MESSAGE FROM THE VICE CHANCELLOR XXXII CONVOCATION

SASTRA is constantly introducing in- The 32nd Convocation of SASTRA Deemed to be novative advancements and promising University was held on September 1, 2018. Prof. Anil changes in curriculum, teaching-learn- D Sahasrabudhe, Chairman, All Council for ing process, technology and research. Technical Education (AICTE), New Delhi delivered Towards this direction, SASTRA has in- digenously invented a Laser Bio-Printer the convocation address and awarded the degrees. that can make tissue and organ printing. Delivering the convocation address Prof Sahasra Budhe This is a highly innovative product that can deliver next gen- emphasized the need to make learning a lifelong eration solution to healthcare, especially in tissue and organ process. He asked the students to make use of Swayam, regeneration and replacement. I hope this product design the Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) platform will largely improve the innovation quotient of SASTRA. developed by the AICTE with the support of MHRD, Prof. Anil Sahasrabudhe, Chairman, AICTE, New Delhi, for the purpose. delivered the convocation address and presented the degrees at the XXXII Convocation of SASTRA on September 1, He pointed out that 1.7 crore books and documents are 2018. He elaborated on the initiatives taken by agencies like available online under another digital initiative of the UGC and AICTE in order to improve the Global Innova- government, the National Digital Library (NDL). He tion Index of our country. said that three types of learners could benefit from the In the campus recruitment drive this year, more than 1800 students have been placed by several top-notch companies. courses, the casual learners, those interested in getting The number is higher than last year and this year nearly 260 a certificate for career prospects and students already students from nearby rural areas have secured placements enrolled in any university who could get 20% credits in reputed companies. Thus, our efforts help hundreds of from Swayam. “There are more than 1,500 courses lower and middle class families to come up in their social from the best faculty in all domains,” he said. standing. The NAMASTE teacher training programme of SASTRA carried out with support from M/s TCS has so far trained more than 2000 school teachers of . 18 retired veteran school teachers were honoured at the Teachers’ Day celebrations held at the Main Campus and at Srinivasa Ra- manujan Centre of SASTRA, . SASTRA has distributed relief materials worth Rs 50 lakh to 5000 households affected by the recent Kerala floods. The University management also provided annadhanam to 50,000 devotees at the holy town of Pandharpur in Mahara- stra during the Ashada Ekadasi day on July 24, 2018. The students of School of Law won several moot court com- petitions conducted by reputed Law Schools in the country. Prof. Anil Sahasrabudhe, Chairman, The community outreach teams of the students of SASTRA AICTE presenting a degree certificate to a student have organized several welfare programmes. He also mentioned that the National Academic

Season’s Greetings and best wishes! Depository created by UGC could host certificates of R Sethuraman students and be verified by the employers. This facility Vice- Chancellor obviated the need for getting duplicated certificates, he Convocation address by Prof. Anil Sahasrabudhe Shri. K. Baskaran, I.A.S., Director of Rural Development and Panchayat Raj receiveing his PhD degree added. The laboratories and workshops in educational Prof. R Kandasamy, Chancellor, presided over, Dr. S institutions should be kept open for the benefit of Vaidhyasubramaniam, Dr. S Swaminathan and other students. “Only two days ago, the Ministry of Human Deans of SASTRA were among those present on stage. Resource Development (MHRD) had established its innovation cell on AICTE premises. If these initiatives A total of 3,528 students were given degree certificates succeed, India will move from the current 57th position of which 63 are Ph.Ds. Founder Chancellor’s Award in the Global Innovation Index (GII) to one of the top which consists of a citation along with Rs.25,000 cash 20 countries in another five years,” he added. award was given to Kum. S Nivethitha in Engineering category and to Mr. Khan Behlol Ayaz Ahmed in Science category. Lord Selvamuthukumaran Award for the Academic Excellence in B.Tech programmes was given to Kum. S. Sai Sree. Silver Jubilee Batch Award for having been the topper among the girls in B. Tech. programmes was also given to Kum. S. Sai Sree which carries a cash award of Rs.10,000.

Our Vice-Chancellor Welcoming the gathering.

Earlier Prof. R. Sethuraman, Vice Chancellor in his welcome address highlighted the recent achievements of the university.

A section of the audience.

2 ‘SRISHTI,’ LASER BIO-PRINTER Dr. S. Swaminathan, Director, Centre for DESIGNED BY SASTRA LAUNCHED Nanotechnology and Project Head of TEAM. SRISHTI aligns well with the ‘Make in India Mission’ of the Union Government with the aim of delivering next generation solutions for healthcare focussed on tissue and organ regeneration and replacement, Dr. Swaminathan said, dedicating the product to the late President APJ Abdul Kalam.

