| Ramakrisna Mission Vivekananda College | |
|---|---|
| Established | 21 June 1946 |
| Religious affiliation | Affiliated to the University of Madras |
| President | Swami Gautamananda |
| Principal | Dr. S. Swaminathan |
| Location | Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India |
| Website | [rkmvc.ac.in] |
Ramakrisna Mission Vivekananda College, named after Swami Vivekananda, was inaugurated on 21 June 1946[1] by professor, philosopher, and politician, Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan. It is in Mylapore, the centre of Chennai, India on 20 acres (81,000 m²). The principal of the College is Dr. S. Swaminathan.
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The college was founded with the help of a group of philanthropists and educationists,[2] the prime mover being M. Subbaraya Aiyar, then a prominent income tax lawyer of Madras and the founding secretary from 1947 to 1960. Aiyar also co-founded two other educational institutions: Vidya Mandir in Mylapore and the Madras Institute of Technology in Chromepet. Vivekananda College was subsequently handed over to the sole control of Ramakrishna Mission and renamed Vivekananda College, a unit of Ramakrishna Mission Vidyapith, Chennai. It offers instruction in English and admits only male students.
The emblem of the Ramakrishna Order designed by Swamiji is a unique and unparalleled work of art created by one of the richest minds in contemporary history in an exalted mood of spiritual inspiration. It is a profound symbol of harmony and synthesis for reverential meditation in this present age of conflict and disharmony. This symbol is the epitome of Swamiji's message of harmony and synthesis, leading to life's fulfilment. This is indeed the most eloquent expression of what he really preached, what he wanted every man and woman to be, to realize, either in the East or in the West. The goal is to realize, even in this very life, one's real Self, the self-effulgent Atman, the Swan in the emblem and through this realization to be free of all limitations, all bondages, all littleness. This spiritual freedom is one thing to be aspired for and achieved in this very life. It releases one from one's prison-house of limited individuality and confers upon him or her, the blessing of universal existence. He then becomes one with Existence-Knowledge-Bliss Absolute. 'Be free. This is the whole of religion' said Swamiji.
The meaning behind this emblem, in the language of Vivekananda himself: "The wavy waters in the picture are symbolic of Karma, the lotus of Bhakti, and the rising-sun of Jnana. The encircling serpent is indicative of Yoga and awakened Kunadalini Shakti, while the swan in the picture stands for Paramatman. Therefore, the ideal of the picture is that by the union of Karma, Jnana, Bhakti and Yoga, the vision of the Paramatman is obtained"
Swami Vivekananda defined education as the 'manifestation of perfection already in man'. Our Vision is to actualize Swami Vivekanda's fundamental educational ideals of imparting life-building, man-making, and character-building education. We strive to develop an educational system wherein the rich and spiritual heritage of our country with its hoary tradition of values like sacredness of knowledge, shraddha,purity, devotion of truth, etc., are taught on the one hand; and on the other, are taught the western values of scientific temper, rational investigation into the truth of the world we live in, objectivity of approach through science and technology, work efficiency, team work, etc.
The college has been accredited with B++ grade[3] by the National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) in 2003. The college has been granted autonomous status by the University Grants Commission,[4] New Delhi in 2004-05 to all the courses up to M.Phil degree. It is affiliated to the University of Madras[5] and provides arts, science and commerce courses at the Bachelors, Masters and Doctoral levels.
The college has a main block, a Math block, a Life Sciences block, a Sanskrit Block, the Obul Reddy Auditorium block, an open air theater, a Library block with 87,000 books in the day college and 8,000 in the evening college, a sports complex and a prayer hall. The college also has a turf cricket ground, tennis court and gymnasium. Computer labs have Internet facilities. [6]
The college authorities have introduced National Cadet Corps, National Service Scheme, Youth Red Cross and Rotary Wings for students. Youth are trained in conducting night schools, laying the roads, educating slum dwellers, service to the handicapped, tree plantation, and health programmes.
