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92 is was truly an exuberant year with a number of activities the department of Ancient Indian Culture proudly conducted. e department indulged in educational activities that encouraged internship opportunities for all the five batches in both undergraduate and post graduate studies, in collaboration with the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya formerly known as the Prince of Wales Museum. Our trips explored the tenets of our cultural heritage with zeal, to perceive its endorsement through tourism, museology, conservation, archaeology and the collaborative study of World Civilizations. We began the academic year in the spirit of our Noble Laureate, Rabindranath Tagore whose collection of paintings was on display at the National Gallery of Modern Art (NGMA). The inauguration of Tagore for Teenagers on the 28th of June witnessed a lecture delivered by Mrs. Marina Dutta on the early life of Tagore. Our students under the leadership of Shraddha Jadhav (TYBA) put up an enchanting dance on his composition, while Dr. Anita Rane Kothare captivated the audiences with Tagore’s Short story of “e Kabuliwala” and Pallavi Gupta (TYBA) delighted the spectators with her Rabindra Sangeet. For the next event we ventured into the Jurassic Age with our mascot “Dinny: e Dinosaur” who was loved and admired by children as a part of the workshop on Paleontology held at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya. A lecture was delivered by Dr. Anita Rane Kothare on fossils like the Keichousaurus and Ms. Nitya Suryanarayanan (TYBA) conducted an activity of making origami dinosaurs. . Dr. Anita Rane-Kothare conducted lectures on Indian culture and organized a site visit to Mahakali caves for various batches of exchange students. The Brazilian Film Week was organized in collaboration with the Brazilian Consulate, the Department of Bachelors in Mass Media and the Ancient Indian Culture Department of St. Xavier’s College in the month of August. At the end of the week, film reviews were sent in by students and the winners were given prizes by the Brazilian Consulate. The Department conducted the event of Clay Ganesha on two such occasions in the month of September in collaboration with the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya, e Museum Society of Bombay and e Times of India. e event was organized at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya wherein Mrs. Marina Dutta delivered a lecture to students on the various depictions of Ganesha that was illustrated for the making of Clay Ganesha idols. On the second day a lecture was delivered by Dr. Anita Rane-Kothare on the iconography of Ganesha and the essence of the festival. e lecture unfolded with the making of clay idols of Ganesha by school children who later proceeded to Gateway of India for the Aarti followed by immersion. In the month of October, the M.A. Part I batch visited Matheran and studied its historicity and its local culture. ey experienced the Toy Train ride and stayed at the railway lodge, under the supervision of Dr. Anita Rane Kothare. A trip to the Railway Museum at Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus was organized in collaboration with the Central Railways and our department, which opened its display to our students. It housed working models of the first steam engine in Bombay, along with early tickets issued and models with dioramas of railway routes. The department, in collaboration with Michigan University and Deccan College Pune held two site seminars at Ajanta Caves in the months of August and January which was conducted for our students by Emeritus Prof. Walter Spink, Dr. Anita Rane -Kothare and Dr. Shreekant Jadhav. e Indian Art History Congress was hosted by the Heras Institute at St. Xavier’s College and under the section of Iconography, papers were presented by Dr. Anita Rane Kothare on “Hamsa Mala”, and on “Andhakasurvadh” by our student Vaishnavi Patil. Jason Johns presented a paper on “Mary Depicted in Church Window Art” and Pallavi Gupta presented a paper on “e Terracotta Figure of Mary” under the section of Indo -Christian Art. Dr. Radha Kumar was the coordinator of the cultural program which illustrated a ‘Gondhal’ dance performed by Shraddha Jadhav (TYBA) under the guidance of Dr. Anita Rane- Kothare and Amarapali: a dance drama under Humanities ANCIENT INDIAN CULTURE

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This was truly an exuberant year with a number of activities the department of Ancient Indian Culture proudly conducted. The department indulged in educational activities that encouraged internship opportunities for all the five batches in both undergraduate and post graduate studies, in collaboration with the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya formerly known as the Prince of Wales Museum. Our trips explored the tenets of our cultural heritage with zeal, to perceive its endorsement through tourism, museology, conservation, archaeology and the collaborative study of World Civilizations.

We began the academic year in the spirit of our Noble Laureate, Rabindranath Tagore whose collection of paintings was on display at the National Gallery of Modern Art (NGMA). The inauguration of Tagore for Teenagers on the 28th of June witnessed a lecture delivered by Mrs. Marina Dutta on the early life of Tagore. Our students under the leadership of Shraddha Jadhav (TYBA) put up an enchanting dance on his composition, while Dr. Anita Rane Kothare captivated the audiences with Tagore’s Short story of “The Kabuliwala” and Pallavi Gupta (TYBA) delighted the spectators with her Rabindra Sangeet.

For the next event we ventured into the Jurassic Age with our mascot “Dinny: The Dinosaur” who was loved and admired by children as a part of the workshop on Paleontology held at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya. A lecture was delivered by Dr. Anita Rane Kothare on fossils like the Keichousaurus and Ms. Nitya Suryanarayanan (TYBA) conducted an activity of making origami dinosaurs. .

Dr. Anita Rane-Kothare conducted lectures on Indian culture and organized a site visit to Mahakali caves for various batches of exchange students.

The Brazilian Film Week was organized in collaboration with the Brazilian Consulate, the Department of Bachelors in Mass Media and the Ancient Indian Culture Department of St. Xavier’s College in the month of August. At the end of the week, film reviews were sent in by students and the winners were given prizes by the Brazilian Consulate.

The Department conducted the event of Clay Ganesha on two such occasions in the month of September in collaboration with the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya, The Museum Society of Bombay and The Times of India. The event was organized at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya wherein

Mrs. Marina Dutta delivered a lecture to students on the various depictions of Ganesha that was illustrated for the making of Clay Ganesha idols. On the second day a lecture was delivered by Dr. Anita Rane-Kothare on the iconography of Ganesha and the essence of the festival. The lecture unfolded with the making of clay idols of Ganesha by school children who later proceeded to Gateway of India for the Aarti followed by immersion.

In the month of October, the M.A. Part I batch visited Matheran and studied its historicity and its local culture. They experienced the Toy Train ride and stayed at the railway lodge, under the supervision of Dr. Anita Rane Kothare. A trip to the Railway Museum at Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus was organized in collaboration with the Central Railways and our department, which opened its display to our students. It housed working models of the first steam engine in Bombay, along with early tickets issued and models with dioramas of railway routes.

The department, in collaboration with Michigan University and Deccan College Pune held two site seminars at Ajanta Caves in the months of August and January which was conducted for our students by Emeritus Prof. Walter Spink, Dr. Anita Rane -Kothare and Dr. Shreekant Jadhav.

The Indian Art History Congress was hosted by the Heras Institute at St. Xavier’s College and under the section of Iconography, papers were presented by Dr. Anita Rane Kothare on “Hamsa Mala”, and on “Andhakasurvadh” by our student Vaishnavi Patil. Jason Johns presented a paper on “Mary Depicted in Church Window Art” and Pallavi Gupta presented a paper on “The Terracotta Figure of Mary” under the section of Indo -Christian Art. Dr. Radha Kumar was the coordinator of the cultural program which illustrated a ‘Gondhal’ dance performed by Shraddha Jadhav (TYBA) under the guidance of Dr. Anita Rane- Kothare and Amarapali: a dance drama under

Humanities

ancient indian culture

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the guidance of Dr. Radha Kumar. A lecture was delivered by Dr. Anita Rane Kothare who conducted a guided tour to Elephanta for the delegates..

A workshop for children on ‘befriending Museums’ was organized by the Department in collaboration with the Museum Society of Bombay and The Hill Springs School at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya on the Indus Valley Civilization in the month of October.

The film release “Govinda Sathi Vattel Te” directed by Siddhesh Sawant on the cultural importance of Dahi Handi in the realm of its present politicization was screened by the Department. Our students participated in the making of the movie by giving insights into the cultural relevance of the festival.

The trip conducted during the Diwali vacations by the Department to the state of Madhya Pradesh explored Indian culture and ethnicity. The Khajuraho chain of temples, the Orccha set of monuments, the Panna National Park, the Pre-Historic Cave Paintings and the Bhedaghat Marble Rocks on the River Narmada explored the diversity the state offered with its historicity of cultures. The students were on their toes experiencing the wildlife, art, culture and geographic rendezvous which re-define the aims of our subject under study with its interdisciplinary facets of learning.

Dr. Anita Rane- Kothare and Mr. Jason Johns participated in a two day conference on X-Ray Fluorescence by the Museum Art Conservation Centre (MACC) and Bruker International wherein fossils belonging to the department were examined by the XRF machine.

The “Who of the Holocaust” was a lecture cum exhibition in collaboration with the Museum Society of Bombay and the Department which was held on the 12th of November at the CSMVS. The lecture was delivered by Dr. Inbal Kvity Ben-Dov who moved the audience by defining each group of individuals like the victims, perpetrators and bystanders of the

Holocaust.

A joint paper was presented by Dr. Anita Rane-Kothare and Pallavi Gupta at Aurangabad at the State Level Conference of Local History on the topic “Chakan: local history perceived in the realm of tourism”. The said paper was eventually published..

The Heras Memorial Lecture during its Golden Jubilee Session was graced by Emeritus Prof. Dr. Romila Thapar and was followed with an interactive session with our students. Our TYBA students received their certificates pertaining to their Research Methodology Workshop from Dr. Romila Thapar. This year two of our students, Pallavi Gupta and Vaishnavi Patil were rewarded with a token of appreciation for their excellence during the Research Methodology Programme. A few of our M.A Part I students were given a certificate on completion of their Modi Script course at this event.

Our students also participated in conducting guided tours for the ongoing exhibition of the “Flemish Masterpieces and Prints of Antwerp” and the “Cyrus Cylinder” in the CSMVS and the ‘No Parsi Is an Island’ and “Across Oceans and flowing Silks: From Canton to Bombay 18th – 20th centuries’’ at National Gallery of Modern Art (NGMA).

The department held its annual festival cum exhibition, Vividha on the theme “Persia: Sands of Time” on the 9th and 10th January .The departmental magazine RCA also on the same theme, consisting of articles written by students relating to ancient Persia and the diaspora today, was released by Fr. Frazer Mascarenhas and Mr.Mehdi Hasankhhani, Director of Culture House of the Islamic Republic of Iran.Two lectures were delivered by Dr. Ehsan Mohamedhoesseni on Ancient Persian Art and Justice during the festival.The festival showcased the art and architecture of Ancient Persia and Medieval-Modern Iran in the form of models, charts and maps made by our students along with artifacts loaned to us by the Culture House of the

Islamic Republic of Iran.

Dr. Anita Rane-Kothare along with student participation helped in the designing and execution of two Tableaux for the Minority Cell and Gramin Paryavaran at the Republic Day Parade 2014 in Mumbai. The TYBA students went on a fieldtrip to the Karla, Bhaja, Bedsa and Kondane caves in the month of March, led by Dr. Anita Rane -Kothare.

Under the guidance of Dr. Anita Rane -Kothare and Dr. Joan Dias, the students of M.A. Part I conducted their assignment on surface exploration and discovered many unknown facets about the local history of Mumbai. The M.A Part II batch had conducted the same exploration and their findings were published in the Bombay Explorers.

The findings of the MA Part I students were remarkable and it is worth mentioning that Ms. Ashwini Nawathe and her work on Sion helped in recovering and notifying the ASI about the importance of milestone IX and preserving it. Heritage-walks were held in collaboration with the BLHS to Sion by Ms.Ashwini Nawathe, Haji Ali and Ma-Haji Ali by Taykhoom Biviji. Two interactive lectures and walks to the Armenian Church, Meadows Street with a focus on ritual, language, vestments and history were conducted in collaboration with the MSB and the BLHS in the months of February and June by Dr. Anita Rane-Kothare and Mr. Jason Johns.

The department, in collaboration with Mr. Anupam Sah, MACC, Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya conducted a two –day practical paper conservation workshop in the month of April for our students.

Mr. Jason Johns (MA Part II student) was invited to give a tour of Bhaja Caves for a visiting scholar from Delhi.

Dr. Anita Rane-Kothare published papers on “Sufi Saints in Mumbai” (Explorer, BLHS), “Tourism and Heritage Management” (Disha, Thomas Cook Publication) and “African Traditions in Indian Games”

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enGlishThis was an unusually packed year for the Department. Our activities began in September with the screening of Beats of Freedom. This riveting documentary film traced the role of popular music in inspiring young people to galvanize protest movements in Poland. The event was organized with the support of Mr. Janusch Wach, Consul General of Poland in Mumbai.

In November, we were proud to host

Nadifa Mohammed, a recipient of the Granta Best of Young Novelists Award and the Betty Trask Prize. She spoke movingly about social issues in Somalia as reflected in her novels Black Mamba Boy and The Orchard of Lost Souls, and her observations on the politics of colonial histories and postcolonial identities resonated with the large audience. We are grateful to the British Council, Mumbai for facilitating this discussion.

This event was also the beginning of Ithaka, the much-awaited annual literary and dramatic festival of the Department of English. This year the Ithaka workforce had 7 main departments consisting of about 200 students working on every aspect from organization, marketing and publicity to scripts, direction, technicals, and props, costumes and set design, all co-ordinated by the efficient and seemingly tireless Co-Heads Garvi Dhar and Anuja Mital. We also had the highest footfall compared to previous years, with a whopping 2500 audience members who attended the events, plays and preludes. Among the events was a poetry workshop, “Some Like Poetry” (named after a poem by Wislawa Szymborska), conducted by Jane Bhandari who provided feedback and tips delightfully laced with humour. The Mime Workshop highlighted a little-seen form of drama. “Lege, wait for it” was a literary spin-off of the 90s show “Legends of the Hidden Temple”, set in the land of Mythica with mythology, puzzles, and extempore challenges. We also had an Open Mic Event, featuring the popular stand-up comedian Sahil Shah

Humanitiesat a conference on Ancient Indian Games.

The following are Dr. Radha’s list of research activities:

• Invited to deliver a lecture at Nalanda Center of Performing Arts on (8 March,2013) “Understanding the essence of Philosophy through Performing art tradition.

• Invited todelivera lectureatGitaNritya Vidyalaya- School of Dance and Performing arts for the Sangit Visharad Students ( B.Mus) Title of my lecture was “Relevance of Ancient Indian cultural study to comprehend the history of Performing arts. “

• Deliveredalectureforthevisitingfaculty and students of the week

long international online course conducted by the University of Stuttgart under the Department of English, St Xavier’s College on “Folk Traditions in India -influence on culture.”

• Was invited to deliver a lecturefor Eumind programme (a collaborative exchange programme with St Xavier’s College and with staff and students from colleges in Belgium - “ Indian Culture- a reflection of Unity in Diversity.”

• Invited to make a presentationFor the Harvard College In Asia Programme-Mumbai Conference on An introduction to Indian Culture.”

• Was invited to deliver a lectureat Balwant Sheth school of

Architecture on “Philosophy behind structures.”

• InvitedtodeliveralectureatFutureGroup -” Disha- Understanding Indian culture.”

• Invited todelivera lecture for theInternational Board of Members for Pfizer on “Understanding the Philosophy behind Indian culture.”

• Invited to deliver a lecture atDeloitte on “ Indian culture and holistic approach.”

• Invited to deliver a lecture andpresent a paper at the National conference in Buddhism at Jnana Pravaha Centre For Research In Indian Culture- Kashi.

Dr. Anita Rane-Kothare Head, Ancient Indian Culture

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followed by some of our students who displayed their own stand up routines along with other talents like singing, rap, beat boxing.

Ithaka 2013 chose to pay tribute to Shakespeare with an early celebration of his 450th birthday. There were four preludes: A Midsummer Night’s Dream (written and directed by Kadambari Shah and Raadhika Vishvesh), A Fool’s Head (Rishi Thomas), Within The Walls Of Our Minds (Neerja Deodhar and Tushar Gidwani), and A Chameleon (Pathikrit Ghosh). The long plays were Much Ado About Nothing (adapted and directed by Anahita Kumar), a musical, Kiss Me Kate (adapted and directed by Siddharth Machado), and an original play, I, Gandhi (written and directed by Terence Fernandes). Shakespeare was also the theme of our annual department journal, Ithaka, which was edited by Devika Karnad, assisted by Kadambari Shah, Raadhika Vishvesh and Nezhat Fouzdar.

November also marked the sixth year of our online course, “In Conversation With Globalization”. We began it in 2008 in collaboration with the University of Stuttgart (Germany); St. Louis University (USA) joined in 2012, and this year’s addition of Stellenbosch University (South Africa) extended the global co-operation still further. Dr. Wolfgang Holtkamp, the dynamic initiator of this programme, taught two of the course modules, and Dr. David Borgmeyer the third. We were delighted to welcome them and their students, along with Ms. Huba Boshoff leading the group from Stellenbosch, and Dr. Walter Goebel from Stuttgart, in January. St. Xavier’s was represented by Ms. Rashmi Lee George and 9 students from our department. The theme of the course this year was “Globalization and Mobility”, and our week-long conference featured lectures, outings and fieldwork by the students, culminating in group presentations. In May, 6 of the St. Xavier’s students, accompanied by

Ms. Rashmi, visited Stuttgart, where they worked on presentations and attended talks.

In February we held a “Meet the Author” event with Yasmeen Premji, author of Days of Gold and Sepia, in collaboration with the Department of History. The novel is a fascinating blend of imagined lives and history, and the reading generated a spirited discussion.

We were exceptionally privileged to receive Tomson Highway, an internationally renowned indigenous Canadian writer-playwright-performance artist. He held the audience spellbound with his artless yet profound comical-serious narratives of native Canadian life, and electrified us with his virtuoso performance on the piano (the instrument was generously loaned to us by Furtado’s). We are indebted to Dr. Coomi Vevaina and the storytellers’ organization Wordfully Yours, and to the Consulate General of Canada for enabling us to organize this unforgettable event.

The second year students observed Black History month with a class visit to the American Library, Mumbai. After a brief talk, we watched a stirring documentary on the music of the Civil Rights movement. Our gratitude to the librarians at the American Library, both for the invitation and for their warm hospitality.

Our department seminar at Khandala included sessions on postmodern fiction, avenues of research, with Ms. Pearl Pastakia and Ms. Rashmi Lee George each talking about their own doctoral work, and finally, as a quality mechanism for the department, an extensive feedback session. And of course we enjoyed the camaraderie and fun which are such a memorable part of every seminar.

Our last activity for the year was in April, a workshop on haiku conducted by Rohini Gupta.

At the graduation ceremony in June, we witnessed the fruition of all our efforts last year. It was a proud moment to see our students come up on stage, led by the toppers Devika Karnad (full majors) and Garvi Dhar (part majors). We wish all of them a successful and satisfying future.

Our Board of Studies meeting was held on September 27, 2013. It was gratifying to find that the members were both appreciative and supportive of our endeavours to create a stimulating and challenging syllabus and construct appropriate assessments.

