Criminal Investigation Department: Information and Data Analysis System— a live cloud computing project — has won MCA (Masters in computer applications) students Gaurav Kumar (23) and Kumari Shilpi (22) the first prize in version 4.0 of the Bangalore-based Unisys India’s Cloud 20.20 online technical project contest conducted in August 2012, whose results were announced recently.

Kumar and Shilpi, natives of Patna and currently final year students of the Central government-funded Pondicherry University (PU), are grateful for the institutional support they’ve received. “For over two years PU has encouraged and supported our participation in similar cloud computing competitions. Without this, a measure of luck and the support of our parents and friends, this achievement would not have been possible,” says Kumar.

Kumar and Shilpi’s project bested 5,200 entries from a record 1,000 engineering colleges countrywide including the premier Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs), International Institutes of Information Technology (IIITs) and National Institutes of Technology (NITs), and won the duo a prize of Rs.1 lakh and job offers from Unisys.

Unisys India — a wholly owned subsidiary of Unisys Corp. USA (annual revenue $10.5 billion (Rs.62,893 crore) — introduced the contest in 2009 to encourage new thinking and innovation in engineering colleges countrywide.

Although Patna University is perceived as an academic laggard, this duo who completed their undergrad education from the varsity take pride in dispelling this “prejudice”. “I led a perfectly normal childhood in Patna learning how to play the guitar, attending karate classes, and even learnt how to fly microlight aircraft while in the National Cadet Corps (air wing). In my undergraduate days at Patna University, I developed a serious intent to excel in life in the company of my peers and excellent faculty to whom I owe a great debt,” enthuses Kumar.

“On average at least ten Patna University graduates qualify for the civil services every year apart from other prestigious positions, which is inspiring,” adds Shilpi.

Kumar has ambitious future plans. “I believe I can play a key role in developing low-cost cloud computing tech-nology solutions in low-speed connectivity conditions for the benefit of the rural and urban public,” he says, adding that biometrics would be his preferred choice of specialisation. Shilpi, on the other hand, is intent on writing the UGC-conducted National Eligibility Test and qualifying for a university teaching job, after recently tying the marital knot with a Jharkhand-based banker.

Paromita Sengupta (Bangalore)

Abhinav Menon

Abhinav Menon (17), a class XII student of the Dubai International Academy (DIA, estb. 2005), bagged a silver medal in the 21st International Philosophy Olympiad staged in Odense, Denmark from May 16-19. The Olympiad attracted 90 high school students from 40 countries who wrote essays on philosophical themes during a time window of four hours. Abhinav’s essay on the need for national constitutions to protect minority rights was awarded one of three silver medals.

“I discovered the website of the Olympiad while browsing online. Therefore I reached out to the coincidentally named Abhinav Philosopher, an affiliate organisation of the Abhinav Vidyalay and Junior College, Mumbai,’’  says Abhinav.

Founded in 1993, the International Philosophy Olympiad (IPO) is an international science olympiad supported by Unesco (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation) and run by a group of teachers from several countries working under the aegis of FISP (Federation of International Societies of Philosophy). Kedar Soni, an astronomy postgraduate of Manchester University, UK, promoted Abhinav Philosopher in 2007 and is the Indian coordinator for IPO. Soni is also the founder-director of Abhinav Vidyalay, a state board affiliated K-12 school, where he teaches several subjects including computer science, physics, robotics, astronomy and philosophy to class IX-XII students.

“Most of the preparation for the Olympiad was done online under Prof. Soni’s guidance,” acknowledges Abhinav gratefully. An only child of Suresh Menon, a banker and his wife Lata, who works with a Holland-based food company, Abhinav was born and raised in Dubai.

“DIA has a liberal outlook and encourages co-curricular and extra-curricular education enthusiastically. Therefore I’ve had plenty of opportunities to take on testing challenges,” says Abhinav, who has plans to study a combination of subjects including mathematics, philosophy, economics, ethics and political studies, at a top-ranked US university.

In the longer run, Abhinav intends to return to India and participate in politics. “Contrary to popular perception, politics is a noble profession. At university I intend to develop the skills to persuade people to work in the national interest. It’s easy to be cynical about politics but we need to work for the greater good of the greatest number,” says this philosopher student.

Wind in your sails!

Sunayana Nair (Mumbai)