Shimla: As part of the 38th Foundation Day celebrations of the university, a one-day workshop on the theme ‘Strengthening of Alumni network: Awareness Campaign on Entrepreneurship Opportunities and Job availabilities in Forestry and Horticulture Sector’ was organized on Thursday at Dr. YS Parmar University of Horticulture and Forestry. The workshop was organised under the IDP-NAHEP project of ICAR.
Five alumni of the university- Ajai Rana, CEO of Savannah Seeds; Dr. Umesh Mahajan, Founder of Amazon Seeds and Sherpa Eco Resort; Ashish Dobhal, Regional Director of UPL; Manjula Sularia, Director, Prasanchetas Foundation and Rupinder Singh, Founder of NV Trading and Consultancy took part in the workshop which was attended by the faculty and over 300 UG and PG students.
Dr. Manish Kumar, Dean College of Horticulture welcomed all the participants and said that the interaction aimed to apprise them about the job and entrepreneurial opportunities in the corporate sector and encourage them to initiate startups and become job providers. The alumni shared their experiences and enlightened students about the job and entrepreneurial opportunities in the Horticulture and Forestry sector.
Ajai Rana emphasized that the students must develop leadership qualities, confidence and start believing in themselves. Ashish Dobhal shared his happiness to see the upgradation of the infrastructure in the campus and showed his willingness to take up research projects with the university. Dr. Umesh Mahajan highlighted the importance of extracurricular activities during student life while Rupinder Singh shared his experience of developing his Trading and consultancy company and highlighted the importance of technology in the improvement of the agriculture sector. Manjula Sularia expressed her willingness to take sessions with students to prepare them for serving in different sectors in the horticulture and forestry industry.
The alumni also addressed the queries put forward by the students on various issues like the scope of digital marketing, the preparation of students for setting up their own businesses and important sectors for startups in today’s context. Earlier, Dr. KK Raina, PI-IDP highlighted the infrastructure and other facilities created under IDP project on the campus.
A meeting of the alumni association was held with the University authorities under the chairmanship of Vice Chancellor Prof. Rajeshwar Singh Chandel. All the invited alumni assured their support and willingness to participate in different programs for developing proactive industrial interfaces through job fairs, campus placements and MoUs. The Vice-Chancellor emphasized the need to connect and reconnect with the notable alumni who are serving in top positions in different industries. He also emphasized the need to develop a mechanism to define the role and importance of the alumni in the development of the institute and undergraduate and postgraduate students of the university. The event concluded with a vote of thanks by Dr. Harish Kumar Sharma, Consultant IDP.