‘CREATE YOUR OWN FUTURE, ACTOR ASHISH VIDYARTHEE TELLS SOA ENGINEERING STUDENTS

Bhubaneswar, March 3: “After your academics you have life, what matters is what you do with what life throws at you,” eminent Bollywood actor and motivational speaker Ashish Vidyarthee told a large gathering of students here.
“Nothing from your syllabus will be needed in life and you have to create your own future,” Vidyarthee said while speaking at the inauguration of the sixth edition of ‘SOA Proxima’, the two-day annual mega HR conclave organised by the Institute of Technical Education and Research (ITER), faculty of engineering and technology of Siksha ‘O’ Anusandhan Deemed to be University, on Friday.
Vidyarthee, who has acted in more than 350 films in 11 different languages, said “it does not matter where you come from, what matters is where you are headed.” The actor who won his first national award for the 1994 Govind Nihalani film ‘Droh Kaal’ said “I stepped out from an obscure place to fulfill my dreams.”
Vidyarthee advised the students not to regret if people made fun of them saying they should try to stay relevant and valuable. “You should remain humble enough to take your corrections,” he added.

The event, which was organised in association with Times Now and attended by 5000 students, faculty members and corporate leaders, aimed to bridge the gap between academia and industry and help foster new ideas and technology while spreading knowledge for the benefit of young minds. It also sought to connect campus talent with industry leaders while enabling the students to have a peep into the corporate world and understand its expectations.
The conclave began with a presidential address by Prof. Damodar Acharya, Chairman of the SOA Advisory Board while Mr. Ripti Ranjan Dash, Director, Corporate Relations and Industry Engagement, delivered the welcome address. Mr. Bibhu Panda, Delivery Center Head of Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) in Bhubaneswar and Mr. Souvik Das, Regional Head of Academic Alliances Group, India (East) at TCS also spoke.
The event featured a power-packed line up including keynote addresses by 24 top HR leaders, 12 engaging panel discussions, a project exhibition showcasing 35 innovative projects by SOA engineering students and networking sessions providing a platform for delegates to connect and share experiences.

The conclave focused on present industry expectations, desired skill sets beyond the curriculum and bridging the gap between academia and industry. As many as 117 HR, talent acquisition and early career recruitment leaders representing 100 IT and core industries from across India participated in the event which concluded with a stand-up comedy show by Mr. Vipul Goyal and cultural performances by SOA students.
The highlight of the event was the recognition of Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) as SOA Deemed to be University’s Most Valuable Campus Partner. It acknowledged TCS’s unwavering commitment to providing employment opportunities thereby fostering a long-term association with SOA since 2007. TCS had offered nearly 4500 job opportunities to SOA engineering students.

Furthermore, in collaboration with Times Now, SOA felicitated 30 exceptional HR leaders and experts with the Talent Acquisition Impact Award honouring their outstanding contributions to early career recruitment and talent acquisition strategy.