For a cause: Students of Chowringhee High School perform at High 5s, a carnival organised by the Interact Club of the school in association with TTIS, on January 21 at Iran Society on Kyd Street, to help an NGO in the locality open a charitable dialysis centre. Picture by Sanjoy Chattopadhyaya

For those on the campus, it was the passport to professional life. And students from across the state grabbed the opportunity.

Gateway 2007 (picture below by Sanjoy Chattopadhyaya), a two-day job fair organised by the science club of Jadavpur University (JU) on the campus, offered openings in BPOs, human resource development departments, media and telecommunication.

The two-day fair, inaugurated by state information technology minister Debesh Das on February 1, attracted about 14 companies, including big names like Wipro, United Bank of India, Tata Indicom, Dell and Tara Bangla. The footfall exceeded 10,000.

Registration at the fair was open to all who had cleared the 10+2 examination. “Even part-time opportunities were on offer,” said Priyanka Mukherjee, a second-year undergraduate student of international relations at the university and a member of the fair committee. Applicants had to submit resumes before appearing for short interviews to assess their communication and language skills.

“We are testing the spoken-English skills of the students as we deal with international clients,” said Saurrish Ghosh, director of Delta, which was recruiting for Wipro. More than 350 candidates turned up at the recruiting agency’s stall on the second day of the fair. Shortlisted candidates were issued selection letters. “The final interview will be conducted at the Salt Lake office,” added Saurrish.

While some companies participated in the fair with a recruitment target, others kept their options open. “We plan to recruit about 435 employees per month for Wipro’s Sector V office,” said Saurrish, who is also a final-year mathematics student at JU.

Dell was recruiting for its BPO in Hyderabad. The minimum qualification required was graduation. “By next week, the shortlisted candidates will be informed about the interview date,” said a recruiting official at the Dell stall. More than 600 resumes were submitted at the stall.

Many of the youngsters who dropped in at the fair visited all the stalls. “I am trying my luck here, as I did not do well in the campus interview,” said Subhranil Das, a final-year B.Tech student at Netaji Subhas Engineering College.

Sudhansu Mohanty, a Cuttack resident undergoing training in the city, submitted resumes at several stalls. “I hope to get at least one offer,” said the final-year Master of Computer Application student at Allahabad University.

The planning for the job fair, sponsored by Technable, started a couple of months ago. “The idea was appreciated by the university authorities,” said Priyanka. According to her, the fair committee is planning to make the event an annual affair.

Nabamita Mitra

Honour roll

Eastern Institute of Learning and Management held its annual convocation at Rotary Sadan on January 27 (in picture), where students of the 2005 and 2006 batches received their postgraduate diploma in business management. Academic counsel of the institute Ashok Agarwal inaugurated the event. This was followed by saraswati vandana by faculty members. Chairman of the institute Vinay Rai handed out diplomas to the students.

Saswata Choudhury of the batch of 2005, who works for ICICI Bank, said: “We are here after a lot of hard work. I gained invaluable experience during my two years at the institute as the in-charge of the placement cell and while organising fests and quizzes.”

Games gala

Eurokids International, a centre for pre-school children, held its annual sports day on the St Paul’s Cathedral grounds on January 27. About 500 students from the institution’s seven centres in the city, took part in the event.

Children between two and four years old took part in the games, inaugurated by eastern zone coordinator Andy Grey. After races such as “Healthy Food” and “Matching the Pair”, parents bonded with kids over balloon race. A drill session by the nursery and junior sections rounded off the proceedings.

Aparajita Dutta, whose daughter Esha studies in nursery at the institute, summed it up: “It was a day for the children to enjoy themselves thoroughly.”

Romila Saha

Run for country

A day to watch the parade on television and hang out with friends and family — that’s what Republic Day is to most. For 10 youngsters, though, this January 26 was not like any other holiday. They, the future of the country, raised a toast to the past on the occasion.

The youngsters, most of them students, organised a ‘Run for India’ in south Calcutta, covering Gol Park, Rashbehari, Lake Market and Bhowanipore, under the umbrella of CHYK (Chinmaya Yuva Kendra), a voluntary organisation committed towards nation building through personal growth.

Dressed in national colours and armed with the Tricolour, the youngsters ran almost 10 km, distributing flags and memorabilia to pedestrians on the route. The aim was to create awareness on issues like not littering the road and tree plantation.

Anish Chowdhury,
IInd year, B.Com, St Xavier’s College