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Posts by Mitra:

Blender workshop on 3D Game Development @ VIDYUT-12

January 7th, 2012

Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham, Amritapuri campus is organizing a 3 day hands on workshop on Game development in Blender as part of our national level techno-management multiFest VIDYUT-2012.

The main attraction of this workshop is that it is being handled by none other than Mike Pan(www.mikepan.com) and Jonathan Williamson (http://www.blender.org/education-help/certified-trainer/jonathan-williamson/) The gurus of the game engine.

The workshop is certified by CGCookie. For more details logon to : www.vidyut.co.in

If you are interested you can contact

Mr. Unnikrishnan.K.V
Ph : 09567761118

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AMRITA RESEARCH LECTURE SERIES 2011

January 6th, 2011

We are happy to inform you that Dr. Judson Harward, Principal Research Scientist
Associate Director, Center for Educational Computing Initiatives Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, is visiting Amrita University . He has agreed to deliver a research lecture, for students on Monday, 10th January 2011.

Venue : CCR Room No: 116

Time : 2.15 pm -3.15 pm

Topic : “Laboratories Without Boundaries”

Abstract:

Scientists and engineers typically believe that laboratory experimentation is a critically important part of training in their fields. Due to logistical or resource constraints, however, students are often denied such laboratory experiences. MIT’s iLab Project addresses this by providing access to real laboratory experiments via the Internet. This allows educators to complement existing hands-on labs with remotely available iLabs or to provide online lab experiences for distance learners.

During over a decade of the project’s evolution, iLabs have allowed us to reexamine what the role of labs can and should be in education. While online labs can easily cater to bounded and passive learning experiences, we have found that they can also introduce students to the fundamental engineering cycle of requirements analysis, design, implementation, testing and evaluation. Finally, online labs offer unique opportunities for students to learn that modern science and engineering are inherently global and interdisciplinary fields.

All interested faculty, researchers and students can attend this session.

Thank You

Dr. Maneesha V. Ramesh
Head, AMRITA Center for Wireless Networks & Applications
Head, Indo-US and International Initiatives
Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham (AMRITA University)
Amritapuri Campus
Amritapuri, Kollam, 690525

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Amritians to participate in the prestigious TEDx Talks organized at Amrita

December 28th, 2010

Amrita University showcases its great minds to the world. As a beginning, two of our Amritians are participating in the prestigious TEDx event at AMRITA as guest speakers. Mr. Korath V Mathew, who is the current Director of AKSHAYA Project, Kerala State IT Mission, and Mr.N.Krishnadas, who is the Ambassodor of GreenIT Campaign are participating in the event.

Korath V Mathew is presently the Director of Akshaya, a landmark ICT project of Kerala state IT Mission focused on empowering the citizens through ICT. Launched in Malappuram District of Kerala in November 2002 as an e-literacy campaign to bridge the digital divide, Akshaya Citizen Service Centers(CSC) have now spread all across the state delivering a multitude of G2C, B2C, G2B and G2G services.In addition, the ubiquitous network of 2000 Akshaya Centers also focuses on Distance learning , e-learning, E- Krishi and many specialized services. Prior to this job he worked as an ICT Consultant to many projects, namely, ERP implementations, SaaS solutions, GIS systems, Datacenter services, VPN/WAN connectivity, BPR, E Governance projects and PPP model for E-governance.

N Krishnadas, is pursuing his PhD at Indian Institute of Management, Kozhikode. His research area is Information and Systems and he is conducting his research on Green IT. He decided to pursue his management research career to leverage upon his expertise in Computer Science Engineering (B.Tech). He has successful internship experiences with Microsoft and Honeywell. He has published research papers in International Journals and has presented papers in reputed International Conferences. He has won many awards in various management/engineering events including the Indian Innovator and Best Manager Award. He has special interest in field of e-governance and has made significant contributions in this field. He aspired to become a Green IT expert and contribute to Information Systems and Environmental Sustainability.

