Launch of “DHRITI”, a Mental Health Resource Chatbot” from Center of Excellence in AI & ML, CSE

On 1st June 2021, Center of Excellence (CoE) in Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning, under the Dept. of Computer Science & Engineering launched “DHRITI”, a Mental Health Resource Chatbot. The Chatbot was successfully launched by Mr. Manjunath Bhandary, Chairman; Dr. S Manjappa, Director-Research & Consultancy; Dr. Rajesha S, Principal; Prof. S S Balakrishna, Vice-Principal; and Dr. Nalini E Rebello, Dean Academics.
Dr. Pushpalatha K, Head of Dept. of Computer Science & Engineering, welcomed the gathering. Dr. Shreyas Rao gave a brief presentation covering overview of “Dhriti” bot, its purpose, features, platform and release plan. The bot provides resources to mental health which can help people cope with the pandemic issues. It is multi-lingual and supports English, Kannada and Hindi languages currently.
Purpose of the bot is three-fold: (a) Help the Society, (b) Build competency in Natural Language Processing area under COE – AI & ML and (c) Train students to develop similar chatbots for other domains
Features of the bot include:
▪ Helpline (Suicide, Alcohol De-addiction etc.)
▪ Directory of Mental Health Therapists (List of Counsellors, Psychologists and Psychiatrists) in Dakshina Kannada and Bengaluru regions.
▪ Grief Counselling Support.
▪ List of Mental Health Apps (for Anxiety, Depression, OCD, Addictions etc.)
▪ Techniques for Mental Wellbeing (includes Yoga, Meditation, Pranayama)
▪ Social Wellbeing (includes Recreational Apps & Support Groups)
▪ General Covid Information (includes Symptoms, Prevention, Vaccination, Social Distance etc.)
During the event, Dr. Rajesha S, Dr. S Manjappa and Dr. Ravichandra KR, Head of Dept. of Mechanical Engineering shared their views on the Chatbot and provided useful suggestions. Teaching Staffs of various departments participated in the event.

E-Step Boot camp conducted at Sahyadri by Startup Karnataka and NAIN

E-Step Boot camp, a One-Day Workshop was held on 31st May 2021 organized by the Startup Karnataka Cell and Karnataka Innovation and Technology Society (KITS), Department of Electronics, IT, BT, S & T with NAIN Centre for students of Sahyadri through an online platform.
The Boot camp included sessions on various topics such as ideation, customer understanding, business model canvas, idea pitch deck creation, and more. The sessions were facilitated by Mr. Vishnu Nagaraj, CEO-Carve start-ups lab.
The evening session featured an interactive experience sharing session on Start-up journey in which Mr. Dikshith Rai, CEO of Code Craft Technologies Pvt Ltd., shared his start-up journey with the students and motivated them.
This event saw participation from a total of 500 students of all the departments. Among all the NAIN centers, Sahyadri NAIN presently holds the record for the highest number of participants in the Boot camp held so far.

AICTE Sponsored One-Week STTP on “Innovative Approaches in Teaching Pedagogy”

Day One (31st May 2021):
The second session of the day post Inauguration was facilitated by Dr. Mukesh Patil, Professor, Dept. of Mechanical Engineering, RNS Institute of Technology, Bengaluru on “Collaboration/Cooperative/Peer Learning”. He is a B.E, M.Tech and Ph.D with area of specialization in Thermal Engineering. He has spearheaded the department to get accredited by NBA for the first time and has established BNMIT-Toyota Centre of Excellence at BNMIT, a first of its kind venture in the country. Dr. Mukesh Patil shared videos emphasizing on the various Innovative methods of teaching and set a strong background for the sessions to follow during the weeklong training.
Third session was conducted by Dr. Sampath Kumar, Associate Dean (RDIC), Dr. A P J Abdul Kalam Technical University, Lucknow on “Competency Based Learning”. He is a B.E, M.Tech and Ph.D from UPTU in association with IIT Delhi. He has 4 patents in the field of Memory Design. Dr. Sampath Kumar brought out the essence of Outcome Based Education which focuses on - What is student going to learn and not what we are going to teach.
Last session of the day was on “Project Based Learning” facilitated by Dr. Suhan Mendon, Associate Professor at Manipal Institute of Management, Manipal. He is an MCOM, M.Phil, MBA and Ph.D from Jain University. He has several publications in Scopus and Web of Science as well as a Patent on a Dental Device titled “Modified Tooth Brush”. Dr. Suhan Mendon gave insights on how learning happens when students engage in projects for the subject related questions posed by the Faculty, especially for Management students where the whole universe is a lab and they have to go to the field in order to learn.

Placement and Training - Toyota Hiring

Toyota Industries Engine India Pvt. Ltd., Bengaluru conducted a virtual recruitment drive for the requirement of Graduate Apprentice Trainee. The hiring is specific to the Mechanical Engineers from the 2020 passed out batch. The roles and responsibilities include analyzing and planning for countermeasures for minor stops in CNC Machines & Special purpose machines Grinding, Honing, Lapping, Daily management and extended support to manufacturing for achieving Gold level, Analysis of IOT data and expansion of Condition based monitoring. Results are awaited.

Placement and Training - MResult Services Pvt Ltd Hiring

MResult Services Pvt Ltd conducted a virtual Campus Recruitment Drive for Computer Science and Information Science & Engineering students of the 2021 outgoing batch. The hiring is for the Role of Trainee - Decision Science and the package offered is INR 5LPA.
About MResult Services Pvt Ltd
MResult Services Pvt. Ltd. is an end-to end Data & Analytics Intelligence solutions provider, providing solutions to companies that value insights from information as a competitive advantage. Their primary services are around Analytics, Data Management, Data Integration, Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, Automation and Digital Engineering. They help companies plan, build and manage solutions designed around their missions, goals and people rather than specific technologies. Founded in 2004, and headquartered in Mystic Connecticut, the company has over 500 employees spread across the globe. Trusted by several Fortune 500 companies to design, develop and manage solutions that enable critical decision making and optimal operations, MResult prides itself on being the industry’s premier partner for cost-effective digital transformation.

Student Counsellor invited as a Resource Person by SDM College of Business Management, Mangaluru

Mr. Ankith S Kumar, the Student Counsellor, was invited as the Resource Person for interaction with the BHRD students of SDM College of Business Management, Mangaluru on the topic - "Mindfulness". Mr. Ankith S Kumar spoke on the various aspects of Mindfulness and the methods of practicing it. He also demonstrated simple relaxation techniques.

Quote for the day

Without hustle, talent will only carry you so far.
- Gary Vaynerchuk