– Dr. Madan A. Sendhil, Chairman, Rathinam Group of Institutions.
Spread on a sprawling campus, Rathinam group; established in the year 2001 is located within the Rathinam Techzone Campus in Pollachi Main road at Eachanari, Coimbatore. The ideology of the institution reflects not just in its curriculum but also the way, infrastructure has been shaped up. We talk to Dr. Madan A. Sendhil who is the Chairman and founder of this one of a kind institution to know more about it.
Dr. Madan who was tired after the day’s work was all smiles and was patient enough in answering all our questions. He started off by explaining to us the logo and motto of Rathinam stating that it symbolizes the concept of merging education with technology development, living and entertainment which has been the vision and passion of the group from the beginning.
Talking about the motto, he says the group started about 17 years back upon his return from United States. His family has been into the field of education for the past 40+ years running its own school- KPM Matriculation School which is still there in the same campus.
Post my return from Carnimelon University, US I started thinking on various ideas of scaling it up and after much thought came up with the idea of merging education with technological park, living and entertainment into one element which is how Carnimelon University has been formed and thought why not do something similar in India.
The three circles in the logo stand for Education, Technology Park, Living and Entertainment; meaning when all three comes together into one single campus there is better synergy. He also said how students will benefit a lot because they can get hands on training, jobs and even the faculty will receive a lot of exposure with these companies around. Though we started our Arts College very late yet we are a top ranked institution and its purely because of our unique concept.
Talking about education standards in India as compared to foreign nations, Dr. Madan A.Sendhil said he doesn’t think higher education has any pressure though he accepted the fact that there is pressure at school level where students are under immense power but again it’s not much too much when it comes to 11th and 12th grades.
Citing example of his own daughter who is studying in International Board; he said, the quantity of work done by her is much more than what students of other boards do over here. Talking about US, yes, the quantity of work and pressure will be very high because there is absolutely no time. Life is so busy over there especially when work and study go hand in hand. Still students are not worried because their passion is aligned with what they are doing. Their curriculum or educational system is very creative and flexible. We can choose papers and professors of our choice fuelling the energy further.
Rathinam is trying hard to do the same in India but then it’s a complete eco-system because the parents and students need to get accommodated to it, faculty needs to get accustomed to it. There is lots of work in it and if we implement the US educational system in India overnight, students will not come. On a lighter note he shared with us, how during the last semester it was announced that question papers will be very analytical with no grace marks; following the announcement students felt immense pressure.
The environment is such that students expect some kind of relaxation and we can’t be completely different from our neighbors and society. Of late competitors in the form of online education have sprung up which will force Indian students and faculty to change in the future. It’s hard to change the mindset of 4,000 or 5,000 pupils in one shot.
The Rathinam School has blended curriculum of IGCSE and CBSE which are not too hard but IGCSE syllabus offers very practical oriented and papers are corrected strictly and of course the pattern of question papers is different in both boards. Students can take any board exam since blended curriculum has a few additions, still gives a choice.
Rathinam College of Arts and Science has partnered with Texas Instruments Company in US which deals in microprocessors, IOT products and embedded systems; starting the Texas Innovation lab in our campus helping students innovate microprocessors and embedded systems and learn to build, IOT products or rebuild products.
We are also looking out strongly looking towards people from abroad especially expats who are looking to return to India. We have successfully attracted international students and the government of India had selected some 100 odd institutions under the ‘Study India Campaign’ which is a prestigious thing for us because only if a college has good rank in NAAC or top ranked in NIRF will it be selected.
Given my exposure abroad I thought consciously on providing a better environment. America is great because of its diversity. India has deep potential in catering towards foreign students.
We have students from Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda, Ghana, Srilanka, Uganda, Nairobi and a few other nations. Bringing English speaking culture is very important because it’s an international language and all opportunities in IT sector require English and compared to other institutions we are better placed.
Discussing upon plans of teaching of foreign languages to students, he said foreign languages are high in demand especially Japanese and German which have scores of opportunities but teaching the language to Indians is like climbing up a mountain.
This year we have teamed up with an institute in Japan for the same. Our students need to work harder and we are creating an environment where students will be motivated towards innovation, creativity and learning. We have cultural exchange program where students can do a semester abroad and foreign students can come here. This helps them understand situations both at home and abroad.
Students can also opt for an additional course abroad through Rathinam since credits of Rathinam are accepted in foreign nations as well-meaning less expenditure as well an additional degree.
Dr. Madan A. Sendhil proudly talks on the invention of Engineering plus3 concept where along with engineering students are taught skill developments like servicing a two wheeler, air conditioner, web design and likewise. We have also created lots of opportunities for students of visual communication by asking them to make many short films and bringing industry experts.
We also have Rathinam Vani, our community radio where our own students work as Radio Jockeys. Short term courses are purely demand driven. 93% of our students are well placed and the rest are either into higher education or entrepreneurship. The college is looking to start evening classes for working professionals to help them develop in their areas of interest.
Keeping in mind the culture of foreign nationals the college has provided a separate kitchen for those looking to cook their own food. We have put a cap on alcohol asking students not to drink within the campus. We organize events at college to refresh minds of the students and also follow a liberal dressing style though we have a dress code.