Address and Interaction With the Students of Adi Sankara Institute of Engineering and Technology and Sree Sarada Vidyalaya, Kalady, Ernakulam

Capacity Building for National Development

I am indeed delighted to be here in the beautiful spiritual environment of Kalady and interact with the students of Adi Sankara Institute of Engineering & Technology, Sree Sarada Vidyalaya and Sree Sankara Educational Complex. My greetings to the principal, teachers, education managers and the students. I am happy to know that Sree Sankara Educational Complex has been producing large number of eminent persons during the last fifty years who are contributing in various walks of life in the country and abroad. I would like to discuss with you all about the topic "Capacity Building for National Development".

Capacity Building

A good educational model is the need of the hour to ensure that the students grow to contribute towards the economic growth of a nation. Can we sow the seeds of capacity building among the students? There will be continuous innovation during the learning process. To realize this, special capacities are required to be built in education system for nurturing the students. The capacities which are required to be built are research and enquiry, creativity and innovation, use of high technology, entrepreneurial and moral leadership.

Research and enquiry: The 21st century is about the management of all the knowledge and information we have generated and the value addition we bring to it. We must give our students the skills with which they find a way through the sea of knowledge that we have created and continue with life long learning. Today, we have the ability, through technology, to really and truly teach ourselves to become the life-long learners. This is required for sustained economic development

Creativity and innovation: The management of knowledge in the 21st century is beyond the capacity of a single individual. The amount of information that we have around is overwhelming. The management of knowledge therefore must move out of the realm of the individual and shift into the realm of the networked groups. The students must learn how to manage knowledge collectively. When the information is networked the power and utility of the information grows as squared as predicted by Metcalfe's law. An information that is static does not grow. In the new digital economy information that is circulated creates innovation and contributes to national wealth.

Capacity to use high technology: Every student in our schools should learn to know how to use the latest technologies for aiding their learning process. Universities should equip themselves with adequate computing equipment, laboratory equipments, and Internet facilities and provide an environment for the students to enhance their learning ability. In the midst of all of the technological innovations and revolutions we cannot think that the role of the teachers will be diminished. In fact the teacher will become even more important and the whole world of education will become teacher assisted and would help in "tele-porting" the best teacher to every nook and corner of the countries and propagate the knowledge.

Entrepreneurship: The aptitude for entrepreneurship should be cultivated right from the beginning and in the university environment. We must teach our students to take calculated risks for the sake of larger gain, but within the ethos of good business. They should also cultivate a disposition to do things right. This capacity will enable them to take up challenging tasks later.

Moral leadership: Moral leadership involves two aspects. First it requires the ability to have compelling and powerful dreams or visions of human betterment. Moral leadership requires a disposition to do the right thing and influence others also to do right things.

In sum, inquiry, creativity, technology, entrepreneurial and moral leadership are the five capacities required to be built through the education process. If we develop in all our students these five capacities, we will produce "Autonomous Learner" a self-directed, self controlled, lifelong learner who will have the capacity to both, respect authority and at the same time is capable of questioning authority, in an appropriate manner. These are the leaders who would work together as a "Self-organizing Network" and transform any nation into a prosperous nation. The most important part of the education is to imbibe the confidence among the student is the spirit of "we can do it". These capacities will enable the students to meet the challenges of our national mission of transforming the nation into a developed country by 2020. Let us discuss our national challenges.

Our National Mission - Challenges

Our nation is going through a major challenge of uplifting 260 million people who are below the poverty line and also to give better life for many millions who are on the border line of poverty or just above the poverty line. They need decent habitat, they need work with reasonable income, they need food, they need health care, and they need education and finally resulting into a good life. Our GDP is growing at more than 6% to 7% per annum on an average. Whereas, the economists suggest that to uplift the people who are below the poverty line, our economy has to grow at the rate of 10% per annum consistently, for over a decade.

Engines for Growth: Emphasis should be on full utilization of natural and human resources of the nation to meet the demands of the modern society. We should also remember that about 50% of our population is young with aspirations for better living. Value addition to Agriculture, Manufacturing and Service sectors, building the national core competence and technologies will lead to additional high income employment potential. The engines for growth will be accelerated by launching of the five national missions viz. water, energy, education and skills, infrastructure and employment generation that will enable achievement of 10% GDP growth rate per annum. It is possible to do so with ecological and economic sustainability.