The Laser Bio-Printer ‘SRISHTI,’ indigenously designed by SASTRA was launched by Dr. V. K. Saraswat, Member NITI Aayog, New Delhi on August 20, 2018. Launching SRISHTI, Dr. Saraswat encouraged researchers to work with a ‘science for society’ temper and substitute borrowed knowledge with indigenous knowledge. Directed basic research leading to societal benefits and nation’s progress is true value addition, he Prof. R. Sethuraman, Vice Chancellor, Dr. S. said, stressing on the need to move from individualistic Vaidhyasubramaniam, Dean – Planning and to nation building research. Development, Dr. Mirdul Verma of Aimil Ltd., also Dr. Saraswat informed that India is on the verge of participated. developing an indigenous advanced super-critical CYBER SECURITY LAB @ SASTRA material thermal power plant at Rs.400 crore. “This will not only improve efficiency of thermal plants but also A New Cyber Security Lab was inaugurated at SASTRA result in substantial savings to the national exchequer, on September 15, on the ‘Engineer’s Day,’ by Shri as expenditure of over Rs. 1000 crore otherwise Madhusudhan Mysore, CEO, Tata Communications required for borrowing or licensing technology will be Transformation Services (TCTS). obviated,” he said. “India has problems like poverty, malnourishment, infant mortality, and water and energy security issues; researchers need to work on indigenous value-added research and development instead of additive or repetitive research,” he added. This innovative product was designed by the Tissue Engineering & Additive Manufacturing (TEAM) Lab at SASTRA with capabilities to make tissue and organ printing cost-effective and quick. The project taken up after 2008 when late President APJ Abdul Kalam seeded the idea during his visit to SASTRA was supported by the Mission on Nano Inaugurating the lab Shri Madhusudhan said that while Science and Technology (Nano Mission), Department there is a higher impetus to opt for STEM courses, of Science and Technology, New Delhi. The bio- the challenge is getting the right kind of industry printer will reach the market through industry partner support, exposure and hands-on practical experience. and leading technology manufacturer AIMIL, said These university students are the next generation of professionals and business leaders in the making.

3 Day. A six-member team from SASTRA, headed by Prof. R. Sethuraman, Vice-Chancellor, with the help of 200 cooks and volunteers arranged Annadhanam comprising sweet, poori, vegetables and water. The devotees chanting the name of God with devout discipline appreciated the efforts of SASTRA and wished the University well. The Kanchi Mahaswamigal participated in this holy gathering and conducted Chaturmasya Pooja in the early 80s and has spoken very high of the Annadhanam service during this holy time. Private organisations have the means, expertise and the technology to offer to Academia in order to create the SASTRA RELIEF FOR KERALA right conditions and environment for students to learn FLOOD VICTIMS and build on their theoretical and practical knowledge. We are very excited to play a role in enabling these SASTRA Deemed University sent relief materials, young students to develop specialised skills and thrive, worth Rs 50 lakh for the Kerala flood relief operations, as they go on to become confident and accomplished on August 21, 2018. Each relief bag distributed to 5,000 professionals. households contained Rice, Dhal, Milk Powder, Rusk, SASTRA has developed a curriculum in cyber security with a focus on training, developing and strengthening the practical application of cyber security, encompassing the process and technology elements of cyber threat detection and mitigation. SASTRA PROVIDES ANNADHANAM TO 50,000 DEVOTEES AT PANDHARPUR, MAHARASHTRA SASTRA provided Annadhanam to about 50,000 devotees at the holy town of Pandharpur in the State of Maharashtra. An estimated gathering of over 10 lakh Biscuits, Dhoti, Towel, Saree, Bedsheet, Napkin, Soap, devotees (Varkaris) visit Pandharpur every year during Tooth Paste, Water Bottle, Medicines, etc. A team of the holy Ashada Ekadasi Day and after darshan of students and staff volunteers were involved in packing Lord Sri Panduranga, the devotees return on Dwadasi and despatching the relief materials in three Trucks.

4 VETERAN SCHOOL TEACHERS At a similar function organized at Srinivasa Ramanujan HONOURED ON TEACHERS’ DAY Centre, SASTRA, Kumbakonam ten other teachers were honoured. They received a Silver cup and a shawl each from Dr. V. Ramaswamy, Dean, SRC. Messrs R. Srinivasan, T.S.Swaminathan, R.Muthaiyan, R.Ramarathinam, T.Sivasubramanian, R.Soundarajan, R. Pichumani, K. Venkataraman, S. Rajam and M. Chellammal were the teachers honoured.