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Know yourself is the message of spirituality(Excerpts from Amma’s Christmas message, 24 Dec 2010, Amritapuri)

December 27th, 2010

“Whenever celebrations and holy days take place, Amma gives a message. However, in reality, these messages are not different; they are all one. Their essence is one. Although religions are many, spirituality has only one message. It is just that this message is presented in different ways.

“If you want to put it in phrase, this message is “Know yourself.” This is the supreme message. This message is not only relevant on the spiritual path. Regardless of our chosen field of action, if we want to attain results, we should first know our own sakti—our own power. We should know both our strengths and our weaknesses. This is one level of “knowing one’s self.” However to understand one’s self merely at the level of the mind is not the peak of self knowledge. For this, we need to go deeper. Because in knowing ourselves at the level of the mind, we neither come to perceive all of our strengths and weaknesses, nor are we able to completely transcend them. On the other hand, the message given to us by the scriptures is: “You are neither weak nor incapable. You are the source of unlimited power.” This is the supreme reality. Understanding this truth is the goal of life. This is the one message that the rishis and gurus have been giving to humankind in various ways according to the time in which they lived.

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An interesting story about Jagadish Chandra Bose…

November 28th, 2010

There is an interesting story about a demonstration that Bose gave in England. On that day he wanted to show some new things that he had found out. He had come to the conclusion that plants can feel pain like animals; that when we pinch them they suffer; and that they die in a few minutes after they are poisoned. Bose wanted to show experiments to prove these conclusions. A number of scientists and other leading men and women had gathered to hear him. Bose started the experiments by injecting poison into a plant. The plant should have shown signs of death in a few minutes. On the contrary, nothing happened. The learned audience started laughing. Even at this adverse moment Bose showed admirable calmness. He thought quickly. The poison that he injected into the plant did not kill it. So, he supposed that it would not hurt him also. With full confidence he got ready to inject the poison into himself. At that instant a man got up and confessed that instead of poison he had put similar colored water.

Please visit http://www.minhas.net/culture/indianpeople/jcbose.htm to know more about him…

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Prof. Maarten van Steen’s Visit to Amritapuri Campus

November 27th, 2010

Dr. Maarten van Steen, full professor at the VU University Amsterdam is visiting Amrita University, Amritapuri campus on 27-Nov-2010, monday. He is one of the pioneer’s in Distributed Systems and have authored many books including Computer and Network Organization, Distributed Systems, Graph Theory and Complex Networks etc. He also co-authored one book Distributed Systems: Principles and Paradigms with Prof. Andrew S Tanenbaum.

He is instrumental in signing the dual degree program between AMRITA and VU amsterdam on masters in parallel and distributed systems. The current first year MTech students are eligible for this dual degree program.

Dr. Maarten is planning to deliver two talks to the faculty members and M.Tech students. The details of the talks are given below.

Talk 1: Gossiping computers
Date: 29 Nov 2010
Time: 2.15 – 3.15 PM
Venue: Room #116 (CIR room)

Talk 2: Gossiping: Checks and Balances
Date: 29 Nov 2010
Time: 3.45 – 4.45 PM
Venue: Room #116 (CIR room)

Others who are interested in listening to him can also attend the session.

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Let us make India Beautiful – A Video of Amala Bharatam Clean-Up Drive

November 25th, 2010

This is the video of the participants of Amala Bharatam Clean-Up drive(ABC) organized on 31 Oct 2010. All the volunteers are from Amrita University Kochi, Coimbatore and Amritapuri campuses.This can be a high motivational film for other schools/colleges as well.

Really inspiring .. watch this and share among your friends…

We will keep our country clean, its our Chancellor’s(AMMA) birthday wish. “Students of Amrita University take up the call of Amma to “Amala Bharatam ” – Clean India Beautiful India”. Felt inspired and spreading the awareness to clean the whole country.

