J RAMACHANDRAN DIRECTOR, AMET UNIVERSITY Living a dream J Ramachandran (Director, AMET uNIVERSITY) on what inspires him to strive for excellence Issue Date - 01/03/2013 |
 Q. What inspired you to come up with AMET?A. Shipping is like ocean offshore. With the tremendous growth in almost every sector, the demand for shipping has increased manifold. And, there are only a few human resource suppliers to the maritime industry internationally – Philippines, Russia, India and Burma, to name a few. I wanted to promote it further and that is when the idea of a maritime education institute came to my mind, and my thoughts took the shape of AMET. Q. How would you describe the journey of AMET so far? A. I would call it exceptional! AMET came into existence in 1992 with a mere listing of 14 students, and today, we are nurturing more than 2,400 students. Seeing the potential and acknowledging our efforts, the HRD ministry granted us the status of a university in 2007. Currently, AMET is the only university in India that caters to the needs of the shipping industry in the country as well as the world. Q. How do you distinguish AMET from the other universities that are offering the same courses? A. We have always invested in innovation and hard work. AMET has impressive offerings in the form of various diploma and degree programmes. In an attempt to provide international exposure to our students, we have associated ourselves with the national colleges of University of Glasgow. To provide exposure to our students, we bought a ship with 800-people capacity and trained around 250 people from our institute. This step gave AMET an edge over other institutes, which depend on governmental support. Besides, AMET offers the best infrastructure in terms of on-campus facilities such as classrooms equipped with the latest technology and 24-hour Wi-Fi connection for students throughout the campus, including hostels. Other accessible support features are ATM, on-campus ship, a polaris bridge simulator from Kongsberg, a gymnasium and basketball, volleyball and kabaddi courts. Q. How tough is it to get into AMET University? A. For anyone who wants an admission in the university, AMET conducts a national level online examination. The selection process further includes a preliminary round of entrance examination, after which the candidates are shortlisted for the final round of selection. We embrace all with equal love and support. Q. How do you see maritime education in India? A. Placement for students is one of the major challenges in India. The government has to think and plan about the needs and demands of maritime industry. It must also build a few training ships for the students. |
Q. Do you see more maritime education and training institutes opening up in the near future? A. Yes, of course. The maritime education space is increasing with time. At present, there are around 30 institutes all over India and I hope the numbers continue to escalate. In the past, the shipping industry was denied the required concern and importance. It is time for us to exploit the demand to our advantage. Q. What is your way of giving back to the society? A. We, at AMET, promote self-education opportunities for people from rural areas. As a socially responsible institution, AMET imparts computer education, two-wheeler repair training and embroidery classes to women, through various panchayat programmes. I also head New Era Association of Educated Self Employed Youth (NAESEY), a social welfare organisation that generates employment opportunities for the educated unemployed youth of the country. Q. How do you rate yourself as an entrepreneur? A. Well, it is hard to rate your own self. I think I have stood by the very essence of the term ‘entrepreneur’. I am the king of my castle. I have actuated my dreams into reality with AMET University. Now, I leave it to people to rate me and judge me as they deem right. |
Mansi Kohli
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