M.Tech. Project

Masters in engineering used to be a 3 semester course. Later it was changed to a 4 semester course.

In many institutes the last two semesters are used for a project. In our case we followed a system of 3 semesters course-work and one semester of project. In the 3rd semester there is Seminar component.

Depending on the career preference of a student, a student could do a research oriented project or a industry oriented project. Last year some of our students went to company projects while others did projects in the Institute.

When we started introspecting on this issue, we found that the quality of projects done in the company was below the standard we were expecting. Even some projects done in the Institute had quality problems.

Hence, this year we are planning to experiment with a new model. The seminar and the project will have some continuity. The seminar will be used for literature review, methodology review leading to a project proposal by end of the third semester. The fourth semester will be exclusively used for working on the problems contained in the project proposal.

The students can work on various project types: a. development of a business software, b. development of a technology, c. academic project etc. At the end of the project the deliverables will be a thesis and working paper or thesis and a software.

The project phase will have milestones mentioning the delivery expected at that point. We hope that this process will result in high quality thesis worth show-casing.

In essence, we will integrate the seminar and the project components and se

IIIT Gets Electrified (Literally)

We have been on the campus for more than a week. We managed to keep a fact very secret: IIIT did not have electricity connection. We were getting electricity from the Contractor's Generator. He had two generators. We were getting electricity round the clock with the help of these two generators. 

It is a very curious thing in India that very basic things are very hard to get. Getting electricity connection, gas connection, phone connection are some of the very challenging aspects for an Indian citizen.

We could not get electricity connection because CESU and BDA were disputing over right to use of a Electricity Pole. Even though we were ready in every aspect, this dispute led to the delay. We had to persuade many government agencies. Finally on 14th Sept, IIIT got electricity.

Since we are in a rural place, the quality and reliability of the electricity is doubtful. Hence, we have already ordered for a DG set to fully support us in case the electricity fails.

Now, IIIT needs to get electrified figuratively. The energy has to be derived from the faculty and the students. Hence, my blog on electrification of IIIT will continue...

Two days after the D Day

On 5th Sept I got a call from our dean while on my way to the campus. He said that the campus bears a pathetic look and we are about to welcome our new students. When I reached the campus, I rushed to the 3rd floor where the student will be accommodated. The workers were fixing the dadoes, grinding the marble floor, the taps and fittings were missing from the toilets.

The parents were donning a very worried look. When I started talking to them, they expressed their concern over the state of the hostel. I tried to passify them with assurances. I and Ajit got into project management mode and told the project people about our priorities.

By evening, the partitions were ready, the taps were fitted, the toilets were ready, one unit of the dormitory with 11 cots was ready. The worried look of the parents was slowing giving way to assuring look. I came back early as I was part of panel discussion on IT leadership.

On 6th, I reached the campus early. I went to the Hostel first. I met the girls. I asked if they had any problems. They said no problems. I felt relieved. The students and the parents who came were not having a concerned look of the previous day. One of the guardians who came and left the previous day and visited again on 6th was looking delighted and expressed his satisfaction at the pace at we have completed the hostel.

On 7th, we had the orientation programme. I along with the faculty addressed the Students and their parents in the really large hall in the 2nd floor. We addressed the parents separately. We briefed the student on academics, labs, hostel life, library etc. The students looked curious and keen. The parents looked satisfied.

I feel that gambling on asking the students to arrive on 5th September was a good idea. The energy, enthusiasm of our staff and workers was amazing when they saw the students on the campus. Their concern for the student's well being was something to witness.

FYI, 5th September was Teacher's Day.

The D Day is tomorrow

We had announced that the date for arrival of the students in the campus is 5th Sept. That day is tomorrow. The student strength will now jump six fold.

We have asked the faculty to report in the Gothapatna Campus on 25th. We started relocating from OCAC to Gothapatna since Aug 31. We had already informed OCAC about our relocation plans.

The D Day is imminent now. Are we ready to welcome our students tomorrow. The answer is a very big yes and a very small no.

While many of the things we planned are in place, there are a few loose ends. Even though we had placed orders well in time, vendors have generally failed us on the delivery deadlines. The contractor has done his best. But a few few activities are still pending.

All the activities are 95% complete and only 5% is remaining. But I wish 95% of the activities were complete and only 5% activities were remaining.

But I hope that in a few days we will complete 100% of our activities.

I am excited about the new chapter about to begin in IIIT.

