The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : Conjuring up the past campus

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Monday, Dec 15, 2008
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Tamil Nadu - Chennai

Conjuring up the past campus

Special Correspondent

Old boys from the 1968 batch of the College of Engineering, Guindy, felicitate wizened professors

— Photo: S. R. Raghunathan

DOWN MEMORY LANE: Old boys of the 1968 batch of the College of Engineering, Guindy, chat with their professors in Chennai on Sunday.

CHENNAI: Old boys from the 1968 batch of the College of Engineering, Guindy, on Sunday revisited their campus moments, felicitated wizened professors and committed themselves to helping students in a variety of ways.

At a well-attended reunion to mark the 40th anniversary of the alumni, the students hailing from the “oil-coil-soil” era of engineering education (mechanical, electrical and civil engineering) assembled at the same “GUINES” Hall that they had donated to the institution during their silver jubilee year (1994).

The chief guest, Anna University-Chennai Vice Chancellor P. Mannar Jawahar, urged the alumni to organise soft skill development and placement guidance programmes for the students. In contrast with the olden days when engineering education was 55 per cent theory and 45 per cent practicals, contemporary students had exposure to only about 30 per cent practicals and this hampered their industry-readiness, he said.

Apart from soft skill development, old boys could also help the institution by facilitating industry visits and sensitisation programmes on emerging needs of companies for students, the Vice Chancellor said.

Mr. Jawahar pointed out that all three Anna University institutions were affiliated to the Anna University Chennai and that linked up an estimated third year and fourth year students of all the 354 colleges in Tamil Nadu for training or counselling programmes.

Alumnus Ramanathan who did emcee duties, gave a commitment on behalf of the old boys that the modalities for holding regular training programmes would be worked out shortly. M. Sekar, Dean, College of Engineering, was guest of honour.

Old boys such as K.V. Ramani and P. Mohan were effusive in their praise for the faculty.

Someone in the audience, however, wanted to see the lighter side of things.

“Surely, college life was such fun…in fact I dare say that I started learning only after leaving campus.”

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