Dr. G.P.C. NayarChairman, SCMS Group

Vol : 7No : 5August 2011

A Monthly Newsletter of SCMS Group of Educational Institutions, Cochin

Vol : 9No : 9December 2013

A Monthly Newsletter of SCMS Group of Educational Institutions, Cochin

Edited and published by Prof. B. Unnikrishnan for and on behalf of SCMS Group of Educational Institutions, Prathap Nagar,Muttom, Cochin - 683 106 and printed at Maptho Printings, Cochin - 683 104.

www.scmsgroup.org Email: scms@scmsgroup.org

Editorial Advisory Council: Dr. D. Radhakrishnan Nair, Prof. R. Sahadevan Contd. on page 2

A young man in a remote village was in search of a job. One day he saw a timber depot in an area bordering the forest. He went inside, met the depot owner and enquired as to whether he could get a job there. He was willing to do any sort of manual job.

The owner was all the time looking at the strong muscular body of the young man. He was pleased to see the youth's well-built body and enthusiastic temperament. He agreed to hire the young man as a worker and told him to report for duty early next day morning.

The next day, the young man promptly reported for duty. The owner handed over to him a new axe and wanted him to go to the near-by forest and cut trees.

With lot of zeal the young man went to the forest and started cutting trees. By evening he could fell eight huge trees. He returned to the owner and reported it. The owner was immensely happy.

The second day, again the young man went to the forest with the axe and continued his work with full commitment. However, by evening, he could fell only seven trees. The third day, he could fell only six trees. The fourth day, only five trees. And, on the fifth day, while the owner was on routine inspection he could see the young man toiling hard and wiping the sweat on his forehead not even being able to fell the fourth tree.

The owner went near him and enquired as to why his performance was declining day by day. The young man replied, "Sir, I have been working with the same axe and the same zeal for the same time each day. I don't know why my performance is coming down day after day."

"Young man, did you take some time in between to sharpen your axe?" the owner enquired.

"No, sir,” replied the youngster, “I had no time to sharpen the axe. I was always busy cutting the tree.”

To become the best person you can be

The owner looked into the eyes of the young man and said, “Young man, it may not be that important for you to work harder but, it's very much important for you to work sharper.”

In today's world, we often get too busy that we don't take time to sharpen the 'axe.' As a result, although everyone seems to be busier than ever, at

the end of the day, they are less happy than ever.

There is nothing wrong in working hard. But, that doesn't mean that we should get so busy that we fail to get time to relax and reflect, to think, learn and grow. If we don't take time to sharpen the 'axe' on a regular basis, we will soon become redundant, obsolete and ineffective.

That is why people of wisdom say an academic is one who constantly learns and sharpens his skills so as to share newer wisdom with his students. One who does not update is like the young man with a blunt axe.

The world is changing so fast that by the time we learn something, it gets changed in some way or other. We are living in an age of continuous improvement in every facet of human life. In academic or business life, we need to keep on improving to avoid becoming obsolete in our career and relationships.

In the present rapidly changing economy, the key to success is not how much we know, but how fast we can learn. Results will always correspond to our preparation and learning.

Develop a passion for learning. If you do, you will never cease to grow. If you want to become the best person you can, adopt a mindset of lifelong learning.

Innovative value-added Coconut Neera products developed by SCMS Institute for Bioscience and Biotech Research and Development, in association with Coconut Development Board, Government of India, were launched jointly by Mr.T.K.Jose IAS, Chairman, Coconut Development Board, and Dr.G.P.C.Nayar, Chairman, SCMS Group, at a function held at SCMS campus on November 4. The range of value-added products included fresh as well as processed Neera green health drink, Neera honey, Neera sugar, and Neera syrup.

This new development can be termed as a great boon for the 40 lakh

Boon to coconut farmersInnovative Neera products launched

Mr.T.K.Jose IAS (third from left), Chairman, Coconut Development Board, and Dr.G.P.C.Nayar (fourth from left), Chairman, SCMS Group, jointly launching the value-added Coconut Neera products developed by SCMS Institute for Bioscience and Biotech. Others in the picture are: Dr.K.Muraleedharan (extreme left), Director, CDB, Dr.C.Mohankumar (second from left), Director, SIBB, and Dr.Pradeep P.Thevannoor (extreme right), Vice Chairman, SCMS Group.

