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It is great to be a teacher, particularly in India

July 2, 2009

With 600 teachers from all across India and nearly 100 faculty members (mainly from US), the month-long IUCEE Workshop is an exciting event; in its third year of operation, I always make it a point to be there, thanks to Dr Krishna Vedula of UMass, USA (who coordinates from the US side) and Dr MP Ravindra of Infosys (who coordinates from the Indian side)

While several eminent academic heads talked about the challenges of teaching in India and the pathetic state of some of the educational Institutes, I used the time to talk about the positive side; to remind the teachers assembled to “count the blessings“

I talked of just three things

  1. Widely known ideas about teaching that are well appreciated by the society
  2. Widely known ideas about teaching that are well appreciated by the society elsewhere, but not in India
  3. Not widely known ideas about teaching that are NOT well appreciated by the society

Widely known ideas about teaching that are well appreciated by the society

  • The general respect academics command in India, something that can be touching many times
  • The campus advantage; the fact that students & faculty live together for years leads to several spinoffs; SPICMACAY would not have happened without IIT Delhi campus
  • Freedom to pursue what you like; no need to listen to the managers every day

Widely known ideas about teaching that are well appreciated by the society elsewhere, but not in India

  • Opportunity to teach “Full time students”, who are supported by families all the way up to PhD without having to worry about supporting them or their families; the students can be given lot more challenging work, demanding work; campus life adds to this advantage
  • Students in India viewing Computer Science as Top 3 options for 20 years (unlike countries like USA where Computer Science is NOT in the Top 10 first choices)
  • Ability to see the world, thanks to conferences happening all over the world

Not widely known ideas about teaching that are NOT well appreciated by the society

  • Age advantage; we age every year but every year we get 18+ age group to teach; it keeps us younger!
  • The absence of topline and bottom line!
  • The 4Ls of learning getting transformed within the past 5 years, more so in India; Lectures going to e-learning, Library going digital, Labs going online thanks to tools like iLab and Life getting increasingly digital

IUCEE (Indo US Cooperation in Engineering Education) Workshop at Infosys Leadership Institute, Mysore on July 2, 2009

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Bandra Worli sea-link is a reality

June 30, 2009

After years the marvelous engineering piece called Bandra Worli sea-link is a  reality in India. It was inaugurated by Mrs Sonia Gandhi on 30th June 2009

We have a curse that all major projects get delayed badly; this project is no exception. But we are equally to blame for NOT celebrating the success though delayed. None of the scientific / engineering community would communicate the excitement of such a project to the people at large.

We had a similar show five years back in Bangalore. The KR Puram bridge is a marvelous piece of engineering; no one ever sang a glory for the project. Today it is not even painted (white washed even) or lit!

I do hope we Indians learn to celebrate (just not movies and cricket) but great pieces of engineering too

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CII IQ honors Moon Man, Steel Man and Brakes Man

May 9, 2009

Every year on May 9, 2009, CII Institute of Quality (IQ) honors a couple of individuals who have contributed to the cause of quality.

This year they had selected

  • Dr Madhavan Nair, Chairman, ISRO (Indian Spece Research Organization), whom youngsters call as “Moon Man” after the recent success of Moon Mission – where ISRO successfully put the Indian Flag on the surface of the Moon
  • Mr B Muthuraman, MD of Tata Steel who once again became “Steel Man” after Tata Steel emerged as the largest steel manufacturer in the world by acquiring Corus Steel in 2007
  • Mr S Viji the MD of Brakes India who has pioneered automotive brakes manufacture and known in Chennai as “Brakes Man” and currently devoting considerable time & energy to the cause of School Education by establishing a School in honor of his School Teacher Abraham Kuruvilla in Chennai and making a difference to Corporation Schools by providing quality inputs, training to teachers

Dr Nair talked of Moon’s surface looking quite “ugly” (unlike popular folklore where one compares the beauty of his/her sweetheart to that of the Moon) with 6,000 meter high hills that are just 200 meters wide! He talked of the “cost effective” nature of Indian space missions.

