Category Archives: Education

CEG Annual Day

Education, Records, All

Assiduous students of College of Engineering Guindy, Anna University, were all smiles on Thursday as they received awards from Arun C Bharath, Internal Revenue Service (IRS), Commissioner of Income Tax, Chennai, for their academic excellence in the current year. The additional controller’s office reported that 71 students from the undergraduate and postgraduate programmes were awarded endowment projects and scholarships.

Bharath, an alumni of the college, congratulated the students saying, “Although several colleges are affiliated to Anna University, CEG students stand out from the rest.” He advised the students to learn life skills that would aid in the development of the nation and more importantly, participate in the voting exercise.

“As students of a government institution, your engineering degree is subsidised by taxpayers’ money and hence you have a moral obligation to serve the country,” he said. With funny anecdotes, the civil servant shared incidents from his college life, which kept the audience in delight.

Registrar of Anna University S Ganesan made a lighter speech, comparing academic and cultural programmes of the college. On a serious note, he also informed that the college had published a number of scholarly papers and stood at the 76 percentile in the h-index, an index that attempts to measure both the productivity and impact of the published work of a scientist or scholar.

C Chellappan, dean, College of Engineering, and K Ilamparuthi, chairman, faculty of Civil Engineering, presided over the programme.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Cities> Chennai / by Express News Service – Chennai / April 12th, 2014

What’s up at school: March 28

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Education
Alpha G.K Matriculation School, Aravenu celebrated its Varsha Utsava recently.
Alpha G.K Matriculation School, Aravenu celebrated its Varsha Utsava recently.

A look at the events in schools in Tamil Nadu this week

Alpha Matric hosts ‘Varsha Utsava’

Nilgiris:

Alpha G.K Matriculation School, Aravenu celebrated its Varsha Utsava recently. Ellapan, a world record holder in Thirukkural was the chief guest. He delivered a speech about the importance of Thirukkural, with 31 different ways of presenting it.

School chairman Sadasivam and correspondent Indra Sadasivam presided over the function. Annual report was presented by Principal Amudha Vishwanathan. Students from classes LKG to X performed different cultural programs. The highlights were yoga, karate and silambam.

 

Parents’ Day at Sacred Heart

Villupuram:

The First Parents’ Day of Sacred Heart Central School was celebrated recently. The Correspondent, Rev.Sr.Malar CSST and Principal, Rev.Sr.Jyothi CSST attended the function. The Chief Guest, Pandia Rajan presided over the function. The theme revolved around nature and the importance of women. One performance presented the lives of famous women such as Mother Teresa, Malala and Kalpana Chawla. Other performances included skits and songs.

St John's Public School, Jalladianpet, near Medavakkam recently celebrated its Annual Day.
St John’s Public School, Jalladianpet, near Medavakkam recently celebrated its Annual Day.

Annual Day at St John’s Public School

Chennai:

St John’s Public School, Jalladianpet, near Medavakkam recently celebrated its second Annual Day at the Chennai Convention Centre in Nandambakkam. Dr. R. Kishore Kumar, Correspondent of the school, in his address said that the outreach focus for 2013-14 was “Progressive Schooling” and highlighted the school’s multi-polar approach.

Students were awarded for academic proficiency, and good performances in sports & culturals. Teachers were also awarded in various categories.

Students put up performances like dances and plays. The School’s Annual Magazine, VOICE, Vol 2 and the Annual Report Booklet were released.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> School Space / April 01st, 2014

‘Innovate, Rather Than Follow the Herd’

Education

Rajalakshmi-Engineering-ColCF13apr2014

It was the conclusion of yet another successful year for Rajalakshmi Engineering College (REC) as it celebrated its 13th graduation day in a grand fashion recently.

M Rajaram, Vice-Chancellor of Anna University, and M Narendra, chairman and managing director of Indian Overseas Bank, were the guests of honour on the occasion. They congratulated the new engineers and encouraged them to become pioneers in their fields of expertise.

“Be innovators instead of following the herd — not just in the technology sector but also in manufacturing areas that contribute to the gross domestic product (GDP) of the nation,” said Narendra.

Rajaram praised the students for their successes in college and advised them to be respectful to their parents and teachers who, he said, had a significant role to play in their development.

More than 1,000 students were officially declared engineering graduates. Among them  60 were Anna University rankers.