VISIT TO TOKAI UNIVERSITY, JAPAN

Dr. K.S. Rajan, Associate Dean (Research), School of Chemical & Biotechnology visited Micro and Nano Technology Centre (MNTC), Tokai University, Japan between July 30 to August 5, 2018 for delivering SASTRA honoured Eight Retired School Teachers who an invited talk and for discussions on collaborative have attained the age of Seventy Five at the Teachers’ research between the two universities. Prof. Rajan’s Day Celebration on September 5, 2018. Dr.S. talk titled, “Microdevices: Ocean of Opportunities for Swaminathan, Dean of Sponsored Research, SASTRA Inter-disciplinary Research” was received well by the honored each teacher with a shawl and a Silver bowl audience. As a part of collaboration, 11 students from worth Rs.10,000/-. Tokai University visited the Centre for Nanotechnology Messrs. A. Venkatraman (93), , & Advanced Biomaterials (CeNTAB), SASTRA during P.S.Pakkirisamy (82), Pudukkottai, S.Ramanathan August 7 – 11, 2018 and made presentations. (81), Thiruppalli Mokkudal, N.Kamala (80), Chennai, V.Seetharaman (80), Tiruvanaikovil, A.Thirugnanam (79), Mahadhavapattinam, V.S.N.Ramaswamy (76) Srirangam, and N.Krishnaswamy (75), Tiruvanaikovil were the veterans felicitated on the day. Dr.G. Bhalachandran, Registrar of the University in his presidential address said that a teacher should be a role model and inspiration to the students. Dr.N.Seshadri, Professor and Head of the Department of Education in his welcome address said that educational institutions should not be mere knowledge shops but curiosity shops of innovation and creativity.

5 PLACEMENTS

A record 1,400 students of SASTRA were recruited The admission policy to reserve 20% seats to Trichy by four top software services companies in a 10- & students has also ensured that over 260 day recruitment mela at SASTRA campus that local students secured jobs in reputed companies. This concluded on September 12, 2018. Software majors includes S. Anushree, an ICT student and daughter Cognizant, Infosys, TCS & WIPRO shared the day one of a security staff who landed up with two offers, one recruitment slot with TCS making the highest number each from Infosys & WIPRO. That over 1000 lower & of job offers. In addition to the 400 offers already made middle class families are lifted in their social standing by niche companies like Paypal, Symantec, Cypress, is the biggest service that SASTRA can provide besides Microsoft, Zoho, Freshworks, Rockwell Collins, free education, healthcare facilities & medical surgeries, Tata Communications, Bajaj, TVS Motor and other food and other noble public services. product-company recruiters, the total job offers of over 1800 has clearly put SASTRA’s campus recruitment score on a high compared to last year.

Thank You Recruiters

6 NAMASTE : New Age Mantra for Smart Teacher Education

NAMASTE FOR NEW INDIA – New Age Mantra for Smart Teacher Education is a new initiative by SASTRA, launched with support from M/s Tata Consultancy Services to train school teachers in modern pedagogy. In the third quarter of 2018, seven batches of training were held in which 291 teachers were trained. 47 batches of training have been conducted so far, in which 2017 teachers participated.

SCHOOL OF LAW

III SHRI V CHANDRASEKARAN MEMORIAL title and a cash prize of Rs. 20,000 along with the best TAX MOOT COURT COMPETITION Memorial Award. The runners-up were awarded a cash prize of Rs. 10.000. School of Law, SASTRA organized the Third Edition of Shri V. Chandrasekaran Memorial Tax Moot Court LAURELS IN Competition on September 15, 2018. This competition MOOT COURT COMPETITION was organized in remembrance of Late Chartered Accountant, Shri Visvanathan Chandrasekara. The 5th Justice Murtaza Husain Memorial Moot Court Competition, Lucknow School of Law team comprising Kum. R. Ragha Sudha, Kum. S. Sandhya and Kum. B.S. Vaishnavi, students of 3rd year School of Law emerged winners in 5th Justice Murtaza Husain Memorial Moot Court Competition hosted by Unity Law and Degree College, Lucknow held during September 7 – 9, 2018. They competed in the Finals against UILS, Chandigarh. The Finals of the Competition was judged by the Judges of Allahabad High Court, moot problem was based on contemporary issues in Lucknow bench, taxation. Six teams participated in the competition namely, Hon’ble Justice hailing from three esteemed institutions, namely, Shri D. K. Upadhyay School of Excellence in Law, Tamil Nadu National and Hon’ble Justice Law School and SASTRA Deemed University. The Shri Ranjan Roy. advocacy skills of all the teams was commendable and Thirty two teams from the teams had to compete hard to proceed to the later all over the country stages of the competition. SASTRA faced the team participated. The team from Tamil Nadu National Law School (TNNLS) in was awarded a cash the final round. Shri CA. Anand Athreya, Son of Late prize of Rs.20,000 and Shri V. Chandrasekaran, the chief guest for the event a Trophy. distributed the awards. Team comprising R. Vigneshwar, R. Parthasarathy and Sri Harini from SASTRA won the

