Dhenkanal: IIMC Dhenkanal hosted its annual event – ‘Connections’, organized by the Indian Institute of Mass Communication Alumni Association (IIMCAA). The event was graced by the presence of the Regional Director of IIMC, Dhenkanal, Prof. (Dr.) Mrinal Chatterjee, Mr. Prabhash Jha, editor of Hindustan Times Digital Streams, Mr. Prashant Sanyal, Chief content officer at Hindustan Times Digital, and Mr. Ritesh Verma, Central Executive Committee member, IIMCAA, and Dr. Jyoti Prokash Mohapatra, General Secretary, IIMCAA (Odisha Chapter).
The principal motivation for organizing the event is to connect IIMC alumni who are currently working as media professionals in different capacities across the country with the current batch of students. Mr. Prabhash Jha was the first to address the congregation. He expressed his gratitude to IIMCAA for organizing the event saying, “Back when we were students here, there were only two campuses – Dhenkanal and Delhi. I had always wanted to visit Dhenkanal, I am glad that IIMCAA has presented me with this opportunity to see this beautiful campus.” Talking about the need for events like this, he explained that for media professionals it is important to understand the psyche of the younger generation of aspirants, and ‘Connections’ is an effective platform to that end.
Mr. Prashant Sanyal briefly talked about his experiences at IIMC and expressed gratitude to his Alma Mater. “I am very grateful to this institute because it helped me forge my identity, and provided me with the adequate guidance to make meaningful changes in people’s life,” he concluded.
Mr. Verma later used his address to hit home the very idea behind the conception of ‘Connections’. He emphasized the need to stay connected to get ahead in life and how IIMCAA facilitates that, a theme that was recurrent throughout the event. He talked about how IIMCAA makes effective communication possible. Later, he also informed the students about the scholarship that few of them have received and how these selections are made.
Regional Director, Dr. Mrinal Chatterjee, further delved into the importance of staying connected with each other. He spoke at length about the symbiotic relationship that an institute has with its alumni. “It is important for the students to stay connected and be enablers to the growth and functioning of the institute. When this does not happen, the institute starts to wither”. While ending his speech he enthused the students by saying, “Your contributions are not only important for yourselves or the institute but also for the nation and even the world.”
Ms. Lachi Gola and Ms. Sharmila Bhadoria students of English Journalism received the STS Thirumalanithan – Ponnammai memorial IIMCAA Scholarship and Brig. J.S. Bawa Memorial IIMCAA Scholarship, respectively. Mr. Suman Rana, Odia Journalism, received the M.N. Roy Memorial IIMCAA Scholarship. Ms. Palak Khare (EJ) received the Prof. K.M. Shrivastav Memorial Award.
Ms. Shubhashree Pradhan and Ms. Ananya Bajpai of Odia and English Journalism batch of 2021-22 hosted the event and shared their experience as students. The event was attended by many old and new students, including Section Officer Kedarnath Jena, who also had an emotional moment when he was called to speak a few words as he will be retiring from his long years of service this year. Besides him, Technical Coordinator Badrinath Jena, Academic Assistants Mr. Padmalochan Pradhan and Mr. Abhishek Roy Also attended. In the end, the vote of thanks was delivered by Assistant Professor Prof. Bhavna Acharya.
Comments are closed.