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Finally, the engineering students of government colleges going to have high tech classrooms! Hundred high tech classrooms in nine colleges are coming under the Directorate of Technical Education. The classrooms would be having LCD projectors for aiding teaching. Also all classrooms will be provided with a laptop each with net connectivity. The classrooms would also be linked to the Edusat satellite of the ISRO. Edusat facility will be used for teaching purpose, also for video conferencing. This would be a shift from the traditional classrooms using blackboards. Hi-tech classroom will allow presenters network access and the ability to project data and video onto a screen via a video data/video projector or flat screen installed in the classroom. The main objective is to help engineering students to receive quality education of IIT standard. This would benefit them from the IIT syllabus and standard and also interact with IIT professors and students live and offline. The programme is said to launch officially by next month.

Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology (IIST), Thiruvananthapuram is swerving away from the Indian Institute of Technology Joint Entrance Examination (IIT-JEE). ISRO institute is planning to conduct its own entrance test from next academic year onwards. Around 1 lakh aspirants across the country will be appearing for the online entrance tests during March-April 2010. And IIST is now searching for IT firms that are capable of conducting these online tests. While inaugurating IIST, an entrance examination of its won was intended as the future goal but now due to the differences with the IITs over the selection of students, IIST had to set up their own entrance tests with immediate effect. Students not interested in space technology end in IIST when they fail to make it to IITs and so those who are really keen lose their opportunity. Now students interested in space technology can appear for online entrance tests and can get into their field of interest. The students can also look out for more opportunities rather than sticking onto basic engineering and medicine entrance exams.

September 27, marked as World Tourism Day! Various organizations held a variety of programmes like open forum, an interactive session with those who have benefited from the initiatives in the tourism sector and tourist arrivals, slide shows, a quiz and cultural programmes. The District Tourism Promotion Council, Thiruvananthapuram, in association with the Tourism Club of the Kerala Institute of Tourism and Travel Studies, jointly organised cultural programmes, a slide show and the open forum at Gandhi Park from 5 p.m. The interactive session was organized by the Association of Tourism Trade Organisations, India (ATTOI). “Tourism: celebrating diversity” is the theme selected by the UN World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) for the day this year. Tourism shares the social responsibility of promoting the positive aspects of globalisation and as such, it must direct these global networks towards a balanced and sustainable development. Travel and tourism plays a key role in this respect. One of the driving forces behind tourism is diversity that can allow all nations to share the numerous benefits brought about by building stronger ties with other countries.

Kerala IT Department is looking at exploring opportunities in the area of IT software and IT-enabled Services (ITeS). Trivandrum Technopark has signed a cooperation agreement with the Chinese Software Park, the Zhongguancun Software Park Company Ltd in Beijing. Mervin Alexander, CEO, Technopark, and Zhou Fang, Director of the Zpark (Beijing Zhongguancun Software Park Company Ltd) signed the MoU on Monday in China.

According to the agreement, both the software parks will establish a friendly relationship for the development of better understanding and long-term cooperation. The two parks will join hands in business process outsourcing (BPO), software exports and training sectors in major markets like China, Japan, South Korea, the US and Europe specially training for BPOs, animation outsourcing and other allied areas. Technopark has decided to promote co-operation between Indian IT Software companies located at Technopark and the Kochi InfoPark and the Beijing-based IT software and ITeS companies in various areas. The agreement would thus give a boost to Kerala’s IT sector.

Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB) and the Kerala Road Fund Board, which implements the City Road Improvement Project (CRIP) are having ‘clash of wills’ in finding locations for transformers. Is it that difficult to install transformers? Many transformers have been relocated far from the load centres and so they do not have the desired impact. An Executive Engineer of the board says the transformers at Panavila and opposite the Government Medical College Hospital are examples of how city planners want power supply without giving land for these devices.

The board is planning to install 68 transformers in the city this year.  Now, the problem they are facing is the acquisition of land. If the board does not get land in a suitable location, the installation of more transformers alone will not provide the desired impact on the power supply situation. Around forty percent of the planned installations have been done. More than 30 sites in the city have been acquired for relocating KSEB transformers. Why can’t the KSEB find land? Its not that easy. As a matter of fact, roads are not places where anybody can install anything and get away with it. But there exists a provision for the board to acquire land for essential purposes. Even the load centers can be shifted, for all this to happen; the board should start thinking out of the box.

The Insight project launched the first-of-its-kind ICT activity lab for children with autism and other disabilities at the Insight Centre. The lab is set up entirely on a free software platform and seeks to explore the use of digital technologies to enhance learning and communication abilities of these children or in other words, it aims to use Information and Communication Technology (ICT) for the development of the differently-abled. The lab was inaugurated on the occasion of International Software Freedom Day by a physically-challenged boy, Vivek. The lab will be open to public except on Sundays. Children will be introduced to relatively simple packages like Gcompris and non-violent games. They will be then taken through programming interfaces like Scratch. These have been found to be very useful in building the learning capabilities and communication skills of autistic children.

The lab has also planned to develop customized input devices for the physically challenged and this will be made available based on demand from parents and doctors in the field. The activities of the children at the lab will be monitored by professionals. Insight is a joint initiative of KSITM (Kerala State Information Technology Mission) and SPACE (Society for Promotion of Alternative Computing and Employment). The KSITM provides the financial support for the project and SPACE provides the technical and managerial assistance. Those interested may contact 0471-4011811.

Best Western India launched its first international hotel brand at Thiruvananthapuram. The new 60-room property is branded as ‘Best Western Classic Avenue’ and is on its way to become the largest hotel chain in India. The hotel is located at Manjalikulam Road, Thampanoor. It offers access to various attractions Ponmudi, Kanya Kumari, Kovalam beach, Sree Padmanabha Swami Temple and even IT hub Technopark. It will cater to both leisure and business travellers. The hotel is equipped with international standard amenities and services to facilitate business activities with 24 x 7 service staff. The hotel also has a roof top swimming pool. Best Western Classic Avenue will offer the internationally acknowledged high quality of service and hospitality not just the business travellers, but also to the leisure travellers and will also offer a complete new experience to its new and existing patrons.