Address and interaction with the Students of Rajiv Gandhi University IIIT (RGU

IIIT),

26/Jan/2010 : Nuzivedu (Krishna dist)

Technology with out borders

Dear friends
I am very happy to meet with the students today at Rajiv Gandhi IIIT at Nuzivedu
in Krishna District of Andrapradesh. I greet all of you on the occasion of 61st
Republic Day of India. On this day let all of you resolve to do the following:

1.I will plant at least one tree and nature it

2.I will teach atleast 5 people those who cannot read and write.

3.Wherever there is a pain I will reach out to them and make them smile. I will
visit hospitals, old age home and orphanages and make them happy.
Will you all do it? Thank you.

My greetings to all of you friends. I am delighted to address and interact with the
students and faculty members of Rajiv Gandhi University IIIT (RGU-IIIT), Nuzivedu
(Krishna Dist). My greetings to all of you. I am happy to know that one of the key
objectives of the University is to impart to each student broad skills of “learning to
learn, learning to think and learning to live”. In addition, the core values of
integrity, respect for all and care for environment inculcated as part of curriculum
will definitely generate enlightened citizens of the nation. The special provision
made to integrate courses in humanities, social sciences and inter-disciplinary
areas along with development of soft skills will certainly build the capacity among
the students to become excellent professionals or entrepreneurs and experts in
sustainable development needed by the nation.

When I meet you at this new campus I am thinking what thoughts I can share with
you. Hence I have decided to discuss on “Technology with out borders”.

Technology without Borders

In the last century, most nations understood that science and technology was the
best vehicle for economic upliftment. However, the problems that S&T was used to
solve have been primarily local and customized to their needs. Today, the
problems faced by nations are no longer, a concern of them alone. Humanity is
devoting more and more attention to climate change, energy, water, disease,
economic turbulence and terrorism etc., which are all of concern to the entire world
and the solutions for which are beyond any individual nations or group of nations.

If S&T has to provide upliftment of our humanity, if the research and development
are in areas with porous borders between them and if the problems of the world
know not of geographical borders, the education that becomes the foundation of all
our science and technology, research and development also must of necessity
become borderless.

When I was traveling in an Aircraft in the United States, I was told that much of its
controls where software driven and most probably developed in India. When I
presented my credit card, I was told that it was being processed in the backend
server located in Mauritius. When I walked into IBM software development centre,
Bangalore, I was fascinated to find that it truly presented a multicultural
environment. A software developer from china working under a project leader from
Korea working with a software engineer from India and a hardware architect from
the US and the communication expert from Germany where all working together to
solve the banking problem in Australia. When I see, all of them working together
like one family forgetting about the culture from which they came or the language
that they speak, I feel that the only hope for such borderless interaction to
continue is to inculcate the spirit of borderless ness in our education also.

Though the terminologies like convergence and borderlessness have been of recent
vintage, they have been embedded in the Indian environment. The first of
universities in the world which was established in 500 BC at Nalanda had students
from 91 countries, which is the icon of borderlessness. In this borderless
environment, let me present convergence of technologies.

Convergence of Technologies

The information technology and communication technology have already

converged leading to Information and Communication Technology (ICT).
Information Technology combined with bio-technology has led to bio-informatics.
Now, Nano-technology is knocking at our doors. It is the field of the future that
will replace microelectronics and many fields with tremendous application potential
in the areas of medicine, electronics and material science. When Nano technology
and ICT meet, integrated silicon electronics, photonics are born and it can be said
that material convergence will happen. With material convergence and
biotechnology linked, a new science called Intelligent Bioscience will be born which
would lead to a disease free, happy and more intelligent human habitat with
longevity and high human capabilities. Convergence of bio-nano-info technologies
can lead to the development of nano robots. Nano robots when they are injected
into a patient, my expert friends say, it will diagnose and deliver the treatment
exclusively in the affected area and then the nano-robot gets digested as it is a
DNA based product.

Convergence of ICT, aerospace and Nano technologies will emerge and

revolutionize the aerospace industry. This technological convergence will enable
building of cost effective low weight, high payload, and highly reliable aerospace
systems which can be used for inter-planetary transportation.

It is estimated that in the life of a scientist or an engineer, he or she will come

across and work in at least seven new areas which are born out of convergence of
multiple science and technologies. Such convergence has made the border
between areas completely porous.

Hence dear friends when you study keep this in mind and focus on your subject of
study to have a core competence in that area and keep inter-disciplinary research
for your higher studies which is go to provide the solutions for the challenges of
the world in the decades to come.

The knowledge society in 21st century

The world in the 21st century will be a knowledge based society with multiple
opportunities. I was reading a book, “Empires of the Mind” by Denis Waitley. This
book gives, what type of the new world which we are facing now? What was
yesterday and what is today. I have modified certain points of the author to suit
our conditions. I have also added a third line which relates to action of educational
institutes.

It specially says that “what worked yesterday, won’t work today”.

1.Yesterday – natural resources defined power.

Today - knowledge is power.
Educational Institutions will be a powerhouse for knowledge.

2.Yesterday - Hierarchy was the model.

Today- synergy is the mandate.
Educational Institutions will be enabler of intersection of multiple
faculties towards mission goals.

3.Yesterday – leaders commanded and controlled.

Today – leaders empower and coach.
Potential Leaders will be empowered through exposure to the needs of
sustainable development.

4.Yesterday - shareholders came first.

Today – customers come first.
Education should inculcate sensitivity to “customer” needs.

5.Yesterday - employees took order.

Today – teams make decision.
Educational Institutions can inject team spirit.
6.Yesterday - seniority signified status.
Today – creativity drive status.
cational Institutions is the breeding environment for creativity.

7.Yesterday – production determined availability.

Today – Competitiveness is the key.
petitiveness is powered by research and institution has to have the motto
of “teaching-research-teaching”.

8.Yesterday - value was extra.

Today – value is everything.
ective Value judgment to be introduced in education.

9.Yesterday – everyone was a competitor.

Today – everyone is a customer.
cated customer is also from Educational Institutions.

10.Yesterday - profits were earned through expediency.

Today – Work with integrity and succeed with integrity.
cation with value system is the need of the hour.

I am sure, the curriculum and the method of teaching in the RGU IIIT has been
designed to build the capacities needed for today.

My best wishes to all the students, faculties and the staff members of RGU-IIIT
success in their mission of removing the digital divide in the country and making
path breaking discovery in the area of Information and communication
technologies.

May God bless you.

Eight point Oath for Students

1.Technology is a life time mission. I will work, work and work and succeed.

2.Wherever I am, a thought will always come to my mind. That is what process
or product I can innovate, invent or discover.

3.I will always remember that “Let not my winged days, be spent in vain”.

4.I realize I have to set a great technological goal that will lead me to think high,
work and persevere to realize the goal.

5.My greatest friends will be great scientific and technological minds, good
teachers and good books.

6.I firmly believe that no problem can defeat me; I will become the captain of
the problem, defeat the problem and succeed.

7.My National Flag flies in my heart and I will bring glory to my nation.

May God bless you all.