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TechTop 2008, organized by the Thiruvananthapuram Technopark in association with US-based Degree Controls Inc, on August 18 and 19, has picked the project by students of the DKTE Textile and Engineering Institute, Ichalkaranji in Maharashtra, as the best innovative venture.

This innovative project based on “Electrolytic Effluent Treatment Plant” won the first prize, cash award of Rs, 1 lakh sponsored by Degree Controls.

The awards were given away by Dr. K Radhakrishnan, Director, VSSC, who was the chief guest at the awards function. The ceremony was presided over by Dr Ajaykumar, Secretary - IT, Government of Kerala.

The Oxford Engineering College, Bangalore bagged the second prize of Rs.25, 000 for their project “Constant Velocity Joint Assembly,” sponsored by IBS group.

The third prize of Rs.10,000 sponsored by One View Systems, and SunTec Business Solutions was shared by BITS, Pilani - Goa and Sahrdaya College of Engineering, Kodakara, Kerala, for their respective projects on ‘Microbial Fuel Cell Using Sewage’ and ‘Water Plants  and EOG Based Room Utility Control For Bedridden Patients’.

An expert committee, headed by N T Nair, chief editor of Executive Knowledge Lines, assessed the 33 projects that competed for top honours.

According to R K Nair, chief executive officer, Technopark, “The growth of technology bound industry in Kerala will be driven by start up companies fired by innovation. The relevance of Incubation activities is coming in this context. We have to attract young talent in our country to consider entrepreneurship as a serious option.”

He added that competitions like TechTop are a vehicle for Technopark to spot and nurture such talented youngsters and convert them into ‘Technopreneurs’.

“Our endeavour will be to develop TechTop as the most sought after competition in the country in the Technology space. As we go along we want to expand the scope of the competition to include postgraduates and school children in addition to the undergraduate students,” he added.

TechTop TechTop is organized every year to tap the innovative potential of entrepreneurial citizens of India. The objective is to promote individual innovators through support mechanism at various stages to become technology-based entrepreneurs.

The two-day All India exhibition witnessed 23 projects from 10 states.

Courtesy :- CIOL News

A Venezuelan delegation which visited Technopark on Tuesday has expressed interest in IT projects with cooperation between the Venezuelan Government, the State Government and the Technopark. IIITM-K director K.R.Srivathasan, Chief Minister’s IT advisor Joseph Mathew, Amarnath Raja and Sathish Babu from INAPP, Benny Mathew from Ernst & Young and Binu Shankar, CEO, G-Tech were present during the interaction with the Venezuelan delegation.

The Venezuelan Government delegation is headed by Director-General of the Standardisation and Automatisation of Public Administration Carlos Castellano.

Courtesy :- The New Indian Express

Zyxware technologies joins hands once again with GNU/Linux Users Group Trivandrum to organize the third install fest of the year in Trivandrum. This time the event is planned on a much more massive scale than the first two install fests. The earlier events were 1 day events targeted at the general public. This time it is targeted at the IT community in technopark and it is a full week program. The program is scheduled to be conducted from Sep 1 to Sep 5 at Park Center, Technopark, Trivandrum.

One-day-install-fests have a small disadvantage in that they get over by the time people get to know about it from the media. We have decided to get over this problem by spreading the event from Sep 1, Monday to Sep 5, Friday. The event is going to be conducted in the heart of technopark - Park Center. We are hoping to get the event inaugurated by one of the Ministers of the Government of Kerala.

Free Software Seminar Series, Open Movie Show and 3D Desktop Demo

In addition to the installations we are also organizing daily Free Software seminars covering topics ranging from “Business Opportunities in Free Software” to “Enterprise Application Development in Free Software”. On Wednesday we will be showing some of the popular Open Movies like Big Buck Bunny and Elephants Dream.

During the Fest

IT professionals working in Technopark can bring in their laptops to the Park Center and drop it off to get any of the Free Software Distributions installed. They also will have the opportunity to buy T-Shirts, Stickers, CDs and DVDs at the Fest. There will be informational posters, live presentations, open movie shows around the counters. There will also be a couple of GNU/Linux Gaming PCs available for people to try out the open games.

