Thu, Oct 3, 2024 | Updated 3:48PM IST

BURS leaders discuss fostering spirit of inquiry

Times of Bennett | Updated: Feb 13, 2024 23:26
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By Pranavi Ambati

Bennett University's School of Computer Science and Engineering Technology is abuzz with orientations, meetings and events as the Bennett Undergraduate Research Society (BURS) is working to put together their annual flagship event ResCon 3.0 for the academic year 2023-2024.

While the dates for the Research Conclave are yet to be announced, the BURS Core Team is on its toes to foster intrigue among students of the undergraduate programme. Helming the team are second-year CSE students Ayush Yadav and Atishya Pradhan as the club’s president and vice-president, respectively.

Despite both belonging to the School of Computer Science and Engineering Technology, the club in itself is all-inclusive. It caters to students of all undergraduate programmes, irrespective of the discipline-specific school they formally belong to.

“BURS is more than just a society; it is a nurturing environment,” Yadav said, addressing the club’s functioning. “One does not need to be an established researcher to be a part of the BURS. Anyone with even an ounce of curiosity to know about the world around us and willing to expand his/her learning is welcome to be part of this society,” he added.

How then does BURS captivate the students who perceive it to merely be a society that convenes to discuss research methods and publish papers?

“We organise multiple events throughout our tenure, all of which are intended to build anticipation up to the annual Research Conclave that takes place in April,” Pradhan explained. “We started off with our orientation programme christened ‘In The Loop’, that targets freshers and introduces them to the opportunities that lie with this club,” she added.

It was ‘Jigyasa’, however, that proved to be the research society’s most popular event on campus, and one which was truly inter-disciplinary. Featuring a Faculty panel comprising professors from all academic disciplines, the event saw an open dialogue between students and academicians.

Faculty panel sheds light on the vast world of research, aiding students navigate the complexities of an scholarly undertaking at the interdisciplinary event 'Jigyasa' .

Elaborating on the event, Pradhan said, “The Faculty panel facilitated all doubts that the students possessed about the world of research, ranging from the need for exhaustive study, to what methodologies to follow. Through this event, we brought students a step closer to investing their time in research, which serves the objective of our society.”

As two months remain until ResCon 3.0, the BURS leaders said they were looking to draw more attention towards their work and the avenues for young scholars through the club’s offerings.

(The writer is a Semester 4 student of the BA Journalism and Mass Communication programme.)