Talent Synergy

Talent Synergy conducted by the Department of Languages and Communication, School of Foundational Sciences, KCT, on 27 June 2021 served as the talent hunt for the I year students (2020 Batch) of KCT.  Glimpses of student talents and their imaginative power is showcased below:

Poetry and Article by Ms.Navina G A (20BIS028) of I year Information Science and Engineering, KCT.

Poetry:  Technology and Youth

What’s the biggest problem on Earth?
Headphones twisted into infinite knots,
Or leaving your charger switched off in thoughts!
Technology and Youth consolingly
To one and another, devouringly
As weird as it may seem
Reality is a double-edged sword;
For those who’s notice is keen
Will see how morbid it is, oh lord!
She smiles, I cry
She is outgoing, I am shy
She loves, I am alone
She is amazing, I am unknown
How could I be so lost
In a place known so well?
How could I be so lonely
In a family so together?
Social-media Scam engulfs us
You get it on discount; depression and Stress
The brighter side exists,
Information on fingertips
Your Florida friend in FaceTime chits
But before the dark succumbs the light
Let’s wake up! Open wide!

Article:  Youth and Technology

 I wake up to the bird’s sweet chirpings, the sunshine pecking a bright kiss over my cheek, and I slowly step down from my bed to conquer the day! No, that sentence is obsolete. It rather should be like, “I wake up to the buzzing sound of my alarm, gathering all the courage to swipe right to dismiss and not snooze it again as I’ve already snoozed it a few times and it’s late, so I rush up from my bed to compete for today!”. Now, this seems much more relatable, isn’t it? Today’s youth are the Gen-Tech species. More valid so because their majority of life is growing up and now has been engulfed with technology and that being predicted that this trend is only here to increase steadily. Although not just youth but the entire human race in a way is accustomed to this jeopardy, the youth are highly suffocated with this.

They lead life the smart way. Not literally but figuratively when you see even everyday activities like exercising with Fitbit devices, ordering food through Zomato apps, finding a shorter way anywhere through Google Maps, booking cabs at Ola, partying through friends at Netflix and one can go on countlessly on how Smart Innovations in technology have consumed today’s youth. Even traditional media like Television have become confined in the dark corners of their free time. So, this transformation of daily life is unthinkable without technology among youth leaves us with two things to note: The pros and the cons.

Taking a parallel view of both, the digital revolution has blessed us with an abundant world of opportunities. Access to information lies at our fingertips, awareness about everything and an open platform for the exchange of ideas and thoughts make it possible for healthier cognitive growth. Since, almost every tedious job like finance, banking, medicine, and almost all sectors undergoing a rapid transformation, it saves a lot of time paving the way to other fruitful activities. Our 24-hour schedule therefore now becomes more efficient.

But that being said, is it true that we make the best use of the technological potential present. The answer cannot be a rigid yes. As large as it opens the mode of connectivity to us it also hampers the inter-personal relationships, we build with the people around us. We have started to value the number of likes and comments on our Instagram posts more than the meaningful people we have in our life. That is sad. We choose to buy the facts and thoughts that are the most popular and not on what is real or not because we want to be moved or changed in some way. The technical facilities available to us also hamper our creativity and uniqueness of thoughts; An array of copy and paste work modes seem to exist among us all leading to gluttony mindsets among today’s generations. How vulnerable are we that we search on YouTube on how to stop wasting time on mobile phones? It’s paradoxical. But sadly, that is exactly what is happening. We are in a loop. Addicted to seek solutions from media that most of the time adds to our woes. And such things won’t stop because companies cash in on the misery of humans. The very meaning of technology today is manipulation. Feeding unnecessary kinds of stuff into young minds, excessive social media exposure leading to social conflicts, unable to distinguish the mirage of happiness in the social media world, misusing information, absolute demarcation of privacy, and countless allegations can be made on technology destroying the youth.

