The sixth edition of the Print Olympiad – India’s biggest talent hunt in printing, is in progress these days. The first round of the competition for the students studying in the printing institutions of North India (Central University of Haryana, Mahendergarh, GJUS&T, Hisar, Kurukshetra University, Kurukshetra, SITM, Rewari) was organized virtually on 28 January 2024.
Inaugurating the North Zone competitions, Rajendrakumar Anayath, former vice-chancellor, DCRUST, Sonipat (Haryana) and OSD, State University Project, Government of Haryana, said the students are lucky to join this special competition, and thanked the Offset Printers’ Association (OPA) for creating the platform.
Highlighting the necessity, concept and rules, chief coordinator, TKS Lakshmi Priya, said the Print Olympiad is the brainchild of Kamal Mohan Chopra. ‘Print Olympiad’ is a sought-after event for students of printing and organized in association with universities and printing institutions in India.
To give equal opportunities to students of different regions and to make it more meaningful, and widespread, separate competitions are conducted for students in different zones. The North Zone competition is for students studying in Jammu & Kashmir, Ladakh, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Delhi and Chandigarh. It is hosted jointly by the Kurukshetra University and Central University of Haryana, Mahendargarh.
The preliminary competitions for each zone are organized on a virtual platform whereas the regional finales and the national finale are hosted by a leading institution in the physical mode. To select the regional top students, the competitions are organized under the supervision of regional coordinators.
The coordinators for the North Zone are Sandeep Boora, assistant professor, department of Printing and Packaging Technology, Central University of Haryana and Kanwardeep, department of Printing Technology, Institute of Mass Communication and Media Technology, Kuk.
Speaking on the occasion, Dharmendra Pandya, president of the Federation of Corrugated Box Manufacturers of India, highlighted the importance of sustainable printing and packaging and its scope for budding engineers.
Highlighting the innovative packaging, he said these days packaging can indicate if the food inside is edible. He persuaded the students to learn out of box ideas so that industry can benefit from these future-oriented students.
The jury members for the North Zone competition were Surendra Jain, director, Devashish Food Packaging and Research, Rajat Gulati, director, Packwell Containers, Yamunanagar, K B Nagpal, retired principal & head, Pusa Polytechnic, New Delhi.
Six students were eligible for the next round. Announcing the names Kamal Chopra said, the event attracted the attention of printer associations all over the globe and many countries expressed eagerness to join the competition. The students eligible for the next round are Uttkarsh Dubey from Central University of Haryana, Mahendergarh; Mayank Gupta and Utshav Roy from SITM Rewari; Abhishek Vishwakarma and Annu from GJUS&T, Hisar and Saurabh Setia from Kurukshetra University, Kurukshetra.
In his concluding remarks, Anubhava Shiksharthi said, I would like to congratulate all the participating students, because participation is the first step to winning. He thanked KU and CUH for their support and said we feel obliged for the sincerest contribution and wholehearted participation of academia for this cause.
