A summer in Antwerp

After proving their mettle through a rigorous competitive selection process, Ms. Kanaya Mahanti and Mr. Debdorshi Malakar of Rural Management Department (Batch 2017-19) participated in the summer course ‘Europe: Diversity and Migration’ (25 June – 6 July 2018) at Stadscampus, University of Antwerp, Belgium. Every year two students from the Department are selected. The summer course is funded by the USOS scholarship, which includes travel expenses, accommodation and subsistence allowance for the two students while they are enrolled in the programme.

Over the two week course, the participants, who were of varying nationalities and came from different disciplines, were divided into groups and were asked to address different questions. Ms. Mahanti and her team were part of The Social Food Lab and were asked how Moroccan Food is perceived as ‘the other’ while the question posed to Mr. Malakar was “How Sports unites people from diverse backgrounds?”

Ms. Kanaya Mahanti and Mr. Debdorshi  Malakar write about their personal experience in Belgium.

   

                                       

MR. DEBDORSHI MALAKAR

“Right from the moment when we landed at the Schiphol Airport, Amsterdam, this trip has been a rollercoaster ride which I am going to cherish forever. Initially, amidst all the excitement, there was a tinge of nervousness as well. However, that slowly faded away because of the informal atmosphere and the friendly nature of the people around me. I was lucky to be placed in such a diverse batch where there were people from all across Europe as well as Mexico. The first day was all about knowing each other. The Cooking Workshop organized by the University acted as a good ice breaker where we all bonded while preparing Belgian cuisine. Well to be honest, I didn’t like the food, but the connection we built was something which wouldn’t have happened otherwise.

The course was a perfect blend of theoretical knowledge and practical exposure. Apart from learning about the theoretical aspect of the Migrant Crisis, I also got an opportunity to work on a Group Assignment where we tried to answer the question, “How can Sports unite people from diverse backgrounds?”. I worked with a local football club called City Pirates which works with migrant kids and helps to integrate them into the Belgian society. Interviewing the young kids and hearing their stories was an eye-opening experience. In between this hectic schedule, we also managed to visit Paris for a day and see the much-hyped Eiffel Tower.

After the classes were over, we used to go to the nearby cafés and socialize for hours. That was probably the best part about the whole course - conversing with the other participants and realizing just how different your culture is from the other cultures and yet finding similarities in unexpected places.

To sum it up, the whole summer school experience has been amazing. From watching World Cup matches amidst thousands of crazy Belgium fans to trying all possible varieties of beers- this trip has been full of first-time experiences.”

MS. KANAYA MAHANTI

“I went to Antwerp, Belgium for attending the second edition of the summer school, Europe: Migration and Diversity. The course was from 25th June – 6th July. The summer school consisted of 22 interdisciplinary and international participants from across the globe.

The entire summer school was distributed over 2 weeks. And it covered course topics like; Demographic projection: data on European and Regional Level, Migration to European cities from a historical perspective, Queer Muslims in Europe, Migration, Diversity, and Non-Discrimination, Return Migration: theories and policies and many more.

Apart from the above, there were city walks in the city of Antwerp, where we were explained about the cultural diversity. We were also taken to the European Parliament where we were an audience for the panel discussion on the topic ”Improvising and protecting Europe’s new challenges against its views?” which was moderated by Gie Goris, the editor in chief of Mo Magazine. In EU parliament we were given a lecture regarding the major achievements of the European Union to date. We were also given group assignment and I being a part of Social Food Lab, worked upon “How Moroccan Food is taken as a perception of ‘the other’ in Antwerp. Hence, I learned a lot about Moroccan lifestyle and eating habits.

Europe’s demography in terms of ethno-cultural composition is rapidly diversifying in an unprecedented way.  Antwerp, having a population of 5,13,570 and is the most populous municipality in Belgium which houses almost  170 nationalities. The majority group in urban areas is morphing into a minority amidst other minorities because of the recent inflow of a large number of refugees. Europe’s population will be shrinking if the rate of migration does not increase in the coming decades. There is a great concern from a different ideological perspective on how to deal adequately with super-diversity as it affects all realms of society and as continuing inequalities seem difficult to transform.

 On 28th June 2018, we visited the EU Parliament in Brussels. A meeting was held for two consecutive days which focused on migration. Since 2015, a number of measures have been taken to achieve the control of the EU’s external border. As a result, the number of detected illegal border crossings into EU is reduced to 96% from its peak in October 2015. The EU leaders agreed to take further actions on main migratory routes in EU especially the Mediterranean routes. The EU leaders have also supported the proposal of UNHCR, the United Nations Refugee Agency and IOM(International Organization for Migration) for the development of a concept of regional disembarkation platforms which should allow rapid distinction between economic migrants and asylum seekers. EU leaders have also been reforming and finalizing the EU asylum rules for tackling the situation.

