PANAJI:
Goa Institute of Management (GIM) recently concluded their one-of-a-kind competition, a Sustainability Hackathon on Water Conservation and Waste Management. The event brought out new concepts and ideas generated by the students which could be implemented within the 50-acre GIM campus itself. The ideas which were proposed by the students for water conservation and waste management at the campus were insightful, cost-effective and creative.
The first prize was bagged by Radhika Kulkarni, Vedanshi Tulshyan, Rashi Sharma, Nirmalkumar Rathi and Vishalkumar Bankar. The team proposed an idea to install recharge wells on the campus which would effectively utilize water resources and replenish the aquifers at the campus. This would benefit not only the campus but the surrounding areas as well.
The second and third prize was awarded to teams which focused on reduction and management of waste in the campus through various solutions. The second placed team came up with a project dealing with paper waste and sanitary waste disposal. They proposed reduce usage of paper for academic purposes through recycling or installing an online portal for academic work. The team also suggested an awareness campaign for proper disposal of sanitary napkins along with ensuring adequate disposal facilities in the hostels.
The third placed student team came up with a project that was centered around the idea of installing a biogas plant at the back of the cafeteria inside the college premises, in order to make productive use of the wet waste i.e. food waste produced in the cafeteria on a regular basis. The initiative would result in a reduced consumption of LPG by 30% in college.
Dr. Ajit Parulekar, Director GIM explained that GIM was focused on developing a sustainable campus. “The most suitable ideas emerging from the hackathon are expected to be implemented by GIM in the coming year. These initiatives are also planned to be further expanded beyond the campus and evaluated for adoption by the surrounding communities.”
The keynote speaker for the event Perses Billimoria, a well-known independent environmental services professional and also the founder and CEO of Earthsoul India Pvt Ltd, Mumbai, in his address, spoke about the alarming degree of climate change which was becoming evident every year with the high variations in the weather patterns. He felt that earlier generations had failed to protect and conserve the natural resources. He hoped that the present day youth would be the catalyst of change and target the reversal of the harmful effects which society has had on the environment.
Kavita Patil from The Energy and Resource Institute (TERI) and Rohan Ghadi from Goa Waste Management Corporation held a workshop on the main themes of the event. They also provided expertise and guidance to the participating teams through personal interactions.
The final presentations by the teams were judged by a panel consisting of Engr. S. Nadkarni, Chief Engineer, Water Resources Department, Goa, Parag Rangnekar, Program Manager, Goa Mineral Foundation and Prof Neeraj Amarnani, Academic Dean at GIM. An innovative method for an audience poll was also held, using the mobile phone with an installed app as the tool.
