Sustained efforts, clarity of thought and a focused approach can help anybody accomplish excellence, said K. Shankaranarayanan, strategic business unit head of Aircel Limited, Chennai, at Utkarsh 2014, held on Sunday.
“After extensive studies, researchers have found that with 10,000 hours of work over four years, any ordinary man can achieve his goals,” he said at the event, where IIT-JEE 2014 rankers and FIITJEE talent reward exam 2013 winners were felicitated.
Aspirations and ambitions may be different, but the idea is to work with conviction and perseverance, said Mr. Shankaranarayanan.
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Aniket Murhekhar who secured all-India rank 19, and A.V. Ravi Teja who got all-India rank 42, were presented with cash awards of Rs. 50,000 and Rs. one lakh, respectively.
Governor K. Rosaiah said, “Today, we are able to see in students a rush and craze to take to professional courses. But the need of the hour is to hone the technical skills of students, nurse their spirit of creativity and develop in them a flair for research.”
The country also requires the youth to be creative, enterprising entrepreneurs with innovative skills as well, he said. “The knowledge imparted to students should develop skills in them and enable them to compete in the global scenario,” said Mr. Rosaiah.
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G. Raghavan, vice-president and regional HR head-south of Axis Bank Limited, Chennai, said the rank holders deserve appreciation for choosing to study at IITs at a time when several of them look to study overseas.
Ankur Jain, director, and R. Rajan, student mentor, FIITJEE Chennai Centre, were among those present at the event.