Globally, the demand is shifting towards development of sustainable systems that are technologically superior. This is the new dimension of the 21st century where technology and environment will have to go together. Thus, the new age model will be a four-dimensional bio-nan-inf-eco based one. Institutions will have to build a curriculum that will emphasise the convergence of these technologies and remove inter-disciplinary barriers, former President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam said here on Friday.
He was delivering the inaugural lecture in the Prof. G.R. Damodaran Centenary Celebration Distinguished Lecture series at PSG College of Technology that was being organised as part of the year-long centenary celebrations.
Five areas
Pointing out the five areas of core competence, strengthening which would transform India into a developed nation, Mr. Kalam said that they were agriculture and food processing, education and healthcare, information and communication technology, infrastructure, and self reliance in critical technologies. Progress in these areas in an integrated manner would lead to overall national progress and development, he stressed.
He urged the college students to help revive the industries of Coimbatore that were plagued by power cuts.
“This is the time the innovative minds of Coimbatore should blossom and work for creating innovative systems, products and business models to generate power,” the former President said.
Referring to the transformation of his ancestral home in Rameshwaram as a 100 per cent solar powered one, he suggested certain ideas that could be taken up in Coimbatore too.
Solar power
“Citizens can design solar home grids, small scale industries can join together and form SSI Solar micro grids as a cluster, SMEs can create their own grids or as a SME corporate solar power grid under co-operative management system, and these three solar grids with the supportive solar policies of Tamil Nadu Government should become a famous solar powered hub,” he added.
Youth in any organisation, whatever their specialisation be, should be trained in systems approach and projects, which would prepare them for new projects, innovation and undertaking higher organisational responsibilities, Mr. Kalam said.
He believed that the curriculum and method of teaching in PSG Institutions had been designed to cater to the needs of the 21 century knowledge society.
L. Gopalakrishnan, managing trustee, PSG & Sons’ Charities, and Baldev Raj, president, Research, PSG Institutions, were present.
