Student Empowerment Programme

Chintech believes in spiritually oriented value added education. As a part of this education system, off campus Student Empowerment Programmes are conducted during the course period inorder to enrich & empower the students. The main objective of the programme is to extend an opportunity to the students to interact with the outside world. Through this programme students are taken to various mission centres situated in the major Metropolitan cities in India such as Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai, Bangalore, Cochin etc. During this programme Industrial visits, deliberations by noted industrialists & academicians, visits to historical places etc are conducted. The main focus of the programme is to expose the students towards the industrial ambiance of our country, besides orienting them towards the national heritage & culture which helps the students identify the strength of our motherland.

 First Student Empowerment Programme at Kochi

Our first Student Empowerment Programme was held at Adi Shankara Nilayam, Cochin in October 2007. The program was inagurated by  Swamini Niranjananandaji,Pujya Swami Advayanandaji and Dr.K.K.Falgunan. The next programme is scheduled in Mumbai this month, in which 65 members will be leaving from Calicut via flight to Mumbai.

 Second Student Empowerment Programme at Mumbai

Chintech School of Management Studies conducted the Second Students Empowerment Programme 'Enrich & Empower'for the Second Semester MBA students of Chinmaya Institute of Technology at Sandeepani Sadhanalya, Powai,Mumbai. It was a one week programme which started from February 3^rd 2008 to February 9^th 2008, for empowering individuals through the wisdom of Vedanta, invigorating Indian culture, doing extension social work etc. This workshop provided the students with an entirely different experience as all the students were taken by flight to Mumbai. The Empowerment Programme came into effect with the lighting of 'holy lamp' by Shri.Narain Bhatia (Chief Executive, Central Chinmaya Mission Trust, Mumbai) along with other dignitories. During the programme, the students got an opportunity to have a divine satsang with H.H. Swami Tejomayanandaji, the Spiritual Head of Chinmaya Mission Worldwide.

The first 5 days of the programme, the students had undergone interactive seminars by eminent speakers like Br.Sattvika Chaitanya (Acharya of Chinmaya Mission South Mumbai), Shri.Radhakrishnan Pillai (Founder Director ATMADARSHAN Cultural discoveries Pvt Ltd.), Shri.Vasim Wagle (Vice-President,YES Bank Ltd.), Shri.Gopal Sehjpal (Managing Director of Oracle Management Services Mumbai), Shri.K.C.Patnaik (General Manager, Books and Publications Division, Central Chinmaya Mission Trust Mumbai). There were 21 sessions on various topics such as Spirituality in Management, Emerging Career Opportunities and Threats, Empowering through Innovation, Indian Banking towards Global Best Practices. The students were also exposed to the world of meditation under the guidance of Brni.Vividisha Chaitanya were they practiced meditations like mantra, passage, trancedental meditation.

On the 6^th day the students had an Industrial Visit to AAREY Milk Colony, which is situated in Goregaon East, a suburb of Mumbai.It is a large milk factory, were the process of filtering and pasteurizing the milk is done before it is packed. The students also got a chance to go to Hypercity, which gave them a truly international experience to shop in an exciting environment.

Another memorable moment was the visit to LEELA KEMPINSKI, which is one of the finest 5 star deluxe hotel in India. On 7^th day the students also got an opportunity to visit the famous historical places in Mumbai like the Gateway of India, Elephanta Caves, Ferozshahmehta Garden (popularly known as Hanging Garden), Haji Ali Dharga.

The main aim of the programme was to build self confidence, set priorities and to enrich the students with a wealth of knowledge. It has really helped the students in bringing about a total change in their life, behaviour and attitude. It was entirely a unique experience and enabled them to boost their talents. The students will hold on in their hearts all the happy memories and cherishing moments spent at Mumbai. The 7 days 'Enrich & Empower' programme had indeed enriched each and everyone of them.