In faculty news, Dr. Shefali-Balsari-Shah made a presentation “Religion and Plurality in Popular Hindi Cinema” for a group of visiting Fulbright scholars last June. In August, she attended a conference in Japan, organized by the Global Next Leaders Forum on the theme “Education and the Elite”.

Ms. Rashmi Lee George was invited to visit the University of Stuttgart in May. She made two presentations, on “The City of Dreams & God’s own Country – Mumbai and Kerala” and “Issues of identity and space in Native American Fiction from 1990 onwards: An Ecocritical Approach ”.

Ms. Pearl Pastakia resumed active service after her FIP leave. Ms. Tuhina Bose’s appointment ended with the academic year, and the department would like to thank her for her services.

Finally, I would like to thank all those students who, with their enthusiasm and energy, have contributed to the activities of our department, and those whose insistent expectations have stretched us to keep raising our academic standards. I would also like to place on record my deep gratitude for the generous and unfaltering contribution of Ms. Rashmi Lee George to the smooth functioning of the department.

Dr. Shefali Balsari-Shah Head, Department of English

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Humanities

The Department of French was fraught with various activities to help the students appreciate the French - language and culture.

The year began with the 14th of July celebration, both by the Senior as well as the Junior College. It commemorated the storming of the Bastille with a poster-making competition, presentations on the French Revolution, and a screening of the movie ‘Les Misérables’. TYBMS students Arnaud Mentenier and Alexander Lopis discussed the French education system with the Junior College students. Forty students from the Saint-Genevieve school, Versailles, France accompanied by M. Charles Henvieux, interacted with the Junior College students in July 2013. Both the FYJC and SYJC classes participated in the French Festival organised at St. Andrew’s College in September 2013.

As a member of the Maharashtra State Board Secondary and Higher Education for SSC and HSC text books, Ms. Anjali Lokur organised a workshop for school teachers on the new textbook ‘Le Français c’est un passe partout’. Mme. Odile Caron, Principal of Lycée Notre Dame de la Tillaye, Compiège and coordinator Cecile Cortes visited our college to discuss an exchange programme which will comprise academic as well as cultural aspects. The first group, consisting of twenty students visited for a 15-day programme in May 2014 accompanied by Ms Anjali Lokur and Ms. Debjani Chavan.

A workshop was conducted for SYBA students on “Améliorer la phonétique des idées ludiques” by Dr. Vasumathi Badrinathan, Head of Department, Ramnarain Ruia College in July 2013. Jean Luc Maze and Florence Petite, who are visiting faculty from a school in Morlain, Brittany, France presented and spoke to our students on various topics such as ‘La crise économique en France’, ‘Les années Sarkozy et Holland’, and ‘La Révoulution Française’ in August 2013.

As the Vice President of the Indian Association of Teachers of French (IATF), Ms. Anjali Lokur arranged a meeting with the President of IATF, Ms. Amrita Raghunandan at Ramnarain Ruia College in order to discuss association activities in August 2013. The meeting was followed by a workshop conducted by M. Christian Rodier, in-charge of education at the French Consulate, which was attended by Ms. Alpana Palkhiwale and Ms. Anjali Lokur. M. Christian Rodier visited our college to discuss plans with the department for the upcoming year.

In the month of December, the French Spelling Bee contest finals for the city of Mumbai were held in St. Xavier’s College (Autonomous), Mumbai. Thirteen institutions participated in the event. The winners of Mumbai for all the three levels were from our college – Aneri Vora of FYBA (elementary level), Parizad Irani of SYBA (intermediary level) and Neha Sethi of TYBA (advanced level). The All India Finals were held at Chennai in January 2014, where Aneri Vora and Parizad Irani won the first place.

In February 2014, the annual cultural festival ‘Frénésie’ was organised by the students of the Department. An Inter collegiate Quiz on France was conducted in collaboration with Alliance Française, the quiz master of which was Mr. David Cordina, Director pédagogique of Alliance Française. The first place was won by Priyanka Barve and Sanaee Naik

of TYBA. The event was a grand success, with participation of students from various colleges and Alliance Française. The Festival also had the French Cuisine competition, where various French dishes were prepared and put up for sale. The French Newsletter ‘A la française’ was released in February 2014, the theme this year being ‘La Mort’(Death). It provided a platform for the students to express their creativity in the French language.

Ms. Anjali Lokur and Ms. Alpana Palkhiwale attended the International Congress for Latin America and the Caribbean Region, organised by the International Federation of French at Heredia, Costa Rica from 4th to 7th February 2014. Ms. Anjali Lokur presented a paper on “Le thème de l’environnement dans l’élaboration des manuels du FLE’, and Ms. Alpana Palkhiwale presented a paper on ‘L’Image de la femme dans l’écriture francophone de l’Afrique noire et dans l’écriture féminine contemporaine en Inde’(Image of the woman in African and Indian writings) here. Thus, this year we had a plethora of events, all of which gave impetus to our students to express their creativity and enhance their language skills.

Ms.Alpana Palkhiwale (Professor in charge)

french

Winners of All India Spelling Bee Contest(Concours d'Orthographe) held at St Xavier's in Dec 2013 with Ms.Anjali Lokur

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Humanities

The academic year of 2013-2014 began on an inspiring note as the class of 2013 (the first batch of students under the Autonomous system) graduated in June with Kaizeen Jehangir and Mrunmayee Satam being declared the subject toppers.

As always, a flurry of activity marked the academic year 2013-14. As part of the TYBA History course for Semester V on Museum Studies, the TY history class visited a number of museums during the year. This began with a visit to our college’s own Science museum the Blatter Herbarium, on 20th June, 2013. The class was shown some of the museum’s prized plant specimens gathered from the world over as well as the copy of the first book printed in India in 1563 - Colóquios dos simples e drogas da India by Garcia de Orta – in the attached library. Our special thanks to Dr. Bapat, Head, department of Botany and Mr. Praveen Kale.

On 21st June, 2013, the class, accompanied by the students of the Berkeley Summer School attended two talks at Mani Bhavan on ‘Hind Swaraj’ by Dr. Rudi Heredia and Dr. Usha

Thakkar. This visit also provided the students an opportunity to understand the life of Mahatma Gandhi through the original photographs and letters displayed at the museum. The class also visited the RBI Monetary Museum on 10th July, 2013, and received an informative guided tour by the museum’s curator, Dr. Radhakrishnan.

An enriching talk by the eminent Dr. Romila Thapar, ‘Questioning the Past’, held at the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research on its Founders Day Programme on 10th July, 2013, was attended by few students of the Department of History.

On 15th and 16th July, 2013, a few students from the Department and

Dr. Fleur D’Souza attended the 36th Historians’ Workshop organized by the Heras Institute of Indian History and Culture given by Dr. Kanchana Mahadevan and Dr. Ruchira Banerjee. 15th July was also a joyous day for the Department as two of the former History students appeared on the merit list for the post graduate programme at the Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi. Kaizeen Jehangir and Rohit Tayade made the Department proud by receiving this honour for their hard work and dedication to the subject.

The TY class visited the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya (CSMVS) on 8th August, 2013. Here the Educational Officer Ms. Bilwa

history

International Hindi Seminar - Ms. Hide Merry from Germany, Dr.Induprakash Pandey and Dr.

Asha Naithani dayama.

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HumanitiesKulkarni introduced the TY class to the history of the museum and its various galleries, after which, the students explored the galleries and studied the display techniques.

The visit to the Bhau Daji Lad museum on 12th November, 2013, gave the TY class invaluable information on two courses for the Third Year programme – Museum Studies and Urban Heritage. Alisha Sadikot guided the class through the museum as she explained the history of Mumbai.

Several students from the Department attended the 50th Heras Memorial Lectures on 12th and 13th December, 2013, in the College Hall. The distinguished speaker was Dr. Romila Thapar who focused on the themes of ‘Recognizing a Sense of History’ and ‘Constructing Historical Traditions’. The 50th volume of Indica, the journal of the Heras Institute, was released at the event. The following day, Dr. Thapar spent two hours with enthusiastic students of various departments and engaged willingly in a special free-wheeling question - answer session. Dr. Joan Dias facilitated this meeting.

On 13th December, the Department of History was privileged to organize a session with Dr. Sam Wineburg from Stanford University for Professors and aspiring teachers of History and the Social Sciences on ‘Interactive Teaching Methodologies in History’.

As part of the paper on Urban Heritage, the Department invited Prof. Rashna Poncha from Sophia College, who enlightened the TY History class on the Parsis of Bombay on 6th January, 2014. This talk was followed up by a visit that afternoon to the NGMA exhibition on ‘Across Oceans and Flowing Silks: from Canton to Bombay 18th-20th Centuries’ which further enriched the students’ knowledge on the Parsi Community.

The annual TY seminar was held at Khandala at St. Mary’s Villa from 27th January, 2014 to 29th January, 2014. Almost every student presented a paper at the seminar on the theme of “Religion, Society and Culture of Medieval India”.

On 30th January, 2014, the department commemorated the death anniversary of Gandhiji as Communal Harmony Day with a talk by Dr. Ram Puniyani, who was a Professor of Biomedical Engineering at the Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay. He gave a special address on the role of Gandhiji in national integration.

Noted Indian conservation architect, Ratish Nanda who headed the team that worked on the restoration of Humayun’s Tomb, spoke to the TY class on 31st January, 2014, on the topic of conservation of heritage structures.

In collaboration with the Department of English, a book reading by author Yasmeen Premji for her first novel ‘Days of Gold and Sepia’ was organized on the 4th February, 2014. Many students from both the departments as well as the Department of Sociology attended this reading.

On 6th February, 2014, a student -seminar was organized at R.J Jhunjhunwala College on the theme “Traversing Borders: a journey through the History and Politics of South Asia.” Deepti Anand, Wesley Joseph, Aishwaraya Iyer, Pankti Dalal, Jibran Setalvad, Trisha George and Teena Kunjukutty from the Department of History presented papers at this seminar. Trisha George, Pankti Dalal and Jibran Setalvad won prizes in their respective sections for the papers they presented.

As part of the ongoing class discussions during the sixth semester on the communities of Mumbai, Sameera Khan, a journalist and writer, spoke to the TY class about the Muslim Communities in the city on 18th February, 2014. Another very interesting lecture on the Colonial Architecture of Bombay by a heritage architect Vikas Dilawari was held on 22nd February, 2014 for the TY class.

A panel discussion titled ‘Rise Up!’ was organized by the Department of History on 21st February, 2014. The department invited three prominent activists, Mr Shailesh Gandhi, Mr Samir Zaveri and Mr. Jain, who engaged the students in an interactive discussion about the

system, corruption, the problems faced and their solutions.

On 25th February, 2014, the TYBA students literally made the streets their laboratory and an antique bungalow their classroom! The day began with a visit to a 100 year old Iranian café, Merwans, where the students enjoyed a “Bambaiyya” breakfast of chai and bun-maska. The class then visited the heritage precinct of Khotachiwadi where Krutuja Dere and Andre Baptista guided the students along the streets. They spoke about the East Indian Community that makes up the core of this heritage village as well as the style of architecture incorporated in the still existing old houses. James Ferreira a long-time resident of Khotachiwadi also spoke to the students. The students also got to see a live example of the slowly changing skyline of Mumbai.

An excellent job was done by Pankti Dalal, Moumita Mukherjee, Ann, Anagha (F.Y.B.A), and Anusha D’Souza from the History class of SYBA, who were guides at the special exhibition on the Cyrus Cylinder organized at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya (CSMVS) which came to an end on 25th February, 2014.

A number of students also took up internships at various organizations during the summer of 2013. Trisha George, Rinu Boban and Teena Kunjukutty successfully completed their internship at the Bhau Daji Lad Museum. Roxanne Godinho completed her internship at Godrej Archives. The academic year of 2013-2014 definitely saw a lot of productive activity, from lectures, seminars as well and field trips.

Faculty NewsDr. Fleur D’SouzaPublications:

Release of two publications that have research articles “The East Indians of Mumbai: Identity, Icons, Issues” in Anila Verghese, Swarupa Kamat and Rashna Poncha (eds.), Mumbai – Socio-Cultural Perspectives: contribution of Ethnic groups and Communities, Sophia College for Women, Mumbai 2013.ISBN 978-93-5137-871-6

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Humanities“Educational Practice of the Early Jesuits in Mumbai” in Myron J. Periera s.j (ed.), The Early Jesuits of the ‘Province of the North’ Vasai, Salsette, Mumbai 1548-1739, Mumbai, The Provincial of Bombay, 2014. ISBN 987 806 342 22 1

Research Papers:18th November – 19th November, 2013: Presented a paper at the inaugural conference of the ORAL HISTORY ASSOCIATION OF INDIA (OHAI) at the United Theological College, Bangalore. The theme of the seminar was Oral history in our times. The paper presented was entitled “Hesitant Explorations in Oral History: the Pawaras of Shirpur, history, identity, and relationship with the forest.”

Panel Discussions/Talks: 30th August, 2013: Invited to be on a Round Table on Migration and Identity at St. Xavier’s College with the Staff of Trinity College, Dublin and Dept. of Sociology, St. Xavier’s College.

10th October, 2013: Invited to sum up the lecture of Dr. Mariam Dossal entitled “Touched by the winds of many seas: Lakhpat” at the Monsoon Lectures of the Maritime History Society, Mumbai.

18th October, 2013: Panelist at a book discussion at the Nehru Science Centre. “Prince Alexei Saltykov’s Journey across India” with Dr. Mariam Dossal and the translator of the book Ms. Ferina Duggan-Polichtchouk and Tasneeem Zakaria Mehta.

17th December, 2013: Talk on the History of Thane as part of the Lecture series at Kamala Raheja College of Architecture, Juhu and conducted a workshop for the students.

March 10, 2014, Talk to visiting students from St. Joseph’s University in Philadelphia and the BMS of St. Xavier’s College. Theme “The Jesuits in India”

Other activities: 25th – 27th October, 2013: On the organizing team for the 22nd session of the Indian Art History Congress at St. Xavier’s College, Mumbai.

27th July, 2013: Invited by the CSMVS to attend a review meeting of the Museum.

Conferences/Seminars Attended: Attended the 36th Historians Workshop delivered by Dr. Kanchana Mahadevan and Dr. Ruchira Banerjee.

Attended a seminar on Stained Glass by noted conservator Swati Chagatkar.

January, 2014: International Conference “Connections between India and Iran” at the CSMVS

16th January, 2014: Attended a talk by Homi Bhabha entitled Treading water: reflections on an intemperate medium at the 16th Vasant Sheth Memorial lecture at the CSMVS, Mumbai.

Mr. Avkash.Jadhav1. Invited to Tata Institute of Social

Sciences (TISS), Mumbai as a Resource person by ‘The Nodal Centre of Excellence for Human Rights Education (NCEHRE) to speak on the “Role and Participation of Civil Society in Local Governance. On 5th October, 2013.

2. Invited to Dr.V.N. Bedekar Institute of Management Studies for “Second Management Development Conference” as a Resource person to speak on “Education System in India” on 5th October, 2013.

3. Invited for One hour Live Interview on Doordarshan for a Live Programme on Sakhi Sahyadri on the theme “Role of Teacher Outside Classrooms”, on 28th November, 2013.

4. Awarded “Bhagwan Buddha National Fellowship Award for 2013” by Bharatiya Dalit Sahitya Akademi, New Delhi in Decemeber, 2013.

5. Successfully completed UGC Sponsored One Week Short Term Course on “Strategy of Governance and Excellence in Higher Education” from RDV, Jabalpur, M.P from 27th January,2014 to 1st February, 2014 with Grade ‘A ‘.

6. Invited as a Resource by the

‘Apostolic Carmel High School & Junior College, Bandra to conduct training session for teachers on “How to Teach History Effectively” on 29th April, 2014.

7. Invited as a Subject Expert to the Censor Board of India in 2013 and 2014.

8. Invited as a Visiting Faculty to IDOL, to conduct lectures for the Post Graduate Courses in History (M.A Part I and M.A. Part II).

9. Invited by the NGO, Money Life Foundation (MLF) for panel discussion on the “Role of Activists in the System”, March,2014

10. Successfully completed Two years as Nominated Councillor in the BMC.

11. Conducted Training Sessions for the Orientation Programme at Academic Staff College of RDV, Jabalpur, M.P in March,2014.

12. Conducted a Workshop at RDV Management Institute, Jabalpur on the “Interview Techniques” for the MBA students in March,2014.

13. Invited by the Rotary Club of Kandivli East to deliver a talk on” Citizens Participation in Local Governance” on 23rd June,2014

14. Invited to conduct session for the Orientation course at RDV, Jabalpur on 21st July to 22nd July,2014.

Publications:

1) Publication of a research article “The Scope and Challenges of Regional Historiography” in the Journal of ‘History Past and Present, Commemoration Volume, Vol-5 (2012), University Department of History, Magadh University,Bodh Gaya, ISSN:2231-3893.

2) Co-Authored Textbook for History and Political Science for the Students of Xth Std, Recommended by the Goa Board of Secondary and Higher Secondary Education, Published by Sheth Publishers. ISBN-978-93-83681-98-3

Dr. Fleur D’Souza Head, Department of History

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economics-commerce

Social Sciences

Tribute to Ms. Hermione Salazar

The Department of Economics pays tribute to Ms. Hermione Salazar (Ex-Head of the Department) for her tireless and dedicated service to the college. Ms. Hermione retired from 33 years of dedicated service on April 30, 2014.

Minor Research Project

Dr. Agnelo Menezes (2013-14)

• ‘A Study of the Current TwoWheeler Boom in Urban Spaces: Conspicuous or Necessary Consumption?’ This project was sanctioned by the University of Mumbai with co-researcher Ms. Annapurna (Department of Statistics).

Papers Publication

Dr. Aditi Sawant

• `FoodversusBiofuel:Implicationsfor Food Security’ in the National Conference on ` EmergingChallenges, Opportunities and Issues Related to WTO and Indian Agriculture Sector held during 21-22 November, 2013 at New Delhi by Centre of WTO Studies, Indian Institute of Foreign Trade,.(Communicated for Publication).

• ‘An Analysis of Pattern and

Trend of FDI and its Impact on India’s Services Sector during Pre and Post-global Crisis (2008-09) Period’, Cambridge Scholars Publication. (Accepted for publication).

• `Strength and Weaknessesof Indian Agriculture Sector in the Era of Globalization, Procedia’ -Social and Behavioural Sciences, Elsevier. (Accepted for publication).