Zyxware Planning to Launch Freedom Toaster

During this install fest, we are also planning to unveil a freedom toaster. (If you don’t know already, a freedom toaster is a Free Software Vending Kiosk that will burn and give any of your favorite Free Software at the click off a button. It would look and operates like any of the soft drink vending machines) If we are able to pull this off, this will probably become the first time that somebody has done this in India. The Freedom Toaster is expected to turn quite a few heads during the Install fest.

Our Objective

Through this event and through the Freedom Toaster, we are hoping to generate enough buzz inside Technopark to be able to bring in new Free Software users and to rope in those professionals who are already using Free Software. In addition we are also hoping that at least a few companies in Technopark would become interested in trying out the freedom offered by FLOSS.

Partners

The partners for this event in addition to Zyxware and GLUG are Kerala State IT Mission, SPACE-Kerala, Free Software Foundation of India.

BSNL - Telecommunication Sponsor

BSNL has agreed to sponsor the event as the Telecommunications Partner and they will be meeting all the telecom and internet needs. They will be providing us with complete WiFi access in the Park Center and EVDO Wireless access at the Kiosks. A BSNL representative will also be present to demonstrate the configuration of BSNL broadband and EVDO in GNU/Linux.

The Technopark at Thiruvananthapuram will host the TechTop 2008 on its premises on August 18 and 19. The theme for this year’s contest is ‘Rural technology and global warming’ and responses from tomorrow’s technopreneurs.

TechTop is an All India Engineering Students project competition jointly organized by Technopark, Thiruvananthapuram and Degree C and supported by IEEE. The event focuses on spreading the spirit of innovation and entrepreneurship.

It is organized as a part of Technopark’s efforts to locate budding ‘Technopreneurs’ with innovative ideas at a very early stage, reward them suitably, and nurture their initiative to achieve commercial results, said a press release.

The organizers have received 90 applications from different states of which 33 projects are selected for the final round, it said. Of these 33 projects, 24 projects will be on display at Technopark on August 18 and 19.

The teams are from ten states - Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Orissa, West Bengal, Maharashtra, Goa, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Kerala, the release said.

“The motto behind TechTop is to promote and reward innovative ideas amongst budding engineers and to create an investment and entrepreneurship climate in the country,” said, chief executive officer, R.K.Nair.

He said that this year’s theme has generated ideas for the ailing agriculture sector from Calcutta Institute of Engineering and Management, West Bengal, with their Precision Farming idea, areca nut de-husking machine from Bapuji Institute of Engineering and Technology Davengere, Karnataka, and Coconut de-husking machine from PSG Technology, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu.

“These contributions reflect the youngsters’ shared concern about the growing farmers suicides in the country and the remedies mooted by them to save our ailing agriculture sector,” R.K.Nair said.

The project caters not only agriculture but also cover software, health, communication, textile and other areas as well, he added.

The most innovative, socially relevant and commercially exploitable projects will get a cash award of Rs 1 lakh sponsored by Degree Controls, followed by second prize of Rs.25, 000 sponsored by the IBS Software and three third prizes Rs.10, 000 each sponsored by One View Systems, AES Solutions and SunTec Business Solutions.

TechQuiz is scheduled on August 18 for the High School and Higher Secondary Students. The first prize of TechQuiz carrries a cash prize of Rs 4000, second prize Rs 2500 and third prize Rs 1500. A consolation prize of Rs 500 will also be given away.

The Project Exhibition at TechTop will be open to public on August 18 and 19 and the project presentation to the technical committee will take place simultaneously at Technopark.

The award ceremony of TechTop 2008 would be held on August 19.

Courtesy :- http://www.ciol.com

Kingfisher Airlines, one of the country’s leading airlines, has successfully started using Technopark-headquartered IBS’s iCargoNet thereby getting IBS its first Indian customer.

iCargoNet provides a unified, enterprise-wide solution to help manage the entire cargo business of the airline from planning, sales, operations, ground handling to cargo revenue accounting and revenue optimization functions in an integrated and cost-effective manner.

IBS hosts the iCargoNet solution from its own world class data centre here with the latest technology and support infrastructure that is managed by a 24X7 customer support centre and network managed services.

