The mood was upbeat at the ninth edition of The Hindu Education Plus Career fair which opened on May 24, to a warm and welcoming crowd. Students, parents and younger siblings present were spellbound as Mr J.P. Gandhi expounded on career paths open to students. While the talk veered around medicine and engineering, he also devoted enough time to alternative careers — in law, agriculture, economics and literature. He laid special emphasis on combination courses and new and relatively lesser known courses such as B.Tech Poultry Technology.
To do well in what one is interested in was also the message carried home after the panel discussion on IT and ITES industry which followed. Ms. Vidya Murali, Mr. Badri Seshadri and Mr. Sujith Kumar brought to the fore various ways in which one could respond to the call of the IT industry. Work smart and not just work hard, said the panelists. “The world is at an inflection point,” said Ms. Vidya Murali, “it is at an intervening period that brings in change and companies like their employees to think differently.” The students’ interests ranged over a wide variety of career options – from studying law and programming software to sports and English literature. One could see a shift in the mindset wherein people could see the opportunities in other areas other than engineering and medicine. Raghuram, a diploma holder, expressed eagerness in pursuing sports, but also admitted not getting parental support. “ I wish I knew more about this field so that I could convince my parents,” he said.
The Nxt Step
Chief guest Prof. D. Shantharam, Vice-Chancellor, The Tamil Nadu Dr MGR Medical University, released the book “The Nxt Step”, and G. Viswanathan, Chancellor of VIT Univeristy, received the first copy of the book which is a compilation of 50 articles on career choices written by experts in the respective fields.
Aiming competence
Mr. G. Viswanathan, Founder and Chancellor of VIT University, who presided, said “Our country requires more opportunities for higher education. It requires a lot of investment. Small colleges can take the help of bigger institutions. Ultimately I want our institutions to compete with those in Europe and America in quality. This will help our students in a long way to go anywhere in the world. We cannot accommodate all of them in the country, so they should be trained for the world market.”
Vellore Institute of Technology was the title sponsor for the event. GKM College of Engineering and Technology, Chennai Institute of Technology, Prathyusha Institute of Technology and Management and Sri Krishna Group of Institutions were the associate sponsors. The psychometric test was sponsored by Bodhi. Gift partners: Roshan Bags, Success, www.architecture360.in and ABM Infotech. Food court and water parterns: Chennai Express and Repute. Events partners: Iads and events.
