Computer Science& Engg

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Aerospace Engg Polymer/ Chemical Engg
EECS , Comm Engg
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Video : 200hrs Entries : 350
Fundamental Areas,MATLAB Tutorials,Digital Electronics,Power Electronics,Signal/Image/Speech
Processing /Fuzzy ,logic,Control Systems,Wavelets,Instrumentation,VLSI and Embedded
Systems,Communication Engineering,Microprocessors,Thoughts Of Power,MIT Opencourseware,E
Books
Video : 100 hrs Entries : 140
Polymer Processing, Polymer Chemistry, Polymer Testing & Analysis, Rheology, Rubber Engineering /
Technology, Blends & Composites, Polymer Materials & Additives, Polymer Engineering Books, Plastics
& Environment, MIT Open , Course ware, E Books
Video : 500hrs Entries : 450
Understanding Computers, Computer Science - Quick Reference, Operating Systems, Networking,
Parallel and Distributed Computing, Artificial Intelligence, Language and Speech Processing, Database
Technologies, Electronic Commerce, Cognitive Sciences, Computer Vision, Computer Graphics and
Multimedia, Cryptography and other Emerging Areas, Network Security, Software Architecture, Thoughts
Of Power, MIT Opencourseware, E Books
Video: 100 hrs Entries: 85
Mechanical Engg
Video: 120 hrs Entries: 250
Fundamental and Allied Areas, Thermal
and Fluid Sciences, CAD/CAM, FEM-
Design Tutorial, Design, Manufacturing
Aeronautical/Marine/Automotive
Sciences, Thoughts Of Power, MIT
Open Course ware, E Books
Programming
Video : 80 hrs Entries: 120
Programming Language Concepts,Web
Programming, PHP, C / VC++, Data
Structures, Windows Programming,
Visual Basic,JAVA, Software
Engineering, UNIX / LINUX, COBOL
Programming, SQL Database, ORACLE
Database, Active Server Pages, C#
Programming, Multimedia Programming,
Others
Biotechnology
Video: 50 hrs Entries: 35
Medical Sciences
Video: 80 hrs Entries: 90
Life Sciences Video: 40 hrs Entries: 45
Media/ Journalism Video: 120 hrs Entries: 160
Humanities
Video: 150 hrs Entries: 360
Literature, History, Culture, Music
Philosophy
Video: 200 Entries: 175
World Religions, Comparative Religious studies, Science&
Spirituality, Sacred Texts of all major religions, Essays...
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Mathematics
Video: 120 hrs Entries: 160
Number Theory, Algebra, Calculus, Engg.
Math, Linear Algebra,History of Math,
Numerical Methods, Probability...
Physics
Video : 150hrs Entries: 190
General Physics, Astrophysics, Quantum
Physics, Life of Physicists, Nuclear Physics
Chemistry
Video : 100 hrs Entries: 135
General Chemistry,Organic Chemistry,
Inorganic Chemistry, Biochemistry ( Mixed)
Environmental Sciences
Video: 25 hrs Entries: 20
Ecology, Climate, Global Warming/ Dimming,
Alternate Energy,
Teaching& Learning Video:70 hrs Entries: 55
IEEE/ ACM Gateway
On line gateways to IEEE Xplore, ACM, Digital
Engineering Libraries
MIT OCW Archive
Video : 350hrs Entries : 100
Various/ On all major areas
Aum Amriteshwarai Namah:
VIDYA Digital Knowledge Base
Architecture - Page 1 of 2
Graphical Representation of over
4000 GB of organized data from the
collected from the www served
through 4 intranet servers.
Ajai Narendran
Content Manager& Web master
Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham
Ettimadai, Coimbatore
Nobel Prize Archive
Video : 30hrs Entries : 15
Various
Medical Compendium
Video : 25hrs Entries : 160
Various
VIDYA- Video Lecture Archive Entry points to AdUni Videos,
VEGA Video Archive, Research
Channel Archive, Feynman-Nash-
Beth -Penrose Archive, Annenberg
Video Archive etc...
E-Learning Video
Distinguished Lectures
Video :100Hrs, Entries : 35
Indo-US Lectures
Video: 250hrs Entries : 50
Vidya Video Lecture Archive - Various >> Over 5000 Hours of Searchable
Video on all major areas of Engineering, Science, Humanities, Spirituality&
Philosophy Video Lectures from Massachusetts Institute of Technology ( MIT-OCW),
Yale University, Carnegie Mellon University, University of California- Berkeley/ Los
Angeles/ San Diego, University of Colorado, Texas A&M University, Harvard University,
BBC,Vega Science, University of Michigan, University of Washington, NASA, Rensselaer
Polytechnic Institute( RPI), Discovery Channel, Intel, California Institute of Technology
(CALTECH), Stanford University, AdUni,Research Channel, Mathematical Research
Institute ( MSRI), CERN, Princeton University, Georgia Institute of Technology ( Georgia
Tech), Internet Archive, Rutgers University, Univ. of Frieburg- Germany, University of
Illinois-UC, University of Helsinki, Berkeley Web casts, University of Karlsruhe, TED,
Google Talks and more...
Biomedical Engg
Video : 200 hrs Entries : 40
Various
Management
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Video : 300 hrs Entries : 225
Social Entrepreneurship, Economic
Management,Strategic Management, Production
Management, Entrepreneurship, Human Recourse
Management, Technology Management,
Management Communication, Business
Management, Operations Management, Financial
Management, Allied Areas
* The figures are approximate
Now with IBM-Yahoo
Enterprise Search &
Wordpress Blog
Hobbies
Career Guidance
Social Work
Video : 80hrs Entries : 60
Various
Video/ Audio : 250hrs Entries : 200
Aptitude tests, GRE/TOEFL/ GMAT/ GATE, Career Options, Soft Skills ...
Video/ Audio : 20hrs Entries : 120
Photography, Astronomy, World Music, HAM radio,
Recreational Electronics/ Mathematics, Health& Fitness ...
