Category Archives: Education

Leftover food fills hungry tummies, thanks to these three youths

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Education, Inspiration/ Positive News and Features

Coimbatore :

A two-wheeler fitted with a cardboard box is used to transport extra food from various marriage halls, association functions and hotels by a group of three youngsters aged between 22 and 24. Started as a small pilot project to collect and distribute extra food, they have now converted it into an organized effort over the past five months. The food is passed on to the needy at various slums, orphanages and ashrams in the city. They have also created a helpline number through which public could inform them about extra food.

A G Padmanaban, M Sudhakar and M Dinesh who have been roommates since their second year of college, bonded over developing innovative projects and apps initially. “As production engineering graduates, we were keen on developing new devices. Thought we have all got placements, we were more interested in doing something that would contribute towards sustainable living,” said Padmanaban. Thus, they started the Spice Foundation.

Sudhakar’s father is a lorry driver, Dinesh’s, a textile weaver and Padmanaban’s father is a central government employee. “We divided the work based on our interests and skills. Dinesh and I take care of school education and Sudhakar takes care of solid waste management projects,” said Padmanaban.

So far this year, they have fed 4,350 people with quality food worth Rs1.74lakh. “We calculated the cost per person to be Rs40 but it could be more than that,” said Sudhakar. They aim to feed 2000 people daily. The group is currently looking to launch an application created by them to organize their ‘no food waste’ project. “We plan to launch the app after it is tested. When we receive a call from a hotel, the app immediately sends a message to one of our volunteers, that would include the name, location and phone number of the hotel. The receiver also gets directions,” said Padmanaban.

The group has identified 30 marriage halls, three hotels and a few other associations where they could collect left-over food. “We distribute it at several orphanages and slum areas,” said Padmanaban. As of now, the only advertisement is through social media.

Though food collection and distribution sounds simple, they face several challenges, they said. “Most of the caterers dislike us as they would have sold the food instead. So they are not very helpful. We pack the food in banana leaf and paper,” said Sudhakar. Besides, since they get calls round-the-clock, they have to coordinate with the donors in such a way that the food does not spoil. “As per our pilot study, 60% of the food wasted is during lunch and 20% each during breakfast and dinner,” said Padmanaban. They hope to get some grants to support their project. “We earn around Rs7000 per month from other projects and continue to work on creating apps and e-commerce portals during our free time,” said Sudhakar who is also involved in segregating and selling recyclable waste in two areas in Kovai Pudur.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Coimbatore / by Komal Gautham, TNN / June 02nd, 2015

Thanjavur college gets its first medical super speciality course

Education, Records, All, Science & Technologies
A patient being examined at the Department of Neurology at Thanjavur Medical College on Tuesday.— Photo: R.M. Rajarathinam
A patient being examined at the Department of Neurology at Thanjavur Medical College on Tuesday.— Photo: R.M. Rajarathinam

The Thanjavur Medical College has been granted its first Medical Super Speciality Course – DM Neurology.

The Medical Council of India (MCI) has permitted one seat of three-year DM Neurology course from the 2015-16 academic year.

Already the college has three surgical super speciality courses .

Disclosing this to The Hindu , TMC Dean P.G.Sankaranarayanan said the MCI gave its nod after approving faculty, special equipment and infrastructure for the department. Candidates who have completed MD General Medicine and MD Paediatrics are eligible for selection through entrance examination for the course.

Apart from addressing the neurological care needs of poor patients, particularly from rural and semi-urban areas, the course would usher in a definite improvement in the teaching component in the medical colleges in the zone, Dr.Sankaranarayanan said. Treatment for brain and spinal chord conditions such as stroke, myelitis and demyelinating disorders would see significant improvement.

The Thanjavur Medical College was started in 1959 and at present offers postgraduate courses in psychiatry, orthopaedics, general surgery, general medicine, anaesthesia, dermatology, chest medicine, anatomy, physiology, biochemistry, microbiology, paediatrics, ophthalmology, and surgical super specialty courses such as neurosurgery, plastic surgery and paediatric surgery apart from the staple 150 MBBS seats every year.