Mr Muthuraman talked of the need to “standarize, improve / innovate” cycle that must happen all the time if one were to achieve the goal of “world’s chapest stell production” (achieved by Tata Steel in 2007). He also talked of the myth that confuses standardization with “innovation killing”. He talked about the quality running across the organization – not limited to Board room alone. He also talks of “MD Online” where every month he himself comes online for the entire organization – where safety, customers, improvement, sales and rewards – are taken up in that order. Mr Muthuraman talked of the current goal of Tata Steel remaining EVA positive

Mr Viji talked of the need to work with teachers and government.

(I am fortunate to be on the Advisory Board of the CII IQ)

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Discovering a new continent (Chapter 6 of “The long revolution”)

April 6, 2009

Chapter 6 “Discovering a new continent” documents the first stage of IT growth in India – “focus on computer hardware”. The notable contribution of the book is the due credit given to the original pioneers and their extreme frustrations – Vinay Bharat Ram meeting SONY CEO Akio Morito, he agreeing to permit DCM to assemble SONY calculators in India and the Indian government refusing to convert their own LOI (Letter of Intent) into a manufacturing license! The DCM Data products story is captured well. The story of HCL starts with the crafty Shiv Nadar who started HCL as a joint sector to capitalize on “Hindustan” and quietly getting out of the “joint” sector; the early successes of HCL are documented well

 

·       HCL Micro computer 8C

·       HCL PC,

·       HCL Singapore operation (HCL Far East)

·       HCL selling Apollo workstations in India, and,

·       and HCL America

 

Interestingly, the unknown hero in HCL’s success – designer Raman – has been given his due credit. The rise of PSI (of Deshpande and Raveendran fame) and their contributions are given due credit. The growth of Wipro and its evolution into many facets of hardware manufacturing are well documented. This decade gave an opportunity for India to see the direct benefits of competition – prices falling by 25-50% in a year and business volume growing year after year at a similar rate.

(My Book Review will be posted over the next 10 days (starting March 28, 2009) – a chapter a day for each of the ten chapters!)

Book Review

Sharma Dinesh, “The Long Revolution”, The birth and growth of India’s IT industry”, Harper Collins (Dec 2008)

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In the state’s shadow (Ch 2 of “the Long Revolution”)

March 30, 2009

In chapter 2 “In the States Shadow”, Sharma narrates the power play enjoyed by three scientists Bhabha (of TIFR), Mahalanobis (of  ISI) and Bhatnagar (of CSIR), thanks to their ‘direct access” to the real power center, namely, Prime Minister Nehru. The author aptly terms them as “science czars” – unelected, unaccountable, yet powerful. Interestingly, such “access” led to significantly large research grants to Department of Atomic Energy, at the cost of Universities and Institutes of higher learning. This chapter documents

 

  • the creation of ECIL (Electronics Corporation of India),
  • extensive use of computers in different wings of the government, namely, atomic energy, defence, planning commission and CSIR Labs,
  • the formation of IPAG (Information Planning and Analysis Group), and,
  • the huge bureaucracy created by Department of Electronics (DoE) that led to average delay of 3-4 years to get any computer imported

 

The decisive roles played by Professor M G K Menon with his strong personal views are very well documented. Though Prime Ministers Lal Bahadur Shastri, Indira Gandhi and Morarji Desai had very different views, the hold of DoE ensured that electronics and IT grew only at the government controlled way.

 

(My Book Review will be posted over the next 10 days starting March 28, 2009 - a chapter a day for each of the ten chapters!)

