Birthday of the College - Worship Service on June 8, 2010

Upcoming Navathi Events

Monday, October 4, 2010 at 2:15 PM

Navathi Lecture 3 - Science and the Future of India

Prof. C.N.R. Rao, FRS
National Research professor; Linus Pauling Research Professor; and Honorary President of Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research, Bangalore

Brochure

Past Programs

Inauguration of the Navathi Celebrations

Saturday, June 5, 2010

Dr. APJ Kalam, Former President of India, visits the college. He inaugurated the Navathi celebrations on Saturday, June 5, 2010 at 7 PM in New Seminar Hall. Program
About Dr. APJ Kalam

Tuesday, June 8, 2010

Birth Day of the college.

Rt. Rev. K. Michael John, distinguished alumnus of UCC and bishop of CSI East Kerala Diocese, delivered the message during a solemn celebration at the Chapel. Details

Navathi Committee

A 61 member committee is the muscle and brain behind the planning and execution of the Navathi Celebrations. Meet them here.

Navathi Projects

During the Navathi year (2010-2011), the college will be launching a number of innovative projects to commemorate this landmark event. Read about them here.

Media Coverage

Coverage of the Navathi Inauguration by Dr. APJ Kalam - The Hindu, June 6, 2010

Express News June 5, 2010

by Dr. Thara Simon

“Live up to the words of Gandhiji, and keep the students ahead by 10 years."

HE Dr. APJ Kalam

Inaugurating the Navathi Celebrations by Recalling Gandhiji’s meaningful words “delighted with the ideal situation, “ the former president of India HE Dr. A. P. J. Abdul Kalam, said that UCC has the remarkable task of living up to the ideals and values that was expressed through the words of Gandhiji. The most important lesson conveyed by Gandhiji in the message to UCC was to practice righteousness of heart.

Today’s India is very different than the India when UC College was founded. Yesterday, the power went to those who had natural resources; today knowledge is power.

Yesterday synergy was the driving force; today knowledge is the driving force.

Yesterday was the day of shareholders, but today is the day of customers.

He reminded the teachers to keep the students ahead of 10 years. While answering the questions, he commented that his dream is to see the smiling faces of all the millions of human beings in India and in the world.

Hon VC Rajan Gurukkal expressed his deep indebtness to UCC, the great institution which helped him to understand himself. Through the efforts of HE Dr. APJ, Science and technology has become the part of the nation. “This is a great moment for me, through this, UCC has honored an ordinary teacher like me, to be seated with a versatile genius like Dr. APJ.

The inaugural ceremony was well attended. The climate was favorable, and the New Seminar Hall (with a searing capacity of 500 was jam packed. Remote circuit TV was arranged in the outside Pandal so the overflow crowd could see and hear what the guests were saying inside.

As per the wish of His Excellency Dr. Kalam, school children were given VVIP status by seating them in the front rows of the auditorium!!! There was a marvelous interactive session with the students.

Principal Dr. T. Thomas Philip welcomed the gathering, Manager Prof. AM Chacko and MP Dr. Dhanapalan felicitated the occasion. Dr, Tomy Varghese, the general convener, proposed the vote of thanks.

A memorable event was the showing of a 5 minute documentary on UCC titled “USCAPES”

A special edition “Smrithipadham” will be released with today’s daily.

Earlier in the day, HE APJ Kalam was received at the college chapel by Dr. Johney George, the college chaplain and Dr. Thara Simon, member of the Governing Board of UCC and convener of the chapel. The chaplain lead a short prayer and presented the ecumenical worship book to the former president. The ecumenical worship book of UCC contains prayers and passages from Upanishads as well as excerpts from Tagore's Geethanjali.

After the chapel ceremonies, Dr. Kalam planted an Asoka plant (a highly medicinal, endangered plant), in commemoration of the World Environment day. He also visited the Gandhi Mango Tree (Gandhi Mavu) near the Principal’s office.

About Dr. APJ Kalam

Coverage of the Navathi Inauguration by Dr. APJ Kalam - The Hindu, June 6, 2010

By Dr. T. Thomas Philip, Principal

The Union Christian College was started in 1921 as a centre of higher learning by purely Indian initiative by a group of four Professors from Madras Christian College. Their aim, through the imparting of sound knowledge blended with Christian values, was to produce intellectually competent, morally upright, spiritually inspired and patriotic men and women in the service of the country. (UCC was started as a men's only college. Girls were admitted starting in 1949. (Source: Dr. KCC))

Mahatma Gandhi visited the College in 1925, planted a mango tree adjacent to the present office of the Principal and wrote in the Visitors’ Diary, “Delighted with the ideal situation”. Over the years, the College had been blessed by the visits of illustrious and inspiring persons such as Rabinthra Nath Tagore, Lord Irwin, K.P. Kesava Menon, C. Rajagopalachari, Malcolm Muggeridge, Mulk Raj Anand, Rajmohan Gandhi (Grandson of Mahatma Gandhi), Jayaprakash Narayanan and Dr. Shankar Dayal Sharma.

From a humble beginning in 1921 the College has grown to be a Centre of light and life comprising of 8 Postgraduate Departments, 3 Undergraduate Departments, with separate unaided programs such as MSc Biotechnology, MSc Bioinformatics, BSc Computer Maintenance and Electronics, BSc Computer Science, BSc Biological Techniques and Specimen Preparation, an Institute of Communication and Information Technology, and an MCA program under the AICTE. There are 8 research Centres in the College where doctoral research is carried out.

A highlight of the research capability of the faculty is the ISRO Respond Project, “Siloxane-modified epoxy resin for space application” started in February 2006 and which ran for 3.5 years under the initiative of Dr. A. Benny Cherian and Dr. K. P. Unnikrishnan of the Department of Chemistry. The findings were highly appreciated at the Respond Review meeting held in October 2009 by Dr. Madhavan Nair (former Director, ISRO) and Dr. Radhakrishnan (the present Chairman, ISRO).

The alumni of UCC include Dr. P.C. Alexander, IAS, (former Principal Secretary to Prime Minister Indira Gandhi), Guru Nithya Chaithanya Yeti (internationally acclaimed educationalist), Mr. C.M. Stephen (former Union Minister), and Mr. P.K. Vasudevan Nair (former Chief Minister of Kerala)