The activities of the Goa chapter of MATRIX were initiated with a very successful Book Review. It was a well attended event, with over 70 students and around 15 faculty members actively participating in the deliberations. Vice Chancellor, Prof L. K. Maheshwari and the Director, Prof K. E Raman blessed the occasion with their presence and encouragement.

The session began with a brief but effervescent introduction to the forum by Shubhadeep Bhattacharjee, a 2nd year EEE student. He spoke about the role of MATRIX in creating awareness among students about issues outside of their regular curriculum. MATRIX, he pointed out, is unique in several ways: it is a forum that comprises both faculty and students of all disciplines and talents and interests; a platform where there can be a free and fair exchange of information and ideas using various media; an opportunity for us to discuss with an open mind and without being judgemental.

The Book reviewed was `The World Is Flat’ by Thomas Friedman and the theme was 'globalization'. The event was compered by Dr. Saby John, Assistant Professor, Biological Sciences Group and was essentially a panel discussion-based review interspersed with visuals that helped keep the audience involved and focused. Dr Debashish Patnaik, Assistant Professor in Economics and Dr Aruna Reddy, Lecturer in English, were the faculty panelists, while Raghavendra Dutta (3rd year), Harish Reddy (3rd year) and Ankit Agarwal (2nd year) represented the student community. To begin with each of the panelists spoke for a few minutes on different aspects of the topic. Raghavendra gave a neat summary of the book and highlighted interesting points with anecdotes from the book. Ankit spoke on Thomas Friedman, the person and the professional. Dr Patnaik spoke on the concept of globalization and its impact- both positive and negative- on society. Harish Reddy focused on the India perspective - the implications of globalization on the average Indian. Dr Aruna Reddy presented a power packed critical appreciation of the book and the concept of globalization as presented in the book. The floor was then open to a lively discussion on the topic in which both faculty and students participated with equal enthusiasm. Brief visuals, interviews and power-point presentations were used effectively during the event to highlight various important issues.