Independence Day Celebrations

The free air we breathe today was because of the tireless efforts of freedom fighters who fought against the foreign invaders. To remember their sacrifice and patriotism, Kumaraguru Institutions celebrated the 75th Independence Day of the nation on 15 August 2021.  Shri Shankar Vanavarayar, President, Kumaraguru Institutions; Dr.D.Saravanan, Principal, KCT; Dr.Vijila Kennedy, Principal, KCLAS; HODs, dignitaries, staff members and students joined this day to hoist the flag high in the pole and cultivate patriotism in the young generations.  During his Presidential Address, Shri Shankar Vanavarayar ardently elaborated on the supreme sacrifice of the great leaders & freedom fighters and the social responsibility that every young Indian owes to work united towards a progressive India.  We may be diversified due to a variety of reasons, but this day reminds us that we are Indians and our unity matters.  Col. Prem Anand, Indian Army, Batch 1993-1997 & KCT Alumnus from the Department of Mechanical Engineering and Sqn. Ldr. Krishna Kumar, Indian Air Force, Batch 2005-2009 & KCT Alumnus from the Department of Electrical and Electronics Engineering addressed the virtual gathering during the celebrations.  A tribute to the Frontline Warriors of Covid-19 pandemic was offered with the Special Address of Dr.Nirmala, Dean and Dr.Mohanasundari, Associate Professor, Coimbatore Medical College and Hospital.  The contribution of KARE during the pandemic was elaborated by Mr.Venkat Prasad, Final year student of the Department of Aeronautical Engineering, KCT. 

Dr. R.Sengodan from SFS becomes the Flying Officer

Dr. R. Sengodan has been commissioned as the Flying Officer after the successful completion of Pre-Commission (PRCN) course for NCC Air wing between 08 February and 11 June 2021. The course has been completed in two phases. The first Phase of the training period was conducted at Officer Training Academy (OTA), Kamptee (Nagpur) between 08 Feb and 31 March 2021 which involved Army Drill, Physical Training, Weapon Training and Classroom Practice. After the first phase of the training, Dr. Sengodan successfully cleared the exam conducted and became eligible for the second phase of the training 21 at Officer Training Academy (OTA), Tambaram (Chennai) from 04 April to 11 June 2021. At OTA, he was trained under various categories that included Air Force Drill, Physical Training, Aeromodelling, Field visit of aircraft maintenance and Air traffic control (ATC) and sessions on Air force special subjects.

Dr. Sengodan successfully cracked the final examination and has become a Flying Officer after military training of the Indian Army and Air Force. At the passing out parade ceremony at Air Force Station Tambaram Chennai (Tamil Nadu), Group Captain MK Ramesh, Commanding Officer, Ground Instructor School, placed the ranks of Flying Officer of the Air Force on Dr. Sengodan’s shoulders and presented the certificate. After nearly 5 months of rigorous military training, it is certainly a proud moment both for Flying Officer Dr. Sengodan and for Kumaraguru College of Technology.

The Department of Fashion Technology, KCT, is now a member of Clothing Manufacturers Association of India (CMAI) for one year from July 2021.  The Clothing Manufacturers Association of India (CMAI) is the pioneer and most representative association of the Indian apparel industry for over five decades. It has a membership base of over 20,000 companies including Readymade Garment Manufacturers, Exporters, Retailers and Ancillary Industry.

Apparel – The official magazine of CMAI is one of the leading monthly trade magazines containing industry news, articles on topical issues and in-depth analysis is also published by CMAI. Excellence in the export and the domestic sectors of the industry are recognised by CMAI through its annual Apex Awards, the National Awards for Excellence in Apparel. Today, CMAI is the only Indian Association that represents the entire Indian Apparel Industry & Trade on prestigious international forums such as International Apparel Federation headquartered in Netherlands and Asian Apparel Federation headquartered in China. The APPAREL magazine has been subscribed for one year, and we will receive weekly newsletter and access for CMAI apps. The faculty and the students would get most out of this membership and would get great opportunity to update the current apparel industry trends.

