Category Archives: Education

US helping India to set up 100 community colleges

Education, World Opinion

Keelakarai :

The US is helping India realise one of its goals of establishing 100 community colleges under a new area of collaboration, Consul  General of US Consulate, Chennai, Jennifer Mcintyre , said today.

Participating at the Founders’ Day celebrations of the  Mohamed Sathak  College of Engineering   here, she said the US also supports India’s launch of a high education web portal to disseminate information on education collaboration and exchanges.

(US helping India to set up…)
(US helping India to set up…)

She said she expects the number of college and university representatives visiting India to increase manifold in future.

The US representatives were seeking to increase international student enrolment to prepare their graduates for better leadership in the new global economy.

Mcintyre said about a year ago eight grants were awarded for joint studies in the fields of Energy, sustainable community development, environment , education and public health, of which three were given to South Indian institutions.

She also said India has the largest number of Fulbright scholar exchange Programmes worldwide with more than 17,000 fellowships and other grants awarded to Indians and Americans.

“The goal of preparing our youth to meet the challenges of the 21st Century is the one that the US and India share,” she said.

Mcintyre suggested that people in faraway areas like Kilakarai contact USIEF ( United States India Educational Foundation )  through the consul website to get information on education opportunities in the United States.

source: http://www.articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com / The Economic Times / Home> News> News By Industry> Services / April 03rd, 2013

The engine of growth

Education
Chugging along: A view of Tambaram railway station. / Photo: M Srinath / The Hindu
Chugging along: A view of Tambaram railway station. / Photo: M Srinath / The Hindu

The tide turned for Tambaram in 1931 when it got a railway station. Ever since, it has sped down the tracks of development on its way to becoming a bustling mini metropolis, writes K. Manikandan

The Tambaram railway station occupies a pre-eminent place on the suburban electric train map of Chennai. Considering the physical size of the city’s suburban train services and its passenger volumes, this is no mean thing. The railway station was born in 1931, when the operation of electric train services from Chennai Beach got underway. With the advent of the station, Tambaram began to shed its rural character. It became the commercial nerve centre for several dozen villages, near and far. It was chosen as the new place for the Madras Christian College, which was being shifted out of George Town. And yes, the addition of Indian Air Force Station further enhanced Tambaram’s growing significance.

Soon, the five villages of Tambaram, Selaiyur, Irumbuliyur, Kadaperi and Pulikuradu were merged to create Tambaram Municipality. It was under these circumstances Tambaram became the transport hub: probably the biggest outside Chennai’s city limits.

The steadily rising importance of the station seemed to reflect the growth of Tambaram.

For generations, the metre gauge trains connected people to different parts of the city until they were replaced by broad gauge trains in 1998-99. The metre gauge trains were initially operated on a rake of 6 coaches before Southern Railway added 3 coaches to cater to the increasing number of passengers.

Prior to gauge conversion, there were only four platforms, against the present 9. Long time residents of Tambaram will still recall the days when steam engines were in operation, even until the late 1980’s, to shunt goods wagons and even the rakes of passenger trains. A huge turn table, which has now vanished, would be the centre of attraction for all the waiting passengers, those travelling on the narrow foot over bridge and wonder struck school children. Hauling of coal on the steam engines and their subsequent cooling by a massive shower were a delight for children.

Nearly 250 suburban services and about 40 long distance trains operate through Tambaram everyday, transporting several lakh people making it the busiest as well as the highest revenue-earning station in the suburban sector, next only to Moore Market Complex (suburban).

The turn tables have gone along with the steam engines, the manual changing of lines through the railroad switch lever have been replaced by sophisticated signalling systems, the elegant metre gauge rakes have given way to 12-coach broad gauge rakes, yet Tambaram has managed to retain the elegance and charm of its past.

There are still plenty of problems relating to hygiene and sanitation, disposal of waste generated in the platforms, issues related to neatness in the concourse and waiting areas. But greater and brighter days lie ahead, as Tambaram is all set to become a coaching hub for new long distance trains for southern districts of Tamil Nadu.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Chennai / by K. Manikandan / April 03rd, 2013

Assam poet translates Tamil classic Kuruntokai

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Education, Historical Links, Pre-Independence, Records, All
Bijoy Sankar Barman | EPS
Bijoy Sankar Barman | EPS

The Sangam-era Tamil classic, Kuruntokai, has now broken down yet another language barrier. Young Assamese poet Bijoy Sankar Barman, after a struggle of nine years, has managed to translate this classic anthology of 3rd Century Tamil poems to Assamese.

“Beautiful poems from Kuruntokai has enthralled me. I am happy that now our people can also taste the classical Tamil text,” Barman told Express on the sidelines of Northeast and Southern Young Writers’ Meet organised by Sahitya Akademi here on Saturday.

