This calls for celebration.

Language Resource Centre hosted the first online examination for the Third Year students. The systems behaved themselves though the power supply didn't...however, everything worked like magic and made us grateful to the good God, the visionary Principal and generous Govt funds for the equipment and other facilities.

We remember the days, not far back, when we went about with begging bowls to the departments asking for halls, systems and other paraphernalia...I won't deny that though permission was always readily given by the HODs, the problems lay with the systems and viruses that had corrupted systems and the necessary hardware and software preparations that were long, not easily available or required a lot of running around from one distant block to another.

God bless GCE, once more.

Today, I came across this information from the net about the standing of the college department wise among the affiliated colleges of Anna University. It was indeed a very pleasant information.

We stand in the fifth place in Civil and CSE; eighth in Mechanical, fourteenth in EEE and first in Metallurgy.

I would say that students deserve all the credit for their contribution. I also feel that our students become all rounders - because they participate in and organise all the events at college (they are simply amazing in their event managements...I swear they know the best rates, the best offers, the best technical teams, the best tips for technical efficiency...I mean I could go on...) .

Another laudable feature is that they just dont hesitate to do any odd jobs, be it fitting out systems, preparing brochures, printing, pasting, posting, inviting even the Presidents of companies, tweaking instruments and devices, learning new skills ( you know, they throng Five Roads in the evnings for their special courses...I don't know how they find time for all this...whew).

They are also perfectly well behaved...you don't find stand offish or proud children here...they are simple and down to earth.

Ofcourse, they are also sometimes late to class, wake up at 9.15 for a 9.00 class, dont take baths, never shave, never clean behind their ears, are to be found in theatres from Friday to Friday, they never read newspapers....the list is endless. Inspite of all this, they are good at their studies, they are updated with the newest skills technically and nowadays, they talk a dime to the dozen in English....

Maybe, I may seem to be blowing the trumphet too loudly, but I stand by every word.

I know I cannot stop bragging about the Language Resource Centre, but do bear with me.

Today, the Commissioner, Directorate of Technical Education , Shri. V.K.Jeyakodi visited the institution and spent a leisurely forenoon visiting the Auditorium, the Digital Library, the Language Resource Centre and the departments.

It was a pleasure to show off the lab to someone who had played a very big role in setting up the facility. After all the moments of tension since the audio played truant before the visit and moments of nail biting wondering whether the other facilities like the LCD Projector and the LCD TV would behave themselves, it was surprisingly and refreshingly simple and informal.

The Commissioner had some kind words for the students who were there taking up a model examination.

The much awaited visit thus passed off happily and cheerfully.

Now, we have to see that the nitty gritty of maintaining the lab with all the little jobs is carried out so that the facility can be offered to students freely and without restrictions. Except, of course, banning pendrives and CDs inside.

I am ofcourse shuddering at the thought of all those smelly feet inside. I wonder if allowing them to wear their footwear might solve the problem.

GECOFEST 2009

Here's the update on GECOFEST 09.

Life must be full of surprises, otherwise the monotony sets in. That is true of GECOFEST. The events are the same, the participants are always students- right down to the invitation design. What is the surprise every year is that the most unexpected talents come to the fore and we see children with new eyes.

This year the celebrations were begun with a talk by a Professor of Tamil from Periyar University... onstage everything was eye catching, attention grabbing and here and there, subtle. The lower levels of the dais partitions had some fabulous paintings of flames done very aesthetically. On the walls were murals of dancers and musicians...wonder how such big artwork was put up. Credit must be given to Nilofer and her team of students who were up in the auditorium till late in the night putting up the deco.

The art competititons as usual brought out some amazing talent....Murugaiyyan and LakshmiNarayanan, the two artists spearheaded the art exhibition in a clourful stall outside the auditorium. Strokes, lines and colours merged in a riotous medley...There were 162 entries for the painting competition...there were so many Gopinaths from almost every year. Our first year boys and girls seemed to have broken free of the shell of the twelfth rigours and given free vent to their artistic talents.

As usual, Mrs.Leema mary and I were there from morning, soaking in the festive and vibrant atmosphere. The music show once again brought out a number of talented guitarists and drummers. The drama show was hilarious as the theme was Yama and ChitraGuptha...and once again, the first years had some fantastic and natural actors. They walked away with the first prize too for drama.

