March 26, 2010
Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham, Coimbatore
Confluence 2010 – the grand launch of this year’s Amrita Overseas Ambassadors Program was organized at the Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham Headquarters in Coimbatore on Saturday, March 20, 2010.
This second successful year for the program will see 30 students, research scholars and faculty members from Amrita campuses spend upto 10 months at various European Universities as exchange scholars.
“Through the tie-up, Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham hopes to provide an opportunity for our students and scholars to study and participate in research at premier European institutions,” stated Amrita’s Vice-Chancellor Dr. Venkat Rangan.
Also as part of this exchange program, five research scholars from France and Italy will soon arrive in Amrita. Two scholars from Sweden are already here, and attending classes. Last year saw 50 faculty, research scholars and students deputed to various countries in Europe.
“The feedback of students and scholars who returned from the exchange program last year was very heartening,” stated Pro-Chancellor Br. Abhayamritha Chaitanya. Amrita Overseas Ambassadors 2009 were then invited to share their international experiences.
Among those who spoke were Dr. M.P. Chandrasekharan, Dean (Engineering), Mr. Mohanarajan SR, Assistant Professor (ECE), Ms. Deepthi Devaki, graduate of the Amrita School of Engineering and Mr. Shashikant, graduate of the Amrita School of Business.
“During my stay at a European university, I learnt that unlike the theory-practical schism here in India, the two are clubbed there and institutions have a mandate to do research,” stated Dr. M.P. Chandrasekharan, Dean (Engineering). “They encourage the publication of research papers.”
Other participants highlighted their learning and experiences. An overview of the program was provided by Dr. Krishnashree Achuthan, Co-Director, International Initiatives, Amrita. “All expenses including travel are covered by the European Commission,” she emphasized.
The Guest of Honor, Mr. S.C. Sarkar, Vice- President, L&T distributed certificates to Amrita Overseas Ambasaddors 2009. He asked the students who had availed of this opportunity and also those who were about to go abroad, to use the experience gained overseas to help improve domestic conditions.
Perhaps no other Indian University can claim such a comprehensive fully-funded European student exchange program. The 2010 Ambassadors will proceed shortly to the following universities: University of Trento (Italy), University of Bologna (Italy), Politecnico di Milano (Italy), Aachen University (Germany), Helsinki University (Finland), Helsinki University of Technology (Finland), Grenoble Institute of Technology (France) and KTH, Royal Institute of Technology (Sweden).