Interviews& Conversations
Video : 50hrs Entries : 100
Jeffory Mishlove Archive, Charlie Rose Archive, Berkeley Conversations with
History and Various other collections
Living on the Edge
The Innovation Edge
The Inspiration Edge
The Living Edge
The Sacred Edge
Random Quotes
Free wares/ Sharewares download archive
Recent additions Index I Frame Index
Curriculum Resource Guide
CSE
ECE
EEE
IT
MECH
Updates on
Global
Competitions
Entire B.Tech
syllabus
mapped
semester/
paper-wise to
VIDYA
content
Video Streaming 40Documentaries
30Entries
Tutorials by Amrita faculty/ Students, Entries: 55
Fitness
In-house Archive
HowStuffWorks
In-house Archive
J
Campus Websites
Papers& Reports
Entries : 25+ paper repositories
Audio Books Audio : 150hrs Entries : 75
Academic Integrity
Software Archive
Video : 15hrs Entries : 50
Entries: 55
How Stuff Works Archive
Campus Clubs& Groups
E-Books Archive
Video Search
Knowledge Community
Video/ Audio
Lectures :Meta
tagged search
PDF/ DjVu /Chm Books categorized subject-wise
in 11 repositories
Entries : Over 100, 000
WikiMedia integrated
Knowledge Community
Portal
Interdisciplinary Archive
Video : 60 hrs Entries : 130
Video :50hrs Entries: 70
Video :10 hrs Entries: 5
Video :10 hrs Entries: 25
Video :10 hrs Entries: 5
B.Tech
Aum Amriteshwarai Namah:
VIDYA Digital Knowledge Base
Architecture - Page 2 of 2
Graphical Representation of over
3000 GB of organized data from the
collected from the www served through
4 intranet servers
Ajai Narendran
Content Manager& Web master
Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham
Ettimadai, Coimbatore
VIDYA - History
The work on VIDYA began in the year 2000 with an initial collection of PPT& PDF files amounting to a modest 64 Mb.
Vidya grew over the years as the demand for quality learning material increased. The first listing of material
consolidated into a single HTML page gradually evolved into multiple repositories categorized subject-wise. Till the
year 2002 VIDYA had only static learning material primarily comprising of HTML pages, PPT and PDF files. The
announcement of MIT-OCW in 2001 rolled out new possibilities for Vidya and Vidya mirrored locally (intranet) the
initial content of MIT-OCW the day it was released, this was welcomed by many in the campus because then we did
not have a high bandwidth internet with a limited number machines with internet connectivity. Accurate search
results by Google and Googles motto To organize the worlds information and make it universally useful and
accessible significantly accelerated the development of Vidya. With the publishing of MIT-OCWs first video lectures
, starting with Gilbert Strangs lectures on Linear Algebra, Vidya took a major leap towards learning of a different
kind ie: listening to world renowned professors and synchronize it with learning at Amrita. MIT-OCWs video
lectures in Vidya was the very first step towards realizing the ideal Study Locally, Learn Globally . From a
single server Vidya grew to 4 servers and currently Vidya hosts over 3000 GB of organized information. With the
integration of D-Space , all the Video lectures from around the world (Over 5000 hours) are made key-word
searchable . The other campus of Amrita till recently accessed Vidya via ISRO-satellite link and currently Vidya is
mirrored in Amritapuri, Bangalore and Kochi campuses. Incorporating WikiMedia platform brought in the much
needed Knowledge Community portal where the users could interact and recommended (through annotated links)
content in Vidya. What started as a spare time activity has now become one of most talked about and unique
features of the University with the promise of touching and transforming the life of every earnest aspirant in our
campuses.
VIDYA - Access Statistics
No of Hits : 6869704 ( Jan - July 2008) ||10054743 ( Jan - Dec 2007) || 8678995( Jan - Dec 2006)
No of Visitors : 76354( Jan - Nov 2008)|| 63955 ( Jan - Dec 2007) || 45806 ( Jan - Dec 2006)
Unique IPs : 1546( Jan - July 2008) || 696( Jan - Dec 2006) || 611( Jan - Dec 2006)
VIDYA - Future Prospects
1. If VIDYA becomes a part of the day-to-day learning experience guided
guided by the faculty members it could significantly add to the quality of our
graduates.
2.The first GUI layers of VIDYA could be integrated to a Content Management
System to make dynamic updates and streamlined information dissemination.
A search engine is also the need of the hour.
3. VIDYA has the potential to evolve into a Learning Resource Centre that can
cater to the Knowledge needs of all our campuses and beyond.
4. There is great demand from students to extend VIDYA accessibility to the
hostel through Wi-Fi connection
5. Since the use of PDAs ands high-end mobile phones is rampent amkong
stduents, it is worth converting selected video lectures and talks to MP4/3GP
format , this way learningcan happen on the move as well.
5. From the central VIDYA repository one can cull out smaller archives
customised to Schools and other centres.
VIDYA - Reflections of a Distinguished Alumnus
"... As a very proud student & alumnus of Amrita, I have seen the transformation of the Ettimadai campus to an
internationally recognized institution. While the infrastructure development has been at a rocketing pace in Amrita,
which scores well over many contemporary institutions, I feel that the single largest influence that changed the learning
attitude of students was initiated by Vidya the e-Learning repository of Amrita. When I was a student (2002)
Vidya was in Her fledgling stage (compared to what She is now), but even then She was my saviour for 2 of my final
year electives (FEM & Mechatronics). Vidya for me was an inspiration and guide to my future of opportunities, teaching
me the essentials of engineering, management, philosophy, humanities, spirituality, and creativity all capsuled within
a mouse-click. Within a couple of years Vidya has changed academic attitudes of students from that of routine
education to meaningful learning and holistic development: the latter being the actual purpose of the former. Vidya
transcends beyond teaching subjects, for She guides students how to Learn.
Nowhere else could I have got to meet Chanakya, Oscar Schindler, Einstein, Patanjali, Edward de Bono, Jack Welch,
Prof. March, Sri Gandhi, Richard Feynman and Amma, over one single table! And imagine arriving at a confluence of
their ideas and contemplating over them? Thats exactly what Vidya made me do: Think. But, that is the power of
Vidya, showing you the broader aspects of learning and giving you an opportunity to assimilate within. She was (is) the
gateway of access to any personality I wanted to learn about, and Oscar Schindler was a great influence on my
concepts of ethics and morality. Nowhere else could I have imagined to meet Schindler!