Integrated action: To meet the needs of one billion people, we have the mission of transforming India into a developed nation. We have identified five areas where India has a core competence for integrated action:

(1) Agriculture and food processing

(2) Reliable and Quality Electric power, Surface transport and Infrastructure for all parts of the country.

(3) Education and Healthcare

(4) Information and Communication Technology

(5) Strategic sectors.

These five areas are closely inter-related and if well done would lead to food and economic security and national security.

With these aspects, we have already laid down the road map. The priority for the government is to convert the road map into various missions. The students of Sree Sankara Educational Complex have a very important role in implanting the missions using technology as a non-linear tool. This has to be done with a spirit that "nothing is impossible." I would like to illustrate this concept through few examples.

Nothing is impossible?

Human flight is nothing but creativity of human mind and it undergoes several struggles to achieve excellence. In 1895, a great well-known scientist Lord Kelvin, who was the President of Royal Society of London said,"any thing heavier than air cannot fly, and cannot be flown." Within a decade, Wright Brothers proved man could fly of course at heavy risk and cost.

On the successful completion of Moon Mission in 1969, Von Braun, a very famous rocket designer, who built Saturn-V, to launch the capsule with astronauts and made moon walk a reality, in 1975 said "If I am authorized, I will remove the word impossible".

In ancient days, Ptolemaic astronomy is a widely used system in calculating the dynamics of various stars and planets. Assumption by then was that the earth is flat. What a scientific struggle had to take place to prove that the earth is spherical in shape orbiting around the sun. The three great astronomers Copernicus, Galileo and Kepler had to give a new dimension to the world of astronomy. Today we take it for granted that earth is a globe, orbiting around the sun, and the sun orbits in the Milky Way. All the technological advancements we have today are the outcome of scientific exploration of scientists of earlier centuries. At no time, man was beaten by problems. He strives continuously to subjugate impossibility and then succeeds.

According to the laws of aerodynamics the bumblebee should never be able to fly. Because of the size, weight, and shape of its body in relationship to the total wing span, flying is scientifically impossible. The bumblebee, being ignorant of scientific theory, goes ahead and flies anyway. I would like the youth assembled here to take a lesson from these examples and work to make everything possible.

Diverting Asteroids

A few days back one important event took place in space. That was the impact of the NASA spacecraft called deep impact smashing into the comet Tempel-I, with enough force to create football stadium sized crater with a depth of a 14 storey building. The spacecraft was navigated by an Indian Shyam Bhaskaran ? the deep impact traveled 431 million kms in 172 days escaping from the earth orbit and intercepted the comet at a straight distance from earth at 134 million km. the comet was orbiting around the Sun every five and half years. This is a land mark in space exploration.

This event is important to divert asteroids which may hit the earth in future. One such large asteroid 1950 AD is expected to hit the earth on March 16, 2880 AD and nearly one third of the earth will be damaged. Like the ?Deep Impact? one spacecraft is required to be sent with high energy material to divert or break the asteroid to move it out of the present orbit.

Conclusion : Mission for the youth

Corruption is an assault on consciousness. The habit of taking bribes and seeking favours has become very common. People holding important positions have developed inconsiderateness to their conscience. They pretend everything is all right. Do not they have idea of the law of action and reaction? Have they forgotten how impressions of the subconscious mind and their force work? If you take bribes, your thoughts and actions are registered in the subconscious mind. Will you not be carrying forward your dishonesty to your next generations causing them great suffering? It is a painful reality that corruption has become a way of life affecting all aspects of living, personal as well as social. It is not merely the pecuniary corruption but other forms as well. Immoral ways of people holding high positions and handling power have takeaway guilt out of the minds of lesser mortals. What a dangerous situation? A great civilization is endangered.

A recent study has found Kerala to be the least corrupt State in the country. Also Sree Sankara Educational Complex has been imparting value based education to the children right from the kindergarten to the University level. Hence, in the present situation, I would like the children of Kerala and the students of Sree Sankara Educational Complex in particular to start a movement against corruption which is vital for ensuring unimpeded growth of our economy leading to a prosperous, happy and developed nation.