All in all, the whole European experience was an eye opener to multi-ethnic culture persistent in Europe and the growing intolerance towards migrant population. But it had its fun part too, the escapade was something which I had never seen or felt before. The historic city gave off a nostalgic vibe with a blend of modern-day extravaganza.”

Gurdeep Kaur- The pride of Ranchi

A young dynamic person, Gurdeep Kaur has made Ranchi proud- she has been selected as one of the finalist for Mrs. INDIA Pageant 2018.

Gurdeep, is a Master in Business Administration from XISS Ranchi, she completed her graduation from BIT Mesra Ranchi. A mother of one, Gurdeep has a great sense of responsibility since a very young age and today she enjoys a disciplined, personal, social & professional life. Apart from being an amazing mother, she has proved to be beauty with brains, and her philanthropic involvement in and around Ranchi has made her a well-known name.

Mrs. Kaur has been active in social work since her days in XISS. She believes that education is a powerful tool and if used rightly can produce amazing results. She has worked towards upliftment of under-privileged students through imparting good education to them, and few more.

Gurdeep believes, “What I got is my fortune but what I can give is my choice!; She wishes to use the platform of Mrs. India pageant to add value in lives of others. She strongly believes that education for children is the main agent to cause a lasting change and can set off a chain of positive change in lives of generations to come.

Her education values from XISS, "Putting the last FIRST" & " Being a woman for others", has influenced her beliefs a lot. Gurdeep is determined to spread awareness about the importance and value of good education.

She further adds, "Be it poverty, be it crime; be it a woman’s plight revolving around rape, foeticide and dowry or be it unemployment; be it country’s economy or be it the overpopulation, each and every problem can be associated to one aspect ‘Education’. Because what I feel is that education is not what we learn in books, it is the knowledge of values we need to seek within..."

Since her college days the realization to make a difference in lives of the Have-Nots, has helped Gurdeep to set an epitome of new standards & values, for the love towards her society and thereon, she never looked back.

Her journey towards  philanthropy got a new horizon when she started working as a part her college's social wings at one of its outreach programme  where she went to schools to nurture students in the field they wanted to, she started with imparting knowledge of the subject, helping in their all round development, being a friend and an elder sister to these little kids, she was pioneer in setting a computer lab classes with her team, to help them get skills to make them self-reliant in future. Her love towards these kids were unconditional. She believes that education is, in all probability, the most influential tool required to break the vicious intergenerational cycle of abuse, malnutrition, poverty and oppression. Literacy thus requires a lot of attention.

She also adds, "Sorry to say but our education system needs a revamping where theoretical educations needs to be complimented with practical, where the field of sports and art should be given the same weightage as academics. Not to boast but after denying varied business opportunities and lucrative job offers, I chose to teach. Why? Because I want to add values to others' life through compassion, love and selflessly give oneself towards a better tomorrow".

And the belief that not I but we can contribute to this cause, she joined the movement ‘Round Table India’ which primarily focuses on upliftment and education of the underprivileged.

Mrs. Kaur dreams of opening a teaching academy and having friends and colleagues with a similar mindset, contributing to her mission by imparting free, meaningful and practical education to the poor and underprivileged in near future.

Gurdeep is determined to make Ranchi proud so let us take a leap forward and help Gurdeep win the Mrs. India Pageant 2018. To extend your love and support towards Mrs. Gurdeep Kaur's winning moment, please visit the link below and like & share.

http://www.mrsindia.net/mrs-india-2018-2019-gurdeep/

Alumni success story - Mr. Adhir Sharma

Once again an XISS family member has proved his mettle, and this time it is not in the corporate world but in the Indian Police Services. Mr. Adhir Sharma, of Batch 1985-1987, who specialised in Personnel Management and Industrial Relations, has been promoted to the rank of Director General of Police (Railways) of West-Bengal.

Mr. Sharma is an IPS officer of 1987 batch and has served as the Assistant Director General of Police and Inspector General previously. We congratulate Mr. Sharma and take great pride in his achievement. May he thrive and flourish in his future endeavours, keeping the flag fluttering higher.

Alumni success story - Ms. Nupur Singh Mallick

Nothing makes us more proud than being able to talk about the success of our alumni. XISS students have a history of achieving their dreams and soaring beyond boundaries.