While they were being felicitated on the occasion by Rajaram annd Narendra, Thangam Meganathan, chairperson, Rajalakshmi Institutions,  G Thanigaiyarasu, principal of REC, and  C R Muthukrishnan, advisor to REC, were present.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Cities> Chennai / by Express News Service – Chennai / April 01st, 2014

Doctor Makes Short Film on Early Marriage

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Education, Science & Technologies
Director Bhagyaraj releasing the DVD at a function in the city on Sunday | R Satish Babu
Director Bhagyaraj releasing the DVD at a function in the city on Sunday | R Satish Babu

With media becoming a popular tool that anybody can access and grab people’s attention, even doctors now opt for short films to convey their messages effectively.

Jayasekar, a doctor from Tiruvarur, who has been penning his experiences of treating patients as short stories and has released few as books, has now chosen short films as an effective medium to showcase real life incidents that focuse on many societal and medical issues.

Oru Pudhu Ulagam is one such short film that talks about early marriage and society’s attitude towards the girl child and education in a town called Thirukannapuram. Derived from one of his short stories called Theeranadhi, Jayasekar made this short film with the help of people with media exposure like M J Prakash, who directed the movie in just three days on a low budget casting people from NGOs in that region.

“All my short stories are real life incidents that happen in my patients’ lives. The people’s thoughts are still backward in places like tiruvarur, Tanjai and many districts down South. I wanted to bring these issues out into thepublic and create awareness about how they will affect the society. And films are one such medium to do so,” said Jayasekar who has written nearly 40 short stories to his credit and is confident about transforming his stories into films, in future.

This maiden attempt of the doctor and crew members was appreciated by K Bhagyaraj, renowned film director, who released the short film DVD on Sunday.

“Beyond all those technical issues in the 10 min short film about the girl child, there is a genuine message which must be appreciated.This medium must be utilised in the right manner to convey the right message,” said Bhagiaraj.

Besides the short film, a book for pre-diabetic patients, Neerizhivai vella Eliya Vazhigal, was released on the occasion.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Cities> Chennai / by Express News Service – Chennai / April 01st, 2014

Through the pages of Guindy college’s 220-year history

Education, Historical Links, Pre-Independence, Science & Technologies

The CEG Tech Forum has brought out a book that relies on archives, old college magazines and alumnus’ memories

Robert Bruce Foote, considered the father of Indian prehistory, delivered lectures on geology in 1861 and 1862 here, and as far back as 1938, students designed an automatic dosa machine which became hugely popular.

‘College of Engineering, Guindy – A journey through time 1794-2014’, a book brought out by the CEG Tech Forum, relies as much on archives, old college magazines and newspaper cuttings as it does on its alumnus’ memories to reconstruct a 220-year-old eventful journey.

From black-and-white photographs of the materials and telecommunications laboratories to the changing logos, the book not only traces the origins of the institution that started as a Survey School in Fort St. George, but is also a compendium of interesting nuggets and insights into its evolution.

From student elections to canteen menus, from its architecture to the establishment of various departments, the book not only attempts a chronological account of the oldest technical institute in the country, but also offers glimpses of a vibrant campus life.

For instance, it describes how a transport committee was formed in college to ferry students from Saidapet and Mambalam to its campus. “There was a 26-seater Ford V-8, a 16-seater Morris van and an eight-seater Morris car that belonged to the college. The cost was three Annas per mile for the van, and four for the car,” the book notes.

It chronicles the repercussions of the Great Depression on engineers here. It also delves into the transformation of the institution from a predominantly European institute to an Indian one, its contribution to the city and its infrastructure, as well as the developments in recent years.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Chennai / by Asha Sridhar / Chennai – April 10th, 2014

Madurai students win NASA’s space settlement design contest

Education, Science & Technologies, World Opinion
Students of Sri Saradha Vidyalayam Matriculation Higher Secondary School in Madurai who have won third prize in the NASA Ames Space Settlement Design Contest./ Photo: G. Moorthy / The Hindu
Students of Sri Saradha Vidyalayam Matriculation Higher Secondary School in Madurai who have won third prize in the NASA Ames Space Settlement Design Contest./ Photo: G. Moorthy / The Hindu

“Cronus-The Utopia”, a work of fiction, by five students of Sri Sarada Vidyalayam Girls Matriculation Higher Secondary School in the city has won the third prize in the NASA Ames Space Settlement Design Contest – 2014, under the Literary Merit category.