7 SASTRA Law School team, comprising Kum. C. B, SCHOOL OF MANAGEMENT Thajashwini, Kum. Prathiksha E and Kum. Aravindini U, students of 3rd Year, School of Law emerged as the LECTURES BY PHOENIX ASSOCIATION winners of the Third National Moot Court Competition, 2018. Symbiosis Law School, Hyderabad organised the competition between 28th & 30th September 2018. SASTRA team prevailed over the team from University of Petroleum & Energy Studies, Dehradun in the Final of the competition. Thirty Law schools from different parts of the country participated, including three National Law Schools. The problem was on Data Protection and Privacy Rights of citizens. The Finals of the Competition was judged by Hon’ble Justice Shri V Ramasubramanian, High Court of Judicature, Hyderabad, Shri Sampath Bulusu, General Manager, Legal Shell Hazira LNG and A lecture on “Culture of Leadership” was organized on Shri Supratim Chakraborthy, Partner Khaitan & Co. July 6, 2018. Shri.Shubha Vilas, Author, Motivational The team was awarded a cash prize of Rs.40, 000, a Speaker and Lifestyle Coach addressed MBA students Trophy, SCC access worth Rs. 22,000 per person for a and focused on leadership management lessons from year and a Fitness Band worth Rs.6000 (each). the great epics Mahabarata and Ramayana. KLF LECTURE A lecture on “Customer Delight” was organized on September 14, 2018. Shri.T.S. Muralidharan, Senior School of Law, organised a Knowledge Leadership Manager (Sales) & Head of Sales, TVS Wheels India Forum Lecture by renowned advocate and Intellectual Pvt Ltd., Chennai spoke on contemporary customer Property Law expert, Shri J Sai Deepak on September focus and relevant generic strategies in today’s business 8, 2017. He spoke on “Global Contours of Intellectual context. Property Law and Indian Response”. Speaking on the emerging Global significance of the study of A lecture on “Managing Risks in Project Management” Intellectual Property Law, he said that the branch of was organized on September 20, 2018. Shri. Dr. study presented a plethora of possibilities owing to its Raghuram Ekambaram, Professor, School of Civil ability to achieve synergy with any other domain of law. Engineering, SASTRA Deemed University lectured He highlighted that proper research before resorting to MBA students on risks involved in public private activism is needed especially as law students. partnership projects and specified the responsibilities and risk sharing models practiced. A lecture on “New ways to approach employees at work” was conducted on September 29, 2018. Shri.Venkatesh

8 Rama Rathinam, CEO, Vurum Technologies, Chennai August 13, 2018. The MoU was signed between the conversed on flexible HR policies that support ICSI and SASTRA in the august presence of Shri employees at every step of the way in the workplace. Ramakrishna Gupta R, Chairman, ICSI-SIRC, Chennai. He spoke on the requirement of the skills, Sahithya Association, School of Management, organized the opportunities available for company secretaries a lecture on the topic “Future Career Prospects” on and also the anticipation of the knowledge towards September 10, 2018. Shri.R.Venkatasubramanian, corporate legalities with the advent of the Companies Associate Member of the Institute of Cost and Works Act 2013. Mrs.Chithra Anantharaman, Secretary ICSI Accounts of India, Trichy addressed the B.Com CA & - SRC spoke on the levels of the CS programme and the BFSI students and explored various professional course process of learning the course. preferences such as Chartered Accountant, Company Secretaryship and Cost and Works accountancy, etc. EXECUTIVE DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME FOR POST MASTERS AND MARKETING EXECUTIVES OF INDIA POSTS School of Management of SASTRA organised a One Day Executive Development Programme on Effective Sales & Marketing Strategies for Post Masters and Marketing Executives of India Posts, on July 27, 2018.

PYTHON WORKSHOP A one-day workshop on Python was organized on 14th July 2018. Be Positive Institute for Skilling conducted About forty- three India Post officials across Tamil the workshop in which 50 students participated. Nadu region participated in the training programme. Shri Ambesh Upmanyu, Post Master General, Central Region-Tamil Nadu, while inaugurating the programme, stressed upon the importance of services rendered by India Post and its challenges in this digital age. He also expressed his happiness over the partnership with School of Management, SASTRA Deemed University for training the Postal officials. INSTITUTE OF COMPANY SECRETARIES OF INDIA (ICSI) CENTRE @ SASTRA ORIENTATION TO SCHOOL PRINCIPALS ON The School of Management inaugurated the 78th ICSI 3D PRINTING & INTERNET OF THINGS Study Centre @ SASTRA Main Campus, Thanjavur with the support of Southern India Regional Council A orientation program was organized for school of the Institute of Company Secretaries of India on principals on 3D Printing & Internet of Things on

9 July 21, 2018. Mr. Sridharan, CEO, TBI, SASTRA Mechatronics and Aerospace Engineering attended. addressed the principals. They were taken for a quick facility tour of FIRST-TBI.

ROBOTICS WORKSHOP A workshop on Robotic Kits was conducted on 23rd September 2018. 84 batches of students participated in BIO 3D PRINTING WORKSHOP this event and developed Robots on their own. FIRST TBI organized a Bio 3D Printing workshop on 18th August 2018. 58 students and 2 staff members participated in the workshop. Solid Works application on Bio-Medical and 3D Printing, DLP & SLA slicing Softwares were the topics discussed.