How much ever we feel elated and blessed for technology and machines for making our lives easier and quicker, we are ironically also the generation of Procrastination. Idle Brain is a devil’s workshop, they say. It seems right. The more awakening coming forward, the more we plunge ourselves into the negative aspects of it creating a terrible setback for our own lives.

The fact of the presumption that if something doesn’t exist on Google is synonymous with it being non-existential is morbid. Today’s youth have started leading a very sedentary life believing that taking patience to blissfully read an entire book, walking along the lawn of nature, and the mind to appreciate little things in life are considered blurred.

The weighing scale might seem in a diabolical state of dilemma unable to predict whether youth’s dependence on technology is beneficial or not. But the point here is clear. One should understand to go with the flow. The humongous wave of technology will never subside, and one should understand to strike the right chord with it. Herewith, on a concluding note let’s try to take a closer look at the digital space gobbling into our lives and keep a check on its entry. The access to knowledge and wisdom shall certainly not be reckoned with. It’s finally only a matter of motivation to seek out the answers and explanations desired. The alluring digital age has mortified the very concept of ‘real’ness into something of a mirage but doesn’t a mirage always give some hope to cross the desert further in pursuit of water. Let the generation be made aware of the glorious advantages devoid of the seepage of negativity because the most watched out pair of this era is the Youth and Technology.

Article by Ms.Monisha L (20BEC079) of I year Electronics and Communication Engineering, KCT.

Article: Youth and Technology

“Come out of your room at least for food,” yelled my mum this afternoon. I had no other go, except to tell “I have my classes going on mum!” Our world of fun and fantasy, our world of get- togethers and parties, our world of friends and family functions came to a standstill right after the lockdown was imposed on us.

Teams became our college, all family functions that were decided to happen in great destinations happened via Zoom, Instagram and WhatsApp became the only mode of communication with friends and this change became constant.

And whom should we blame for all these? I do not know!

I asked my parents to define my connection with technology and the answers they gave were hilarious. My dad being a spirituous person said “Mobile and laptop have become your Almighty. You wake up to it and sleep with it and keep thinking and using it all day long.” The reply of my mum gave me happiness but only on a temporary basis and she said, “I will not blame you dear, all I will blame is your mobile, lazy.” I must say, she had sarcasm at the peak in her tone.

It is quite unfortunate that technology is making the youth of the nation dumb. I was asked to spell “CHECKING” and my heart skipped a beat as I had to think twice before I spelled out a simple word. It was quite mortifying that I always relied on the auto- correct option available in my devices. There is no word in the dictionary as “googling” but woefully it is a common noun now. The usage of Google has become so high, that probably if google had to talk, it would chaff at me saying, “You silly! Didn’t even know this…”

Unfortunately, recently, technology has become our best friend. Chilling to the thriller series on Netflix and the super- duper movies on Prime and such OTT’s seemed all cool until we started drowning in it.  

As I mentioned earlier, none of us are to blame for the current plight. Every stone has an unturned side- similarly, the thick bonding of the youth and technology has also got an unsung side. Every other new technology that erupts in the world probably comes out of the mind of a youngster. Which means, we are still creative and passionate about doing something new. Without technology, the education of the juvenile would have stopped, and imagining this world without education itself is horrendous. Thanks to technology for helping umpteen of us stay connected.

Tech is definitely making most of us smarter, but it is quite important to understand the difference between exploitation and over exploitation of technology but there is hairline difference between the two.

Department Events

Career Development Program on Opportunities After Engineering through GATE / ESE / PSU

A Career Development Programon Opportunities After Engineering through GATE / ESE/ PSU was conducted by the Department of Civil Engineering, KCT, on 26 June 2021.  Mr.Pradeep Raghu, ACE Engineering Academy, Hyderabad, served to be the guest speaker and he deliberated on various topics during the webinar session.  The topics ranged from the strategies to crack ESE, GATE, PSUs in first attempt; important career opportunities for civil engineering students; university exam versus competitive exam; to PMRF scheme and NITIE eligibility criteria.  This session provided an opportunity for the students to gain knowledge about GATE exam and PMRF related schemes.  There were 200+ participants for the event.