Dr. Agnelo Menezes

• ‘TheUrbanPoor’sFoodInsecurity’,Xplore St. Xavier’s College, Mumbai, Publication, December 2010; Ruia College Journal 2014 (Due)

• ‘AnImpactAuditofUrbanizationin Emerging Economies’, Xplore St. Xavier’s College, Mumbai, Publication, December 2011, Glocal University Publication, March 2014 (Due)

• ‘An Economic Analysis of CSRConsulting Firms’, SIES (Nerul) College of Arts, Science and Commerce Journal, Mumbai, February 2014 (Due)

• ‘Managing Microfinance for thePoor’, Jamnalal Bajaj Institute of Management Studies Research Journal, March 2014 (Due)

Dr. Anvita Raguvanshi (Department of Commerce)

• Dr. Anvita Raghuvanshiand Abhishek Raghuvanshi, ‘Determinants of Shareholder Gains in Acquisitions: An Empirical Study of Indian Corporate Sector’, selected for publication in Indian Journal of Finance, 2014 (ISSN 0973 – 8711).

Paper Presentations

Dr. Aditi Sawant

• `Foreign Direct Investmentin Indian Higher Education System’, presented in CESI Annua l Inter nat iona l Conference during December 28-30, 2013, organised by Department of Economics, University of Calcutta, Calcutta.

• `Food versus Biofuel:Implications for Food Security’ in the National Conference on ` EmergingChallenges, Opportunities and Issues Related to WTO and Indian Agriculture Sector’ held during 21-22 November, 2013 at New Delhi by Centre of WTO Studies, Indian Institute of Foreign Trade, New Delhi.

• `An Analysis of pattern andtrend of FDI and its impact on India’s services sector in the pre and post crisis period’ in the national conference on `TradeinservicesinIndiaandInclusive Growth Paradigm: Emerging Opportunities and Future Challenges’, held during 22-23 August, 2013 at Centre for WTO studies, IIFT, New Delhi.

Dr. Agnelo Menezes

• ‘Food Security in India’,Nat i o n a l E c o n o m i c s Conference, Ruia College, Mumbai, January 2014.

Ms.. Hermione cutting a cake on the day of Farewell

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Social Sciences

• Paper presentation: ‘AnEconomic Analysis of CSR Consulting Firms’, National B u s i n e s s E c o n o m i c s Conference, SIES (Nerul) College of Arts, Science and Commerce, Mumbai, February 2014.

• `Strength and Weaknessesof Indian Agriculture Sector in the Era of Globalization’, presented in International Conference on Trade, Markets and Sustainability’ on 22-23 February, 2013 at Symbiosis Institute of International Business, A constituent of Symboisis International University, Pune.

Research Guide

Ms. Hermione Salazar

• Faculty Coordinator andResearch Guide of a Fulbright-Nehru Senior Research scholar- Mr. Abhay Ghiara By The United States – India Educational Foundation (USIEF) in 2012-2014.

Summer School

Dr. Agnelo Menezes

• The Summer School forthe year 2013-14 was based upon the themeof `InformalEconomy’.

University Syllabus

Committee (Board of Studies)

Dr. Aditi Sawant

• Syllabus Committee forCorporate Finance, TYBA, Board of Studies, University of Mumbai (2013)

Dr. Agnelo Menezes

• Syllabus Committee forEconometrics, TYBA, Board of Studies, University of Mumbai (2013)

Programmes organised for Department of Economics

• Industrial Visit to KisanvirSugar Factury at Vai, District Satara and Food Processing Unit at Mapro, Mahabaleshwar on 21-22nd February, 2014.

• IndustrialVisittoAlokTextileIndustries, Sylvassa, Div-Daman Union Territory on 18th February, 2013.

• Academic visit to NSE,Bandra-Kurla Complex on 4th February, 2013.

• Organized visit at BSE forTYBA (Eco-Com) students on 15th Jan. 2013 on topic “Indian Economy and Financial Markets”, Lecture by Dr. Aditya Srinivas, COO at BSE.

Econundrum : Intercollegiate

Festival of Department of Economics

In Econundrum (2013-14), participation included 9 colleges in all besides some independent entries without a contingent - OTSE (On the Spot Entries). The basic purpose of Econundrum is to encourage students for theoretical and analytical thinking, intellectual stimulation and interact with students from all over the country.

External Speakers for Economics Hounors Program (2013-14)

1) S.P Jain (Management Institute) – Decision Making

2) Mr. Deepak Mohanty (Executive Director - RBI) – Food Inflation

3) Mr. Gaurav Gupta (Dalberg’s Regional Director for Asia) - Morality, Rational Choice and Human Development

4) Mr. Luis Miranda (CEO and president of IDFC Private Equity) - Public Choice and Collective Action

5) Dr. Satoshi Miyamura (Soas University, London) - Labour Economics

6) Mr. Kabira N. (World Bank) - Game Theory, Political Economy of Africa

Dr. Aditi Sawant Head, Department of Economics

and Commerce

Students on Industrial visit to Kisanvir Sugar Factory, District- Satara

Winners of Econondrum Festival

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Bachelor of mass media The objectives of the curricular and co-curricular activities highlight the need to develop an understanding in students about the importance of socio-political, cultural, economic, historical and geographical fields for any meaningful communication to take place. Identifying that a knowledge of science and art is equally important for meaningful communication, the following activities were undertaken and executed by the BMM department.

(a) The North East Encounter-Know your country

The prince of Tripura, Pradyut Bikram Deb Barman spoke on the importance of communication between people of the North East and rest of India. He explained that by simply spreading more information about common people from the NE states (Mary Kom, Baichung Bhutia, Danny Denzongpa), the curiosity of the Indian psyche could be tapped and this curiosity in homes across India could be turned into a surge for political peace in the region – an interaction that enthralled and awakened the media professional within each student.

(b) Bartholomew, Highway on my plate, Entrepreneurs & P.Sainath- Zeitgiest Conference

Zeitgiest - meaning ‘spirit of the ages’ is a media conference conducted by the students. This is the 4th year of the conference. The objective is to listen to sound bites from achievers and media leaders on how communication is a key to setting growth objectives for a nation, and how it can also be used to untangle the convoluted understanding surrrounding complicated issues. The guest speakers invited were a melange of social and commercial entrepreneurs, internationally recognised photographers, journalists and advertisers.

(c) Barefoot College, Ahmedabad and Karnala Sorties - Study Tours During

Diwali Vacations

The first year students visited Bunker Roy’s Barefoot College in Jaipur, Rajastan. Here, the wealth of localized wisdom is employed in developing and implementing environmentally sustainable technology. The local community of artisans and crafts men/women design and develop solar power generation equipment and train indigenous people of other nations in the same. This community is housed in a facility that has been entirely built with local material and local construction techniques and is the recipient of the Agha Khan award for structural excellence.

The second year students visited Sindhudurg district and conducted environmental conservation (turtle conservation) workshops for school children.

The third year students visited Amul Dairy Cooperative to understand their marketing strategies, MICA for a campus orientation, NID for an orientation in higher studies opportunities in Design and Gandhi Ashram in Ahmedabad, Gujarat.

(d) Eat Music, Live digital, and Get Passionate

A lecture series was organized and was conducted by Animesh Das,

our Media department Alumni and currently our Radio & TV instructor. Key professionals from the industry conducted interactive sessions.

As part of the Summer School, comprehensive modules on Public Policy, Understanding Culture through Art and Digital Media were conducted by professionals in April 2014. These were offered as part of the honors program as well as certificate courses for non-honors students.

(e) Hosting a Fulbright Scholar

The Media department hosted Dr. Karen Jacobs, a Fulbright Scholar from the department of Native American Studies, University of Berkeley for a month from November 10 to December 10, 2013.

Dr. Karen conducted a month long program with our students on the importance of systematically recording the various facets of indigenous cultures. Case studies through archival films were used to understand how such material had been used to secure the rights of Native Americans. Ideas and project proposals on applying this knowledge in India were discussed.

(f) Learning Hindi

In association with Hindi Prachar

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Sabha, Mumbai, certificate courses in basic Hindi were conducted by the department for interested students as a working knowledge of regional languages is necessary for understanding regional issues,

The department acknowledges that in their endeavour to equip the students

with relevant skills for their growth, they have themselves been enriched. Interactions with students keep the mind agile, keep spirits young and offer updated knowledge.

With gratitude, we thank the members of the Board of Studies for their earnest chiding; their unconditional

support, their valuable inputs and the precious time they have invested in helping us shape the course and keeping it dynamic.

Ms. Perrie Subramaniam Co-ordinator,

Bachelor of Mass Media

master in PuBlic PolicyAs Public Policy is an integral aspect of governance, it has become imperative for the academic world to engage with it to ensure efficient governance and the establishment of a just society. On this count, in 2013-14, the College launched an autonomous Master in Public Policy programme, recognized by the University of Mumbai. The first batch consisted of 25 students who

were chosen through an interview process. These students completed their graduation through various disciplines – the student configuration consisted of a journalist, a banker, a media graduate, commerce graduates but the majority were from the arts / humanities background. Apart from the holistic syllabus, the students had to intern with various policy

making bodies and think-tanks. In the course of the third semester, a viva voce is conducted to evaluate these internships. The holistic nature of this course has been appreciated by many from across the academic sphere.

Dr. Agnelo Menezes MPP Course Co-ordinator

Political science The inception of the St. Xavier's Political Science Association can be traced back to about 60 years. The first foray of the Association was to politically enlighten students thereby seeking to contribute towards ‘Civil Society Organizations’, by serving the society .However it has evolved manifold since its nascent stage. Over the years the Association has grown exponentially. Some of the activities undertaken by the Association this year were the following:

• Displaying the Records as required by the National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) team in the month of July.

• Visit to the Vidhan Bhavan during the Monsoon Session by the Third Year students and a brief interaction thereafter with Smt. Vidyatai Chavan – MLC from the Nationalist Congress Party, in order to augment empirical understanding of the distinction between normative and positive political theory and to understand better the concepts related to

partisan politics.

• Various Seminars and Workshops attended by the students. notable among which are Seminars on topics such as ‘Public Policy’ at Mumbai University and ‘Taking India Forward’ and the ‘ Jammu and Kashmir’ Workshop by the Jammu and Kashmir Study Centre.

• The Essay Competition, organized on a national scale, inculcates among the students the ability to frame organized and well sustained arguments. The topics for this year were as follows:

a) PPP - Public Private Partnership or Partners in Plunder

b) Food Security Bill - a half baked scheme

c) T h e Un s u s t a i n a b l e Development in India

• The Annual Seminar at Khandala from 9th – 11th January, 2014 aimed at sensitizing the third year students majoring in Political Science towards topics related to

the rights of the marginalized i.e. women, children, Dalits, tribals and also those affected by displacement, - proponents of the Narmada Bachao Andolan and the Kashmiri Pandits.

• ‘ T h e X av i er ’s Br i t i s h Parliamentary Debate’ (XBPD) hosted from 17th – 20th January, 2014 is the flagship event of the XPSA. The main purpose of this event was to augment student, skills, such as oration, formulating and critiquing policies and providing sustained arguments - all of these at a time when we truly need to better understand public-policy, transparent administration and clean corporate governance. The event saw the participation of 28 teams from a wide array of colleges and diverse academic disciplines, from across India-, These included the National Law School, IIT - Bombay, National University of Juridical Sciences, Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies and St. Xavier’s College- Mumbai. We express our sincere gratitude

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to our sponsors, Parimal K. Shroff & Co: Advocates, Solicitors & Notary, and Enhance- a prominent cosmetic treatment service provider.

• Issuing the ‘Vox Populi’, the annual magazine of the XPSA. It mainly comprises of research papers, articles, reports, accounts, anecdotes and case study analysis of political phenomena, which are commensurate with a particular

theme. The theme this year was ‘Of Politics and Good Hope.’

This is just a microcosmic view of the activities of the XPSA. In actuality, it is a hub of highly sensitized, aware, likeminded, cohesive group of students and teachers, who voluntarily put in an immense amount of effort to make all the activities of this Association possible.

As the name suggests, the Association is run by an elected panel of students.

The members of the panel for the academic year 2013-2014 were Aastha Dalal (Chairperson), Diana Frenchman (Treasurer), Nikita Tilwani, Pratiksha Tripathi, Crislin Rozario, Mansa Shukla, Rishab Devnani and Varun Mittal. I take this opportunity to thank the editorial board of the Vox Populi.

Ms. Aruna Sundresh Head, Department of

Political Science

This year’s report on the activities and achievements of the Psychology Department (2013-2014), takes the reader on a journey through the levels of the ‘Hieracrchy of Needs’. To enlighten those who have never encountered this theory, depicted diagrammatically by a pyramid, it is basically a conceptualization of human motivation, proposed by Abraham Maslow (1908-1970), a pioneer of Humanistic Psychology. Maslow proposed that human needs form a hierarchy that proceed from the most basic level of physiological needs through intermediate levels, to the highest level of self-actualization and transcendence (which is more than a complicated movie starring Johnny Depp). Our department activities, both curricular and co-curricular, have been intended to satisfy our students’ needs at these varying levels. As we leave one level, and step up to the next, we shall take along a pearl of wisdom from Maslow himself.

Physiological Needs

Lectures, tests, assignments, presentations - our students went through the gamut of all these fundamental processes to learn the basics of psychology. Although these activities are available for all our students every year, it must be recognized that in phenomenological terminology,, the learning experience of each student in any one year and across different years is varied. For instance, the SY students of social

psychology who choose to conduct an observational study on Interpersonal Attraction, learnt about the process of research and about different aspects of attraction. Our annual magazine- Uncommon Sense, another department staple, although published annually, has a different theme each time. This year, the focus was on Cyberpsychology.

This level of needs, though basic, is extremely prepotent and should not be dismissed as trivial.

‘The sacred is in the ordinary…it is to be found in one’s neighbours, friends and family, in one’s own backyard…this lesson can be easily lost.

To be looking elsewhere for miracles is to me, a sure sign of ignorance that everything is miraculous.’

Safety & Security Needs

Although our students need novelty and excitement in their college lives, there is also a strong need for stability. For many of them, the stress that comes from uncertainties in their lives can be magnified by catastrophic thinking, to the level of a crisis. In September 2013, we organized a workshop on Crisis Management, conducted by Ms. Ruchi Brahmachari. The participants learned that although a crisis can spell imminent danger, it is also an opportunity for personal growth.

‘One can choose to go back toward safety or forward toward growth. Growth must

be chosen again and again. Fear must be overcome, again and again.’

Love and Belongingness Needs

One of the most effective vehicles for personal growth is actually interpersonal experiences. The need for affiliation (the need to belong) is a strong motivator for college students. The workshop by Ms. Sindhura Tamanna on Interpersonal and Intrapersonal Effectiveness, gave our students improved communication/social skills, self-insight/ self awareness and self confidence.

‘The fact is that people are good, give people affection and security and they will give affection and be secure in their feelings and behaviour.’

Esteem Needs

As students encounter challenges and find ways to cope, they develop confidence in their own resilience. Also, as they achieve the targets they set for themselves in academic and personal domains, they build a healthy sense of self worth, based on deserved self-respect, rather than external fame or unwarranted adulation. Our students who signed up for the workshop on Transactional Analysis, conducted in February 2014, by Ms. Khushnam Engineer, learned to respect themselves and others through the process of interpersonal transactions, so that the scripts they live by, can fulfill their need for esteem from self and from others.

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‘We fear to know the fearsome and unsavory aspects of ourselves, but we fear even more to know the Godlike in ourselves.’

Cognitive Needs

In addition to the inbuilt cognitive challenge of the psychology syllabus designed under the autonomous system for our students, the workshop on Research Operations by Ms Hansika Kapoor provided further cognitive stimulation by helping our students understand the processes of conducting and publishing research in psychology. While not all students desire programs at this level of complexity, those who possess both the aptitude and the curiosity for research, enjoyed the learning experience at this workshop. Research without sound statistical knowledge is like bread without butter and so our TY students were given intensive training in inferential statistics through a series of guest lectures by Prof. Felix Almeida, ex-head of the Mathematics Dept. of our college.

‘I was awfully curious to find out why I didn’t go insane.’

Aesthetic Needs

Students are faced with a range of situations wherein they need to make decisions and find solutions to problems. What gives our students the edge is the capacity to think divergently so that the solution is not just effective, but also aesthetically pleasing. The workshop by Ms. Benaaz Irani & Ms.

Riddhi Padhya on Problem Solving & Creative Thinking, helped satisfy this level of needs. Given the tendency of many to be content with mediocre task performance, this kind of workshop took thinking and problem solving, out of the proverbial box, and a step closer to excellence.

‘A first-rate soup is more creative than a second-rate painting.’

Self-Actualization Needs

Our students make various presentations in their course work but come into their own when preparing and presenting a seminar paper, at our annual departmental seminar in Khandala. This year’s theme was particularly challenging, i.e The Biological, Physiological, Neurological Approach to Psychology. A total of 16 papers were presented on various topics under this theme with about a 100 students attending the seminar. The students who took up the challenge of researching and presenting a paper were clearly those who were able to realize their potential.

‘If you plan on being anything less than you are capable of being, you will probably be unhappy all the days of your life.’

Transcendence

The final level in this hierarchy focuses on the achievement of our TY students who have transcended the graduate level of education, and moved beyond our classrooms, into the lives and careers they have chosen.

We commend out TY class of 2014, on their hard- earned cumulative grade points- CGPA ( that are far from average). A special mention of our two exceptional students who achieved the 1st and 2nd ranks in the entire Arts faculty. Kudos to Juhi Modi (CGPA of 3.83) and Sushree Sahu ( CGPA of 3.81), on their outstanding performance that reflect their sincere effort, consistent quality of work, attention to detail and a positive sense of self efficacy- a powerful forces in their lives. Also noteworthy was the performance of Urvi Paralkar, who stood 5th in the Arts faculty (CGPA of 3.77). Congratulations to Sharlene Fernandes for topping the Psychology Majors, based on achieving the highest total in all the nine psychology papers of our 3 year undergraduate program.

‘What is necessary to change a person, is to change his awareness of himself.’

I’d like to conclude by acknowledging the commitment, the dedicated, high-quality work, and the sincerity of my department colleagues, Prof. Ruby Pavri and Prof. Linda Dhakul, in ensuring that our students meet their varying needs, and continue to maintain high academic standards, despite the everyday irritations, problems and often chaotic whirlpool of CIAs, retests, additional exams, etc. Special thanks to Prof. Ruby for her contribution in transforming her idea of a Maslowian framework for this department report into reality.

Ms. Maureen Almeida Head, Department of Psychology

The academic year 2013-2014 was a crucial year for the Sociology and Anthropology Department. Ms. Pranoti Chirmuley joined the department as a full time Assistant Professor, and we are happy to report that she has been awarded a Doctorate by the Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi in December 2013 for her thesis entitled “A Sociological Study of the Parsi Community: Questions

of Ethnicity, Identity and Change”, submitted in July 2012.

In July 2013, delegates of the National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) visited the college. The NAAC team was impressed with every aspect of our department– right from the ambience, the courses that the department offers, the syllabus framed for every course, the Honours activities and student achievements.

The Annual Department Seminar was held on the 5th, 6th and 7th of September 2013 at Khandala. The students of the Sociology Academy helped in organising the seminar. Students presented papers based on the running theme of the department: Religion in Contemporary Times.