You can watch it here: Let us make India Beautiful

Come join us… Let us keep our country clean… Let us together make India Beautiful…

Dont forget to download HD and mobile versions if you need. click here

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BarCamp Kerala 9 @ Amrita

November 5th, 2010

Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham, Amritapuri Campus proudly presents BarCamp Kerala 9. This unique event is going to be held on 14-Nov-2010 at Amritapuri Campus, Kollam. We welcome you all to attend the event and share your thoughts…

Watch the Welcome Video of BarCamp Kerala 9 @ Amrita

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First day in college – Story by Vidyalakshmi

October 9th, 2010

“Good days are to be gathered like grapes, to be trodden and bottled into wine and kept for age to sip at ease beside the fire. If the traveler has vintaged well, he need trouble to wander no longer; the ruby moments glow in his glass at will.” – Freya Stark

Passing out students from schools and colleges are always talking about how much they love their schools or colleges, a few days prior to their farewell. I have pondered and pondered, but have been unable to find an answer up until a couple of days back. Being blessed with a lot less homework, complemented by a natural ruminating tendency, can do wonders in greasing the so called “gears” in your brain – of course, in a situation devoid of entertaining-electronic-gadgets or what we call EEGs. Being final years students, and having experienced a few situations when EEGs eluded our schedule, we found ourselves going over those days when we were still cool in school (hey, that rhymes!!), those first few months in college when all we did was complain and crib about “how much we missed school” – to be brief, “days that go way back”. I hit jackpot during one of our discussions on our first day at college. The discussion was, as always, most entertaining. But it got me looking at my first day in college in a new light – in a more analytical (but enjoyable) sense of how I have come a long way from then.

For the sole benefits of entertainment and a couple of rib-tickling laughs, if not, sniggers – here’s how my first day in college went:

The date escapes my memory but it was mid – july when I started the next part of my “adventurous” life journey called College. I considered myself lucky getting into Amrita, what with those endless TNPCEE and new syllabus confusions, anybody in the 2006 – 2010 batch is lucky to be in amrita. One of the questions my “non-amritian” friends always haunt me with is “Why Amrita?” and I always say (still do) grown up stuff like, “excellent placement record, ambience, infrastructure, etc etc” and the very same question came when my friends called me up the day before college re-opened. And I knew then and there, Amrita was a place to fear. That drove me into having one of the many sleepless nights I have had that night.

The next day dawned nice and bright, I remember because I couldn’t help wondering why God was being so cruel (haven’t we all?) – the weather was an exact opposite of my mood, cloudy with a chance of tears. My dad, very kindly, offered to drop me at college so many kilometers away and I realized this is how kids (including me), who start school anew, feel. But I was thankful that my dad was going to be there and I wouldn’t have to feel lost among new faces. I did have friends from my school coming to Amrita but they were in different departments and I dint feel any better.

The journey to college was quick or it was because I was distracted by all those gruesome images of myself at the end of the day popping into my head. I reached in time for the induction ceremony to be held at the Amriteshwari hall, waved my dad goodbye and was soon joined by my friends (felt a whole lot relieved). I felt so completely out of place in one of the most beautiful campuses I have ever seen. We settled into Amriteshwari hall a few minutes later, unfortunately we had to sit with our own departments and I grudgingly let out a “See you later” and sat down with my “friends-to-be”. Nobody spoke a word or even turned their heads when I sat. Apparently quite a few of them knew each other already and saw them chattering away, which made me even morose.

The induction began with the lighting of the lamp and speeches from the pro-chancellor – Swami Abhayamrita Chaitanya and some guests. The speeches included anecdotes and messages. A couple of anecdotes later, I felt warm, cheered and welcome. I am sure everybody did. The ceremony lasted 3 hours or so after which first years from every department were scheduled for tours around the college – to get to know our ways around the enormous campus. Assembling in front of the ever-famous Saraswathi statue gracing the campus, the non-initiated “grouping” of boys and girls presented itself. Being a born “chatterbox” and “socialite”, holding my tongue through the induction ceremony was one of the hardest things I ever had to do. A few minutes into the afore mentioned “grouping”, I found myself a friend and someone to talk to. God wasn’t so cruel after all, I concluded.

