As part of the National Science Day celebrations, the Geological Forum of Department of Geology, Jagannath Barooah University, in association with the Science Forum, JBU, organised GeoConnect 8.0 on Friday, 28 February 2026, following the Memorandum of Understanding signing programme held earlier in the day. The session brought together students, faculty members, and senior scientists from the Geological Survey of India, along with participants from various departments of the university.  The programme began with opening remarks by the student hosts Puja Borah and Abhishek Bora and a formal welcome address was delivered by Dr. Surajit Sharma, Academic Registrar, JBU. This was followed by a felicitation ceremony, during which faculty members of the Department of Geology felicitated the three guests of honour from GSI, Shri Subhasis Roychaudhuri, Director, Technical Co-ordination Division; Shri Ashish Kumar Nath, Deputy Director General; and Shri Mansum P. Kashyap, Senior Geologist, with a fulam gamusa, memento and japi. They were felicitated by the Head of the Department of Geology, Dr. Raktim Ranjan Saikia, along with faculty members Dr. Chaitra Dhar Taye and Dr. Sorat Konwar. The event was graced by Shri Subhasis Sarma, Dean, Students’ Welfare; Dr. Gautam Kalita, Dean of Science and Technology; Dr. Jiban Saikia, Dean of Research and Development; and Shri Gautam Adhyapak, Assistant Registrar, along with faculty members and students from various departments. Dr. Chaitra Dhar Taye spoke on the significance of National Science Day, highlighting the contributions of renowned women scientists across different disciplines. He also emphasised the importance of the MoU signed between the University and the Geological Survey of India as a major academic milestone. The ceremonial lighting of the lamp was carried out by the Dean of Students’ Welfare, Shri Subhasis Sarma, along with faculty members of the Department of Geology. The highlight of the session was the invited lecture titled “GSI in Nation Building: A Glorious Journey of 175 Years”, delivered by Shri Subhasis Roychaudhuri as part of the GeoConnect lecture series. In his talk, he traced the long history of the Geological Survey of India and discussed its role in geological mapping natural resource assessment and national development. The lecture was followed by an interactive session. An inter-department poster competition was also organised on the occasion of National Science Day and was evaluated by the guests of honour. The first prize was awarded to Chinmoy Dutta and team from the Department of Geology. The second prize was jointly awarded to Himangshu Bharali and team and Debasish Buragohain and team, while the third prize went to Prabash Chandra Roy and team from the Department of Geology. The winners were awarded certificates and gifts. During the certificate distribution ceremony, Shri Ashish Kumar Nath appreciated the students for their well-prepared and impressive posters. The evaluation and prize distribution were carried out by the esteemed guests along with Dr. Sourabh Kumar Das, Department of Biotechnology, who commended the quality and effort put in by the participating students.

The programme concluded with a vote of thanks delivered by Puja Borah, followed by the National Anthem and marked the the successful conclusion of GeoConnect 8.0.