Putting Nine Research Journeys to the Test

Bengaluru, 25th July 2026: A poster only says so much. The real test comes when a panel of academicians starts asking why, and a scholar has minutes to answer. That was the setting for nine Ph.D. scholars from JAIN (Deemed-to-be University)'s Department of Civil Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and Technology, who spent two hours at LH 007, Core Engineering Block, Jain Global Campus, defending years of work in front of five evaluators.

The competition covered ground as varied as the department's research itself: sustainable construction materials, geopolymer concrete, life cycle assessment, landfill liners, waste utilisation, soil stabilisation, pavement materials and urban flooding. Each scholar had to compress complex methodology into a single visual layout, then explain it clearly enough for someone outside their specific field to follow.

Dr. Ranganath, Dr. Sashi Kumar, Dr. Aravind K., Dr. Dasarathy A. K., Professor and Head of the department, and Dr. Gopalakrishna V. Gaonkar, Research Co-ordinator, evaluated the posters on originality, technical depth, methodology and how well each scholar communicated their findings.

Tushar Prabhakar's study on urban flooding in Hubballi-Dharwad, examining how climate change, land use patterns and drainage vulnerabilities intersect, stood out to the panel and earned him the first prize, along with a cash award and certificate. Every participating scholar received a certificate for their contribution.

Beyond the rankings, the competition gave the scholars something less measurable: practice in defending their research aloud, in real time, to people who knew enough to push back. For doctoral candidates used to working alone with data and drafts, that hour of direct questioning was as much the point as the posters themselves.