M. S. Ananth, former director of IIT-Madras, offered a valuable advice to young engineering graduates at the Rajagiri School of Engineering and Technology recently.
“Do not neglect your intuition. It will help you come out with innovative ideas,” he told the students at ‘Samavarthanam' 2012, the graduation ceremony held on the campus in the afternoon.
Stating that university education focussed on transforming knowledge through logic, Prof. Ananth recalled the principles of Sri Aurobindo that nothing can be taught and teacher is a helper and a guide.
He said that teachers do not impart knowledge but shows the student how to acquire it for himself.
Suggesting that illustrative examples in teaching should be drawn from the student's own environment, Prof. Ananth cited an example that teachers often referred to the situation in Los Angeles when the topic of discussion in classroom here is pollution. “Keep a sharp eye for data to illustrate your lectures,” he told the young lecturers on the campus.
Prof. Ananth said that engineering graduates need to step up their skills to meet the industry requirements.
“The industry will measure every aspect related to the capabilities of the graduates. They need to learn on how to apply knowledge to meet the demands of the society,” he said.
Prof. Ananth said that information revolution has revolutionised education across the world.
He said that gurus are available on the net and shishyas sit at home seeking knowledge these days.
Explaining that values and character form a vital component of education, Prof. Ananth said that the conflict of space and time is one of the biggest problems in mass education.
Fr. Jose Alex, Provincial and Manager of Rajagiri School of Engineering and Technology, Antony Kariyil, Director, and J. Isaac, Principal spoke.