Barman, whose poems had been translated in many other languages, including Bengali, Hindi and Kannada, first came across A K Ramanujam’s English translation of Kuruntokai.

“When I read the poems, I was surprised to find the ecology, love and human relationship that was described in them, happened  to be similar to ours,” said the 33-year-old writer, an employee of the postal department in Guwahati.

Since then, Barman began collecting more details about the Tamil classic.

While he depended mostly on Ramanujam’s translation work of Kuruntokai and other Tamil classics for understanding the Tamil literary tradition, he also read the Sahitya Akademi’s publication on ancient Indian literature.

“For the next nine years, I was re-reading the translations of Kuruntokai to understand the depths of the poems, the expressions of love, the emotions explained by the colours in the poems, before deciding to translate them,” said Barman, who already won the prestigious Munin Barkataki Award.

Currently pursuing a PhD on tribal myths of Assam, Barman feels that the Tamil folk tradition had a lot of similarities with Assamese.

“I am planning to read more classics in Tamil in the near future,” he said, adding that the government should take steps to translate southern Indian literary works to north-eastern languages as it would encourage more people in India towards cross-cultural studies.

Stressing similar points, Karabi Deka Hazarika, an eminent Assamese writer, addressing the writers at the meet, said, “Translation is the only means through which a glimpse of the literary merits of the writings of these areas can be brought within the comprehension of the readers of other linguistic groups.”

Readers of northeastern India had very little opportunity to taste the literary beauty of the writings in Tamil, Telugu, Kannada or Malayalam.

“In Assam, we have lots of translations from Bangla literature, which is an easy target for the translators. But, the same is not happening in the field of Tamil, Telegu or Malayalam literature,” she pointed out.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> States> Tamil Nadu / by Gokul Vannan / ENS – Madurai / April 28th, 2013

Indian students invent electrified underwear to prevent rape

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Education, Science & Technologies

A group of engineering students at SRM University in Chennai—one of the country’s top engineering schools—have invented a set of high-tech electrified underwear to prevent rape.

In the wake of India’s “rape epidemic ” which has rocked the country and sent tourism plummeting by as much as 25 percent (35 percent among women), the students decided to take matters into their own hands with a set of underwear that can electrocute attackers while protecting the wearer.

As a progressive American guy, it’s tempting to dismiss the anti-rape undies as misguided and inadvertently reinforcing the “rape culture” that tacitly places responsibility on women and their clothes in addressing violence. It’s tempting to suggest they just go have a  SlutWalk  and tell men it’s their responsibility not to be rapists, end of story.

But I’m not an Indian woman living in the middle of a rape epidemic, so I have no idea what I’m talking about.

Two of the women in the student group who invented the electric underwear are women who think that the danger calls for a more immediate defense than protest and slow cultural change. The group said :

After stepping into the real, cruel world we realised that our smile could not last for long as the threat to our purity and integrity always lingered on. Lawmakers take ages to come up with just laws and even after that, women are unsafe. Hence, we have initiated the idea of self-defence which protects the women from domestic, social and workplace harassment.

The underwear, called Society Harnessing Equipment (SHE), deploys a 3,800kV charge to anyone touching the outside of the underwear while protecting the wearer with a polymer lining. It’s also equipped with GPS and can notify cops in real-time in the event of an attack, supplying them with the victim’s location through the GPS.

“The shocks can be emitted up to 82 times,” the group says. “This could give women freedom from situations faced in public places.”

source: http://www.deathandtaxesmag.com / Home> News / by Alex Moore / April 2013

Dindigul students win national award

Education, Records, All

Madurai :

Two students of Gandhigram Rural Institute, in Dindigul district’s Gandhigram village near here, have won the first prize with a cash award of Rs 40,000 at the National Student Research Convention held in Mumbai recently.

According to S. Karthigai Selvi, a Ph. D. student and M. Raj Kumar, an MCA student, their project, titled Radiological support system of brain abnormality detection from MRI Scans, was selected under the health science and allied sciences category.

The two say that the first 20 minutes is critical in a trauma care situation to save a patient. Their application could be used during such an emergency situation. When an MRI scan is done for head injuries, it could be made available through cloud computing and accessed through smart phones. The physician, using this application, can easily locate the injury and alert the supporting staff on the appropriate surgery plan, they explained.

source: http://www.thehindubusinessline.com / Business Line / Home> Industry> Education / by Correspondent / Madurai, April 03rd, 2013

Braille edition of French classic released

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Education, Inspiration/ Positive News and Features
Pierre Fournier, Consul General of France, Puducherry, releases the Braille edition of ‘Kutti Elavarasan' and A. Chermathai, secretary, IAB, receives the first copy at Sundararajanpatti on Wednesday /. Photo: S. James / The Hindu
Pierre Fournier, Consul General of France, Puducherry, releases the Braille edition of ‘Kutti Elavarasan’ and A. Chermathai, secretary, IAB, receives the first copy at Sundararajanpatti on Wednesday /. Photo: S. James / The Hindu

 ‘Kutti Ilavarasan’ given away to 40 institutions across the State

“One sees clearly only with the heart because what is essential is invisible to the eye,” says a fox to the little prince in the French classic The Little Prince. True to those words, a group of children who could see everything with their hearts but nothing with their eyes had gathered at the Indian Association for the Blind (IAB) at Sundararajanpatti near here on Wednesday for the release of a Braille edition of the book translated into Tamil.

