Some good news for students waiting for their call letters from TCS. 152 students have been asked to report to Ahmedabad for their training. We are happy that the company is committed to its promise. We are all keeping our fingers crossed for the next batch. Hopefully things should brighten up in the second half of the year.


Preparations are on for the Graduation Day on April 5 in the college. Mr. Pattabiraman of TCS is the Chief Guest.

Today, I saw one of the most improvised motorbikes for a paraplegic gentleman. There it was, by the canteen, a largish, scooter, much like a tempo without the top. Sivalakshmi and I were drawn to it, since it was out of the ordinary. We went close to it to have a better look...and there was a youngish man on his chair with wheels. He seemed delighted by our curiosity and with a very charming smile explained that the scooter was tailor-made for him by one of the boys working at the canteen who was deeply interested in servicing vehicles.

The wide, tempo like bodied scooter had a lever at the side. The gentleman pulled it down and a ramp lowered itself at the back, thus enabling the gentleman on his wheelchair to move up the ramp with his chair and drive the scooter. Truly, it was an ingenuous idea, empowering the challenged young man to have his freedom. When I remarked on this the gentleman nodded his head and smiled very cheerfully. You know, the idea is worth exploring on a commercial basis.

This was one of my best moments today at college for me...it was proof that human wil can design brilliant machines and the same human will can keep one cheerful and enjoying life.

Go...all the way, young man....

Department of English had yet another 'Mission Accomplished'. We conducted a three day Faculty Development Programme on Professional and Personal Efficiency for Facilitators. It was a lesson in student power once more as they took care of the nitty gritty and logistics of the programme. The sense of responsibility is something that one does not easily find nowadays. Dr.Kaushik, Dr. Renuka and Dr.Jahitha Begum offered sessions on various areas of skill development. I shall try to load the course materials for all, provided the Metallurgy department seminar hall computer allows us to copy.

In the meantime, 50 students took up a Pre-test for Univ. of Canbridge in the Mechanical Department. I promise you, the acoustics there is absolutely stunning.

Check out this SlideShare Presentation:

Evaluation Of Web 2

View more presentations from chitraa.

On Friday, Dept. of CSE had its three day Faculty Development Programme valediction. Ms.Kalpana had asked me to take a session, since one of her resource persons couldn't make it at the last moment. For three days, the net was my companion till 1.30 p.m. as I researched information on Web 2.0 tools.



I presented the PPt on Friday and it was well received by all. I add it to the blog for those interested.



Once again, the web comes up with a lot of information and the trick is in selecting the right information. It is not mere 'Cut and Paste'...a lot of preponderance, contemplation, lip chewing and head scratching goes into the whole process. I did just that.

Ah... as usual, Mechanical guys have had their day...Mekchat 09 was a grand affair this year. Shamianas greeted visitors. A display of their work was on.

There was a junkyard contraption...For the first time, I came to know that a contraption is actually a mechanism that makes a complex job out of a simple one. This one, for example, showed how a balloon can be burst by setting off marbles which rolled all the way setting off mechanical and electrical fittings, to finally burst the balloon. It was quite a fascinating contraption.

There was also a water rocket, which blew right into the trees at trememndous force worked by a foot pressed pedal that increased the pressure and blew the cardboard plane away. It was easy to imagine how the principles of physics have inspired inventions.

There were a few questions for the bibliophiles...that was not me...I couldn't solve even one of those. There was a question...what two 15 letter words have a differnt first letter only. Ans: Rationalisation and nationalisation.

And, there was a graffitti board...filled with hilarious scribbles...Magnificent Mechs and a really funny one : Mechanical engineering is only for bachelors. We had a hearty laugh over it. I thought the graffitti board was a good way to get the thoughts out into a board that seemed to have a million words across it.

Classes are on in full swing...we have everything going on all at the same time...Days are becoming uncomfortably warm. I am sure all the cottons will be coming out soon...

There are so many activities going on in the college, I find it difficult to keep track of everything. ECE has been having a 'Connected Society', a paper presentation session and is preparing for 'Comnet', an annual intra departmental event. CSE has been having its 'Progen-i' and is now preparing for the conference, ' Codeclave'; Mechanical department is having a 2 day annaul conference, 'Mekchat' and is hosting a 3 day FDP on 'Robotics'; Civil department has been having a 6 day programme on ANSYS and is planning a 5 day FDP next month; Metallurgy department is hosting a Service to Community Programme, as is the CSE...Department of Chemistry is hosting a 1 day FDP on...on...can I let you all know tomorrow? And, Department of English is hosting a 3 day FDP on 'Enhancing Professional and Personal Skills for Facilitators'...whew...wasn't that a lot?