Computing in Vernacular Language

I enjoy coding and creating business software. When I was in XIMB, I created an accounting system called PAMIS. It was a novel system very useful when you need to do project based accounting. The Panchyati Raj department in Orissa Government found this useful and adopted it for block level accounting. It was the biggest e-governance initiative. Thanks to the keenness of the secretary and the department, it was a very successful project. Subsequently, the department was planning to implement this in Panchayats.

PAMIS was developed with an English Language interface. At the block level it is fine as we have english educated people available. However, in a panchayat English language interface will not work. We now faced the challenge of modifying the software to make it Oriya enabled.

Oriya is available as a part of the Unicode. However, there are not many fonts available. When I researched, I found though Windows XP was multi-lingual, it did not have a Oriya language interface. I found someone in Hyderabad had developed a roundabout way to do data entry in Indian Languages including Oriya. We did a lot lot of experiment with the javascript code to adopt it for Pamis. However, the proposal for GP automation got shelved and my interest in multilingual software also waned.

Recently, S. N. Tripathy who returned to the Panchyati Raj department revived the idea of GP automation. I have again started taking interest in multilingual software. Now, both Windows and Linux have a multilingual language interface. Both systems have an identical way to change the keyboard. Developing software in a Indian Languages is a lot easier. The challenge is to translate business and technical jargon in Oriya. For example, what is the Oriya equivalent of Debit? ଆପଣ ଡେବିଟକୂ ଓଡିଆରେ କଣ କହିଵେ. I used Gnome in Ubuntu to write the above Oriya sentence.

Microsoft was prodded by the Government of Orissa to develop Oriya input for windows. Linux have done it with no prodding. I feel very happy that one can today develop software in Vernacular Language with some ease. The digital divide will reduce considerably because of this reason.

Internetting in IIIT

I had my got my email account in IIT Kharagpur in 1991. One had to go to the electronics dept to send or receive an email. When I visited Antwerp in 1995, I had my exposure to Internet i.e. access the web using Netscape Navigator. It just struck me in the web possibilities were mind blowing.

When I came back, I explored if we could have access to Internet in XIMB. In those days, Internet was provided through STPI, ERNET and NIC. We were desperate to get Internet. But, Institute of Physics was even more desperate. After pleading with STPI, OCAC which dealt with ernet, we had a breakthrough. STPI agreed to provide Internet access to educational Institutes. Institute of Physics got it first and XIMB was the second one to get it. In 1997, we had 64kbps bandwidth.

Over the years, we have got used to highspeed internet. In XIMB, we virtually doubled out our bandwidth every year.

When I joined IIIT and we started functioning out of OCAC, OCAC was kind enough to let us use their bandwidth. Subsequently, when we started our Masters programme, we get 1 Mbps bandwidth from STPI.

As we are moving to our new campus, the issue of Internet hit us again. Our campus is a little remote for most of the ISPs. As luck would have it, BSNL was laying its fibre optic cable in Gothapatna and saw IIIT as a client. They extended their fibre to IIIT. Then, they came out with an offer we just could not refuse. They offered 10 Mbps at a very attractive price. We just fell for it.

So in the gothapatna campus, we will start with a 10 Mbps Internet Link. BTW, IIITs have requested Govt of India to include them in the Konwledge Net which with give Gigabit access for free.

Prince Dance group wins IGT

A bunch of labourers from Berhampur, Orissa won India has got Talent. The event has caused a mild hysteria in Orissa. I watched the finals for 3 hours. I watched their other performances on Youtube.

Most of our classical dance forms which are very refined are solo performances. The folk dance forms are group performances. They are not very refined though very entertaining. When I watch similar shows from India and abroad, the finesse of shows from abroad stand out. What was surprising about the performance of the Prince group was the absolute finesse. Their dance was more about formations, coordination and finesse. It was not about footwork or facials.

There was a huge campaign in Orissa for voting the group. I sent at least 10 messages for the first time in my life. There were hoardings on streets of Orissa cajoling the public to vote. There was a campaign on a TV channel and a FM radio channel. I have not seen such coordinated media campaign in Orissa before.

The Prince groups win reiterates the point again: the days of the under dogs have arrived. There is such dearth of talent in urban centers that it has to surface from semiurban and rural areas.

As we are about to start our 1st year of the B.Tech. programme, there is a lot to learn from the Prince Group: Be inspired, be innovative and imaginative. Did I repeat the IIIT byline. No, I saw these traits the every movement of the Prince groups dance. As Sekhar Kapur said ours must be to be a world beating act and to that one needs a combination of talent and inspiration.