Candidates who have completed MD General Medicine and MD Paediatrics are eligible for the course

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> National / by L. Renganathan / Thanjavur – May 30th, 2015

Madurai district topper wants to become a CA

Education, Records, All

Madurai :

As she expected, S Padmasandhya, a student of Kendriya Vidyalaya I in Narimedu, secured good marks in the CBSE Plus Two results that were released on Monday. She scored 486 marks and emerged as the topper among the students in Madurai district. Padmasandhya, who aims to become a chartered accountant, is already busy preparing for the entrance exams.

She scored 95 in English, 96 in Economics, 98 in Mathematics, 99 in Business Studies and 98 in Accountancy.

She thanked her parents and school for their role in her success. Revising her lessons from the school and the help from her teachers during her preparation helped her secure good marks, she said. “Plus Two exam is not the end. You should keep away from stress. Studying too much without any diversion would not work,” she said.

It was a pleasant surprise for M S Revanth, a student of Mahatma Montessori School in Madurai when the results came out, as he had scored 484 marks and emerged as the second topper in the district. “I expected only around 475. However, I gave my best shot and put in a lot of hard work to achieve this. My parents and teachers in the school helped me a lot. I want to study either Computer Science of Civil Engineering,” he said.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Madurai / TNN / May 26th, 2015

A get-together after 36 years

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Education
Alumni of Government High School, Chithode, receive blessings from teachers of their days on Sunday.— PHOTO: M. GOVARTHAN
Alumni of Government High School, Chithode, receive blessings from teachers of their days on Sunday.— PHOTO: M. GOVARTHAN

Incidences of teachers appreciating kind gestures of students may not be unusual. But, the situation was refreshingly different on Sunday when 80-year-old retired teachers were overwhelmed by the affection showered on them by their students of the Government High School, Chithode, who had organised a get-together after 36 years.

For, the ‘students’ had driven home the point that respect for teachers would remain all through life. According to the octogenarian speakers, the get-together would well serve as a pointer to the current generation of students on holding teachers in high esteem forever.

It was a family get-together most of the students of the 1977-78 batch kept date with high anticipation. Seventy seven of the 88 students of the SSLC batch turned up. Of them, Nalini, who is settled in the USA, flew down with her husband Shanmugam, a textile consultant. The meeting also had the presence of Deputy Mayor K.C. Palanichamy whose wife Nirmala was a batch mate.

There are certain niceties in life that would linger in the mind forever, and the get-together is one such, according to A. Velliangiri, a LAWYER in Erode district, who, along with his Karur-based batch mate Maheshwaran was instrumental in the success of the get-together.

They gathered the phone numbers of all their batch mates and even undertook personal visits to make the get-together happen. About half of the batch mates had grandchildren, but had no qualms reliving their student days in jovial mood for the few hours they were together. Five of their teachers had died due to old age. Nine of the eleven teachers turned up to bless their students collectively by showering flower petals.

To set an example worthy of emulation, the old batch of students has decided to make the get-together an annual affair.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> National> Tamil Nadu / by R. KrishnaMoorthy / Erode – May 04th, 2015

Exploring the Field of Computational Brain Research

Education, Science & Technologies

Chennai :

Indian Institute of Technology-Madras, will launch the N R Narayana Murthy Distinguished Chair in Computational Brain Research on April 18. The Chair will be launched by Kris Gopalakrishnan, member, Board of Governors, IIT -Madras, and co-founder of Infosys Technologies, along with professor Bhaskar Ramamurthi, director, IIT Madras, at DoMS Auditorium on the campus.

