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Knowledge too undergoes depreciation: former VC

— Photo: S. Siva Saravanan

REWARD: S. Subramanyan (second left), former Vice-Chancellor, Bharathiar University, handing over a degree certificate to a candidate at the graduation ceremony of PSG College of Arts and Science in the city. G. Rangaswamy (left), Managing Trustee, PSG & Sons’ Charities, is in the picture.

COIMBATORE: “Knowledge gained in an institution, which served for a lifetime once, like other assets, also undergoes depreciation in the light of rapid obsolescence,” S. Subramanyan, former Vice-Chancellor, Bharathiar University, said here recently.

Delivering the graduation address at the PSG College of Arts and Science, he said the permanence of value claimed for knowledge asset is no longer true; it appears as though it has limited shelf time, referring to a quote of Peter Drucker.

He cautioned the young graduates that they had to be aware of the knowledge competence they gained when they passed out and that that which would be in existence when they would complete 20 years in their career.

“Several events have been predicted to take place in 2020. These may be called wild cards. Some of them may not be agreeable to us. But, as these events are predicted to take place in the next 20 years, it is of significance to the young graduates,” Mr. Subramanyan said.

Highlighting some of the predictions, he said nuclear power would enjoy a renaissance, Intellectual Property Law would boom, and television would be dead, 2020 losers would be big, insular companies in the United States and Germany and 2020 winners would be small unknowns, unheard of or un-recognised new comers.

Also, computers would be 10,000 times more powerful, software would be dead, drugs would be available for every possible human condition and situation, stock exchange would cease to exist, and the fastest growing professionals would be in computer science, networks, health care and maintenance.

“The above advancements, if they come true, would pose challenges to our knowledge competence. Only colleges can train students to think and create the ability to learn. They can lead the graduates to a career path and also help them acquire good citizenship qualities,” he added.

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