Category Archives: Education

Belgaum, Vellore Teams Share InoVIT Honour

Education

Two teams of students from Belgaum and Vellore won the first prize of `40,000 at the third edition of the InoVIT 2014, organised by the VIT university recently.

Event organiser A Ruban Kumar said around 1,600 student-participants of classes 9 to 12, from the southern States had taken part. The events were categorised into working model, idea presentation, poster presentation and quiz in the preliminary and final rounds. The top two winners for the three prizes in each of these events, selected by a panel, were given a total cash prize of `3 lakh.

Elton John and team mates from St Paul’s High School from Belgaum, who developed a spy robot and a smart wheel chair developed by Karthik, Mukesh and Pranesh from Avinesh Infotech Robotic Academy, Vellore were the two teams that clinched the first prize for the Working Model Category.

In the idea presentation category, Anga Sasha from Little Angel School, Visakapatnam, Andhra Pradesh, and a team led by Visakan from Kalgi Ranganathan Montford School Chennai, jointly won the first prize of `35,000 for the idea of specially designed goggles for blind people to see using the principle of ‘echolocation,’ and ‘oceanic electromagnetic waves fencing,’ to help fishermen maintain maritime boundaries respectively.Misba Fathima and team from Islamiah Girls Higher Secondary School, Vaniyambadi, and Rishab Jain and his team from Maharishi International School, Chennai, jointly won the first prize of `35,000 in the poster presentation category.

Naveen Unnikrishnan and team from Bhavan’s Adarsh Vidyalaya, Kochi, and Vicknesh and his team from Bakthavachalam Vidyashram, Chennai, won the first prize of  `20,000 each in the quiz group I (9 and 10 classes) and group II(11 and 12 classes) respectively.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> States> Tamil Nadu / by Express News Service – Vellore / January 16, 2014

National Meet on Radiation Therapy at CMC

Education, Science & Technologies

The Department of Medical Physics and Radiation Oncology attached to the Christian Medical College here is organizing a two-day national workshop on Radiotherapy Gel Dosimetry from Wednesday, at the MePhysics Block, Rehab Campus, Bagayam, Vellore.

According to Dr Paul Ravindran, vice principal of the college, the aim of the meet is to provide hands-on training on the application of three dimensional gel dosimetry in radiation therapy.

The workshop is being conducted in collaboration with the Union for International Cancer Control. Atomic Energy Regulatory Board, and the Board of Research in Nuclear Sciences have also financially supported the workshop.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> States> Tamil Nadu / by Express News Service – Vellore / January 08th, 2014

SASTRA’s prescription for dyeing units

Business & Economy, Education, Green Initiatives/ Environment, Science & Technologies

SASTRA University here has come out with a novel method for treating effluents let out by Tirupur dyeing units.

Meera Parthasarathy, Senior Assistant Professor, Center for Nanotechnology and Advanced Biomaterials, School of Chemical and Biotechnology, and inventor of the novel method, explained it to the industrialists and technical persons of Veerapandi Common Effluent Treatment Plant at the university here on Tuesday. The method involves treating effluents with a special bacteria identified at SASTRA University named SASTRA bacteria for which patent had been filed and a powder in a two-step process instead of the seven-step process that was followed by dyeing units.

The untreated effluent undergoes bacterial treatment and powder treatment and becomes non-toxic.

Collecting untreated effluents from Tirupur, the SASTRA team conducted the experiments using bacteria and the powder prepared by them. Treated water was put to Zebra Fish Model (rearing fish in it) to find out whether it has been detoxified. Fish survived even after seven days and there is no toxicity in fish too, Meera Parthasarathy, said.

Following the court order, the dyeing units have been using a common effluent treatment plant.

K.K.Padmanabhan, Technical Director, Veerapandi Common Effluent Treatment Plant, said that as per the court order the units should follow zero liquid discharge and hence wastewater could not be let out.

When T.K.Rangarajan, CPI (M) MP, wanted to know about the usability of the treated water for drinking purposes, Mr.Padmanabhan replied in the negative.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Tiruchirapalli / by Special Correspondent / Thanjavur – January 08th, 2014

Murugappa group to hold quiz programme for school students

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Education

 Coimbatore :

A quiz programme on the history, heritage and culture of Coimbatore-styled ‘Murugappa Kovai Quotient Quiz 2014’ will be held in the city on January 25.

Organised by the Murugappa Group of Chennai, the programme is open to students from Class V to XII. The programme would offer prizes totalling over Rs 1 lakh and trophies for the top 3 schools in the finals.

In a release, the organisers said that there would be a written preliminary round ahead of the finals that would be open to student teams of 3 each. There was no cap on the number of students the schools could field. There would be audience rounds too.

Registration for the quiz programme would close on January 22 and for details and registration, the interested students could log on to www.murugappa.com.

There will be pre-event contests on Facebook and Twitter with family holiday packages to be won and other prizes. (www.facebook.com/murugappagroup and www.twitter.com/murugappa_group).