Gopalakrishnan has set up three Chairs in computational brain research at IIT-Madras with an endowment of `10 crore each. The Chairs will complement a Brain Research Center that will come up in Bengaluru, as well as Chairs created in IISc., Bengaluru and postdoctoral fellows sponsored at Carnegie Mellon University, USA. While the first Chair has been named after Gopalakrishnan’s professor, H N Mahabala, retired faculty of IIT-Madras CSE Department, the second Chair has been named after the co-founder of Infosys Technologies, NR Narayana Murthy.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Cities> Chennai / by Express News Service / April 16th, 2015

Remembering the life and times of Pachaiyappa

Education, Historical Links, Pre-Independence, Leaders
Towering personality:The institutions founded in Pachaiyappa Mudaliar’s name came into being more than 40 years after his death —Photo: The Hindu Archives
Towering personality:The institutions founded in Pachaiyappa Mudaliar’s name came into being more than 40 years after his death —Photo: The Hindu Archives

The name Pachaiyappa Mudaliar conjures up an image of an educationist blessing a student, and reminds one of a slew of educational institutions bearing the name. Actually, neither the educational institutions nor the Trust founded in his name were in the picture during his lifetime, or even some 40 years after his death.

Pachaiyappa Mudaliar, who made a fortune as a dubashi  (interpreter) during the reign of the East India Company in the country, died in 1794. The foundation stone for the first residential school for caste-Hindu students was laid only in 1846. The money, bonds and jewels, all worth over Rs. six lakh, were used for charitable activities and various temple rituals, before the arrival of George Norton, the attorney general of Madras Presidency.

The biography of Pachaiyappa Mudaliar, who lived only 40 years, has been re-issued after a gap of 104-years. It reveals the life and times of the man and the legal battles, attempts to appropriate his properties and the efforts taken by Mr. Norton to create Pachaiyappa’s Trust and a slew of educational institutions, including a key college Chennai. The biography was penned by Komaleeswaran Pettai (now Pudupettai) Seenivasa Pillai, the first trustee of the Trust who worked together with Mr. Norton in establishing the educational institutions.

Now,Va.Mu.Se. Andavar, associate Tamil professor at Pachaiyappa’s College, has re-published the book, written in a quaint style that was probably in vogue about a 100 years ago.

“This is probably the first authentic material on the life of Pachaiyappa Mudaliar,” says Mr. Andavar.

Pachaiyappa Mudaliar, born in Periapalayam in 1754, lost his father even before his birth. His mother, Poochi Ammal, reached Madras with her children in search of a livelihood and was supported by a renowned dubashi , Powni Narayana Pillai, who took Pachaiyappa Mudaliar under his wing.

Pachaiyappa Mudaliar had a meteoric rise as a dubashi and his richness can be explained by the fact that he lent Rs. one lakh to the king of Thanjavur. But the book tells us Pachaiyappa Mudaliar, who married twice, could not lead a peaceful life, as his wives fought over the inheritance of his fortunes. He died in Thiruvaiyaru in 1794.

“Mr. Norton interpreted the will of Pachaiyappa Mudaliar in such a way that the money utilised for temple charities and feeding of the poor was used to launch educational institutions,” says Mr. Andavar, pointing out that Rs. one lakh was set apart for resumption of temple charities, but it could not be continued because of subsequent legal battles.

The biography of Pachaiyappa Mudaliar, re-issued after 104 years, throws light on the creation of the Trust and educational institutions that bear the dubashi’s name

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> National> Tamil Nadu / by B. Kolappan / April 06th, 2015

VIT Student Team Triumph in Aero-Design Competition

Education, Records, All, Science & Technologies, World Opinion

Vellore :

Seventeen students from VIT University calling themselves ‘Team Vimaanas’ has been awarded the first position in the Asia-Pacific Region, in the Micro Class of airplanes category at SAE Aero Design international competition held at Lakeland, Florida, USA, competing with 25 other teams from prestigious universities across the world.

Teams from IIT Kanpur, NIT Jamshedpur, Manipal Institute of Technology, McGill University, University of Western Ontario, Polytechnic Institute of NYU and other European and American universities competed in the international competition. VIT chancellor G. Viswanathan while complimenting the VIT team for their achievement, said VIT University encourages students to take part in technical events as they provide a platform for them to broaden their horizons while gaining rich and practical experience.

SAE Aero Design competition is conducted by the SAE (Society of Automotive Engineers)International.

“The contest was to design a micro-class category light aircraft that could hold a cylinder of a six-inch diameter and we began to work on this since September last year,” said Rushat Gupta Chadha, the VIT team captain who is in his fourth year Mechanical Engineering.

