Department of Botany (UG & PG)

About the Department

Although, studies in Botany was initiated by William Carey, the founder father of Serampore College, Department of Biology was established d in 1954 by two renowned botanists Prof. Kumud Shankar Das and Dr. Banku Behari Ganguly under the affiliation of University of Calcutta. Later Botany Department was commenced with B.Sc. General Course in 1961 and the department got permission to start B.Sc. Honours course from 1970 and the first Honours degree students passed out in 1973. This is one of the oldest departments in the college teaching honours curriculum and is well equipped having seven full-time teachers specialized in different fields of Botany, two graduate laboratory instructors and four laboratory attendants. Our students complete graduation successfully and most of them compete for post graduation course in different universities and institutes in India.

Courses Offered

• University of Calcutta recommended three years B.Sc.Honours Course
• University of Calcutta recommended three years B.Sc. General Course
• University of Calcutta recommended M.Sc.Course

Message of the H. O. D.

The Department of Botany has completed its 56th year of journey in mentoring students in B.Sc. Honors course and the success rate in B.Sc. (H) Part III Examination is 100% every year. Students have also secured University ranks several times and most of them pursue post-graduation in Botany under Calcutta University. With such long experience, our department is hopeful to open PG course in Botany in the coming year. Our seven faculty members are highly competent and specialized in teaching the curriculum and training is imparted in such a way that every student gets acquainted with the modern education system and research activities in their near future.

E-Contents

Teaching Staff

• Dr. Debranjan Das
• Dr.(Ms.) Gargi Deb
• Dr. Suman Datta
• Mr. Partha Talukdar
• Dr. Kingshuk Das (Head of the Department)
• Dr. Arundhuti Pal
• Dr. Smriti Ghosh
• Dr. Sanjoy Mukherjee
• Dr. Bidyut Banerjee

Support Staff

1. Mr. Samir Bose (Laboratory Attendant)
2. Mrs. Shampa Das Biswas Lab Attendant (Casual)

Seminar Library

The department started maintaining a seminar library for the Honors students and faculty members from 2004 with financial support from the Departmental Budget as well as several donated books from staff members and students. In recent years, the library has sprawled up by receiving book grants from UGC as well as the College. At present the library has nearly 250 books including text books from the syllabus as well as reference books by International authors for senior and junior undergraduate students. Books for practical lesions, questionnaire, etc. are also available. Lending facilities is available for students as well as all teaching faculties of the department. Bengali books are also available for referencing to General course students.

Activities

• The Department of Botany is engaged in various activities apart from conducting theoretical and practical classes for Honours and General students. Theoretical classes are well equipped with overhead projector; laboratories have been maintained properly with modern equipments, models, charts, etc. necessary for the teaching. We also have one Museum of preserved plant specimens along with properly catalogued Herbarium. These are utilized for practical classes. We not only have teaching curriculum enclosed within the classrooms but also engage ourselves to several local and outstation excursions both for honours and general students.
• One Annual Excursion is organized with the IIyr Honours students every year as a part of their course curriculum to several areas in and outside West Bengal like Darjeeling, Sikkim Himalayas, South India, Western Coastal areas, etc. Every student of our department attends and enjoys this event with great enthusiasm. Apart from this students also take part in Village Outreach Programme conducted every year to local villages and interaction with the farmers.
• Our Department also maintains a small Medicinal Plant Garden within the Arts Block and boasts to cultivate more than 60 different medicinal herbs and shrubs mainly for taxonomical studies of general and honours students and also for research.
• We organize at least one Annual Departmental Seminar where students from all three years of Botany Honours courses gather to participate and listen to the resourceful lectures delivered by Professors from different Universities, Institutes as well as Governmental Organizations. Topics are selected so that students get an advanced outlook regarding any particular topic of interest on botany.
• The teachers of the department also conduct Parent-Teacher meeting regularly round the year for discussing the problems faced by students in the classes. Individual interaction with the parent/guardian also facilitates betterment of results of our pupils. Remedial coaching is also provided by some of the faculty members to financially backward students.

Alumni

An Alumni Association of comprising of old students and present teaching and non-teaching staff of the Botany Department has been set up very recently in 2009 and the First Annual Reunion of the Department Alumnus entitled EVERGREEN was held in December 2009 in our BioLecture Theater I. The Reunion was a grand success and attended by several old students most of whom are presently working in different schools, colleges and offices. The Alumni Association has also met to organize the next Reunion in 2010.

Departmental Email I.D

• botany @seramporecollege.org