The Directorate of Higher Education and Goa State Higher Education Council, Government of Goa in association with Mugafi also referred to as Unlu organized a launch event on 27th February, 2023 at Entertainment Society of Goa, Panaji titled “Creators Connect”. The launch event was an initiative of an MOU between Goa State Higher Education Council (GSHEC) Directorate of Higher Education (DHE) Government of Goa and Unlu which was signed in October, 2022. Renowned artists from the Indian film industry were eminent speakers at the event. A total of 350 students from 40 Higher Education Institutes across the State of Goa attended the programme.
Additional Director of Directorate of Higher Education, Prof Gervasio Mendes, Coordinator of the event and Professor of Teaching, Learning & Educational Technology Section, Goa State Higher Education Council – Prof. Niyan Marchon and CEO of Mugafi – Vipul Agarwal and other distinguished guests from the industry Prashant Pandey, Sumrit Shahi, Akshay Johar, Raagini Kavathekar, Dony Hazarika, graced the occasion.
Additional Director of Directorate of Higher Education, Prof Gervasio Mendes welcomed the distinguished guest, faculty and students present. He highlighted the essence of such programs for artists and musicians in the present day apart from the regular degree granting courses.
Vipul Agarwal, CEO of Mugafi addressed the gathering sharing the vision Mugafi had for the society at large. He gave a gist of the immediate plan that was designed for the students of goa which would be followed by the launch event.
The sessions for the day started with a panel discussion of celebrity writers and musicians.
CELEBRITIES IN ATTENDANCE :
- Prashant Pandey – one of India’s leading screenwriters who has penned films like Sarkar Raj, Raktacharitra & Poorna.
- Sumrit Shahi – one of India’s bestselling author, screenwriter and speaker. He has written three books, over 1500 episodes for Indian television and 10 web series in the capacity of story, screenplay and dialogue writer.
- Raagini Kavathekar is an Indian Playback Singer who has sung songs for numerous Marathi Films like Sarva Line Vyasta Ahe, Gadbad Jhaali, Nishkarsh and TV Series such as Jai Maa Durge, Mahabharat, Mata ki Chowki and many more.
- Dony Hazarika a Music Composer and Music Producer best known for his album ‘Bohnimaan..The Folk Flows’.
The panel discussion was moderated by Sushant Kaushik associated with Mugafi. The group discussion with both writers and musicians was a very fruitful one where many doubts about students’ making it to the national and international stages were cleared. Students were shown a clear path that could help them achieve great success. They were made aware of how upskilling, collaborating and networking could add to the exponential growth of an individual in this industry.
The group discussion was followed by an open mic session wherein 25 students were given the opportunity to perform in front of professionals and peers. The valedictory function started with the screening of an audio visual message from the Hon’ble Chief Minister Dr. Pramod Sawant. He encouraged every student present, to follow their passion in art and music and if they put in hard work and took calculated risk they could easily make their hobby a profession that could yield good returns and make them very successful. He also spoke about the different initiatives being carried out by the Government of Goa in line with the objectives of National Education Policy 2020.
