Manipal Carnival 2013 - A day of celebration

The Manipal Carnival was held at the Manipal University, Dubai campus on the 9th of may 2013. Every year the Carnival is hosted at the university to celebrate students who excel in dance, singing and acting.

This year the the students also celebrated the ethnic day with the Carnival which added to the festive spirits of the day. Students dressed in their traditional ethnic clothes and enjoyed a day of fun and leisure as they watched some amazing performances by their fellow college mates. This year the competitions included duet singing, duet dance, group dance and Kya Scene Hai (students reenact scenes from films). Many students eagerly participated to show off their talents.

"The Carnival is the event which most looked forward by the students. It not only allows the most talented students to display themselves but also provides a platform for other students who may not have taken part in the inter-college competitions. With no classes faculty and students can relax have a day of fun and enjoyment." says Mrs. Uma Prasad, the Student Services Officer.

The winners included:

Duet Singing
1st place- Danisha and Maryam
2nd place- Swapnesh and Asha
3rd place - Swapnesh and Altaf

Duet Dance
1st place- Vikyath and Kevin
2nd place- Geetu and Sangeeta
3rd place- Maryam and Zohra

Group Dance
1st place- Hardeep and group
2nd place- Kevin and group

Kya Scene Hai- Winners
Fatima and group- Sholay

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Technovanza 2013- Technology meets Innovation

A school student displays his project at the exhibition held in Technovanza

The Department of Engineering held their annual event 'Technovanza' on the 5th May 2013. It is an independent event run by Dept. of Engineering students of Manipal University, Dubai, is the pioneer of science and technology festivals in UAE. It is UAE's largest annual science and technology festival. Apart from this, it has been involved in taking many path breaking initiatives to promote eco-friendly technology and revolutionise the present day UAE society. 

Technovanza started in 2009 with the aim of providing a platform for students to showcase their talents in the field of science and technology and in the short period of 4 years has grown to become UAE's largest festival of its kind largest festival of its kind.

This year the event held a wide variety of competitions based on technology, design, innovation and creative thinking. The competitions included Designation, Cinnovation, Cognisance, Electromaze, Gamer 3.0 and Exhibition. 

Students of civil engineering take part in the Cinnovation competition.

The event which had started out as a intra-college initiative has now become both inter college and school. Around 200 school students from 15 schools all over Dubai eagerly participated this year. "Technovanza helped not only bring new innovative and creative ideas of the students forward but it also let them have a lot of fun while participating in it. We are very happy with it's successful execution  this year." says Dr. Kota Reddy, Head of the Department of Engineering.

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ISM students make an industry visit to data center

On 5^th March 2013, final year students from BSc Information Systems and Management program went for the Industry visit to a leading IT Industry in Dubai.

The visiting students were from Network Management and Software Management specializations along with Prof. M I Jawid Nazir. The purpose of the visit was to learn how one organization manages its network connectivity and how much it takes to keep up the network.

During the visit, the students have explored the server room, network infrastructure and connectivity within the organization as well as outside the organization. Along with the networking devices used by the organization, various devices like the storage, channels, routers, switches, servers, UPS etc. were also shown. The network engineers briefed the entire infrastructure. The visit was very informative and useful.

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From robots on walls to artificial life

 

 

 

WORKSHOP on Robotics will be held on 20th February 2013 for the following students.

Slot 1: Time: 8.30 am to 10.00 am
Venue: Auditorium, third floor, Block A
Students: VI Sem. Mechatronics, Mechanical and ECE, IV Sem. Mechatronics and Mechanical

Slot 2: Time: 10.20 am to 12.00 noon
Venue: Computer lab, First floor, Block B
Students: VI Sem. Mechatronics and Mechanical

About the speaker: Mr. Dhananjay Ipparthi, is a Ph.D. student at the Universite Libre De Bruxelles, in Brussels, Belgium. Prior to ULB, he worked at West Virginia University-NASA Robotics Center. His academic background is a Master of Science from the University of California, Riverside & Bachelor of Engineering from Fr. C. Rodrigues Institute of Technology, Navi Mumbai, University of Mumbai. His current research interest is in Artificial Life.

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15 most romantic songs

Feeling awfully romantic, or plan to make your love a nice collection of the 'most romantic' songs, or simply a romantic playlist for a long drive you planned for your special someone...then you might want to check our special Valentine's day playlist:

1. I can't help falling in love with you - Elvis Presley

2. My heart goes on - Celine Dion 

3. Two is better than one - Boys like Girls

4. Hero - Enrique Iglesias

5. You belong with me - Taylor Swift

6. What makes you beautiful - One direction

7. Vanilla Twilight - Owl City

8. From this moment - Shania Twain

9. Perfect - Boyce Avenue Acoustic Cover

10. Lucky - Jason Marz & Colbie Caillat

11. You and me - Lifehouse

12. Bless the broken road - Rascal Flatts

13. You - Switichfoot

14. I wanna grow old with you - Westlife

15. Kiss Me (She's All That) - Sixpence None the Richer

By Srijita Chattopadhyay

The writer is a final year undergrad media and communications student specializing in journalism at Manipal University, Dubai.

