Trivandrum - Education and Research Thread

[jaleelmalik]

Originally Posted by Ajaypp

A small request to everyone, please post only news relevant to major education and R&D institutions in this thread. This is to avoid clutter. Thanks.

Why not Training be treated as part of Education
As a matter of fact, training is the best example for semi formal education.

[Ajaypp]

Originally Posted by jaleelmalik

Why not Training be treated as part of Education
As a matter of fact, training is the best example for semi formal education.

True, but are training programmes what we want to project about a city on an international forum? I would rather think we should be talking about major R&D institutions, educational centers and important events.

[sudheeshnairs]

Jaleel, it would be better if news about projects like IIST, IISER, ASB and its construction/progress photos etc are posted here. Rather than all sundry news which come in media, it will dilute the seriousness of thread. I had also felt this earlier.

We may also have news about International seminars and the like.

[BabuCS]

Originally Posted by sudheeshnairs

Jaleel, it would be better if news about projects like IIST, IISER, ASB and its construction/progress photos etc are posted here. Rather than all sundry news which come in media, it will dilute the seriousness of thread. I had also felt this earlier.

We may also have news about International seminars and the like.

We may also need more pictures here ..
Appreciate if someone could post some pictures of the land-scape (and surroundings) of Vithura where IISER is coming is up... and also IIST, valiamala.

[jaleelmalik]

Originally Posted by sudheeshnairs

Jaleel, it would be better if news about projects like IIST, IISER, ASB and its construction/progress photos etc are posted here. Rather than all sundry news which come in media, it will dilute the seriousness of thread. I had also felt this earlier.

We may also have news about International seminars and the like.

Ajay & Sudheesh, agree.

[Kannan46]

Baker Institute to scale new peaks

Source: expressbuzz.com

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The State Government and the Kerala State Nirmithi Kendra (KESNIK) are planning a grand future for the Laurie Baker Nirmithi Training and Research Institute.

The institute named after Laurie Baker, the architect extraordinaire, is well on its way to become an institute of international repute if steps initiated in this direction materialise.

``We are planning to expand its horizons step by step. The proposal include more training programmes and a finishing school for those who have completed engineering,’’ said an official with KESNIK. Teachers, policy-makers and technical staff will benefit from the new initiatives. Job-oriented training programmes will be covered, along with the regular training activities undertaken by the institute. ``Research-oriented training will be given importance,’’ the official said.

A meeting to this effect was convened by Minister for Housing and Forests Binoy Viswam on Tuesday. It was attended by an expert committee comprising KESNIK director G Harikumar, energy consultant Dr V K Damodaran, engineering consultant and resource person P R Sreemahadevan Pillai, architects G Shankar and Shama Sivadas and top KESNIK officials.

The institute, earlier known as Nirmithi Gurukulam, has been into reviving the Cost-Effective and Environment-Friendly (CEEF) technology and creating a workforce specialised in CEEF technology. It also offers artisan training programmes and is a certifying agency authorised to give accreditation to skilled workers in the sector.

Architect Shankar made a presentation at the meeting and that was put to technical deliberations. ``After the meeting, it was tentatively agreed to register it as a society under the Societies Act’’ Binoy Viswam said. Steps will also be taken to find suitable honorary resource persons for the institute. There is also a proposal to find suitable land for a new building for the institute.

Sreemahadevan Pillai has been chosen to submit the draft on May 13. The current plan is to set up it as a social institute and then gradually seek affiliation of AICTE.

Hope the above news item meets the criteria laid down by our senior forum members as regards the quality of the contents.

I hope that their comments was aimed at my posting and I apologize for the same.

Cheers!!!

[Kannan46]

Camp in Robotronics
Source :thehinduonline

Thiruvananthapuram: Want to get a peep into high-end technology during your child’s summer vacation? How about Robotronics that would take your child through the basics of robotics, electronics, bionics and simple programming skills? A city-based organisation is conducting a month-long summer camp on robotronics from Monday. According to the organisers, Sabarigiri Centre for Management and Technology, authorised training centre of C-DAC, the camp, open to children above 15 years, would give an exposure to participants in the crucial areas of robotics and electronics and is designed to develop creative technologies in an entertaining manner. The course content includes fundamentals of robotics and electronics and assembly. For details, call 94477 66633.

Being a high end topic thought will be useful to some parents who want to take advantage of the course.

CHeers!!!

[BabuCS]

The first batch of world class young faculty will be joining IISER before August .. See link for more details


http://www.iisertvm.ac.in/faculty.html

[BabuCS]

From ASB website

[sudheeshnairs]

Great, we need posts like this in this thread

[nanobioguy]

Originally Posted by BabuCS

From ASB website

Truly international !

[BabuCS]

From IIST website
Not sure whether these pictures are from valiamala ...
Appreciate if somebody could post landscapes of valiamala and vithura.