Third Student Empowerment Programme at Delhi

The Third Empowerment Programme for MBA students (2007-2009) was conducted at Chinmaya Centre for World Understanding, New Delhi. It was a great opportunity for the students to visit Delhi - the capital city of India. The participants of the programme was a big team of 65 including Dr K K Falgunan (Director, Chinmaya Institute of Technology), Sri K K Rajan (Chief Sevak, Chinmaya Mission Education and Charitable Trust, Kannur), Faculty members and the trainees. The trainees were divided into various teams each having a specific goal in mind and the strong desire in oneself to achieve it.

It was a 2 weeks programme consisting of deliberations, soft skill classes and interactions. The first phase began with an inaugural function by Sri T K A Nair (Principal Secretary to the Honourable Prime Minister of India). The function was graced by the presence of Swami Nikhilanada Saraswati ( Acharya, Chinmaya Mission, Delhi) , Shri K K Rajan (Chief Sevak, CMECT), Dr K K Falgunan (Director, Chintech), Mr Anil Sachdev (Chairman and Managing Director, Right Grow Talent Service Private Limited) and Ms Shibani Khurana. Sessions of the programme were handled by eminent personalities such as Mr Ravi Sharma (Vice President and Leader - Develop Practice, Right Management India Private Ltd), Mr Vinayak Chaterjee (Chairman, Feedback Ventures), Mr Vimal Mahindru (Director, Indo - Asian), Mr Brij Chandiramni (CEO, RUBICON), Mr Nischae Suri (President, School of Inspired Leadership) to name a few. They dealt with various topics such as Financial Crisis, Inspired Leadership, Coaching as the Key to Leadership, Improving Presentation skills and Communication, Team work and Collaboration, How to create a better place to work, etc. With the valedictory function of Dr C V Ananda Bose, IAS as the guest of Honour the first phase came to an end. All the sessions were very thought provoking and inspiring.

The second phase - visit to historical places, was a diverse package. The places visited were Taj Mahal, Rashtrapati Bhavan, Birla House, Indira Gandhi Memorial, Rajghat, Akshardam temple,India International Trade Fair at Pragati Maidan and many more. The team was also lucky enough to visit Tapovan Ashram at Sidhabari which houses the mortal remains of Pujya Gurudev Swami Chinmayananda. A shrine also has been erected there to pay honour to Pujya Gurudev. A place filled with divine purity, peace and high devotion. The students also got a rare chance to perform the Gayatri Hawan.

Visit to the CORD (Chinmaya Organization for Rural Development) project was another feature of the programme where the students were encouraged to mingle with the villagers and know about the living condition of the inhabitants. Programmes & Activities of CORD have emerged through dynamic and vibrant interactions with the villagers. Organizing them and building their capacities to find relevant local solutions to their problems is the strength of the CORD .The mission of CORD is to facilitate participatory and integrated sustainable development of the poor and its vision is to harness human resources and to enable the poor to transform their lives through programmes driven by themselves. The CORD projects give stress to Mahila Mandals and women empowerment also.

The students returned back to Kannur enriched with knowledge, experience, enthusiasm and with an ability to lead their body, heart and intellect.

Fourth Student Empowerment Programme at Kochi

Students empowerment programme for 1st semester MBA( 2008 batch) was conducted at Adi Shankara Nilayam, Veliyanad,Cochin from 20^th to 25^th October 2008.

We as a family of 58 students and 4 faculties started our journey around 2.30pm from kannur railway station. The 6 hr journey in train was filled with fun & frolic.

Adi Shankara Nilayam is the birth place of Sree Shankaracharya. Traditionally it was known as Melpazhur Mana & later it was renamed by Pujya Gurudev Swami Chinmayananda as Adi Shankara Nilayam. It is an excellent example of the splendid architectural style of old Kerala. In such an auspicious environ stands the temple complex & meditation hall.

The inaugural session was blessed by Swamini Amma & Swami Advayanandaji. We were also fortunate to have Sri Venugopal C Govind,FCA, Varma & Varma to inaugurate our 1st empowerment prog.

Meditation is transformation of mind. We started our days with the meditation session conducted by swamini Amma. Swamijis talk on leadership qualities & tips for joyful life inspired us & helped us in building possitive attitude.