The team comprising class XI students _ S.B. Vishaka Nandini, M. Shenbagam, K. Kamali, P. Dhivya Priya and S.G. Yogalakshmi, is the only one from Tamil Nadu to have won the prize. Set in 2250 AD, the story narrates how rapid depletion of natural resources on earth forces human beings to settle in Cronus, a fictional space orbit of Saturn.

“In the recent years, depletion of natural resources in Earth is rapid. In our work of fiction, we have created Cronus, which is diverse from Earth in so many ways.

The resources available are all similar to the Earth, but those living there are well efficient in conservation of nature and are unaware of corruption and other vices prevailing here,” said Ms. Nandini.

“In contrast to the present day Earth, where waste is not managed properly and chemical fertilisers are used in agriculture, inhabitants of Cronus are very efficient in recycling waste, make best use of solar and wind power, and use bio fertilisers in their aeroponic farms,” explained Ms. Yogalakshmi.

The NASA Ames Space Settlement Design Contest is conducted since 1994 and this is the first time the school took part in it, said B. Kanagalakshmi, a teacher in the school.

The competitions were conducted under different categories such as Artistic Merit, Literary Merit and Projects on Space Settlement.

Under the Literary Merit category, there is a tie between Arecibo Observatory Space Academy, Puerto Rico, and Ryan International School, New Delhi, for the first prize. For the second prize, there is a tie between Sri Chaitanya Techno School and Rajiv Gandhi University of Knowledge Technologies (RGUKT), both from Andhra Pradesh. The prizes would be distributed to the students at Los Angeles in May.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Madurai / by M. Vandhana / Madurai – April 01st, 2014

Madurai students develop solar hybrid bike

Education, Records, All, Science & Technologies
Students explaining the newly developed solar hybrid bike to their faculty members. / The Hindu
Students explaining the newly developed solar hybrid bike to their faculty members. / The Hindu

They are justifying the need for application-oriented studies

From simplifying tasks in fields such as agriculture to improving infrastructure to cost-efficient models, students of engineering colleges in and around the city are developing innovative projects, justifying the growing need for application-oriented studies.

A Solar-Assisted Hybrid Bike developed by Mechanical Engineering students from Kamaraj College of Engineering is one such shining example. The students, K. Abdur Rahmaan Siddik, P. Saran Raj and M. Bharathi Raja, developed the model on a second-hand motorbike with the assistance of R. Manikumar, a faculty.

“In the wake of frequent petrol price hikes, we wanted to develop some cost-effective hybrid model of a bike,” says Mr.Raja, one of the developers of the hybrid bike which costs less than Rs.40,000.

“We have applied for a patent as well,” he adds.

The developers say that the rider will have the option of using either battery-run front-wheel drive or petrol-engine-run back-wheel drive. “During the day time, the battery is charged by solar panels and at nights by the dynamo connected to the rear wheel,” they explain.

Ragul Kumar, a final year Civil Engineering student of KLN College of Information Technology, is in the process of developing a movable ruler.

“The multi-speciality ruler can be used to draw linear dimensions, angular measurements, preliminary building plan drawing, tabulations and as trisquare, T-square and longer dimension ruler,” he defines.

K. Ramesh, a faculty of the college, who is guiding Mr.Kumar says that the movable ruler will be very useful for school students as well.

“Rulers are mostly developed in China. When our student came up with the idea, we extended our help. Some of our students also did a project on solar panel road and we have applied it on our campus to test its efficiency before applying for patent,” he states.

Velammal College of Engineering and Technology has a Centre for Innovation and Product Development, which has supported projects such as a saline water alarm system and children-friendly toilet system.

“We assist students who bring in ideas with faculty guidance,” says P. Rajesh Kanna, faculty advisor of the centre.

A Green Robot, which will assist farmers in ploughing land and harvesting banana, is currently being developed at the centre.

“It took six months for the students to develop the prototype of the robot and it will cost half the price of models available in the markets,” says N. Dinesh Kumar, a faculty member.

The students, who developed the robot, are now in Punjab to present their project at a competition, he adds.

M. Palaninatha Raja, Registrar of Thiagarajar College of Engineering, says that a few months ago students developed a solar rickshaw, funded by Madurai Municipal Corporation.

