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1st August 2014
On the very first day of the Foundation Program, Ms. Jasbirkaur Thadani and
Rahul Pardasani were invited to interact with the new batch in the forenoon.
Afternoon sessions were occupied with Paper Toys Workshop.
Ms. Jasbirkaur Thadani (Student Counsellor, IIT Gn)
Foundation Program at Institute of Infrastructure Technology Research And
Management began with the Counselling session by Jasbirkaur Thadani Student
Counsellor from IIT Gandhinagar. She began the session with refreshing and
enlightening activities. She asked the students to come out of the framed psyche
and also through self-learning exercise cum experiments gave them the idea of not
tagging the other in their surroundings. She had two sessions with the students
another on the last day of the Foundation Program which resulted into a wonderful
experience for the young students to learn about their own psychology and
behavior. The students learnt the things with enthusiasm and enjoyed the new way
of thinking.
Rahul Pardasani, a photographer, documentary film maker, media consultant
and social activist visited IITRAM and delivered lecture on 1st day of foundation
program on Media, Social Consciousness and Social Change. He explained how a
single picture or short film can transform a very strong message to the society.
Media has great impact on our life. A single story can bring huge change. He
explained that we must not be just educated but we should be a real human. When
one of us changes our behaviour, this has a ripple effect in our community,
encouraging others to do the same. In this way, we all have the power to build an
active civic society. It starts with the simple acts of standing up and doing the right
thing. In this informative era he gives one formula, “Create Good, Connect With
good and Share Good”."
Paper Toys Workshop made a fabulous recreational rejuvenation of students’
creativity. At the onset of the Foundation Program this workshop was organized by
a State awardee, Ms. Nilu Patel who is associated with an NGO. Her skillfulness
startled the students and inspired to use their creativity with eco-friendly approach.
Simple old newspapers got different shapes of useful articles to use in day to day
life like tea-coasters, night lamps, baskets, fruit containers, candle stands, table-
mats etc. The artful craft was embraced with great zest by the students as well as
faculties.
2nd August 2014
On the second day IITRAM had arranged Paper toys workshop, Diagonistic Test
for Physics and English along with the Theatre Workshop.
Vikram Academy of Performing Arts – Workshop on Theatre and Classical
Dance
A group of enthusiasts - a famous actor cum teacher, Dr. Vikram Panchal, Prof.
Rekha Mukherjee and Shaunak Vyas with their team – shook the students with
beats of music for different folk dances of Gujarat including Garba, Daangi, Raas
and theatrical activities like skit and mime. The 5 days’ workshop consisted of
great efforts from both the trainers and trainees alike.
Non-Gujarati students learned to match their steps for Garba, Daangi and Raas
forms of Gujarati folk dances. All the students were divided into three groups and
were trained with the tune of music. The trainers gave a basic knowledge about the
different dance styles and the areas they have originated in. The entire team put
their maximum energy and skills into teaching the dance steps.
The theatrical activities with utmost enthusiasm were done by the same group of
actors and dancers of Vikram Academy of Performing Arts. They taught the
students how one can increase the confidence level, voice clarity, stamina, eye-
contact, body language etc. through stage activities. The skit – 10 minute drama
with dialogues and Mime – the dialogue-less 5 minute act with facial and bodily
expressions were taught. Different groups all together worked hard to learn acting
and delivering dialogues. The trainers prepared students for different theatrical
activities – skit, mime in particular – with variety of themes. Patriotism,
corruption, independence and women empowerment were the basic motto of their
teaching acting.
On the last day of the workshop, the students were fully charged with confidence,
self-awareness and many skills. They were satisfactorily delighted with the
practice they gained through the team of Vikram Academy of Performing Arts.
4th August 2014
On the third day of the Foundation Program IITRAM had esteemed guest Dr.
Anandsen Gupta IIT Gn, Movie by Movie Club IITRAM and Cultural Dance
Workshop.
COSMOLOGY By: Prof. Anand Sengupta (IIT Gandhinagar)
We were honored to have Prof. Anand Sengupta with us during foundation
program. He is an esteemed academician at IIT Gandhinagar. His talk was based
on a very interesting topic of Cosmology. For a good part of his talk he educated
students about huge scope of Astrophysics and Cosmology in contemporary
technological world. He informed us that the researchers round the globe are
engaged in the analysis of developing and implementing search algorithms for
detection of astrophysical gravitational waves in data from advanced/future laser
interferometer gravitational wave detectors, general relativity, gravitational-wave
astronomy, and statistical signal processing.
Prof. Anand Sengupta also informed students about the IndIGO (Indian Initiative
in Gravitational-wave Observations) consortium and signatory to IndIGO’s
memorandum of understanding with the international LIGO Scientific
Collaboration (LSC). This educational and energetic talk inspired students and
created their interests for cosmology
Movie Club (IITRAM)
IITRAM runs few interesting clubs and one of them is Movie Club - to relax and
chillax during academic hullabaloo. The motive of this club is to get together and
enjoy watching quality movies. During foundation program, very interesting Will
Smith starring movie The Pursuit of Happiness was shown to the enthusiastic
audience. The Pursuit of Happiness is a 2006 American biographical drama film
based on Chris Gardner's nearly one-year struggle with homelessness. The students
joyfully enjoyed the screening of the movie.
