Jindal School of Liberal Arts and Humanities (JSLH) hosted on April 4 and 5 the eighth edition of the Undergraduate Research Conference (URC) that focused on ‘Artificial Intelligence, Interdisciplinarity, and the Future of Liberal Arts’.
The URC is the first undergraduate conference in the history of JGU and has been a flagship academic event of JSLH since 2017. This year's conference provided a platform for over 90 undergraduate researchers to present their original work on pressing contemporary issues. The breadth of topics explored across the 16 thematic panels examined AI's impact on various aspects of society and culture.
The opening keynote by historian and art curator Rahaab Allana, reflecting on the complex interplay of visual archives, digital culture, and ethical representation in the age of AI, set the tone for the conference. Publisher Chiki Sarkar's closing address on authorship, storytelling, and the evolving relationship between creativity and technology offered insights into the nuances of the publishing industry. The Educators Panel, comprising Nishad Patnaik, Meru Gokhale, Anirudh Chari, Gayatri Nair and Vidushi Chaturvedi, addressed the critical pedagogical and ethical considerations of AI within interdisciplinary higher education.
The student panels ranged from AI in electoral processes and healthcare to analyses of memory, cinema, and sustainability. The innovative BFA Open Studio and Poster Presentation, reimagining research through artistic expression, provided a unique way to interact with scholarly inquiry.
This year's URC reflected JSLH's dedication to nurturing critical thinking, ethical research practices, and collaborative learning among its students.