Somaiya Vidyavihar University News & Events ,Vidya Vihar, Mumbai

Somaiya Vidyavihar University organises ‘Immerse Art Festival’

March 23, 2022: As the country adjusts to the New Normal post-pandemic, Somaiya Vidyavihar University in Mumbai is hosting a physical community exhibition and artists-in-residence programme called Immerse. Natasha Jeysingh of Carpe Arte and Al-Qawi Nanavati of Young Art Support planned this exhibition, which was supported by Somaiya Vidyavihar University and directed by Shaleen Wadhwana. The team's momentum has demonstrated that hosting such community-driven events provides a fertile foundation for the sheer energy of raw, emerging, and independent talent to unite and actually produce fresh magic. From the 19 to the 29 of March 2022, the exhibition will be open to the public at the Somaiya Vidyavihar campus to show their support for our country's young talent.

The curator's walk was followed by a discourse mediated by Shaleen Wadhwana with Hena Kapadia, Veeranganakumari Solanki, and Sameer Kulavoor on the fourth day of the show. The event was attended by celebrities such as Rochelle Rao, Keith Sequeira, and Lisa Bocarro.

Siddharth Somaiya, speaking on the festival, stated "The artists here have never physically displayed their work because they are all fresh grads and have not had the opportunity to show their work in a physical venue due to the pandemic. I'm overjoyed that they'll be able to present their work to people from all around India. Hundreds of people have expressed gratitude for their efforts. I simply want the artists to reach for the stars."

About 139 Makers From Over 15 Countries Participates in The Seventh Edition Of Maker Mela

February 7, 2022: On Sunday, January 23, 2022, the seventh edition of Maker Mela, Asia's Biggest Maker Gathering and a flagship event for grassroots innovators around the world, completed successfully. More than 100 creative minds from all around the world took part in the three-day virtual event. The event is organised by riidl (Research Innovation Incubation Design Laboratory), a not-for-profit organisation under Somaiya Trust, with support from the National Science & Technology Entrepreneurship Development Board (NSTEDB), Department of Science & Technology, Government of India; Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council, Department of Biotechnology, Government of India; Maharashtra State Innovation Society, Government of Maharashtra to accelerate the maker movement in India and create a community of innovators.

Maker Mela launched a virtual forum for makers to showcase their innovations this year. On the Maker Mela platform, over 100 Makers from over 15 countries displayed their projects. Makers of all ages, from 9 years old to 66 years old, displayed their original ideas and iconic products in areas such as Art & Craft, Technology, Biotech, Environment, Gaming, and many others. Visitors from 83 countries, including India, Japan, the United States, South Korea, and Nepal, viewed these creators' films over 25,000 times in less than 30 hours.

A fireside chat with Dinesh Patel, a Star Maker at Maker Mela 2022 with his innovation & the much-loved humanoid robot (Shalu Robot) - the World's First Artificially Intelligent Homemade Social & Educational Humanoid Robot made out of waste materials and capable of speaking 9 Indian languages (Hindi, Bhojpuri, Marathi, Bangla, Gujarati, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, and Nepali) in Robot Shalu is a tribute to all Indian women and girls, and is part of the Prime Minister of India's Atmanirbhar Bharat and Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao missions.

The event concluded with the announcement of the winners and the closing ceremony. 18 participants from various categories were awarded.

Somaiya Vidyavihar Announces Darwin 2021 To Promote Cutting Edge Biology To Bio-Enthusiasts Worldwide 

September 8, 2021: The third edition of Darwin, an International Conference and One of India's Biggest Evolutionary Movements in Biology, kicks off with a schedule of events. Bioriidl, an offshoot of Research Innovation Incubation Design Laboratory (riidl), a not-for-profit organisation under Somaiya Trust, is organising the international conference, which is a Somaiya Vidyavihar project. From December 2 through December 5, 2021, a virtual conference will be place. At thedarwin.in, all bio-enthusiasts can register to attend the revolutionary conference. The theme for this year is ‘Cutting Edge Biology.' The deadline to register is November 20, 2021.

Darwin is an international conference aimed at bridging the gap between researchers and DIY bio-enthusiasts in order to promote Open Science. The conference is free to attend in order to raise awareness and financial support for the Bio-community by granting scholarships and project grants to help Biolabs and Biohackers thrive while encouraging research culture around the world. During the epidemic in 2020, Darwin sponsored the publication of nine research papers among the 43 paper presentations in the African Journal of Biological Sciences. Darwin has made an impact over the past two years by training over 2000 bio-enthusiasts in a variety of hands-on workshops with participants from 29 countries, funding five research projects among the 47 Biohacking presentations, and building an online community of over 10,000 bio-enthusiasts with a network of collaborating with over 35 DIY Biolabs and research-based organisations across the globe.

Darwin presented its first virtual conference with prominent scientists, a panel of industry professionals speaking on global research themes, virtual seminars, virtual tours of several facilities, and Research Symposium - a paper presentation competition in 2020, covering a wide spectrum of biological interests. The four-day event aimed to promote problem-solving through creativity, innovation, science, and research. Following the conference, in 2020, Darwin announced the formation of numerous Working Groups that will work for a year on a specific study topic and submit their findings in the Conference Proceedings of the following conference.

This year, Darwin will hold Regional Conferences throughout the world to reach out and promote DIY Bio culture in different timezones, as well as the Conference Proceedings prepared by the Working Groups.