Ramakrishna Mission Vivekananda College, named after

Swami Vivekananda Swami Vivekananda (; ; 12 January 1863 – 4 July 1902), born Narendranath Datta (), was an Indian Hindu monk, philosopher, author, religious teacher, and the chief disciple of the Indian mystic Ramakrishna. He was a key figure in the intr ...

, was formally inaugurated on 21 June 1946 by professor, philosopher, and politician,

Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan (; 5 September 1888 – 17 April 1975), natively Radhakrishnayya, was an Indian philosopher and statesman. He served as the 2nd President of India from 1962 to 1967. He also 1st Vice President of India from 1952 ...

. It is in

Mylapore Mylapore, also spelt Mayilapur, is a neighbourhood in the central part of the city of Chennai, India. It is one of the oldest residential parts of the city. It is also called Tirumayilai. The locality is claimed to be the birthplace of the cel ...

, the centre of

Chennai Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...

, India, on 20 acres (81,000 m²). This college is part of various educational institutions owned by

Ramakrishna Mission Ramakrishna Mission (RKM) is a Hindu religious and spiritual organisation which forms the core of a worldwide spiritual movement known as the ''Ramakrishna Movement'' or the ''Vedanta Movement''. The mission is named after and inspired by th ...

History

The college was founded with the help of a group of philanthropists and educationists, the prime mover being M. Subbaraya Aiyar, then a prominent income tax lawyer of

Madras Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...

and the founding secretary from 1947 to 1960. Aiyar co-founded two other educational institutions: Vidya Mandir in Mylapore and the

Madras Institute of Technology Madras Institute of Technology (MIT) is an engineering institute located in Chromepet, Chennai, India. It is one of the four autonomous constituent colleges of Anna University. It was established in 1949 by Chinnaswami Rajam as the first self-f ...

in Chromepet. Vivekananda College began with 20 teachers and 339 students. The college then offered just four undergraduate courses. Vivekananda College was subsequently handed over to the sole control of

and renamed Vivekananda College, a unit of Ramakrishna Mission Vidyapith, Chennai. It offers instruction in English and admits only male students.

Affiliation and accreditation

The college has been re-accredited with "A+" grade by the

National Assessment and Accreditation Council The National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) is a government organisation in India that assesses and accredits Higher Education Institutions (HEIs). It is an autonomous body funded by the University Grants Commission and headquarte ...

(NAAC) in 2017. The college has been granted autonomous status by the University Grants Commission,

New Delhi New Delhi (, , ''Naī Dillī'') is the capital of India and a part of the National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, Parliament Hous ...

in 2004–05 to all the courses up to M. Phil degree. It is affiliated to the

University of Madras The University of Madras (informally known as Madras University) is a public state university in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. Established in 1857, it is one of the oldest and among the most prestigious universities in India, incorporated by an a ...

and provides arts, science and commerce courses at the Bachelors, Master's and Doctoral levels.

Infrastructure

The college has a main block, a Math block, a Life Sciences block, a Sanskrit block, the Obul Reddy Auditorium block, an open-air theatre, a Library block with 87,000 books in the day college and 8,000 in the evening college, a sports complex and a prayer hall. The college has a turf cricket ground, tennis court and gymnasium. Computer labs have Internet facilities.Ramakrishna Mission Vivekananda College, Chennai

Training to youth

The college authorities have introduced National Cadet Corps,

National Service Scheme The National Service Scheme (NSS) is an Indian government sector public service program conducted by the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports of the Government of India. Popularly known as NSS, the scheme was launched in Gandhiji's Centenary ...

, Youth

Red Cross The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is a Humanitarianism, humanitarian movement with approximately 97 million Volunteering, volunteers, members and staff worldwide. It was founded to protect human life and health, to ensure re ...

and Rotary Wings for students. Youth are trained in conducting night schools, laying the roads, educating slum dwellers, service to the handicapped, tree plantation, and health programmes.

Academics

The college runs eleven graduate and seven postgraduate programmes in the day college and eight Undergraduate and two postgraduate programmes in the evening college. Undergraduate degrees include B.Com, B.A, B.Sc, B.B.A, and B.C.A degrees in the evening college. Postgraduate degrees award M.A. and M.SC., and in addition M.S.W. in the evening college. There are research degrees awarding M. Phil or PhD.

Scientific Research

The departments of botany, chemistry, physics, mathematics, economics, philosophy and Sanskrit offer research programmes. The Ramakrishna Mission Vidyapith has two research institutes: Vivekananda Institute of Tropical Mycology (VINSTROM) and Vivekananda Institute of Algal Technology (VIAT). They have originated from the department of botany.

