Jamia Millia sheds ghost of 2020 by hitting all the right notes

New Delhi: The Jamia Millia Islamic University in the national capital, which was in news last year mainly for non-academic and controversial reasons, has been gradually coming out of the "unsavory" episodes this year by setting new records on the academic front.

In a moment of pride, the Jamia team has won Toycathon 2021. Six researchers got the Prime Minister's Research Fellowship. Also, Jamia students have received the International 'Diana Award 2021' and the International Outstanding Achievement Award for Film Making.

A team of three students from the Department of Civil Engineering, has won this year's Toycathon-2021 competition. The Toycathon was an inter-ministerial initiative of the Innovation Cell of the Ministry of Education, Ministry of Women and Child Development, Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Ministry of MSME, Ministry of Textiles and Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.

A mathematical board game has been designed by the students of Jamia. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had personally interacted with the participants of Toycathon-2021 through video conferencing. Toycathon had 1.2 lakh participants. More than 17,000 ideas were submitted. After the grand finale, out of 1,567 ideas, only 117 were selected.

Jamia Vice Chancellor Professor Najma Akhtar congratulated the winning team and said that since the inception, the university has been playing an important role in nation building. "Jamia always strives to bring out the hidden talent of its students so that they can become successful and responsible citizens," she said.

Kaif Ali, a student of Jamia Architecture graduate, was awarded the 'Diana Award 2021'. Established in memory of Diana, Princess of Wales, the award is given by a charity named after her. It is supported by both his sons, The Duke of Cambridge and The Duke of Sussex.

Kaif did a research on how architecture can help prevent the spread of a disease like Covid-19. He designed a prefabricated sustainable shelter that would not only help reduce the transmission of the virus but could also house people.

Kaif told that this design is now being used in Lagos, Nigeria. It has been recognized by the Government of India, Commonwealth of Nations and the United Nations as one of the top 11 emerging innovation start-ups addressing climate action. Also, the Jamia students have won the Outstanding Achievement Award (LIAF) in the student category at the Arthouse Film Festival on June 15 this year. The students have made a special film 'Dhai Pahar' (Two and Half Moments).

Sixteen Jamia students including six girls have cleared the Indian Administrative Services exam this month. The students who received coaching and training at Jamia's Residential Coaching Academy (RCA), have also cleared the Bihar Administrative Service examination.

Selected students will be appointed as SDM, DSP, Revenue Officer, Commercial Tax Officer etc in Bihar. In June, an eco-friendly cement invention by Dr Ibadur Rahman, Assistant Professor, Department of Civil Engineering, Jamia, got patended.

Rahman said that this invention along with other researches from AMU, have been granted a patent as an intellectual property by the Australian government. Earlier, in May this year, six scholars from Jamia were awarded the prestigious Prime Minister's Research Fellowship (PMRF). These students have been selected in May this year under the Lateral Entry Scheme of December 2020 drive.

The students who have been selected for the Prime Minister's Research Fellowship are Fozia Tabassum, Momina from the Department of Civil Engineering, Azra Malik from the Department of Electrical Engineering, Feroz Khan from the Center for Nanoscience and Nanotechnology, Aliya Tyeb from the Fundamentals of Science and Ashi from the Center for Physiotherapy and Rehabilitation Sciences.