Mangaluru: Manipal College of Dental Sciences (MCODS), celebrated its college day on March 11 at the Dr TMA Pai International Convention Centre. Dr M Vijayakumar, vice chancellor, Yenepoya University was the chief guest.

In his address, he congratulated the graduating batch of students and complimented the staff and students on their many achievements. He exhorted the students to develop their emotional intelligence, soft skills, and the right attitude to complement their acquired knowledge and skill. Dr V Surendra Shetty, pro-vice chancellor, Manipal University addressed the students and advised them about the various options available to them upon graduation and impressed upon them the moral responsibility as dental professionals to provide service with a humane touch.

Dr Ashita Uppoor, associate dean, welcomed the audience. Dr Dilip G Nayak, dean, MCODS, here presented the annual report of the institution that highlighted the achievements in academics, research, publications, international collaborations, patient care, innovations and extra-curricular activities.
The highlight of the evening was the distribution of the many awards for academic, research, cultural and sports achievements.

The prestigious Dr TMA Pai Gold medal awarded to for outstanding student was awarded to Dr Fong Chia Ying for her consistently outstanding academic performance. Dr Premalatha Shetty, professor and head, dept of oral and maxillofacial surgery, was the recipient of the ‘Good Teacher’ award. Other awards for the teaching faculty included the Dr TMA Pai gold medal for outstanding research awarded to Dr Nandita K P, associate professor, dept of oral pathology and the recipients of the award for best audio-visual material were Dr Shobha Rodrigues, professor and head, and Dr Puneet Hegde, assistant professor, dept of prosthodontics. Undergraduate students who secured maximum marks in individual subjects in the BDS course were rewarded.

Dr V Surendra Shetty, pro-vice chancellor and Dr Narayan Sabahit, registrar of Manipal University, conferred medals and mementos to the graduating batch of 91 interns.

The programme concluded with a short cultural programme and the vote of thanks rendered by Dr Mohan Baliga, associate dean.