Established in 1994, FR. C. Rodrigues Institute of Technology (FCRIT), Navi Mumbai is located in the heart of Navi Mumbai, Vashi, as a part of the Agnel Technical Education Complex. FCRIT is affiliated to Mumbai University and offers UG, PG and PhD courses in the discipline of Computer, Mechanical, Electronics & Telecommunication, Electrical, and Information Technology, Mechanical and Electrical Engineering. Read more about the latest events and happenings of FCRIT, Navi Mumbai.

Lecture by Prof. N. Vedachalam on Looming Creativity Talent Among Engineering Graduates

Date: October 5, 2021

Fr. C. Rodrigues Institute of Technology organized a guest lecture under AICTE’s Distinguished Chair, Professor Scheme, on the topic “Looming Creativity Talent Among Engineering Graduates” for conveying to aspiring engineers the significance of creative thinking and the necessity of multi-disciplinary knowledge along with lifelong learning for a Successful Engineering career. The lectures were given by the AICTE Distinguished Professor N. Vedachalam. The event was organized in online mode on the Zoom platform on August 28, 2021, at 10 am. About 400 participants including students and staff members of FCRIT were present throughout the session. Dr. Milind Shah acted as the staff coordinator of the event.

Prof. N. Vedachalam began the session with a basic introduction about Navigation and the importance of navigation in space. In a subsequent session, Prof. N. Vedachalam described various launch vehicle families and gave a brief description of solid and liquid propulsion and how the transition from solid propulsion to liquid propulsion took place. He also gave an idea about various launch vehicles such as SLV, ASLV, PSLV, GSLV, etc. Prof. N. Vedachalam was also excited about ISRO’s project of reusable launch vehicles which is currently undergoing. He conveyed the importance of such a launch vehicle for the further development of ISRO.

Dr. Vikram Sarabhai who was certainly very pleased to learn from Prof. N Vedachalam enlightened about the importance of time and planning in space projects by giving an example of “Mars Orbit Mission” in which he explained how the distance between two planets can be covered with the help of the gravity of planets to minimize the use of fuel.

Prof. N. Vedachalam also shared his memories of the Mars Orbit Mission and gave a brief description of the project which certainly encouraged participants. Prof. N. Vedachalam quoted, “Poor education wastes human potential; if technical institutions are sound, students will graduate with knowledge skills and motivation to help further build our nation and they will enjoy full and productive life”. Further Dr. N. Vedachalam highlighted 10 essential attributes for an Engineering Graduate, he introduced the importance of a grasp of Science, Advanced Mathematics, Physics, and Chemistry along with Information Technology.

In the subsequent session, Prof. N. Vedachalam made sure that participants understand the need of knowing the context in which engineering is practice i.e. R&D environment or industrial manufacturing, economics and government regulations, heritage, and history or customer / societal needs based on which there will be a significant change in problem-solving. As per Prof. N. Vedachalam, both verbal and written communication play an important role in Engineering Graduates' careers. At the end of the session, Prof. N. Vedachalam had a survey amongst the attendees regarding their core interest between given choices as Critical Thinking, Complex System Problem Solving, Multi-Disciplinary Knowledge, and Adaptability for Continuous Learning. A higher number of participants were seen inclined towards Critical Thinking and Multi-Disciplinary Knowledge. The participants were also given an introduction to 10 Essential attributes of an Engineering Graduate. Participant’s feedback was collected with the help of Microsoft Forms tool after analyzing the feedback it is learned that students were satisfied with Prof. N. Vedachalam’s presentation agreed to the integrated essential attributes required in an Engineering Graduate(s) for a successful career. At last, it was decided by HODs and staff members to encourage enrolled students towards little more complex systems by involving them in various activities.