Today, I find that students are in a greater pace than we were, but still finding it hard to keep up with Vidya. From the
latest video lectures to ground breaking scientific inventions, Vidya has more to offer than the students could possibly
want. But I am immensely happy that students have fully realised the indispensability of Vidya and are working
together to redefine the process of learning. Vidya, in many ways, has positively influenced the peer bonding within
Amrita. Today, students stay back during vacations to enjoy the absolute bliss of learning through Vidya, for the fun of
it (purpose will follow later!). As probably the most frequently visiting alumnus of Ettimadai campus, I have been able to
witness the silent transformation in the students learning mode, getting healthier every month, as further confirmed
through my interaction with them. Vidya has touched and changed lives at Ettimadai, and She will continue to guide
generations of students to come ! "
Srinivasa Varadan - B.Tech 2004 batch ( Mech), Amrita Alumni Association Vice President , 2005& 2007
Former Technology Consultant to Dun& Bradstreet, UK and Current MBA student ( NUS, Singapore )
* The figures are approximate
Welcome to VIDYA. Here is your gateway to some of the best learning material ferreted out of the world wide web.
VIDYA i h t i h k l d b d d ll ddi t l l b l di i t l i d l ti VIDYA is here to enrich your knowledge base and expand your awareness as well, adding a truly global dimension to learning and exploration.
Over 4000 GigaBytes, More than 25 areas, powered with an enterprise search engine, mapped to the syllabus and regularly updatednow across our campuses!
Redefining Learning Revitalizing
A Glimpse into VIDYA - Amrita Digital Library
Feedback
I had always looked at Vidya as a help line when I was desperately in
need for information. It contained much more information that what we
needed, and that led me into exploring unheard domains of the topic I
was searching on. Things changed as I slowly started understanding the
true power of Vidya. It started becoming a friend that I relied on, and not
only for academic purposes. My first brush with Vidya came in the form of
Gilbert Strang of MIT and his video lectures on Linear Algebra. This se-
ries of lectures, which was later on opened up through OCW, is a definite
'must watch' for any engineer. It has just been a month into my Masters program here,
and what Ajai sir told me when I first met him is still ringing in my ears: "Engineering can
be tackled by math, and math alone". The fact is more than 100% true.
Vidya made my masters life slightly easy as I had taken full advantage of its mathemat-
ics repository. Vidya enabled me to listen to video lectures from professors in top univer-
sities in the world, meaning that there was little difference between me, and a student
who paid $40000 to listen to Professor James March at Stanford. Vidya gave me access
to information instantaneously, which otherwise would have taken hours to 'google' and
understand. As I explored and learnt, it slowly dawned on me that Vidya is my pillar of
strength, something that I will always rely on. Vidya is a fountain of knowledge, and stu-
dents are expected to drink information , not gargle.
Chandrasekhar Jayarama Krishnan
B.Tech ( Mechanical Engineering ) 2008 Batch
Currently pursuing MS in Aerospace Engineering at Cranefield University, UK
Vidya was very resourceful to us. It was a thoughtful exercise as In-
ternet access available to students then was restricted to less than 20
PCs and the bandwidth was very limited. It had a feedback mecha-
nism wherein students can request for video lectures and more mate-
rial from the Vidya team on specific subjects of interest and those
requests were promptly responded to. We immensely benefitted from
Vidya as we were able to find supplementary materials for our
courses and also new and interesting materials for our final year proj-
ects. It was an organised collection of video lectures and lecture
notes in all subjects from universities all over the globe. More and
more lectures on the same subject helped us to see many viewpoints. In a world that is
becoming more multi-cultural and research becoming more inter-disciplinary, students
need be exposed to many fields (and not just their own) that converge in solving real
problems. And Vidya was a gateway to achieve such a vision. Specifically, I benefited a
lot using video lectures on Natural Language Processing and Machine Learning. I would
like to thank the Vidya team so much for creating such a resource for us. I wish Vidya
grows multifold and serve the student community in all ways possible.
.
Vidya A Students Dream e-Guru.
As a very proud student & alumnus of Amrita, I have seen the
transformation of the Ettimadai campus to an internationally
recognized institution. While the infrastructure development
has been at a rocketing pace in Amrita, which scores well
over many contemporary institutions, I feel that the single
largest influence that changed the learning attitude of stu-
dents was initiated by Vidya the e-Learning repository of
Amrita. When I was a student (2002) Vidya was in Her fledg-
ling stage (compared to what She is now), but even then She
was my saviour for 2 of my final year electives (FEM & Mechatronics). Vidya
for me was an inspiration and guide to my future of opportunities, teaching
me the essentials of engineering, management, philosophy, humanities, spiri-
tuality, and creativity all capsuled within a mouse-click. Within a couple of
years Vidya has changed academic attitudes of students from that of routine
education to meaningful learning and holistic development: the latter being
the actual purpose of the former. Vidya transcends beyond teaching subjects,
for She guides students how to Learn.
Nowhere else could I have got to meet Chanakya, Oscar Schindler, Einstein,
Patanjali, Edward de Bono, Jack Welch, Prof. March, Sri Gandhi, Richard
Feynman and Amma, over one single table! And imagine arriving at a conflu-
ence of their ideas and contemplating over them? Thats exactly what Vidya
made me do: Think. But, that is the power of Vidya, showing you the broader
aspects of learning and giving you an opportunity to assimilate within. She
was (is) the gateway of access to any personality I wanted to learn about,
and Oscar Schindler was a great influence on my concepts of ethics and
morality. Nowhere else could I have imagined to meet Schindler!
Today, I find that students are in a greater pace than we were, but still finding
it hard to keep up with Vidya. From the latest video lectures to ground break-
ing scientific inventions, Vidya has more to offer than the students could pos-
sibly want. But I am immensely happy that students have fully realised the
indispensability of Vidya and are working together to redefine the process of
learning. Vidya, in many ways, has positively influenced the peer bonding
within Amrita. Today, students stay back during vacations to enjoy the ab-
solute bliss of learning through Vidya, for the fun of it (purpose will follow
later!). As probably the most frequently visiting alumnus of Ettimadai campus,
I have been able to witness the silent transformation in the students learning
mode, getting healthier every month, as further confirmed through my inter-
action with them. Vidya has touched and changed lives at Ettimadai, and She
will continue to guide generations of students to come.