The water atlas will enable the p a n c h a y a t t o formulate micro level strategies for ensu r ing l ong term sustainability o f i t s w a t e r resources. It will a l s o p r o v i d e b io log ica l and chemical parameters for each of the water sample making it possible to identify problems which may need immediate intervention.

The Mahatma Gandhi University examinations of BTech odd semesters are scheduled from November 8.

SAE INDIA Engineering Online Aptitude Test 2013 was conducted on November 18. Twelve final year Mechanical and Automobile Engineering students attended the test.

Quami Ekta week (National integration week) was inaugurated by Mr. K. K. Gopalakrishnan, Former NSS Programme Officer on November 19. The programme was organised under the auspices of the NSS Unit.

Students taking National Integration pledge.

Mr. Midhun R., Assistant Professor-AU, presented a paper titled 'Effect of Fibre Orientation Angle on Fracture Toughness of Glass Apoxy and Carbon Apoxy Composites' in the Indian Conference on Applied Mechanics, organised by IIT, Chennai, during July 2013.

The following offers were made by various organisations to our students:

1. Unisys Global Services - 3 offers

2. Arabcal Group of Companies, Sharjah - 3 offers (2014 batch) and 4 offers (2013 batch)

3. Mphasis - 1 offer

Academics

Campus activities

Paper presented

Placement News

MTech students examining water samples for preparing water quality atlas.

Seminars and workshops

Indian-German Water Partnership Day

MTech students prepare water quality atlas – first of its kind in the country

The Fi rs t Ind ian-German Water Partnership Day was held in Bangalore under the title 'German Solutions to Indian Challenges,' on October 22. It was organised jointly by Indo- German Chamber of Commerce and German Consulate General, Bangalore. The purpose of the event was to foster contacts and cooperation between the German and Indian water sectors and to make the outstanding German engineering know-how in water sector easily available for India to face problems like climate change, population growth, degradation of quality and quantity of water resources, and the like.

Dr. Sunny George, Head of the Centre for Sustainable Water Technology and Management at SSET was invited as a panelist for the panel discussion on 'Protection of Local Water Bodies - Sustainable Solution for Municipal Wastewater Management.’

Indian-German Water Partnership day at Bangalore. Dr.Sunny George (extreme right), Head-Centre for sustainable Water Technology and Management is participating in the panel discussion.

Mr. Sujay K., Assistant Professor-AU, attended a Faculty Development Programme on 'Automotive Technologies and Mobility' at PSG College of Technology, Coimbatore, from November 3 to 16.

Mr. Rakesh A., NSS Programme Officer attended one-week Programme Officers’ Training conducted by National Service Scheme Training & Orientation Centre, Kalamassery, from November 19.

Ms.Saira Joseph, Assistant Professor-ECE, was the judge for the 'Inter School Science Symposium on Indian Space Mission - At a glance,' conducted by Crescent Public School, Chalakudy, on November 23.

As a community service, MTech Environment Engineering students are engaged in preparing a water quality atlas of Koratty grama panchayat as a measure to overcome its drinking water problem. The project carried out with the aid of GPS is the first of its kind for any local body in the country.

Contd. from page 1

coconut farmers in Kerala who are facing a major financial crisis. Out of the around 1800 lakh coconut trees being cultivated in the state only 5 lakh trees are now being tapped for toddy. It has been estimated that by tapping just 1 lakh trees for Neera, it can bring about an additional income of approximately Rs.5400 crore.

The new multidimensional Neera project has several advantages. The production of Neera is done after sterilising the spathes and following a very hygeinic practice by specially trained technicians. This Neera can remain fresh without fermentation in the atmospheric temperature for a period of two months.

This Neera health drink is rich in essential aminoacids, vitamin A, vitamin C, essential minerals and so on. The Neera honey is fat-free whereas Neera sugar is diabetic friendly.