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20 most romantic movies

With Valentine's Day being today, I think every boy and girl is preparing gifts, buying presents, reserving tables or planning a great day. But for those of you who want to enjoy this day chilling at home watching movies, these are the ones you should be watching :

1. The Notebook:

2. A walk to remember:

3. While you were sleeping:

4. Dirty Dancing:

5. Pretty woman:

6. August Rush:

7. Phantom of Opera:

8. Pride and Prejudice:

9. 50 first dates:

10. Titanic:

11. Love actually:

12. Four wedding and a funeral :

13. Top Gun:

14. Ghost:

15. 500 days of Summer:

16. French Kiss:

17. The proposal:

18. Across the universe:

19. P.S. I love you:

20. 10 things I hate about you:

By Srijita Chattopadhyay

The writer is a final year undergrad media and communications student specializing in journalism at Manipal University, Dubai.

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Care for a free movie ticket?

STUDENT OFFER: Buy 1 movie ticket , get one free every Tuesday at Meydan IMAX Theatre. All you have to do is present your student ID. Log on to their website for more details.

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DIAC hosts WOW'13 in February!

CAMPUS EVENTS: Please be informed that the DIAC’s “Week Of Welcome” would be held on February 6th and 7th at DIAC Campus. 

Week of Welcome also known as WOW is a signature event that helps students orient. It welcomes freshers and old students to take part in a series of activities scheduled over a week. This year, activities include sports, gaming, fashion, art, music and performances.

Students interested can register by following this link > http://www.diacedu.ae/student-services/student-hub-events-registration

If you require further information, contact Head of Student Services, Ms. Uma Prasad (Block A, 1st floor).
 

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MOVIE REVIEW - Gangster Squad: Beyond Bloody Brilliant!

If I were to describe the film, Gangster Squad in two words, they would be bloody  brilliant! Actually make that bloody and brilliant. It does not reach the movie Lawless in its level of gore, but it comes close. The stylized noir crime drama grounded in a "based on a true story” plot setup revolves around LAPD officers and detectives forming a group called the "Gangster Squad unit" who attempt to keep Los Angeles safe from powerful con, Mickey Cohen (played by Sean Penn) and his gang during the 1940s and '50s.   

In terms of acting, the entire cast played their roles to perfection. Particularly noteworthy performances were by Ryan Gosling, the cop of a few words; Sean Penn, the angry mobster and Emma Stone, the stunning, innocent girl caught up in a world of cops and crime. The movie is wonderfully directed by  Ruben Fleischer (best known for Zombieland) with some action scenes that just guarantee to take your breath away, particularly towards the end. 

Watch the trailer: Gangster Sqaud

However, on the down side, the movie did have some minor flaws: Personally I felt that the pace was irregular and the movie came close to releasing too much tension, however it usually made up for it, in the next scene. Violence was so dominant yet taken very lightly in Gangster Squad leaving the audiences quickly desensitized to death and gore. This clearly justifies the reason why the film's release was postponed from September to January in the wake of the 2012 Aurora shooting. 

There were certain characters such as Officer Max Kennard played by Robert Patrick, Officer Navidad Ramirez played by Michael Peña and Officer Coleman Harris played by Anthony Mackiewho who did not seem fully developed and a bit more perspective and depth as characters would have been welcome. 

However despite the flaws, director Fleischer and scriptwriter Will Beall (who is writing Justice League) have succeeded in making every scene as entertaining as the last, keeping viewers interested and excited throughout the film. Without giving too much of the plot away, I can safely say that Gangster Squad is a must watch mobster movie that I would rate 8.7 out of 10.

Behavioural warning: After watching the movie, males should expect the sudden urge to wear suits.

By Tarish Tolani

The writer is a first year undergrad student pursuing Media and Communications. He is also the President of the Student Film Club (2012-2013).


Have you watched the film? Comment below and tell us what you thought of it. Do you agree with Tarish's review? Do you think that "Gangster Squad" would be as successful and enjoyable without the gore?

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Exams: The proverbial "hitting the wall" moment

Don't let exams get the better of you. Photo credit: Inrumour

Although the latter months of 2012 went by at a blinding pace, the start of the New Year marked the dreaded external exams. No matter how well prepared you are there comes a point about halfway through the exam period where coffee and power naps don't cut it. You need a good meal, a warm bath and a good night's sleep. However while you fade away into your dream world while staring blankly at your notes, you're snapped back to the real world where several confusing concepts and answers are staring you in the face.

The very first thought that enters your mind is "WHO CARES!?". The answer quite simply is no one really. It doesn't really matter to the teachers, the university, your future employer or you whether or not, you understand the module. The sad truth is that even if you forget the concepts the moment your leave the examination room, you need to remember them before the exam. 

Once it's all said and done, and you have your degree in your hand, you won't remember the moments you almost gave up, but rather the stuff you did understand and the fun you had through your course. Understanding this, will only come if you actually sit down and study. As hard as it may be, once you set your mind to it and begin, you've already taken the first giant leap towards doing well. 

At the end of the day what really matters is powering through every exam and assignment with a Bruce Willis: Die Hard/ attitude and if the urge should take over, when you do finish each exam you can look forward to screaming "YIPPIKAYE ANOTHER EXAM DOWN!"

By Tarish Tolani

The writer is a first year undergraduate student pursuing Media and Communications. 

How many of you think of exams as dreadful but make up the best memories of your college life? Comment below.

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