As a suggestion I would request every department to conduct an orientation
session to its first year students, to acquaint them well in advance with the
resource pool of Vidya. And, Vidya has to become a regular part of teaching
too, for She can bring the Masters to the classrooms. This will set the stu-
dents in pace to give a head start to their learning process. As alumni, we
would be immensely happy and honoured to contribute in any aspect, to
have our Vidya growing.
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K. Srinivasa Varadhan,
Mechanical Engineering, 2003 batch, Alumni President 2004-2005, 2005-
2006.
Former Technology Consultant to Dun& Bradstreet, London
Currently International MBA Student at National University of Singapore.
Srinivasan Janarthanam is a UKIERI Ph.D. Scholar in Informatics at The Uni-
versity of Edinburgh. His interests are Spoken Dialogue Systems, Natural Language
Processing and Artificial Intelligence. He has an M.Sc in Intelligent Systems degree
from the University of Sussex and B.E degree from Amrita School of Engineering then
under Bharathiyar University. Previously, he served as a Research Associate at the
Amrita University
Chandrasekhar Jayarama Krishnan
B.Tech ( Mechanical Engineering ) 2008 batch
Currently pursuing MS in Aerospace Engineering at Cranfield University, UK
Vidya.
I came to know about
Vidya in my first yr, first
week unlike my other
friends. I guess I was
lucky, because that
day it was our first lab
and the machine on
which I sat had the Vidya page open.
At that time Vidya looked like a menu,
looks wise not that appealing but con-
tent wise too good. That day we just
browsed through the fighter plane sec-
tion. It was amazing, and we always
came back for more. But none of us
actually knew how to actually use it, or
lets say where to use it. I didnt know
that soon I would be one of the great-
est users of Vidya.
Time passed. First year, second year
and now third year. From an engineer-
ing fresher I became a techie always
hungry for information, videos papers
and e-books. And trust me I went on-
line for none of these. Everything was
there in Vidya. All I needed to do was
find it, which was way easier that
googling online. I always write what-
ever I need on CD or DVD. Now I have
a large chunk of e-books for my per-
sonal reference and collection stored in
my hard disk. And during this period
even Vidya changed in appearance
and size.
Our college is blessed to have some-
thing like Vidya. The resource available
in Vidya is something which I will very
much miss after I pass out from col-
lege. I end by stating one simple fact.
Money doesnt make a student rich,
knowledge does.
Rajesh Rajan B.Tech ( Mech)
2008 batch
Currently pursuing MS in Aerospace
Engineering at University of Pisa, Italy
& Aerospace University at Toulouse,
France
Study Locally, Learn Globally
To Inform, Inspire and Innovate
1
VIDYA is an imperative part of every Amritaites stu-
dent life and very much a part of the Amrita tradition
as educational institution.
One of the best ever features of our university is this Multi
Tera Byte virtual library designed with a vision of comple-
menting a student's complete learning process. Vidya is an
exceptional reservoir of lectures and presentations from
prestigious universities and organizations from across the
globe for the sole purpose of expanding a students knowl-
edge base to much more than what is done in classrooms
and libraries to prepare them for the competent atmosphere they will have to
face at every point of their career life.
I have been benefitted by it right from the very first year of my academic
tenure at Amrita. Be it seminar topics, or resources for mini projects, video
lectures of renowned scientists or just leisure reading for hobbyists Vidya
has it all.
I particularly was benefitted by the "How stuff works" section and the various
columns of information on diverse fields in electrical engineering. The inter-
views and conversation section throws light on the some of the very inspira-
tional accomplishments by eminent personalities. The spirituality and
philosophy section gives a deep insight into the philosophy behind Zen Bud-
dhism (which I particularly read) besides that of the Bhagavad Gita (that I fol-
low). I have no uncertainties about the significance of Vidya in every students
life now or in future.
The effort taken to bring into existence such a plethora of knowledge and in-
formation into the virtual world that is accessible by all students of Amrita is in-
deed commendable and deserves much appreciation from all of the students.
And I particularly want to thank the mastermind behind this earnest and tri-
umphant endeavour, Ajai Sir, for having given us this wonderful opportunity to
benefit from this. All kudos to Sir for making this happen and the best wishes
to the Vidya team to continue the noble work of spreading knowledge. The
caption chosen for the Amrita Digital Library- To Inform, Inspire and Innovate
couldnt have been any better as it conveys just what it implements.
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Gouri B Nair
(Amrita School of Engineering, B.Tech ( EEE ) , 2008 batch
Currently pursuing Masters in Electrical Engineering at University of Texas
at Arlington, USA.
A Multi University Learning Experience within a multi discipli
nary , multi campus system ... All words of praise are insufficient for this
great and amazing venture born in the mind
of one of the truly greatest creative and inspi-
rational thinker I have met till date. To talk
about Vidya without talking about Ajai Sir, its
creator is literally like talking about a child
without any mention of the mother who cares
for it so deeply.
Vidya was created in a small lab with one
person and one system. It is true that great
ideas backed by passion, tenacity and above
all a will to do some greater good to the people always succeed.
Such was Vidya.
Google has this interesting mission: To make the information of the
world universally available and accessible (or something to that
extent). I always thought that Ajai Sir had this similar vision. On
entering the website you become engaged and spellbound by its
depth and vastness. You could literally find everything on every-
thing. Audio/Video lectures, notes, scribbles, talks, PDFs, books
they are all there. Not just computer science and information tech-
nology but on management, spirituality, general talks, motivational
and inspirational thoughts, everything. It was like Amrita Vishwa
Vidyapeethams Google. God knows how many nights and how
much sweat would have gone to make this come true.
I was lucky to meet Ajai Sir very early; almost as soon as I joined
college. I watched him closely work on his baby before I came
across it. I was caught by his enthusiasm, his well breeding and
his great and vast general knowledge. I was looking out for some
information and thought I would have to spend a nerve racking
search on Google but all he did was go to Vidya and with a few
clicks showed me what I wanted. I was then left on my own and I
started exploring and never stopped for the next four years.
Through Vidya, I learnt to get to into the minds of leaders, I came
to know more about world history and culture, I found out that
management was a world deeper and richer than the one I made it
out to be
I found joy in watching The Winged Migration, the story behind
the Bermuda Triangle, learning about the human mind and body
I could read and live Astronomy, my childhood passion and Ajai
Sirs too
On passing out of college the one thing that every student did was
take a backup of Vidya. They knew that they would never get a
substitute. I did the same too. To summarize Vidya is every stu-
dents dream search engine cum dream database of resources.
