‘Students should blend science and ethics to become global citizens’

Engineering students should blend science and ethics to become global citizens, as merely acquiring technical skills alone in their respective stream of studies will not help them to compete globally, said Majed Ali Al Mansoori, Secretary General of Emirates Falconers Club and Chairman of Municipality Affairs, Abu Dhabi, on Friday.

Delivering his inaugural address at the 16th edition of graVITas, the annual international techno-management fest organised by Vellore Institute of Technology (VIT) at its campus here, Mr. Mansoori said that students should be creative and compassionate thinkers to achieve a balance between progress and sustainability in their career. “Innovation is not only about changing technology, its about changing lives. Students should not only craft their future but also the future of humanity and sustainable development,” he said.

He highlighted the need for curiosity and persistence among students in achieving innovations and breakthroughs. In fact, the world’s greatest innovations from the internet to renewable energy were born out of these ideals rather than on the concept of certainty, he said.

In his presidential address, G. Viswanathan, founder chancellor, VIT, emphasized the need to admit more students in educational institutions including government colleges and universities as it would help youth to avail employment opportunities. Sadly, admission of more students is not happening in the country mainly due to the government’s reluctance to construct adequate infrastructure like buildings, classrooms, laboratories and appoint more teachers. “This trend of less intake of students in colleges and universities should end. As per 2011 census, of total 14 crore persons between 18-23 years of age, only four crore students were enrolled. What happened to the rest of the youth in the country,” he asked.

The Chancellor said that the government should spend more on science and technology, especially on research. For example, India spends less than 1% of the GDP on research as against 2-3 percent by other countries. It’s high time to focus on these areas in higher education to compete with the developed countries, he said.

The three-day fest will feature 207 events in total, comprising 147 events under graVITas’25 and 60 exciting pre-graVITas’25 events with prizes worth over ₹ 30 lakh. On the occasion, Anand Narasimhan, Managing Editor, Special Projects, CNN News18; Praveena Bhimavarapu, senior vice president & country head, Maximus India, and Sekar Viswanathan, vice president, VIT, were present.