How many Industry Speaks are planned during the year? Where are they held?

All Industry Speaks! events are held in the virtual mode.Each Partner Institute (PI) of PALS is given an opportunity to host the Industry Speaks once.  

How many students can attend the industry Speaks lecture? Can faculty members also attend?

All Industry Speaks are open to all. Technically, there is no restriction on the number of students and faculty who can attend these events.

How should a Partner Institute schedule the Industry Speaks Lecture with PALS?

Industry Speaks Lectures are usually organized during August-September and January-February, as the students’ academic workload is relatively less during this period. 

The PMO will duly check for mutually available dates and organize these events where the hosting college(s) will have a senior management person giving the Welcome address. The Master of Ceremonies will be a student from the hosting college. There will be upto four teams of students, presenting on extended topics or cases given by the speaker.

Each PI will indicate 2-4 suitable dates and PALS will finalize one of them based on availability of speakers. The dates will be frozen one week in advance and the travel and other arrangements will then be finalized.

Will the PI have to arrange/pay for to-and-fro transport and lodging charges of the speakers?

Events being virtual, this question does not arise.

When events are physical, PALS will make arrangements for the transport of the speakers, and other PALS persons traveling along with, to and from the PI’s campus. In case overnight stay is required, PALS will arrange for hotel accommodation in the city.

If the PI campus happens to be located in a remote area and hotel accommodation is not available nearby, then PALS will request the PI to provide accommodation in the PI’s guest house.

How many Theory to Practice Lectures are planned during the year? Where are they held?

PALS plans to hold a minimum of 4 Theory to Practice (T2P) Lectures during the academic year. More lectures will be organized depending upon the availability of students, venue, speakers and other factors.

This year due to pandemic and government restrictions, T2P Lectures will be conducted in the virtual mode only. Two in each of the semesters, are planned for this year.

When in physical mode, the T2P Lectures will be held at “Common Venues” where participants from all the Participating Institutes (PIs) can attend. Mostly, the venue will be in Chennai. PALS will also try to hold a lecture in Trichy and Coimbatore, depending upon availability of suitable venue and speakers willing to travel to these cities.

How many students from a PI can attend a T2P lecture? Can faculty members also attend?

Virtual mode: No restrictions with respect to the number of students and faculty attending.

Physical mode: Depending upon the capacity of the venue and the number of PIs attending the lecture, the number of attendees from each PI will be determined. Typically this number will be 15. This will include students and faculty.

It is left to the individual PI to select its students and faculty members to attend the CL. The attendees should be bonafide students or faculty of the PI.

Should the attendees of a T2P lecture have a specific technical background and knowledge?

T2P Lectures are highly technical and would pertain to specific engineering disciplines. These details will be mentioned alongwith the announcement of the T2P Lecture. It is highly recommended that the attendees of a T2P are from the stated engineering background and discipline.

What if my college has got more interested people to attend the T2P Lecture than the number allowed by PALS?

This year, the events being virtual, this question may not arise.

The limitations in number of attendees arises due to logistics issues. PALS takes videos of the entire T2P lecture, and the videos are shared with the PIs. The PIs can screen the videos in their colleges and thus provide opportunity for more students and faculty to view the lectures.

Please see the answer to the next question also.

How does PALS schedule a T2P Lecture? How should a Partner Institute register for this Lecture?

T2P Lectures are usually organized during August-September and January-February, as the students’ academic workload is relatively less during this period. The exact date and venue will depend upon the availability of the venue and speakers, and will be announced closer to the date, typically 2-3 weeks in advance.

Each PI will register in a Google Drive before the deadline, the number of attendees it plans to send. PALS will review the details and if there is additional capacity available, offer the same to the interested PIs.

Since there is a high demand for seats amongst the PIs for T2P Lectures, PALS requests the PIs to ensure that no booked seat goes waste. PIs may inform their absentees to PALS so that PALS can pass the seat to an interested attendee from another PI.

Will the PI have to arrange/pay for to-and-fro transport and lodging charges of its attendees to the T2P Lectures? Will there be a registration fee charged by PALS for the T2P Lecture?

PALS will not charge any registration fees from its PIs for the T2P lectures, since the PIs have already paid the subscription fees at the beginning of the year.

Virtual mode: No cost to PI envisaged.

Physical Mode: The PIs will have to pay for the travel (local as well as outstation), boarding and lodging costs of its attendees for attending the T2P Lectures. Lunch and/or High Tea will be provided to the attendees as indicated in the event program.