5th August 2014
The fourth day consisted of a session with Vikaram Academy of Performing Arts,
Diagnostic Test in Mathematics, Poster Presentation by senior students and Sports
Activities.
Poster Presentation by Senior Students
Students of Semester III were sent to different academic and industrial places for
internship during their vacation after their second semester. They were assigned
many tasks and duties to get through in their respective places. The response was
overwhelming and encouraging. The senior students prepared Posters with their
inputs and outputs and whatever they experienced during their internships. They
were vocal enough to represent and describe the details to junior students with
utmost care and vigor. Judges were also called from different HR departments of
companies. They declared the best three students and the presentation was ended
up with high tea.
Sports Activities
Under the supervision of IITRAM coach and faculty, new students were made to
take part in different physical and mental exercises. Indoor games like Chess, one
minute games, flour games, ‘choose a right ball’, time trial games such as one-leg
race etc. were played among the students to increase their mental stamina and
sportsman spirit. The outdoor games were not possible due to rainy weather.
6th August, 2014 Wednesday
This day had a knowledge packed forenoon and a cultural-musical dancing practice
in afternoon. Dr. Ketan Kotecha and Dr. Aragam Prasanna were the key resource
persons to address our young minds. A session by Vikram Academy followed
them.
Dr. Ketan Kotecha, Director at Nirma University and the esteemed member of
Academic Council, IITRAM gave an enlightening and thought provoking lecture
on Critical and Creative Thinking. He opened up totally a new vision that one
should not rely on the ready-made, available knowledge from internet but try to
develop a new thinking with questions like why?, what?, when? and how? He cited
many examples from our day to day lives. He made students understand the
importance of creativity and critical thinking instead of spoon feeding from the
Internet.
Prof. A. R. Prasanna, a very renowned theoretical physicist (retired) from
Physical Research Laboratory (PRL), Ahmedabad, visited the institute and
delivered a lecture on ‘universe and cosmology’. He explained how our universe
came into existence, how stars born and their life cycles and also about our
planetary system. He also fascinated students by showing a contribution of Indian
scientists like Dr. Chandrashekhar into astrophysics. He fascinated students and
faculties alike by presenting the original pictures of several stars, galaxies and
constellations taken by different satellites. Students satisfied their curiosity by
asking questions regarding astronomy.
7th August, 2014
The sixth day was consisting many wonderful sessions including Personality
Development Program by Dr. Nita Khurana, a lecture on ‘Ethics in Engineering’
by Dr. R. Sharan followed by a Poetry Workshop by Prof. William Wolak and a
fabulous Musical evening with Dr. Srinivas Reddy.
Personality Development Program by Dr. Nita Khurana (PDPU)
The session began with introducing the speaker to the students, who were present
in large numbers. Dr. Nita Khurana started with greeting the students, and
mentioning that she has a lot of reading material in the form of word documents
and powerpoint presentations of which she would cover only a small part but
would leave us a copy to go through at leisure. She expressed her willingness to
stay in touch with the students over the course of their study at IITRAM and help
with resume critiques, mock interviews etc when needed.
Dr. Khurana asked the students to introduce themselves to her and then gave
constructive feedback on aspects such as body language and tone of voice, to the
students who volunteered. She asked the students to think about what is their
passion and what makes them unique. Next, she spoke at length on various aspects
such as writing a resume, how to behave in an interview, and the need to network,
make contacts and stay in touch. One important message she gave was the need to
keep professional and personal lives separate, especially on social media. She
regaled the audience with anecdotes about her experiences as an interviewer, and
also attempted to do a mock interview with one student who volunteered.
The speaker’s oration had to be cut short due to the arrival of the speakers for the
next session, but Dr. Khurana indicated her willingness to be in touch over phone
and email, since the topic is vast and never ending. The session ended with
thanking the speaker and presenting her with a memento of appreciation.
Dr. R. Sharan on Engineering and Ethics
Dr. R. Sharan is a vast experienced, knowledgeable visiting Professor at IIT
Gandhinagar in Electrical Engineering. His subjects of interest vary from his core-
engineering to ethics, teaching, education and ‘thinking on thinking’.
He talked on what is ethical in education, how to think in positive manner and how
to improve education system with ethical insights. He raised questions on what is
‘good’ and what is ‘bad’ while inserting everything is contextual. It depends on the
perceptions one carries. The examples from the movie Matrix were cited to
understand the perception and its intended meanings.
The session was enormously interactive as students were encouraged to question
and answer on different abstract thoughts. The lecture was full of current examples
and day to day life experiences.
Poetry Workshop by Prof. William Wolak
A renowned Poet and Professor in English Department at Paterson University,
New Jersey, USA – Prof. William Wolak discussed ‘how to write poetry’. He is a
Full-bright fellowship awardee to visit different countries to create awareness
about life through the medium of poetry. His love for Hafez and Rumi with Iran
makes his poetry super enchanting.