The Sociology Academy organised a screening of the documentary film ‘Reading Between the Lines’ on 23rd

socioloGy and anthroPoloGy

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Social SciencesAugust 2013. Produced by Ms. Sayalee Karkare, an alumna of St. Xavier’s, the film examines the reading culture in Mumbai and the spaces (physical and imagined) associated with it. The documentary very beautifully captures where, when and how people read in our city.

In the second semester, the Academy organised a Career Workshop for all students on the 21st and 22nd of January 2014, highlighting a number of fields open to students with a background in Sociology. Most of the resource persons were ex-students of the department. A focal point of this workshop was the presence of Mrs. Radhika Vivek, Executive Director with Sheffield Haworth, who enlightened students on the scope of Human Resources available to students with a background in Humanities.

The Honours Programme, of which Ms. Vinita Bhatia is in charge, offered the following courses to the students:

• WinterSeminaronEnvironmentalJustice by Ms. Janjri Jasani and Ms. Edel Monteiro. The course ended with an action project wherein the students participated in a beach clean-up drive after the festival of Ganesh Chaturthi.

• Sustainable Development by Ms.Denise Fernandes, an alumna of the college. As a final project, participants conducted fieldwork research on varied topics of their choice.

• Anthropology of Photography byMs. Suryanandini Narain held in November.

Notably, the NAAC delegates expressed their pleasure at the functioning of the Honours Programme during an interactive session with the students. The consolidated efforts of Ms. Vinita Bhatia, Honours Program Co-ordinator, and her volunteers of the Honours Programme have always kept pace with the changing times.

The Department Faculty also made a few noteworthy contributions:

Dr. Sam Taraporevala

• Facilitated the DemystifyingDisabilities Workshop at the Summer School 2013 with students from the University of California (Berkeley, USA) and St. Xavier’s College (Autonomous), Mumbai. It was entitled ‘Economics and Development in Indian Society’, at which students of both the institutions were introduced to the lives of people with visual impairment. This was held on the 28th of June 2013.

• Waskeynote speakerat the state-level seminar on Educational and Career Guidance for the Visually Challenged held on 29th June, 2013 at the Blind Students’ Learning Centre, Department of Education and Extension in association with the Office of Student Welfare, University of Pune. He also presented on the theme ‘Careers in the Social Sciences’.

• Participated in a stakeholders’meeting called by the Copyright Office Ministry of HRD, Government of India to plan India’s stand on the draft clauses as developed by the standing committee on Copyright and Related Rights (SCCR) of the World Intellectual Property Rights Organization (WIPO). The meeting was held in New Delhi.

• Was appointed as ResearchCollaborator and Technical Consultant by the K. J. Somaiya Comprehensive College of Education, Training & Research

on a major ICSSR-funded research project.

• Co-published a journal articleentitled ‘The Disability Exception and the Triumph of New Rights Advocacy’ in the National University Juridical Sciences Law Review evaluating the copyright exemption from a legal and social movement dimension.

• Was the lead plenary speakerat a national conference ‘Harnessing Technology for the Empowerment of Persons with Visual Impairment’ on the theme ‘Accessing Banking Services–A Retrospect and Prospect’ organised by the National Institute of the Visually Handicapped in New Delhi.

• Gave the inaugural address at aseminar on Disability at Miranda House, Delhi.

• Jointly presented a paper on‘Numbers and Reactions’ at Techshare, New Delhi.

• WasinvolvedasResearchDirectorin the publication of “Numbers and Reactions—A Report on Mathematics and Science Access for the Visually Challenged”(ISBN: 978-81-929012-0-6), which took a socio-technical perspective on the issue.

Ms. Madhuri Raijada

• Facilitated a session on RegionalDisparities in Economic Growth – A Sociological

Analysis of the Informal Sector in India at the Summer School 2013 with students from the University

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Social Sciencesof California (Berkeley, USA) and St. Xavier’s College (Autonomous), Mumbai entitled ‘Economics and Development in Indian Society’ on the 5th of July 2013.

• Presented a paper on“Middle Class: Historical Mo or i n g s ( C ont i nu i t i e s and Discontinuities)” at an international conference ‘Tracking the Growth of India’s Middle Class’, which was held at Baroda from 27th November 2013 to 29th November 2013.

Ms. Vinita Bhatia

• Presented at a National Seminaron ‘Genders, Feminisms and Sociologies: Towards a State of Alteredness’, on Conceptualising Popular Culture, organised by the Department of Sociology, University of Mumbai from 29th to 31st January, 2014.

• Students of the departmenttogether with Ms. Vinita Bhatia attended the "Seventeenth Gulistan and Rustom Billimoria Endowment Seminar" on 22nd February at the Asiatic Society. The theme of the seminar was "Debating 377 of the IPC".

Dr. Arun de Souza

• Facilitated a session on RegionalDisparities in Economic Growth– “Rural Fantasies, Urban Dreamscapes: The Story of Maharashtra’s Regional Disparities” at the Summer School 2013 with students from the University of California (Berkeley, USA) and St. Xavier’s College (Autonomous), Mumbai, entitled ‘Economics and Development in Indian Society’ on the 5th of July 2013.

• Presented a paper on “TheSociology of Contemporary Vocations to Religious Life” at Ashirwad, Bangalore on the 3rd of October 2013.

• Presented a paper on “TheSociological Context of the

Suppression of the Society of Jesus in 1773 AD” at St. Xavier’s, Delhi on 21st October 2013.

• AttendedaUGCRefresherCourseon "Sociology" at Academic Staff College, Kumaun University, Nainital from 3rd to 23rd December 2013.

• Presented a paper entitled," C h ang i ng Tre nd s i n Environmental Thought in Contemporary India," at the National Seminar, "Changing Trends in Indian Society," organised by UGC-Academic Staff College, Kumaun University, Nainital on 19th December 2013.

Dr. Pranoti Chirmuley

• Presented a paper entitled: “ParsiZoroastrians Abroad: Questions of Migration, Change and Identity” at the Trinity College Round Table Discussion on the theme of Identity and Migration on the 30th of August, 2013.

• Presented at the Internationalconference with students and faculty of the University of Stuttgart (Germany), St. Louis University (USA), Stellenbosch University (South Africa) and St. Xavier’s College (Autonomous) on ‘Globalisation and Mobility’ held in January 2014 at the college. She spoke on ‘Parsis, Diaspora and Questions of Identity Preservation’.

In an effort to go beyond the syllabus, the department organised a number of guest lectures during the course of the academic year:

• Mr.Milind Ranade, GeneralSecretary of the National Trade Union of India held a lecture on trade unionism in India for TYBA students of the work and management course.

• SuryanandiniNarainheldalectureon ‘writing in Social Sciences’ focussing on assignment and presentation skills for TYBA students of the work and management course on 12th

and 13th December 2014.

• Adiscussion was held by Ms. Shilpi Gulati and Divya, on the Film “Deva to Delhi: Punjab Migrants” for SYBA ethnography students on 28th January 2014.

• MsMeeraKhokani,anex-student,held a lecture on Media and Social Extremism (Twitter) for FYBA students on 4th February 2014.

Our students did well on the academic front too—Sadia Zafar got the 3rd place overall in the Arts stream and also topped in Sociology, while Sharmishta Bose came second with a full Sociology major.

The academic year 2013-2014 ended with a number of fun-filled and educational activities. They are as follows:

• Field trip for the students of TYto the Polyester plant of Reliance Industries Ltd at Patalganga on 11th January 2014.

• Anthropology Exhibit ionorganised by FYBA anthropology students on 1st February 2014. This was their second CIA.

• FieldtriptotheGovardhanCheeseFactory on the outskirts of Pune city to see the processes involved in cheese-making. This was organised on 19th February 2014 for the TY students.

Finally, we would like to say a sincere thank you to all the students of the SYBA for organising a farewell for the TYBA students.

As always, the Department looks forward to a great deal of academic fervour and involvement in the future.

Dr. Sam Taraporevala Head, Department of

Sociology and Anthropology

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Biological Sciences

Biotechnology as a subject has far-reaching effects and benefits on all strata of human society, such as biotechnological advances in pharmaceuticals, agriculture, food and diagnostics, to name a few. The objective of our department is to inculcate values and impart state-of-the-art training to budding biotechnologists.

Results of the MSc-II 2013 Batch

Distinction- 16, First Class- 8, Second class- 2Four of the students were offered and have accepted admission into the PhD program of the National University of Singapore with research scholarships. This was facilitated through a meeting arranged by the department.

The following activities were conducted during the year 2013-14:

Palindrome 2014

Palindrome is the annual Biotechnology festival of St. Xavier’s College, organised by the M.Sc. Biotechology students in an attempt to merge concepts of the subject along with the spirit of competition. This year, Palindrome was held on 15th January 2014 and had a footfall of 250 students from all over Mumbai, participating in 9 Biotechnology-based events taking place over the course of the day. The major sponsor for the entire event was Lupin Limited. The “Palindrome 2014” overall trophy was won by K.C. College. Every year Palindrome associates with a social cause, to do something constructive for the society and help those in need. Our social cause for the year 2013-2014 was “REAP – Reach Education Action Programme”, which works towards educating slum dwellers from various parts of Mumbai and empowers women by encouraging cottage industries for their self-sustenance.

Industrial Trip to Rajasthan

The M.Sc. Part I students undertook the annual industrial visit to the state of

Rajasthan, from the 26th of January to the 1st of February, 2014. They visited five industries relevant to our field of study– Morarka Organic Foods Ltd., Jaipur Municipal Corporation Sewage Treatment Plant, and Birla Institute of Scientific Research in the city of Jaipur; Maharana Pratap Agricultural Institute and Saras Dairy in the city of Udaipur. These industries provided invaluable insight into the various avenues of Biotechnology, and students were able to obtain a first-hand experience of processes right from sludge treatment and bioremediation, to mushroom cultivation and plant tissue culture. Dr.Shiney Peter, Ms.Norine Dsouza and Dr. Biswa Chatterji accompanied the students on the visit.

External Research projects:

A few of the projects completed by M.Sc. Part II students:

Students completed 4-5 month-long internships at reputed research centres like ACTREC, BARC- Mumbai, National Institute of Virology-Pune, National Institute of Oceanography- Goa, and National Chemical Laboratories- Pune. Some of the research projects completed are:

• In silico analysis of differences in gut microbiota among monozygotic and dizygotic twin pairs from two continents.

• To evaluate the effect of prolonged darkness on the development of marine diatom biofilms.

• Structural studies on atypical Rho GTPase: Rho H.

• Determining the role of p38α MAPK signalling pathway in regulating tumorogenesis observed upon plakophilin 3 loss.

Publications by the Department:

• Gulshanara Shaikh, Norine Dsouza, Hoshang Master, Madhuri Hambarde: Cytotoxicity of Novel Pyrazoline derived compounds in

Int J. Chem Vol2(4) Oct -Dec 2013.

• Nikhil Bardeskar, Nikhil Thangiah, Sharang Kolwalkar, Norine D’Souza, John Cyriac, Vivien Amonkar: Quantification of cadmium tolerance of soil isolates by atomic absorption spectroscopy (AAS). Conference Proceedings DBT sponsored National Conference on “Modern Analytical Techniques in Microbiology” conducted by the Department of Microbiology, Fergusson College, Pune. ISBN number 081-2617-9675

Oral presentations:

• Aakanksha Sawant, Akanksha Mhatre, Arokia Rani, Krupa Vyas, Mayuri Mhatre, Rachana Vaidya, Sayali Jadhav, Sheena Varghese, Norine D’Souza, Vivien Amonkar: Using Biowastes for Enhancing PHB Production by a Soil Isolate, at the DBT sponsored National seminar on “Trends in Environmental Biotechnology and its Applications”, St. Aloysius College, Mangalore, in December 2013.

• Aakanksha Sawant, Akanksha Mhatre, Arokia Rani, Krupa Vyas, Mayuri Mhatre, Rachana Vaidya, Sayali Jadhav, Sheena Varghese, Norine D’Souza, Vivien Amonkar: Optimising the Production of Polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB) by a Soil Isolate and Analysing its Properties, at the International Conference on Chemistry “Cutting Edge: Nano, Green and Beyond”, St. Xavier’s College, Mumbai in January 2014.

• Nikhil Bardeskar, Nikhil Thangiah, Sharang Kolwalkar, Norine D’Souza, John Cyriac, Vivien Amonkar presented on Quantification of cadmium tolerance of soil isolates by atomic absorption spectroscopy (AAS), at the DBT sponsored National Conference on “Modern Analytical Techniques in Microbiology”,

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Fergusson college, Pune in January 2014.

• Gulshanara Shaikh, Norine Dsouza, Hoshang Master, Madhuri Hambarde presented on Cytotoxic evaluation of few novel 2 –Pyrazoline Derivatives at the International Conference on Chemistry “Cutting Edge: Nano, Green and Beyond”, St. Xavier’s College, Mumbai in January 2014.

Poster presentations:

• Anju James, Cristabelle De’souza, Josna Jacob, Jyoti Rawat, Jyoti Bharti, Varsha Bodke,Yamini Nair, Norine Dsouza, John Cyriac presented on Green synthesis of pigments using microflora in biocompost samples and their industrial applications at the Sajjan Gupta Konark memorial award, S.I.E.S College, Mumbai in December 2013.

• Aakanksha Sawant, Akanksha Mhatre, Arokia, Krupa Vyas, Mayuri Mhatre, Rachana Vaidya, Sayali Jadhav, Sheena Varghese, Norine D’Souza, Vivien Amonkar presented on The use of biowaste medium for microbial production of Polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB), a constituent of Eco-friendly Plastic at the Sajjan Gupta Konark memorial award, S.I.E.S College, Mumbai in December 2013.

• Anju James, Cristabelle De’souza,

Josna Jacob, Jyoti Rawat, Jyoti Bharti, Sayal Jadhav Varsha Bodke, Yamini Nair, Vivien Amonkar, Norine Dsouza presented on Analytical inter-relation between saturation levels, storage and deep frying of household oils using Iodometry and UV absorption as a public health benefit at the International Conference on Chemistry “Cutting Edge: Nano, Green and Beyond”, St. Xavier’s College, Mumbai in January 2014.

Students attended:

• The Indian Science Academies’ Lecture Workshop on “Biowaves: The Pulse of Biology” organised by the Department of Life Science and Biochemistry on November 29th and 30th, 2013 at St. Xavier’s College, Mumbai.

• National Seminar at the Tata Memorial Hospital, Radiation Medicine Centre which was organised by BARC for student exposure and understanding in the current delves of radiation medicine being used for treatment of cancer.

Faculty Attended:

Dr. Shiney Peter

2 day Symposium and Workshop on Pluripotent Stem Cells in Adult Mammalian Gonads at the National Institute for Research in Reproductive Health (NIRRH),

Mumbai in September 2013.

Ms. Norine Dsouza

• 2 day DBT sponsored National seminar on “Trends in Environmental Biotechnology and its Applications”, St. Aloysius College, Mangalore in December 2013.

• 2 day International Conference on Chemistry “Cutting Edge: Nano, Green and Beyond”, St. Xavier’s College, Mumbai in January 2014.

• 2 day DBT sponsored National Conference on “Modern Analytical Techniques in Microbiology”, Fergusson college, Pune in January 2014.

Guest Lectures organised:

1. Dr. Jos V.M. Welie, Professor, Center for Health Policy and Ethics, Creighton University, USA gave a lecture on ‘Biomedical Technologies, Human Nature, and the Sanctity of Life– an Ethical Analysis’ for Postgraduate Bioscience Students on 25th November, 2013.

2. Richard Noronha, Food Safety Officer, TUV India, Pune gave a lecture on ‘Quality Control and Assurance and Career options in Food Technology’ in January 2014.

Dr. Vivien Amonkar Head, Department of Biotechnology

The Department of Botany continued to be vibrant with various activities.

Guest Lectures

Prof. Kanchi Gandhi, Curator of Nomenclature at The Harvard Herbaria, Harvard University, Boston, USA delivered a lecture on 22nd February, 2014.

Prof. M. Sabu, from University of Calicut, delivered a lecture on ‘Gingers of India’ on February 16th, 2014.

Ph.D degree

Mr. Kalpit Mhatre, who worked for his Ph. D. degree under the guidance of Dr. Shinde, was awarded a Ph. D. degree in Botany in January, 2014. His thesis is titled “Taxonomic studies on medicinal plants of Raigad district, Maharashtra – with special reference to Ethnobotanical Aspects”.

All the teachers of the department attended a workshop on “Biowaves: The Pulse of Biology” organised by

St. Xavier’s College (Autonomous), Mumbai on behalf of Indian Science Academy, Mumbai on November 29th and 30th 2013,

They also attended the International Conference on Chemistry “Cutting Edge: Nano, Green and Beyond” organised by the Department of Chemisty of St. Xavier’s College on the 6th and 7th of January 2014.

Dr. Rajendra Shinde

Botany

Biological Sciences

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The Department of Life Science & Biochemistry had numerous highlights in the academic year 2013-14.

Department Activities:

• A Board of Studies meeting was convened in October 2013, with the agenda of ratifying changes made to the UG (Life Science and Biochemistry) and MSc (Life Science) syllabi.

• The department organized a Science Academies’ Lecture Workshop entitled “Biowaves – The Pulse of Biology” on the 29th and 30th of November 2013. It garnered a very good response from colleges across Mumbai, with

over 230 participants. Select TYBSc and MSc students introduced the speakers and proposed the vote of thanks.

• The second volume of ‘Lignum Vitae’, the annual magazine of the Department was launched by Dr. Tarla Nandedkar and Dr. Fr. Frazer Mascarenhas, SJ, on the 29th of November 2013, at the inauguration of the Lecture Workshop series. The editorial board comprised of 8 Life Science students from FYBSc and SYBSc.

• An academic seminar was conducted for SYBSc, TYBSc and MSc students at St. Xavier’s Villa, Khandala, from

11th - 13th January 2014. Mrs. Meera Pinto, professional soft-skills trainer conducted a session on ‘Speech etiquette’ for the TYBSc and MSc students, while the SYBSc students made their CIA-II presentations at Khandala.

• The TYBSc and MSc farewell was held on 14th February 2014 in the College Hall.

• The Life Science department, in collaboration with the biological science departments of the college organized a Hands-On Practical Training Workshop on ‘Research Methods in Biology’ for selected SYBSc students from the biological science faculties, from

life sciences and Biochemistry

• attended the DBT-sponsored,two day- National Workshop on “Chemoprofiling of Some Therapeutically Important Plants using Sophisticated Instruments – HPTLC and HPLC” on February 4th and 5th, 2014 at Ruia College, Mumbai.

• attended a one day workshopon “Understanding Academic Performance Indicators” organised by Gurunanak College of Arts, Science and Commerce on 25th January 2014, as well as a workshop on “Career Advancement Under UGC Regulations 2010” arranged by Bombay University and College Teachers Union on October 4th at Vidyapeet Vidyarthi Bhavan, Mumbai.