VISIT BY JAPANESE STUDENTS

TEAM KRIYA(AUGUST 29) An introductory workshop on 3D Printing was organized in 2 Batches for Ph.D. scholars on August 29, 2018.

VISIT OF DR. V. K. SARASWAT

CSWA WORKSHOP (4TH AUGUST – 23RD SEPTEMBER) A six day CSWA workshop was organized from August Prof. ANIL D SAHASRA BUDHE, CHAIRMAN, AICTE AT 4 to September 23, 2018. 84 students from Mechanical, FIRST – TBI

10 Dr. Mahalakshmi M Investigation on Dr. Rathinakumar V Decolorization of Synthetic Effect of Step Geometry and and Industrial Dye Effluent Water Quality on Efficiency Using Adsorption and of Cascade Aeration Electro Coagulation Treatment

Dr. Mahalakshmi M Dr. Subashini N Development of Wavelet Single Phase and Three Based Spectral Methods for Phase Power Factor a Few Non-Linear Reaction Correction (PFC) – Diffusion Problems in Techniques Using Boost Enzyme Kinetics Converter

Dr. Manikandan G Dr. Malathi S A Comparative Analysis on Design and Implementation Approaches for Ensuring of High Performance AC- Data Privacy in Data DC Converter Mining

Dr. Balasubramanian R Design of Shunt Hybrid Dr. Muralidharan D Power Filter and Performance Enhanced Implementation of Novel Architectures and Control Schemes for Organizations of Bufferless Harmonic Reduction in a Network on Chip Distribution System

Dr. Chakrapani K Dr. Rajaraman R An Analysis of Test Data Wavelet Solutions for a Few Compression Techniques Nonlinear and Fractional for Various Embedded Reaction-Diffusion Cores Equations

Dr. Augusti Lindiya S Dr. Venkatesh Sivanandam Modeling of SIMO and Performance Evaluation MIMO Converters and of Model Predictive Design of Controllers Controllers for a Cement for their Performance Ball Mill Grinding Process Enhancement

Dr. K. Rajkumar Dr. M. Ifjaz Ahmed A Study on Optimized Image Fusion and Coarse Energy-Aware Scheduling to Fine Level Segmentation & Effective Utilization of Methodologies for Satellite Bandwidth in Distributed Images. System

Dr. P. Jaishankar Dr. N. Raju Mechanical – Micro Dysfluency Speech Analysis Structure Analysis of Nano and Synthesis using Silica in High Performance Embedded Approach Concrete

Dr. Durga Karthik Dr. Gowdhaman D Profiling Sunflower oil Strain Improvement of and Water for Quality Bacillus Aerophilus KGJ2 Assurance Using for Enhanced Production Multivariate Chemometric Analysis

11 Dr. Ganesh M Dr. R.Nithya Dr. R. Rajesh Kinematic Analysis and Computer-Aided Diagnosis Implementation of On-line Development of a 3-RPRS System for Mammogram On-load FRA Approach 6-DOF Parallel Manipulator Analysis for Fault Diagnosis of as a Shake Table. Transformers

Dr. Uma D Dr. Raja M Dr. S. Ranjeeth Kumar Analysis and Mitigation of Solution to Graph Coloring A Generic Sinkhole Attack Source Side Harmonics and Problem and its Application Detection System for Interharmonics of Variable Using Approximation and Wireless Sensor Networks Frequency Induction Motor Evolutionary Methods Drive

Dr. Vivek S S Dr. Ashok Kumar T Dr. Venkatesh V Strength and Durability Exergy Analysis of Three Precision-Centric Context- Characteristics of Self Diverse Thermal Systems Awareness Framework for Compacting Concrete Smart Environment (SCC) with Admixtures

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION A spectacular lecture cum demonstration SPECIAL LECTURES by Kalaimamani Prof. N. Rajendran, Vice Chancellor, Alagappa Dr. M. Narmadha, University, Karaikudi spoke on the topic “History of Renowned Violin Education: Past and Present, on July 21, 2018. Artist of AIR, Chennai on “Classical and Hindustani Music in Violin” was organized on August 11, 2018. Shri. B. Saravanan, Programme Executive, All India Radio, Coimbatore spoke on Environmental Education on September 4, 2018. SCHOOL INTERNSHIP “The students of Education should listen to All The 5th Semester B.Sc.B.Ed. / B.A. B.Ed. students India Radio News Bulletins and improve listening, went on a two-day School Internship at Blossom Public remembering and speaking skills. They can update School and Thamarai International School, Thanjavur their knowledge and improve their vocabulary, said on August 23 & 24, 2018. This internship was part Shri V. Palanichamy, Director News, All India Radio, of the practical component of the Course ‘Teaching Chennai while delivering special lecture on Holistic of English’ (Simulation and Practice), which they are Development of youth at SASTRA, on August 4, 2018.

