Science expo held
A science expo and quiz competition were conducted for middle school students on the occasion of National Science Day at St. Mary’s College, Thoothukudi recently. Principal Sr. Jessie Fernando inaugurated the exhibition in the presence of secretary Sr. C. Shibana and Director of Self-supporting Courses Sr. Josephine Jeyarani. The students belonging to all the science departments of the college exhibited models and explained the scientific principles to the children in order to stimulate an interest in the field of science. Around 1,415 students from 11 schools participated. Prize money worth Rs 8,000 and trophies were awarded to students who participated in the quiz competition. Sr. Arockia Jenecius Alphonse, Associate Professor of Botany, oversaw the arrangements.
New V-C for NICHE
Tessy Thomas, popularly known as ‘Missile Woman of India,’ has assumed office as Vice-Chancellor of NICHE University at Kumarakoil in Kanniyakumari district. She is renowned for her pioneering work in defence research and Technology with a career spanning decades in India’s Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO). She played a pivotal role in shaping India’s missile programme, notably leading successful projects such as Agni-IV and Agni-V. Her achievements have showered on her numerous accolades, including the prestigious Padma Shri award. NICHE University in its 25 departments offering 60 programmes employs 700 academicians. It offers job-oriented programmes such as iOS developer, AWS Academy, Defence Academy, Civil Service Academy, and Steve Jobs Scholarships, etc. Chancellor A.P. Majeed Khana and Pro Chancellor Faizal Khan were present at the function.
Advise to students
Kamaraj Women’s College, Thoothukudi, celebrated International Women’s Day on March 8. R. Prabhavathy, former HoD of Economics, the special guest, spoke on how women can excel in every field. Earlier, Principal M.Vanmathi offered felicitations. The event also featured various competitions such as mehndi, nail painting, poster making, solo dance, and group dance, with prizes awarded to winning students.
NEC gets award
StartupTN organized the second edition of the Tamil Nadu Startup Incubators Summit on February 29 in Chennai. The primary objective of the summit was to highlight and celebrate the incubation ecosystem in the State. National Engineering College K.R.Innovation Center emerged as a standout, earning the title of the best startup incubator in the State. The award was presented by Minister T.M. Anbarasan to Innovation and Entrepreneurship Centre Dean K.Manisekar, CEO G.Vinoth and NewGEN IEDC Coordinator I.Shankar.
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Idea hackathon
The Ministry of Micro Small and Medium Enterprises organized Idea Hackathon for women. Three versions of contests were conducted. The results were announced last week. PSN College of Engineering and Technology, Tirunelveli, is one of the approved Business Incubators of MSME and the host institute for organising the idea hackathons. From PSNCET’s Business Incubator, 234 ideas were submitted and four were selected by MSME, after three rounds of scrutiny and evaluation. The total grants for the four innovation concepts are Rs.40.5 lakh which is to be utilised to convert ideas into prototypes. After developing a successful prototype, it can be converted into a startup company. In addition to the grant sanctioned to the innovators, PSNCET Business Incubator will get grant upto 1 Crore to set up basic infrastructure and facilities for the innovators.
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Graduation Day
The Graduation Day of Sadakathullah Appa College, Tirunelveli, was held on March 9. As many as 964 candidates from the 2019-2022 batch received their degrees from the chief guest, P.K. Abdul Azis, former Vice-Chancellor, Aligarh Muslim University. In his address, he pointed out the transformation of the students from being without any responsibilities to becoming a responsibile citizens. Now, they have to contribute to the growth of the nation, said. S. Mahadevan, Head of the Department of Tamil, was the master of the ceremony.
Training programme
Fisheries College and Research Institute, Thoothukudi organised a three-day training programme on ‘Demonstration on seaweed cultivation and value addition’ from March 3 for the benefit of Scheduled Caste people. A total of 25 scheduled caste community beneficiaries from the rural areas of Thoothukudi attended the programme.
The Mariculture Research Farm Facility, Tharuvaikulam, of FCRI organised a one-month skill training programme on ‘Mariculture Practices’ from February 5. A total of 43 students from A.P.C.Mahalaxmi College for Women participated. The training programme was conducted by K.S.Vijay Amirtharaj, Assistant Professor and Head i/c, MRFF.