Vol : 10 No : 11 February 2015 A Monthly Newsletter of SCMS Group of Educational Institutions, Cochin Co-ordinating Editor - Mr. Sanal Potty Editorial Advisory Council: Dr. D. Radhakrishnan Nair, Prof. R. Sahadevan 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: [email protected] SCMS School of Architecture Dr.G.P.C.Nayar Founder & Chairman SCMS Group of Educational Institutions One day a grand piano kept inside a chapel was required to be moved to the cultural hall for an event. The hall was in an adjacent building. There were no professional movers available anywhere around. So, a group of devotees available on the spot was assigned the task of moving the instrument through the chapel and into the cultural hall. The bunch consisted of a diverse lot of people – the young and the old, the weak and the strong, the tall and the short and so on. The group went around and inspected the piano and tried to lift it up from the ground. They could not. They tried several alternatives by repositioning themselves based on height, strength and age but none of the ideas worked. They found that the task required not just physical strength but also careful balancing and coordination. Finally, it appeared to be an almost impossible task for them. As they stood around the piano for some time uncertain of what to do next, one of them came up with a novel idea. He said, “I have got a feasible idea to offer. Let us stand close together and just lift up where each one stands.” The idea seemed very simple. And the man was able to make others believe that it was a feasible proposal. So, they decided to implement it with total faith. As they stood close together with conviction and each one lifted where he stood, the piano safely rose from the ground and moved into the cultural hall as if on its own power. We can do only what we think we can. What we can do, what we can have and what we can be, all depends on what we think. Whenever we start a new attempt or work on a new dream there can always be a little nagging voice in us that tells us, “You can't do it,” “You are not good at it,” ”You are going to fail,” or “You are going to lose your money.” This little voice, we call it self-doubt. If we let it, it will kill our dreams. It is capable of destroying us. Impossible is not a fact Contd. on page 2 What can bring about a change in such situations? The answer is simple, but powerful. It is all our strong belief which will come to our rescue. We need reframe our mind. The first step in making a change is to believe we can have what we want. Believe that we have the ability to change anything we want. Our beliefs are everything. A classic example in this case is that of Mahatma Gandhi. When he led the historic freedom struggle against the all powerful British government it was his total faith in his plan of action that paved the way for a drastic change in the situation leading to the accomplishment of his noble objective. When the Wright brothers invented the first flying machine it was again the strength of their conviction that made it possible for them to fly overcoming all the hurdles. Nobody has ever achieved anything meaningful in life by doing the easiest things. It is when we do the things that are the hardest or which appear impossible that true recognition comes to us. If you embrace a challenge, no matter how big, and keep moving forward with faith, one day you will look up and be surprised at how far you have come. Miracles do happen when you start believing. If you start believing and acting as if it were impossible to fail, nothing is impossible. Impossible is a word thrown around by small men who opt for an easy way to live in the world they have been born to explore the possibilities before them. Impossible is not a fact. It is only an opinion. Say 'not' and you become 'not,' say 'is' and you become 'is.' – Swami Vivekananda Dr.G.P.C.Nayar International Relations course for PGDM and MBA inaugurated At a time when there is growing demand for Indian managers to run global companies, the PGDM students of SCMS COCHIN School of Business and MBA students of SCMS School of Technology and Management (SSTM) are offered a new course on International Relations. Mr.T.P. Srinivasan, Vice Chairman and Executive Head of Kerala State Higher Education Council, renowned former diplomat, and former permanent representative of India to the UN, inaugurated the course on January 7. Notwithstanding the fact that many global corporations are still struggling to find managers who are comfortable and effective in the India-born managers as CEOs Mr.T.P.Srinivasan, Vice Chairman and Executive Head of Kerala State Higher Education Council, inaugurating the course on International Relations. SSET Digest Open house SCMS Water Institute MOUs with German Companies The open house for first