Encouraging women entrepreneurs through Open Source
TenthPlanet Open Source Foundation (TPOSF), an open source community development foundation has initiated a project for women entrepreneurs. A group of women, who are engineering graduates, have created microsites on various topics such as environmental interest, alternate energy, pollution, e-Governance based flagship initiatives, law, fashion and lifestyle segment for women with specific focus on saris, etc. The aim of Tenth Planet to support the project is to encourage entrepreneurship in the field of IT.
Featured Scientist
In India scientist are low because physics,chemistry graduates also join in jobs but not interest to work in research said […]
From Seekers To Creators
The aim is to make them aware of opportunities. Chipkidz, the Open Source Youth Employment Center of Tenth Planet Technologies targets unemployed IT(B.E., B.Tech, MCA and M.Sc) Graduates and gives the user freedom to modify the source code.
Kural Website Features Published
See the full details about Thirukural on the kurals website developed by the young Entrepreneurs. You can see the different explanations given by different authors
Free Websites For Indian Business
Professional services for WordPress, Drupal, Woocommerce, ios & Android. We take care of your technology requirements, so you can focus on what you’re good at.
Connecting the people through Internet
Internet link with our heart – start with this philosophy for firstplanet planning organizer k.Anandkumar.
Pudhiya Thalaimurai
Computer engineering and technologies students give knowledgeable opportunity in TenthPlanet open source foundation and they help for students to get jobs in IT.
Inaiyam Idhayam
Internet link with our heart start with this Philosophy for firstplanet planning organizer k.Anandkumar.
Launched Isro Kids Education Centre
The firstplanet organization support & help to village graduate IT field job seekers,then given the free training job and computer for our goals.
Kalam Irangiyavargal
Creating opportunities for unemployed youths in India. The team at TenthPlanet Open Source Foundation explaining how they are helping job seekers to learn latest technologies.
Website for differently-abled
If technology can bring people together, it can also bring about a change,” says Sathasivam Kannupayan (29), who has created a website – www.enabled.in – for differently-abled to network, motivate, teach and empower them.
Free space science education for kids
ISROKIDS is a summer camp organized by First planet. It is a free space science education for kids. This news was telecasted in NDTV Hindu channel. If you had missed the opportunity to watch it in TV, this is a chance for you, play this video and know what happened in ISROKIDS.
ISROKIDS Summer camp
ISROKIDS is a summer camp organized by First planet. This program was telecasted in Jaya Plus channel. If you had missed the opportunity to watch it in TV, this is a chance for you, play this video and know what happened in ISROKIDS.
Students sensitised to career scope in IT/ITES sector
Students grasped the approach to pursue careers in IT / ITES sectors at the end of a conference at Cauvery College for Women here on Thursday.
Titled OSREADY (Open Source Ready Conference), the day-long event, oriented students on what is expected of them before they take up employment.
Chief Executive Officer 10{+t}{+h}Planet, Chennai, familiarised the participating students with contents of a book titled ‘how to get the first job’, and the portal www.firstplanet.in containing e-learning inputs to nurture innovations and entrepreneurship.
The book was released by the College Principal S. Sujatha in the presence of S.P. Mohan, HR Trainer and State president of Tamil Nadu Youth Exnora.
The job portal where thousands of smaller IT/ ITES companies post their advertisements for free will be of immense utility to students, adding that it also guides them to prepare good resumes. Examples of successful women entrepreneurs were narrated to motivate the students as they could understand how working from home also amounts to self-employment and entrepreneurship, he said.
Tiruchi today(Open source ready conference)
Youth Exnora of Cauvery College for Women: Department of Biotechnology: Science Academies lecture workshop on ‘thrust areas life science’, G. Marimuthu, head, department of Animal Behaviour and Physiology, Madurai Kamaraj University, inaugurates, M. Jayaraman, president of the college council, releases souvenir, K. Rengarajan, secretary, felicitates, 10 a.m.; Open source ready conference, Kumaran Mani, CEO, 10 th Planet, Chennai, chief guest, V. Sujatha, principal, speaks, S. P. Mohan, state president of Tamil Nadu Youth Exnora, presides, 1.30 p.m.
School drop-out initiates employment drive
When 17-year-old Varun Sridharan was told three days ago that as an after effect of two operations on his ears last year, it might take a while before he regains his ability to hear, he immediately began planning ahead. “They said I have to start using hearing aids. I realised a lot would be spent on them and the batteries every month,” he says.
Instead, he decided to get a microphone Symbian application installed on this phone, and asked a programmer friend to boost the volume. “I just have to keep the phone in my pocket and my earphones plugged in, and I can hear so much better now,” says the boy, who dropped out of school a few years ago, to pursue his interest in emerging technologies.
“There was so much to do outside,” is his eager response on why he left school. And his life has been a testimony to that spirit. After enrolling for tennis classes, he left it midway because he felt the academy needed to leverage its services better online and ended up creating a site for them. When people said he drew well, he thought why not make ‘photoshop-ic caricatures’ of his own drawings. Programming, debugging, making websites, handling viruses, he has learnt and done it all.