The students were taught about the different genres of poetry like epic, ballad,
sonnet and elegy while the main form to learn was ‘Haiku’ – an ancient form of
Japanese poetry! The style, form and structure as well as useful tips on writing
were discussed in details. He instructed students how to use different words as
bricks to build a poem, how to use details of surroundings, how to use images,
metaphors, onomatopoeia, similes and personifications etc. He talked on different
seasons and its impacts on human psyche.
Prof. Wolak seemed to be in love with India and its culture. His vast knowledge
derived from his visits to Japan, China, Nepal, Thailand, Tibet etc. enriched his
talk about different weather, culture and their people.
Finally, Prof. Wolak made all the students write Haiku and other simple poems
wherein the efforts of students were immensely admired. The future engineers
came up with different themes with varieties of images and words. Students’
imagination was at work which made Prof. Wolak surprised with pleasure.
Music by Dr. Srinivas Reddy (IITGN)
The session was shifted to the open-air theatre impromptu, on Dr. Reddy’s
expressing interest in holding it outdoor. This was done after a quick check of the
weather. Dr. Reddy sat on the stage on a sheet of cloth and opened his sitar to play.
The students and faculty attendees followed suit by taking off their footwear and
sitting on the ground.
After Dr. Reddy was briefly introduced, he spoke on the problems plaguing India,
viz. lack of basic amenities such as water and electricity to many. He urged the
students to be thankful for what they have. He lamented about the declining
interest in the country’s traditions, arts and crafts and asked the students to be
aware and respectful of our fine arts such as music and dance, which are steeped in
tradition and have come down to us from the Vedas. Dr. Reddy also talked about
the gurukul tradition and said that student and teacher are equals, and the teacher
is happiest when a student exceeds the teacher in competence.
Dr. Reddy then played a Hindustani raga on the sitar for about 15 to 20 minutes
and everyone was in raptures. When one of the students asked for a raga in
Carnatic music Dr. Reddy hummed a few starting notes and made everyone hum
along with him, while praising the students for doing well in matching the tone of
voice. Dr. Reddy ended the session by wishing the students all the best and he was
thanked with a thunderous applause.
8th August, 2014
The last but not the least day of the Foundation Program had various important
people to get benefitted from. Ms. Jasbir Kaur Thadani again had a session with
the students to conclude her teachings with which they started their journey of
Foundation Program. Prof. Sharma and Mr. Girish Gupta were there to address the
students with their respective topics.
C. S. Sharma, Coordinator, Communication & Life Skills Programme (Student
Affairs Team) from IIT Gandhinagar, Visited the institute and delivered a lecture
on Communication and Personality Development. He interacted with the students
about how to aim their life and what should be their reaction to different situation
faced in their life time. His gave an inspirational talk to the students, so that they
get motivated to be an optimist. He himself was charged with extreme optimism
and vigor to generate the same in the students. Moreover in his talk he included
some great personalities like Charlie Chaplin, Adolf Hitler, Dhirubhai Ambani, and
some others. Students had a great time interacting with him.
Mr. Girish Gupta
A volunteer in Heritage Walk, energetic and enthusiastic gentleman, Mr. Girish
Gupta made a presentation on the history of Ahmedabad and its heritage. From the
beginning of the establishment of Ahmedabad to the recent developments going on
here were covered up in his wonderful presentation. How the saga of bravery seen
by Ahmed Badshaah was illustrated well. The first ever picture of ancient
Ahmedabad, structural and architectural beauty of ‘poles’, different gates of
Ahmedabad and many important sites were shown by him. The importance of
preserving the heritage was also a keen note of his address. Non-Ahmedabadis as
well as Ahmedabadis also got stuck with the rare information about the city and its
valued heritage. He concluded his presentation with the instructions for the next
day’s visit.
9th August, 2014
Heritage Walk
Early in the morning at 7.30 am, the students of IITRAM along with a team
of faculty members were ready to march in the city. The journey began from
IITRAM campus in two different buses and reached at Relief Road at
Swaminarayan Temple to accomplish the journey from ‘Mandir to Madjid’. Mr.
Girish Gupta with two other experienced volunteers cum guides made the students
and faculty aware about the historical significance of the temple and made them
walk through narrow lanes and streets of old ‘poles’ covering the Jama Masjid till
Sidi Saiyed Mosque by walk till 10.30 am. Then the buses took the direction
towards Hathisingh Derasar, ancient Jain Temple, nearby old gate of Delhi
Darwaja.
The next destination of the journey was very well known place – Sabarmati
Ashram - where the father of the Nation, M. K. Gandhi resided. The history was
lived here by the students and the faculty members alike in peaceful environment.
The lunch was arranged there only. After the lunch and historical knowledge, all
were taken to ‘Adalaj ni Vaav’ - Step Well, an architectural ancient beauty with
scientific approach to water harvesting. The students were fascinated by the
location and the ancient engineering. The last spot was Sarkhej Roza, an ancient
Mosque with extraordinary carvings and location. The journey ended with a vote
of thanks to the guides at around 6.00 PM happily and satisfactorily.
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