Pierrre Fournier, Consul General of France at Puducherry, released the Braille edition and A. Chermathai, secretary, IAB, received the first copy. Ms. Chermathai, 62, was among the first batch of visually challenged people who benefited from rehabilitation programmes conducted by the IAB during its inception in 1985. She worked as a government school teacher for long and associated herself with the IAB after her retirement.

The IAB was founded by S.M.A. Jinnah, a visionary who lacked the use of his eyes since the age of 13. It was administered by a managing committee comprising 13 members, six of whom were visually challenged women and three visually challenged men.

It runs a higher secondary school and assists the visually challenged in gaining education from Standard I to post-graduation. It also helps them become self-reliant and employable.

The association joined hands with United Way of Chennai, a philanthropic organisation, to start the IAB-UWC Finishing School aimed at assisting visually challenged youth seeking employment. The school was also inaugurated on Wednesday in the presence of Shyamala Ashok, Executive Director, UWC. K.N. Subramanian, Lead District Manager, Canara Bank, participated in the function and distributed CD players to visually challenged students of Standard IX.

The CD players were donated by Ability International Charitable Trust in the United States. C. Rama Subramanian, a renowned psychiatrist and also the president of IAB, said that the Braille edition of the French book, translated into Tamil with the title ‘Kutti Ilavarasan,’ would be distributed in 40 institutions, including 10 schools, 10 colleges and 10 organisations involved in rehabilitation of the visually challenged in the State.

S. Ramakrishnan of Cre-A publications in Chennai had taken the initiative to bring out the Braille edition of the book in Tamil. Appreciating the effort, the Consul General said that it was one of the greatest books of the century which almost every French citizen, including himself, knew by heart. It had been translated into more than 200 languages and around 14 crore copies of it had been sold since it was published in 1943.

“I am delighted to release the Tamil Braille edition on the 70th anniversary of the book’s publication. It is written for the child within an adult,” he said.

Mr. Subramanian applauded the work of IAB and said that it had been mandatory for all banks to provide education loans to visually challenged students who had successfully completed Standard XII. “We are also providing financial assistance to those who want to be self-employed,” he said.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Madurai / by Special Correspondent / April 04th, 2013

Topper aspires to open a school

Education, Records, All

 

Students of Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore, greeting one another during their Annual Convocation Day on Monday | Sudhakar Jain / Express
Students of Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore, greeting one another during their Annual Convocation Day on Monday | Sudhakar Jain / Express

Raghuvendra S, 26, from Coimbatore, who secured first rank in the postgraduate programme offered at Indian Institute of Management-Bangalore (IIM-B) wants to start a school with the essential learning system in the next ten years.

The BE Mechanical Graduate from PSG College of Technology, Coimbatore, now with an MBA programme and gold medal, will soon take up the lucrative consulting job with McKinsey and Company.

“The education system is in the reverse order – first theory and then practicals.  I want to start a school in the next ten years, where practicals and theory are taught simultaneously. It will be made affordable to all. Nevertheless, the education system in our country is the best,” Raghavendran said.

Raghuvendran, who earlier worked at Caterpillar for three years, said the new job is a change in his career and is looking forward to it.

Adeeba Ansari, who secured a gold medal for the best all round performance, attributed her success to her parents who are teachers.

She has been placed as sales and marketing manager in Crafts Food.

“It has been a satisfying journey and I am privileged to be part of the IIM-B. My parents, teachers and fellow students have been a great support by encouraging me throughout,” added Adeeba.

Specially-abled was ecstatic

Hailing from Karaikudi, a differently-abled Prakash P was the happiest when he received the certificate from Mukesh Ambani, Chairman, Reliance Industries Ltd.

“I am very privileged to be part of the IIM-B. I have been placed as the associate business analyst of Target, Bangalore. I am very happy and I am looking forward to the new opportunity,” said an ecstatic Prakash.

Rachitha Rasiwasia, another student who has been placed as the sales manager at Vodafone, said, “I am very happy and it is the efforts of parents that ensure that girls make an entry into higher careers.”

