Campus Connect – Tiruchi – The Hindu

Inter-college fiestas (with pic)

A number of colleges in the city hosted inter-collegiate competitions to test the skills of students in various fields. Among them, the Team ‘Biocracks’, headed by Divyasree of SRM Institute of Science and Technology, and the team ‘Epic Encoders,’ led by Madhesh of Saranathan College of Engineering, won the winner trophies and a cash award of ₹25,000 in the hardware and software categories, respectively, at the ‘Noob HackFest,’ a 24-hour global multidisciplinary student-driven hackathon held in partnership with NoobTron Pvt. Ltd. and StartupTN, recently. A total of 789 teams registered and 170 teams were shortlisted for the event that was hosted by the SRM Faculty of Engineering and Technology.

Capture The Flag

The team of SASTRA Deemed University which won the Capture The Flag hackathon organised by Jamal Mohamed College in Tiruchi
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SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT

At a national ‘Capture The Flag’ (CTF) hackathon organised by the Department of Computer Science and IT, Jamal Mohamed College in collaboration with Cyber Heals Infotech, Chennai, recently, team members Lohinth and Hemanth Reddy Gangavarapu from SASTRA Deemed University won the first cash prize of ₹75,000, emerging victorious in a series of contests featuring web security, authentication bypass, SQL injection, cross-site scripting (XSS), server-side request forgery (SSRF), file inclusion, and other web exploitation techniques. In his address, V. Balakrishnan, Inspector-General of Police, Central Zone, Tiruchi, spoke on how the general public can protect their personal and financial information to avoid cyber crime. Senior physician M.S. Ashraf pointed out that the field of healthcare is facing challenges from hackers.

‘COMEX – 2K26’

The team from Holy Cross College won the overall championship while that of Bishop Heber College won the runner-up trophy of ‘COMEX – 2K26’ – an inter college competition hosted by the PG and Research Department of Commerce, Jamal Mohamed College. A total of 26 teams from 16 different colleges across the state participated in the event.

BIZ-LEARN 2K26

At ‘BIZ-LEARN 2K26’, the State-level inter-collegiate competitions co-hosted by the Departments of Management Studies and Commerce of M.I.E.T. Arts and Science College, the student team from Jamal Mohamed College came first, while those from Bishop Heber College and Holy Cross College won the second and third positions respectively.

Language contest

An inter-collegiate literary event titled ‘LINGUASPARK’ organised by the Department of English (Self-Financed Section), Seethalakshmi Ramaswami College, to enhance communication skills and confidence in the English language, witnessed enthusiastic participation from students of various colleges. The contests included ‘Poster Poetry’, ‘Caption the Picture’, ‘Action Arena’, ‘Story Chain’ and ‘Radio Jockey Hunt’. Winners were awarded prizes and certificates.

Drug design workshop

S. Parathasarathy, retired professor, Department of Bioinformatics, Bharathidasan University, highlighted the importance of computational approaches in modern drug discovery and motivated students to explore bioinformatics tools at a workshop organised by the Department of Biotechnology, Cauvery College for Women recently. The technical sessions, attended by over 80 participants from various colleges and universities, provided hands-on training in protein and ligand preparation, molecular docking, virtual screening, and docking analysis using digital tools.

Victorious students

The Cauvery College for Women, Tiruchi, students who secured fourth place in the Entrepreneurship Development Drive competition.
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SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT

A total of 11 students from Cauvery College for Women selected out of 25 for the Entrepreneurship Development Drive (EDD) 2025 under the Growth Track of the E-Cell, IIT Madras programme, secured the fourth place at the E-Summit 2026, organised by the E-Cell, IIT Madras.

Platform launched

The Department of Electronics and Communication Engineering (ECE), King’s College of Engineering, launched Innovation Quest, a platform designed to foster innovation, collaboration, and technical excellence among students in commemoration of the great scientist, Thomas Alva Edison recently. G. Kumaran, graduate engineer trainee at VA Tech WABAG, Chennai, shared his experiences in the field and on the industry expectations. The ceremony also included the investiture of E-Club members.

