Date:08/01/2006 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2006/01/08/stories/2006010813570700.htm

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

Student innovations make iTalent a success

Special Correspondent

Participants prove one does not need huge capital to dream big Participants prove one does not need huge capital to dream big

WINNERS ALL THE WAY: D. Sriman Narayana and V. Jagannathan of Sri Manakula Vinayagar Engineering College, Pondicherry, receiving a cash award from Subroto Bagchi, chief operating officer, MindTree Consulting Pvt. Ltd., for picking up the first prize at the concept round of iTalent 2005 in Chennai on Saturday. — Photo: Shaju John

CHENNAI: In the end, it was all about the ability to look beyond the ordinary.

At iTalent 2005, which concluded here on Saturday, engineering students proved that one didn't need a huge venture capital to dream big; just thinking out of the box would do.

All the three prize-winners in the concept round — Sri Manakula Vinayagar Engineering College, Pondicherry (first prize of Rs.75,000), the College of Engineering, Chennai (second prize of Rs. 50,000) and the ICFAI School of IT, Hyderabad (third prize of Rs. 25,000) — impressed the judges, a mix of IT head honchos, through sheer innovation.

The annual talent fest, conducted by the Confederation of Indian Industry-Southern Region, saw students from 65 engineering colleges showcasing their talents to top executives of the IT industry.

If D. Sriman Narayana, V Jaganathan and Karthik Ramprasad of the Pondicherry institution had come up with the hugely popular `free SMS through landline phone' idea,

S.T.M. Veerbahu and R Mannar Mannan of CEG showed technology could come with a heart by designing a brain-controlled wheelchair for those affected by paralysis and spinal cord injuries.

ICFAI's Soumen Banerjee, Bhaskar Raghavendran and Vaibhav Malhotra had thought up Pathosoft, the ultimate software solution for a pathologist.

In the individual talent rounds, Hormis Tharakan of the Rajagiri School of Engineering and Technology, Kerala; K. Pavan of the SSN College of Engineering, Chennai, and S. Swaminathan of the same college won the first, second and third prizes.

Even better was the number of job offers made. By the end of the day, if Tata Consultancy Services issued 113 letters of intent, Wipro and Cognizant Technology Solutions issued 90 each, followed by Verizon 19, Servion 17 and Sify and Alcatel 10 each.

Teachers in engineering colleges should introduce students to industry processes so that when they started looking for jobs, they would have both knowledge and skill, said P.K. Mohapatra, chairman, Education Sub-Committee, CII-SR.

R. Ramaraj, managing director and CEO, Sify Ltd, said a combination of technology-driven connectivity, knowledge enhancement, increased competition, regulations and availability of capital had changed the way businesses were being done. Students' success in their careers would be determined by their ability to cope with a changing environment.

The IT industry was driven by meritocracy, and innovation was the key to differentiation, Subroto Bagchi, chief operating officer, MindTree Consulting Pvt Ltd, said.

Innovations had to be done at an existential level, with empathy for the user, and would need an inter-disciplinary approach.

Ravi J Shah, chairman, iTalent 2005, and G. Kameshwar, principal consultant, TCS, were present.