[Jade-in]

Does anyone have the latest list of higher education and research institutes in tvm dist.

Are we the leaders in india in medical education with most number of institutes???

[sudheeshnairs]

No, seeing those pics, it is sure that they are the shots from their present campus in Veli, adjacent to VSSC.

I suppose it is not in the hillock which has the main VSSC campus, but opposite to the Veli Tourist Village, close to the sea.

Originally Posted by BabuCS

From IIST website
Not sure whether these pictures are from valiamala ...
Appreciate if somebody could post landscapes of valiamala and vithura.

[jaleelmalik]

Originally Posted by sudheeshnairs

No, seeing those pics, it is sure that they are the shots from their present campus in Veli, adjacent to VSSC.

I suppose it is not in the hillock which has the main VSSC campus, but opposite to the Veli Tourist Village, close to the sea.

Yes. There are no such water bodies in Valiyamala, which is supposed to be a semi dry tract. Valiyamala is a hill made mostly from laterite soil.

[BabuCS]

GoK has allotted 1acre of land to IIITM-K inside the technopark. The institute will develop a 30,000 sqft building during the next one year.
Not clear whether the 1 acre is in current TP (phase 1) or in the new Technocity area.

pl see details here.

www.iiitmk.ac.in/iiitmk/news/iiitmknews_feb2009.pdf

The present temporary campus in TP (from website)



I visited this institute in 2007 and looks like it did not make much progress since then !

[vinodtnt]

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Indian space mission’s next dream is to set up a base station on the moon so that space vehicles for onward journey to the Mars can be assembled and launched from there, Chairman of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), G. Madhavan Nair, has said.

Addressing students of ISRO’s Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology (IIST) at their annual celebrations here on Friday, Dr. Nair asked them to have this dream in their mind. He asked them to think big, not just retrace the path already trekked by space science and technology, but look to where the future beckoned.

“You are going to be with the ISRO for 30 years and more. Think beyond what we have already done. We want you to think of air-breathing rockets, India having a base station on the moon, India emerging as a space power,” he told them after describing how happy he was to see the IIST really coming of age, to become an institution that would in future drive the Indian space mission.

url

[nanobioguy]

I visited this institute in 2007 and looks like it did not make much progress since then ![/QUOTE]

About IIITMK,the less said,the more better.I closely know some of the academics there.It's another classical example of a reputed institution ending up in dire straights,having lost sight of it's original goals and now embellished in petty ego clashes.The sad thing is that,this facility had some of best brains in the whole state,mostly IIT & IIM alumini,most of whom have now abandoned the ship for brighter shores like the IISER & IIST. Moreover,the parent [ state gov ] too seems to have abandoned it,despite making occasional statements.Last,but not the least,the state direly needs a top notch institute to deal with IT related Technology & Applications research.

[BabuCS]

Originally Posted by nanobioguy

About IIITMK,the less said,the more better.I closely know some of the academics there.It's another classical example of a reputed institution ending up in dire straights,having lost sight of it's original goals and now embellished in petty ego clashes.The sad thing is that,this facility had some of best brains in the whole state,mostly IIT & IIM alumini,most of whom have now abandoned the ship for brighter shores like the IISER & IIST. Moreover,the parent [ state gov ] too seems to have abandoned it,despite making occasional statements.Last,but not the least,the state direly needs a top notch institute to deal with IT related Technology & Applications research.

That is a very sad situation. If GoK cannot manage its institutions properly, it may consider transferring them to GoI as in the case of RGCB.

[nanobioguy]

That is a very sad situation. If GoK cannot manage its institutions properly, it may consider transferring them to GoI as in the case of RGCB.[/QUOTE]

You have a valid point there,but there are certain notable & interesting twists.GOI,with a committee report evaluated by NASSCOM,had sometime in mid 2008 proposed the idea of setting up a couple of IIITM's ,and the only location selected in Kerala was Trivandrum.If I remember correctly,the state govt had kept mum about the same.The point to note here is that,the state owned could be merged with the other one.On the side lines,IIITMK could be made a reconstituted autonomous body,generating a large chunk of it's revenues from the Technopark itself.....i.e,by working in tandem with the needs of the software firms there,at the same time ,without diluting it's key
goals.
As far a RGCB is concerned,one is not clear whether it's completely in the hands of GOI.The good thing is that,they will be getting a committed yearly grant of a whopping 100 crs,may be the highest for any research institute in Kerala.On the grey side,despite the Biospectrum rankings,a lot needs to be done on the policy & target generation and implementation flow and it's streamlining.For eg,in the case of the notable incubation facility,I had discussions with the director a couple of months back,and a lot of clarity in specific domains still remain.
I feel that irrespective of the ownership,it's the task of the authorities concerned to have a truly world class core expert team [ with the necessary powers & funds ] at the helm of R&D firms,to have things working out in the right direction.