Students of the Amal Jyothi College of Engineering go fashion conscious with their Advance Hair Colouring Technology project on display at the 10th TechTop National Innovation Challenge on Thursday. / The Hindu
National Innovation Challenge begins at Mar Baselios college
As many as 21 projects from various engineering colleges across the country are on display at the 10th TechTop National Innovation Challenge that began at the Mar Baselios College of Engineering and Technology (MBCET) here on Thursday.
Students from schools and engineering colleges in the capital city and its suburbs are flocking to MBCET to see the projects based on the contest theme ‘Smart Designs for Healthy Living.’ The top prize that awaits the winners is Rs.1 lakh.
Some of the projects on display at the two-day fete are a cost-effective monitoring system for intravenous infusion (IIT Mumbai); cost-effective filter for having anti-bacterial property (Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Technology, Kottayam); and EMG-activated arm for paralytic patients (Sethu Institute of Technology, Tamil Nadu).
Students of Sahradaya College of Engineering and Techology introduce their fire extinguishing robot
A fire extinguishing robot (Sahradaya College of Engineering and Technology, Thrissur); tactile Braille display (St. Francis Institute of Technology, Maharashtra); pneumatic engine (St. Vincent Pallottil College of Engineering, Maharashtra); and a location-aware gas leakage detection and alert system (Amal Jyothi College of Engineering) are also on display.
One of the highlights of TechTop this year is the Junior Innovation Competition organised for school students.
The Young Innovators Club of St. Berchman’s Higher Secondary School, Changanassery, has seven projects on display and Placid Vidya Vihar, Kottayam, has one project.
Earlier, Kerala Technological University Vice Chancellor Kuncheria P. Isaac, in his inaugural address, said that those who could keep up with the speed of technological growth and create new products would find success.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Thiruvananthapuram / by Special Correspondent / Thiruvananthapuram – June 26th, 2015
Cochin University of Science and Technology has invited applications for the Prof. M. V. Pylee award for the distinguished academician in the country for 2015.
An official release said that it consists of a cash award of Rs. one lakh, citation and memento. Vice Chancellors, renowned personalities, university and college teachers, research students could nominate a distinguished teacher for the award. Self-nominations are not accepted.
The annual award is given to an excellent teacher, good researcher, research guide, an educationist, educational planner and a visionary of future programmes in higher education.
The last date for the receipt of nominations is July 15. More details can be had from 0484-2575039; e-mail:csiscusat@gmail.com.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Kochi / by Special Correspondent / Kochi – June 24th, 2015
Turn the page on poor reading habits. Here is a new software that would help people access catalogues of libraries. Moreover, it shows the kind of books the user should read, based on the search history, using artificial intelligence and robotic technology.
“I believe that easy access to books helps cultivate good reading habits,” said Kannur native M C Anoop, the brain behind the software called 99 Library. Anoop, a software engineer, wants to install it for free at all public libraries. The software was released by veteran writer T Padmanabhan in Kannur on Thursday.
Apart from online cataloguing, the software can also maintain a record of issue and return of books and subscription of magazines, newspapers and journals by the user. It also reminds the user of the date of return via email. All one needs to do is to log on to the website of 99 Library (www.99library.com).
“After installing the software at major libraries, a system to exchange books could be developed, which could help improve reading habits of people,” said Anoop, who added that organizations like the library council in the state could play a major role.
P K Baiju, secretary of district library council, said”Though we will not be able to integrate the library networks to exchange books now, the online catalogue will be a great advantage to book lovers,” he said.
A mobile app version of the software was also developed by Anoop. Though the software would be given free of cost to public libraries and individuals, Anoop is planning to sell it to big establishments like universities and its libraries to meet the expense of managing the website. He also plans to make available e-books that are copyright-free on the website soon.
source: http://ww.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Kozhikode / TNN / June 19th, 2015
Arun Surendran, Strategic Director, Trinity College of Engineering, Thiruvanananthapuram, (third from left) with students and faculty members of Nanyang Technological University, Singapore.