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Cities> Bangalore / by Express News Service – Bangalore / April 02nd, 2013

A student remembers…

Business & Economy, Education, Science & Technologies

K. BHASKARAN looks back to the time when Prof. P.V. Indiresan motivated him to patent his inventions.

The academic-industry-innovation eco-system has lost a great mentor in Prof. P. V. Indiresan, who passed away recently. One of the earliest events for encouraging innovative projects and exhibiting the Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IITM) labs and facilities for visitors was a two-day event, in 1982, the first ever The IIT Open House. It was conceptualised by Prof. Indiresan, the then director.

The director himself had to his credit national awards for his patented inventions, and was known for trying out several innovative projects, in the IIT eco-system. (He invented the automatic signalling system for Indian Railways , which received a national award.) The open house brought in a number of visitors from Chennai into the IIT-M during those two days. This helped in creating awareness about IIT as an institution.

Prof Indiresan always had many progressive ideas on innovations in science and engineering. One of the earliest student patents at the IIT-M, as far as I am aware of, was an invention designed by a student and prototyped in an IIT lab — the design of an ‘improved murukku making machine’. This happened to be my invention in my fourth year of B Tech Chemical Engineering. I patented it after a formal official permission from the IIT-M. This hand-held device was demonstrated during the Open House at the Mechanical Operations Laboratory in the Department of Chemical Engineering and it was the only student patentable invention at the event.

I can vividly recall the appreciation of Prof. Indiresan, on seeing the demo of the machine, and the director’s personal advice and follow-up later. It was on Prof. Indiresan’s advice that I applied for the patent, after getting due permission from the IC&SR (Industrial Consultancy and Sponsored Research). He was a forerunner for student innovation and entrepreneurship support, incubation and mentoring.

Though my efforts at early commercial exploitation of the patent did not take off, after several meetings and discussions with companies, I was successful. Prof. Indiresan was a direct catalyst in this endeavour.

Email:bhaskarank@gmail.com

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Features> Education Plus> Colleges / April 01st, 2013

Selvakumar shines shoes to light up poor students’ lives

Education, Inspiration/ Positive News and Features

Trichy:

There are myriad ways to procure funds for a social cause and one method that is not commonly heard of is polishing footwear of others. A 32-year-old man from Thiruvallurdistrict did exactly that on Trichy roads on Saturday to gather funds to help destitute students.

S Selvakumar claims he does the lowly job not to garner attention, but to create awareness among public on the need to come forward to help poor people. And he has been doing that across the state to garner funds for providing education to poor students. Selvakumar, an assistant professor in a private college in Thiruvallur district came to Trichy on Saturday as part of his tour across Tamil Nadu.

For almost a decade, Selvakumar is providing free education to 170 poor students, mostly orphans, at a primary school he runs in Parianallur in Thiruvallur district. He has to resort to the unique way of fund mobilisation as he does not charge any fee from the students. As he refuses to take charitable donations to fund his educational activities, he spends his free time to take up any work like catering service, cleaning, motivational talk and even shoe shining to earn money to run the school.

“I don’t think that any such work would belittle me. Considering the welfare of destitute students, I am ready to do any work to earn money for their education. However, I would not force my family to involve in social service. They would act according to their wish. Besides me, there are eight women teachers working for a meagre salary of Rs 2,000 per month for this cause,” says Selvakumar, who has a three-year-old son Lingeshwaran.

Does shoe shining earn sufficient money for a worthy, expensive cause? On Saturday, Selvakumar could polish only 25 pairs of footwear in Trichy without collecting any fixed charge for his work.

The self-effacing man doesn’t mind a little media coverage if it helps promote the cause he champions. By flashing my activity through media, it would create a spark in others to involve in social service. But I don’t want to gain publicity.”

Selvakumar claims he was honoured by Tamil Nadu  and Puducherry governments for his services to the education.

source: http://www.articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / Home> City> Madurai / by R Gokul, TNN / March 31st, 2013

Vairamuthu bats for globally competitive candidates

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Education, Leaders

Tamil poet Vairamuthu on Thursday called upon educationists to produce candidates who can successfully face the global competition in various fields.

The world had shrunk in the era of globalisation and information technology. There was a sea change in the globalised employment scenario. The situation had warranted that the higher, technical and professional educational institutions need to prepare students to face the tough competition from countries such as the United States, England, Australia and others, he said.

Speaking at a programme held at Manakula Vinayagar Engineering College at Madagadipet, Mr. Vairamuthu said that there were reports that several developed countries had been following inventive approaches to produce super rich students basically to outshine students from upcoming countries. The educationalists should take note of this so that they could strive to provide global standard education to Indian students. While stating that women education had seen spectacular improvement in India, he said there was a need to bridge the gap between rural and urban women.

M. Dhanasekaran, Chairman, S.V. Sugumaran, Vice Chairman, SMVE Trust and K. Venkatachalapathy, Director, spoke.

source: http://www.TheHindu / Home> National> Tamil Nadu / by Special Correspondent / Puducherry, March 29th, 2013