• was present at a workshop on“Phylogenetics” conducted by the Department of Botany, Goa University on 24th and 25th August, 2013. conducted lectures for M.Sc. Herbal Science at Ruia College and for M.Sc. Taxonomy students at Dapoli Urban Bank Senior Science College, Dapoli.

• attended a course on “Soft SkillsDevelopment” organised by Academic Staff College, University

of Mumbai, from 5th to 11th March, 2014.

• was invited by the University ofPune to evaluate and conduct the Ph.D. degree Viva-voce examination. He judged the “Zonal Level Science Exhibition 2013-14” at D.S. High School, Mumbai,

• was requested to join themeeting of the Collaborative Undergraduate Research and Education (CURE) Programme held at Homi Bhabha Centre for Science Education, TIFR, Mumbai in June 2013.

• attended a meeting organisedfor the coordinators of the Star College Scheme at Ruia College, Mumbai in August 2013.

Poster presentations:

• Rajendra Shinde, Rajdeo Singh,Sweedle Cerejo and Mhatre Kalpit (2014) presented ‘Alternative Medicines from Plants – Green Chemistry in Action with special reference to the plants from Mumbai, Thane and Raigad districts’ at the International Conference on Chemistry “Cutting Edge: Nano, Green and Beyond” organised by St. Xavier’s College (Autonomous).

• RajendraShindeandRajdeoSingh(2013) presented “Digitization and quantitative Assessment of some medicinal plants species from Thane District, Maharashtra” at the XXIII Annual Conference of Indian Association for Angiosperm Taxonomy and National Seminar on “Recent Advances in Plant Taxonomy Research” organised by the PG Department of Botany at RTM Nagpur University.

Publications:

1. Kalpit Mhatre, Rajdeo Singh, Sweedle Cerejo and Rajendra Shinde (2013): ‘Diversity of Mangroves in Raigad District, Maharashtra and need for their conservation’ Int. J. Environmental Sciences, Vol 2 (04): 205-209. (ISSN: 2249-2127)

2. Nandikar M., Rajdeo Singh, R. Gurav and Rajendra Shinde (2013): ‘Lectotypif icat ion and Notes on the identity of Chr i st insoniacalcarata (Orobanchaceae), Rheedea,Vol 23. (ISSN: 0971-2313).

Dr. Ujwala Bapat Head, Department of Botany

Biological Sciences

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15th – 17th April 2014. Dr. Priya Sundarrajan, Dr. Radiya Pacha Gupta, Dr. Maya Murdeshwar, Dr. Radhika Tendulkar and Dr. Sheeja Vasudevan were the resource persons for the workshop and conducted various scientific sessions for the students.

• Four new faculty joined the department this year:

Dr. Manasi Kanuga (PhD in Biology, University of Idaho, USA); Dr. Maya Murdeshwar (PhD in Biophysics, IISc, Bangalore), Dr. Sheeja Vasudevan (PhD in Biophysics, IIT-Bombay, Mumbai), Ms. Pampi Chakraborty (PhD in Life Science, BARC, Mumbai)

• Ms. Sheetal Fernandes and Ms. Girija Venkatesh resigned from the department.

Guest Lectures In The Department:

• Dr. Ajit Varki, Glycobiology Research and Training Center, UCSD, USA. ‘Adventures in Anthropogeny: ‘What makes us Human?’ As part of The Wellcome Trust – DBT India Alliance: Public Lecture Series – 2013: Evolution of the Human Mind.

• Dr. Pavitra Rao, Weiss-Cornell University, USA. (ex-student of the department)

‘Characterization of cpw-wpc proteins in malarial parasite P. falciparum’

• Science Academies’ Lecture Workshop: ‘Biowaves – The Pulse of Biology’

1. Dr. Jayesh Bellare, IIT-Bombay, Mumbai- Nanotechnology 2. Dr. Shobona Sharma, TIFR, Mumbai- Parasitology & Cell Biology

3. Dr. Bhaskar Saha (NCCS), Pune - ‘Reciprocity in Biological Regulation’

4. Dr. Satyajith Rath, (NII), New Delhi -‘Immune system- Past, Present and Future’

5. Dr. Smita Mahale, (NIRRH), Mumbai - Signal transduction

6. Dr. Nishigandha Naik, Haffkine Institute, Mumbai - ‘In vivo Imaging Systems’

• Dr. Autar Mattoo, US Department of Agriculture, Bettsville, USA- Plant Biochemistry

Student Activities:

Competitive exams:

TYBSc students Mr. Ashwin D’Souza, Ms. Natasha Lewis and Ms. Zeba Khatri were selected for MSc/Int-PhD programs in TIFR, Mumbai.

Ms. Nicole D’Souza (MSc) qualified for the GATE examination with a high percentile rank.

Summer programmes/ Scholarships:

Ms. Ninoshka D’Souza, TYBSc, was awarded a full scholarship for the 1 year program at York University, Canada, under the Ontario – Maharashtra – Goa scheme.

Ms. Aishwarya Acharya, SYBSc, was awarded a scholarship by Yale University, USA, for their Summer Program between May – June, 2014.

Publications in Science Magazine: Chaudhari K and Fernandes A. (2013) Zebrafish – Irrefutably earning their stripes. LignumVitae. 2:29-31.

Conference/ Seminars/Workshops:

Undergraduate and post-graduate students of the department participated in:

• Science Academies Lecture workshop ‘Biowaves – The Pulse of Biology’ organized by the department during November 2013.

• International Conference ‘Chemistry Cutting Edge – Nano, Green and Beyond’ organized by the Department of Chemistry, St. Xavier’s College (Autonomous), Mumbai, on 6th and 7th January 2014. Students presented posters at the conference.

• MSc students attended the 12th Sophia Nobel Oration in January2014 at Sophia College, Mumbai.

• SYBSc students participated in the Hands-On Practical Training

Workshop on ‘Research Methods in Biology’ in April 2014.

• Students also volunteered at ‘Antarchakshu’, organized by the XRCVC, Malhar and Janfest, and participated in various activities of the Social Involvement Programme (SIP).

Internships and Research Experience:

Second year MSc students of the department interned at KEM/Breach Candy hospitals, or NIRRH, Parel, as part of their Clinical Microbiology lab. First year MSc students interned for one day every week for the second semester at the TIFR or NIRRH as part of a collaborative experiential learning programme.

Student projects:

TYBSc projects were conducted in groups, with 2-8 students per project. Six projects were undertaken by the Life Science (6U) students and 8 projects by the Biochemistry students.

MSc projects: 3 projects consisting of 2 students per project were carried out under the guidance of Dr. R. Tendulkar, Dr. S. Das and Dr. R. Pacha Gupta, Dr. P. Sundarrajan and Ms. S. Shetty.

College Rankers:

YEAR CLASS STUDENT2012-13 FYBSc Ms. Aishwarya Acharya

SYBSc Mr. Clinton Savio Alwyn Fernandes

TYBSc (3U) Mr. Joshua MirandaTYBSc (6U) Ms. Janice D’melloMSc I Ms. Karina ChaudhariMSc II Mr. Vaibhav Mhatre

Staff Activities:

Awards: Ms. S. Shetty and Dr. P. Sundarrajan won 2nd prize and Dr. R. Tendulkar won the 3rd prize for poster presentation at the International Chemistry Conference on “Cutting Edge – Nano, Green and Beyond”, organized by the Department of Chemistry, St. Xavier’s College - Autonomous, Mumbai on 6th and 7th of January 2014.

Poster / Paper Presentations:

• Dr. R. Pacha Gupta- Poster presentation at ‘Integrating Basic and Translational Research in Modern Biology’ conference

Biological Sciences

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Biological Sciences

In the academic year 2013-14, the Department of Microbiology was involved in autonomous

courses for all three undergraduate and two postgraduate years, which is a first. Faculty and students continued to strive for excellence. To modify Vincent Lombard’s quote: “The quality of a department is in direct proportion to its commitment to excellence”. We were joined by some new faculty this year, namely Dr. Priyadarshan Keluskar, Dr. Aparna Talekar, and Ms. Smita Wadekar.

Results

B.Sc. results- May 2013: Distinction 44%, First Class 40%

Only one student completed the last non-autonomous M.Sc. program conducted by the department. She secured a first class and an admission into the PhD program in Molecular Biology in the University of Utah, USA.

Student Activities

Undergraduate

• The annual Department exhibition ‘Micro Buzz’, which has been conducted without a break since 1989, saw its 25th year. The exhibition was presented by the SY students in July and was greatly appreciated for the quality of content, creativity and presentation it brought forth. It served as both, an introduction to the varied advances in Microbiology, and a welcome into the Microbiology department.

• Internships: SYB.Sc. students

microBioloGy

organized by the Department of Microbiology, Maharaja Sayaji University of Baroda, December 2013.

• Ms. S. Shetty and Dr. P.Sundarrajan, Dr. R. Tendulkar, Dr. S.Das and Dr. R. Pacha Gupta - Poster presentations at the International Chemistry Conference on ‘Cutting Edge – Nano, Green and Beyond’, January 2014.

• Dr. M. Murdeshwar- Paper presentation at the National Conference on Frontiers in Biotechnology and Bioinformatics (NCFIBB) – ‘Macromolecular Interactions in Biology’, organized by the Department of Biotechnology and Bioinformatics, Padmashree Dr. D Y Patil University, Navi Mumbai, January 2014.

Extension Activities:

• Dr. Seema Das, Dr. Priya Sundarrajan and Dr. Maya Murdeshwar, in collaboration with Mr. Herman Rodriguez, were involved in soil testing and biodiversity studies in the tribal areas of Wada near Pune, with the objective of helping the tribals understand and utilize the available natural resources to enhance their produce in a meaningful, sustainable fashion.

Other Activities:

• Dr. R. Pacha Gupta was appointed the Director, Council

of International Programmes, St. Xavier’s College (Autonomous), Mumbai, from May 2013. She was invited to give a talk on ‘Genetics’ at Elphinstone College, Mumbai, in September 2013, as part of the DST – INSPIRE mentorship programme. She was also invited to give a seminar to faculty and Ph.D students of NIRRH, Mumbai on May 5th, 2014 on “Nobel Prize winning work in Immunology”

• Mr. P. Ratnaparkhi was elected as the Chairman of the Staff Council for 2014-17.

• Dr. M. Kanuga was invited to be a part of a team developing the syllabi for the Certificate Programme for Teaching of Elementary School Science by the Department of Education in Science and Mathematics, NCERT, New Delhi. She attended the review workshop for the same in July 2013.

• Dr. S. Das served as an external examiner in Life Science at the University of Mumbai examinations held in October 2013.

• Dr. N. Mangalore, Dr. R. Pacha Gupta, Dr. S. Das, Dr. P. Sundarrajan, Mr. P. Ratnaparkhi, Ms. S. Shetty and Dr. R. Tendulkar attended the ‘Tree of Life’ lecture-workshop series at Jai Hind College, Mumbai, in December 2013, and the Science Academies’ lecture-workshop series ‘Sense and Sensibility’ at Sophia College for

Women, Mumbai, in January 2014.

• Dr. P. Sundarrajan, Ms. S. Shetty and Dr. M. Murdeshwar attended the ‘Bioinformatics Workshop on Biomolecular Interactions’ organized by the Department of Biotechnology and Bioinformatics, Dr. D Y Patil University, Navi Mumbai, in January 2014.

• Dr N. Mangalore conducted a session on ‘Evaluation’ for college teachers at the Academic Staff College, University of Mumbai, in February 2014.

• Dr. R. Tendulkar was an external examiner for the Diploma Course in Bioinformatics at the Sophia College for Women, Mumbai in June 2013. She was invited to deliver lectures for MSc students at NMIMS SOS, Mumbai, on Anatomy and Physiology between November 2013 – January 2014, and Neurobiology in April 2014. She also delivered Neurobiology lectures at the Sophia College for Women, Mumbai, between January – March 2014. Dr. Radhika was also invited as a resource person for a faculty seminar on Neuroscience, held in St. Xavier’s College, March 2014.

The enthusiasm of all the members of the department contributed in making this year a fruitful one.

Dr. Nandita Mangalore Head, Department of Life Sciences and

Biochemistry

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Biological Sciencescompleted summer internships in the fields of Food Microbiology at ITC Maratha Hotel, Sky Gourmet (Flight Kitchen); and Medical Microbiology at Kokilaben Dhirubhai Ambani Hospital and Sunflower Laboratory and Diagnostic Centre. These internships helped the students gain valuable experience.

• Project based learning: TY students completed Industrial Microbiology based projects under the guidance of Ms.. Sangeetha Chavan and Ms. Miriam Stewart, while the SYs researched several aspects of the “Microbial biodiversity of mangrove soil”. Their work was presented through posters. Furthermore, SY students researched the ‘Microbial diversity of pesticide degraders in Mumbai soil’ as part of a collaborative study with the University of Houston. They were supervised by Ms. Karuna Gokarn and Dr. Ms. Vivien Amonkar.

• Honours Programme: activities this year included two technique workshops for the FYs–Plasmid isolation and Study of antibacterial effects of plants. . A self study guided programme in Basic Statistics was held for SY and TY students - they attended specific online lectures and solved problems based on the different topics covered. It was coordinated by Ms. Sangeetha Chavan.

• UMAX activities:

Industrial visit to the Bhandup Water Purification Plant.

Water Potability testing of college drinking water supplies was carried out this year, too. Water from the different drinking sources was microbiologically analyzed every month and a report was submitted to the Principal and the Administrator to ensure safe drinking water in college.

The SY & the FY students’ organised a grand farewell to the

TYs in February. The activities were coordinated by Ms. Karuna Gokarn.

Postgraduate

• External Projects

The M.Sc. Part II students completed a 3-4 month long external project in several departments of research institutes, such as Radiation Biology and Health Safety Department, Molecular Biology Division, Food Technology Division, Immunology Section at BARC; Department of Biological Sciences at TIFR; Department of Infectious disease Biology, Department of Structural Biology, Genetics Research Centre, Department of Molecular Endocrinology at NIRRH; NIO, Goa; ACTREC, Kharghar; The Foundation for Medical Research, Mumbai.

Examples of projects:

“Using radioisotopes to study change in protein profile of ‘A549’ cell line after Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection.”

“Construction of a suitable recombinant plasmid vector for heterologous over-expression of protein Peroxiredoxin for Anabaena to E.coli.”

• Internal Projects

Like the SY students, the M.Sc. Part II students completed group research projects on the ‘Microbial diversity of mangrove soil’. but their focus was mainly on the application aspects.

Thus they studied the potential of mangrove derived micro-organisms in bioremediation of crude oil, azo dyes and heavy metals, in the biosynthesis of asparaginase, in waste treatment and as biofertilizers. They were guided by Dr. Aparna Talekar and Dr. Ms. Vivien Amonkar.

• Research Output

Journal Publication

Sheetal Uppal, Deeksha M Shetty, and Narendra Jawali (2014) published ‘Cyclic AMP receptor protein(CRP) regulates cspD, a bacterial toxin gene in Escherichia coli.’ in the Journal of Bacteriology 196: 1596-77 IMPACT FACTOR: 3.177.

Conference Proceedings as full paper

Deeksha M Shetty, Sheetal Uppal, and Narendra Jawali presented ‘Purification of histidine tagged cyclic AMP Receptor Protein (CRP) in Escherichia coli using Low Pressure Liquid Chromatography’ at the DBT sponsored National Conference on “Modern Analytical Techniques in Microbiology” conducted by the Department of Microbiology, Fergusson College, Pune. ISBN number 011-2617-9675.

Oral Presentations

Zina Fernandes, Alston Jonathan Fernandes presented on ‘Comparison of traditional and rapid methods for microbial detection in a pharmaceutical product’ at DBT sponsored National Conference on “Modern Analytical Techniques in Microbiology” held in Fergusson College, Pune in January 2014.

Deeksha M Shetty, Sheetal Uppal, and Narendra Jawali gave an oral presentation on ‘Purification of histidine tagged cyclic AMP Receptor Protein (CRP) in Escherichia coli using Low Pressure Liquid Chromatography’ at the DBT sponsored National Conference on “Modern Analytical Techniques in Microbiology” held in Fergusson College, Pune in January, 2014.

Deeksha won a prize for the best oral presentation for the above.

Poster Presentation

Tasneem Ginwala, Maria Judith Gonsalves presented posters on

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Biological Sciences‘Bioremediation of Heavy metals by Bacterial Isolates’ at the DBT sponsored National Conference on “Modern Analytical Techniques in Microbiology” held in Fergusson College, Pune in January, 2014.

Faculty Activities

Dr. Ms. Vivien Amonkar

• Presented conference proceedings as full paper called Quality Benchmarks in Autonomy at the NAAC sponsored State level conference on “Autonomy to Colleges and role of IQAC” held in Fergusson College, Pune on 11th September, 2013. ISBN No. 978-93-5126-825-3.

• Supported Dr. Frazer Mascarenhas SJ in conducting a 2-day Faculty Enrichment Programme “Understanding Autonomy in Higher Education Today: Perspectives and Concerns” at St. Xavier’s College of Arts, Science & Commerce, Mapusa, Goa on the 28th and 29th of March, 2014. She presented two sessions– Quality Systems under Autonomy and Teaching-Learning Pedagogy.

• Gave a Keynote address Education for the Future - Novel Curriculum at the 5th National Conference on ‘New Paradigms in Academic Improvement’ at KristuJayanti College, Autonomous, Bangalore; 8th May, 2014.

• Invited by Deccan College, Pune to a discussion with the Steering Committee of the university regarding the preparation for assessment by NAAC and for a presentation Identifying Quality Benchmarks to the faculty of the College on 12th May, 2014.

• Member of the ASM Journal of Microbiology & Biology Education (JMBE) Editorial Board as reviewer.

• Was invited to participate at the workshop on ‘Training for leadership through collaboration’ at Vinalaya, Andheri on 21st & 22nd September, 2013.

• Was invited to participate at the Meeting on ‘Intellectual Apostolate’ at Curia, Rome from 12th to 14th December, 2014.

• Invited Participant in the “International Workshop on Collaboration, Leadership and Mission” at St. Xavier’s College, Ahmedabad, and was a Relator for the session ‘Designing an Ignatian Programme’.She was also a member of the panel discussion ‘Summing up the main issues’ :24th to 28th February, 2014.

• Invited participant at “Knowledge Economy Partnership All India meet” organised by the British Council at IISER Pune on 13th and14th March, 2014.

• Member of the Advisory Committee of the DBT sponsored National conference on “Modern analytical techniques in Microbiology”.

• Presented “Review of how St. Xavier’s achieved ‘Autonomous’ status’” at the workshop organised for faculty and students of New York University, Steinhardt for Higher Education Policy, USA, during their visit to St. Xavier’s College in January 2014.

• Member of the LCRD (Loyola Centre for Research and Development) Research Advisory Board, Ahmedabad.