Long live Vidya and Ajai Sir. God Bless!
Priyanka Malkan, B.Tech ( CSE) 2007 Batch,
Programmer Analyst, MindTree Ltd. Bangalore
In this world of knowledge enrichment and innovation it is
important for every student to diversify the scope of learning.
The traditional classroom learning is just not enough to meet
the demands of the present era. What students need is what
the tagline of VIDYA says - 'Study locally, Learn globally'.
While classrooms and textbooks can get us the adequate in-
formation to get into a mediocre career, to make a difference
in it and to innovate we need to step beyond textbooks and learn from
various resources. This is exactly what VIDYA provides the student com-
munity here - A learning beyond textbooks.
Personally, I have benefitted a lot from the e-books and video lectures in
VIDYA. But for her I would not have been able to maintain the consistent
9 points. She has helped me swim through the concepts of networking,
Java, wireless networks, etc. The video lectures of Jim kurose in net-
working deserves special mention here.
Not only do we get the required extra info here, but we get to know the
academic perspective & scope, curriculum and teaching methodologies
of a number of foreign universities through the MIT-OCW, Stanford lec-
tures, etc. This indeed helps us broaden our perspective of education
and helps us have a smooth transition when we move for post gradua-
tion outside India.
Another important concept is the inter-disciplinary approach to engineer-
ing. Vidya is the common place a student in CSE would visit when
he/she has to do a project involving the technicalities of Mechanical engi-
neering. Also she has shown me avenues to alternate career paths. But
for the books on statistics and probability in VIDYA I wouldn't have re-
alised my true liking and aptitude for finance.
While helping us out with academics, Vidya also offers us a wide range
of books and audio books for our leisure.Now where else do we find all
the well known authors in one place!While browsing through the reposi-
tories we find multiple books that interest us and we explore into them
and this in a way expands our knowledge horizon thus enlightening the
ignorance that lies within us. With passing years she produces multiple
branches and strengthenes the existing ones while deeply rooted in her
vision of serving the student community in their endeavours for a succes-
ful career. She is indeed a mentor - guiding students the right way.
Each year the new set of students exhibit greater potential, enthusiasm
and vigour; not only to succeed but to make a differnce too. I'm sure
Vidya will guide them and open new avenues to them as she did to me.
Vidya is indeed a 'unique' boon to Amrita.
Kothai priyadarshini, B.Tech ( CSE ) , Final Year ( 2008 batch )
Extremely good work. I got lot of learning materials and video
lectures for my research and class work as well. It gives a feel of
sitting on a multi-university network. Hats off to u and ur team.
We really enjoy "Vidya project" a lot.
Babu Devasenapati.S
Asst. Professor,
Department of Mechanical Engineering.
2
Vidya has showed me what is out there in the world of
technology. I would have never learned many things without
Vidya. Owing to the variety of areas that Vidya span, cross-
contextual learning also happened. It is the ease of access
that makes Vidya special, it is clearly an organized digital
archive, its now searchable also. Having Vidya, I'd never
have to wonder how programming or robotics was taught in
Stanford, its all archived here in videos and presentations. Much of what I
stumbled upon in Vidya has exposed me to learn something new every
time.Utilizing Vidya with my college education has certainly made a big
difference.
Nivash Kumar, B.Tech ( IT) 4th Year ( 2008 batch )
NIvash configured the search engineand blog portal for Vidya
VIDYA - Feedback
VIDYA, the knowledge archive had influenced me so much at Amrita especially during the
phase when i was a Research scholar. VIDYA project simplified the education process by
its unique anytime-anywhere watch and learn approach. One needed to plugin his ear-
phones and voila there goes MIT OCW classes on the topic of choice.
Key elements in research was information and multidisciplinary studies needed a lot
more. Vidya archive was one touch away library that one would prefer that most
other forms of info dissemination. There were months when i could avoid running around
to search at the main library. Besides science, it widened my knowledge on the ancient
and current cultural values that our country has been rich of besides allowing me to relax
with its collections of cartoons and writings on varied themes.
VIDYA motivated my goals to pursue computational neuroscience and many thanks to the
VIDYA, i hold a PhD on that topic of my choice. I was recently told it has grown to a few
terabytes and even though far away i wish to dive into VIDYA some day soon when i can
visit my glorious AMRITA campus.
Shyam Diwakar Mukundanunny ( Ph.D , University of Milan, Italy)
Post Doctoral Fellow
Dept Neurophysiology(Pavia)/Dept. Mathematics(Milan)
University of Pavia
via Forlanini 6
27100 Pavia PV
Italy.
Vidya A Students Dream e-Guru.
As a very proud student & alumnus of Amrita, I have seen the transformation of the Ettimadai campus to an internationally
recognized institution. While the infrastructure development has been at a rocketing pace in Amrita, which scores well over
many contemporary institutions, I feel that the single largest influence that changed the learning attitude of students was
initiated by Vidya the e-Learning repository of Amrita. When I was a student (2002) Vidya was in Her fledgling stage
(compared to what She is now), but even then She was my saviour for 2 of my final year electives (FEM & Mechatronics).
Vidya for me was an inspiration and guide to my future of opportunities, teaching me the essentials of engineering,
management, philosophy, humanities, spirituality, and creativity all capsuled within a mouse-click. Within a couple of years
Vidya has changed academic attitudes of students from that of routine education to meaningful learning and holistic
development: the latter being the actual purpose of the former. Vidya transcends beyond teaching subjects, for She guides
students how to Learn.
Nowhere else could I have got to meet Chanakya, Oscar Schindler, Einstein, Patanjali, Edward de Bono, Jack Welch, Prof.
March, Sri Gandhi, Richard Feynman and Amma, over one single table! And imagine arriving at a confluence of their ideas
and contemplating over them? Thats exactly what Vidya made me do: Think. But, that is the power of Vidya, showing you
the broader aspects of learning and giving you an opportunity to assimilate within. She was (is) the gateway of access to any
personality I wanted to learn about, and Oscar Schindler was a great influence on my concepts of ethics and morality.
