The Fifth Estate

Inconvenient Truths: Zero Deer Deaths!

‘Perhaps the most significant change was the decision to bar vehicles from entering the campus during the Saarang and Shaastra shows…The measures that the Shaastra and Saarang teams implemented have certainly made the campus safer for deer and other animals — there was not a single case of deer death reported during the two fests.” As part of ‘Inconvenient Truths’, our series on the environmental conundrums facing IITM’s campus, Nitin and Kalyani look into how measures taken by the organizers of both insti fests culminated in a clean chit from Prakriti.

Scrubs: Our Insti Hospital

“In the survey, there were a few complaints that the doctors really don’t seem to check the patient well enough before prescribing medicines. There also seems to be the issue regarding the availability of specialist doctors. Some students have questioned the ability of the hospital regarding the diagnosis of serious diseases, such as Dengue or Typhoid.” Read more about the Institute Hospital, and T5E’s survey on it, in this comprehensive report by Bhargavi and Rakesh.

Elections @ IITM: A 20th Century Remnant

“…our Institute has approximately 7,500 hostel residents across 18 hostels. With at most 9 days available for campaign, a candidate is required to meet with more than 800 students a day, and each student is expected to meet with candidates for all 18+ elections!”
In light of the recent impasse in the SAC over allowing online campaigning for institute elections, Arun Sudarsan, ex-SAC member and 2014 MA (HSS) graduate, presents his arguments on behalf of online campaigning.

A Brief Chat with Kris Gopalakrishnan and Rajiv Lochan

“Print media is dependent upon revenue but we believe advertisers would come where there are readers and today’s readers are not willing to accept nonsense. Our policy on pricing reflects that. It does not matter whether our competitors are pricing at rates that are atrociously low. Our content stands out and readers are willing to pay for that.” — Rajiv Lochan, CEO of The Hindu.

An exclusive T5E interview with Rajiv Lochan and Krish Gopalakrishnan, from their appearance at the Shaastra Entrepreneurship Confluence. Read their views on startups and jobs for engineering graduates.

Prodigal Profs: Why Alumni Come Back to Teach

‘Smiling widely, Prof. Manokaran says, “It may sound cheesy, but I wanted to come back to make an impact. If you look at the technology that has come out of India in the last ten years, it has made a huge impact. Now we can try to attack the problems where there is a huge demand for innovation. If you ask me why I came to IIT Madras … it’s one of the best places to be, and I don’t mean to brag, but students here are among the best in the world. I feel much more at home in Chennai than anywhere else.”’

Ananth and Aahlad speak to three young alumni professors about their motivations for coming back, their thoughts on what makes IITM unique, their opportunity costs for coming back to India, and much more.

Inconvenient Truths: A Campus of One’s Own – The Construction Issue

In part 2(A) of our ‘Inconvenient Truths’ series which covers IITM’s environment-related issues, Nithin Ramesan looks at the construction case that insti has been embroiled in in recent times. What is the way forward? Satellite campuses, replacing tree coverage, construction bans…varied and conflicting opinions abound. Read to find out.