“Multinational corporate firms are conducting a series of contests, encouraging the students to develop innovative models. Our students have won several contests,” he concludes.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Madurai / by  M. Vandhana / Madurai – March 25th, 2014

Medicos Must Serve Humanity: Ex-Prof

Education, Inspiration/ Positive News and Features, Science & Technologies

Medicos should consider the profession as a service to humanity, not as a money-spinning occupation, said R Venkatakrishnan, said the retired professor of Orthopaedic Surgery and Traumatology in  Madurai Medical College. He said this while delivering the fourth convocation address at Vellore Government Medical College on Friday.

Handing over graduate certificates to 99 students on the occasion, Venkatakrishnan said that medicos should focus on treating the patients and saving lives. ‘The more you learn in the college and continue to learn, the more the career would sustain you’ he told them. The retired professor urged the medical students to have a focused approach if they are interested to continue higher education. ‘If you are planning for post graduation, postpone your marriage’ he advised them.

Venkatakrishnan told the graduates to be accessible to patients and be responsible in  clearing their doubts.

“Always think of the best treatment options and always render personalised treatment with compassion and support. Ensure your patients left your clinic with a friendly, healthy smile,” he further said.

College Dean Dr L D Thulasiram, Medical Superintendent Dr E Sivakumar, vice-principal Dr R Muthulakshmi and Resident Medical Officer Dr P Arunan also spoke.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> States> Tamil Nadu / by Express News Service – Vellore / March 30th, 2014

TNAU to help govt for spreading organic farming

Education, Green Initiatives/ Environment, Nature

Coimbatore :

Tamil Nadu Agricultural University (TNAU) will act as knowledge partner for the state organic farming policy. The draft of the policy which was released recently, will be implemented after Lok Sabha elections in the state. As per the draft, the varsity will be responsible for identifying possible areas where organic farming could be practiced and other farming related activities. The draft policy which was released a month ago will help streamline the various policies associated with the organic farming.

TNAU vice-chancellor K Ramasamy said the varsity will associate in identifying suitable places for organic farming in the state. “Places like Tirunelveli and Gobichettipalayam in Coimbatore have already organic farms under private owneship. We will identify suitable places for farmers in other places also,” he said. Apart from this, the varsity will also help in providing a support system for those interested, including subsidies, seed supply and training. There is a growing demand for organic products. Millet-based products are having a high demand with most of them being sold like hot cakes,” he said. With a proper orientation, organic products can get a better market and consumer base, he said.

TNAU now provides certification for organic farmers. Once fertilisers and pesticides are stopped, it would take three to five years for a farm land to get rid of these chemicals and be eligible for certification. In these are areas the university will provide a stable support system for farmers during the transition period.

A clear policy could help farmers overcome some of the common problems they face while shifting into organic farming. One of the major challenges the organic farmers face is the increase in prices when compared to regular crops. Moreover, organic farming demands more manual labour. There have been instances where many farmers who shifted to organic farming could not find markets and abandoned the practice later. Experts say unless there is a government support in terms of subsidies for seeds and small machinery, farmers may not be able to find the farming profitable. A clear policy is expected to address many of these challenges.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Coimbatore / TNN / March 23rd, 2014

Eminent alumni of MCC take a trip down memory lane

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Education

Chennai :

It was trip down memory lane for K Vijay Kumar and B Muthuraman at Madras Christian College in Tambaram on Thursday when they were honoured with the ‘distinguished alumni award’.

Vijay Kumar, security advisor to the Union ministry of home affairs and former director general of police, recalled how the ‘severe’ ragging sessions at MCC came in handy during a tough training session in Switzerland many years later.

On the campus, where he prepared for the civil services exams, he said, “It used to be fun from 8pm to midnight.” After that, he would sit at his books till 4.30am before rushing to classes at 8.30am. “Despite all this, I cleared the exams the very next year,” Vijay Kumar said.

Muthuraman, chairman of Tata International Ltd, said he didn’t know a single word in English when he enrolled in MCC. “Thanks to my father and a professor who helped me learn English through Shakespeare’s ‘Merchant of Venice’, I ended up getting distinction in English after the first year.”

Later, Vijaya Kumar told reporters that maoist-infested states were still under the control of the security forces in spite of many CRPF personnel losing lives in ambushes.

The awards were instituted by the MCC Alumni Association to recognise the accomplishments of various alumni.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Chennai / by A. Selvaraj & T. Francis Sundar Singh, TNN / March 21st, 2014