Commenting on the adoption of iCargonet, Rajesh Verma, executive vice president of the airline, said iCargoNet has been implemented as a unified software solution for seamlessly managing the cargo operations of Kingfisher Airlines.

‘As India’s leading airline with an unmatched route network, it was imperative that our solutions provider offer us a robust and reliable solution that would give us that competitive edge and be scalable in line with our aggressive expansion plans,’ said Verma.

Chairman and amp; CEO of IBS Group V.K. Mathews said their vision for the air transportation industry is to provide new-generation solutions that will be viable and inevitable migration options from the legacy systems that have shackled them for the past few decades.

‘With the successful deployment of iCargoNet, we can proudly claim to have fulfilled our vision by becoming a one-stop-shop for airline cargo solutions. We are extremely glad that Kingfisher Airlines has reposed trust in IBS and our solution,’ he added.

IBS is a leading global provider of new-generation IT solutions to the travel, transportation and logistics industry. A specialist in the domain, IBS offers a range of products and services that manage mission-critical operations of major airlines, airports, oil and gas companies, seaports, cruise lines and tour operators world-wide.

Courtesy :- http://www.indiaenews.com

IT Solutions (LITS), the information and communication technology arm of the UAE based business conglomerate S.S. Lootah Group, announced the signing of a cooperation with Technopark, Kerala based IT park located in the capital Trivandrum.

Abdullah Saeed Lootah, CEO of Lootah IT Solutions and Mr. N. Radhakrishnan Nair, CEO, Technopark inked the protocol in the presence of Eng. Yahya Lootah, Vice Chairman-CEO, S.S. Lootah Group and other Directors Mr. Rashid Lootah and Mr. Yousef Lootah.

Abdullah Saeed Lootah, CEO, Lootah IT Solutions commented, “Lootah IT Solutions has established itself as a key solutions provider in the Middle East and Africa (MEA) region and has been working with several companies operating from Technopark. As a natural progression, we are now looking to establish our permanent base in India , known for its IT stronghold and skilled manpower, which will provide us with a gateway to reach out to a larger market in the subcontinent and other parts of Asia . We are very happy to be looking   at Technopark as one of our key basis in India , with the knowledge that it is among the largest IT and Technology parks in South Asia .”

N.Radhakrishnan Nair, CEO Technopark Trivandrum said, “We are very happy to see Lootah IT Solutions setting up their operations in Technopark, in line with our vision to provide a holistic enabling environment to make knowledge industry intrinsically competitive and world class. We are confident that with rich experience in the Gulf region, one of the most active economic zones worldwide, Lootah IT Solutions will find Technopark highly conducive for investment and expansion of innovative development solutions.”

Lootah IT Solutions aims to establish a full-fledged development and operations centre at the Technopark facility to provide an advanced information infrastructure for service industries. The proposed Technopark facility of Lootah IT Solutions will involve software development including CRM solutions and also address solutions for sectors such as engineering, construction, energy and environment. Lootah IT Solutions’ proposed set-up in Technopark, Kerala will be yet another important milestone for S.S. Lootah Asia, the wholly-owned subsidiary of S.S. Lootah Group based in India . S.S. Lootah Asia has established strong footholds in the subcontinent in various sectors in the short span of time since its incorporation, with Information Technology and Knowledge Economy being among its top priorities. S.S. Lootah Asia aims to elevate the cultural and economic synergy between India and the UAE through strategic partnerships, insourcing and sourcing global business collaboration opportunities.

Courtesy :- http://www.itvarnews.net/

Ghost! Yes you read it right. A ghost is floating around the Technopark campus and the adjacent Kerala University campus in Trivandrum. Its feet are not touched on the ground. This ghost has been featured in Malayala Manorama recently. They have traced its origin too. Obviously someone has to die before she gets to walk without her feet touching the ground. As the folklores would have it most of the ghosts were passionate lovers once upon a time; often one rich and the other one poor. The story is no different here too. The poor lover was murdered by the girl’s mighty family and the girl, Hymawati was her name,

