“Words may show a man’s wit, but actions his meaning”. If we desire a change, it is imperative that our efforts should be reflected in our actions. Due to remarkable technological advancements and revolutionary industrial methodologies adopted so far, the environment has been continuously deteriorated since several decades. Despite various efforts made by eminent scientists and environment managers at national and international levels, it seems to be quite challenging to improve or rather uphold the degrading environment of our planet. Hence, it is the need of the hour to sensitize our young generations regarding environmental issues and their awareness should be reflected in their actions at their individual level. More importantly, it is the duty of educational institutions to nurture a feeling of social and moral responsibility in our youth and impart them with necessary expertise and skills.

Department of Chemistry, Manav Rachna International Institute of Research and Studies lays emphasis on teaching and training students broadly in the assessment of environmental implications of technological advancements and the possible solutions to various potential hazards. The students are always motivated to put their best efforts to prepare and submit a report on different environmental action projects and/or environmental issues. First Year students have successfully completed the field work as a part of EVS curriculum as prescribed by UGC. They have visited different sites/industries to identify the environment related issues in real scenarios. Students presented their field work observations, analysis of environmental processes and sustainability issues along with suggested possible remedies to these problems. Their work was evaluated on the basis of the quality of their content, explanatory skills and their approach to address the environmental issues through their scientific understanding.

In this regard, a project and quiz competition “Explore and Protect Environment” was conducted by Department of Chemistry at FET, MRIIRS on 30^th March, 2018. The aim of event was two-fold, first to promote environmental protection awareness among students and secondly to evaluate their field work. The students participated in quiz & project competition in a large number and won prizes in each category. Dr. Krishna Kant, Executive Director & Dean FET, MRIIRS chaired the session as the Chief Guest of the event. Five teams- Green Minded, Algae Attack, Nature Lovers, Tree Hugger and Eco-Explorer were constituted from the students shortlisted in a written test which was attempted by more than two hundred students of various disciplines. Tree Hugger grabbed the first prize.

The quiz competition was followed by 13 oral presentations based on field/industry visit and case studies. The presentations were very informative and made it difficult for the judges to declare the winners as all the contributions were outstanding. On the basis of project presentations first and second prizes were given to Aman Garg, B.Tech (CSE) and Shashwat Malik (ME) respectively.