UBS, in collaboration with the Light of Life Trust (LOLT), a notable and prominent NGO, commenced the SMART project for the students of MBA 1st year. The Inauguration ceremony and briefing was on 21st January was followed by the project over 6 days and concluded with the Presentation & Felicitation program on 28th January. The event had Mr. Ramesh Daswani, CEO of Light of Life Trust and Ms. Mruganka Gulhane, Senior CSR Head of Bajaj FinServ as the Chief Guest of the event. It was presided over by Brigadier GPS Cheema with Professor Nilanka Chatterjee, Professor Elora Basumatary & Professor Priya Solomon in attendance with the LOLT’s members.
PROJECT ANANDO- Education
TEAM EDUCATION
Education has been one of the primary segments of Project Anando. Teams of 10 students each were sent to various nearby villages of Murbad and Karjat. The students organized various academics, personality development, game & fun sessions. The importance of education and various career opportunities available for them was explained to the parents, through an awareness campaign. The students truly enjoyed being a part of the CSR activity and enlightening people on various issues with sustainable livelihood, being an important one.
PROJECT JAGRUTI- Community Development
TEAM LIVELIHOOD
For four villages—Kadav, Kashele, Tiware, and Murbad; the Livelihood project was carried out under the supervision of LOLT and Professors Raj Barai and Dhaval Bhatt. For the residents of the villages, more than 110 students conducted awareness campaigns, seminars, street plays, competitions, and recreation activities. Through this, the students collectively tried to increase awareness of the rising demand for computers and the merits of LOLT’s Tally, MSCIT, and Typing courses for students. Focusing on the empowerment of women, the team members created programmes to encourage women to enrol in tailoring and beauty school so they can become financially independent and support their families. Students had an amazing experience working on the field and understanding the ground realities.
TEAM HEALTH
The healthcare team, under the supervision of Prof. Maninee Dhole, worked tirelessly in over ten villages across Murbad and Karjat. Travelling across these places, providing essential information regarding free eye check-ups, conducting plays to demonstrate the importance of cleanliness, and interacting with kids in different schools to teach the intricacies of living a healthy life were some of the things they ornamented. Dental care and hygiene were also assimilated effectively. As an appreciation for the diligent contributions, the healthcare team was awarded the “Best-Presenter Team” by the panellists.
TEAM ENVIRONMENT
The SMART project’s Environment team had some challenging work to perform by engaging in direct environmental interaction. They learned about different crops and had the opportunity to practise farming under the supervision of Professor Rajendra Patel and the Head of LOLT. They gained knowledge of the specifics of a sapling, soil, and a plant breed, as well as the numerous agricultural techniques, equipment, and methods of execution. Students with a background in farming found it more engaging since they could relate. Sustainability is the way forward, as this team got first- hand knowledge of it.
TEAM ENTREPRENEURSHIP
Introducing Entrepreneurship for the very first time, under the guidance of Dr. Ansari Sarwar Alam and LOLT Head, the project was successfully completed. To locate job prospects for the students, a group of 20 UBS students travelled to regions including Badlapur, Ambernath, Khopoli, Mohapada, and Karjat. In addition to this, the Entrepreneurship team continuously monitored the student’s personality development and interview skills, and as a result could come up with a number of techniques to improve their abilities in terms of domain knowledge and soft skills.