Nowhere else could I have imagined to meet Schindler!
Today, I find that students are in a greater pace than we were, but still finding it hard to keep up with Vidya. From the latest
video lectures to ground breaking scientific inventions, Vidya has more to offer than the students could possibly want. But I
am immensely happy that students have fully realised the indispensability of Vidya and are working together to redefine the
process of learning. Vidya, in many ways, has positively influenced the peer bonding within Amrita. Today, students stay
back during vacations to enjoy the absolute bliss of learning through Vidya, for the fun of it (purpose will follow later!). As
probably the most frequently visiting alumnus of Ettimadai campus, I have been able to witness the silent transformation in
the students learning mode, getting healthier every month, as further confirmed through my interaction with them. Vidya has
touched and changed lives at Ettimadai, and She will continue to guide generations of students to come.
As a suggestion I would request every department to conduct an orientation session to its first year students, to acquaint them
well in advance with the resource pool of Vidya. And, Vidya has to become a regular part of teaching too, for She can bring
the Masters to the classrooms. This will set the students in pace to give a head start to their learning process. As alumni, we
would be immensely happy and honoured to contribute in any aspect, to have our Vidya growing.
No words can ever thank our beloved Ajai sir for bestowing our student community with Vidya. But probably the only way of
giving him back would be to become what he believes we can achieve: truly & meaningfully educated. We assure him that
we shall continue to foster Vidya and that She shall always outpace the students in growth.
5 Campuses. Multiple disciplines. Hundreds of academicians. Thousands of students. 1 VIDYA.
Thanks a Billion, Dearest Ajai sir. ! We Love You !
K. Srinivasa Varadhan
Mechanical Engineering, 1999-2003, Alumni President 2004-2005, 2005-2006.
Former Technology Consultant, Cognizant Technologies, London
Currently International MBA student at National University of Singapore .
Elected president of International MBA student's group at NSU.
My experience of VIDYA - the E Guru
Today education has come to the limits of 'how lucky' one is to be guided by an experienced and inspirational teacher. And in
a world where teaching is not the most coveted career profiles, such teachers have become a rare breed. VIDYA is one among
them although not a person. A collection of 4.2 Terbytes of e-books, audio books, gateways, video lectures, etc. is a treasure
that guides a student towards focussed and global learning independent of where he/she comes from.
Personally, VIDYA has been a boon. But for her I would not have understood the concepts of networking and JAVA without
ambiguity. She has been one of the main reasons for my consistent success of more than 90% in my university examinations.
The experience of listening to Yale, MIT-OCW and other university lectures and applying them to the current learning and
understanding is a unique experience that I would cherish.
The solid foundation in terms of academics and personality that VIDYA has helped me develop, is one of the prime reasons of
my adaptability to a foreign learning environment. A success is not what is important, its sustenance is more important. The
knowledge and attitude that VIDYA helped me develop is helping me sustain the success outside my home university.
Yet another dimension to the VIDYA teaching experience is the inter-disciplinary approach to engineering. A place where a
CSE student would turn to in order to do a project demanding a different domain knowledge.
However, the effect of VIDYA is much more than from an academic perspective. The collection of books on psychology and
management is a unique combination that provides students a trigger towards lateral thinking and global learning. In this age,
where humans have been spoilt by being provided everything they want, imagination and vision has taken a back seat. Luxury
and enjoyment has become the order of the day. A mediocre career and a small closed life. The mental ability of the human
race seems to have stagnated. The worst, the present young generation is adopting the same mentality. We fail to remember
that the vision the scientists centuries back had is what has lead us to this age and it is our responsibility to not let die the
power of imagination and vision. And how can we do this until we redefine education and learning. VIDYA is the redefinition
of education to Amrita, that triggers the almost dead mind and leads on its right path to be better engineers and develop
technology that makes life better on earth.
The tagline of VIDYA says it all to inform, inspire and innovate. VIDYA and its architect, Mr. Ajai Narendran have been a
boon to the university. VIDYA with all its far reaching branches and deep roots will support the students of Amrita University
and guide them as a lantern in their search for knowledge, inspiration and education.
Kothai Priyadharshini Alagarsamy,
B.Tech (CSE), 2009 batch
Amrita University
Currently in University of York, UK
(EURECA Project)
Email : astha.pd@gmail.com
Vidya the digital library was a work of art. It epitomizes where knowledge is free .
The architecture:
In as much being a work of art , every aspect of Vidya was carefully engineered . We could see new useful tweaks every day.
And KAIZEN was always in place. This was what which contributed to Vidyas growth. If a large chunk of information alone
was the idea, then people would have found it as boring as the huge book shelf in any library. But Vidya was different,
we did not have the need to google up information. We had Vidya with us which had distilled knowledge from all corners
of the digital world.Vidya grew from being a look up to a complete reference. The diversity in course material from all
branches of Engineering to zen koans made us use Vidya for work and play.
Ease of use:
Be it the discussion forum or the new article lookup links, the ease of use was particularly the highlight. It was not an
overwhelming dazzling GUI but a simple interface with well thought out tweaks. In this aspect Vidya was like Google.
A simple approach to address the fundamental thirst for knowledge.
One for All and All for one:
Vidya was used by student and faculty alike be it teaching c++ or writing a research paper. Everything was available
at the click of a button.
Search engine:
Some of my batch mates thought out this feature and implemented a rudimentary search engine for Vidya .
This inspired and made a lot of us turn green.
The brain and heart behind Vidya:
I must say I have absolutely no words to marvel the brain and the heart that engineered Vidya. Vidya bears testimony to
the work of Ajay sir. He was always found working away at the Digital archive adding new features and getting feedback.
He would take even a single link break seriously and set it right immediately. It was basically his child. We never found him
fastidious or feverish at work cause he was applying his brain, heart and soul to his work of art and I never found him
under any strain. I really cherish the wonderful friendship which blossomed between Ajai Sir and us students.
The bond continues to this day and it is because of Vidya.
I wish and hope that Vidya be open through the internet and students around the world would benefit from it.
This will also allow us the alumni to be able to do value add to Vidya and take it to the next generation .