Ms. Miriam Stewart & Dr. Ms. Vivien Amonkar

• Attended the National Conference on “ Microbiology Horizons In Biomedical Sciences” organised by Department of Microbiology, Karmaveer Bhaurao Patil College, Vashi, New Mumbai on 27th and 28th September, 2013.

Ms. Karuna Gokarn

• Resource Person for “Plasmid Isolation and Transformation” during the Three Day Hands on Workshop for Biology Students on Research Methods in Biology, April, 2014.

Dr. Priyadarshan Keluskar

• Attended the DBT sponsored National Conference on “Modern Analytical Techniques in Microbiology” held in Fergusson College, Pune in January, 2014.

Other Department activities

• Organisation of a lecture by Dr. Ms. Momna Hejmadi, Director of Studies: M.Sc Programmes, Dept. of Biology & Biochemistry, University of Bath, UK on “Life in the Extremes : Neurodegeneration and DNA Repair” on the 8th of July, 2013.

• Co-organisation of a Three Day Hands on Workshop for Biology Students on “Research Methods in Biology” held on 15th, 16th and 17th April, 2014 with all the Bioscience departments and the Caius Laboratory for Interdisciplinary Research.

• MOUs signed

With University of Houston for 5 years.

Completed Industrial Project on Dextran Fermentation with Swati Spentose Pvt. Ltd. for 3 years 2011-2014.

Gratitude to Alumni

The department is extremely grateful to alumni for their academic and financial contributions.

• Dr. Foster Gonsalves who leads Product Development at a New York City based biotechnology start-up company that focuses on oncology drug development presented Personal Experience of Entrepreneurship on 7th January, 2014.

• Dr. Jayant Bhanushali, Director & Owner, Amar Immunodiagnostics Pvt. Ltd., Hyderabad presented Different types of ELISA kit development for undergraduate students and “Hands on” in development of hybridomas for postgraduate

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students on 25th January, 2014.

• Dr. Jayant Bhanushali also donated a large number of ELISA kits which enabled us to include the technique for all the students of

the department, with increasing complexity according to the year of study.

• Dr. Caroline Pai donated 20,000 USD in the name of her

late brother, Kevin Rasquinha towards the upgradation of the PG Microbiology laboratory facilities.

Dr. Ms. Vivien Amonkar Head, Department of Microbiology.

Biological Sciences

The Zoology department had many interesting activities for the year 2013-14

Guest lectures

• Hans Dalal gave a lecture on ‘Tiger Conservation and Poacher Rehabilitation’ on 3rd July 2013

• Dr. Mehul Vora delivered a lecture on ‘Ageing using C.elegans as a model’ on 9th December 2013.

• Dr. Leon Pereira gave a lecture on Conservation of snakes in the 21st January 2014.

Workshop

• Dr. Surendra Ghaskadbi conducted a workshop on ‘Regeneration in Hydra and stem cell therapy’ on 11th January 2014

Field Trips

• A Departmental Excursion was organized to Kaziranga National Park for the TYBSc and SYBSc students from 30th October to 9th

November 2013.

• FYBSc students went on a field trip to Vishnu Baug, Badlapur on 18th August 2013.

• TYBSc students were taken to Konkan Krishi Vidyapeeth Dapoli on 19th-20th January 2014.

• Cross faculty course and TYBSc students were taken to Katraj Zoo and Central Bee Research Institute on 16th January 2014.

Staff activities

Dr. Sujata Deshpande

• Attended “Biowaves: The Pulse of Biology”: A Science Academies’-Sponsored lecture -workshop held

at St. Xavier’s College, Mumbai on 29th and 30thNovember 2013.

• Participated in a lecture-workshop titled “Sense and Sensibility” held at Sophia College Mumbai on 20th and 21st December 2013.

Dr Sujata was also invited to deliver lectures

• On the“Sociobiology of Wasps”: On 21st – 23rd Aug 2013 and 23rd – 25th Oct 2013,

• As a Master resource person for Teachers’ Training Programme on ‘Social Insects’ organized by The Society for Environment & Development (SED), New Delhi

• On NCSTC. “Astrobiology” : On 9th Feb 2014, Department of Extramural Studies, University of Mumbai.

Mr. Conrad Cabral

• Attended a seminar “BIOWAVES “conducted by the Department of Life Sciences, St. Xavier’s College in November 2013.

• He attended a Staff seminar on ‘Flipped classroom’ by Tim Savage at St. Xaviers College.

• Became Visiting faculty for MSc Part I Dept of Life Sciences and for the Diploma in Bioinformatics at Sophia College.

• Completed the Orientation Program with an A grade at the UGC Academic Staff College Kalina from 25 Oct to 24 Nov 2013.

• Was staff in-charge of the college fest ‘Malhar’

Dr. Pushpa Sinkar

• Participated in a lecture workshop titled “Sense and Sensibility” held at Sophia College Mumbai on 20th and 21st December 2013.

• She received a University Research Grant for a project on Nanosynthesis.

• She participated and presented a paper at the UGC sponsored International conference “Chemistry cutting edge : Nano, Green and Beyond” organised by the Department of Chemistry, St. Xavier’s College Mumbai on 6th and 7th January 2014.

• Attended the UGC sponsored workshop on “Hands on training for Biological Sciences’ from 10th to 15th March 2014.

• Re-appointed Chair-person Adhoc Board of studies, Zoology at SNDT University, Mumbai from March 2014 to March 2016.

Dr. Madhuri Hambarde

• Received a University Research Grant for a project on ‘Antioxidant Activity of Tea’.

• She co-authored a paper presentation at the UGC sponsored International conference “Chemistry cutting edge : Nano, Green and Beyond” organised by the Department of Chemistry, St. Xavier’s College Mumbai on 6th and 7th January 2014.

• Has a publication to her credit in The International Journal of Chemistry. Dr. Madhuri was examiner for semester V and VI Zoology (old and new course) at University of Mumbai.

• She is a member of staff placement

zooloGy

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Biological Sciences

forensic science

committee and Secretary of Institutional Animal Ethics committee.

Dr. Smita Krishnan

• Attended UGC sponsored National Level seminar on “Dynamics of Mangroves” on 29th and 30th November 2013 at Ramniranjan

Jhunjhunwala College.

• She was Convenor of Library committee of the college and was Chairperson of Institutional Animal Ethics committee.

• She was the subject expert for the CAS promotions at Wilson College, Chowpatty and Sophia

College Mumbai.

This academic year saw the department receive grants from Star College and DST FIST in service of upgrades to laboratories and courses.

Dr. Smita Krishnan Head, Department of Zoology

In the academic year 2013-14, the Certificate Program in Forensic Science course had 35 new students enrolled for the program, many of whom are professionals from the field of Law and Education.

The students, over the course of the program, were exposed to different areas of forensic practices that are relevant today. Equipped with their basic knowledge in the field, and practical exposure, they researched and prepared extensive Crime Scene Reports in the form of ‘Mock Charge-Sheets’ which were then presented before professionals in the field in the form of a ‘Moot Court’. This experience gave the students an overview, with practical experience, of the process

of the Indian Justice - delivery system from ‘crime scene to courtroom’.

In October 2013, Ms. Riva Pocha and Ms. C Samyukta collaborated with the Pravin Gandhi College of Law, Mithibai College in drafting the Trial Advocacy Problem for a National Level Trial Advocacy Competition conducted at Mithibai College. The problem was designed to be contemporary, with regard to the changing face of crime as witnessed in the country today.

In January 2014, Ms. Riva Pocha and Ms. Sejal Gupta with the help of ex-student of the programme, Ms. Aloki Doshi conducted a Forensic Workshop at Palindrome, the Annual departmental festival organized by the M.Sc students of the Department of

Microbiology, St. Xavier’s College. The workshop was attended by students from all over Mumbai and the session was tremendously successful in spreading awareness about Forensics. It gave the participants an opportunity to understand the contemporary analytical methods used in Forensic labs.

In January 2014, Ms. Riva Pocha and Ms. Sejal Gupta were invited to conduct a series of lectures on Forensic Science for the MSc Applied Medical Sciences program conducted through the Life Science Department of the college.

Dr. Pushpa Sinkar Co-ordinator

Forensic Science Program

“it is quite possible

overWhelmingly probable, one might guess

that We Will alWays learn more about human life and personality from

novels than from scientific psychology”

― noAm ChomsKy

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The academic year 2013-14 marked the successful completion of the second autonomous T.Y.B.Sc.IT batch graduating under Dr. Jyoti Singh as co-ordinator.

Honours Programme:

The department completed its sixth year of the honours programme, with Mr. Subhash Kumar taking over as the coordinator of the course. Five students of TYBSc.IT participated in the two credit course of Project Management using Agile and Design Patterns.

TY BSc. IT Projects:

The TY students developed projects as part of their curriculum. The faculty members in the Department functioned as their project guides. The projects covered a range of domains like hardware, web-based projects, medical diagnosis utilizing AI, android based application projects, and so on. Some further examples are:

• “NFC smart cards” an innovative project by Mr. Aaron Johns demonstrated how NFC smart cards can be used to automate processes.

• A white line sensing robot was developed by Ms. Shraddha Pandya and Ms. Blossom Coelho. The project was completed in co-ordination of rules and regulations laid out by IIT Mumbai.

• “Game of CrissCross” was developed by Mr. Kevin Vaz and Ms. Deepika Vadera using Artificial Intelligence and LAN Gaming for Android Mobile Devices and Windows Phone Devices.

Job placements

Through the academic year 2013-14, 18 students were placed in different IT companies through campus placements. Mr. Roy Thomas was in charge of placements. Some of the prominent companies that showed interest in our BSc.IT students were

the likes of Price Water Cooper House, Bristlecom, and Mphasis. This was truly a great achievement for the students and certainly a feather in the department’s cap that our students were hired during the campus interviews itself.

Khandala Seminar - cum - Presentation

The department of BSc.IT left for its very first successful Khandala seminar conducted mainly for the sixth semester students. The group comprised of 53 students. The Faculty members accompanying them were Mr. Roy Thomas, Mr. Subhash Kumar and Ms. Lydia Fernandes. It was a three-day seminar and was held at St. Xavier’s Villa, Khandala from 29th to the -31st January 2014. Academic activities included laptop presentations and written blackboard-chalk and talk demonstrations in three different courses, namely, Data Warehousing and Mining (DW&M), Advanced Java (Adv.Java.) and Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) . Some of the topics well presented at the seminar were: Decision Making algorithms, Bayesian Classification in DW&M, Struts, and Six Sigma concept in the subject of ERP.

IT Society:

An enthusiastic group of students came up with the idea of an IT Society for

the year 2013-14. Several activities were conducted by the IT Society in co-ordination with the members of the staff. Mr. Subhash Kumar was the convener of the committee and Mr. Attray Agrawal was the student;s’ representative . The following is the list of presentations, seminars and discussions held under the IT society

1. Changing Trends in IT – a presentation by Mr.. Kevin D’Cruz

2. Study options Abroad – Ms. Rashida Haidermota

3. Basics of Python Language, a programming language - Mr. Kedar Deore (SYBSc )

4. Stories by Professionals of the Trade - Ms. Dipika Singh and Mr. Utkarsh Patkar

Workshops:

A 3 hour android - workshop was conducted for the students of SYBSc and TYBSc. by Mr. Dhanesh Malviya, who offered interesting insights on the topic and offered important basics on the life-cycle of an android application, right from its inception to its deployment. He also spent time interacting with the students on various topics that could be used as a base for their android projects.

Dr. Jyoti Singh Co-ordinator, BSc.IT

Bsc-it

Khandala Seminar 2013-14

Non-Biological Sciences

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Non-Biological Sciences

10TH June 2013 – The Dawn of a New Academic Year 2013-2014: The Department of Chemistry was enthusiastically looking forward to two events scheduled to be held during the academic year – a visit from the NAAC team from 19th-21st July, 2013, and the International Conference in Chemistry on 6th and 7th January, 2014.

The NAAC team visited the Department on 20th July, 2013 during which the latter presented an objective list of its achievements. The Department is proud to mention that the Chairman of the NAAC committee honoured the Chemistry Department for its unparalleled accomplishments and exceptional performance during the period 2007-2013.

Eminent scientists from both India and abroad were part of the two-day International Conference, “Chemistry Cutting Edge: Nano, Green and Beyond’, hosted by the Department Of Chemistry in association with the Nadkarny – Sacasa Research Laboratory. The conference was graced by the attendance of renowned speakers such as Dr. Paul Jelliss, St. Louis University, USA, Dr. Wolfgang Kaim, Stuttgart University, Germany and Dr. Narayan Hosmane, Northern Illinois University, USA.

Approximately 170 delegates from India as well as from abroad attended the Conference, which aimed at promoting research and encouraging collaboration between industry and academia. World-renowned Neurologist and Padma Bhushan recipient Dr V.S. Ramachandran delivered the Valedictory speech. Dr Ramachandran is best known for his contribution to the field of Behavioural Neurology and Psychophysics. He addressed the congregation on the subject matter of ‘What Neuroscience tells us about the Mind’.

The Department Of Chemistry is proud to announce that Mr. Sandeep Burudkar and Mr. Azad Kumar Sharma, under the guidance of Dr.

Freddy H. Havaldar, have been awarded Ph.D. degrees in Chemistry by the University Of Mumbai.

Ms. Gulshan Shaikh has been awarded the Ph.D. degree in Chemistry under the guidance of Dr. Hoshang Master.

The Chemistry Department is exceptionally pleased to announce that the First TY Batch under the Autonomous system have cleared their examinations with flying colours.

Guest Lecture:

Dr. James Wilton–Ely, a Senior Lecturer in Green Chemistry at the Imperial College, London was invited for a guest lecture on “Organometallic Chemistry”. His extensive experience in the area of Co-ordination and Organometallic Chemistry provided great insight about the subject, and the session was truly an enriching learning session for Chemistry students.

Academic and Industrial Visits:

1. The Department of Chemistry organized a six - day Industrial Visit for FY, SY and TY students to Jaipur and Jodhpur during the Diwali vacations. The visit was a grand success with 115 students and 4 Department faculties participating in this visit.

2. A three–day workshop and a one - day Orientation Programme on ‘Instrumentation in Analytical Chemistry’ was arranged for our Chemistry Honours students at P.S.Ramanathan Instrumentation Laboratory, Ruia College by Dr. Pralhad Rege. The programmes were held on the 26th – 28th December, 2013 and on the 19th February, 2014 respectively. Students were acquainted with the working of various sophisticated

analytical instruments and were each awarded a Certificate of Participation.

3. Dr. Abhilasha Jain, Dr. Ashma Aggarwal and Mr. Marazban Kotwal conducted an Honours Programme for FY, SY and TY students. Students engaged in a Library Project, Book Review and a Research Project titled, “Expedient Photo – Fenton Degradation of Dyes in Presence of Organic Additives”.

4. Four TY students appeared for an Aptitude Test conducted by the Indian Chemical Society and one student, Mr. Clinton Fernandes was awarded a certificate.

5. Two TY students, Mr. Clinton Fernandes and Ms. Soniya Rupani participated in “WHAT THE FUN RASAYANAM 2014” organized by the Department of Chemistry, Institute of Chemical Technology, Mumbai and were awarded the first prize.

Activities of The Faculty:

Dr. Freddy H. Havaldar and his Doctorate students published three research papers during this academic year in both National as well as International Journals.

Dr. Freddy Havaldar• Microwave-promoted synthesis of

some novel 4-(4-methyl- phenyl)- substituted phthalazin-1-one derivatives published in “synthetic communications” (london), vol.43 (8), 1127-1137 (2013).

• Syntheses of some novel1,3,4-oxadiazole derivatives and their potential biological activity. Published in “asian journal of research in chemistry”, vol.6 (2), 97-100 (2013).

chemistry

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Non-Biological Sciences• Microwave promoted one-pot

synthesis of some novel n-aryl isoquinoline derivatives. Published in “journal of heterocyclic chemistry”, vol.50 (4), 828-837 (2013).

• Comparativestudyofc-alkylation,n-alkylation and o-alkylation reactions under microwave irradiation and phase transfer catalysts employing non-conventional alkylating agents.Published in “international journal of chemistry”, vol.2 (3), 318-323 (2013).

• Mr.MarazbanKotwal,Dr.AshmaAggarwal and Dr. Abhilasha Jain published two research papers during this academic year in National as well as in International Journals.

Dr. Pralhad Rege published one research paper titled Simultaneous determination of norfloxacin and metronidazole in combined drug formulation by a simple electroanalytical technique.Published in international journal of pharma research and development, 2013; vol 5(04): june-2013 (064 – 070)

Dr. Abhilasha Jain published two Chapters in a book entitled, “Green Chemistry- Fundamentals and Applications” and three Chapters in a book entitled, “Microwave – Assisted Organic Synthesis – A Green Chemical Approach”.

Dr. Abhilasha Jain, Mr. Marazban Kotwal and Dr. Ashma Aggarwal published a paper titled Effective Photo-Fenton Degradation Of Dye Methyl Green In Presence Of Organic Additive, in International Journal Of Pure And Appl. Chem., Volume. 8(2),2013 ,153-161. They also published a paper called ‘Expedient Degradation Of Dye Methyl Green By Enhanced Photo – Fenton Process : A Green Chemical Approach’, in Journal Of Applied Chemistry. Volume.2(1),2014.

Dr. Gulshanara Shaikh published in the International Journal of Chemistry, Vol. 2(4), 453-459, (2013) a paper titled Synthesis, Characterization and cytotoxic evaluation of some novel 2- Pyrazoline Derivatives.

• Dr. Ashma Aggarwal attended aRefresher Course in Chemistry conducted by the Academic Staff College, University Of Mumbai.

• Ms. Gulshan Shaikh, Dr. RoyPereira, S.J., Mr. Marazban Kotwal, Dr. Ashma Aggarwal and Dr. Abhilasha Jain attended National Symposium on “New Vistas in Chemistry” organized by Department of Chemistry and Royal Society Of Chemistry at Wilson College, Mumbai.

• Dr. Geeta Kotian and Ms.Saima Khan attended a one–day workshop on “Green Chemistry” conducted by American Chemical Society.

• Mr.MarazbanKotwal,Dr.AshmaAggarwal, Dr. Abhilasha Jain and Dr. Pralhad Rege attended a “Laboratory and Health & Safety Workshop” at ICT, Mumbai.

• Mr. Marazban Kotwal attendeda one-week Soft Skills Course conducted by Academic Staff College, University Of Mumbai.

Dr. Roy Pereira, S.J. attended a one week course, “Contemporary Strategies for teaching and Evaluation.” at the Academic Staff College, University of Mumbai from 14th to 21st March, 2014.

• University of Mumbai MinorResearch Grant awarded to Dr. Roy Pereira, S.J. for the project “Developing a novel route for the synthesis of impurities in active pharmaceutical ingredients”.

• Dr. Roy Pereira, S.J. presentedpapers at numerous National and International Seminars/ Conferences during this academic year.

