'Science Fun Day at Montagne Blanche Social Welfare Centre'

 

Speech - Science Fun Day at Montagne Blanche Social Welfare Centre

Date : 13 August 2014 at 11.00 hrs 

                                           

·       Protocol

· Hon. Cader Syed Hossen, Minister of Industry, Commerce and ConsumerProtection

·       Hon Jim Seetaram,  Minister of Business , Enterprise and Cooperatives

·       Dr Maulloo, Director Rajiv Gandhi Science Centre,

·       Mrs Guness, Senior Welfare Officer,

·       Disnguished guests,

·       Dear students

I am delighted to address you on the occasion of the Science Fun Day organised by the Rajiv Gandhi Science Centre and the Montagne Blanche Social Welfare Centre.   I can see a great deal of enthusiasm among the young people present here today for Science and Technology and specially having fun doing Science at the same time.

I have learnt that today’s programme consists of a variety of activities such as science drawing contest, science workshops and presentations, film shows etc. 

Ladies and Gentlemen, There is a shared belief that education is crucial in building up the individual and collective capacity, and in strengthening the cohesiveness of our nation beyond knowledge and skills. Over the years, we have made changes – big and small – to make our education system stronger and better. But we should never lost sight of a few key fundamentals.

First, we need to develop our children holistically, in all aspects – moral, cognitive, physical, social and aesthetic – that is the ALL ROUND DEVELOPMENT of the children.  This is why such a programme has been brought to you in Montagne Blanche to give children of different backgrounds and inspirations to get involved in Science and Technology in ways that interest them.  We need to tickle the imaginations of our children and let them think and express themselves on Science and Technology.  
Irrespective of whether students opt of Science and Technology at SC level, they need to be aware that our world is being governed by Science and Technology.  S & T is everywhere: just name it:

·       In our plates: Biotechnology and Agriculture

·       Communication: Mobile Phone, Internet, weather forecast etc.

·  Travel: the world is now a global village thanks to the rapid international Transport system and the internet.

·   Health: we now have new technologies to cure some diseases previously termed as ‘incurable’. 

Therefore, it is our duty to understand some aspects of technology to prevent its misuse and to protect ourselves and our families.  

Ladies and gentlemen, the development of Mauritius is going to take a new turn with the forthcoming development of what is called the Blue Economy.  Mauritius, being a small island state, which is larger than France due to its Exclusive Economic zone of more than 2.3 Million Kilometer Square.  Our territorial waters needs to be exploited to its fullest in the years to come.  This is why we need to encourage our young people to study science and technology.  We will need Technicians, Engineers, Doctors and other skilled professionals to assist in the development of our country. 

The future of our country lies in the hands of our children.   Each child is unique and has got his own potential.  Therefore, we need to cater for the diverse needs of young people to allow all of them to progress in life.  We need to have a diversity of pathways and opportunities, regardless of background.

In this context Government is sparing no effort to provide the opportunity for every child to access tertiary education.  A number of foreign universities have already set branch campuses in Mauritius. With the aim of transforming Mauritius into a knowledge hub, the government has reiterated its commitment by investing in the International Institute of Technology Research Academy (IITRA) project. The institute was inaugurated on Wednesday July 23, 2014 at the University Campus in Bel Air and will operate with the support of the Mauritius Research Council (MRC) and the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Delhi.

Dear students, I would encourage each one of you to nourish your imagination, to think big, to work hard and to persevere in whatever you undertake.   I agree that sometimes learning is hard but you should never be discouraged in life.  Go ahead make learning become fun, exhilarating and gratifying!!!

On this note, I wish you a fruitful learning experience in your quest for scientific knowledge .

Hi friends, unfortunately facebook limits me to only 5000 , I invite u all on my page Rajesh Jeetah………thanks for being my friend…….RJ

Speech - Opening Ceremony of the Schrodinger Day

Speech - Opening Ceremony of the Schrodinger Day –

Virtual Conference on Computational Chemistry : VCC 2014

Venue :  Lecture Theatre 2, University of Mauritius – Tuesday 12 August, 2014 at 09.30 hrs

• Prof Soodursun Jugessur ,Pro Chancellor & Chairman of University of Mauritius Council

• Prof R Mohee,Vice-Chancellor University of Mauritius

• Prof A. Hussein Subratty, Pro Vice-Chancellor (Academia)

• Assoc Prof R. Thanika D. Juwaheer, Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Planning and Resources),

• Academic and non-academic staff of the University of Mauritius

• Participants of the Virtual Conference on Computational Chemistry (VCCC-2014)

• Students

• Distinguished Guests

• Ladies and Gentlemen, Good morning

It gives me immense pleasure as the Minister of Tertiary Education, Science, Research & Technology to be present for the Opening Session of the Schrödinger Day under the umbrella of the Virtual Conference on Computational Chemistry. I congratulate the University of Mauritius and in particular the Computational Chemistry Group for the laudable initiative of conducting the conference virtually.