Ms. Nupur earned her graduation degree in B.Sc. Chemistry from Banaras Hindu University and went on to pursue personnel management and industrial relations from XISS Ranchi in 1995. She was a campus placement hire and joined TCS as HR Officer in Mumbai. Ever since then she has been empowering people around her to be their best. Her corporate success started when she was appointed to head the HR function for TCS Mumbai. She has been often referred to as a charismatic leader who is extremely passionate about her work. With a workforce of just 7500, she has seen the tremendous growth to 3,00,000 in 46 countries. She rose as a natural leader in this highly palpable and dynamic business. Working in an organization which is deep rooted in their values has definitely shaped her career. In an interview with Jason Spiller she was quoted as saying “My college studies in HR proved to be a good grounding for the basics, and I joined TCS with a surprising level of know-how that gave me some confidence to look at, as they say, the bigger picture.”  December 2005 she was appointed as the HR Director for UK and Ireland. Under her leadership, TCS UK & Ireland went on to achieve the ‘Investor in People' certification with Gold status and was awarded Britain's top employers by CRI for four consecutive years.  She also won HR Director of the year 2016 by HR Distinction Awards and HR Brilliance Awards twice. Presently, she is taking over the role of Chief HR Officer at Tata Sons. Her areas of expertise include integrating teams in culturally diverse set-ups, driving operational excellence, retaining and developing talent and structuring compensation & benefits.(Source: People matters).

The team of XISS Ranchi congratulates Ms. Nupur Mallick on her outstanding achievement. We appreciate your hard work, enthusiasm and dedication. Truly there is no shortcut to success and you are our source of inspiration.

Basketball Tournament '18

Aspirations. Hopes. These are the usual feelings that one experiences while moving towards a new beginning. We all recently welcomed a new year which is usually bordered with the start of a new chapter and a scope of improvement, either by way of burning out our vices or incorporating more virtues within ourselves or better still, indulging ourselves in a little bit of both in order to build a better version of ourselves. And what better way to begin a new phase of exuberance and optimism than to give way to the spirit of sportsmanship and team work. After all, collective efforts are the best way to take a step closer towards the dreams we have been chasing and wanting to convert into reality for a long long time, which for some people could imply a majority of their life. No one ever reached the heights of success standing alone and one-man armies, more often than not, fail to achieve success in their endeavors.

In the light of this, XISS is organizing a Basketball Tournament for boys and girls of all departments from both batches from 10^th-14^th January, 2018. Come, cheer for your team and provide them with the motivation they need to sail through and attain the victory they deserve, in return for all the hard work they have put in by devoting their heart, soul and blood in the practices which will help them move towards the coveted trophy.

Hoping to see everyone there with their inspiring hats on!!! 

A Journey from Botany to HRM.

A Journey from Botany to HRM.

"There is no pause to success, when you get determined"

Ms. Tulika Sneha, XISS Batch - 2016-2018, shares her experience on bagging a PPO from Tata Steel

#StudentSpeaks #XISSRanchi

A graduate in Botany stepped foot in the Xavier Institute of Social Service on 18^th of June 2016. Given the background of her education she was in great dilemma whether she’ll be able to bag a job on campus or will be thrown out of the selection procedures for the afore mentioned reason. But none the less she stared her 2yr long journey with a determination to stay on top of her class and show to all how serious she was about her decision of choosing XISS as a launch pad for her career in corporate. With time came the placement season and after clearing her psychometric test of Tata Steel she sat for her GD/PI. The interview was short which made her nervous if it meant bad, but the results came and she got through along with 2 of her classmates. 

The Big day was celebrated along with the “Diwali Celebration” at her Social Service Field Work Centre which made it all the more special. That nervous botany graduate was me, Tulika Sneha of HRM 2016-18.

            My experience of working at Tata Steel for 2months was splendid. It was a work full of challenges which I already expected since TSL gave us live projects. The guidance of my mentors, my hard work and the blessings of my parents and professors finally paid off when on 18^th August 2017 I received the mail of being offered the PPO. I couldn’t be happier and I know now that this is the place where anyone can make a fresh start to a happy new journey in the corporate world. And today I stand at a place where I can give a few tips to the juniors- 

*You will not be judged on your educational background so it doesn’t matter if you have a B.Sc or B.A or B.Tech degree, just be through with your subject matter, Past as well as Present one.

*Be confident in the interview, the length of your PI is not proportionate to its quality.

Also work with all your might in your SIP, these two months will give you a lot to learn. All the best to the juniors for their summer placements as well as the second year for their final placements.

Institutional Visits at XISS - An Experience

Institutional Visits at XISS- An Experience

It has been two months already in XISS, and honestly, it passed in a blink of an eye. I call it a roller coaster ride, with the lyrical classes with regular drum beats of assignments followed by the tunes of Urban field work (UFW)! Well, apart from these, there were occasional institutional visits (IVs), two to be precise, which ensured our excitement level doesn’t lessen and the hunger of learning never gets satiated. Here, I would narrate my experience of the the IVs. 