Designed by students, it is expected to be ready by 2018
In line with the initiatives of a few Indian institutions and Singapore’s Nanyang Technological University, the Trinity College of Engineering here has begun a student-driven project to put in place a satellite – Trinity Adrak Student Satellite (TASSAT).
Various departments and the Advanced Design and Manufacturing Lab of Trinity College will pool their expertise towards completing the satellite project by 2018.
“We visited Nanyang Technological University to have a complete understanding of such a project. They have a sustainable programme and have been continuously launching their satellites from India using ISRO’s launch vehicle PSLV. We would like to have a similar programme at the college,” Arun Surendran, Strategic Directory of Trinity, said in a release.
Sponsored by a Muscat-based firm, the satellite project is an estimation of space debris, a topic of discussion after the Oscar-winning Hollywood blockbuster Gravity .
Mary Matilda, principal in-charge of the college, said, “TASSAT will be a great boost for all the departments as it shall open the doors for students in exploring new areas and sharpening their engineering skills.”
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Thiruvananthapuram / by Staff Reporter / Thiruvananthapuram – June 20th, 2015
Chief Minister Oommen Chandy, Speaker N. Sakthan, and CPI(M) State unit secretary Kodiyeri Balakrishnan at the 140th anniversary celebrations of the Government Law College, Thiruvananthapuram, on Wednesday.— Photo: S. Mahinsha
At the first alumni meet of law college, promises pour in
There was pride in their eyes and awe in their voices as the ‘who-is-who’ in Kerala politics spoke about the institution that has mentored thousands in the legal profession and helped hundreds to build careers in politics and social activism.
The chief among them rued the fact that he had not studied there, but was all praise for its alumni. The reference is to Chief Minister Oommen Chandy, who studied at the Government Law College, Ernakulam, and not where he stood on Wednesday evening, at the Government Law College, Thiruvananthapuram, which was celebrating its 140th anniversary and the first alumni meet on record.
Mr. Chandy promised the gathering that his government would do everything possible to lift the college to national status. A firmer offer came from an eminent alumnus of the institution, N.R. Madhava Menon, who promised to hand over to the college his collection of books and also do his bit to raise a corpus fund to develop the institution. He would also be available to guide the research programmes at the college, Prof. Menon said.
Present to celebrate the occasion were Home Minister Ramesh Chennithala, Transport and Forest Minister Thiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan, Information Minister K.C. Joseph, CPI(M) State secretary Kodiyeri Balakrishnan, and former Union Minister of State Kodikkunnil Suresh and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Ajith Joy. Almost everyone agreed on the need to raise the college to the status of a centre of excellence and, perhaps, a university in the none-too-distant future.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Thiruvananthapuram / by Special Correspondent / Thiruvananthapuram – March 26th, 2015
In less than a month Panchatantra, Aesop’s fables, Gulliver’s Travels and Oliver Twist will reach the remote village of Kichangani in Tanzania, thanks to Somy Solomon and her social media friends. Hartal or no hartal, her team of 50 is busy categorizing the 7,000 odd books -collected from all over India and abroad- at SH School of Communication on Saturday. Around 50 volunteers from the college and Cusat turned up to categorize the books before shipping. The sorting works will be completed by Sunday and the books will be shipped before March 22.
Kichangani Library, which received social media attention since October 2014, is not just a library, but a learning centre for the villagers. “Such a learning centre came to my mind after I reached Tanzania in 2012 after my marriage. Education is a luxury that most people cannot afford. And for the same reason, they are exploited and most kids go for domestic work at a young age. I feel a learning centre would be the first step to help them,” said Solomon, mother of two-year old Pachu. The envisaged centre will also have a reading room, a video room and computer training centre.
While the space for the centre was provided by the Kichangani village chairman, books were donated by people across India, Singapore, Sharjah, Dubai, Germany and the US. The cost of packing and shipment was sponsored by an IT firm based in Kochi and the transportation is being done with the help of a non-resident Malayali based in Tanzania.
The contributions were books and CDs in English and Swahili, including language and literature, general knowledge, biographies and diaries, dictionaries, atlases, geography and history texts, art books etc.