Today, the 12^th August, is the birth date of a famous Nobel winning physicist Erwin Schrödinger, who is known as the father of Quantum Mechanics. Schrödinger established several fundamental results in this field and the most important one is the Schrödinger equation. This prominent and well known equation is being used in different fields of Science including Computational Chemistry.

With ICT playing such an important role in our life, it is good to note that the Government of Mauritius has taken measures to ensure that the ICT culture permeates all levels of the society with the ultimate of making of Mauritius a Smart Island.  It is therefore appropriate that a second virtual conference be held in Mauritius after the first one held last year, which was a success.

Mauritius has been hosting several national and international conferences where participants from different regions of the world have been able to visit our small island. Now, apart from these face to face meetings, we can hold virtual conferences which are becoming common. I am honoured and pleased to address you on this occasion of the second Virtual Conference on Computational Chemistry.

I am also glad to know that the Schrödinger Day is being broadcast live through the internet. I had a look at the summary of research abstracts that are being presented for the VCCC-2014 and it amazes me to see the wide range of topics being studied using computational methods. I note that there are 120 participants from 35 countries. I would also like to add that Computational Chemistry has gained popularity over the years and is becoming a fundamental tool in Research.  We remember that the 2013 Nobel Prize in Chemistry was awarded to three computational chemists.

For Mauritius to become an innovation driven country, the government of Mauritius and my Ministry are trying our best to provide all facilities within our means to ensure that Mauritians benefit from the advantages of ICT and are able to carry out high level research. In fact, one of the objectives of the Government of Mauritius is to convert our country into a wireless nation and going over simple computer literacy. In this very same context, an International Institute of Technology (IIT) Research Academy, affiliated to the IIT of Delhi, was recently launched in Mauritius. This is among one of the most prominent milestones that my ministry has undertaken for the proper development of science, research and technology in Mauritius.

It is also good for all of you to know that this is the first time that such a project is being implemented outside India. I understand that computational resource is very important for computational chemistry research and we are looking forward to providing computational support by the implementation of clusters that are expected to be implemented in the coming years. Apart from this one, I have several projects in mind to promote high quality research. I intend to come up with research centres across the country and funding will be made available on a competitive basis through the Mauritius Research Council.

Let us come back to the Schrödinger Day. I had the opportunity to attend the Opening Ceremony of the biennial International Conference on Pure and Applied Chemistry and I know that a Nobel Prize winner has always delivered the keynote address. I can see that even for the Schrödinger Day, the 1996 Nobel Prize winner in Chemistry, namely Sir Harold Kroto, will intervene via Skype. In this context, I am pleased to inform you that one student from the University of Mauritius, from the Faculty of Medicine, was supported by the Govt of Mauritius to participate in Lindau 2014 Nobel Laureates Meeting.

There are, indeed, many young brains in this room who will be future scientists and who should benefit from our support, for example to participate in the Lindau Meeting.

To conclude, I sincerely hope that Mauritian researchers, students and participants will gather experience from the discussion that is going on during this virtual conference till end of August 2014. It is also good to note that researchers from the University of Mauritius will present their research works using the Schrödinger equation this afternoon.

I would like again to congratulate the University of Mauritius, the Organising Committee of the Virtual Conference on Computational Chemistry and all those involved in making this event a successful one. I wish all the participants a fruitful conference and I declare the Schrödinger Day open.

Thank you.

Dr R. Jeetah                                                                         Ministry of Tertiary Education, Science, Research and Technology

‘Visit of Mr.Martin Turner, ACCA Global President’

I met with Mr. Martin Turner, ACCA Global President accompanied by Mrs. M.Ramdin-Clark, Head of ACCA Mauritius today. The aim of the visit was to consolidate relationships with decision makers and major stakeholders in Mauritius.

Happy Rakhi to u all…………………….