12 undergoing in the current semester. GRAMA SEVA BY STUDENTS OF EDUCATION The students of B.A/B.Sc., B.Ed. visited the Government High School, Chellappanpettai and participated in various Grama Seva activities like, tradition and in the larger context of European cleanliness campaign, Science awareness and organized perennial philosophy. Speaking on the topic “How can a health camp on communicable and degenerative we capitalize on Constructivism,” he examined the diseases from August 29 – 31, 2018. concept of intelligence with, ‘Plato’s Nous’, ‘Aristotelian Creative Intellect’, ‘Cartesian Cogito’ and ‘Kantian Reason’. Dr. R. Babu Sivaraja Kirubanithi, Formerly, Professor of English, Adithanar College of Arts & Science, Tiruchendur argued that finer values, noble ideas and human passions can be taught only by literature. Dr. R. Ramapriya, Head, Department of English, Kunthavai Naacchiyaar Govt. Arts College, Thanjavur spoke on FIELD TRIP ‘Constructivist Approach to Teaching of ELT.’ First & Second Year B.Sc.B.Ed & B.A.B.Ed Dr. G. Venkatraman, Dr. E. Koperundevi and Dr. students went on a field A. Varghese Joseph of Dept. of English, SASTRA visit to 25.08.2018, to also handled sessions. Smt. G. Sashikala conducted a Brihadeeswarar temple, literary quiz programme for the participants. Dr. S. Saraswathi Mahal Library Mathumathy coordinated the programme. and Palace Museum as part Over 40 faculty members and research scholars from of the curriculum on August various universities and colleges from Tamil Nadu and 25, 2018. Kerala attended the programme. FDP ON CONSTRUCTIVIST APPROACH TO SKILL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME FOR TEACHING OF ENGLISH CONSTRUCTION WORKERS

A two-day Faculty Development programme on A one-day Skill Development Program for construction ‘Constructivist Approach to Teaching of English workers was held in September at the School of Civil Language and Literature,’ was organized by the Department of English on September, 28 & 29, 2018. Prof. G. Bhalachandran, Registrar, SASTRA while delivering the inaugural address, stressed on the importance of continuous learning for teachers. Dr. Noel Joseph Irudayaraj, Former Professor of English, Bharathidasan University, Trichy, discussed Jean Piaget in relation to the Franco-German rationalist/aprioristic

13 Engineering. This program was jointly conducted by on “Modelling proton hopping in water clusters: the UltraTech Cement and Indian Concrete Institute (ICI), Zundel cations,” at the School of Biotechnology on wherein the participants got the opportunity to engage July 19, 2018. In his inspirational talk to the UG, PG in discussions on the properties, uses and applications and faculty of Bioinformatics, Prof. Gautam explored of raw materials used in concrete. Keynote speeches his lab’s recent work on proton hopping in chemistry were delivered by Mr. C. Venkatesh, Manager of and highlighted the role of serendipity in research. Ultra Tech Cement, Engineer Mr. Hariharan and Dr. DEPARTMENT OF TRAINING AND Saravana Raja Mohan, Associate Dean of the School PLACEMENT of Civil Engineering. Construction workers from Alangudi, Nanjikottai, Ammapettai, Thirukanurpatti VOICE OF BT and Thanjavur participated in the program. TALENTS OF TOMORROW WORKSHOP Voice of BT, a region-wise oratorical contest to share the latest trends in Bio-technology was organised by Novozymes on 26th July at SASTRA campus. About 25 students from different colleges of South India contested in the competition organised for southern region. 2 top contestants were selected to take part in

the next level contest. Top management people from Mr. M. P. Salaimanimagudam, a first year M.Tech Novozymes visited SASTRA University for conducting student of Structural Engineering at the School the event. of Civil Engineering, was a proud presenter at the FREE WEEKEND UPSC COACHING CLASSES “Talents of Tomorrow” workshop conducted by Autodesk University on September 10, 2018 at New The entrance test for free weekend UPSC coaching was Delhi. Autodesk University is a program developed by conducted on 10th August, 2018. Around 350 students the globally reputed firm Autodesk, which conducts wrote the entrance test and 100 students were selected conferences and workshops to bring together students, for the regular weekend classes. Weekend UPSC classes professionals and industry experts to discuss, share and are being conducted on weekends with students of learn about innovative technologies shaping the future SASTRA and other institutions from Thanjavur and of design and manufacturing. Kumbakonam. Also, UPSC study circles are formed LECTURE ON MODELLING PROTON and twice a week the circles are meeting and presenting HOPPING IN WATER CLUSTERS the prepared materials. Prof. Gautam Pennathur, Professor, Centre for Biotechnology, Anna University delivered a lecture

