ITER team wins award at national-level innovation competition

Bhubaneswar: The students of Institute of Technical Education and Research (ITER), Siksha ‘O' Anusandhan Deemed to be University, won ‘People's Choice Award' at TECHgium 2026, a national-level innovation competition organised by L&T Technology Services.The project of the students from the faculty of engineering and technology, titled C.H.I.R.A.N.J.E.E.V.I, stood out among the entries from more than 62,000 students representing over 540 engineering institutions across the country. The award-winning team, comprising Koustav Bera, Tanishq Bhakuni, Swetanjana Maity and Ayan Bhattacharjee, was mentored by Ayes Chinmay. The ninth edition of TECHgium involved a rigorous nine-month evaluation process, with only 34 teams advancing to the final round to present prototypes before an eminent jury. The competition carried prizes worth more than Rs 18 lakh.IIT-Bhubaneswar workshop on landfill miningThe School of Infrastructure at Indian Institute of Technology (IIT)-Bhubaneswar hosted a two-day international workshop on "Landfill Mining of Legacy Waste (Geoenvironment-2026)" in hybrid mode recently to deliberate on sustainable solutions for remediation of old dumpsites.The workshop focused on emerging environmental and regulatory challenges linked to landfill mining and biomining initiatives aimed at scientific management of legacy waste.Bhubaneswar municipal commissioner Chanchal Rana, who was the chief guest, highlighted the growing challenge of urban waste management and stressed the need for scalable, affordable and sustainable landfill remediation technologies. Referring to the ongoing remediation of the Bhuasuni dumpsite, he underscored the importance of indigenous technologies, scientific waste characterisation and circular economy approaches.Additional chief environmental scientist of State Pollution Control Board, Odisha, Usharani Patnaik said the state made significant progress in legacy waste remediation, with 91 out of 102 identified dumpsites already remediated, reclaiming nearly 350 acres of land.Gridco director (commercial) Debasish Das emphasised sustainable waste management practices and the role of collaborative research in promoting environmental sustainability.KISS shines in CHSE +2 examinationMore than 50% of the students of Kalinga Institute of Social Sciences (KISS) secured first division in Council of Higher Secondary Education (CHSE) +2 examinations, the results of which were announced last week.A total of 1,847 students from KISS appeared in the examinations this year across arts, science and commerce streams. Of them, girls outperformed boys, continuing with the trend of previous years.In arts and commerce streams, five students each scored above 90%, while seven did so in science.Neha Kujur emerged as the topper in arts with 91% marks. In science, Saribala Munda topped with 96%, while Shashimani Majhi secured the highest marks in commerce with 91%.Founder of KIIT and KISS, Achyuta Samanta, congratulated the successful students and attributed the achievement to the dedication of faculty members, continuous mentoring and the hard work of the students.