Adaapt Theme never fails to amaze me...where do children get their energy? Mythily of the third year came up with a pleasing and sharp performance to win the first prize. I promise you the girls have so much grace that they tend to take all attention away from the boys. However, Mukhil and his friend J came up with a scintillating host performance. Anitha and her troupe also gave a very graceful dance recital in glowing golden specially tailored dresses. I remembered Saravanan our ex final year dancer who would set the stage on fire with his dances.

Sadly, I missed the second day's performance, as I was on leave. I am sure it must've been a wonderful finale to the celebration.

Did I tell you about the whistles and the guttural whoops? As usual, they added to the gaiety and ambience of the celebrations.

I believe that receiving one's degree at the Graduation ceremony is one of life's happiest moments.

GCE had its Graduation Day on the 5tha and as students, nay, graduates, filed past to receive their certificates, my eyes filled with tears, because I have seen some of them, with their parents, go through some very sad and very happy moments in the course of their studies...four years is a long time and children live in a microcosm these four years.

A.K.Pattabiraman, Head, Accreditation Process, TCS, South India, was the chief guest. And, oh boy, what a rousing appreciation it was that he gave for the institution and the students. Departing from his prepared Graduation Day address, Pattabiraman Krishnaswamy thundered out words of praise for our sstudents for their innovative thoughts and confidence. He narrated an incident when during his accreditation process for TCS with the institution he interacted with students and asked them about the cracks in the walls of the auditorium and two students showed him that they were not really cracks but that they were patterns of the alpha waves of the brain and that they were patterns of new ideas. He admitted that he was amazed by this clarity in thought and optimism in accepting the foibles and pits in life and making them see oppportunities in failures. He was admittedly, floored, (in his own words). He also assured students that the setback to Indian industry was a temporary one and students should be prepared for the boom when it comes.

The funny part of it was that the thundering applause that should've come when so many hands were literally itching to come together to thank this experienced TCS player was that they didn't, because the graduates were asked not to clap during the entire ceremony... how do you like it???

The ceremony by itself was quick, smooth and went off without hitches...thank God for that. Lunch was served in the D1 and D2 halls.

Some of our students, especially Vinoth, was raring to visit the Language Resource Centre. They trooped in, checked out the facilites, played some music on the PA system, tested out the sofware loaded and were left speechless. A few fun filled photos were taken there.

Graduation Day 2009 was good.

I reproduce below the report in The Hindu. http://www.hindu.com/2009/04/06/stories/2009040652970300.htm

‘Indian companies facing crisis with maturity’
Staff Reporter
They are opting for subtle changes in business operations
Photo: P. Goutham Congratulations!: University first rank holder in Metallurgical Engineering Mahendhiran receiving his degree certificate from Salem Government College of Engineering Principal S. R. Damodarasamy (centre) and Accreditation Process (South India) Head, Tata Consultancy Services, A.K. Pattabiraman at the Graduation Day of the college on Sunday. —
SALEM: Indian companies are responding to the challenges of the present economic crisis with remarkable sophistication, maturity, concern, innovativeness and alacrity.
Instead of resorting to retrenchment or lay off on a massive scale, the companies are effective subtle changes in business operations such as fine tuning offshore-onsite ration, increasing employee’s efficiency and economy drive, which are yielding remarkable results, Accreditation Process (South India) Head from Tata Consultancy Services A.K. Pattabiraman has said.
Delivering the Graduation Day address at the Salem Government College of Engineering here on Sunday, he asked the students not to worry about the present situation.
“What is happening now is a temporary and transient phenomenon,” he said.
When a similar situation came up in the year 2000, the Indian companies bounced back and managed it successfully, Mr. Pattabiraman said while assuring the students that their future is safe.
India has the biggest advantage of having huge intellectual capital. “All we have to do is adapt to changes and bring in more innovation,” he said.
The youthful and trained population can do wonders to transform the science, engineering, technology and business in the country, and give them the much needed competitive edge.
“If the Indian talent is harnessed fully, intelligently and innovatively, the younger generation will propel the country to an unprecedented height,” he pointed out.Education
To nurture the talent and sustain the growth, all the people in the country should be provided access to quality education, he stressed.
College Principal S.R. Damodarasamy, presiding, said the percentage of placements in the year 2007-08 was 97.75.
A total of 347 undergraduate and 145 postgraduate students received their certificates during the function.
The university rank holders are: Metallurgical Engineering: Mahendhiran (first rank), Eeswarakrishnan (second rank) and Parandaman (third rank), Civil Engineering: Jasmine, ECE: Shanmugarajan (45th rank). Faculty members and parents were present