Speaking on the occasion, Mr.T.K.Jose informed that the excise rules relating to production and marketing of Neera are expected to be amended shortly by the state government to favour commercialisation of these products. He also said that these new products have the potential

SCMS COCHIN SCHOOL OF BUSINESS stands placed as a top business school of India as per the ranking surveys conducted by various national magazines with the help of leading research agencies. SCMS has been judged as the No.1b.school in Kerala and one among the top 45 business schools in India. In regional rating SCMS is one among the best 10 b.schools in the South.

Established in 1992 SCMS is the first business school in the private sector in Kerala and ranked the best in quality all through these years. SCMS is also the only business school which has received accreditation from National Board of Accreditation (NBA) as early as in 1998. In the year 2012 it received International Accreditation from ACBSP of USA.

SCMS is one among the five b.schools in the country which has this dual quality recognition.

SCMS Business School wins National Recognition

The prime resource of our nation is our young generation. They form the key agents of social change and driving force for economic development. Harnessing this potential resource is the purpose of education.

Academic programmes at SCMS are quite different from that of others because they are designed to provide the students with opportunities for leveraging their knowledge to address the challenges in the community around.

PARIVARTHANA is one among the several progrmmes initiated by SCMS for the benefit of the community. It is a very unique and creative communication exercise of the PGDM, MBA and MCA students of SCMS addressing the school students in and around Ernakulam with an objective to create awareness on current socially relevant issues and to bring about a positive change in them. It is the social initiative of these students to empower the school students to face the social challenges in modern society by learning civic behaviours. The uniqueness of the entire programme is its informal approach opposed to the usual format of experts preaching lessons.

This year's PARIVARTHANA campaign is aimed at making children understand that the police are our friends while prompting the youngsters to abide by the law and to respect the police. The hour-long programme includes a skit, game sessions and a song and dance sequence, all carrying a strong message highlighting the importance of police in protecting our life, our family and our freedom.

Experts from the police department and other law enforcing authorities too have an important role in the event as they have reviewed and approved the content of the programme with regard to its accuracy and clarity of information provided. This year's programme which is still continuing has so far covered nearly 20,000 students so far.

PARIVARTHANA 2013 – stimulating a social change

TalksMs.Cleo Paskal, Associate Professor at Chatham House, London, and Adjunct Professor at Manipal University and SCMS Cochin School of Business, spoke to the students on the topic 'The Economic Effects of Environmental Changes' on October 30.

Mr.Murali Gopal, Divisional Head (Materials), Apollo Tyres, Cochin, and

Homecoming

Paper published

PGDM students win two overall championships

Mr.Sidhardh Vijay of PGDM 8th batch and presently working with AGS Transact Technologies Ltd. at Hyderabad, interacted with the students on November 13.

A paper titled 'Microfinance – Changing Scene in India' by Prof. Suresh Mallya was published in the journal, Contemporary Commerce Review ISSN: 2319 – 3638 Vol.2, No.1, September 2013 issue.

PGDM students of SCMS Cochin School of Business have won the overall championshp trophy in the South Indian management fest organised by Karunya University, Coimbatore, on October 23 and 24. Gayatri Nair won first prize in Best Manager event. Jaygeeta Putatunda, Manjusha Muraleedharan and Sharon Thankam James secured second prize in HR Game. In Finance Game Praveen Prakash and Thushara Prem Rajan secured third position. John D.Thoppil and Atul Bundela were the winners in Business Quiz and Operations Game with third prize.

The second overall championship win was at the national level management fest organised by Saintgits Institute of Management, Kottayam, on November 5 and 6. Chithra Mary Eapen was the winner in Best Manager event. Arun Menon and Akhil P.Kumar bagged first prize in Marketing Game. Praveen P. and Vishnu K.V. came first in Finance Game.

Ms. Cleo Paskal

Mr. Murali Gopal

Mr. Ajith Kumar

Mr.Sidhardh Vijay

Divya Sreekumar

Mr. A. V. Jose

Science Congress award to Divya SreekumarDivya Sreekumar, a research fellow at SIBB, received the best

rdpaper award in the 23 State Swadeshi Science Congress organised by MG University at Kottayam from November 6 to 8. The research was related to 'Hemigraphis plant in molecular biology' and the award was in the life science category of the Congress.

