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The Department of Life Sciences had organized a Stem Cell Registry Drive under the guidance of Dr Suma S, Associate Professor, Dept of Life Sciences in collaboration with A DKMS, Germany and BMST, Bangalore on 19 August 2019. Ms. Shalini Gambhir, BMST Head of Donor Recruitment and Communications and her team of volunteers with Mr. Vysakh Shaji as the Lead were in charge of training the volunteers involved in the program on the importance of becoming potential stem cell donors and the procedures involved during the registration process like filling up registration forms, administration of the buccal swab, barcoding of the samples, etc. The Lead student Coordinator from CHRIST (Deemed to be University) was Ms Vibha Bharadwaj of final year BCZ. She was assisted by a team of 20 other student volunteers.  A total of 141 entries were registered during the drive. This was a positive move towards a social cause - of helping cancer and thalassemia patients who may need stem cells for tran...

A four day workshop on “Competency building in Digital Learning” as a part of Faculty Development and Leadership Programme was organized by the Department of Life Sciences from 27 to 30 May 2019. The Programme was coordinated by Dr Anish Nag. As resource persons of the workshop, Dr Fiju K Chacko Dr .Vinay M, Dr Sayantan and Dr Anish trained faculty members on different aspects on digital learning with a primary focus on leadership competency building.

A field trip was organized on 13 July 2019 for second year M.Sc. Zoology students to assess the biodiversity in the forest surrounding Valley School, Kanakpura Road accompanied by    Dr P U Antony. It is located in Thatguni at a distance of 17 km away from the Bangalore city. The trip was aimed at understanding biodiversity and various methods and methodologies of observing biodiversity like the point transact and the line transact. Various species of birds were observed ranging from drongos to the wild fowl, wild boar rest areas, and possible vulture nests. New techniques were taught to identify animals with their peculiar calls. The overall visit exemplified on the fact that it is important to learn about the biodiversity and even more important to conserve it.

A Study trip to Harohalli for understanding the agricultural practices in the state of Karnataka was organized on 19 July 2019 for the students 5BCB, accompanied by Prof Xavier Vincent and Dr D Sayantan. Prof Xavier elaborated the students about various cultivation techniques of maize and coconut, as well as the revenue generated by the farmers from those crops grown by the farmers in that area. The team also visited the lake, which was mainly used for irrigating the agricultural fields. The students were immensely benefited by the discussions on sustainable agricultural strategies, current scenario and future prospects.

A two days field trip was organized on July 5 and 6, 2019 for the students of  second year M.Sc. Botany to Biligiriranga Hills (BR hills) as a part of practical syllabus in Angiosperm taxonomy , accompanied by the honorable Head of the Department , Fr Jobi Xavier and       Mr Joel  Jose. The entire trip was about identification and collection of different species plants from varied families and the preparation of herbarium. The students guided by the teachers and local guide were taken deep into the forest to keenly observe the surrounding vegetation, identify and collect some of the rare varieties and thereby were taught the preparation of herbarium. The students were immensely benefited by this field trip as the study of taxonomy requires observing the characters of different specimen to get a better understanding of varied families.

A Nature walk was organized by the Green Army on July 3rd, 2019 to the Ramadeverabetta near Devarayanadurga under the leadership of Dr P U Antony and Dr K A Paari. Fifty three students from various departments participated in the trekking camp. Students discussed the importance of nature conservation and enjoyed the significance of green environment. Dr. Antony PU led the trekking team with his experience and explained the animal habitat in the hilly regions and modes of ecosystem selection by the animal kingdom. Students also discussed various other issues related with environment and ecosystem management. Trekking also turned out to be a good physical outfit for the students and was a real leaning experience. Green Army Alumni, Rachit shared his experience about his association with the green army activities. 

A study trip was organized on 16th July 2019 for 5BCZ and 5CBZ students to the Fisheries Research and Information Centre (FRIC), Hesaraghatta as a part of their practical syllabus in Aquatic Biology accompanied by Dr Krishna Kumar V and Dr Mridul Umesh. Fisheries Research and Information Centre (FRIC) is a unit established in the year 1960 by Govt. of Karnataka as a Fisheries Research Station and got transferred to University of Agricultural Sciences Bengaluru in 1966. It is a part of Karnataka Veterinary, Animal and Fisheries Sciences University since 2005 and was re-nominated as Fisheries Research & Information Centre. It is located adjacent to the Hesaraghatta Lake, which is about 38 km away from the Bengaluru city. The visit was spearheaded by Dr Ravindragouda Patil, who briefed about the objectives of the institute, and highlighted the various steps involved in culture fisheries. Dr Patil described the shortcomings of the capture fisheries sector and explained the breeding t...