The learning centre, which Solomon hopes to extend to other villages, will have a drinking water facility. “Water scarcity is one of the major problems here. We hope to set up a drinking water facility at the centre for which the people have to pay as per the law of the land. The money collected will be used to run the library,” she said.
Solomon has begun a non-profit organization named ‘Ubuntu Reads’ to get government recognition for the library project. Twelve kids from the village will be given training to run the library. “This is to ensure that even if I leave the place, the movement will still go on,” she said.
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Kochi / TNN / March 15th, 2015
Some of the young residents of S.M.S.S. Hindu Mahila Mandiram Photo: Nita Sathyendran / The Hindu
Women of all ages get a new lease of life at the S.M.S.S. Hindu Mahila Mandiram, which kicks off preparations for its centenary celebrations on Saturday
School’s over for the day, but Aparna and Shilpa, both of them students of class nine of Chinnamma Memorial Girls High School and long-time residents of S.M.S.S. Hindu Mahila Mandiram at Poojapura, which runs the school, have a lot of revising to do for an upcoming maths exam. Oblivious to the ruckus, as happy youngsters in this 95-year-old home for indigent girls and women make the most of play time, the duo are bent over their notebooks, working out complex geometry equations, helped by a couple of home tutors.
“We want to be computer engineers and we are determined to work hard for it,” says Aparna, brimming with confidence. Sprightly Aishwarya, meanwhile, a student of class 11 and one of the home’s star pupils, wants to become an architect. She is busy prepping for her role as the compere for an upcoming event at the Mandiram. Like these three precocious youngsters, every one of the 96 girls, ages ranging five to 19, who call the Mahila Mandiram their home, want to make something of themselves. Guiding their dreams to fruition is M. Sreekumari, the organisation’s long-time honorary secretary, and her merry band of dedicated volunteers and staff members.
Mahila Mandiram was established in 1918 and registered as a charitable organisation in 1920 by K. Chinnamma and centres its activities on the ‘care, education, empowerment and rehabilitation’ of orphans and women and children from impoverished backgrounds. “We’ve tried to carry forward the legacy and social commitment of our founder. Our aim is not only to bring the girls up well and get them married off, but to also make each one of them stand on their own two feet, be empowered, self-sufficient and, above all, have self-respect,” says 71-year-old Sreekumari, who has been running the organisation for some 34 years now.
M. Sreekumari, honorary secretary (left), and Radha Lakshmi, president, SMSS Hindu Mahila Mandiram Photo: Nita Sathyendran / The Hindu
“Social work is in my very genes; I come from a family which has always been into social work. I am in awe of Chinnamma who thought so far ahead for women and children of the land, at a time when they were relegated to being second class citizens. Chinnamma hailed from an ordinary family in Attingal but was determined to get an education. Encouraged by her kunjamma [maternal aunt] who worked at the palace, she was one of the first female students of the Fort High School. She completed graduation after marriage and rose to become an inspector of schools in erstwhile Travancore and became a pioneer in social work. Chinnamma died at 47, 12 years after she established the organisation, the seeds for which must have been sown in her early teens itself,” adds Sreekumari, as she shows us around the well-kept home that includes spacious living quarters and a library, among other facilities.
“We are all one big family here,” she says, responding with a smile or a small wave as the youngsters call out greetings – in near reverence – to their ‘Amma.’
Apart from the home and the high school, Mahila Mandiram runs a Government-aided lower primary school, a working women’s hostel, an old age home for impoverished women at Azhoor, Chirayinkeezh, Panchavadi, ‘a holistic community development project, benefitting both children and the elderly’ at Vellanad, and a vocational training centre, the Mahima complex (currently under renovation).
They started out by giving young women training in handloom weaving and changed to “more feasible trades” as times changed.
Today Mahima complex houses a stitching and embroidery unit, a book binding unit, an offset press, and a computer centre that not only trains young women from the locality but provides employment opportunities too. In fact, for its efforts, the organisation won the national award for child welfare in 2013.
“Apart from fundraising, one challenge is actually finding committed personnel to help run the organisation. Because we can’t afford to pay exorbitant salaries, most of those who come for work here view it as a stop-gap arrangement. This also means that we are not savvy enough to attract the kind of corporate sponsorship that is available nowadays. Then again, the biggest challenge is raising the children – two at home is difficult, imagine a 100!