Weighing just 330gms the micro plane is capable of lifting a weight almost three times its weight with both wingspans measuring 36 inches and also measuring 36 inches from the tip of its nose to its tail. Although the team from VIT University was adjudged the sixth best team overall, they stood first in the Asia-Pacific Region. With several categories on which the micro planes were judged, the team was awarded the second prize for Highest Payload Lifted, fourth prize for the Highest Payload Fraction, and the sixth prize for Design.

“We got three returns on our investment of hard work. First, we learnt to apply technical knowledge and test them practically. Second, this competition acted as a booster to our morale and confidence. Finally, it is an achievement that probably no other Indian student team has achieved so far,” Chadha said. The team now plans to compete in the Advanced Class category in the same competition.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> States> Tamil Nadu / by Express News Service / April 02nd, 2015

Sports Day celebrated

Education, Sports

National Engineering College, Kovilpatti celebrated its 31st sports day on Thursday. Nikhil Chittarasu, Commonwealth games silver medallist and high jumper, from the Southern Railway was the chief guest and declared the sports meet open. K.R.Arunachalam, Member, Managing Committee of the college presided over the meet.

Mr. Chittarasu said students should take part in sports activities along with academics. Further, he emphasised the importance of physical exercise to lead a healthy life. He also appealed to the students to work hard to achieve their desired goals.

Raghu, Director of Physical Education, presented the annual sports report and said the college team participated in events of football, volleyball, best physique, hockey, handball (women) and ball badminton (women) tournaments in Tamil Nadu Inter Engineering Sports and Games (TIES) held at Sri Sairam Engineering College, Chennai from January 29 to February 12 this year. S.Shanmugavel, Principal and students attended.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> National> Tamil Nadu / by Staff Reporter / Tuticorin – March 29th, 2015

VIT Alumnus Eyes Record on ‘Pi’ digits

Education, Records, All, World Opinion

Vellore :

An alumnus of VIT University has attempted to get into the Guinness World Record by memorizing 70,000 digits for the mathematical value of ‘Pi’. The documented feat, achieved on Saturday, will be sent to the Guinness World Record office in the UK shortly.

VIT Chancellor G Viswanathan said, ‘We took the initiative to encourage our alumnus who was interested in breaking the world record by providing all logistic support.’

25 year old Rajveer Meena, a native of Morchala village of Sawaimadhopur district in Rajasthan on Saturday was able to memorise 70,000 digits of the mathematical value of Pi. His memorisation was videographed and documented in the presence of 13 witnesses (representatives from media, NGOs, social organizations, professionals) and 20 professors from the VIT University and other colleges.

While the world record for this is being held by Chao Lu of Shaanxi province in China in 2005 for reciting 67,890 digits of the value of Pi in 24 hours and 8 minutes, Rajveer has recited 70,000 digits in just 9 hours, seven minutes.

source: http://www.neweindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home>States> Tamil Nadu / by Express News Service / March 22nd, 2015

Anna University’s FM Show Wins First Prize

Education, Records, All, Science & Technologies

Coimbatore :

A programme created by the Anna University’s campus community radio, Anna FM, has won the first prize in a national competition conducted by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.

Anna FM’s ‘Magalir Neram’ won the first prize in the Community Engagement category. The second prize in this category was for ‘Vuluthundu Vaalvom’ by Vayalaga Vanili of Kottampatti, Madurai.

The prizes were announced by Minister for Information and Broadcasting Arun Jaitley at the Fifth National Community Radio Sammelan in Delhi on Monday.

The award includes Rs 50,000 cash, a medallion and a certificate.

Anna FM, the first campus-based community radio in the country, started its operations in February 2004. It transmits radio programmes in a 15-km radius from the Anna University campus.

Anna FM is getting this award for the second straight year. “Last year we won the award for a programme on transgenders. This year we won it for a programme explaining the problems of on sex workers and expectations from the government,” said S Gowri, Director, Educational Multimedia Centre, Anna University.

A short film by the Educational Multimedia Research Centre has been shortlisted for screening at the Kolkatta film festival to be held from March 23, she added.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> States> Tamil Nadu / by Express News Service  / March 20th, 2015