Project Based Learning Framework of KCT – A New Landmark

A new milestone was reached by the Project Based Learning (PBL) Framework of KCT with the Final Project Presentation of Semester II Projects on 14 August 2021.  A total of 22 projects were presented to the experts from industry by 97 PBL learners from I year B.E. / B.Tech programmes.  The project outcomes of this semester included 19 research articles, 07 product designs and 07 prototypes.  Dr.D.Saravanan, Principal, KCT and Dr.M.Ezhilarasi, Associate Dean – Academics & Head, School of Foundational Sciences, KCT, presided over the inaugural session.  This final project presentation indeed served to be a nexus of industry and academia with 09 experts predominantly from industry reviewing the projects.  Prof. K.R. Ananth, Professor & Director, Aerospace Practice & Design – GITAM University, Vishakapatnam, Andhra Pradesh; Mr. Vijayeendra H S, Co-Founder and Director, Avanijal Agri Automation Pvt. Ltd.; Ms. Padmini Navalgund, Senior Manager, Robert Bosch Engineering and Business Solution Private Limited; Mr. Senthil Kumar T.P, CEO & Hiring Senior Software Architect, IamNeo.ai; Mr. Abdul Kalam Ebrahim, Manager, Schlumberger India Technology Center; Mr. Bhuvana Sundar Soorappaiah, Program Manager, Automotive Division, Bosch, Coimbatore; Mr. Sathish Kumar Venkatachalam, Senior Technical Lead, RFPIO Inc.; Mr. Shrikanth Gowtham, Senior Delivery Manager, VFISLK Global Services Pvt Ltd.; and Mr. Vamsi Chennareddy, Manager, Schlumberger India Technology Center graced the occasion with their presence and their valuable inputs.

All the industry experts were appreciative of the futuristic learning efforts initiated by KCT, which stands as a pioneer in creating a new learning model for the benefit of the students.  This helped the students to reassure themselves about the current ongoing projects in the industry.  Being impressed with the student projects, Mr.Venkatesh from IamNeo.ai offered internship for the students of Crew 10 for their scrupulous work of creating a website for PBL.  The experts also insisted the students to convert their projects into prototypes and products.  The relevance of the projects with the society served to be the most interesting part of the project presentation.

Kumaraguru Online Education 2.0

“To unlock the true potential of e-learning, it needs to be people-centered”

– Simon Greany, Co-founder, Elucidat.

Kumaraguru Online Education 2.0 (KOED 2.0) was launched on 15 August 2021 post-Independence Day celebration. A glimpse of achievements in online teaching learning mode and student expectations for the upcoming year followed by introducing the upcoming academic semester that will have subjects shared between 2 cycles, each cycle lasting 7 weeks.

KCT strongly believes that the new methodologies achieved through keen analysis and suggestions of academic experts, industry partners, students, and faculty will pave way for an enhanced and uninterrupted virtual learning-environment. The Institutional leadership wished the students their best and stay motivated in the upcoming academic year 2021-22.

DEPARTMENT EVENTS

Webinar on How to be Successful in an Interview

A webinar on How to be Successful in an Interview was conducted by the Department of Computer Applications on 14 August 2021 via MS Teams.  Mr.Ashok Narayanan, Director, TCS, Minneapolis, USA and KCT Alumnus (Batch 2000-2003) deliberated on how to be successful during the interviews.  He also shared his experience in leadership positions in Financial Services & Wealth Management technology group of TCS.

Skill Up as a Research Analyst

As a part of their Research Forum, KCT Business School organised a session on Skill Up as a Research Analyst:  Insights on how to prepare for a career in the Research Arena on 21 August 2021 via MS Teams.  Ms.Deexeta Mohankumar, Research Analyst at Frost & Sullivan, Coimbatore, deliberated the session.

Webinar on Project Management

The Department of Mechatronics Engineering, KCT, conducted a webinar on Project Management on 21 August 2021. Mr.N.Premsanth, Senior Executive Engineer, Wendt India Limited, Murugappa Group, shared about the project management process, project management knowledge areas, project character, scheduling, risk assessment, work breakdown structure, responsibility assignment matrix, network diagram and critical path method during the session.

Webinar on Role of Chemistry in Nuclear Energy

The Department of Chemistry, School of Foundational Sciences, KCT, conducted a webinar on Role of Chemistry in Nuclear Energy on 21 August 2021 via Zoom.  Dr.Perumal Pandaram, Head, Thermoluminescent Dosimeter Lab, Kudankulam Nuclear Power Project, explained the concepts of radiation protection, radiation dosimetry, health physics and nuclear safety.