But my happiness was “ever so” short lived. We were giving tours in the alphabetical order. A-N was grouped into one and the rest were in another group. Being named “Vidya”, I was shipped into the latter. A grudging goodbye to my friend (her name starts with an ‘A’) later found me walking at the very end of the group, hoping that the tour would get over fast so that I could meet up with my friends. No sooner had the tour begun; I forgot that I was new to the place. The campus was amazing, I fused into the group naturally and as one we “ooed” and “aahed” at the buildings, the mountains, the peahens (in the workshop), the huge library (this one was my personal favourite) and everything else. We passed by other departments going through the tours and as luck would have it, I found some long lost friends of mine from school in the other departments. The day was getting better and better. Come lunch time and I found myself asking God for His forgiveness for having called Him cruel. The food in our plates was a feast fit for kings.

We were to be shown to our classrooms after lunch and we were asked to re-assemble at Sudhamani hall. I dragged (having had a heavy lunch) myself up the stairs to the venue. I found my friend and chattered away. A few minutes later, I was chattering away with almost all the girls in my class. Thanks to my good fortune, one of my classmates was also going to be my future bus mate, bus-stop mate and one of my friends with whom I would laugh with for years to come.

Feeling well-settled “we” started out to our class-to-be and at once decided that last bench it is, as has been my routine. Unfortunately, fate played its dirty game, yet again, through my so-called “friend”. I have never forgiven her for the fact that she made me sit in the very front of the class. After the tour and the seating arrangements with much grumbling and mumbling, we decided to push off to the canteen (was visibly brightenend!!) as we had nothing better to do.

We replenished ourselves with a lip-smacking light snack. Deciding that the day couldn’t get any better, we lucky “day scholars” waved good bye to the “not so lucky” hostelites and went to our respective bus stops to catch a ride home in our college buses for the very first time (atleast for me). The ride home was tiring, having tramped all over the campus. The art of sleeping in bus was still unknown to us being newbies, so my friend and I spent the journey home getting to know each other better and sharing experiences. That was when we got our first dose of “advise” right then, right there. One of mine or her experiences, I forget which one, was hilarious and as is the habit for both of us, we laughed out loud. A little too loud, sadly. One of the teachers in the bus called us to his seat and for the whole bus to watch, “advised” us. Heights of embarrassment, we achieved that on the very first day of college. Something, we still recollect, share with our juniors in the bus now and laugh about. The rest of the journey, fortunately only a few minutes, was spent in silence.

We got down at our bus-stop, spent a few minutes chatting, as is usual with “girls”, waved a happy “good-bye” and went our ways. I remember going home, eating my heart out and flopping down on the bed after a brief account, complete with cribs and complaints, to my parents. And that was how my first day in college went.

If I were asked to give my juniors a one-line account of my first year, I would tell them that the first year of college is where you get settled in. And amidst all the chaos and confusion, the bonds we make remains then, now and forever. College is the place to be and the first year is too special to be spent complaining and cribbing. My fourth year at college is at the brink of completion and I never get tired of laughing over all the fun and stupid things we did way back in the beginning.

This piece is all about my first day at college – embarrassing, stupid, morose, ebullient and what not. But in the end, I felt settled in. And it’s all thanks to God, fate, my good fortunes, my ever so co-operative friends and of course, last but not the least, my ability to talk non-stop.

By
Vidyalakshmi. P
IV Polymer Engineering,
Email id: vidlucky.nair@gmail.com

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Competitions for October 2010

October 9th, 2010

This months competition in CBC2010 is the “Most Engaging Blogger from Campus”. From among the posts that happen in the network during the month of October, we will be selecting best 3 bloggers and they will be given scholarships for studying “Applied Economics” course at the Hedge School of Applied Economics.