SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES OF THE PROPOSAL:

• To achieve highest potential for excellence in the emerging field
  of Life Sciences.The DBT Star College Program has helped to strengthen and develop Science education and training at the undergraduate level. It has helped to improve critical thinking and hands-on training on experimental work in new and upcoming technologies needed for modern scientific studies at Undergraduate level. The five departments of Botany, Chemistry, Microbiology, Physics and Zoology have done well under this scheme and as a result more students are increasingly taking up these subjects in their careers. DBT has provided academic and physical infrastructure for achieving excellence in teaching and a unique exposure of students to experimental science and initiate project work at the Undergraduate level. The project works and training programs helped the students perform well at various interviews for higher education. Many of our students are pursuing PG & research in renowned research institutions.
  Following are some of the very notable projects undertaken under the Star College Program:

i. Department of Botany
The Department of Botany upgraded their Tissue Culture Laboratory with the recurring fund of DBT-STAR College Program and has utilized this lab for the in-vitro propagation of Bacopa monnieri (L.) Wettst. – A Medicinal Plant. A project work was undertaken involving the B.Sc. Honours students of the Department to establish an optimum in vitro methodology for clonal propagation, callus induction & organogenesis of Bacopa monnieri. The International Union for Conservation of Natural and National Resources has listed Bacopa monnieri as a threatened species. Tissue culture technique has been successfully used for propagation and the conservation of the germplasm of this important and threatened medicinal plant. Up to date, there is little report on stable in vitro clonal propagation and somatic embryogenesis of Bacopa monnieri. The project began with a training workshop for the undergraduate students of the department on 6.2.2020 and since then the students of the department have been working on this project and have been successful in establishing a suitable and reproducible protocol for in vitro multiplication and rapid regeneration of this species. At present they are working on the isolation of secondary metabolites and extraction of active compounds from callus sources. Recently this laboratory has also been utilized for training of students of City College, Kolkata on Plant Tissue Culture.

1. 1. Interdisciplinary Project
      Rampant violation of green norms in Kolkata and adjoining districts, particularly those within the industrial belt, has been the main cause of the increase of pollution levels in Kolkata and areas beyond. Keeping this in mind, an interdisciplinary project was initiated under the DBT-STAR College Program to train the students on the study the different aspects of pollution in different regions of Kolkata. Following projects were assigned to the Undergraduate students by the different departments:

Department of Botany

1. 1. 1. 1. The students of the Department of Botany were involved in a
            project entitled “Biomonitoring of air quality in Kolkata city with gall of Alstonia scholaris”. The project aimed to detect morphological and biochemical changes in the leaves of Alstonia scholaris that are exposed to vehicular emission. The results of the project clearly indicate that vehicular load brought significant changes in foliar morphology, numbers of gall formation and biochemical parameters such as pigment content, enzyme activities, etc. of leaves of A. scholaris which clearly indicated that the increased Air Pollution Index and gall formation in A. scholaris can be used as early monitoring parameters for air pollution by vehicular emission.
         2. The students also worked on a project entitled “Comparative Assessment of Cadmium, Chromium Resistance Capacity of Amaranthus viridis, Trianthema portulacastrum, Alternanthera philoxeroides collected from contaminated site and Assessment of Phytoremedial potential”. Among heavy metals cadmium and chromium pollution of soil is an alarming environmental issue in Kolkata as these metals are released in the atmosphere by anthropogenic activity (industry, agriculture and domestic applications). Being biologically non-essential both these metals are phytotoxic and injurious to animal also. Plants with greater capacity of metal accumulation are potential candidate of phytoremediation for cleanup of heavy metal contaminated soil.

Department of Chemistry

1. 1. 1. 1. The first year undergraduate students of the Department of
            Chemistry are involved in the project entitled “Water analysis of drinking water from various sources from regions in and around Kolkata”. They have analyzed the samples for conductance and pH to correlate the parameters with TDS. This is an ongoing project. This analysis is being repeated often in order to get a quantitative idea of the drinking water in different seasons and in different areas of Kolkata and surroundings.
         2. The students have also been trained on Micellar Entrapment of Organic Pollutant from Water which is an Eco-Friendly Approach.

Department of Microbiology

1. 1. 1. 1. Plastic pollution is a major problem in Kolkata. The most
            common polymer in plastics is polyethylene (PE) and in natural form it is not biodegradable. Low density polyethylene is a vital cause of environmental pollution. The 3rd year UG students of the Department of Microbiology have been involved in a project entitled “Bioremediation: Studies on Isolation and Characterization of Plastic (Low Density Polyethylene) Degrading Bacteria from Soils collected from Petrol Contaminated and Waste Dump Areas in and around Kolkata” which aims to investigate, isolate and characterize plastic degrading bacteria and their
            biodegrading potential, from soil collected from waste dump sites and soil contaminated with petrol. They have been successful in extracting and maintaining isolates that are able to grow in a medium containing polyethylene as a sole carbon source. The strains have been partially characterized according to Bergey’s Manual.
            The students were also involved in 3 more projects entitled
         2. “Isolation, screening and characterization of cellulolytic bacteria from soil samples collected from waste dumps in and around Kolkata”,
         3. “Assessment of Microbiological quality of water in Kolkata and outskirts”
         4. “Determination of Keratinase enzyme activity with various natural keratinaceous substrates and it’s application in waste management”.

