Psychology fest at Thapar a big hit with students
PATIALA: Prof Manas K Mandal, distinguished professor of Psychology, IIT Kharagpur, and a former Director General of Life Sciences, DRDO, here today apprised the students of the huge employment potential for psychologists in different departments, particularly police, paramilitary forces and other allied forces, and said that gone were the days when the psychologists had limited employment potential.
Mandal was delivering his keynote address at the Psychology Festival `Synesthesia: Fathom the Mind’ organised by the School of Humanities and Social Sciences, Thapar Institute of Engineering and Technology.
Prof Manas K Mandal, who is also a former Director, DIPR, DRDO, discussed the importance of psychological science in today’s society and tomorrow’s technology. He further emphasized that the need is for an approach that is trans-disciplinary and transnational in research and practice of psychological science.
Yogindra Mohan, Senior Journalist and Columnist, Former Deputy News Editor, The Indian Express, who was the chief guest at the festival, said both psychology and media offered the potential to fathom the mind. “The media reflects the state of affairs of our society. The display and placement of news gives the reader an idea of its seriousness. The editorials help us understand issues better. Similarly, psychological scales can give us insights about our default frame of mind, our personality,” he added.
Introducing the guests to the audience, Prof Santha Kumari, Head, School of Humanities and Social Sciences, TIET, disclosed that new courses including Post Graduate Diploma (Professional) in Clinical and Counselling Psychology, which will commence from this academic session. The School of Humanities and Social Sciences had already been offering Master programme and Doctoral Programme in Psychology with specialization in Clinical and Counselling Psychology since 2015, she added.
The festival saw participation of more than 200 students from various cities of Punjab. As part of the festival, various exhibitions, including Stamps on Psychology of Health and Evolution of Indian Cinema by Rakesh Walia, a renowned Philatelist and writer, were held to introduce the audience to the nuances of the field of Psychology as a profession. Faculty members of TIET organized Psychology testing services for the faculty and students of neighboring colleges who participated in the event.
Teams from different colleges from various cities participated in the competitions like debate, quiz, extempore role play, skits, mime, and photography which were held as part of the event. GCG college, Ludhiana, won the first prize in Quiz competition and Role Play whereas GGD SD College, Chandigarh, got the first trophy in Skit Competition. Guru Nanak Khalsa College for Women, Ludhiana, got second prize for Quiz and Skit Competitions.
