Accreditation for five P.G. Courses and three U.G. Courses.

The official fax was received last evening. Except Computer Science and Engineering, all the departments have been granted accreditation for their UG and PG courses.

Detractors have their right to say what they want, but, the truth is, GCE desrves this accreditation of its courses and there is joy and pride that the institution has striven hard to give the best to its students.

Now, I feel no one can say, "This is a Government institution...this is how it will be" in tones of insinuated scepticism and disdain. Oh, how I hated that kind of comment when it came from people.

Once again, it is time for all to accept that change has come in and that the momentum must be carried on.

God bless GCE.

Sunrise from RIE rooftop A view of RIE, Bangalore

It has been a long time since I blogged...because I was too busy being a student. I was at Regional Institute of English to take the examination for the Post Graduate Diploma in English Language Teaching, for about 15 days.

9 days of sitting in classes from 10 to 6.00 and 6 days of examination - teaching, oral and theroy papers was just a bit too much. I was caught twice doodling and talking.

However, all said and done, it was a good experience to see young teachers from the primary level to the tertiary level showing so much of creativity in their teaching methods.

I've learnt a lot, since the exam questions were all application based and there was no cramming possible...that was heaven sent for me, because I've never been able to remember all the definitions that have to be memorised.

I've come back rejuvenated and refreshed and a little more wiser than before about...how students ought to have pages and pages of encomium written for their patience to sit through long lectures and assignments; and more importantly, how much of love and dedication young teachers put into their teaching.

They were the best part of the training. Their simple tricks to make children remember words, their quickly drawn up teaching aids that were so interesting even to adults in the class...I am still to recover from the shock of all that intensity that they packed in. I feel all humble and exhilirated.

I strongly feel that an English teacher gains a sense of purpose and wonder after such courses. In fact, I wish the programme is specially offered to English teachers in Engineering colleges, since English Language Teaching - technical, communicative, business etc. is altogether a different game, considering the fact that we are all literature graduates. We have the love for the language and perhaps the flair for the language, but the skill to teach it as a language?

I do hope somebody in the higher rungs of technical education takes cognisance of the fact and forces us to take up training in teaching the four skills under the guidance of ELT trainers as at RIE or CIEFL.

The campus is quietening down...the first years are the only poor souls to haunt the corridors. A few final year students came to bid good bye. It is sad to see our boys and girls leave us...but there is happiness that they go into the world as GCEians, well armed with enough preparation for the real world. The ELA team was also there...there was a great response to this team's efforts to bring some fun into language acquisition. There was Ancilla, one of the finest students the college has ever produced. God bless all. There were a few moments of sadness when some of them said that their offers from companies such as Feld, Caterpillar and a few other companies had been withdrawn. I can imagine the pain and the sense of low self esteem that these children must be going through. However, I believe things will pick up momentum sometime at the end of the year.

Another development of interest is the oral examination that students of the first year are taking up for the semester for the Cambridge certification. They have an introduction session, a mini presentation and an interaction session with the examiner. All of this recorded in a cassette - two students per cassette; it is a slow process and I hope we will finish the recordings by the 30th. However, it is heartening to see our young first years with so many of them from the Tamil Medium at the school level making such splendid efforts to speak in English. Not always accurate but then fluent enough to make communication possible.

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

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!