Department of Zoology
The undergraduate students of the Department of Zoology have been involved in a project entitled ‘Study of the expression of stress proteins or Heat Shock Proteins in fish’. The main site of fish sampling has been the East Kolkata Wetlands designated as International Ramsar site and are the hotspot for large-scale wastewater aquaculture practices. This East Kolkata Wetland/Sewage fed systems receive more than 5,50,000 m³ untreated wastewater per day.

ii. Department of Physics
A project work was undertaken by the undergraduate students of the Department of Physics for the preparation of Zinc Oxide nanoparticles that have significant Biological applications through the Hydrothermal Method and Solgel method. The equipment used in the preparation of the nanoparticles were mainly procured through the previous DBT Grant. A Wenser make ultrasonicator was later purchased that facilitated better mixing of the precursors and yielded better quality particles in terms of the microstructure. Zinc oxide (ZnO) is a large band gap semiconductor. It is being used in the manufacture of scratchproof sunglasses, transparent sunscreen, anti-graffiti coatings for walls, coating for Solar cell, etc.

iv. Department of Chemistry The Department of Chemistry gave their 3rd Year Undergraduate students an essence of Green Chemical Procedures. Microwave irradiation in synthetic organic chemistry is a novel technique and has a marked influence in synthesis of wide range of organic molecules. The methodology has highly reduced reaction time, improved yield, increased product purity, simplified work up procedure and encompasses all features of Green Chemistry. This methodology can be successfully used to synthesize chiral compounds, which has immense biological importance. The students were trained on 41 Microwave Assisted Organic Synthesis and an approach towards an Asymmetric Synthesis using this procedure.

• • To achieve the excellence in the research work in the latest field
    of Biology.
    

The DBT Star College enabled us to build on the existing laboratory infrastructure by installing new instruments, procuring multiple copies of instruments and expensive chemicals. This opened the doors for the Undergraduate students to an optimized research environment, where they have been able to participate in practical training on experiments beyond their syllabus and undertake project work, which could not be performed earlier due to non-availability of equipment or expensive chemicals.

The DBT-Star Status Scheme provided an excellent opportunity for students just entering into the degree course to learn how to incorporate learning strategies into content coursework. Through the different summer projects, workshops, seminars, etc. conducted as part of the program, the students became acquainted with some of the latest techniques and development in science and this stimulated original thinking, stimulated them to be more creative and innovative, gave them opportunities for constant improvement, instigated the feeling of teamwork and helped them adopt modern strategies and tools for ensuring the success of their projects.

The following training programs/workshops/summer internships were organized to provide hands-on-training on various techniques to students and scope of exploring topics beyond the syllabus as well as enjoy the flavour and fun of their own subjects and other related subjects:

Departmental workshops

Interdepartmental Workshops

Summer Training

Several project works were undertaken by the undergraduate students based on the techniques they were trained during the workshops and hands-on-training Programs. The following Project works were done by the students of the different departments under the Star College Scheme:

• 
  To create moments for the students to interact with the big
  personalities in Bio Sciences.
  

Several seminars/webinars and special lectures were organized during the
entire tenure which helped create moments for the students to interact with
the eminent personalities in Bio Sciences and related subjects.

• To collaborate with industries and research institutes and to
  provide access and exposure to students to research laboratories
  and industries.
  

The following visits to various industries were organized for students to see how theoretical concepts are applied in real-world situations. They learned about business operations, manufacturing processes, and the latest technologies. They even learned about current market trends and future industry dynamics and gained a better understanding of what their future career might hold. Various on field studies and visit to Research Institutes were also organized to experience new concepts first hand, state-of-the-art equipment and technology in their labs and libraries and learn about their ongoing research and development projects.

• 
  To enhance the quality of the learning and teaching process to
  stimulate original teaching and training.
  

The faculty improvement programs and the new infrastructure by procurement of new instruments helped upgrade the existing facilities and achieve excellence in teaching and training. This program provided access and exposure to students and teachers to research laboratories and industries in other parts of the state and country. We found that hands-on training offered a higher level of student retention than most other environments. Students tended to remember only a part of the information presented in lecture format, while they remembered more of the information, they learned first-hand.

Faculty Training Programs

Training Programs for Non-Teaching Staff

• To promote networking and strengthen ties with neighbouring
  institutions and other summer schools

The DBT-STAR College Program allowed us to initiate with outreach
activities both for school children as well as for College teachers serving
in different Colleges of West Bengal with the infrastructure developed
under the Star College Program.