Paper published

Conference attended

Chief guest

Management fest winners

Mr.Ajith Sundaram, Assistant Professor, published an article titled 'Transforming Collaborative Working in Educational Institutions with Groupware Technologies'

in International Journal of Engineering Research & Technology Vol. 2 Issue 10, October – 2013.

Dr. Poornima Narayanan R., Associate Professor, attended the national conference on 'e-governance: the economic impact on common man in rural areas' at Amrita School of Arts and Sciences, Cochin, on October 30 and 31.

Mr. A. V. Jose, Associate Professor, was the Chief Guest for inauguration of Commerce Association of Nirmala College ,Muvattupuzha, on October 4.

MBA students participated in the management fest conducted by St Joseph's College of Engineering and Technology, Palai, on October 31 and November 1. The team consisting of Anoop M.S., Arun Kartha, Nidhin N.S. and Litty Lazar emerged winners in Finance Game. The team comprising Shreejith Vijayan, Christina T.V., Athira G. and Akash Jayan came second in Marketing Game while another team with Ardra P., Sherin Scaria, Ashna Serah and Midhu Mohan came second in HR Game. Vikas Babu, Aquin Joseph and Nikhil Reji came second in Treasure Hunt.

MBA students participated in another National Level Management fest organised by Saintgits Institute of Management, Kottayam, on November 5 and 6. The team comprising Nithya Gopi, Ardra P. and Sherin Scaria won First prize in HR Game. The Second prize in Marketing Game was bagged by Christina T.V., Shreejith Vijayan and Joy Peter while a two- member team of Nidhin N.S. and Anoop M.S. won Second prize in Finance Game. (The winners are seen along with PGDM students in the photo given in the first column, bottom.)

MBA students who won trophies at the management fest conducted by St.Joseph's College of Engineering and Technology, Palai.

SCMS students performing the programme at Najath Public School, South Kalamassery. The person in police uniform on the stage is a performer.

to significantly improve the revenue of the state and the income levels of coconut farms. If the government permits 10 percent of the coconut trees in the state to be tapped for Neera, more than one lakh technicians will secure employment in the state, he added.

Dr.G.P.C. Nayar stated that the association with Coconut Development Board has greatly helped SCMS to undertake these important research projects which are beneficial to the society. A joint certification programme with Coconut Development Board for training Neera technicians will be rolled out by SCMS shortly, said Dr.Pradeep P.Thevannoor, Vice Chairman, SCMS Group. He also announced that the first Neera processing plant in the state would soon be established in SCMS.

Dr.C.Mohankumar, Director, SIBB and head of the research team at SCMS and Dr.K.Muraleedharan, Director, Coconut Development Board, also participated in the launching ceremony. Mr.Shaji, the specially trained Neera technician, explained the tapping process.

PGDM students with the overall championship trophy in South Indian management fest held at Karunya University, Coimbatore.

PGDM students who won the overall championship at the management fest conducted by Saintgits Institute of Management, Kottayam, are seen along with MBA students who also won trophies in the same fest.

Marketing Grid 2013

Mr.Shabeer Hameed (front row-centre), Chief Guest, watching the presentation made by the students at the Marketing Grid. Prof. R.T.R.Varma, HoD-Marketing, is sitting beside him.

The first edition of Marketing Grid for the academic year 2013-14 was held on November 23. Mr.Shabeer Hameed, Alumni (PGDM batch 17), Al Mansoura,

Doha, Qatar, was the chief guest. He spoke to the students on the most important qualities to be developed to become a successful professional manager. Prof.R.T.R.Varma, HoD-Marketing, also addressed the audience.

chairman of Indian Institute of Materials Managemnet, Cochin chapter, interacted with the students on the topic 'Supply Chain Management,' on November 6.

Mr.Ajith Kumar, Assistant General Manager (Service Quality), Federal Bank, spoke to the students on

Technology and Changing Customer Expectations, on November 20.