Another good news is that all HODs of Engineering departments are being sent to visit universities in different countries in order to understand how they maximise learning in the different engineering departments. It should be a welcome move, since they will all be bringing back some input which might help our students.

Salem is extremely warm...though as usual, the yellow flowers are beginning to carpet the ground. Even yesterday, I saw a young tree decimated to its main trunk near the Planetarium. I feel sad, but, that is the only thing I can do.

What a day it has turned out be! A revelation of sorts. It started off with the second day of examinations for the first year students taking their BULATS paper and the aura of awe that the exam seemed to stir in the external examiners from the engineering streams. All the running around to ensure that the PA systems were working well was by itself a tiring task for us. Once again, it must be acknowledged that TEQIP has helped the department of English the most, because otherwise, there would've been additional responsibilities like hiring, wiring and fixing audio systems from the surrounding villages or Salem and finding that they don't really work when you want them to. The wonderful PA systems in the college were cool, cool and cool.

If that experience wasn't enough for the day, there came the news about the Commissioner's visit to inspect the progress of work on the Digital library and the Language Resource Centre on the 13th.

OMG, there were systems to be brought over from the locker rooms of the ECE department , tiles to be fitted, LAN fixtures and Plasma TV to be put up, motorised projector screen to be fixed, software to be installed and the server to be loaded...

It was here that we discovered angels without wings in the department of CSE. They were ready to help us when they knew of our plight. Boys and girls piled into the ECE block, carried out 60 monitors and 60 CPUs and accessory boxes to the Admin Block.

Willing hands and shoulders moved the heavy boxes to the LRC; students fanned out to the computer platforms as some of them started checking out the device serial number with the number on the box, spread out the accessories on the platforms and started fixing the various plugs and points of the systems. As Brindha remarked, there seem to be as many cables for the CPU as neurons in a human brain. All this was accomplished in two hours.

I would only call it a miracle of genuine interest and dedication to the responsibility of the III year CSE students. It is no wonder that they do well in their professions and are acknowledged for their intelligence and enthusiasm.

What made it all the more enjoyable was the good will shown by the boys as they worked in the dusty and paper strewn, box filled room. And, when the work was over, it was as if there was nothing left to do.

A session of jolly and good natured laughing camera sessions marked the end of the day, but let me admit, there was a warm glow in my heart, though my legs and back ached with the sharp pain of labour that we are not used to.

God bless the children. God bless GCE.

Students are back with a bang...they decidedly look happy to be back.

Today, the seminar halls had to have their PA systems checked for the BULATS test to be taken up by two branches tomorrow.

So, for two days, the department is going to be on its toes.

And, today, while walking the stretch between the Admin block and the Mechanical block, I was shocked to find about 20 strong trees cut down to their main trunk by vandalists. God, I wish a fence was put up around the perimeter to stop these villagers from making a fortune out of the wealth of trees that we have. I was sad, shocked and perturbed by the mindless cutting down of trees.

College is closed indefinitely following government orders. Teachers are attending college. Examinations have been postponed.

A three day training programme on Renewable Resources was organised by the Dept. of Mechanical Engineering from the 27th on. I managed to sit at some of the sessions in between the classes. There were two speakers who were quite interesting. There was Dr.TamilPorai from Anna University, Chennai and incidentally, an old student of the Mech department of GCE.

His slides were interesting, but not extraordinary, but believe me, the teacher in him was there in the last slide, where he had asked the audience to ruminate on a few facts and come to conclusions themselves. One was that the Kyoto Agreement on Greenhouse gases emission did not apply to India since we were nowhere near the threshold levels and did not need to look at alternatives as immediate needs when there were other developmental activities requiring attention. Secondly, the investment in Unconventional sources of energy was huge, huge and far beyond the money being spent on conventional sources.

Well, was he advocating renewable resources or not, asked the participants. For me, answers were not needed...he was stimulating the minds of the young, by telling them don't accept anything at face value or because it is propogated by the Developed World. Think and decide. I found him a different teacher...one who gives facts and lets the learner decide on the lessons to be learnt therein.

The next talk to interest came from Mr.Sivasubramaniam, a TNEB Executive Engineer who showed with statistics and very simple examples how power consumption has increased manifold. From just 234 mw in the 1900s, Tamil today generates ten times that power generation and how by 2100, the need is going to be in hundreds of thousands. He quoted examples from industries which use bad power conservation techniques and how our habit of using second hand electrical appliances causes dmage. He showed how appliances can be used to the optimum by observing some simple, basic techniques. The best part of his talk was not that there was a lot of information for the participants, but that there was credibility in his simplicity. One came away feeling that there was something that each one could do as an individual to bring about the desired change.

This is what the TEQIP is about...qualitative change in the mindset of even a few can change the quality of life for society.