• Presented a paper, “Puttingthe Mind back into Medicine: Neuroscientific evidence for the role of the Chemistry of Attention in Health Outcomes” at the CTNS Colloquium, University of California, Berkeley, USA on 24th May, 2013.

• Invited guest speaker to

Postgraduate students of Loyola College, University of Chennai, “Biochemistry of the Brain and Questions raised by Neuroscience” on 26th August, 2013.

• Presented a paper,“Internationalization of Higher Education” at the National Conference, Higher Education: Policy, Leadership & Practices (CCCK Conference) at Christ University, Bangalore from 22nd to 23rd November, 20 13.

• Participated in the InternationalConference “21st century Universities: The Future of Higher Education in South Asia.” organized by the British Council on 27th & 28th November, 2013 in Dubai, UAE.

• Presented a paper, “Has Scienceand Technology eliminated God...? A look into the Findings from Neuroscience” at the International Conference on Science, Technology and Values organized by Jnanadeepa Vidyapeeth, Pune on 2nd February, 2014.

• University of Mumbai MinorResearch Grant has been awarded to Dr. Roy Pereira,

• S.J. for the project “Developinga novel route for the synthesis of impurities in active pharmaceutical ingredients”.

• Dr.RoyPereira,S.J.wastheExperton the Selection Committee, Department of Chemistry, Swami Vivekanand College, Mumbai on 2nd December, 2014. He is also on the Academic Board of Campion School, Mumbai. He also serves on the Academic Council, Management Board and the Governing Body of St. Xavier’s College, Mumbai along with his duties as Provost / Vice-Principal (Academics).

We now look forward to our Third TY batch under the Autonomous system to soar to new heights in the coming year.

Dr. Freddy H. Havaldar Head, Department Of Chemistry

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GeoloGyThe academic year 2013-14 for the geology department was, as in the past very eventful and with many success stories. On the student front, we had the first batch of M.Sc under autonomy, graduating. This batch brought laurels for the department through their academic as well as extra- curricular activities.

The following M.Sc students qualified the

CSIR-UGC JRF/ Lecturership examination -

December 20131. Prathamesh Samant2. Christer Pereira3. John D'souza4. Bijal Chudasama5. Arnold

June 20131. Angana Chaudhuri2. Tanzil Deshmukh

UPSC GSI EXAM 20131. Gyzel Rodrigues

Four of our third year students secured ranks in the first 20 in the all India - Joint Admission Test for Masters (JAM) bagging the 1st, 2nd 7th and 15th ranks. Nine students from this batch have bagged seats in the IITs and ISM for their post graduate studies.

BSc Students:JAM EXAM for admission to IIT in MSc1. Rashesh Saraiya (AIR 1)2. Surya Subryamanyam (AIR 2)3. Abaan Ahmed Momin (AIR 7)4. Denzil (AIR 14)5. Siddharth Kshatriya (AIR 23)6. Tahani Aziz (AIR 58)7. Vandit Vyas (AIR 88)8. Lian Yang (AIR 90)9. Reuben Fernandes (AIR 91)10. Aurpita Saha (AIR 108)

Admitted to the Indian School of Mines University1. Vandit Vyas2. Reuben Fernandes

Our post-graduate students

successfully completed internships at ONGC, Tata-Petrodyne and ICS.

The department also bagged the 'Nebula' Intercollegiate Geology Festival Trophy 2013 held in Parvatibai Chowgule College of Arts & Science, Gogol-Margao, Goa.

The first TERRA Festival: Our own Intercollegiate Geology Festival - TERRA was held between the 12th and 13 of December and seven institutions from across the country participated. The overall best trophy was bagged by: Parvatibai Chowgule College of Arts & Science, Gogol-Margao, Goa

On the ocassion of TERRA lectures were delivered by : Dr. M.D. Sastry, Head, Research and Development at Gemmological Institute of India on 'Diamonds - Origin and evaluation' and by Mr. Sudipta Basu, Reliance Petroleum on "Petroleum Systems Analysis - A Key Hydrocarbon Exploration Tool”,

The departmental magazine TERRA - was also released on this occasion. The Magazine is now registered under ISSN and the TERRA is a registered trademark.

Faculty Member achievements:

The department faculty members along with their regular teaching have been active in the field of research and consultancy.

Mr. Ashwin Pundalik participated in the 30th Convention of Indian Association of Sedimentologists" 28-30 November, 2013 at Department of Geology, Manipur University, Imphal and presented a paper - ‘Quaternary Sedimentation History

from Bharkacch-Bari-Bareli-Sohagpur area of Central Narmada Basin, Hoshangabad and Raisen Districts, M.P’ .

Mr. Vikram Pratap Singh participated in the 24th Indian Colloquium on Micropaleontology and Stratigraphy held at Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology, Dehradun, 18-20 November and made an oral presentation – ‘Late Quaternary Oceanographic Changes in Sulu Sea: Planktic Foraminiferal Evidences. 24th Indian Colloquium on Micropaleontology and Stratigraphy. He has also contributed a chapter in a book : Holocene: definition and current status in the Geological Time Scale; Holocene: Perspectives, Environmental Dynamics and Impact Events, (Ed.) B.S. Kotlia, ISBN 978-1-62257-722-4; Nova Science Publishers USA. Published: 2013.’

Mr. Bobby Mathew, presently working towards the completion of his doctoral thesis through the UGC - FIP, presented a paper in: International Conference On “Water, Wastewater & Isotope Hydrology” Ic-Wwish-2013, 25- 27th July 2013, Bangalore.

Mr. Prathmesh Samant qualified the CSIR/UGC NET, State Eligibility Test (SET) - 1st Rank, Ph.D Entrance Test (PET- Mumbai University), GATE 2014, setting an example for students as well as faculty members.

Dr. Goutam Bandyopadhyay and Dr. Pravin Henriques were invited to present their research work at the Fifth National Seminar on “Gemmology” organized by the Dept. of Geology, Govt. Motilal Vigyan Mahavidyalaya, Bhopal (M.P) under the aegis of: Madhya Pradesh Council of Science

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and Technology, Bhopal (M.P), South Asian Association Of Economic Geologist (SAAEG) and Indian Science Congress Association Bhopal Chapter and Indian Science Congress Association (ISCA), Bhopal Chapter. The following were the contributions :

Goutam Bandyopadhyay 2014:Gold Occurrences in Sudan' (Abstract)

Dr.Henriques P.J: Basic gem identification techniques versus modern day high tech instrumentation methods. (Abstract) and Ultraviolet light: its application and use in gem identification. (Abstract)

Dr. Henriques P.J presented his research work ‘Back to the basics: Reviving the art of preliminary gem identification’ at the National Symposium on “Challenges of Mineral Development in Central India, Problems and Prospects” organized by South Asian Association Of Economic Geologist (SAAEG) Jabalpur Chapter and Mahakousal Institute of Gem Testing & Research Centre. Jabalpur. Madhya Pradesh. (Abstract).

Sayandeep Banerjee published an article. The details are as follows: Biswas .A; Majumdar. D D and Banerjee .S (2014) Morphometry governs the dynamics of a drainage basin: analysis & its implications., Geography Journal; Hindawi Publishing Corporation, Volume 2014, Article ID 927176 http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2014/927176 ISSN: 2314-4203.

Dr. Hrishikesh Samant was invited to attend the Geospatial World Forum - 5th -9th May 2014 in Geneva, Switzerland where he presented the work done by his research scholars - Mr. Bobby Mathew( 'Impact of Spatial Orientation of Basic Dykes on Hydrogeology in the North Western Part of Maharashtra State, India'.) - (Poster presentation) and Ms. Farjana Birajdar ('Glacier changes in the Bhaga Basin of Western Himalaya during the Past 50 Years based on Temporal Analysis of Remotely Sensed Data'.) – (Poster presentation) . He was also the coordinating Judge for the Geospatial World Awards 2014.

As a part of the extension activities of the department, the faculty members have been invited for guest lectures. Dr. Samant continues to be a resource person for the Academic Staff College, University of Mumbai. He delivered a guest lecture in B.N. Bandodkar College - Refresher Course in Environmental Sciences: lecture- "Erosion Control and Water Conservation Techniques" on 11th February 2014. He was also invited by the Association of Petroleum Geologists as a Resource Person during their two day field excursion to Nashik on 8th -9th March 2014.

Mr. Ashwin Pundalik and Mr. Vikram Pratap Singh conducted popular science (geology) talks for the Teach For India affiliated schools, with an aim to introduce the fascinating subject of geology to under-privileged school students.

Dr. Goutam has been instrumental in generating revenue for the department and college through his consultancy in petrography for Godrej and Rio Tinto. Dr. Pravin continues to be a consultant and in-charge of the Diploma and Certificate courses in Gemmology.

Lecture Series: To gain from the expertise of professionals in geology and allied domains, the department invited external speakers as a part of the TERRA - Prof. Sukeswala memorial Lecture series. We had:

23rd January 2014:Lecture " Well Site Selection and Oil Well Drilling Operations" Prof. A.B. Thakore (ONGC Chair Professor), M.S. University of Baroda.

23rd September 2013: Lecture: Core Analysis by Mr. Atul Godbole, CEO of Integrated Consultancy Services

28th August 2013: Lecture: 'Meteorites - Their Collection, Analysis and Evidences About Evolution of Our Solar System'. by Ms. Prajkta Mane, Research Fellow, Arizona State University, Tempe, USA.

Infrastructure UpgradationAs a part of the infrastructure up gradation, we acquired new stereo-zoom microscopes for micro-

paleontological studies, Student petrological microscopes for regular undergraduate training, hand held GPS units for field mapping and Electrical Soil Resistivity equipment for geophysical surveys. The funds for this equipment were made available through the DST-FIST grant.

Field work:

Field work is an integral part of our subject and this year too our students were trained by our faculty in various aspects of field geology and geological mapping. short duration field visits were organised to places around Mumbai city. The first year students visited the Utan-Dongri -Gorai area also the Elephanta Island to understand local geology. The second year students visited the Khandala-Lonavala-Pune area for understanding the nuances of Deccan Flood Basalts and typical landforms and structures exhibited by them. The annual geological field mapping camp was held in Bhuj, Kutch district of Gujarat where our third year students were rigorously trained for a period of ten days in techniques of geological mapping.

New faculty members:

This academic year also witnessed new faculty members joining and some proceeding for other venues. Mr. Sayandeep Banerjee joined the department and his specialisation as a structural geologist has further strengthened our academic setup. Mr. Prathamesh Samant and Ms. Debarati Das, both alumnus joined the department on a short term teaching assignment. Ms. Debarati was awarded the MEXT scholarship by the Government of Japan and has joined to the Pheasant Memorial Laboratory, Okayama University, Japan for a doctoral program. Mr. Prathmesh Samant will be joining the Atomic Minerals Division, Department of Atomic Energy, Govt. of India as Geologist. Mr. Deepak Sahu who taught during the academic year and has proceeded for another teaching assignment.

Dr. Hrishikesh Samant Head, Department of Geology

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The year 2013-14 started with a challenge of greater number of students at SY as well as TY level.A great advantage was that a new teacher was appointed. With great enthusiasm, we aimed to improve our results at TY level, as Physics was the first choice of most of the students. .

From the previous batch(2012-2013), our students got admissions for further studies at the following institutes

1. Mr. Sambit Mitra: M.Sc. from Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Solar Project of Thermax at Shivegaon

Physics

The academic year began with the graduation ceremony for our third year students who graduated in 2013. One of our students, Saumya Gandhi was the topper in the Bachelor of Science programme. She later went to the University of Oxford to study Financial Mathematics. Similarly, Alan D’Souza of the same class is pursuing post graduation in Mathematics at the prestigious Ecole Polytechnique in Paris.

The rest of the academic year was busy and eventful with several activities being organized which witnessed active participation from teachers and students alike.

Dr. Mangala Gurjar continued as the Coordinator of the Mumbai region for the ‘Madhava Mathematics Competition’ (MMC), held nationwide on 5th January 2014. This is the 5th year of the competition which initially saw participation only from the Mumbai and Pune regions, but now extends nationally to include Kolkata, Goa, Hyderabad, Varanasi, Bhubaneshwar, and Kerala. MMC is conducted by HBCSE under the aegis of NBHM. The aim of this competition is to motivate undergraduate students to study Mathematics. In order to prepare the students of the Mumbai region for this competition, Dr. Gurjar organized a one-day workshop at

three different colleges; RJ, St. Xavier’s and CHM on 30th November 2013. She worked as a resource person for a workshop at St. Xavier’s College along with Dr. Anuradha Garge of Mumbai University. Students from Ruia, Ruparel, KC and other colleges attended the workshop, along with our students. Dr. Mangala Gurjar also presented a paper on “Practical Applications of Abstract Algebra” at the National Conference on Pure and Applied Mathematics held at the College of Engineering, Pune, from 17-19th December 2013.

Mr. Ashok Bingi attended a workshop at Khalsa College on the “New Syllabus in Applied Component” on 5th July, 2013. Along with Ms. Meenal Kolkar, he also attended a week-long workshop at TIFR on “Multivariable Calculus” from 15th to 20th November 2013. Mr. Ashok has applied for FIP and his research paper “An Element Prime to and Primary to Another Element in Lattice Modules” is accepted for publication by the International Mathematical Forum, Hikari Ltd.

Ms. Meenal Kolkar attended a one week workshop on “Soft Skills Development” from 5-11th March 2014. Ms. P. Sarada Devi from the Junior College participated in TIME (sixth national conference on Technology & Innovations in Math

Education jointly with ATCM) from 7th to 11th December, 2013 at the Indian Institute of Technology, Mumbai. She along with Ms. Meenal Kolkar also attended a UGC Sponsored two-day state seminar on the “Impact of Indian Mathematicians on the World of Mathematics”, at Patkar-Varde College, Goregaon, Mumbai in January 2014.

As always, our students participated in many co-curricular activities. Shubham Joshi of the S.Y. B. Sc. was selected for a four week MTTS program to be conducted in May-June 2014 in Goa. Neil Vaz of the S.Y. B.Sc. attended a three-week NPDE (National Program on Differential Equations) which was scheduled to be conducted at the Maulana Azad National Institute of Technology, Bhopal, from May 26th - June 14th, 2014. Two other students - Heather Fonseka and Fiona Rodrigues of S.Y.B.Sc were selected for a Mini-MTTS program conducted at Ruia College from 7th to 12th April 2014.

This was a challenging academic year for the Mathematics department. Prof. Divya Revankar resigned in the month of January2014. We are thankful to Prof. J. Shridhar of Siddharth College for his help as visiting faculty.

Dr. Mangala Gurjar Head, Department of Mathematics

Non-Biological Sciences

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Non-Biological SciencesGermany

2. Ms. Neekita Sharma: M.Sc Physics from Manipal University.

3. Mr. L. Chaitanya: M.Sc in applied Mathematics from Ecole Polytechnic, France.

4. Mr. Rakshit Joshi: M.Sc Physics

5. Mr. Atir Tahir Rehamatpure: M.Sc Physics from University of Mumbai

6. Ms. Swati Muralidharan: M.Sc Physics from University of Mumbai

7. Ms. Sanwar Silas: joined aviation course at Bangaluru

The year started with our regular activity : ‘the Physics Exhibition’ in the month of July. This was to welcome our new students and show them the presence of physics in the every day and the capacity of physics to interest and amaze.. On the same day we also inaugurated the department magazine ‘CELERITAS’.

This year we took the TY students for a field trip. They visited GMRT observatory at Khodad, the solar energy plant of Thermax at Shivegaon and the wind mills on the hills near Shivegaon. Our FY students enjoyed a study tour to HBCSE and became more passionate to take up projects in physics.

The Physics circle, managed by SY students, arranged two guest lectures d on “Astronomy” by eminent speakers: Dr Jaydeep Mukharjee, Director NASA and Dr. Alek Boksenberg, Professor at Cambridge Univ and fellow of the Royal Soc.

A lecture by Dr. Bal Phondke was organized on Scientific communication skills for SY students. He elaborated on the different skills required while communicating “science” to different groups in the society. He also explained the skillful use of various modes of communication.

After a gap of two years our department once again started the

Honour’s programme activities. 70 students enrolled in the beginning out of which 30 students successfully acquired the credits . Dr. Bodhane, Dr.Vedasankari, Dr. Jyoti Singh, Mr. Ajay Yadav and Dr. Leena Joshi guided the students through various projects.

During the year our teachers also took part in some activities outside the college:

Dr. Vedasankari: (i)Attended a one day workshop on revised syllabus of MSc part II in Physics in K. J. Somaiya College of Science and Commerce in July, 2013. (ii)Conducted MSc part –II lectures in K. J. Somaiya College of Science and Commerce in Semester III and B. N. Bandodkar College in Semester IV. (iii)Conducted MSc part I lectures in B. N. Bandodkar College in Semester I. (iv) was appointed as a paper setter for MSc in Mumbai University.

Dr. Bodhane and Dr.Rohan Jadhav: Attended a refresher course organized by Indian Academy of Sciences in

collaboration with University of Mumbai on Statistical and thermal physics.

Dr. Jyoti Singh: Attended One day workshop in HBCSE, Mumbai for FYBSc (Mumbai University) revised syllabus discussion.

Mr. Ajay Yadav: (i) Attended an Orientation program of Mumbai University from 25th Sept. to 24th October 2014. (ii)Attended One day workshop in HBCSE, Mumbai for FYBSc (Mumbai University) revised syllabus discussion.

Dr. Leena Joshi: (i)Worked as a resource person for orientation-cum-selection camp (OCSC) at the Homi Bhabha centre for science education from April 10 – 21, 2014 (for selecting a team of 5 most meritorious students to represent the country at the International Physics Olympiad which is going to be held at Astana, Kazakhstan from July 13 to 21, 2014.)

Dr. Shyamala BodhaneHead, Department of Physics

Wind Mills near Shivegaon

Radio Telescope at Khodad

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Non-Biological Sciences

The academic year, 2013 – 2014 began on a happy and enthusiastic note for all of us because of the excellent results produced by our students in the college exams. Abhimanyu Singh and Karthik Verma who topped the TYBSc Statistics exams also secured the overall second and third ranks respectively in the college exams. Amrita Ghare topped the TYBA exams in Statistics.

Student-oriented activities

The department tailored its activities to move beyond the realm of mere academics. Hence the students were actively involved in various extra-curricular and co-curricular activities.

• At the onset of the academicyear, our ex-student Abhay Mittal addressed the TYBA class and gave insights into the relevance of Statistics.

• Ex-students Nainjeet Juneja andRohit Jain conducted a course in EXCEL for our TYB. Sc students. Research projects were organized for the Third-year students under the guidance of Dr. Anjali Panigrahi. During this programme, the students were familiarized with the process of writing a research proposal, collecting of data, analyzing and writing a research paper.

• An ex-student of our college,Mr.Nobby Pariyavam who is presently doing his MSc Finance at Jamnalal Bajaj addressed the current TYBA students regarding future career-options for students.