Now, I would like to administer a ten point oath to the students. Are you ready?

TEN POINT OATH

1. I will pursue my education or the work with dedication and I will excel in it.

2. From now onwards, I will teach at least 10 persons to read and write those who cannot read and write.

3. I will plant at least 10 saplings and shall ensure their growth through constant care.

4. I will visit rural and urban areas and permanently wean away at least 5 persons from addiction and gambling.

5. I will constantly endeavor to remove the pain of my suffering brethren.

6. I will not support any religious, caste or language differentiation.

7. I will be honest and endeavour to make a corruption free society.

8. I will work for becoming an enlightened citizen and make my family righteous.

9. I will always be a friend of the mentally and physically challenged and will work hard to make them feel normal, like the rest of us.

10. I will proudly celebrate the success of my country and my people.

Questions and Answers session

SECTION A - ADI SHANKARA INSTITUTE OF ENGG. AND TECHNOLOGY

1. How the mission projects like Light Combat Aircraft can help India in achieving Self - reliance?

- Mahesh B.- 5th Semester Electrical

Ans: Mission projects like Light Combat Aircraft is a complex technological project with multiple systems like aircraft structure, power plant, avionics, fly by wire control systems, multi-mode radar etc. When our R & D institutions develop these technologies we achieve confidence to realize complex systems indigenously. This accomplishment not only helps the services to get indigenous aircraft for combat purposes but also improves the performance of the support industries, R & D institutions and academic institutions as a group. At times of crises, since it is our own aircraft we do not encounter any product support problems.

2. What are your expectations with regard to the development of Space Rocket by 2015 AD and Project Chandrayana?

- Nisha Moorthy - 7th Semester Electronics

Ans: Chandrayana will be orbiting the Moon well before 2015. India may have reusable launch vehicle such as hyper plane.

3. What is the role of EDUSAT in technical education?

- Sreekumar S.- 5th Sem Eectronics

Ans:EduSat can provide connectivity between multiple institutions. Specialist lecture from one technical institutions can be listened to by multiple class rooms in remote areas. For example IIT Bombay is running a M.Tech programme to students in Goa through a tele-education net work. IGNOU is connecting hundred centres through a tele-education network.

4. What is your dream educational system?

- Sidharth R. - 7th Sem I.T.

Ans: The education system must provide value based education to our children. Also, it must aim at graduating India towards a knowledge society.

5. Could you please tell us what is the approach to be followed by the teachers for effective teaching?

- Fathima Shameem - 7th Semester Computer Science

Ans: The delivery of quality education is possible only through quality teachers. The teacher has to be a committed teacher who loves teaching and children. And also the teacher has to be equipped with all the knowledge required for effective teaching. The self-esteem of the teacher must be high and the teacher must have the quality to become a role model for the children. The teacher must be able to create the capacities of research and enquiry, creativity and innovation, use of high technologies, entrepreneurial and moral leadership among the students. Also, the teacher must aim to make the students an autonomous life long learner.

6. What is your message to the budding technocrats of our institutions?

- Mekha Sreedharan - 7th Sem Computer Science

Ans: The budding technocrats must develop entrepreneurial skills. They should create enterprises in PURA complexes and become employment generators instead of employment seekers.

7. Alleviation of poverty or Missile technology ? which should be preferred in the Coming years and why?

- Ajmal Shameem - 7th Sem. Electrical

Ans:India is spending less than 3% of GDP on defence. This is essential to keep India strong in this region for following an independent foreign policy we have to be a strong nation. Simultaneously we have to work hard to increase our growth in GDP from the existing six to seven percent to ten percent level and maintain for about ten years. This will enable us to uplift the 260 million people who are below the poverty line.

SECTION B - SREE SARADA VIDYALAYA

8. We are proud of our heritage. Modern education is not doing anything to create this awareness in the minds of young generations. How can education help in this aspect?

- Nakul R.- Class XII

Ans: As a part of our education, it is essential to have a one hour class every week to discuss about good human beings present and past and what makes a good human being. This class can be called as "elevating the young minds". As an example this class can discuss the personalities such as Buddha, Confucius, St. Augustine, Kalifa Omar, Mahatma Gandhi, Einstein, Abraham Lincoln including some scientific personalities and moral stories linked to our civilizational heritage. This type of education will provide an opportunity to the students to become aware of our rich civilizational heritage.