Dairy Farm Management and Economics

Kumaraguru Institutions in partnership with Sakthi Dairy conducted a certification course on Dairy Farm Management and Economics on 29 & 30 June 2021.  At present in India, Dairy farming is a promising viable enterprise to generate employment and transform farmers into entrepreneurs.  When we take dairy farm as an enterprise, what matters the most is being commercially viable and sustainable.  This necessitates setting suitable objectives, implementation, consistent monitoring and evaluating the activities carried out.  The certificate programme covered how to manage dairy farm like an entrepreneur and turn into a profitable enterprise.

Project Based Learning: Emerging Global Perspectives

School of Foundational Sciences, Kumaraguru College of Technology conducted the Session 8 of Scholastic Talk Series on Saturday, 17 July 2021 between 3 and 4 PM. Prof Sanjay Goel, Distinguished Professor and Director Institute of Engineering and Technology JK Lakshmipat University, Jaipur delivered an interactive session on “Project Based Learning: Emerging Global Perspectives”. Around 100 faculty members from various engineering branches, School of Foundational Sciences and KCT Business School participated in the session.   Dr. Ezhilarasi M, Associate Dean and Head, School of Foundational Sciences welcomed Prof Goel, set the context and introduced him formally to the audience. Prof.Goel, began the session by drawing the attention of the participants to various philosophers from different eras such as Socrates, Galileo and Einstein to emphasize on the intrinsic motivation that an individual should draw towards learning. Further, in the present age of Information explosion, he stated how the deductive method of learning can no longer be relevant. He referred to the McKinsey Global Institute listing of Top 10 Skills in high demand post Covid India released in Feb 2021 and excerpts from NEP 2020 to emphasize on the need to shift to learner-centric, multi-disciplinary, discussion-based, enjoyable inductive method of learning. He stated that the humans are not wired for acquiring knowledge through lectures and that the retention rate is the lowest when learners listen to lectures and it is the highest when the learners are made to do and teach others. The difference and similarity between Project Based Learning and Project Based Learning was illustrated with Kolb’s notion on Experiential Learning responding to the Why, What, How and What If questions during the learning phase. Prof Goel also elucidated the Olin College of Engineering Project Based Learning Model where GAPA (Goals <-> Assessments <-> Projects <->Activities) Model is adopted. He further elaborated on the implementation of Project Based Learning at JKL University where Design Studio based Integrated Project Based Learning of Courses is practised.  The presentation was followed by interaction with faculty members. The session came to a formal closure with Dr. Rathina, Assistant Professor from SFS proposing the vote of thanks. 

Technical Webinar on Introduction to IT Opportunities for Full Stack Developer

The Department of Information Technology, KCT, in association with The Institution of Engineers (India), Coimbatore Local Centre, organised a technical webinar on Introduction to IT Opportunities for Full Stack Developer on 26 June 2021.  Mr.Pugazharasan Chandrasekar, Full Stack Mentor and Placement Lead, GUVI Geek Network Private Limited, Chennai, explained about various opportunities available as Full Stack Developer. 

Strategies to Enhance Classroom Engagement

The Department of Language and Sciences/SFS with KLDA jointly organised a Guest lecture on “Strategies to Enhance Classroom Engagement” by Dr. Shravasti Chakravarty, Assistant Professor, Amity University, Tashkent on22nd July2021. Dr.D.Saravanan, Principal, KCT, Dr.M.Ezhilarashi, HoD/SFS and DrB.Arokia Lawrence Vijay, Head, Dept of Languages and Communication graced the session with their presence. The program began with Dr.V.Abirami, Assistant Professor of English, Department of Language and Sciences/SFS, setting the context and introducing the resource person.  The session began with Dr.Shravasti Chakravarty elaborating on simple strategies that could be adopted by teachers to make the classroom an interesting platform. The session was interactive and activity based. The mandate of flipped and blended classrooms were discussed and the LMS tools like mentimeter, answergarden, polly and their usage were elaborated.  

