Now, engg students can score with rural solutions
If the students of M S Ramaiah Institute of Technology (MSRIT)
want to score marks, they must now head to villages to find engineering solutions
to rural problems. This is a reversal of sorts at a time when students prefer to
do their internships abroad.
Starting from this academic year, fifth semester students will have an elective
called Society and Technology where they are expected to learn how technology can
come in handy for rural folks.Under the elective,a student has to go to rural areas,look
for problems like water availability,lack of medical care,dearth of communication,shortage
of transport connectivity,problems related to agriculture and come up with solutions.The
student must then write a solution paper.The faculty concerned will assess the paper
and give marks.If the students solution is applicable,he/she gets three credit marks.
Making students go to rural areas as part of their studies has always been a tough
task for academic institutes.Many medical students complete their rural internship
reluctantly,ever since the state government made it mandatory.MSRITs approach is
different in that it doesnt insist on students staying in rural areas.
Colleges advisor Dr K Rajanikanth said,Humanitarian studies and social sciences
are not aloof to engineering colleges.In fact,some of the IITs have social sciences
as electives.But this will be the first time in India,where students have to do
a rural internship to score marks. He added that the elective was open for students
of all engineering branches.
He explained: Its common nowadays for farmers and fishermen to have mobile phones.In
spite of technology reaching rural areas,it is worrying that students are not trying
to find solutions to problems found in villages.Every year,we see students coming
up with hundreds of projects but not even one per cent of these projects relate
to rural areas.It is high time students think about rural areas.
MSRIT principal Dr K S Rajanandam said the elective was the brainchild of the Harichandra,a
professor in MSRITs mechanical engineering department.
Devesh Shetty,a fifth semester engineering student at MSRIT said,This
is one of the most exciting projects Ive come across.For the first time,my solution
has the potential to touch thousands of villagers.Im looking forward to it.
Courtesy: Times of India
