A webinar on ‘Breakthroughs and Discoveries - Meet our Alumni’ was conducted by Ms GP Karthika - Deputy Commercial Tax Officer - Department of Commercial Taxes and MBA alumni from Amity University. Having pursued her MBA from Amity University Chennai, GP Karthika was described as an extremely hardworking students and one of the most talented ones in her batch by her faculty. An enthusiastic sports person, Karthika was also an avid participant in Sangathan at the university. She shared her experience of participating in the food fest and making friends for a lifetime and also having taken part in the ethnic day celebrations. She also spoke about the loss of her father in 204, during the second year at the University where she found support from friends and faculty and was able to achieve the gold medal in her MBA despite this setback. She further averred how civil services provides power and respect and enables one to work for the welfare of the society. “Clearing this exam gave me lot of strength and happiness and I took three years to clear this exam,” shared Karthika.
She further shared how time management and setting of realistic targets is integral to achieve the goal of clearing this competitive examination. “Study limited books but be thorough in them,” advised Karthika. She stated how her parents played an integral role in making her reach this position, especially her mother after her father passed away. “Suffer now and enjoy later is my mantra,” said Karthika who is also actively involved in classical dance and other extracurricular activities giving her physical and mental strength. She advised students to be focused, have consistency of thought and prioritize in their lives to achieve success.
A webinar on ‘Concern for plant diversity, Building Inventory, sustainable utilization and conservation’ was conducted by Dr. Tariq Husain, Former Senior Principal Scientist & Head Plant Diversity, Systematics & Herbarium Division CSIR-National Botanical Research Institute on the occasion of World Environment Day being celebrated on the theme ‘Celebrate Biodiversity’. Role of humans in maintaining biodiversity was discussed at length during the webinar. He shared how one million species are facing extinction and how it was pertinent to focus on Biodiversity that provides direct and indirect services to humans. Dr. Husain stated that biodiversity sustainability refers to utilization of resources in a sustainable way without harming the biodiversity in present and leaving it for future generations intact. India is one of the 12 mega biodiversity countries of the world and one of the four in Asia. He further averred that Bioprospection is exploration of biodiversity for commercially valuable genetic and biochemical resources but warned against excess usage. “Wild plant diversity used sustainably provides a wide range of options to reduce poverty,” said Dr. Husain.
He also shared the wild edible plants and plants with medicinal value found across the country. “Artemisia annua plant is used for the treatment of malaria infections, fever, inflammation, bleeding, headaches and cancer. Parts of Catharanthus roseus or Sadabahar plant are used in treatment of diabetes, menstrual regulation, hypertension, cancer etc,” said Dr. Husain who also gave instances of a number of Himalayan plants used in the treatment of a number of diseases. Talking of conservation of biodiversity he stated that maintaining essential ecological processes and life support systems; preserving genetic diversity and utilizing species and ecosystem sustainably formed part of conservation. Dr. Husain also averred that India figured with 4 hotspots that are areas with higher concentration of endemic species which usually experience rapid rate of habitat modifications and loss. These regions within the country were the Himalayas; Western Ghats; Indo-Burma and Sundaland. “Himalayas and Western Ghats are included among the top eight most important hotspots,” said Dr. Husain.
A lecture by Mr. Rajiv Naithani, SVP and Global Head- HR Infogain was delivered on ‘Future skills for millennials- Blend of mindfulness and EQ’. While addressing Mr Rajiv said that one should always thank god for what all they get in life and it’s is very important to count blessings. “Mindfulness and Emotional intelligence are very necessary. Four aspects like physical, mental, emotional and soul are the pillars for human being. Life is 10% what happen to us and 90% is our response to that. Sometime pause in life is also beneficial.” Said Mr. Naithani. He further averred that situation and problem is there and how are we responding to that situation determines our emotional response to the situation. “Emotional stability is, therefore completely individual choice. Internal dialogue is the root cause of most of the problems as our mind wanders 46.9% of the time. Our actions are mostly influenced by our internal dialogues and we lose a lot of energy and peace and feel emotional instability,” added Mr. Naithani.
A lecture by Ms Uma Oza, Professional Training & Coaching Personal Professional was delivered on ‘Inside Out- A World of Emotions’. The lecture was conducted by Amity Global School. While addressing the virtual gathering Ms Uma Oza said that if you are listening to news you should nowadays divert your minds with different mediums as people feel the situation is going to get worst while some feel scared/ panicked/hopeless. “We all know that every day is full of emotions. Feelings can be different with every person. In a single situation there might be different feeling or reaction of two persons. Take responsibility for your feelings. Every action or behavior we do is to fulfil needs or wants which are called life motivation or Universal need. Each of us have needs that are universal,” stated Ms. Oza.
She further averred that when the need is fulfilled you have pleasant feeling and if your need is not fulfilled then it can lead to disappointment. She further shared that feelings and needs are interrelated. She advised students to understand other person needs and respond to it. “Spend a few minutes at the end of each day reflecting and sensing what needs were met during the day. Make a note of the particular moment the need was met and take time to feel and enjoy your gratitude for this met need, also to silently thank whoever was involved in your need being met, including yourself,” said Ms. Oza