year BTech students was held from January 5 to 12. The Centre for Sustainable Water Technology and Management, a research and consultancy centre for water technology and management, functioning at SSET has been rechristened as SCMS Water Institute. The Institute has an MOU with University of Applied Sciences, Ravensberg- Weingarten, Germany, enabling regular student and faculty exchange, joined research, and institutional strengthening programmes. The Institute could prove itself as a dependable partner for Indian-German Water Partnership (IGWP). The spectacular success of the Indian-German Water Summit held in Kochi in 2014 has inspired the IGWP to select Kochi once again as the venue for the next Indian-German Water Summit to be held in October 2015. It is noteworthy that, now, five more German companies have come forward to sign MOUs with the Institute. Two companies, Aqua and Waste International GmbH, Hannover, and Limco Biosensors GmbH, Konstanz have already signed the MoU with the Institute. The agreement is for technology transfer, incubation and fine tuning outstanding German technologies to Indian conditions. The technology team at SCMS Water Institute will conduct collaborative research and technology development with these companies for providing sustainable solutions to problems related to water and waste water in India. The MoU also includes student and faculty exchange visits. This is a matter of great significance enabling additional transfer of technology for addressing the water-related problems of our country. The objectives of the Institute include developing water and waste water technologies comprising reuse of water and recycling of valuable components, fine-tuning and standardisation of technologies for local conditions, framing water policies, performing water audits, offering water-related capacity building on all levels, and so on. It is also providing Research & Development, Consultancy, and Networking with like-minded institutions. SCMS Water Institute also runs a Technology Incubation Centre which focuses on localisation and fine-tuning of selected outstanding German technologies to make it useful to solve our local water problems. Paper presentations Seminars and workshops Student achievement - University Rank holder Placement news Ms. Ann Varghese, Assistant Professor-ECE, presented a paper titled 'Hardware implementation of a digital watermarking system using 3D DCT' at the International Conference on Emerging Trends in Engineering and Management 2014 held at Sree Narayana Gurukulam College of Engineering and Technology, Kolenchery on December 30 and 31 and won the Best Paper Award under the stream 'Energy-efficient manufacturing and design.' Ms. Saira Joseph, Assistant Professor-ECE, presented a paper titled 'Compact dual band antenna for GSM 1800/1900/ UMTS/LTE/UWB' at the International Conference on Information and Communication Technologies, organised by CUSAT on December 3. Ms. Saira Joseph, also presented a paper titled 'Compact CPW-fed UWB antenna with dual notch bands' at the International Symposium on Antenna and Propagation APSYM- 2014 organised by CUSAT, on December 17. Ms. Poornima S., Assistant Professor-ECE, presented a paper titled 'Performance evaluation of Cell Cooperation Technique for several channel models' at the National Conference on Communication & Microelectronics 2014, held at SSET, Karukutty. Ms. Saira Joseph, Assistant Professor-ECE, participated in IEEE APS workshop on Electromagnetic Education organised by CUSAT IEEE APS chapter, on December 18. Ms. Sachithra Rani G.S., MCA student of SSET, bagged the Third Rank in Mahatma Gandhi University 2014 MCA examinations. Blue Star conducted interview for 2015 batch Btech - Mechanical, Electrical and Electronics Engineering students on January 8 and have shortlisted six students for further rounds. MRF conducted interview for 2015 batch BTech- Mechanical, Electrical and Electronics Engineering shortlisted candidates during January 9 and 27 and the final result is awaited. SAP Labs conducted interview for 2015 batch BTech students on January 17 and the final result is awaited. NuCore Software Systems conducted campus recruitment drive for 2014 batch MCA students on January 9 and selected two students. The Foundation Training programme for Infosys-placed students of 2015 batch was conducted during January 20 and 21 by Mr. Hari S. from Infosys. Students from Sahrdaya Engineering College, Kodakara, too participated in the training. Ms. Sachithra Rani G.S. Opportunities and Challenges,' held at Government College, Tripunithura on November 6, 2014. Mr. A. V. Jose, was an invited guest at Office of the Principal Chief Commissioner, Income Tax, Kerala to handle a session on 'Financial Planning for Retirement ,' on December 18. Invited guest Contd. from page 3