St Xavier’s University Kolkata hosts lecture on Mother Teresa as ‘instrument of peace’

Father Lafont Centre for Excellence in Research and Innovation (LCERI) and the Mother Teresa Chair for Peace of St Xavier’s University, Kolkata, jointly organised an extension lecture on ‘Mother Teresa: Instrument for Peace’ at St Xavier’s University, Kolkata recently. Rev Dr John Felix Raj, SJ, Vice-Chancellor, St. Xavier’s University, Kolkata, highlighted the life and mission of Mother Teresa as a beacon of peace, compassion, and humanity, emphasising her contributions to social harmony and service to the marginalised.

The lecture, enriched with anecdotes of the VC’s personal interactions with Mother, left the audience spellbound. Meanwhile, the institute was also buzzing with activities as the AnalytIQ Club of Xavier Business School (XBS) hosted its first-ever flagship business analytics event. Titled, ‘Xcelerate 2025: The Data Shastra’, the event aimed to promote analytical thinking among MBA students.

The core philosophy of ‘The Data Shastra’ was not to test technical proficiency in coding or tools, but to challenge and elevate the participants’ thought process, perspective, and ability to break down complex problems to discover novel insights. The club emphasized that true analytics is about using the brain to “think better.” The event commenced with the inaugural session graced by Dr Boudhayan Ganguly, Assistant Professor of IT Systems and Analytics at IIM Bodh Gaya. He addressed the growing importance of analytics, stressing that in an AI-driven world, enhancing human thinking abilities is crucial for maintaining a competitive edge.

Following this, Dr Sitangshu Khatua, Dean of Xavier Business School, motivated the first-year MBA students, encouraging them to actively participate in such events and emphasizing the critical importance of analytics as a domain in modern management.