When our Gems leave us It was 1983. I was a young Assistant Professor at Indian Institute of Technology, Madras (IITM). The institute had started to notice some stress amongst fresh undergraduate students. It created a Guidance and Counselling Unit (GCU) and I was made its head; we had a similar organisation when I was a student at IIT Kanpur and I used to work for it. We quickly created a team of students (C.V. Murthy, our Professor in Civil, was the student head) and started watching how the first-year students were doing. We analysed their marks right after the first quiz and noticed several of them not doing well in multiple courses. Amongst them were four young kids, Rene Abraham, Shashikala Ashirwatham, Chacko and a fourth person whose name I do not remember. They did well in English and Workshop, but poorly in Physics, Chemistry and Mathematics. They had come from Zambia and got admitted under a quota for Indian National Residents Abroad, without JEE. A bit of conversation with them, and we found out that their high school was one year less than that of ours and they had not studied what is taught in India in the final year at school. Most of the topics in Maths, Physics and Chemistry, that we taught in the first year, required a background that they had missed totally. They would not be able cope up with our courses, even though they were bright. To read further, look at : https://lnkd.in/dxfqBWbh
AJ sir - Good you took time to pen this. The write up is the truth you did let us know after so many years. Hats off to you putting your foot down on the Zambia members and make them come up. Rene reflected that in his work as many have written. It is also great that you have done many other things including IITMRP and many start ups. Thank you and all the best sir for you to continue doing so
Hello Sir Ashok Jhunjhunwala I would like to connect with you to discuss about ESG/Sustainability reporting services and GHG Accounting for your organization. Regards, Arunkumar K Deputy Manager - Sustainability LEAD Consultancy & Engg Services 9790553694 arun.k@lcsind.org
RIP ...Om Shanti. Great Man & Friend.......Learnt Lot....No way to measure...
A truly heartfelt tribute to Rene's legacy of nurture and care. It's good to know that he reflected your kindness and generosity, something that is valuable for youngsters who move to a new city.
Bindu K.
10mo
I can't believe this news. He was a great mentor. I fondly remember the days I have spend in his team.
Heartfelt tribute sir. Let his soul rest in peace
Paras Jain
1y
Very inspiring and a great loss, deepest condolences and may his soul rest in peace..Om Shanti..
Always missing Rene Sir.
Sad to hear of Rene's passing. Thanks for sharing the story behind his early days at IIT.
Ex - Head of India Engineering @ Logitech | GCC India Lead
1ySir, A very nice, heartfelt tribute from you. You and your team has transformed IIT-M into an institute that does not not just create, but also nurtures and evolves leading industry experts in various domains. Rene is one of those peaks in system design in India. The flame that you lit in Rene and in turn Rene lit in many others will keep flowing and taking our country and the world to greater heights, for sure.