Just having knowledge based on lectures has a very limited scope pertaining to the skills acquired. For one, students will always begin their career as a novice who has zero experience in this sector. Two, they will no longer be in a learning environment, which means that the new work process could be unpleasant and unsatisfactory. Therefore, at least to prepare a student for the rigors of a working environment, it is important to get them acclimatized to the real world. In the current scenario, the education system in our country has become complacent. Complacent with regard to keep up with the fast-pacing needs of this generation. And therefore, corners have been chopped off to fit the situation. So has the mindset of the system which advocates the idea that students will eventually learn things during their career. Although, this idea holds to a certain extent but yet one cannot ignore the importance of practical exposure, in any field of study. Here comes the role of IVs, designed by the XISS for enhancing the learning aspect of the Rural Management students. By testing the text knowledge with the context that is acquired in the field area and to stimulate thinking, it gives an opportunity to get a picture of how things work at an institutional set up. It helps in extensive grassroots connect and developing understanding of the intricacies behind the modus operandi of different institutions is itself an unique experience. 

The institutes connect to various institutes, NGOs, SHGs and also the reach of the faculty to various district level governmental bodies added the cherry on the cake. It was knowledge enriching and a great learning experience throughout. My first experience was at the Arouse foundation, Gumla, an NGO that began as an outreach program in 1978. During the interactive session with the Director, Fr. Anuranjan Purty S.J., Rector Fr. Christopher Lakra S.J and the Project Officer, Srijan Kishore, I understood the complexities and challenges faced by an NGO in context to the financial and political affairs. The institution closely works with a village, Salyatoi, for encouraging organic mode of farming technique. My group was then taken to that village, where we were given an opportunity to communicate with the villagers. What struck me the most was the anecdote shared by Bandha Pradhan, who was the Gram Vikas Samitee Adhyaksh of Salyatoi. The villagers had no proper occupation due lack of land for irrigation during early eighty’s. They conceived a plan for changing the river’s stream in another direction such that they get sufficient land for agricultural usage and thereby to make a living. These families took the risk of contributing a sum of   ₹ 2000/family and bought a JCB machine. That year their money and efforts, both went in vain. Next year, they began afresh and succeeded. Today the village is a proud producer of rice, potatoes and a number of vegetables under the “Machan Kheti” technique. Inputs like teaching and encouraging the villagers to adopt newer techniques such as the System of rice intensification (SRI) is provided by the Arouse Foundation. Adoption of organic farming by the villagers is another goal for which the institution is working for. 

The next visit was to Khunti, where the group was taken to Asha Kiran Shelter home, which works for rehabilitation of rescued tribal girls from the flesh trade, through formal education and vocational skill development. Their objective as they state is to “turn their scars into stars”. There was Naxal infiltration inside the shelter home post inception in 2009, yet the pillars of the institution stand upright and also they are about to begin with their endeavor of opening up a health center. The very same day we visited “Torpa Rural Development Society for Women”, an SHG which works for livelihood of women. They are involved in Lac cultivation and processing. They have had an award winning initiative of preparing and marketing a health drink which earned a profit of 2.5 lakhs in a period of three to four months. 

In a scurry, we also paid a visit to the District Office of Khunti, where we interacted with the DC, Dr. Manish Ranjan, who gave us a chance to peep into their work milieu. The structured offices and the way they connect to various other districts of the state was shown and explained by the staff there. This, I believe was again an add on to the classroom understanding of the developmental organizations. 

The two visits, no wonder, helped in indulging in a better way with what we study. And also, what adds to the skillset is the individual report that each student provides after imbibing the whole day’s learning, which is all about synthesizing the entire experience into one coherent whole. 

I always believed that connecting to the practicality of matters always wins over innumerable classroom sessions. It should be a concomitant process to make it more stirring, exactly like thousands of self-study materials on how to drive cannot be useful unless one gets on the vehicle and tries to ride it, along with the learning.

 “Machan Kheti” at Salyatoi village,Near Gumla.

Group of twenty-five students along with the Project Officer of Arouse Foundation, Mr.Srijan Kishore,an XISS alumnus, few other XISS alumni and Asst.Prof. Niranjan Sahoo at Gumla.

At District office of Khunti with 

the District CommissionerDr. Manish Ranjan and other officials.

 Students at Asha Kiran Shelter Home,Khunti.

At “Torpa Rural Development Society for Women” 

with Daphne Sequeira, Sister & Directress of the organisation.

Courtesy: Ms. G Geeta Kumari

Department of Rural Management (2017-2019)