This is the second year that the Murugappa group is conducting the quiz programme in Coimbatore.

source: http://www.thehindubusinessline.com / Business Line / Home> News / by R. Yegya Narayanan / Coimbatore – January 10th, 2014

Abdul Kalam Motivates Teachers

Education, Leaders
Former President APJ Abdul Kalam delivering the convocation address at the 33rd convocation of OUAT in Bhubaneswar on Saturday. | EPS
Former President APJ Abdul Kalam delivering the convocation address at the 33rd convocation of OUAT in Bhubaneswar on Saturday. | EPS

Former President APJ Abdul Kalam said if trained teachers educate and motivate students in schools, absence of school infrastructure is immaterial.

Speaking at a special meeting of teachers organised by the School and Mass education (S & ME) Department here on Saturday, Kalam cited examples about the education system in Singapore and Finland.

He stated that the Governments there have prioritised primary education and are spending a lot of money on the primary school teachers. He administered an oath to the teachers at the end of his speech.

He asked them to encourage the students to develop a spirit of curiosity, to celebrate the success of the students and treat every student equally.

When asked by a teacher if internet based knowledge can replace teachers, he replied that nothing can. Only a teacher can radiate knowledge, which a machine can never, he said.

S&ME Department Secretary, Usha Padhee said that they will create digital video copies of Kalam’s speech and mail it to the teachers who could not attend the meet.

More than 200 teachers attended the meeting the Capital High School.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> States> Odisha / by Express News Service – Bhubaneshwar / January 26th, 2014

Holy Cross gives away certificates on NGO management

Education, Inspiration/ Positive News and Features

Trichy :

The certificates for the six-month course on NGO management, on Friday, was distributed to 16 people, including 12 women at the Holy Cross College in Trichy, one of the oldest colleges for women in South India.

Receiving the certificate from Sr Stella, president of Assisi Aid Projects India, in the presence of Holy Cross principal Dr (Sr) Jeusin Francis, Jaya Mani, a 50-year-old widow said she used to wonder whether she would ever have a chance to even enter the Holy Cross premises, let alone getting enrolled for a programme, whenever she passed through the college at Teppakulam. “Then I continued to dream of getting my two daughters enrolled in the college, but in vain,” said Jaya Mani. “Now, I cannot even dream of getting my two grandchildren enrolled in the college, because they are males,” she quipped.

But Jaya Mani was all the more happy as she was getting a certificate with the Holy Cross College emblem at its very premises. But it was all thanks to the efforts of Antony Stephen, a faculty member of the department of social, who with the support from Sr Jeusin Francis, got the 60 hours three-credit course approved by the HCC board of studies. Three subjects were taught: Introduction to NGO management, project planning management, and project cycle management (PCM).

In the past, National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development ( NABARD) used to train the workers of the NGO for duration of five days, when as a visiting resource person Stephen found out that the workers lacked the knowledge for auditing procedures, its legal requirements and liaising with funding agencies. Thus, the unique course was born. The minimum requirement was eight years of schooling, and age was no bar.

For the first time, two batches of 16 people were awarded certificates. One of them a 62-year-old man, K Chandrasekhar, was previously a bonded laborer, and now runs a NGO called DEW (Development Education for Workers). Stephen said the new certificate course would become a permanent feature of the autonomous college.

source: http://www.articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Trichy> South India / TNN / January 11th, 2014

Making Women Biz Savvy

Education

Making-womenCF23jan2013

‘Busi Bee 2014’, a two-day intramural fest conducted by the Department of Commerce of MOP Vaishnav College for Women, was inaugurated by Pradipta K Mohapatra, governing council member of the Chennai Business School, here on Thursday.

The eminent economist addressed the students on investing in the stock market. With engaging anecdotes, he interacted with the students and said that people who understand market sentiments will become good investors. He encouraged the students to be updated on the current trends of the stock market saying, “Knowledge on finance backed by good commerce would highly increase the net worth of an investment banker.” He emphasised on the need for counter intuity of logic as this would help the investor gain more money by investing less.

As soon as Mohapatra learnt that the use of mobile phones by students is banned in the college he quipped, “One of the largest sources of knowledge in the world lies at our finger tips but the reason it is not permitted is the suspicion it creates.” He drew parallels with the reception of the calculator during the 70s, much to the delight of the students. Mohapatra also commended the principal for the exceptional standard of the students.

The event will feature competitions focused on management principles with a touch of creativity to make them interesting for the students.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Cities> Chennai / by Express News Service – Chennai / January 11th, 2014

City Rapunzels donate locks to cancer patients

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

Chennai :

Rapunzel may have used her locks to allow her lover to visit her, but Chennai’s long-haired girls are using their locks to give hope to children with cancer.

The Rotaract Club of Women’s Christian College (WCC) has adopted an initiative where girls can contribute their hair to make wigs for poor cancer patients. The hair would have to be a minimum of 10 inches long. The students plan to get the wigs made and donate them to the Adyar Cancer Institute.