Karthik Sankar .R (MSc Software Engg 2000-2005)
Working as an Engineer in Symantec corporation
http://technicalphilosopher.blogspot.com
VIDYA as I see it
Karunakaran T K,
Research Analyst, Union Bank of Switzerland, Hyderabad
One reason why an MBA is considered as a professional retreat is the nature of lifestyle one is
forced to take up during the course of it. Sleepless nights, dreadful assignment deadlines and
demanding classroom sessions become a part of ones life. Only a few have the chance (or will)
to engage themselves with something exciting something that would make the long two years
seem like a couple of days. And the gift that was given to us was Vidya.
Vidya was introduced to us as a knowledge repository that had significant business related
content that would be helpful for us through our MBA journey. That was the business case of
using Vidya, so to speak. But what resulted from the use of this wonderful platform was nothing
less than transformation. A transformation in how we defined knowledge, disciplines and their
interconnectedness, and ideas. We found that Vidya was vaster than we had expected it to be. It
was addictive to begin with. It seemed to me as if the flow of information would not stop.
Quantum physics, higher mathematics, bioinformatics, religion & philosophy, to management...
the disciplines themselves did not look like a list with an end. A few of us were known in the
batch as the Vidya guys for the reason that we wouldnt let go of an opportunity where we can
talk to the batch and the faculty about the content in Vidya that would help us with our courses.
And that made a difference. I had friends come to me often asking if there was anything about a
particular field of interest in Vidya and if I could get it for them. And most often, it was right in
there and I would encourage them to use it themselves. A set of resourceful articles, books and
video documentaries on social entrepreneurship were extensively used for one of the courses
Managing beyond profits.
What Vidya ignited in me is more than an interest in knowledge management, which to a great
extent has helped me in my present job. It has helped me develop a thirst for knowledge itself, an
appreciation for cross-disciplinary and trans-disciplinary knowledge - the very nature of the
information age that we are in. During the couple of years in which I used Vidya, it never
stopped evolving. And this to me an essential feature of any knowledge platform, for it shows
how aligned it is to the never ending quality of knowledge. To constantly expand in breadth and
depth was one characteristic of Vidya that kept me logged on to it all the time. Most importantly,
the characteristic that went deep within and what I believe will continue to inspire me is how
knowledge is shared and with each sharing, there is power generated, a power that enables ideas,
creativity and collaboration among those which it is shared. And thats what I think is the only
thing that can take humanity to higher spheres.
Karunakuran T K
Hyderabad
Reference Testimonial

Aj. i N. t t nd ... n, (,'onltnl Amri t. Uni>'trl ily, CoimbalO""
Prom
Sri .. i .. ",. V . ... dh.n Kann. n, Consoll . nl@ Uun& ll ... Corpo ... lion. UK
Aboul mynl(
] ha,'c imo"'T1 Ajai for the paSt eigln YcaJ'S, since my $CUllent Iw:>od al Amrila School of Eng,iocering,
Coimbatore, lromplcloo the bachelors of the Me<:hanical Enginttnng programme Bt Arnrilll (1999,2003)
and have: served as the Vicc President of the worl dwide Amrila A lomni ASIlOCiation twice (20052001).
Since gradllll\ing I h:we bec:n a n:gulBr visilor La the Amrila CIlInJ1U5 at C..,irubatore. til with
slooents. and to provide them the requin:d guidance and nlCntorship, as a re:sponsiblc alumnus. Currernly
as too e)(ecuti"e team mem'ocr of the Alumni asso<.:iation I handle allUnnistudcnt inle"",tion, bas<:<I ..,ut of
London. t work for C<.>gni7.1U1t Technology Solutions M techno-logy oonsultant til our dierll. Dun .\
Ilmdsue..'t UK. I Dm also a sludenl ndmil inlo the Nalional Uni,..,rsity uf Si ng;opore (NUS) Busiocss
Schoors MBA progmmmc. cornmcn<;ing AugUSl 2008.
Since th<: days I have known Ajai. he has. been a major inspinolion and for mllDy batches..,f
students of Amnw.. including my own. Ajai has almost single-handedly broughl about the: major
revolution in the area of and ",caningl'ul learning' w;lh;n tM Amnia ilClldcmie fmlcroity, and
most particularly t.., the: student "",,,,munify. This .... -as achieved Ihrough Alai's rclentless dedication and
passion for ini/ialing a change within the communily, 10 ;mpro"" the: wily thingo work' and to poe< up
the way .... ot,t. This was achieved tbrout;ll,he creati"n lind of Vi" y.-
Mnrita's <.>nline digital library, What started ofT as a 15Mqp8ylcs portlll during 2001 (during my
sludell ihood) now stpnds as n knowkdge base and is growing. Through
my regular interaclion as an alumnus, ",i """ 2003, with the successive batches of stoot:nlS. I hn,'C been lIhIe
10 perce;"" ,he ininlilable and eonsislent gro",lh..,r B"lIrCnCSS "itltin the student community I<.> lu rning
Ihe !:>csl way, due 10 the ' Vid y. infll>C1lCC. Apart from the: rore engill<,enng. Vidy_ hous<:s an
unim:ljl,inable "ulth of knowledge in the Ilfea.5 uf science, artS. culture, phil<>sophy. spirituality, business.
economics & management and med icine, 10 name the predominlVlt. I ha'" prncticaUy realised I""
iooispensability ..,r each of these faculties in de,d<.>ping a ,,",cll rounded personality 0<11 of a student, .... no
would otltc""isc be puating as a kno .... ledgcablc robot'. ' Viti),.' cffec.ively reinforces Ille ",""ntial
idea tIull education is a p,.,."..,ss of muhi-faccu:.:I man making' mther than just as .. means ..,f preparing for
I"eller for Mr. Aj", N.........w,.n
the to win ..... c:-ryda)"s bread. I f"d tIUI. this ideI il 5lrOO&I> and ckcpIy rooted "ithin the mmds of .
mujoril)' of >t uo.lcnts "ilhin the ,\mrit " fmlemily, and throogh . VIti) Ihe SludenlS huy", learnt 10 dn'llm
and reeJiJc tho:ir pu.lt"fuiai 10 khiC\"C il. VId)". ' ,.oo",,!he stu<kfltJ thc roc" dimension 10 learning. b)'
habiluaurl8 lhem 10 de,clop the faculu", 10 krun 011 !he;r 0"11. And AjaJ adds any miw,,& subject or
:;Iud)' mlileri'" inl0 . Vidya' within lime 'PII". nol 10 lei Ihe .'I .. ,idenl.'l ",i" the 'boaf. 1Il<"Q
Ixcn fn:ed (rom the of 1""""11& or!.ly Ilwugh clas..roornJ:. lbc floC<.lit) 100 flllds ' Vldy. .... an
Indispcn" .. ble SQUn:c of I:nowlcdgtl and k amlng for ac.u.:mic -'ItChing and .... 'SCan:h. And a1l lh,s would
1\.I'o'( """ impossible wil.hool the "ision and commilmcm from Ajai.