“Each child is a challenge, more so when the child in question has come to us after suffering emotional/physical trauma. We try to give them as much individual care as possible but it’s not always easy and we’ll never measure up to their mothers, who they would have left behind. The key is to persevere come what may and get them on the path to success,” says Sreekumari.
For a cause
On Saturday, March 21, 5 p.m., the organisation kicks off the first event in its master plan for its centenary celebrations – a fundraising event for Puthen Mandiram, the old age home at Azhoor, established in 2002. “We want to celebrate our centenary by bringing more women and children under our umbrella,” says Radha Lakshmi, president of the organisation. Having started functioning with just four residents, Puthen Mandiram [the land and heritage home was donated by one of the organisation’s member T. Madhavi Amma] now accommodates 15 women. “The present accommodation falls short of the comforts the residents require. By 2020 we want to expand the facility to a two-storey building to accommodate at least 25 elderly women, and make it more age-friendly, besides starting several outreach programmes such as a day care centre, assisted living facilities and an ambulance service,” adds Sreekumari. Contact: 0471 2351243
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Features> MetroPlus / by Nita Sathyendran / Thiruvananthapuram – March 19th, 2015
The twelve final year students of Oriental School of Hotel Management in Kerala who made the longest puttu.
A world record was achieved by making the longest puttu in the world of 18.2 feet, by twelve final year students of Oriental School of Hotel Management, Lakkidi, Wayanad, Kerala. It was held on March 16th, 2015 at 3.00 pm in the campus of the institution. The longest puttuwas made as per the guidelines and specifications of the Guinness World Records.
Students standing next to their creation, the longest puttu in the history of puttu in Kerala.
The twelve final year students who etched their names in the World Record attempt are Ms. Syama. M, Ms. Kavya Varghese, Mr. Akhil. B, Mr. Sivajith. S, Mr. Akshay Jain, Mr. Nithin George, Mr. Yadav Gurunathan, Mr. Jobu Ebin, Mr. Ebin Albert, Mr. Umesh. R. Nair, Mr. Jishnu. P. R and Mr. Mohammed Saif, all final year Hospitality Management students under the able guidance of Mr. K. C. Robbins, Principal of Oriental School of Hotel Management.
Puttu is an authentic Kerala breakfast dish of steamed cylinders of ground rice layered and blended with grated coconut. The ingredients for making the longest Puttu were 20 kg of ground rice flour, 15 grated coconuts, 15lts of water, salt, and a special equipment mould of aluminum was meticulously designed by the institution to prepare the longest puttu for the record breaking event. The longest puttu weighted 31.87kg.
Twelve final year students of Oriental School of Hotel Management in Kerala have managed to set a new Guinness World Record by steaming up the longest puttu.
The students took an hour and 15 minutes to prepare the world’s longest puttu and this is the result of days of relentless hard work and detailed planning. The Oriental School of Hotel Management is managed and owned by Malabar Hotel Management and Catering Promotion Trust—a charitable Institution founded by the visionary and social icon—Dr. N. K. Mohammed, the guiding force and inspiration behind the challenging event.
Earlier in 2006, the students of this institution had made a ten feet long puttu by using 10 coconuts and 26 kg of powdered rice in a specially designed 12-foot-long aluminum mould which took one-and-a-half hours to be cooked. (Refer: Wikipedia- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Puttu).
The world’s longest puttu being examined at the Oriental School of Hotel Management in Kerala.
