News report: 28th July, 2018 – 3rd August, 2018
14th Convocation of NITT
The 14th Convocation of National Institute of Technology happened at the Golden Jubilee Convention Centre, on Saturday, July 28, 2018. There were two sessions, one in the morning featuring a talk from the Chief Guest – Prof. Anil D Sahasrabudhe, Chairman AICTE (All India Council for Technical Education). The degrees were conferred by the Director – Dr. Mini Shaji Thomas, in the presence of distinguished guests, faculty members, graduands and their parents. The following afternoon session concluded the day with distribution of the degrees to the students from B.Arch., MS (by research), M.Tech., MCA, MBA, M.Sc., B.Tech. department wise.
The event was recorded and can be found at the following link: http://convocation.nitt.edu/
Photo Courtesy: Pixelbug, NIT Trichy
Orientation – Batch of 2022
With the arrival of the batch of 2022, the Orientation for the first years began on Monday, 30th July 2018. Performances, guest lectures, outings, activities and club briefings by the various clubs have been organized by the Orientation Team into a two week long program for the first years to get acclimated to the institute. Some of the highlighted events include a shadow puppet performance organized by Spic Macay, a talk by IAS officer Mr.Vishnu, and an alumni talk.
Spic Macay Performance
The Shadow Puppet performance, the art form of Tholpavakoothu, was organised by the Spic Macay NIT Trichy Chapter, a society for the promotion of Indian Arts. The event was a held as a part of this year’s Orientation, took place on Thursday, 2nd August, 2018 in the Barn Hall. The performance was courtesy of Ramachandra Puzhavar and Troupe. Currently in the 14th generation, the group is taking painstaking efforts to preserve and maintain a fading art form. Tholpavakoothu is a form of shadow puppetry, where the puppets are traditionally made out of deer skin, and the screen is backlit with 21 coconut lamps of coconut oil. Every performance is dedicated to a deity, with this particular show being dedicated to goddess Badrakaali Amman. Before the main performance, the members demonstrated the various forms of puppetry; from string, glove to muppetry. The performance was a retelling of Valmiki’s epic, Ramayana, albeit condensed to fit within an hour. The show started with a prayer seeking blessings from Lord Ganesha. The Troupe staged multiple scenes from The Ramayana including Sita’s Wedding, their 14 year exile to the forest, the golden deer, Sita’s abduction, Ravanan’s Lankan celebrations, the battle at Kishkintha, the war at Lanka, and finally Ram, Sita and Lakshamans’ return to Ayodhya. The troupe made use of fire highly effectively to bring more depth into the screenplay. The entire performance was met with immense applause and admiration; fitting and completely justified.
The interactive session that ensued had the students asking a myriad variety of doubts regarding the art form, and expressing wonder. The students were also allowed to view the screen from behind after the play to achieve a better understanding of the works.
Deakin University Briefing
An informative session on the research scholarships offered by Deakin University, Australia was held on Friday (3rd August, 2018). Ms. Ruby Majumdar, Coordinator of Research Internships, South Asia, travelled from New Delhi to brief the students of NIT Trichy. Deakin University, one of the world’s top 1.1% universities and known for its world class research (in AI, IT, Architecture), offers on-campus, off-campus and short term PhD programs. The off-campus program opens wide opportunities for Indians who wish to stay in India and pursue research. In order to encourage Indian students, the university offers three scholarships namely Deakin India Research Initiative (DIRI), Deakin University Postgraduate Research Scholarship (DUPRS)/ Research Training Program (RTP) and the prestigious Endeavours Awards. The scholarships offer full tuition fee waiver, health coverage, stipend to manage accommodation/living expenses and flight ticket expenses.
For further details, contact:
Deakin University South Asia –
Ms. Gayathri Vedanarayanan
Senior Manager – Research Partnership
Phone: 011-26544720
Email – gayathri.v@deakin.edu.au
Ms. Ruby Majumdar
Coordinator – Research Partnerships
Phone: 011-26544742
Email – ruby.majumdar@deakin.edu.au
Visit www.deakin.edu.au for more details on the scholarships and submission deadlines.
The link to view the PPT used by Ms.Ruby has also been attached for reference: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1e1HhaD9XvBohO__i2CXRZ-FsUTkQLKdO/view
Credits to Sunil Jagatheesan, batch of 2022.
Report by Swedha Sankaranarayanan and Harshini Ramanujam.
