (IT teacher of the Junior College) and

Mrs. Sandra Mendes (Lecturer in charge of the Mathematics and Statistics

department) are finalizing the next section where student progression will be

registered. A student, Ms Diana Cardoz, has been trained to use this software

effectively. After data entry a trial run will be made to test the efficacy of the

programme. The questionnaires at the Entry and the Exit point of all classes have been reformatted

and made subject specific. As is the usual practice the FY Entry point questionnaire

was administered in mid July. The TY Exit questionnaires were given to the teachers

in the beginning of December to be administered by them in their respective classes.

Teachers returned the duly filled questionnaires in the beginning of January 2012.

The Exit questionnaires to the other classes were administered in February 2012.

However, the response was not very good. It was evident that these questionnaires

would have to be administered a little earlier in the academic year in future. The data

entry and analysis of all Entry and Exit questionnaires 2011-2012 have been

completed.

Two meetings of the IQAC were held during the academic year, one on July 5, 2011 and

the second on April 18, 2012.

Part C. Explain the plans of the institution for the next year (2012-

2013) 1. To take forward the MIS

2. To continue our focus on ‘Strategic Planning’ and ‘Brand Building’, especially in

attracting students from a wide range of backgrounds to Sophia

3. To continue with our infrastructure enhancement

4. To start BSc IT if permission is secured on time

5. To build up international linkages and collaboration

6. To enhance our placement activities

ALL OTHER GOOD AND HEALTHY PRACTICES AND PROGRAMMES THAT

WE HAVE AT SOPHIA COLLEGE FOR WOMEN WILL BE CONTINUED IN 2012-

2013 IN ORDER TO IMPART QUALITY, VALUE-BASED EDUCATION TO OUR

STUDENTS.

Date: May 31, 2012 Mrs. S. Master Dr. (Sr.) Anila Verghese

Coordinator – IQAC Principal – Sophia College

Chairperson – IQAC

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ANNUAL QUALITY ASSURANCE REPORT

For the Academic Year 2011-2012

Of

SOPHIA COLLEGE FOR WOMEN (NAAC Re-Accredited in March 2009 – CGPA of 3.61)

Bhulabhai Desai Road

Mumbai 400 026

Tel. No. 022-23512642/ 23523304

Fax: 022-23513183

Email: [email protected]

Website: www.sophiacollegemumbai.com

(NAAC Re-accredited 2009: ‘A’ Grade, CGPA: 3.61)

mailto:[email protected]

http://www.sophiacollegemumbai.com/

Documents

ANNUAL QUALITY ASSURANCE REPORT (AQAR) OF THE ...Jidnyasa Mahila Mandal, Phoolpada, Virar (E) 1 day 35 46. 17.03.12 Perfume Making Course Jidnyasa Mahila Mandal, Phoolpada, Virar (E)