A bash for brains

Updated on: Monday, January 17, 2011

In the half light of a conference room, a dozen faces around a table focus on the young team. A single large projector flashes a slide against a screen—“lack of cleanliness in the classroom”. The team members dig, dissect and decipher the issue. Tricky questions and lightning-quick answers fly back and forth.

Quality Circle (QC) case study presentations demand high levels of alertness, aptitude and ability to identify, analyse and find solutions to problems. And, hundreds of students across the country demonstrate all that every year at national and international conventions. For the first time, Madurai will be the stage for these brain-rattling sessions. In fact, it is the first time the QC convention is travelling to South India, and the Lakshmi Vidya Sangham (LVS) will host this mega event.

The three-day National Convention on Student's Quality Circle, from January 18 to 20, will bring in over 1,500 students from Gujarat, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Haryana, Punjab, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, and Uttar Pradesh, besides other parts of Tamil Nadu. Representing 48 outstation and 25 local schools and colleges, these young participants will learn and compete under the theme Thinking Youth.

“QC greatly benefits the children,” says Convention Chairperson Shobhana Ramachandhran, “because right from a young age they develop analytical ability, their thinking gets honed and presentation skills improve. The exposure helps in fine-tuning all areas and empowers them in creative problem solving and team work skills. It infuses a spirit of excellence, emotional development and character building. It is an enriching experience and learning for life.”

“All these years,” she adds, “only representative teams from here have gone to the North for the convention. This year, all our schools and local students get this wonderful exposure and, being a tier II city, we come at par with global standards.”

The convention is a platform for young people to exchange ideas, make new friends, interact with professionals and benchmark their skills. After a year of systematically identifying problems and solving them, and numerous rounds of filtering, young minds will come together here to prove themselves at the grand finale. Several of their quality management theories may also be taken forward into practical applications.

Besides 60 technical presentations, distinguished personalities (see box) will interact with students, helping them to look at and understand issues from different perspectives.

As Ms. Ramachandhran points out, the spirit of QC is unique, and cultural events and contests also form an important component of the event (see box).

The hub of all the activities is the Veerapanchan Lakshmi School, showcasing the history and heritage of Madurai and of Tamil Nadu. Kolams, elephants, jasmine and nagaswaram kutcheris have been lined up to highlight Tamil culture.

A souvenir featuring articles on QC and its application and benefits in education will also be released on the occasion.

Registered participants will receive kits containing interesting facts about the city, CDs compiling all case studies, and a brochure on QC, LVS and Madurai.

A great deal of effort has gone into preparing for the event. It was the regular participation and success stories of TVS schools run by LVS that bagged them the opportunity.

Playing host for the first time for such a large-scale event, the Sangham is leaving no stone unturned.

Over 200 teachers and 150 student volunteers were drawn from eight LVS institutions. Grouped into 16 various committees, they have worked on a war footing for the past four months, and the actual planning for the event started a year ago.

“Every care is being taken to make the out-station participants feel at home,” points out Convention Secretary Selvi Santosham. “Madurai darshan has been planned to give them a glimpse of the city. The ambience, food, small takeaways and traditional gifts will all serve as lovely memories of the city that stands for hospitality.”

A bash for brains

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