THE MAKING OF AN ENGINEER

It takes me back to those childhood days when I used to help achan (who is an electrician) with his small electrical works in and around my house. Being a small child I knew nothing more than fixing a screw. It was in one of those times that I heard the word engineer at first hopefully from him itself. He explained to me that an engineer is a master of all these works that I even went on to ask him whether an engineer also knows how to fix a tube light.

Engineering of course is the application of laws in physics and chemistry to make and enhance technologies that help to improve conditions of life on earth. Making of an engineer should hence be aimed at making him apply those laws effectively. Unless we learn the basics in these areas we are not going to put these things to make the so called technologies. Being an electrical engineering student here at University of kerala, I find that the three years that I’ve gone through has brought out little out of me or for that matter from any of those colleagues of mine apart from some formulas and theories.

A person with a huge passion for the subject might end up with a robot or a good project at the final year of his B.tech. which is the maximum that I’ve witnessed in my college days. I’ve even felt that certain subjects are there in the syllabus because they have to put eight papers before us in each semester. Instead the system could be redefined in a better way so as to equip the students with the minimum practical knowledge of engineering.

Even today we write exams explaining about rotating machines, transmission systems circuit breakers without even having seen some of them even once. I am sure the same would have happened with my friends in other branches also. The study of theory and proofs should have gone hand in hand with the practical applications of the same. The initiatives that a University could have done in this regard would have brought out a better engineer who is of some use to the society.

The labs in the colleges would have had facilities to make students see and understand those basic laws and machines. Demonstrations of the theories could have been a part of the curriculum. And until it is made so none of the college managements are going to take an initiative. And unless that initiative is taken the engineering degree is going to be a bunch of papers put together to make a degree. These things can’t happen overnight but can happen in a couple of years. But as far as my University is concerned it’s said to have revised the syllabus from 2008, but the papers in the new syllabus are nothing but rearrangement of the old papers without even having changed the contents in it.

The bodies like AICTE and UGC set up by the government have contributed very less to improving the education standards rather it concentrated more on enhancing the perks of teachers. There were two reports regarding technical education reforms of which the last one came two decades ago and haven’t found its way to implementation yet. Indian National Academy of Engineering (INAE) fellows made an observation in 2002 regarding technical education that none of the graduates entering the industries have an idea of the problems of the industry. Why that is so? It’s because they are not taught any real life problems. They only study the faults like why an equation didn’t end up the way it ought to be. In this context I would like to compare engineering with medicine where a student who comes out after completing his degree is at least able to fix the problem of a patient, whereas we engineers find it difficult to do the same with machines or circuits. The period of internship similar to doctors should be made mandatory for engineers also because any one who wants to excel in this field needs to have some practical experience before he actually goes into it.

I don’t think any colleges other than IITs, NITs and some other colleges, which will have these things as part their making of an engineer. At the final year of electrical engineering I still end up being with achan trying to fix screws back in place and seldom found successful in fixing the problems inside my house.

So I hope the whole technical education system in India will be reoriented to make the students see learn and understand things more effectively.

CWG 2010

COMMONWEALTH AND INDIA

The tourist bus was riding fast through the gurgaon-delhi high way. I was down to a nice sleep after the previous day’s grand outings. Time was 1AM. Achan called me from my sleep and asked me to see outside. Although in the sleepy mood I could make out the country capital lighted up as if it just passed the evening. The road sides were filled with men working hard involved in construction works at this point of the night. It was then that balan uncle who had been our coordinator explained that the city was preparing for the commonwealth games and all these were part of it.

                          

Stadiums, road widening, metro rail, hotels all were part of these works, all just gearing up to welcome the commonwealth countries. It shocked me as it was only September 2009 and nearly a year left for it happen. I went back to my sleep just wishing the workers and common wealth a very best of luck.

The days passed, months passed and the games were only a few days away from us.When I rushed home after my classes that day, the flash news in the channels read ” BRIDGE COLLAPSES NEAR CWG MAIN VENUE”.  I found the TV channels just enjoying the news .The evening discussions were just CWG. We can’t blame them completely because an event which took the nation a long time to prepare and expenses being such great, the collapse was purely unacceptable.

But the whole of India was afraid of the fair conduct of the games. It seemed at a point of time that the games might be postponed. In that case the whole lot of work that I mentioned, the money put in and all other things might have gone in vain. The budget amounted to billions of US dollars for games venues alone. Some of the countries did put their anxieties forward. And India too was shocked by the way a British news paper put up a photo showing the unhygienic and shoddy conditions inside the village. All these surely annoyed India.

But now when we look back we have something to be proud of. We all lauded the grand ceremony that marked the opening of the games. There was not a single report of the things that were mentioned prior to the games. In the contrary the reports were so warming that the athletes did praise all the efforts of the makers. To quote I think the food delivered was the one most praised.

The splendid performance by the Indians did attract the Indian crowd to the stadiums averse to what was happening in the starting days. Although the Australians clinched the title India had all reasons to be proud of because it’s the first time we took the second place in common wealth.

The closing ceremony was also a grand one giving the baton to the Glasgow games committee for 2014 games.

The ceremonies and the conduct being of high standards we can’t blame the government. But the government has to surely look into the matters concerning corruption in the areas where it could have happened. Mr. Kalmadi of course deserves praise but he has to come out of the allegations he is being carried through.

In short CWG did India pride in both conduct and our medal tally. But I feel there is some room for thought in this juncture. Has the money carried to this event brought considerable returns to the country i.e. the govt? Or did it only fill the pockets of politicians and the other beneficiaries like businessmen and sponsors?. Are these stadiums and hotels built just for these two weeks going to help us in any way in future(metros we can leave it as development)..? Will Indian economy be affected due to this heavy spending?

Please do leave your valuable comments……..

PROUD TO BE A KAZAK

                                      'Kazak' is a pet name that we the sainik school boys use for a sainikschool kazhakootam student(for those non kazaks).Whenever i talk something its an automatic phenomena that i will go to my school days.It happens because i love that school that much.Its sainikschool that gave us some great friendships,teachers,experiences and memorable events.The school memories are such in the minds of any kazak that when we look back we feel like having lived a dream.The seven years in that school had scope for any range of activities be it games,extracurricular or naughty things(which stands out exceptionally) .I am not entering into the details of school life for i may not end up typing it.

        Thus i hope to wind up the first post in my blog....

            'PROUD TO BE A KAZAK'