Vivekananda Institute of Tropical Mycology (VINSTROM)

Mycological Mycology is the branch of biology concerned with the study of fungi, including their genetic and biochemical properties, their taxonomy and their use to humans, including as a source for tinder, traditional medicine, food, and entheogens, ...

research in the Department of Plant Biology and Plant Biotechnology dates back to 1980s. Sustained research by Dr. T. S. Suryanarayanan for over 35 years in experimental mycology, environmental mycology, marine mycology and

endophyte An endophyte is an endosymbiont, often a bacterium or fungus, that lives within a plant for at least part of its life cycle without causing apparent disease. Endophytes are ubiquitous and have been found in all species of plants studied to date; h ...

ecology and physiology brought international recognition to the college in general and the mycology research team in particular. As a mark of appreciation and encouragement, Ramakrishna Mission Vidyapith, under the secretaryship of Swami Satyapriyananda, created a separate institute – Vivekananda Institute of Tropical Mycology (VINSTROM) — in 2005 to continue the research in mycology under the directorship of Dr. T. S. Suryanarayanan. VINSTROM focuses its efforts on understanding the biodiversity and technological potential of microfungi in forests and other environments. Articles are published in international magazines.

Vivekananda Institute of Algal Technology (VIAT)

VIAT was inaugurated by Swami Satyapriyananda, secretary of Ramakrishna Mission Vidyapith, in April 2006. Based on the success of this new technology, industries such as Wheels India are seeking solutions for effective effluent treatment through phycoremediation. Sivasubramanian has signed a memorandum of understanding with the Chennai-based Indo-Japan joint venture company M/s Nichi-In Biosciences for a research project with emphasis on microbial biotechnology and environment safety to develop technology for

environment-friendly Environment friendly processes, or environmental-friendly processes (also referred to as eco-friendly, nature-friendly, and green), are sustainability and marketing terms referring to goods and services, laws, guidelines and policies that clai ...

plastic materials, to find ways to safely dispose the plastic materials using microbes and develop and validate polymers useful for water conservation in agriculture and horticulture. This project is supported by Japanese institutes like

Waseda University , mottoeng = Independence of scholarship , established = 21 October 1882 , type = Private , endowment = , president = Aiji Tanaka , city = Shinjuku , state = Tokyo , country = Japan , students = 47,959 , undergrad = 39,382 , postgrad ...

Yamanashi Medical University The , abbreviated to , is a university that has campuses in Kofu and Chūō, Japan. The University of Yamanashi has its origin in “Kitenkan” which was founded in 1795 as a branch school of “Shoheizaka-School” of Tokugawa Government (late ...

and Mebiol Inc., whose Indian operation is headed by Dr. Samuel J. K. Abraham, a cardiac surgeon. Prof. Mori Yuichi of Waseda University, Japan, and Dr. Yoshioka Hiroshi of Mebiol Inc., are participating in this collaboration.

Mathematics

Areas of research in the department are number theory, applied statistics, representation theory, algebra, functional analysis, topology algebraic geometry and Fluid dynamics. The department conducts monthly seminars and colloquiums, and hosts a yearly international conference in a particular area of mathematics. It has funding and support from the UGC,

National Board for Higher Mathematics The National Board for Higher Mathematics (NBHM), founded in 1983 by the Indian Government, is a board in India intended to foster the development of higher mathematics, help in the establishment and development of mathematics centres, and give f ...

, Department of Atomic Energy,

Govt. of India The Government of India ( ISO: ; often abbreviated as GoI), known as the Union Government or Central Government but often simply as the Centre, is the national government of the Republic of India, a federal democracy located in South Asia, ...

and Govt. of

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is a state in southern India. It is the tenth largest Indian state by area and the sixth largest by population. Its capital and largest city is Chennai. Tamil Nadu is the home of the Tamil people, whose Tamil language ...

. About 30 international papers are submitted from the mathematics department of Vivekananda college.

Events

The college Silver Jubilee was celebrated in 1971, the Jubilee in 1996, and the Diamond Jubilee from January 2006 to January 2007. As a part of its Diamond Jubilee celebrations, the Vidyapith organized the two-day exhibition Enrich-2006 on 6 and 7 October. It highlighted the activities of the centres of Ramakrishna Sangha, the teachings of Sri Ramakrishna, Holy Mother and Swami Vivekananda, and the recent developments in science, commerce, and humanities. Nearly 1500 students from neighbouring schools visited the exhibition.

Notable alumni

* Justice S. Manikumar * M. P. Veerendra Kumar *

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, MP and journalist *

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, actor, dubbing artist * M.A.M. Ramaswamy, industrialist * S. Gurumurthy, ''

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'' columnist *

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, mathematician,

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, theatre personality *

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, former cricket player * Lakshmipathy Balaji, cricket player *

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, Indian and Tamil Nadu cricket player * Malolan Rangarajan, Tamil Nadu cricket player * Yo Mahesh, Tamil Nadu and Delhi Daredevils player * Rithvik Raja, Carnatic vocalist *

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References

External links

* {{Authority control Men's universities and colleges Universities and colleges affiliated with the Ramakrishna Mission Arts and Science colleges in Chennai Educational institutions established in 1946 1946 establishments in India Colleges affiliated to University of Madras Sports venues in Coimbatore