Webinar on Non-Destructive Testing

The Department of Civil Engineering, KCT, organised a webinar on Non-Destructive Testing: A Perspective on Testing and Certification Programs on 21 August 2021.  Mr.V.M.Krishnamoorthi, Chief Trainer and Senior Inspection Engineer, The EDGE Group of Companies, Coimbatore, shared his experience in the field of non-destructive testing and welding inspection.

International Conference on Interdisciplinary Approaches to Education Research and Language Teaching – ICERLT 2021

The Department of Languages and Communication, School of Foundational Sciences, Kumaraguru College of Technology, Coimbatore, in collaboration with the Department of English, Prince Sattam Bin Abdulaziz University, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, organized an International Virtual Conference on Interdisciplinary Approaches to Education Research and Language Teaching (ICERLT 2021) on 25 & 26 August 2021 via Zoom Platform.  There were 200+ participants from all over India and countries like Saudi Arabia, Austria, Oman, and Pakistan. Cambridge Assessment English and Kumaraguru College of Liberal Arts and Science, Coimbatore, served to be the conference partners.  Regional English Language Office (RELO), US Embassy, New Delhi, also were a part of the International Conference.  Dr.D.Saravanan, Principal, and Dr.M.Ezhilarasi, Associate Dean – Academics & Head, School of Foundational Sciences, KCT, served to be the Conference Chair.  Dr.B.Arokia Lawrence Vijay, Dr.S.G.Mohanraj, and Dr.S.Sreejana, Department of Languages and Communication, SFS, KCT, served to be the Conference Convenors / Co-Chairs.  Day one of the conference started with the inauguration where the organizing team of PSAU, Saudi Arabia, joined the KCT family in welcoming the participants.  Dr.Ali Lamouchi and Dr.Enas Kamal, Head, Department of English (Male & Female Wing respectively), PSAU. Dr Mohamed Fathi Helaly Khalaf, PSAU, delivered the Inaugural Address.  Dr.Syed Abbas, Dr.Naheed Saba, Dr.Afsha Jamal, Dr.K.S.Meera and Dr.Azra Rafath Syed Liyaakat from PSAU presided over the function.  The conference had five Keynote Sessions covering both the days of the conference.  Ms.Sian Morgan, Senior Research Manager, Cambridge Assessment English, United Kingdom; Dr.S.G.Mohanraj, Assistant Professor, KCT; Dr.Merin Simi Raj, Assistant Professor, IIT Madras; Dr.Saleh Ahmed Saif Abdulmughni, PSAU, Saudi Arabia; and Ms.Ruth Goode, Regional English Language Officer for India, Afghanistan and Bhutan, US Embassy, New Delhi served to be the resource persons and delivered the Keynote Addresses.

Panel Discussion on Teaching & Learning:  Challenges & Opportunities served to be the highlight of the international conference.  Dr.Poonam Sahay, Associate Professor, Ranchi University, moderated the discussion.  Dr.Kezevino Aram, President, Shanti Ashram; Dr.Vipin Sharma, Head, Planning & Development, English Language Institute, Jazan University, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia; Ms.S.Abinaya Sindhu, Founder, Sunflora Immigration, Canada; and Dr.Anindita Sahoo, Assistant Professor, IIT Madras, served to be the panel members discussing on various aspects of teaching-learning process.  A total of 260+ abstracts were received for the conference and 142 papers / posters / media were accepted and presented during the technical sessions.  There were 20 parallel presentation sessions via Zoom platform and the papers were presented to the Chairperson of the session and the participants followed by discussion.  Dr.J.Srikala, Dr.C.Tissaa Tony, Dr.V.Abirami, Dr.R.Hema, & Dr.A.S.Mythili from the Department of Languages and Communication, KCT and Dr.R.Radhika from KCLAS served to be the organizers of the conference.  Dr.K.R.Aranganayakam, Head, Department of Chemistry and Dr.R.Marudhachalam, Associate Professor, Department of Mathematics, KCT, coordinated the technical aspects of the conference.

