Second semester student of Kasturba Medical College, Manipal Poorvaprabha Patil is representing Asia Pacific at the second Multi-Stakeholder Forum on Science, Technology and Innovation (STI) for Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) at the UN Head Quarters in New York. The two-day meet began on May 15. She is the only delegate selected from the region for the meet. “She has brought laurels for the University and we are extremely proud of her,” said Manipal University Vice Chancellor, Dr H Vinod Bhat . The multi-talented and unassuming Poorva, excited as she was, prior to leaving for New York said; “It’s my vast experience which has earned this trip for me. Being the only one to be selected from the Asia-Pacific region, makes me happy”. She hopes to put to good use the valuable experience she gains at the UN meet. The four other representatives at the meet are from the US, Brazil, Egypt and Canada. The ebullience of Poorva is boundless or so it seems from the way she takes up one responsibility after another and does well. In only the second semester, she has roles to play in a number of activities.Her ability to be part of different organizations in the University and elsewhere speaks volumes of her versatility.
In the short time she has been in the University, Poorva has got into a number of different kind of activities. She is a research intern with the Student Research Forum (KMC-SRF), Manipal; member of the Volunteer Service Organization, Manipal; Member Red-X, Manipal; Member Cutting Edge, Manipal; Member Bioethics committee, Manipal; Graphic designer, MTTN, Manipal; Head of graphic design Scientia Medicina, Manipal; Executive Committee Member of Indo-German Metabolic Meet (IGMM), Manipal and is also a member of KMC’s student council.She is into quite a bit of activity in organizations in other states as well. For instance, she is member of Community Service, Jyoti Eye Care Ratnagiri; is a core volunteer of Wildlife Survivors , Ratnagiri, an NGO working for protection and conservation of wildlife, operating in the coastal regions of Maharashtra. She has been actively involved in the activities of the NGO and has rescued hundreds of animals and birds and nursed them back to health before releasing them into the wild.
As a campaign community leader for United Nations Foundation, Poorva has actively participated in and conducted gender equality women empowerment awareness campaigns in 2015 and 2016. She is also the Country Ambassador for HIFA - Healthcare Information For All, Oxfordshire, United Kingdom. HIFA (Healthcare Information For All) is a global social movement to improve the availability and use of healthcare information in low- and middle income countries. It has 16,000 members.In the Asian Medical Students Association, Poorva is working with other members, in India and abroad to create a platform for medical students throughout Asia. She is also member of GenUN, UNA-USA. As a campus ambassador for Wikipedia, she has conducted multiple workshops and sessions to provide face-to-face Wikipedia training and support on university campuses. More specifically to support any professors in the area who have incorporated, or are interested in incorporating, a Wikipedia assignment into their classroom.That’s not all, she is a National level player in rink and road skating. Has participated and won in various horse riding competitions organized by The Amateur Riders’ Club.