The girls, who plan to receive hair donations from the public, too, got the idea from Locks of Love, an American organisation that organises a similar donation. “We were looking to take up an initiative that will reach people directly,” said club president Rennee Saradha, a final year student who plans to tonsure for the cause. A group of students visited Adyar Cancer Institute to find out if wigs were required. “We need at least 100 wigs a month,” said Dr V Surendran, psycho oncologist at the institute.

Cancer patients lose hair during chemotherapy. While the hair does grow back once they are cured, patients, especially children and girls tend to feel embarrassed during the treatment. “Hair loss affects their body image,” said Dr Surendran. “So they become even more depressed during the treatment.”

Wigs in the country are expensive and are not easily available. A 10-inch wig costs between 4,500 and 6,000. “Many patients who come to our institute are poor, and they opt for free or subsidised treatment. They cannot afford a wig,” said Dr Surendran.

The initiative will be inaugurated on February 4 with the WCC students being the first to donate hair. “We aim to contribute at least 200 wigs from hair collected from the campus,” says Saradha who plans to contribute her 14 inch-long hair.

The girls have tied up with Green Trends Salon which will visit the campus everyday through February and cut and save the hair of donors. “We have started training our stylists to cut eight-inch locks from customers, but ensure their hair style and looks are not altered drastically,” said S Deepak Praveen, senior marketing manager of the salon.

What the girls need now are more volunteers to donate hair and sponsorship for the cost of making the wigs. “It is a labour intensive small-scale industry. They are charging us 3,500 to make a wig,” says Saradha. “Every rupee counts for the cancer-affected children.”

The Rotaract Club of Women’s Christian College (WCC) has started an initiative where girls can contribute their hair to make wigs for poor cancer patients. Rennee Saradha (left) and Ramya Ramachandran will be among the first to donate their hair.

source: http://www.articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Chennai / by Pratiksha Ramkumar, TNN / January 12th, 2014

Celebrations commences at Sethupathi School in Madurai

Education, Historical Links, Pre-Independence, Records, All

Madurai :

Scholars, alumni and students gathered in large numbers to celebrate yet another milestone in the illustrious history of Sethupathi Higher Secondary School here. One of the oldest schools in the city, the two-day annual day celebration to commemorate its 125th anniversary was launched in its premises on Friday.

Although the school has produced freedom fighters, scholars, exceptional thinkers and speakers, the school is best known as the school where Subramanya Bharathi taught. The poet and renaissance personality had a stint as teacher here in 1904. The function on Saturday is expected to witness a large number of scholars and representatives of local administration.

Sethupathi School was started by Venkatarama Iyengar, who was then running a town primary school in the same area. Baskara Sethupathi, the then ruler of Ramnad, had supported establishing the school by donating his guest house. Bharathi worked in the school for a salary of Rs 17 a month in 1904. The school has received a coat of paint and have underwent repairs to sport a new look on its 125th b’day.

The function on Friday involved all the stake holders and was organised by the Madura College Board. Addressing the gathering, G Manivannan, one of the directors of Madurai College Board, said many schools in Madurai have been producing many top students. But most of these students are from well-off families.

However, Sethupathi Higher Secondary School has been transforming sons of auto rickshaw drivers, load men and other members of the working class into good class students. “The school was started basically to support the education of the students from unprivileged section. We have been producing centum in subjects including science, social science and mathematics,” he said.

Addressing the gathering, V V Rajan Chellappa, mayor, Madurai Corporation, said the school has the reputation for having produced a vast number of scholars. Lauding the school for its service to the society, he said the school has done so much to the society. The school has been the destination for a large number of underprivileged children from the surrounding areas.

source: http://www.articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Madurai> Large number / by V Devanathan, TNN / January 04th, 2014

Bharathiar University student to represent India at meet in Japan

Education, World Opinion

Coimbatore :

KM Shashirekha, a first year post-graduate student in Mass Communication at Bharathiar University will represent India along with eight other students from various parts of the country in a programme on leadership to be held in Japan on January 22. Shashirekha was selected on the basis of her performance in social service organisations, including the National Service Scheme (NSS) and other youth service organisations. The ministry of youth affairs had recently informed her about the selection for the programme. She is one of the very few students selected from south India for the meet.

Shashirekha hails from a poor family at Hassan in Karnataka. From her under graduation years she has been active as an NSS volunteer. She was selected as to go for the overseas trip representing India at Japan on ‘Global Leader Development Program’ conducted by the Japanese embassy from January 22 to February 13. Students from nine countries from across the world will attend the meet.

She had won the best volunteer award in 2011 for various activities in NSS. She had also written street plays and dramas on various themes especially regarding social welfare activities. “I enjoy writing scripts in Kannada, my mother tongue,” she said. She has been an active volunteer here too but in various programmes. From speaking and distributing pamphlets to holding programmes, she has shown her interest in the various programmes.

Shashirekha will be part of the eight students who will be led by a young activist and will attend the month long activities in Japan. The programme is to identify potential leaders among youth from various nations. The team will take part in the deliberations and present papers on various topics. Shashirekha will present a paper on ‘Chanakya’s ideas on leadership’.

source: http://www.articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Coimbatore> Programme / TNN / January 12th, 2014