Ajai is osoolly SYI"lIl1l100 hy woo Illwe gaincod Ihe courage 10 spcru.: lheir mind, ..00 the"
,doti. thIttI4 to Vid). . Ajai oorninllC$ to pc:,.."wly guide and inspire 1\laI1) sludenl, Ihrough the one-
on-one Inlcnctioru (tIUI. ut\L."I.lly run 1111 23AM ""(fyd:!y). one of lhe best ClUUnpies being mysool( M)
Ic.aming pIllh dunog Ihose of years al Amnlll "nd now IlI'C IUrgely guidL-.J through by Ajai, " 00 lvl'I
h3d implllCt on m) pmonaIit)' and .abilities. lie Iw "" lUlWilli milude to spot the euct
SCre",thfwC1kDC$ll of pc<JpIe and to rcxh oul 10 them with his of impro'"""""'!. With th" .... pec1.
Ajai ... ..,nl on IU ,tlilittle the ' Mind"lCllpl:' (docwncn..". c lob) and pOOtOJ&l1lphy club within Atl,rillt, to
1n"0!>'" stuOcnts In di,CTSC " livl1ies M an excn:;,e tlll/v..' and 'inno,lIIo:' And all of !hi$. wu ''a)
0111 of his l'Ctwd 111 .1'$ and OOtnllin of "uri<. Vldy. "'Q bom 001 Qf his to contribute
'"omctlll11&' more !han h"offlcial responsibilllies al Antri .. asa .... eb engineer
As 3 5100<:.,1. and 1I scnior alumnus. I IIIn Ilblt Iu see the ilfl'dual hOI tmMfomwliOll
",tllin Ilk ICadcnllc fralernity of Atl,nla brought.row hy Aj"';'. UUu..u.6 'Vid)'a' ..... now beetl rollcd
OUI in "II the Amtll.[l c;;urtpusc$ (so:hools of ""1I,neoering. orts.. mNoclroc and c:ornmerce) 10 gUIde.
,,,,,pirc:. educale and the ovomtJ l I ..... "'''' of thousands of Slutlcnls.. and hundrWs
o r profco<S and flCUh)'. I persronIIlly sec Vid,.. as _'"pi. as '(;oo&Ic.com or
')'ouluOO .COIll or lhe MIT O"",oCourscWarc ",,'leI, of "hieh x r ... e Il.. " bridge I" conn"t tile thimy
srudmt ""til koo .. kdgc. lbi, ... ooldn1 'III.\'. btcn possible but fOf Ajai' S yellS of lu,nh."Oft;, droicalion
and un,,'OvC"ring PCfliC\<:r.U><;C I kno .. 1h3l "J'" h.los btcn .. ming f motlW in onIer to swsflldorily!CI
up a dcd.ie_cd tetlin 10 dc ..... 1op Vi dy. (urther "nd complete w tmn.ition.
In colJll>fUle f"' ,]ance. there nre teams. from tho: mMIIgcmrnl 10 worl.>hop 1e,"C1
cniinttnt, each one iQ,"OI .. in en,iJiooing D chaniC- dr<:aming OOOuI iL pJ.onn.ing for ;t. dcsign.iDII il and
then impkmenrina iL SucllloCti.ities III"C man: orten tmn noo: dri,cn by pn"ljil if noo: ;nlu.1td b) 'l
JJm in Amnla's usc. Ajni luIS dOlmcd ull these: MIS, ri,hl ffUm 'dreaming ()f . hlmil<" 10 ' implemenling it',
and thtrcb) stands as " tall uamrle of tr:w:formalional lcader.sh,p- And I struggle [0 ul'KleTsurld if I>r: bas
fuund anything nlOrC ",,,,,,,dmg for hi. oem ilics than conlended smile uf an cyuMng sttalcnL He '*
2
Kcfcrcncc LcUcr for Mr. Aj ai Narcndran From: Srinivas;. Varndhnn Kannan
Mhlcs:>ly candid wilh his feedbacks 10 ol hers. abililies 10 leam up .... ith anyone and e,'cryOll<:, and to
inilialc volunlary participation from cwryone arc his special and precious qualilies. I k.now of his mulli-
faceled pcrsOlllllilY as an artis1. a poel. an amhor and occasional 100. I am confidenl lhal
wilh hi. undcrstanding of llIe world around him. and his purpose .... ilhin il. he would be 8 major infl uence
and change-initiator. wherever he goes.
He had joined Amri la when SIIe was fledgling insti lulion. but 00"' leaves behind a changed "'''''pus. an
evolved instilution. and most importantly. brigll1cr & happier gcncrali(1I1 of sludenls!
J>1c",'t: feel free to COlltncl me at any limo for Imy funacr details that I cnn help wilh rcgurding Ajni and my
reference for him.
Th.nks & !{egards,
Srinivun Var:>dba" Kannan
Alumnus. balCh of 2003 Amrita School of Engi neering. Co;>imba!OI"l:. Indi a.
at
Tcchnology COrLiuhant @Dun&Brads, ,,,,,t Corporation. UK.
MBA admil@Nn1ionaIUniversi1yofSingaporell"s; 'lCSsSehool (Ilatch 2008)
Current address:
17 J. DeyoorQi,gh A High W}<"Om/n-. O .. ckinghamshin. Uni led Kingdum. liP 111ST.
E-Mail: .<riniv( ..... vradlum . ..;:glllaU.ca... . .. ;Il;. .. w.al"lkllum . .u ....... n@koglliz ...... com
I'crmallCnl address:
/40110, '/lqjKmn(lr Residency', 1'.11. Rcxld; Vyu.mrlKlgllr. C!remKli. Indili. 60f){)J9.