The deliberations & the soft skill sessions helped us to gain insights in diverse aspects of mgt & gave us an opportunity to interact with eminent personalities like Mr Damu, CEO, Taj Malabar, Cochin; Mr Manomohanan of Muthoor capital; Mr Anil Kumar,vice president of Reliance; Miss Lalitha Varma & many more. All of us were divided into different committees & duties were assigned. We enjoyed each & every moment at Adi Shankara Nilayam.

We also had bhajans, filling the atmosphere with divine touch.

To nourish the land as ' Tapovan' a scheme has been envisaged-Shankara Vana Prasad- shade to earth, shelter to birds, solace to soul. We joined the venture by planting trees. By doing so we all felt being a part of Adi Shankara Nilayam.

As a part of our historical visit we went to Tripunithara Hill Palace Museum. The heritage of the Indian culture the maginificient hill palace was once the head quarters of Kochi Royal family. Later it was developed into archaeological museum in 1984. The complex has an archaeological museum, heritage museum, deer park, pre historic park & a children's park. We felt ourself very much fortunate that we could see the most prestigious crown of Kochi Raja which was made of gold & encrusted with diamonds, rubies and emeralds.

After our lunch we continued our journey to Kochi Marine drive. We had a boating ride & experienced the serinity of enchanting backwater. The soft breez & drizilling rain made our journey memorable. There is no comparison for that feeling of relaxation. We went to St. Fransis Church &it was were Vasco da gama was burried. We also got an opportunity to visit Hindustan Newsprint Ltd.

The highlighting feature of our empowerment was the cultural fest. We got opportunity to explore our talent during this session. Valedictory session was inaugurated by Mr A Gopalakrishanan, chief sevak, chinmaya mission, north cochin. During the feedback session we got opportunity to share our experience at Adi Shankara Nilayam. The valedictory session came to an end with the vote of thanks by our faculty member Mr. Nishith Anand.

Fifth Student Empowerment Programme at Pune

The Fifth Empowerment Programme was conducted at Chinmaya Vibhooti, Pune, for the First Semester MBA students ( 2008 batch) from 4^thto 7^th February 2009. This is the second Empowerment Programme being offered to this batch, the first having been held at Chinmaya International Foundation, Adi Sankara Nilayam, Kochi.

The Empowerment Programme was inaugurated by Swami Advaithananda, Resident Acharya, Central Chinmaya Mission Trust, Mumbai. Dr Narain Bhatia, CEO,CCMT, was the chief guest.

In the three day Workshop, the students had the opportunity of interacting with sixteen leading experts on various topics ranging from Indian Epics and Management, Stress Management, Global Financial Crisis, IT Investments and Music in Management to name a few. Meditation sessions were held for the students, under the guidance of Br Krupesh.

The students went on an Industrial Visit Bharat Electronics Limited, Pashan, Pune. They interacted with Capt Kothari, Head, Human Resources and Mr Kalpesh Dhamania, GM, Marketing. The students were conducted around the various Depts (Development& Engineering, Batterty, X Ray, AERV etc) in BEL.

The Programme also had visits to Shaniwar Vada, Parvati Mandir - major places of historical importance.

Sixth Student Empowerment Programme at Kochi

The Empowerment programme for MBA 2009-2011(II) batch at Adi Shankara Nilayam was inaugurated by Hon. Minister Sri. Kadannappally Ramachandran. The programme was scheduled from 25th to 31st of October 2009 . The deliberations were given by eminent personalities from industries and various other fields. The soft skill training was conducted by Dr. Ajay Kumar. There was also an Industrial visit to Malayala Manorama, Kottayam. 

Seventh Student Empowerment Programme at Delhi

Empowerment programme for the batch 2008-2010 held at Delhi and Sidhbari. The programme was inaugurated by Dr.T.K.A. Nair, principal secretary to Prime Minister of India. The deliberations were given by eminent personalities on various topics. There was a visit to School Of Inspired Leadership(SOIL). Hon. Minister for External Affairs Dr. Shashi Tharoor was the chief guest for the valedictory function. The soft skill training was given by Ms. Madhu Sharma. Visited Rashtrapati Bhavan, Dharmasala and CORD project.