Print Olympiad is a brilliant idea - Prof Paul

Ludhiana, January 24, 2024: Inaugurating the East Zone competition for the Print Olympiad 2024 at virtual platform, Prof Dr Kanai Chandra Paul from Jadavpur University appreciated the efforts of Offset Printers Association (OPA). He said such efforts are mandatory to encourage the younger generation for adopting printing as a career. Prof Paul emphasized the key role of printing technology in spreading education among the masses. Speaking on the occasion, Malay Sankar Barik, Senior Software Engineering Manager at Adobe Systems expressed his views on the increasing importance of personalization in print and the role that print technologists can play in the domain. He said Print Olympiad can prove to be a tool for persuading the students to learn out of box ideas and to be prepared for the latest innovations in printing and packaging. 

Print Olympiad, organized by OPA is the brainchild of Professor Kamal Mohan Chopra. It is the biggest talent hunt in printing and the only competition of its kind anywhere in the world. The sixth edition of Print Olympiad is in progress these days. The first round of the competition for the students currently studying in the printing institutions of Eastern India (Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Jharkhand, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Odisha, Sikkim, Tripura, West Bengal, and Andaman and Nicobar Islands) was organised at virtual platform on 20 January. The entire event was conducted online and question papers were given to the students just before starting the exam and they had to answer fifty questions within 30 minutes time, with no negative marking. 

The East Zone competitions, to select the ‘Top Print Student’ of the region, are hosted by the Regional Institute of Printing (RIPT), Kolkata. The East Zone coordinators for Print Olympiad are Mr Shankhya Debnath, Lecturer, Department of Printing Technology, Regional Institute of Printing Technology, Kolkata and Dr Arpitam Chatterjee, Associate Professor, Dept of Printing Engineering, Jadavpur University. A total of twelve students from various institutes in the Eastern India participated in the competition.

The Chief Co-ordinator of the project, Dr TKS Lakshmi Priya, Academic Consultant spoke about the concept and significance of Print Olympiad. She said, this unique event has attracted the attention of the students all over the India to join in Printing Courses. Speaking about the concept and rules, she said, currently studying students in any field of printing/packaging, persuading Diploma, B.Voc, D.Voc, B.E., B.Tech are eligible to participate. The idea of Print Olympiad to drill out the best brains among the printing students and award them handsomely. The objectives of Print Olympiad are to give opportunities to students of printing to highlight their technical knowledge and their technology-readiness. This unique event has attracted the attention of printer associations all over the globe that national associations of various countries have extended their eagerness to join in.

The eminent jury for the preliminary MCQ test for East Zone includes, Brundaban Behera, Director of Print Tech Offset Pvt Ltd, Odisha, Subhrajit Ray, Press and Forms Manager, Government of West Bengal. Dr. Shilpi Naskar, Assistant Professor, Dept. of Printing Engineering, Jadavpur University and Krishnendu Halder, HoD & Lecturer, Dept. of Printing Technology, Regional Institute of Printing Technology.

The judges short-listed top seven students from the region to be eligible for the regional finale to be organised in physical mood at a leading printing institution. These students are Oishi Chakraborty, Waliul Hoque, both from RIPT Kolkata. Shadab Alam, Harshit Chaturvedi, Binila Biswas, Vishwarup De and Suyash Srivastava all from Jadavpur University, Kolkata. 

In his concluding remarks and vote of thanks, Anubhava Shiksharthi, advisor of the project, appreciated the dedication of coordinators and the Chief Coordinator and expressed his happiness for such efforts. He congratulated the students and advised them to persuade out of book and latest ideas of printing and packaging.