Curtain rises on the 7th Print Olympiad

On 16 February, the programme commenced at 11:00 AM with an introduction to the Print Olympiad by professor Madhura Mahajan (Chief coordinator, Print Olympiad).

The vision and objectives were highlighted, and professor Madhura Mahajan shared that the event, organised by the Offset Printers Association (OPA), witnessed participation from 10 institutions, including four diploma and six degree colleges, reflecting the region’s growing academic strength in printing and packaging education. 

Professor Kamal Mohan Chopra, project chairman, addressed the gathering and introduced OPA, underscoring its commitment to strengthening industry–academia collaboration. He mentioned that the Print Olympiad has helped many institutes across the country attract students to the field of printing. 

Professor Madhura then introduced the regional coordinators: Professor Kanwardeep Sharma from Kurukshetra University, professor Shammi Mehra from Central University of Haryana (CUH), and professor Bijender from Guru Jambeshwar University (GJU).

Professor Bijender introduced the guest of honour, professor Vikas Garg, head of the department of Printing and Packaging Technology at CUH. He also introduced Tanweer Alam, additional director at the Indian Institute of Packaging (IIP), New Delhi. 

Alam spoke about how the print industry has evolved from a traditional industry to a technology-driven sector, integrating digital printing, label printing, and branding in packaging. He provided an overview of the packaging competitions scheduled in March at IIP and encouraged students to participate and showcase their talent. 

Later, the jury members were introduced: Professor VK Bharti, KB Nagpal, Surinder Jain, Vandana Gupta, and MN Pandey.

Professor Bijender then introduced the chief guest of the programme, professor RK Anayath, currently the vice chancellor of Haryana State University of Sanskrit and former vice chancellor of Deenbandhu Chhotu Ram University of Science and Technology (2017–2023).

In his address, Anayath congratulated Kamal Mohan Chopra for his leadership in providing a platform for students and organising a technical competition in printing. He mentioned that print has transformed and that artificial intelligence now supports better decision-making and improves print accuracy. 

He emphasised that students should think scientifically, highlighting falsifiability as a key principle of science. He encouraged students to treat competitiveness as a learning platform and use such opportunities to build a clear career path.

Four students topped the first round: Kirti Pal, Nitish Sah, Manish, and Tarun Balwan. OPA and the Print Olympiad team congratulated the winners and extended their best wishes for the second round, which will be held at Kurukshetra University, Haryana.

The programme concluded with a vote of thanks delivered by Anubhava Shiksharthi, advisor, Print Olympiad, expressing gratitude to the chief guest, guests of honour, jury members, coordinators, institutions, participants, and the organising team.