A national facility for Marine Natural Products and Drug Discovery sanctioned by the Department of Science and Technology, Government of India, at ₹2.77 crore was inaugurated in Annamalai University in Chidambaram recently.
Prof. A. Shanmugam, Dean, Faculty of Marine Sciences, Annamalai University and Prof. N. Veerappan, Director of the Centre presided over the function.
The first national facility of the University was launched by B. Meenakumari, Chairperson of National Biodiversity Authority, Government of India in the presence of T.T. Ajith Kumar, Principal Scientist, National Bureau of Fish Genetic Resources, Kochi.
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In her special address, Ms. Meenakumari stressed that marine natural resources should be utilised judiciously and sustainably for the production of drugs for the well-being of society.
Mr. Ajith Kumar, in his key address, called for intensive research of natural medicines from perennial sea resources.
The principal investigator of the facility and the organiser delivered the vote of thanks. The objective of the facility is to discover the drugs from the marine natural products through the use of modern scientific techniques.
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The programme also aims to generate various research opportunities for students through robust hands-on training programmes in a challenging environment.
The facility also pledges to partner with several research and development as well as pharmaceutical industries. Such collaboration would facilitate career opportunities for students as well as business ventures for the small scale industries.
NAAC accreditation
The National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC), an autonomous institution of UGC, that assessed the Government Kasthurba College for Women, Villianur, has accredited the institution with ‘B’ Grade.
A peer team comprising the NAAC Chairperson Prof. C.R. Vishweswara Rao, members Prof. Murli Desai, Prof. C.S. Elizabeth and Cheryl Ann Gerardine Shivan gave an overall presentation covering various aspects of the institution while K. Bhuvaneswari, Assistant Professor of Psychology-cum-NAAC Institutional Coordinator coordinated all the activities during the visit.
The team assessed the academic curriculum, the teaching-learning process, infrastructure facilities, governance and best practices.
The college is taking steps to expand by increasing the number of seats in the existing courses as well as introducing additional courses, such as B.A. English and B.Sc. Psychology in order to cater to the educational needs of a larger number of rural women students.
Achievers felicitated
Fruition 17, a function for appreciating the achievers was held at Manakula Vinayagar Institute of Technology in Puducherry recently.
M. Dhanasekaran, Chairman and Managing Director, SMVE Trust presided over As many as 405 students in the college received their offer letters from top companies like TCS, Birla Soft, Mobius, OFS, aspire systems, L&T Infotech, HTC, Technosoft, TrueTech, MRF, HCL and Infiniti Software.
In his address, Mr. Dhanasekaran advised the students to work with dedication and long term goals to attain the top positions in their career.
In her special address, Preethi Unnikrishnan, Head, Campus Recruitment, TCS Chennai said that students should keep themselves updated with the latest technology and they should be ready for continuous learning, work as a team and respect each other in the corporate world.
( Reporting by S. Prasad )