14 TVS – TYRE PROGRAMME students on the higher education opportunities at New Zealand. They also visited our research facilities and Trained Youth Ready for Employment (TYRE) had a collaborative discussion with Dr. John Bosco programme is being sponsored by TVS and organised in Balaguru. association with SASTRA, where engineering graduates from 2016, 2017 and 2018 batches of Tyre 2 and Tyre A discussion on “Semester Abroad Programme” was 3 cities are trained for employment opportunity. There organised on 28th September 2018, 3rd Year and was a screening test on 23rd September 2018 for the final year students & faculty attended the programme. successful 3rd batch, to select 30 students and train Ms.Wilma Paul, Regional Manager (South Asia) and them. The training will start on 17th October 2018, on Vijayadasami day, which is planned to be conducted for 6 months with a monthly stipend of Rs. 1500. FDP BY TCS A Faculty Development Programme was organised by SASTRA in collaboration with TCS on 22nd September 2018 for the faculty of School of Computing. Dr. Vijayarangan of TCS spoke on the “Industrial applications of Data Analytics”.

Mr. Manikandan from Plymouth University office briefed the the schemes to the students. Students from School of Computing and students interested in SAP attended the programme. STUDENTS WORKSHOP Two workshops were conducted for the students of School of EEE and Computing on 26th September. Mr. Karthikeyan Vaiapury, Mr. Vivekanandan of TCS conducted the workshops. PROGRAMME FOR SAP STUDENTS Prof. Ramesh Rayudu from Victoria University, New Zealand interacted with the students of SASTRA on 28th August 2018. Mr. John Cockburn and Mr. Solaimalai from Placement Consultancy updated the

15 SWACHH BHARAT SUMMER INTERNSHIP 2018

As per the instructions of MHRD, New Delhi, the Swachh Bharat Summer Internship 2018 was undertaken by a student team comprising seven volunteers, between 28th May 2018 to 8th June 2018 at Monnaiyampatti and Kuruvadipatti Villages. They served these villages, spreading the Swachh Bharat message. The report has been submitted to Higher Education Department of Tamil Nadu State and MHRD with recommendations for Awards and Prizes announced by the Central Government, Ministry of Human Resources Department.

KS UPAHAAR ACTIVITIES

The team KS UPAHAAR as a part of the regular yearly outreach activity visited Sathya Ammaiyar Children Home in Thanjavur on August 4, 2018 and served food and stationary materials to the inmates. The team KS Upahaar visited Shri Shanmugananda Ashram, Kottaiyur, Kumbakonam on August 4, 2018. The volunteers distributed gifts and stationery things to the 80 children of the Ashram.

The team of KS Upahaar has organised the programme for fund raising and various event for students on 21st September 2018 at SASTRA. Rs. 9000 collected in the event will be utilized for the welfare activities of Upahaar. The team of 10 boys from KS Upahaar visited the TRUWDES Old Age home located at Valavanthankottai, Near Thuvakkudy, Trichy and rendered service service on 30th September 2018.

16 SASTRA Community OutREach (SCORE)ACTIVITIES

ACTIVITIES AT VALLAMPUDUR VILLAGE A public rally was undertaken jointly by SCORE, NCC and NSS Teams of SASTRA at Vallampudur village. This was done to attract crowd for the Nukkad like the Sagar Mala Project, the pressing need for Natak Program arranged that was held subsequently. cleanliness and the construction of toilets. There was an The rally was a success with huge number of onlookers enormous turn out of villagers and the village children. accompanying the group till its last point of the march. The team had also decided to make few wall paintings The volunteers also did a door to door campaign to to leave behind as a memory and as a constant reminder sensitize the public of the village about the disadvantages of the Swachh Bharath Abhiyan with the support of of open defecation. NCC and NSS volunteers. ORIENTATION PROGRAMME The Outreach Communities at SASTRA which include SCORE, ED-Cell, KS Upahaar, ExNoRa and Plasma, collectively held its orientation program for the first year engineering, students on August 14, 2018. Dr. V. Badrinath and Shri R. Anantharaman spoke to the volunteers on the focus of these activities. SPECIAL LECTURE The Team of SCORE volunteers organised a Special Lecture for Environmental Awareness on September 29, 2018. Dr. A. Sathya, Senior Asst. Professor, School A NukkadNatak was organized by the team by bringing of Bio-Informatics SASTRA spoke on “In Tune with in students from the SASTRA Tamizh Sangam. The Nature”. artists demonstrated a street play about the Prime Minister Shri. Narendra Modi’s Swachh Bharath Abhiyan and also created awareness on sensitive issues

