Saturday, October 17, 2009

A Website for Research Students

Reproducing below copy of another mail from Prof Subbiah Arunachalam addressed to Prof Joshi regarding acquiring information literacy and writing skills, citing a free website useful especially for research students:


"Please visit

<
http://courses.informationliteracy.org.uk/login/index.php>

and examine the site. After we go through it in detail we may promote its use in India. It helps students (and others interested in research) acquire information literacy and writing skills. And it is free!


Arun"

Helping the Talent Pool of Moffusil India

I am reproducing below an interesting mail received from Prof Subbiah Arunachalam, forwarding an article, "MAKING A DIFFERENCE: Sunday Trek To The Golden Gate" (He gives up his weekends to help his kindred folk: the vast scientific talent pool of mofussil India) by S. Anand that appeared in Outlook, 20 December 2004.

Friends:

Prof. G Rajasekaran of Matscience alerted me to this short write-up which appeared five years ago in Outlook*. I do not know if Dr Satyanarayana's Sunday classes continue to this day, but I will find it out. But he has provided a good model. Resaerch scientists and university professors in small towns like Karaikudi and Rourkela can follow this model and help motivated students get into research. Fortunately now many open educational resources are available free on the Internet, iTunes and YouTube, e.g. the NPTEL courses offered by IITs and IISc, the Open University, UK, courses, the MIT (USA) courses and several others. An organization called ISKME (Half Moon Bay, California) has a directory of open educational resources.

Best wishes.

Subbiah Arunachalam

* May be available in the archives of OUTLOOK.

** Contact address of Prof Satyanarayana as given in the above Outlook article:
233, Off Central Avenue, DAE Township, Kalpakkam, Tamil Nadu—603102.
Tel: 094443-46247.
Email: svmsatya@yahoo.co.uk

Friday, October 16, 2009

Diwali Greetings!

HAPPY DIWALI TO ALL OF YOU!

With Love

Suri