Another surprise about the training was the compereing done by Kirubanidhi and Alwin Subash as they did it casually and yet with the right tone that did not deter one from the seriosuness of the training. Their responses to the sessions, their agenda presentation and the coherence that they imparted to the programme in their humorous (not silly or fatuous) manner spoke well of them. As an English teacher, I realised that they had not overstepped their roles as presenters and yet had the audience loving their interludes and laughing at their good mannered comments. Well done, boys. GCE boys, you prove it time and again...there is a spark in you all waiting to becoming leaping flames brightening all around.

God bless our boys.

On the 20th there was a training programme on Research Trends and Plagiarism offered by the ECE Department. The Principal of TPGIT was the Chief Guest. I did attend the inaugural function and then went away to the two hour class with the III year CSE, hoping to come back for the afternoon session. Sadly, there was a sudden spurt of work in the department and I had to forgo the training. It was a disappointing thing...However, there were a number of young research scholars who were attending and who would've definitely benefitted from the sessions.

In this connection, I am surprised that most students are not aware that paper presentation requires a little original contribution to work already carried out. They identify a topic from the abstracts downloaded from websites and copy and paste all relevant information on that topic from their web searches. This is really sad... I remember my son telling me that when he did his M.S., their assignments were put through a software that detected plagiarism of even the miniscule kind. Students are capable of good work, if only they know the right way and are guided along it. Teachers have a huge responsibility in this regard.

The unofficial confirmation doing the rounds is 'We have got AUTONOMY'.

Celebrate all ye GCEians.

This is great news.

The Yoga raining imparted to 41 trainees, who included members from the teaching, non-teaching faculty and students from the college on completion of their yoga dheekshai are leaving for the Esha Dhyana Centre at Vellingiri foothills tomorrow. Others are also joining them, yours truly being one of them. I am excited and look forward to the trip.

The terrible Oil Strike seems to be hitting us all real deep. The college bus will not ply on the 12th and 13th, this time the non availability of petrol and diesel being the excuse. There was a lively discussion on how one day we might have to commute by bicycle rather like the Parisians during the II World War and how we might have to pack a little food for the onward journey to the college. Will that come about? All these Star Movies which forecast doomsday scenarios are leaving a 'Deep Impact' on me I think!

I hate technology...it fails you when you most need it. It failed us today when the first years were given their third series test in English.

What with these kids giving even series tests like the actual ESOL papers, we have to hold the tests in seminar halls to facilitate the listening test. Today, the system in my hall had a corrupt audio driver, the sound cord was fitted into another system, the copy of the audio CD had faulty recording for some ten questions. And, in the other halls, the CD wouldnt open...or, it played at a low volume...OMG, did we have a hectic three and a half hours from 2 to 5.30 p.m. And, all this for the simple series test which used to be a breeze in the past. Well, every good thing comes at a cost. We were happy that we were all in the same well....

Went to the canteen to cool ourselves at about 5.45 p.m. Aah...there was soft parotta, a spicy kurma that tasted like it was spiced up with chicken stock...there was small, spongy dosa served with hot garam chutney. A compense for the long, frustrating hours in the halls.... There was even kothhu parotta, with eggs and without eggs. Cool draughts of badam kheer chilled us out...

I guess there might be something more for tomorrow...just as we were leaving at six, we heard a rumour that there was a theft in the hostel....

Department of CSE organised its Progen -i, 8.2 today. Shri. P.Vasudevan, Senior Manager, HR, TCS was the chief guest. He was there to award the Best Student Award instituted by TCS last year. This year, Anjana Devi with 88% was chosen to receive the award.

At the inaugural function, the chief guest gave a rousing speech to the students on the need to be industry ready, to have good communication skills and to desire perfection in all tasks.

He highlighted the fact that in today's competitive and recession hit IT industry, the need of the hour was to be ready for the industry, in terms of its requirements and work environment. He said animals survived because they lived for the moment, the moment of kill, the moment of survival. The next day was immaterial. The present trend in industries is to survive and survive they will because they are able to diversify and branch out. He asked students to find out what platforms were being used in projects and to equip themselves with good knowledge of the organisational and client needs.

Next, he stressed the need for good communication skills, not just in English, but now that the IT industry had to look elsewhere than just US for its markets, to also learn atleast one foreign language - Japanese, French, Portuguese, German to name a few. He also pointed out that memorising atleast five new words from the dictionary and using them during the course of the day and reading and watching news channels including business news channels would go a long way in mastering vocabulary and speaking skills. He mentioned his teacher from Loyola who taught him this mantra.

He wondered aloud why three precious months should be spent on training when students should come well equipped to them.

Thirdly, he unequivocally called for a spirit of quest in students.