The world record attempt by the students of the institution has surpassed their own previous record, and will be appropriately certified and documented by the Guinness World Records. All the documents and supporting evidence have been sent to the Guinness World Records for appropriate verification and certification.
source: http://www.food.manoramaonline.com / On Manorama / by Correspondent, On Manorama / Home> Food> Foodie / Monday – March 16th, 2015
The library to be opened at MAM UP School, Parambil Kadavu t p sooraj
Thiruvananthapuram :
In book shelves arranged on branches and the trunk of a tree’s statue, ‘Aksharakoodaram,’ a library to be opened at MAM Upper Primary School, Parambil Kadavu, Kozhikode will feature books from the personal collections of major writers in Malayalam like M T Vasudevan Nair, Sugatha Kumari, P Valsala, etc. And with these appealing features, the school library is being set up for a unique cause – to develop a reading culture among the families by taking the parents, besides the children, to the world of books. Apart from the teachers and students, each of the parents will be the members of the library, which will be opened by writer M T Vasudevan Nair on March 19.
Aimed at instilling better interest in reading among the children, the library club of the school had organised a programme to introduce the writers, along with their books, by conducting visits to their homes, and the books for the library was a result of that.
“The collection of books for the library began on the last reading day when the students interacted with M P Veerendra Kumar, who donated his 18 books to the library. Later, they had an interaction with M T Vasudevan Nair during Onam and then with writers like U A Khader, Satchidanandan, etc., who donated their own as well as other books in their collections for the library,” points out library convener Simi Z A.
“We actually aimed at offering an opportunity to the children to interact with the writers and they offered their books after knowing about our project,” points out Rajeesh Kumar, who led the programme.
“After making the parents the members of the library, we will be organising book discussions during the class PTA meetings with an aim to develop a reading culture among them, which will have a great influence on the children. It will further give a boost to the academic activities of the children, who will be encouraged at home to get into the reading habit beyond their academic syllabus. The majority of the parents often show reluctance towards children reading books other than their textbooks and creating interest in reading among the parents will bring in a change to it,” points out school headmaster Devanandan K C.
Apart from the writers’ collections, publishers like Lipi, Chinta, DC Books, Olive, etc. and the students and alumni members have also contributed books to the library, around 1,500 of them, and the school authorities aim to increase the number of books to 5,000 this year. All other accessories in the library and reading room, including the table, fan, tiles, shelves, computer, etc have been donated by the alumni members. An amount of Rs 1.5 lakh has also been raised from the teachers, students and alumni members. Moreover, the library will also be fully digitised with a software developed by an alumni member.
“What attracts me is that it’s not the library and its facilities, but the opportunity it provides to select books according to our taste,” says Anagha Krishna S J, a class VII student.
source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Cities> Thiruvananthapuram / by Anila Backer / March 12th, 2015
Rakshanya Sekar, a confident youngster,is on cloud nine. The student of KV Pattom is the only one from the state to receive the Bio Asia Young Minds award 2015.
The class XII student got the award for her science project, ‘Smart disposal bin’, which she presented at the Bio Asia 2015, a national convention held recently at Hyderabad. The award comprises a cash prize of Rs. 50,000 and a citation.
Rakshanya presented a basic working model of the bin at the Bio Asia conference.
With enthusiasm, the teen elaborates on the working of her ‘Smart Disposal’ apparatus. She says,“The bin is divided into two compartments- the plastic waste unit and the food disposal unit. The food waste unit consists of a food dehydrator, hot air blower and a wire mesh through which the waste reaches the bottom chamber of the food unit. The dehydrator and the hot air blower helps to take out the moisture content from the waste, which can then be used as manure or even animal fodder.”
The empty plastic bottles put in the other unit are crushed and shredded into small pellets by horizontal blades present in the compartment. “These horizontal concave blades work alternatively, and the plastic pellets are collected in the bottom chamber of the unit.”
The 16-year-old sees it as a solution for the waste disposal problem faced by the Railways. She said, “Managing waste, especially plastic, is a huge problem, with plastic bottles lying on the tracks.
The Smart Disposal Bin helps by reducing the volume of the bottle, making it easier to transport. One can utilise the plastic collected in this way, for using in innovative projects.”
The biotechnology student used zinc sheets to make the body of the model, which also has additional boxes to collect powdered waste. Rakshanya,who is passionate about science, says, “I like innovating and coming up with new ideas, and wish to contribute to society through science.” She will be representing KV from her region, along with a few other students in the upcoming Jawaharlal Nehru National Science Exhibition.
source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Cities> Kochi / by Varsha Mohan / March 07th, 2015
