The Department of Botany, Carmel College of Arts, Science and Commerce for Women, Nuvem – Goa organized a guest lecture on the topic “Career Orientation in Botany” for undergraduate students of F.Y.B.Sc., S.Y.B.Sc. Botany Major and T.Y.B.Sc. Botany classes on 26th September 2024.
The speaker for the session was Dr. Bernard Felinov Rodrigues, Senior Professor in the Botany Discipline and Dean of the School of Biological Sciences & Biotechnology, Goa University. Having over 34 years of teaching and 36 years of research experience, Dr. Rodrigues was on most of the Goa University Committees. With research expertise in Arbuscular Mycorrhizal fungi, endophytes, reclamation of mine lands, medicinal plants and remote sensing, he has been the recipient of Young Scientist Research Project Award from DST, New Delhi twice and recipient of Best University Teacher State Award, Government of Goa (2017) besides several other awards. He has to his credit a novel AM fungal species ‘Saculospora felinovi’ named in his honour in 2015 in a research paper published in Mycological Progress.
The aim of the lecture was to pool the knowledge and research expertise of a senior educator and researcher to make students aware of educational and career paths in Botany as well as self-employment opportunities through start-ups and entrepreneurship management.
Being an experienced educator and researcher with updated knowledge and much research skill, Dr. Rodrigues spoke about pursuing higher studies with specialization in Botany. Various career opportunities, research fellowships for pursuing M.Sc. and Ph.D. were also explained to the students. He also spoke about the importance of hard work in a student’s life to help achieve success and to develop the necessary skills.
Dr. Rodrigues motivated students to pursue higher studies and research, and also encouraged them to generate self-employment and employment for others. It was a very informative and interactive session attended by 27 students and faculty.