• Ms. Zankruti DoshiMehta,SeniorResearcher in Ipsos India Pvt Ltd conducted a Market Research Programme for the First Year BA students.

• Mr. Pradeep Nair, ConsumerInsights Executive, General Mills, conducted a Market Research Programme for the First Year B.Sc students.

Faculty-action

The members of the department apart from their regular teaching participated in the various activities of the college.

• Ms.PoojaH.Ochaneywasinvitedin June, to be on the panel,to interview students for selection to the BMS course for 2013-14 and later on in October, she was on the panel to interview students for International programs.

• Ms.MyrtleFernandeswenton anIndustrial visit with the Sociology students to Govardhan Dairy.

• Ms. S. Annapurna andMs. PiyaliUnnikrishnan conducted a course on ‘ Basic Course in R’ for the TY BA & TY B.Sc students.

• Ms. Pooja Ochaney, Ms.MyrtleFernandes, Ms.Ayesha Dias, Mr. Saju George and Ms.S. Annapurna attended a UGC sponsored National seminar titled ‘Recent Developments in Decision Making using Statistical Techniques’ held at S.I.E.S college in August, 2013.

• This year Ms.S. Annapurna wasinvited as special invitee to attend the Board of Studies meeting on 23rd July, 2013 at the Department of Statistics, University of Mumbai.

• Ms.S. Annapurna attended aone-week workshop conducted by Maharshi Dayanand College on ‘Research Methodology and Computer Applications in Social Sciences’ organized by IQAC.

• Ms. S. Annapurna andMs. PiyaliUnnikrishnan attended a seminar on ‘Application of Statistics in

Industry’ in Mumbai University in March 2014.

• AttheendoftheacademicyearMs.Piyali attended the 7-day workshop conducted by the Academic Staff College on ‘Contemporary Strategies for teaching and evaluation’

Stats-Society

The Stats – Society is the student body of the Statistics department which conducts a host of activities for the students.

This year the staff – office – bearers of the Stats-Society were Ms. Ayesha Dias and Mr. Saju V George – as the staff coordinator and the staff Treasurer respectively.

The seminar organized by the Stats –Society in Khandala on the 1st and 2nd of December, 2013, was a grand success. Many papers on various interesting topics were presented by the students.

The Stats-Society also organized X-S an intra-collegiate festival on 12th and 13th of February in which several interesting events were organized.

The Plot

Finally on the 11th of March, 2013 - the year ended with the launching of the magazine of the department – The Plot.

The Department has had a hectic but enriching year and as this academic year comes to a close we look forward to the new challenges in the coming year.

Ms. Pooja Ochaney Head – Department of Statistics

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Commerce

Bachelor of manaGement studiesThe second batch of students under the autonomous programme graduated this year and the faculty felt a sense of great accomplishment. The changes incorporated in the syllabi and the teaching –learning mechanism had been effectively implemented. This has motivated us to create, with confidence, a knowledge centred environment coupled with effective learning. We are firm believers that both teachers and students are learners and in a subject like Management where the means, processes and crisis- management defines the end result, the inputs from young minds is extremely crucial. The information and knowledge generated through discussions, including case studies has been the focal point this year, evidently causing a perceptible difference in interest of students, spurring more participation.

The aim of the BMS course was to foster the spirit of Entrepreneurship among the students and every year the E- Cell tries to achieve this aim through the various workshops, idea generation seminars and competitions. This has resulted in some students taking first steps towards entrepreneurship..

The theme for the department was Entrepreneurship, so the Department festival Zephyrus, was dedicated to encourage the same. The 3-day festival took place on 16th, 17th& 18th. January 2014. The eleven events were in keeping with the theme, ‘Innovation in Young India’.

The festival saw 400 participants from 20 colleges across Mumbai participating in eleven spectacularly-crafted events, ranging from a stimulated stock exchange, to managing and customizing a football team à la FIFA; as well as for a plethora of talks conducted by a brilliant line -up of speakers like TEDx Speaker and Co-founder of the World’s first fully featured Android Smartwatch- Mr. Siddhant Vats, Dr. Pawan Agrawal- Management guru and speaker at Microsoft, VOLVO, HCL India . Mr. Ashishkumar Chauhan- CEO and MD of the Bombay Stock Exchange also had a session on finance.

Zephyrus ’14 also hosted a panel discussion on the General Elections with panelists: Mr.Sudip Bandyopadhyay erstwhile MD of

Reliance Money and current MD and CEO of Destimoney and Mr. Nachiket Kelkar, Assistant Editor of Hindustan Times; with a bid to give the audience a fresh perspective on the economic, social and cultural aspect of elections and predict influence of domestic and foreign players on Indian markets.

Zephyrus ’14 brought out its Greek meaning(The Winds of Change), by delivering innovative ideas through discussions on business scenario in India.

The Board of Studies played a crucial role in the last academic year by upgrading the syllabi and in auditing the entire course curriculum and the evaluation mechanisms.

Our association with CII and their youth wing Yi has been a way of helping our students to understand and experience the realities of corporate life. Young Indians (Yi) being a subset of the confederations of Indian Industries (CII) aims to reach out to India’s youth through social development programmes. The BMS department collaborated with Yi to host various events getting a great response from our

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commerceThe Commerce Section of St. Xavier’s College has been providing quality and all round development and education to working students for the last 26 years. The focus is mainly on working students who desire to learn after a hard day’s work. In order to develop the overall personality of the students and in keeping with its tradition, the Commerce Section organized various activities during the Academic Year 2013-14.

All Faith Prayer Service: The Commerce Section conducts an inter-religious prayer service every year on the day when the FYBCom mark the start of their academic year. In the academic year 2013-14, it was organized on 20th June 2013 where students from FY to TY offered prayers and by that strengthened the solidarity that is already present and visible. We asked for God’s blessings and grace on all, during the year.

Orientation for the First Year Students: Every year the Commerce Section organizes an Orientation Programme for the newly admitted First Year students. In the academic

year, it was organized on 20th and 21st June 2013. Various activities were conducted to familiarise students with their classmates and the topography of the College. The Ethos of the Jesuits was also brought out and students were exhorted to strive for the “Magis” which is a Latin term for ‘greater, braver, higher, faster” and which also means not being content with the status quo, but to strive for excellence in what they do. They were also encouraged to strive to become men and women for others.

Cultural Programmes: On the feast of St. Ignatius (the founder of the Society of Jesus) on 31st July 2013 and that of St. Xavier’s Feast (the Patron of the College) on 3rd December 2013, various cultural programmes were organized. Through these programmes, the students displayed enormous talent and ability. Each of these programmes had a theme and the overarching theme is always Unity even in Diversity.

Sports: The Commerce Section organized various Inter-Class Sports events. These were in the field of Volleyball, Football, Cricket, Carrom, Chess and Basketball. The students of

the Commerce Section participated and did their best at intercollegiate sports events as well. A Cricket match on 23rd December 2013 and a Volleyball match on 18th January 2014 was organized between student and faculty to showcase camaraderie and solidarity which is an integral part of the ethos of the Commerce Section.

Guest Lectures: Guest Lectures were organized on the topic “Meditation and Listening Practices” by Mr. Raj Singh on 6th December 2013 and “How to increase concentration level and how to become successful” by Mr. Shyam Vijaykumar Lilani, Faculty at CHM

The Students of the St. Vincent College, Pune along with Principal Fr. Frazer,

Vice-Principal Fr. Errol and Manager of St. Vincent College Fr. James with Best

College Trophy at Sitare-2013.

students including other departments. This was encouraging for the team to scale greater heights in future. The BMS department – Yi association is a perfect intersection of socially driven entrepreneurial students.

The Honours programme this year was a series of workshops and interactive sessions aimed at improving the decision making ability of the students. The resource people were both academicians and industry personnel.

Lessons learnt beyond the classroom are as crucial as those acquired in one,making an industrial visit important, as it enables students to acquire an insight into the working reality of an industry.

The Students of the Department of Management Studies (including

Second as well as Third Years)were fortunate to visit Bangalore and Mysore in the month of October 2013 as part of their Annual Industrial visit. . The students were taken to the bottling plant of Bisleri and to one of the major breweries of the UB Group, where they were given a live demo of the processes involved in the production of their products, including minute details of collection of water from the bore wells to its final packaging and distribution This enabled the students to get a firsthand experience of the functioning of a factory.

Under the Cross Faculty paper the department now offers a paper in the field of Financial Management: “Management Accounting and Investment &Portfolio management” This course is open to the Science

students of the college.

This year we also introduced the Book Club called “ The Page Turners” where a series of sessions by various authors were held. This club is open to all the departments and we got a great response.

Out of the 80% final year students that registered for placements, 90% got placed by June 2014.The remaining 20% of the students who did not register with the placements will be pursuing their post graduate degrees in Management.

It was by the grace of God that our efforts and endeavours were successful and we strive to raise the bar higher every year.

Soni George TharakanCo-ordinator, BMS

Commerce

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College, Ulhasnagar on 31st January 2014.

Industrial Visits: The students of the Commerce Section visited the Bombay Stock Exchange (B.S.E.) on 13th, 19th and 26th November 2013 to study the operations of Capital Markets and Workings of the B.S.E and M.S.M.E and on 17th and 19th January 2014 to participate in the National Vendor Development Exhibition to gain insights into Entrepreneurship Development and Promotion.

Lonavla Outdoor Seminar: In moving beyond classroom teaching the Commerce Section organizes an Outdoor Seminar for TYBCOM students at Lonavla or Khandala. In the academic year 2013-14, it was organized for two days on 14th and 15th December 2013, at Lonavla. Various sessions were conducted on Personality Development and Learning for Life along with fun and entertainment.

English Speaking Classes: As part of enhancing the performance of students in English and Public speaking, the Commerce Section conducts English Speaking Classes every year. Many of the students who join the Commerce Section are from Non-English backgrounds and these classes are a great help to them. In the academic year 2013-14, these classes were conducted, throughout the year between 5.05 and 5.50pm.

Information and Technology (IT) Workshop: To expose students to

the wonders of Technology and its enormous advantages, the Commerce Section conducts special Information and Technology Workshops every year. In the academic year 2013-14, it was conducted every Tuesday. Special workshops and hands-on training in Accounts programmes like Tally and Advanced EXCEL was offered during the Diwali vacations.

Student Exchange Programme: As part of the Students’ Exchange Prorgramme, in the academic year 2013-14, Mr. Rawson Gonsalves, a student of TYBCom got an opportunity to visit Stern University (U.S.A.).

Alumni Meet: The alumni meet of the Commerce Section was organized on 15th February 2014 between 6.00pm and 9.30pm at the College Hall and was graced by more than 175 alumni.

UGC sponsored National Level Conference: In commemoration of its silver jubilee, the Commerce

Section conducted its first two day National Level Conference on the theme of “Dynamics of Commerce in the Contemporary Business Scenario in India” on 27th and 28th September, 2013. A total of 150 researchers from different States of India wrote research papers and presented them at the Conference.

The participants presented their papers through power-point presentations at the six different presentation sessions conducted simultaneously at various venues on Banking, Accounting and Finance, Marketing, Human Resource Management, Legal issues relating to business, Economic policies related to business, and Information Technology and Communication aspects related to business.

The conference was graced by nationally recognized leading academicians Principal Dr. P. G. Gopalkrishnan, Principal Dr. K. S. Cheema, Principal Dr. Y. D. Venkatesh, Principal Dr. Anil Adsule, Principal Dr. Minu Thomas, Principal Dr. K. Y. Shinde, retired I/c Principal Rajam Rajgopalan, Vice-Principal Dr. Mahesh Bhiwandikar, Vice-Principal Dr. Gopal Kalkoti, Vice-Principal Allan D’souza, Dr. Sanjay S. Kaptan, Dr. Ram Sable, Dr. C.V. Hari Narayanan, Dr. Mohammad Moghees, Dr. Paras Jain, Dr. G. Syamala, Dr. Sunita Magre, Prof. Sudhakar Solomonraj, Mrs. Deepalakshmi Kaptan, and Mr. Aranha Roy. Dr. Arvind Dhond was the convener of the seminar.

Sitare-2013: The Commerce Section has been organising a National level

National Level Conference on the theme of “Dynamics of Commerce in the Contemporary Business Scenario in India” on 27th and 28th September, 2013.

Dr. Arvind Dhond along with students at BSE.

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Inter-Collegiate competition since 2010 for night college students on 5th September every year. From the academic year 2013-14, this competition was named “Sitare: Stars of the Night”. Sitare-2013 was organised on 5th September 2013 for events like Elocution, Power Point Presentation, Quiz, Solo Singing (Bollywood), Solo Dance (Folk), Carrom (Single) and Chess (Double) in which 22 degree night colleges and 52 Junior colleges participated. St. Vincent College, Pune won the Best College trophy. The results of Sitare - 2013:

Elocution Competition:

1st Prize: Rashmi More, St. Vincent College of Commerce, Pune

2nd Prize: Celeste Pais, St.Xavier’s College, Commerce Section, Mumbai

3rd Prize: Christopher, St. Joseph’s Evening College, Bangalore, Karnataka

3rd Prize: Bhagare Umesh Sambhaji, Chhatrapati Shivaji Night College, Solapur

Power Point Presentation Competition:

1st Prize: Akansha Jain and Ashkey Nathan, St. Vincent College of Commerce, Pune

2nd Prize: Johnson and Clive D’sa, St.Xavier’s College, Commerce Section, Mumbai

3rd Prize: Varun and Christopher, St. Joseph’s Evening College, Bangalore, Karnataka

3rd Prize: Manohar Katale and Akshay Tirlotkar, Saraswati Mandir Night College, Pune

Quiz Competition:

1st Prize: Aigale Daryappa Shivappa, Night College, Ichalkaranji, Dist: Kolhapur

2nd Prize: Ronney Paul, St.Xavier’s College, Commerce Section, Mumbai

3rd Prize: Prakash Parthe, Mahatma Jyotiba Phule Edu. Society’s Arts & Com. College, Parel

Carrom (Double) Competition:

1st Prize: Sandeep Palve and Digambar Sutar, Mahatma Jyotiba Phule Edu. Soc. College, Parel

2nd Prize: Anand G and Shawn Dias, St.Xavier’s College, Commerce Section, Mumbai

3rd Prize: Harshal Sathe and Sylvester Francis, St. Vincent College of Commerce, Pune

Chess (Double) Competition:

1st Prize: Honkatti Shailesh Subhash, Night College, Ichalkaranji, Dist: Kolhapur

2nd Prize: Kadir Shaikh, St. Vincent

College of Commerce, Pune

3rd Prize: Paresh .R. Dhapsi, Prakash Night College, Goregaon

Solo Dance (Folk) Competition:

1st Prize: Wagmare Ankush, Chhatrapati Shivaji Night College of Arts and Commerce, Solapur

2nd Prize: Harshada Sonawane, Vidya Vikas Edu. Society Night College, Vikhroli (E)

3rd Prize: Ajit Satam, Dr.T. K. Tope Arts and Commerce Night College, Parel

Solo Singing (Bollywood) Competition:

1st Prize: Srikant Jadhav, Public Night Degree College, Santacruz (E)

2nd Prize: Rainy Pagare, St. Vincent College of Commerce, Pune

3rd Prize: Jani Bipin N, Gujarat Arts and Commerce College (Evening), Ahmedabad, Gujrat

Solo Dance (Folk) Competition (Junior Category):

1st Prize: Pillai Vidya Murali, St Xavier’s Junior College, Bhandup West

2nd Prize: Panchbhai Sanika M, S.I.A Junior College, Dombivali

3rd Prize: Shinde Chandrakant, Night College of Arts & Commerce, Kolhapur

Solo Singing (Bollywood) Competition (Junior Category):

1st Prize: Pushkraj Samant, Royal Junior College, Dombivali

2nd Prize: Razik Mujawar, St. Vincent College of Commerce, Pune

3rd Prize: Abeed Alim Shaikh, Bharat Junior College of Commerce, Thane

SUC Day Celebration: SUC day was celebrated on 18th January 2014 by organizing inter-class competitions in various events like book mark preparation, best out of waste, chalk carving, calligraphy, candle carving, coin & note collection, caricature, cultural dress, drawing, doll making,

Fr. Errol with Alumni and their kids at Alumni Meet on 15th February 2014.

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egg shell painting, essay writing, extempore speech, extempore acting, fashion show, fruit carving, ghost get-up (face painting), greeting card preparation, hair styling, hand-writing, housie, instrumental talent, just-a-minute performance, love letter writing, mehendi, mimicry, nail art, paper bag making, personality contest, photography, pen your imagination, poetry composing & writing, painting, pot painting, rangoli, salad dressing, shaiyari composing & writing, signature, SMS composing, stamp collection & display, story writing, sketching, t-shirt painting, tug-of-war, toy making, tattoo preparation, voice modulation, and videography. Mr. Lionel Mathias and Miss Delna Veigas won the Mr. Xavier’s and Miss Xavier’s of the Commerce Section respectively. By winning maximum prizes, SYBCom ‘A’ won SUC overall best class prize.

Inter-Collegiate Competition Achievements: The students are encouraged to participate in various Inter-Collegiate Competitions and have done so with distinction and aplomb. The following are some of the

highlights:

• Rawson Gonsalves and Johnson won the Consolation prize for Power Point Presentation and Kallupalathin Jerin and Peter Alvares won Consolation prize for Carrom at the intercollegiate competition organized by St. Vincent College, Pune.

• Punit Acharya and Johnson won the 3rd prize for Research Paper and Power Point Presentation Competition at Drishti, intercollegiate festival of N. M. College, Vile Parle.

• Jitendra Mhadik won 1st prize for painting, Malcolm Roderigues, Deeksha Sharma and Shashikala Yadav won 2nd prize for Business Planning, Celeste Pais won 2nd prize for Essay Writing and Consolation for Elocution at Utkhanta, an inter-collegiate competition organized by Sonopant Dandekar College, Palghar.

• Shashank Dahatonde, Denis Lara D’souza and Group won 2nd prize

for Group Dance at Mantra, an inter-collegiate feast organized by N. E. S. Ratnam College, Bhandup.

• Denis Lara Dsouza won 2nd prize for T-shirt painting at an intercollegiate competition organized by Shroff College, Malad.

• Ronnipaul and group won a consolation prize for Street Play at Metanoia-2014, an inter-collegiate competition organized by Aditya Institute of Management Studies and Research, Borivali.

• The Football Team of the Commerce Section won the tournament at Sydenham College, Churchgate.

In keeping with its age old tradition, the Commerce Section, in the academic year 2013-14 also tried to provide quality education to assist the overall development of the personality of its students.

Fr. Errol Fernandes S.J. Vice-Principal, Commerce Section

Commerce

let us have but one end

in vieW, the Welfare of

humanity; and let us put

aside all selfishness

in consideration of

language, nationality, or

religion.

- John comenius,

17th century philosopher