He narrated the story of how Japanese fishermen on finding that the yield of fish for their sushi was falling due to fish that were brought dead thought of a plan to bring them fresh to the market. They constructed tanks in the boats that kept fish alive and fresh till they were brought to the market. There was still no market as people were dissatisfied with the fish - they claimed that the fish were lethargic and dull. That spoilt the taste.The poser he had was, what do you think the Japanese did to bring active and super fresh fish. The audience didn't have an answer to that. He informed us that the Japanese added a shark to the tank of fish and in that struggle for survival and strategies that the fish had to adopt to keep alive they were active, smart and fresh. The sushi was absolutely divine. He wanted students to be able to keep themselves abreast of the industry's needs and be able to serve their employers well.

He appreciated students of GCE for their hard work, intelligence and commitment and assured students that TCS would surely be recruiting students from GCE just for these fine qualities and had only one request to make - to remember the three guidelines he had just given. I liked the speech for the clarity, organisation and power packed in it. He had the audience listening to him in rapt silence.

There were more surprises - he had already refused the hotel accommodation. He stayed at the college guest house. He just joined the faculty and students in the simple buffet lunch served under the shamiana and spent a leisurely half an hour chatting with the staff and students. I know Indian industry , especially the Tatas is headed in the right direction with the right values. This young man was prime example of this.

There were events like paper presentation, quiz and Mad Ad for the participants along with a host of other technical events like debugging and a few other names that I am not able to recall now.

The first years have started their final series test and soon it will be time for them to give their exams. 2009 is at the doorstep and what an eventful year has 2008 been. 2009 promises to be as chocabloc with activities and plans as 2008, what with autnomy that may come through. God Bless GCE.

I saw the most incredible sight this morning in the campus...two snowy white egrets were walking alongside two of the stray cattle. (I believe that these birds share a symbiotic relationship with cattle picking ticks off them).The moment they flew up, spreading their long wings, they were truly beautiful. I hope, after the butterflies, birds will now find a haven in the campus. It is surprising that birds have not made GCE their home in spite of the many trees here.

Anna University, CBE has now introduced the Examination Management System to administer examinations online. As with any innovation, there are teething problems...hopefully they should disappear soon.

The first years are finally getting ready to face the last two or three weeks of their semester...we've never had classes for this long a time for the first years. And, their Innovative Work which forms a part of their internal assessment is showing us yet another facet of students - they are creative when they go beyond their texts.

Am very excited about the call from Ebek who conducted the BULAT examination for our students last semester.

Two of our students, T.M.Aravindhan and Ajay Paul of the Mechanical Engineering branch have qualified for a competition conducted by Ebek, Anna University, CBE and the University of Cambridge.

If they win the competition against the 68 others, they get to visit London and the University of Cambridge free of all costs.

They were shortlisted on the basis of their marks in the BULAT international certification examination which our first year students take up under Anna University, CBE.

Congratulations to our two boys...they are winners already, since from among the 6000 odd students they have found a place among the top 70.

They have scored an 'O' with 97 marks. The competition is on Sunday and the winners are going to be selected by Cambridge representatives. This is wonderful news for the Department of English. I would also attribute it to the natural talent of the boys in language learning.

It's raining cats and dogs from Cyclone Nisha. There is a steady drizzle that has not let up since yesterday. The University examinations sheduled for yesterday and today are cancelled due to the rains. Yesterday, the college wore a deserted look with only the first years braving the downpour to sit in the dark and damp classrooms...well, atleast for the morning. The district authorities declared a holiday and so students went back to the hostels and homes in the rain.

How beautiful it is to see trees dripping drops of rainwater in silvery thin cascades. The looming Yercaud hills are shrouded in clouds and one cannot even see the Perumal temple on that hillock near Kuruguchavadi.

The canteen sold some delicious sapottas. They were definitely a better sight than the oil-shiny samosas kept on the tray. Why cannot they open up a fruits counter? Children might have healthier snacks that way.

I also wish they sold lemon tea, that refreshing and glittering ,golden yellow nectar that refreshes the mind and body like nothing else. But then, in the midst of coffee and tea lovers that might be asking for too much.

New proposals have been submitted for consideration under TEQIP-Phase II.

Students are seen with their noses buried in books and notes. It really is a pleasure sometimes to see students evince such tangible interest in their books. Teachers, perhaps, are the only ones happy that the books are being put to such good use by their students, though they all know it is but a flash in the pan kinda happiness.

Seriously, the halls are overflowing with students everywhere, in most departments and the poor first years trot from one block to another every other day to find their classroom allotted for the day.

Video conferencing with GCT, Coimbatore was facilitated at our campus. The Principals and the Heads of Departments conferred with one another on the use of video conferencing in teaching our students. It was mututally agreed upon by the departments to fix certain days to deliver lectures and talks to students on appointed days.

For me, personally, this marks the slow but steady pace at which technology is catching up with GCE.