Read the rest here

       What do you match a coffee with..? Milk, Sugar…what else. Well, this time we’ve match it with ‘Dance’. Its not a puzzle. Read on..
       The 3rd August is a Sunday this year.But unlike the usual sundays, this is not a day to log Z’s. Coz you’ve to rock the floor on this friendship day at Cafe Coffee Day in Ginger. Arun’s holidays, a private initiative, is organizing DJ party on 3rd August to mark friendship day this year in Cafe coffee Day. You can’t degrade it to a normal DJ since something more is happening there. Along with the disc numbers from DJ Charlez, there are some contests ;’best friends’, ‘best dressed guy n’ gal’, ‘talent hunt’, to name a few. To add some more coffee, there is a coffee tasting session and a coffee quiz (dealing with CCD, obviously).

                                            
       The tickets are available at Cafe Coffee Day in Ginger @ Rs199/- per entry. This includes a food hamper from Cafe Coffee Day. They assure a seperate dance floor for ladies upon request.
       It feels like there are some ripples in and around, the once called, ‘non-happening’ TVM. Lets wait and watch how TVM cope with Cochin when it rises from its hibernate mode.

This is an Email that I received. I really want to know your comments.

Hi Admin,
You have been a major part of our technopark life. Hope you will not ignore this mail too, please have a look at the following.Did you come to know that the technopark rear gate(gate opens to California) will be open only from 7am to 7pm?. This is made in accordance with the new security arrangements. A wall paper proclaiming this wise decision has been placed the rear gate.

Please spare a moment to think logically. There are hundreds of people who leave their offices after 7 and make use of this gate to go to Kazhakkuttom, Ambalathinkara etc.There are many people having their accommodations in these areas. If the gate is closed they will have to get out either through the main gate or rear gate near Bhavani!!. Another option is to hire auto, but we already had many bitter experiences with auto drivers and are highly afraid of the night auto fares. People having their own vehicles can still sit not bothered about this. But there are poor people who cannot afford to have his/her own vehicles. Many techies sits up to 10pm if they have to finish urgent works, so there is an active traffic through this gate up to 10 normally everyday. For a majority this gate was quite convenient than the main gate (think of the robberies happening in the bypass road. The road from rear gate to kazhakkuttom is far better).

After all technopark is a 24 hr working place. So just think of, it is simply a bad idea to put people in trouble. There are hundreds of security men in technopark, few of them are placed in rear gate also, if they can’t assure the security then what are they meant for? This simply shows their incapability. The police are always ready to provide security for technopark, they are just a phone call away.

Any idea for how long this rule will be in effect??, if this is going to be permanent then we will have to protest against this.Atleast can we get the gate open upto 10pm..?

Please give necessary consideration to this problem from your side. We are helpless because we the technoparkians doesn’t have anybody to represent us or to fight for our rights. Are the technopark authorites not meant for ensuring the comfort of employees??

Vineesh Kumar N.V
Software Engineer
Ushus Technologies,
(A Division of Accel Transmatic Ltd.)
311, Nila, Technopark Campus,
Thiruvananthapuram 695 581, Kerala, India.

The restaurant Buraq is one of the two main restaurants situated in the top floor of Bhavani building in Technopark. The building equips around 3000 techies in it, the majority relying on these restaurants to satisfy their bellies. No doubt they supply junk food, which the busy techies don’t complain against or are worried about, but sometimes they try inedible integredents too.

Its the second appearence of Buraq on the primer in last 2 months. Unfortunately its the same notorious issue again,’Food adulteration’, but this time with a new ‘recipe’. This time its an iron nail that they gave to test the digestive power of our belly. Luckily the guy who bought the dish noted the nail in his food, to extend his healthy days of his life. I don’t think i’d have to explain the ‘wonders’ that can occur by the consumption of a rusty iron piece.

Sometimes it feels like we could’ve compared the food consumption from these restaurants to some adventure reality shows on TV. Our ‘hunger-execution’ lies in our luck of getting neat food. Sometimes ’someting more than food’ might kill our hunger, as like in this case. Hope some day the AXN crew would vist them to telecast these in their ‘Guinness world record show’, if this goes on un-noticed by the authorities. Lets hope they blacklist these restaurants before that.