Sustainable development

Experts in various fields shared their thoughts during a conference titled ‘Viksit Bharat 2047: Competing Globally, Growing Sustainably’, hosted by the Department of Management (B-School) of Shrimati Indira Gandhi College recently. Among the resource persons, D. Sivakumar, General Manager, Joint Director (Engineering), District Industries Centre, Tiruchi, spoke on the transformative role of district industries and MSMEs in strengthening India’s economic framework. In his session, Ravichandran Subramanian, School of Business, Monash University, Malaysia focused on the importance of global financial literacy and policy learning for sustainable economic progress. K. Ulavan Jegan, agriculture trainer and environmentalist, highlighted rural entrepreneurship, and innovation as foundations of sustainable prosperity.

Special talk

G. Sathyaraj, senior scientist, Central Leather Research Institute (CLRI), Chennai, gave a talk on the chemistry behind leather processing, during a lecture programme organised by the Chemistry Association of National College recently. He also spoke on the field’s career opportunities and steps towards environmental safety.

Employability conference

The growing need for future-ready skills in a rapidly transforming global business environment was the focus of a two-day conference titled ‘RISECON’26 – Driving Innovation in Employability’ jointly organised by Bishop Heber College and St. Joseph’s College recently. At the inaugural session held at Bishop Heber College, S. Jayaraam, General Manager (South), Business Standard, spoke on academic–industry collaboration in enhancing graduate employability. At the technical sessions, speakers stressed on innovation-driven education, and the role of higher education institutions in bridging skill gaps. The following day, at the session held in St.Joseph’s College, a panel discussion with industry experts, including S. Shenher Lal, Founder, LS Firewoods and Rajam Traders; S. Venkatakrishnan, AGM–Finance, ZF Group, Chennai; J. Chetan Parekh, Senior Manager – HR Operations, Capgemini Technology Services, discussed emerging workforce expectations and sustainable employability models.

Seminars held

Two seminars held at the A.V.C. College of Engineering, explored diverse topics in psychology and literary traditions recently. N. Saravanan of the Department of Tamil, delivered a special lecture on “Metaphysical Poetry in English and Tamil,” as part of a seminar organised by the Department of English. This was followed by paper presentations by students. A. Gangamani delivered a talk on “From Classroom to Critical Thinking.”

At the seminar hosted by Department of Computer Applications, A. H. Van der Lugt, associate professor of Cognitive Neuroscience, The Maastricht Institute for Education Innovation, Maastricht University, spoke on psychology, critical thinking and cognitive learning.

MoU signed

Bon Secours College for Women, Thanjavur, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with HCL Tech Career Shaper and Career Craft Academy aimed to establish a Centre of Excellence, designed to fortify industry–institute interaction and to nurture graduates through technology-driven training programmes and joint initiatives. At the MoU signing ceremony, Krishore Poonamalle, CEO of e-Sales Technologies and founder and CEO of Career Craft Academy, spoke on the transformative role of technology in the job market. A seminar on artificial intelligence and career development was conducted as part of the programme.

Lamp lighting

The 17th lamp lighting ceremony for the first-year B.Sc (N) students of Mount Zion College of Nursing, Pudukkottai District, was held recently. In her address, M.S. Catherine, an obstetrician and gynecologist serving at Christian Mission Hospital, Tiruchi emphasised that nurses should approach patients with genuine love and compassion and strive to make a positive difference in the lives of others wherever they go. Nagomi Yesudiyan, senior retired nurse who served in the United States, also addressed the gathering and encouraged the students to show kindness and compassion towards patients. Later, R.N. Renganayagi, Nursing Superintendent Grade-I at Pudukkottai Government Medical College Hospital, greeted the students and ceremoniously lit the Florence Nightingale lamp.

AI in commerce

The role of artificial intelligence in commerce and management was the focus of a seminar hosted by the PG Department of Commerce and Computer Applications of Servite Arts and Science College for Women in Thogaimalai, Karur district, recently. Sonai Singaram Jayaraj of Guangxi Minzu University, China, and Rajamannar of Urumu Dhanalakshmi College, Tiruchi, highlighted the global impact of AI applications in commerce, management, and higher education.