17 SCORE ACTIVITIES @ SRC Trends in IT Industry.” The members of the staff and the students of the department participated. SCORE Team @ SRC, participated in “Kargil Warriors Memorial Day” rally organized by Major (Retd).K. Shri..M.Raja, Manager - Safety, Godrej and Boyce Ganesan – President, Ex-servicemen Welfare Association Mfg.Co.Ltd. inaugurated the ELPOWER association Kumbakonam on Thursday, 26th July 2018. SCORE on August 30, 2018. Shri.Raja who spoke on Electrical coordinators Dr. R.Venkatesan, Mr. K.Rajesh and 25 Safety explained the various types of electrical accidents volunteers participated in the rally. The team also and their causes. Dr. T. Venugopal, Dean (A&H), Director (Research)

attended “Philately” exhibition organized by Dept. of of SCSVMV (Deemed University), Kanchipuram, Posts, Govt. of India on August 10, 2018 inaugurated the activities of MATH FORUM with a lecture on Mathematics made easy through software SCORE organized a two day Vision Screening camp on September 3, 2018. Over 118 final year B.Sc., from 28-29 September,2018. The Vision screening Mathematics and Computer Science students and team was led by Ms.Ramya Visiting Faculty, SASTRA 100 Post graduate mathematics students attended the Deemed University, Thanjavur & Lecturer, Elite Programme. School of Optometry, Chennai. A team of 30 students (B.Optometry) from main campus and 45 SCORE Ms. R. Jayalakhsmi, AGM (HR & (A), BSNL, volunteers/SRC (Vision Ambassadors & Crowd Kumbakonam inaugurated the activities of Elcom Control) participated in the camp and screened 2301 Dias on August 18, 2018, spoke on BSNL students from all courses (Engineering, Arts & PG ) Telecommunications and Switching for Broadband. for vision related problems. SCORE Coordinators: Shri.Baskaran, GGM, Southern Railway delivered Dr. R.Venkatesan, Dr. B.Sumathisri, Dr. N.R. Vembu, a lecture on Railway Signals Communication on Mr. T. Nirmalraj, Mr. K. Rajesh and Mrs G. Usha November 10,2018. supervised the camp. WORKSHOP ON IOT STUDENT ASSOCIATIONS AT SRC The activities of the ExACT, S-FOSS and CSI,

A workshop on IOT using RASPERRY PI through the concept of IOT was conducted by Shri Mathivanan associations were inaugurated on August 11, 2018 Balakrishnan, IoT Trainer/Developer @ UX Business by Mr. Shanmuga Babu, M.Tech, Senior Consultant, Solutions Pvt Ltd-Chennai from September 6-8, 2018. TCS, Chennai. He delivered a Special Talk on “Recent 150 students attended the workshop.

18 WORKSHOP ON EMBOSS PAINTING Balasubramanian and Shri R. Manikandan. The Department of Commerce & Management Studies conducted a one-day Skill Development workshop on Emboss Painting on September 22, 2018. Dr. Uppili Srinivasan and Dr.S. Brindha from SASTRA, Thanjavur served as resource persons. Around 70 students derived benefits out of the workshop. RESEARCH SCIENCE INITIATIVE PROGRAMME

SASTRA, IIT Madras and PSBB group of schools, Chennai, jointly conducted a programme in research science initiative at IIT Chennai (RSIC) from April 26 to June 8, 2018. As a part of the programme, RSIC students visited SASTRA and participated in various INDEPENDENCE DAY activities like lab visit, visit to Ramanujan Museum Independence Day was celebrated at SASTRA campus (SASTRA Campus, Kumbakonam), lectures on on August 15, 2018. Prof. G. Bhalachandran, Registrar, various topics by experts, 3D Printing, and a cultural SASTRA hoisted the national flag and addressed the programme at Thanjavur palace, from May 3 to May gathering. The cadets of NCC girls wing conducted a 6, 2018. This programme was mainly to impress the parade on the occasion. young students (11th standard) and impart the essential concepts of science and engineering subjects. Dr.R. Srikanth of SH&S coordinated the event. NSS DAY CELEBRATION NSS Day was celebrated at Shanmugha Polytechnic College on September 24, 2018. Dr. A. Vargeese Joseph, NSS Coordinator, SASTRA delivered a lecture on Soft Skills and he also provided an orientation to the NSS volunteers. About 120 NSS volunteers and faculty members attended the meeting. Shri. R.Chandramouli, Principal also spoke. BLOOD DONATION CAMP A blood donation camp was organized on September 25, 2018 in which 40 NSS volunteers donated blood. The arrangements were made by NSS Officers Shri P.

19 IAF BAND PERFORMANCE AND PUBLICITY CAMPAIGN The IAF band conducted a performance at SASTRA on September 4, 2018, as a part of their publicity campaign. Group Captain T. Nataraj spoke on career orientation. The Station Commander Prajwal Singh, Air Station, Thanjavur also addressed the gathering. The first lady Mrs. Singh and Prof. G. Bhalachandran, Registrar, SASTRA were also present. The band led by Sergeant Rodrigue, started the performance with a tribute to all the brave soldiers who laid down their own lives to protect ours. They took everyone into a musical journey through the ages and languages with their splendid performance. The program was coordinated by Lt.Vandana Singh.

A Quarterly Newsletter published by SASTRA DEEMED UNIVERSITY, Thanjavur-613 401, Tamil Nadu. Designing & Printing : Sumukha Agencies, BANGALORE.

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