For school students

The poor quality and exclusive nature of the learning environment in
schools in remote areas is leading to a large number of drop outs. Thus
the aim of this program was to:

• Help children witness experiments that they read only in their books and do not get the opportunity for any practical experience due to lack of equipment and infrastructure.
• Encourage children, especially girls who are living in the suburbs/ remote/ under-privileged areas have the guidance and motivation they need to go to school and take up science as their subject of study.
• Encourage students to perform some of the experiments on their own. These interventions may encourage these students to apply new and innovative models to overcome their critical challenge.

Equipment and other study material along with charts and specimens are being carried to the schools from the college for the demonstration of experiments prescribed in the theory of their syllabus. Students have also been invited to the College for demonstration of experiments utilizing the larger equipment and at Science Exhibitions organized by our students. Engaging our students in community service projects is a wonderful way of encouraging the students to be principled, caring and open minded. Learning outside the classroom and helping others encourages empathy and understanding in our students.

The schools benefitted include:

1. Nayachak Jadunath High School, Howrah

2. Sodepur Balika Vidyalaya (H.S), Haridebpur

3. Adi Mahakali Pathsala, Bara Bazar Market

4. St. Margaret Day School, Kolkata

For College Teachers and Students

The new CBCS (Choice Based Credit System) syllabus for undergraduate courses was launched by the University of Calcutta from the 2018-2019 session. The undergraduate curriculum, particularly for the Practicals have been exhaustively re-structured in the newly introduced syllabus with incorporation of some new features. For this reason, orientation of the teachers at the beginning of the academic session has become necessary for uniform, appropriate and precise practical teaching in the laboratories. Framing well-defined and detailed instruction for the different experiments and subsequent training is extremely important for conducting practical classes in the different colleges. This would help to maintain parity between what and how experiments are being taught in the different Colleges under the University and the training of students for evaluation after the end of the semester. The DBT-STAR College Program gave an opportunity for the College to organize training programs for College Teachers using the expertise of resource persons from different Universities and Institutes utilizing the instruments installed under the Program.

The Colleges benefitted through the different programs include:

1. Ananda Mohan College, Kolkata

2. Acharya Prafulla Chandra Roy Government College,
Matigara, Siliguri

3. Asutosh College, Kolkata

4. Bangabasi Morning College, Kolkata

5. Bankim Sardar College, Halapara, South 24 Parganas

6. Barasat Government College, Barasat

7. Bethune College, Kolkata

8. Bhairab Ganguly College, Kolkata

9. Bidhannagar College, Kolkata

10. Bijoy Krishna Girls College, Howrah

11. Chandernagore College, Barabazar, Chandannagar

12. Charuchandra College, Kolkata

13. City College, Kolkata

14. Dhrubachand Halder College, Dakshin Barasat

15. Dinabandhu Andrews College, Kolkata

16. Egra Sarada Shashi Bhusan College, Egra, Dist –
Midnapore

17. Fakir Chand College, Diamond Harbour

18. Government General Degree College, Tehatta

19. Hiralal Mazumdar Memorial College for Women,
Dakshineswar

20. Hooghly Mohsin College, Hooghly, Chuchura

21. Jhargram Raj College (Girls’ Wing), Jhargram

22. Jogesh Chandra Chaudhuri College, Kolkata

23. Kachrapara College, Kalyani

24. Maulana Azad College, Kolkata

25. Nabagram Hiralal Paul College, Nabagram, Konnagar

26. Panskura Banamali College, Panskura R.S., Purba
Medinipur

27. Prabhat Kumar College, Contai, Midnapore

28. Presidency College, Kolkata

29. Raja Peary Mohan College, Hooghly, Kotrung, Uttarpara

30. Raidighi College, South 24 Parganas

31. Scottish Church College, Kolkata

32. Serampore College, Serampore

33. Shri Shikshayatan College, Kolkata

34. Surendranath College, Kolkata

35. The Heritage College, Kolkata

36. THK Jain College, Kolkata

37. Uluberia College, Uluberia, Howrah

38. Vidyasagar College for Women, Kolkata

39. Vivekananda College for Women, Kolkata

For Society

The Nature Club of Department of Microbiology, Lady Brabourne College took an initiative of a Mangrove Plantation Program in the Sunderbans on 8.6.2022 & 9.6.2022 under the DBT-STAR College Program in which 17 students of UG Semester II and IV, Faculty members, Research Scholars and Non-teaching staff of the Department participated. This field trip and outreach programme was organized to celebrate World Environment Day. The students and teachers planted mangrove plants like Byne (Avicennia sp.), Kakra (Bruguiera gymnorrhiza) and Geowa (Excoecaria agallocha) in Chargheri.

Following are the list of activities:

• 
  To increase capabilities of core instrumentation resources by
  procuring new technical capabilities
  
  .

The grants received from DBT support were very effective as Strengthening Components in upgrading our labs and procuring multiple units of instruments required for the present UG CBCS and NEP curriculum. More number of students are getting access to instruments during the normal practical classes due to presence of multiple copies of the same. The students are now able to undertake more lab based project work due to availability of expensive chemicals and sufficient instruments. The College is now able to organize Training Programs for students, Faculty Training Programs, Training Programs for Laboratory Staff and Industrial visits, which the beneficiaries are able to attend free of cost, as no registration fees are charged.