Seshasayee Institute of Technology turns 60

Sixty years ago, a generous purse of Rs.30,000 given to industrialist V. Seshasayee on the occasion of his 60th birthday was what led to the country's first polytechnic college post-independence. Having entered its diamond jubilee year this month, the Seshasayee Institute of Technology has planned a series of activities that it would host throughout the year.

The chief guest for the inaugural function of the diamond jubilee celebration, A.V. Krishnan, Executive Director, Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited, Tiruchi said, “The institute, being older than BHEL, was and continues to be the main source of manpower for the company. Being the first institute in the country to gain the autonomous status, SIT has the apparatus to impart practical-oriented learning to its students.”

Addressing the students in the gathering, he said the world, business environment and culture were fast moving towards professionals who were not only capable of high levels of performance, but also those who possessed the soft skills required to work in a team.

T. R. Sivaraman, Secretary, Seshasayee Educational Society, who presided over the function, said the institute will organise a variety of seminars and symposiums that would enrich knowledge of the students throughout the year.

V. Nagarajan, former principal, SIT, called the campus a nursery of technical institutions to come. “Students from the Regional Engineering College (now National Institute of Technology), Tiruchi, used to utilise SIT's laboratories for their experiments till their own labs were set up. It has also shared its campus with other technical institutions that were just being set up back then,” he recalled.

The event was attended in large numbers by the alumni of the institute, which has churned out over 12,000 graduates till date.

Dr. S. Sudharssanam, an alumnus of SIT who has made a detailed study on the life and contributions of the institute's founder said: “V. Seshasayee pioneered the supply of electricity in the Madras province of those days and it was his efforts that electrified temple complexes like Rameshwaram, Madurai Meenakshi Amman temple, Srirangam and Tiruvanaikovil. He was also the first person to introduce bus service between Tiruchi and Perambalur.”

S. Sangappillai, principal, SIT, Prof. P. Kothandaraman, secretary, SIT Alumni Association, and N. Raju, vice principal, SIT were present .