8. Has the sharp growth of technology affected the quality of humanity? Can the state direct any remedial measures?

- Anvin Paulose - Class VIII

Ans: For example, the use of fossil fuels like diesel, coal and gas has created enormous atmospheric pollution leading to global warming. This situation needs correction. Few of the approaches that we should take is to use renewable energy such as solar energy. Also, we can produce bio-fuels using Jatropha plantation and mix it with diesel for reducing the Carbon monoxide content in the emission. Such measures will lead to sustainable healthy development and improve the quality of living of the humanity.

9. At one stage of your career you decide to grow more. So please explain how can one expand himself or how one can rebound his own limitations.

- Cheriyan P.Bright - Class XII

Ans: You should have a dream. When you think of growing more the first requirement is you should all have a dream. Realization of a dream is achieved through a four step process. The first one is to have a goal on where you would like to reach in the next five years. The second one is to acquire the knowledge and experience needed to reach that goal. Third one is continuous hard work which I call "sweat, sweat and sweat". The fourth one is perseverance. Here I am reminded of an important advice given by my Guru Prof Satish Dhawan who used to tell "if you do not work, no problem will occur, but if you do a mission or task definitely problems of varying magnitudes will crop up. But problems should not become the master of the individuals, individuals should become master of the problem, defeat and succeed".

10. I have read your book ?The Wings of Fire? on missile Technology. I want to know what fuel have you filled for in vision 2020 to set the wings of Indian Youth on fire.

- Deepak M.R. - Class XII

Ans: Sweat, Sweat and Sweat.

SECTION C - SREE SANKARA COLLEGE

11. Our natural resources are depleting tremendously. We are already utilizing solar energy. What are the other steps to use it?

- Rakesh Menon, B.Sc., Chemistry (II year)

Ans: Answer for this question is already given in question No. 8.

12. What is the progress in the research of super conductivity?

- Sarath, B.Sc., II year, Physics.

Ans: There are two types of superconductive elements. One is metallic and the other is high temperature coefficient oxides. Considerable work has been done in metallic superconductivity which operates at 20o K. It has been commercially applied in magnetic levitation (Mag Lev) for application is fast trains. High temperature coefficient oxides are still in development stage. Advanced research is taking place in the country in NPL, TIFR, IISc and IITs.

13. We heard about many contradictions recently about the black holes. What progress has India made in this direction?

- Priya - B.Sc., Physics (II year)

Ans: Black holes are the end product of collapse of a certain amount of matter to a state when the gravitational field becomes so strong that nothing, even light can escape it. An extensive body of work based on Einstein?s theory of Relativity has provided very strong theoretical foundations for the idea. Many Scientists have also questioned the validity of the very idea. These works are not accepted by the majority in the astrophysics community. Recent work by Dr. G. Chapline for example raises questions of this kind. Such works are debated in the scientific journals. May be future work will settle some issues, as also open new ones.

14. We celebrated the Silver Jubilee of launching of S.L.V. ? 3 on July 18th. Please can you brief us about the future plans of launching satellites?

- Sajitha, II B.Sc., Chemistry

Ans: When the launch frequencies are increased, we will see more and more advanced remote sensing and communication satellites. The exploration of the moon through Chandrayaan will electrify the entire country, particularly young scientists and children. I am sure the moon mission is just a start towards further planetary explorations. The Spacecraft payload will orbit around the moon and radiate the scientific information. 15kg has been allotted for a combined entry package to the moon with a telemetry, for density or pressure measurement or tone ranging alone. This experiment will be very effective since India will be getting the data from the moon?s surface. More powerful launch vehicles are in the horizon. Very soon, we may have Reusable Launch Vehicles. Once you bring in a cost effective Reusable launch Vehicle, the space applications will grow multifold and in new dimensions hitherto unimagined.

15. Foreign countries are benefiting much from the knowledge like medicines from our ancient Sanskrit scriptures. Can?t we make use of it?

- Vishnu, II B.Sc., Physics

Ans: There are number of institutions like Dabur, Arya Vaidyasala Kottakal are making use of ancient scriptures for creating new formulations.

My best wishes to you all for success in your educational career. May God bless you.