Indian Institute of Technology Palakkad is conducting the fourth season of its residential science camp in memory of the Late Prof. M. C. Valsakumar, former Professor of Physics and Dean Student Affairs at IIT Palakkad. Prof. Valsakumar, Valsa to his friends, was an excellent researcher, an extraordinary teacher, and above all a humanist. Spreading his passion for science is our way of continuing the journey with him. The programme is supported by a corpus fund established by Professor Valsa's family and friends and a CSR contribution from TM Automotive Seating Systems Private Limited.
IIT Palakkad will select 60 students from schools across Kerala and Coimbatore district in Tamil Nadu. The goal of the camp is to instill a spirit of inquiry, critical thinking, and love for science and mathematics in students. This camp would also provide a platform for interactions between students from various parts of Kerala and researchers at IIT Palakkad. There will be interactive sessions on various topics in science, engineering, and mathematics, and several hands-on sessions in labs where scientific concepts will be introduced through experiments. Students will be awarded a small stipend and some travel allowance.
The camp will run uninterrupted from May 22 - 31, 2024.
Food and accommodation will be provided in the IIT hostels which are inside the campus.
Programme Highlights
Lectures, demonstrations, hands-on workshops, puzzles and lot more!
Eligibility and Application Process
Students should be currently studying in Class XI (Eleven) in Kerala or Coimbatore district in Tamil Nadu and should be in one of the science streams. The application is to be submitted online at https://squest.iitpkd.ac.in/. It has to be accompanied by scanned copies of a bonafide certificate from the Principal and the 10th standard mark list. The bonafide certificate format can be downloaded from the same link. Incomplete applications will not be considered. The last date for receipt of applications is 22 31 March April 5, 2024. The list of selected students will be published on the institute's website by April 15, 2024.
Important Dates
| Last date of receipt of online applications |
|
| Announcement of list of selected students |
April 15, 2024 |
| Dates of the science camp | May 22 - 31, 2024 |
List of Selected candidates
About IIT Palakkad
Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) are autonomous public institutions of national importance for higher education in engineering, science, and technology. IIT Palakkad was announced by the Government of India in 2014. IIT Palakkad operates from the Nila and Sahyadri Campuses at Kanjikode. IIT Palakkad is fully residential with separate hostels for girls and boys. The campus houses six hostels: four in the tranquil Nila Campus and two in the serene Sahyadri Campus.
Contact: For further queries please send a mail to sciencequest@iitpkd.ac.in
About Valsa
Prof. M. C. Valsakumar ( 1952:2019 )
Prof. M. C. Valsakumar was born in Pinarayi, Kannur district in Kerala. He was an alumnus of Government. Brennen College, Thalassery and Department of Physics, University of Calicut. Soon after his M.Sc (1975- with gold medal) he joined BARC Training School, Mumbai. Since then he worked at IGCAR, Kalpakkam till he superannuated as Outstanding Scientist and Head of Materials Physics Division, IGCAR in 2012. Soon after he retired from IGCAR he was invited as a Distinguished Professor at School of Materials Engineering/Science, University of Hyderabad. In June 2015 he accepted the invitation to join IIT Palakkad where he served until March 2018. Prof. Valsakumar was a versatile researcher. He published more than 160 research articles in reputed journals. Many scientists and various university students completed their PhD under his able guidance. Some of his seminal works on open quantum systems and statistical mechanics became landmarks in those areas. His research interests spanned across quantum field theory and computational materials science. He was also an expert in high performance computing and was instrumental in developing dedicated computational facilities at IGCAR.
Prof. Valsakumar was an inspiring teacher with a deep understanding across various disciplines. He was adored by his students.