RTC Happenings
The Department of Computer Applications (BCA), Royal Thimphu College in collaboration with Thimphu Tech Park (www.thimphutechpark.com)organized an Industrial tour for the BCA students to Bhutan’s First Tech Park on 10th April’2014. The main purpose of the visit was to provide the students with first hand exposure to the IT sector in the country. The tour was conducted to give the final year BCA students a clear picture of the status of IT in Bhutan and job prospects in the IT sector. The Tech Park, being the leading organization in this sector in Bhutan, provided this very useful support to the RTC students. The tour was divided broadly into two sections. The first half included introductory talks by Mr. Somnath Chaudhuri (Faculty, Dept. of IT, RTC) and by a final year RTC student on the final year projects and subjects or tools related to them. Then, Ms. Sonam Choden, the Office Manager of Thimphu Tech Park/BITC, presented on the roles and responsibilities of Tech Park in the promotion of IT in Bhutan. There were also presentations from two developers of the SELIES Company, Mr.Arpan and Mr. Thanka. Tech Park Officials stressed in their comments that fresh IT graduates can play an important role in the development of IT in the country.
The second half of the event provided students and faculty with a tour of the Tech Park's Data Centre, its setup, maintenance and application. This provided a practical look at how the network servers and the data are maintained in a secure and efficient manner. The event ended with an interactivequestion-answer session. All in all, this varied event enriched the BCA students' understanding of the Tech Park and it’s functioning as well as the role of IT in Bhutan's present and future.
The Student Government at RTC with support from the National Blood Bank and Jigme Dorji Wangchuck National Referral Hospital, Thimphu hosted its 8th Blood Donation Campaign at the campus on April 9, 2014. The campaign is one of RTC’s many efforts to support the community. The specific purpose of the campaign is to help replenish the supply of various kinds of blood at the Blood Banks in the capital and to sensitize the youth on the need for safe blood to permit life-saving medical procedures.
The first Blood Drive was held in 2010 and since then the college has been hosting campaigns every semester encouraging new donors to participate. Previous years saw a lot of participation from RTC students, staff and faculty members. This year a total of 210 registered donors. However, due to health issues like blood pressure and hemoglobin count only 148 (96 Male & 52 Female) of them could make their donations. Nevertheless, it turned out to be a successful event that not only helped replenish supplies at the Blood Bank but also helped raise awareness among the students, mainly of whom were first time donors
RTC is one of the major blood donor institutions in the country. The college has been recognized as a regular blood donor organization and was awarded a ‘Certificate of Appreciation’ from the Ministry of Health in June, 2013.
Simple events like this can help build socially responsible habits in youth and promote community health and happiness. RTC plans to continue these kinds of activities in the future.
The very first batch of Quest University students along with a fresh batch of Wheaton students joined Royal Thimphu College for the spring semester. The group this year totals 14 students, 2 from Quest University, Canada & 12 from Wheaton College in Norton, Massachusetts accompanied by Wheaton’s Program Director.
The international students will experience living and studying at Royal Thimphu College until the end of the semester. They live in the residence halls with regular students and are actively involved in activities at RTC.
During their 4 months stay, the international students take a course on “Contemporary Bhutanese Society” where they attend talks and get to interact with various leaders from all walks of life in Bhutan. They also take an introductory Dzongkha course along with a regular course offered by the college. In addition, they also get the opportunity to intern at various Civil Society Organizations (CSO), NGOs & private institutions. To enhance their knowledge of Bhutanese culture and society, the students also take weekend trips in Thimphu and other Dzongkhags.
This cultural exchange program is a part of RTC’s academic partnership with Wheaton College and Quest University. RTC has been receiving students from Wheaton every semester since 2010 but is receiving the very first batch of students from Quest this year.