The participants cherished the video that was screened from “Sound of Music”. Following this, a drawing activity was given to see the comprehension skills of the listeners. The final activity was based on shortening sentences to provide direct instructions which all the participants participated with student-like enthusiasm. Finally, the session came to an end by 5.00p.m. and all had loaded takeaways of the wonderful session on the whole.  The invited talk was well-received and nearly 60 faculty members from KCT and KCLAS actively participated in this session. Dr.J.Srikala/AP-II/Department of Languages and Communication/SFS, concluded the session by proposing the vote of thanks showing appreciation to Dr.Shravasti Chakravarty on her wonderful contributions towards the Strategies to Enhance Classroom Engagement. 

Culturally Relevant Mathematics: Action, Interaction and Reflection

The Department of Mathematics, School of Foundational Sciences, KCT, conducted an International Expert Talk Series on Culturally Relevant Mathematics: Action, Interaction and Reflection on 29 June 2021 via MS Teams.  Dr.Nirmala Naresh, Senior Faculty, Department of Mathematics, University of North Texas, explained about the concepts to the participants.

Coder of the Week

An online event titled Coder of the Week was conducted by the Department of Information Technology, KCT, in collaboration with KCT ACM Student Chapter on 10 & 11 July 2021 via HackerRank.  The event tested the coding skills of the participants with a total of two rounds in the event.  This enhanced the coding skills of the participants and helped to improve the thinking ability to approach competitive programming.  There were 40+ participants for the event.

Webinar on Data Visualization using ELK Stack

The Department of Computer Science and Engineering, KCT, organised a webinar on Data Visualization using ELK Stack, on 17 July 2021 via MS Teams.  Mr.Sanjay Saatyaki (KCT Alumnus – 2014 Batch), Associate Software Engineer, Bosch Engineering and Business Solutions, shared his experience in Continuous Integration using DevOps, Data Visualization and its relevant tools.  The webinar session also provided an insight about DevOps Practices and Data Visualization using ELK Stack.  There were 50+ participants for the event.

Webinar Series on Machine Learning for Signal Processing Applications

A webinar series on Machine Learning for Signal Processing Applications was conducted by the Department of Electronics and Communication Engineering, KCT, from 22 to 24 July 2021 via MS Teams.  Dr.Vinal Patel, Assistant Professor, ECE Department, IITM, Gwalior; Dr.B.Bharathi, Associate Professor, CSE Department, SSN College of Engineering; and Dr.D.Jude Hemanth, Associate Professor, ECE Department, Karunya University, served to be the guest speakers.  The webinar sessions covered various topics like Microwave Integrated Circuits, Satellite Communication, and Microwave Antennas and its applications.  This helped the participants to enhance their technical competency in the field of Signal Processing by incorporating machine learning algorithms.

Engineer’s Impression on ECU and 3D Based PCB Designing

Engineer’s Impression on ECU and 3D Based PCB Designing was conducted by the Department of Automobile Engineering, KCT, from 14 to 17 July 2021 via MS Teams.  The online training programme covered topics like printed circuit board, ECU circuit schematic design, 3D view of ECU, New Electronic components Footprint creation, and introduction to PCB fabrication.  This event helped the participants to know about the electronic side of the automobiles.

MECHBEE

The Department of Mechanical Engineering, KCT, conducted an online quiz contest titled MECHBEE via Instagram from 14 to 20 July 2021.  Two questions related to various domains of engineering were posted daily and the participants were asked to answer these questions regularly and the winner was selected based upon their performance.

Training on Communication Skill

An online training on Communication Skill Beneficial for Placement was conducted by the Department of Electronics & Instrumentation Engineering, KCT, on 16 July 2021. Ms.Roshini Varghese, Technical & English Trainer, trained the students on various aspects of communication that are required for placement.

Webinar on Core Jobs Preparation during College Days

A webinar on Core Jobs Preparation during College Days was organized by the Department of Electronics and Instrumentation on 30 June 2021. Mr.Balajee Seshadri, Technologist, Surabee Electronics Systems, explained about the expectations of industries and the preparation that they must do for a successful professional life.

