The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Coimbatore News : Back to class during the holidays

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, May 27, 2004

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Coimbatore

Back to class during the holidays

FOR 100 rural students from Government schools in Coimbatore and the Nilgiris districts, it was a monthlong memorable, all-expenses-paid opportunity to learn more about science through practical work in the laboratory.

With their Class IX exams behind them, the students were now interested in learning more, and were eager to ask questions and learn from teachers and guest speakers.

All of them were participants in the `Young Student Scientists Programme - May 2004', sponsored by the Tamil Nadu State Council for Science and Technology at Chennai, and the Ministry of Human Resource Development of the Government of India, at the Avinashilingam University.

A spokesperson of the university said that this was the 7th year that the University was conducting the programme for various batches of students.

The students made use of their vacation time to go beyond their textbooks and delve into frontline areas of science, including biotechnology, biochemistry, botany, zoology, chemistry, physics, mathematics and computer science.

During their self-introduction at the start of the programme on May 1, the youngsters said that the one-month course last year had helped them do well in their school examinations.

The accent was on practical work in the laboratory during the evenings, to supplement the theoretical knowledge gained in the morning classes.

At the conclusion of the programme on May 31, the students will receive course completion certificates and books on science subjects. To keep interest alive throughout the month, the organisers planned tests and competitions, with prizes for the toppers.

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THE G. R. DAMODARAN College of Science and the Aravind Eye Hospital have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to develop research projects in medical microbiology, and jointly submit project proposals to funding agencies in specific areas of research.

Under the three year MoU, which could be extended further, the college would jointly organise faculty development programmes with the hospital, to meet specific needs and use the resources of both organisations for mutual benefit. If the research work resulted in a product or technology, it would be jointly patented between the two groups. Any commercialisation would take place only with the concurrence of the eight-member advisory committee that would monitor all activities.

The chief medical officer of the hospital, V. Narendran, also the chairman of the committee, and the correspondent of the Dr. G. R. Damodaran College of Science, D. Padmanaban, signed the document.

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(By A. A. Michael Raj)

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