The Ramakrishna Mission Vidyapith has two research institutes: Vivekananda Institute of Tropical Mycology (VINSTROM) and Vivekananda Institute of Algal Technology (VIAT).
Mycological Research in the Department of Plant Biology and Plant Biotechnology of Vivekananda college dates back to 1980s. Sustained research by Dr. T. S. Suryanarayanan for over twenty five years in experimental mycology, environmental mycology, marine mycology and endophyte ecology and physiology brought international recognition to the college in general and the mycology research team in particular. As a mark of apprecriation and encouragement, Ramakrishna Mission Vidyapith, under the Secretaryship of Swami Satyapriyananda, created a separate institute – Vivekananda Institute of Tropical Mycology (VINSTROM) in the year 2005 to continue the research in mycology by the Directorship of Dr. T. S. Suryanarayanan.
VINSTROM is currently focusing its efforts on understaing the biodiversity and technological potential of microfungi in forests and other environments.
Artices are published in many reputed international magazines.
VIAT was inaugurated by Swami Satyapriyananda, secretary of Ramakrishna Mission Vidyapith, in April 2006. Dr. V. Sivasubramanian of the Department of Plant Biology and Plant Biotechnology is the director of the institute. Sivasubramanian has been involved in algal research in the college from 1988. He has produced three Ph.D. and 15 M.Phil scholars. At present he is guiding six Ph.D. candidates and two M.Phil students. He has published 24 research articles in scientific journals and organized symposia and workshops in the field of algology. He is the founder secretary of the Limnological Society of India. He has researched treating the effluents from industries including Orchid Pharmaceuticals, Chennai, SNAP Natural and Alginate Products, Ranipet, Ultramarine Pigments, Ranipet, STAHL India, and Ranipet, using phycoremediation.
Based on the success of this new technology, industries such as Wheels India are seeking solutions for effective effluent treatment through phycoremediation. Sivasubramanian has signed a memorandum of understanding with the Chennai-based Indo-Japan joint venture company M/s Nichi-In Biosciences for a research project with emphasis on microbial biotechnology and environment safety to develop technology for environment-friendly plastic materials, to find ways to safely dispose the plastic materials using microbes and develop and validate polymers useful for water conservation in agriculture and horticulture. This project is supported by Japanese institutes like Waseda University, Yamanashi Medical University and Mebiol Inc., whose Indian operation is headed by Dr. Samuel J. K. Abraham, a cardiac surgeon. Prof. Mori Yuichi of Waseda University, Japan, and Dr. Yoshioka Hiroshi of Mebiol Inc., are participating in this collaboration to develop polymers for water conservation and microbial degradable plastic materials.
The department was nurtured in its infancy by Prof. Raghava Sastry, P.R. Vittal and many such great mathematicians hail from this college. Vittal who was a Vivekananda student later became a lecturer in the mathematics department, then head of the mathematics department, and then principal of the college. Areas of research in the department are Number Theory, Applied Statistics, Representation Theory, Algebra, Functional Analysis, Topology and Algebraic Geometry. The department conducts monthly seminars and colloquiums and hosts a yearly international conference in a particular area of Mathematics. It has funding and support from the UGC, National Board for Higher Mathematics, Department of Atomic Energy, Govt. of India and Govt. of Tamil Nadu. About 30 international papers are submitted from the mathematics department of Vivekananda college.
The graduates of Ramakrishna Mission Vivekananda College are much sought after by Corporations, HR Consultants and Placement Agencies, for their Academic excellence and communication skills. Students have been placed in good positions in reputed organizations. Further, a sizable number of students pursue higher education in foreign countries and get placed there. In the year 2011 Facebook recruited two students from the college. One was from the B.Com department and the other was from B.A.English department. In the same year Aricent Group recruited eleven students from the BCA department.
The college runs eleven graduate and seven postgraduate programmes in the day college and eight graduate and two postgraduate programmes in the evening college.
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