Build2Learn

A talk session on Build2Learn was conducted by the Department of Information Technology, KCT, on 17 July 2021.  Mr.Dorai Thodla, Technology Consultant, Technopreneur Coach & Teacher, Infovore, deliberated on the topics like product management, entrepreneurship, and mentoring during the online session.

Interactive Session on National Innovation and Startup Policy

Institution’s Innovation Council of KCT conducted an Interactive Session on National Innovation and Startup Policy (NISP) on 24 July 2021 via MS Teams.  Dr.K.Paramasivam, Head-Govt. Schemes & Projects and IPR Cell, NISP Coordinator, KCT, oriented the participants on the national innovation and startup policy.

Technical Webinar on Smart Textiles for Sensing Application

The Department of Textile Technology, KCT, in association with The Institution of Engineers (India), Coimbatore Local Centre, organised a technical webinar on Smart Textiles for Sensing Application on 23 July 2021 via Google Meet.  Dr.Aravin Prince Periyasamy, Postdoctoral Researcher, Department of Bioproducts and Biosystems, Aalto University, Finland, explained about the durability of photochromic & thermochromic fabric, kinetics of colorants, plasma activation for metal deposition, carbonization and copper coating, sol-gel synthesis and environmental-friendly dyeing.

Webinar on Higher Studies Opportunities and Admission Process Abroad

A webinar on Higher Studies Opportunities and Admission Process Abroad was conducted by the Department of Textile Technology, KCT, on 22 July 2021 via MS Teams.  Ms.Sashti Priya, Senior Admission Advisor, Manya-The Princeton Review, explained about the various opportunities available abroad to the participants.  The preparation required for the students to join higher studies in US, UK, Singapore and Canada was highlighted during the session.

Research Forum- KCTBians showcase Research work at IIMs

KCT Business School organised an online session titled KCTBians showcase Research work at IIMs as a part of the Research Forum activities on 24 July 2021. Alumni students Ms Perlin Shilpa, Ms Sheeba Rani, Ms Kavi Shanmathi and Mr Sreejith presented their research work presented at IIM Bangalore and IIM Trichy. They also provided students valuable suggestions on the guidelines to prepare and present papers at IIMs.

Centre for Leadership Empowerment and Development (CLED)

Entrepreneurial Panel Discussions

Sprout, the Peer Learning Platform of Kumaraguru, under the consistent steering of Centre for Leadership Empowerment and Development (CLED) of KCT, took a big leap towards reaching a wider audience across various colleges and institutions through the entrepreneurial panel discussions conducted on 01 & 02 July 2021.

Day 1 – Different dimensions of Entrepreneurship

It was a very insightful and an inspiring session throwing its light on how to start about your idea, what to keep in mind and overcome the failures. The truth about problems that lie with trusting the customer was shared. The importance of networking, consistent learning and a few tips for development were put forth by the speakers.

Day 2 – How to start a Start Up?

This indeed served to be a thought-provoking and a zealous session. The discussion covered from ideation to establishment of the firm. The various common mistakes people tend to do and what to keep in mind when you start something were put forth. In addition to this, the importance of mentors, networking and branding were discussed during the session. 

Agile Leadership

Agile is a mindset and mindset are everything. The 3-day workshop on “Agile Leadership” emphasized on this fact and helped students to understand their stance as an agile leader.  Organised by the Centre of Leadership Empowerment and Development (CLED), KCT from 16 to 18 July 2021, the workshop grabbed the attention of the participants when the resource person Mr. Kamal Kumar, a professional agile coach, detailed the aspects on fixed vs growth mindset, scrum tools and techniques, Johari window and ways to progress in uncertainty. Mr. Kamal engaged the students very well with his online kahoot quizzes and offline self-assessment questionnaire. The students were able to identify their scope of agility through their areas of interest and via various situational examples put forth by the facilitator. In a nutshell, the feedback from the students revolved around these 3 words – Effective, Interactive and Intellectual.

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