CLUB EVENTS

Reach Your Potential

In this pandemic situation, challenging ourselves towards our mental health is of paramount importance.  Analysing this, Agam Forum of Kumaraguru Institutions conducted an event titled Reach Your Potential from 15 to 17 August 2021 via Instagram.  This event made the participants to connect yoga with their health and made them to learn different postures of yoga.  The event mainly focused on the themes like peace, mindfulness, mental strength, stress relief, concentration, balance and consciousness.  This event made everyone to realise the importance of taking care of one’s physical and mental wellbeing apart from pleasure seeking activities.

BUMBLEBEE (Nature club)

Nature Club of KCT conducted an eco-contest titled Bumblebee in commemoration of Honeybee’s Day.  This online quiz competition was conducted on 21 August 2021.  Instagram Stories were posted on the club’s Instagram page on a regular basis, and the participants were asked to respond to the questions. There were 40+ participants for the event, and there was a great response from them. The main objective of the event was to create awareness about honeybees.

India Awakening

India Awakening is a series of group discussions, which is a first of its kind in KCT. The first session of India Awakening happened on 15 August 2021 via MS Teams in commemoration of the Independence Day. The theme of serving nation by providing solutions to various social, economic and political problems was given to the participants and they were encouraged to come up with their ideas.  The event created awareness about the current problems and the role of freedom fighters to achieve independence.  The GD also covered the 74 years of journey of our nation after independence.  Issues like Covid-19 and other problems too were highlighted during the discussion. The significance of villages and the role of youth in the development of the nation were also discussed during the event.  The students were able to address the social problems very boldly, which serves as the basic step in the transformation of the society.

Viduthalai Puthir

An online event titled Viduthalai Puthir was conducted by the Nithilam Club of KCT via Google Meet on 15 August 2021.  This Crossword Puzzle fully centred on Indian freedom fighters, and the main objective was to remind and address the sacrifices of the freedom fighters and the classical nature of the Tamil Language.  Softcopy of the documents filled with clues was shared with the participants in the group and they were asked to find out the solution and fill their answers in the Google Form.  There were 60+ responses from various colleges.

Patriotic Minds

The LEED Club of Kumaraguru College of Technology organized an Independence Day event titled Patriotic Minds on 15 August 2021.  The online quiz included topics related to Indian independence and entrepreneurship. The main objective of the event was to assess students’ knowledge of entrepreneurship during British rule in India. There were 40+ participants submitting their responses through MS Form.

One Nation One Pride

Youth Red Cross (YRC) Club of Kumaraguru Institutions conducted an event titled One Nation One Pride on 15 August 2021 in commemoration of the glory of our freedom fighters and the nation.  The main objective of the event was to make the students to come up with creative thoughts about the nation and the freedom fighters.  This drawing competition was conducted to the school students between 10 and 18 years of age.  The enthusiasm, creativity and patriotism of the students added the charm of the event. Through this event, participants played a major role in uncovering and nurturing natural talents.  Fighters of Our Nation and Express India in Your Colours were given as the topics for drawing.

Independence Day Quiz

The Qubate Forum of KCT conducted an Independence Day Quiz on 15 August 2021.  The preliminary round consisted of 20 questions. The questions were displayed in the screen and the answers were collected through Google forms.  There were 3 rounds of quizzes in total.  Subash Y of I year B.Tech Information Technology, KCT, won the first place and Adithya Karthik S from the Department of Political Science, KCLAS, won the second place.

Mechnocrat-A Webinar on Additive Manufacturing

A webinar on additive manufacturing titled Mechnocrat was conducted by the Robotics and Automation Club of KCT in August 2021. Dr.B.Senthil Kumar, Associate Professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering, KCT, shared his views about the concepts of AM and 3D Printing to the participants.  Similar to standard 3D printing, AM allows for the creation of bespoke parts with complex geometries and little wastage. Also, the cost of making them is low when compared to conventional manufacturing. There were 50+ participants for the session. 

CONNECTION (GYM)

The Gandhian Youth Movement of KCT conducted an online event titled Connections on 15 August 2021 to spread the Gandhian thoughts among the participants.  Pictures related to a theme were given to the participants and they were made to guess the correct answer.  The event helped to spread awareness about the unknown facts about the father of the nation.