Book Review

 

Sharma Dinesh, “The Long Revolution”, The birth and growth of India’s IT industry”, Harper Collins (Dec 2008)

 

 

 

 

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India’s First Computers (Ch 1 of “The Long Revolution”)

March 29, 2009

Chapter 1 “India’s first computers” traces the history of analog and digital computers globally, and the Indian success story at the two premier research groups in 50’s and 60’s, namely, the Indian Statistical Institute (ISI) in Calcutta and Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR) in Mumbai. The research groups were led by exemplary scientists Homi Bhabha and PC Mahalanobis. The book vividly brings out the seminal technical contributions that started even before Indian independence; though they were not commercial success stories. The rivalry among the ISI and TIFR to host the National Computer Center, the higher success of the TIFR camp and the contribution of several early pioneers in Indian computing scene are well articulated; it is interesting to note the application focus of early computing – solving scientific problems, particularly relating to atomic energy and economic theory.

(My Book Review will be posted over the next 10 days – a chapter a day for each of the ten chapters!)

Sharma Dinesh, “The Long Revolution”, The birth and growth of India’s IT industry”, Harper Collins (Dec 2008)

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Jai Prakash and Lok Satta Party – hope for better days ahead

March 28, 2009

I am a great admirer of Mr Jai Prakash, a former Physician and Civil Servant (IAS Officer) who has quietly built a new political party Lok Satta with a  clear motto – new politics for a new generation.

Several IIT students have formed a political Party – they did participate in the 2004 Elections. They do not seem that well organized.

With Vote India, Jago Re and several ways in which the younger generation is taking active interest, I do hope Indian Politics will change, and change for the better.

I wish it happens soon  - may be  not in 2009, but hopefully in 2014!

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AR Rahman in Apple web site

March 22, 2009

It is nice to see “our own” AR Rahman featured on the Apple site under the story

Scoring “Slumdog Millionaire” with Logic: An Interview with A. R. Rahman

with a nice picture too

AR Rahman does proud to India indeed

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President Obama’s 4th weekly address

February 14, 2009

I have been watching President Obama’s weekly address evert Saturday.

The new web-site is very attractive – simple, uncluttered and fast. The video delivery is exceptionally good.

I am particularly touched by the very apt choice of words in this weekly  (February 14, 2009) address. So I am quoting extensively

The opening has a nice punch on the Republican differences without being nasty in any way

“I’m pleased to say that after a lively debate full of healthy difference of opinion, we have delivered real and tangible progress for the American people”

The President has a dig at the previous administration once again very subtly when he says

“Now, some fear we won’t be able to effectively implement a plan of this size and scope, and I understand their skepticism. Washington hasn’t set a very good example in recent years”

President Obama has been talking of transparency; he drives home the point well.

“That’s why our goal must be to spend these precious dollars with unprecedented accountability, responsibility, and transparency”

President Obama does a good job of “expectation management” as well.

“This historic step won’t be the end of what we do to turn our economy around, but the beginning”

He had a nice quote from President Kennedy that is very apt for the occassion

“This morning, I’m reminded of words President Kennedy spoke in another time of uncertainty. “Do not pray for easy lives. Pray to be stronger men. Do not pray for tasks equal to your powers. Pray for powers equal to your tasks.”

Finally, he gently gets across the point  that he is new to the job; he is nice to his people as well!

“ After a week spent with the fundamentally decent men and women of this nation, I have never been more certain of that. Thank you”

All in all, it is yet another remarkable weekly address.  Go and view the full video at “whitehouse.gov”

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NASSCOM Innovation Awards announced

February 7, 2009

NASSCOM announced the 8 winners out of the 24 nominations(out of 100 chosen companies) for the year 2008.

Winners_ITInnovators2008.gif

Winners_ITInnovators2008.gif

Interestingly, Intel Dunnington microprocessor designed mostly in Bangalore is one of them; this was the first time that a complete high-end microprocessor could be designed out of India.

It is a proud moment for all of us in the IT industry.

For full details please see NASSCOM site http://www.nasscom.org/Nasscom/templates/NormalPage.aspx?id=55728 

One hopes more such “Designed in India” stories in the years to come

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