Varun believes in the potential of technology to solve many problems. There is so much software freely available everywhere that can counter bigger problems, say unemployment, he confidently declares. His is one of the inspiring stories to emerge from the TenthPlanet Open Source Foundation which provides opportunities for engineering graduates who believe not getting into a top-notch software firm is not the end of the road.
For instance, Ushashree, an engineer from Perambur, over the last two years, has been frequenting sari shops in the city to create a catalogue that will help people browse through the collections. Ezhilagan is all set to launch his site listing local trainers who coach students on various sports. There is also Sadasivam, an engineer with physical disability who has launched a website that has every little detail about welfare schemes for persons with disability.
Many at the foundation have been searching jobs since 2007, but there are not enough jobs to employ every engineer who graduates, they feel.
What the foundation offers is an alternative. “There are 25,000 business establishments on every 25 km and the owners think maintaining a site can cost them a lot. There are several people looking out for simple products and services online and there are hundreds of engineers who can be used to build these websites. We are just bringing all of them together,” says Kumaran Mani, who runs the foundation.
Along with several other unemployed, trained engineers and Varun, he initiated ‘Indiainternetready’ that hundreds of Chennai-based commercial establishments registered, that include, boxing classes for girls, many bakers, grocery shops, tuition classes and many others. “The biggest feature of the venture is the opportunity for young engineers to do something that connects them with society in a way that engineering education does not,” says Mr. Mani.
Varun’s initiative has been helpful in a way because it has shown them age is no barrier . “Most of them are expected to get plush jobs as soon as they are out of college. They seem to associate leaning with company tags, a sentiment we need to break,” says Mr. Mani, about his team. “We may not be able to create Steve Jobs, let us create local jobs, instead.”
Off-campus recruitment set to bring cheer
We do not have any more eligible students left for the companies that are coming now – Even as placement directors of reputed engineering colleges in and around the city voice this complaint with increasing frequency, companies have begun their annual round of off-campus recruitments.
Eagerly looking forward to attending one is S. Chandrasekhar and many of his friends, all students of an engineering college in Chengalpet. “We had TCS recruit 600 people, and others are coming now to rope in one or two. Many of us took admission here because we could not get through elsewhere. With less that 55 per cent in class X and class XII, we never stood a chance in campus placements.”
Only about 10 per cent of students in the top-rung colleges remain without a job at the end of the year, say sources. But in lesser known institutes, the number is much more. Of the 8 lakh graduates who pass out every year, only about 2.50 lakh get placed in the software industry. Sources say that only about 21 per cent of the engineering graduates in Tamil Nadu get placed every year. “That means, a huge number is left out, and the numbers keep accumulating,” says K. Karthikeyan of Tenth Planet Open Source Foundation that trains unemployed youth.
For many such aspirants, the off-campus procedures go on throughout the year. “But the companies are very strict about recruiting only those who have finished their engineering. So these students have to keep track of the online forms that are floated by companies,” adds Mr.Karthikeyan.
Getting in through off-campus recruitment is slightly difficult for fresh graduates as many companies in search of replacements for employees who have left the organisation, prefer experienced hands, says R. Rajaraman, who got placed three years ago with TCS. The other option is to work for some small company for 2-3 years, gain experience and then apply in these top companies, he says.
Some companies often specify higher scores in class X and class XII which many students, especially the CBSE ones find difficult to fulfil. However, companies including Wipro, Syntel and Honeywell are often an exception, at least in off campuses. “And many telecom companies often do not pay much heed to academics, especially performance in schools, but the candidates have to undergo difficult entrances. The ones with technical expertise can crack them easily,” says Rohini Dhar, HR consultant, BHEL.
Being constantly in touch with alumni through group mails and conducting regular refresher courses in technology and aptitude can be useful, K. K. Sivagnana Prabhu, head, Training and Placement, RMK Engineering College. “Students with four or five standing arrears are motivated to clear at least three, so that they are considered by a few IT firms,” he adds.
Additionally, many companies, including Polaris, Hexaware and Aricent, recruit students already trained in specific technologies from training institutes. Most of these companies have a team of committed HR consultants who rope in lateral talent, and around 10-12 students from selected campuses. These companies do not have aggressive campus placement procedures targeted at recruiting students in bulk.
“The wise thing for candidates left out in campus recruitment is to get trained in specific technologies. Many tier 2 companies to reduce training costs prefer candidates who can be directly put to work,” says Mr. Karthikeyan.
Also with the bulk recruiter getting maximum importance, many smaller companies that vie for talent are left with little choice, than to focus on off campuses. “Squeezed in between slots, many of them decide to concentrate on the projects made by the students or response to certain technical questions, because ssssss cream is already taken away. But often, we see that students would join the bulk recruiter because their friends have also been recruited, and the pay is at least 10 per cent more,” says R. K. Devyani, a consultant with iFlex Services and Solutions.
Looking for a prosperous market
TenthPlanet’s Open Source Foundation, (located at Anna Salai) has turned 10 young women from the IT field into amateur entrepreneurs. The organisation has given these youngsters financial support, infrastructure and a good platform to perform and learn. Says Kumaran Mani, CEO, Tenth Planet Technologies: The women have learnt to do documentation, coding, product testing, product delivery, business ethics, team management and customer-friendly approach. They have been trained to use the open source tools, which are available free online, to implement the sites. Each site deals with a different subject or domain. They will have features such as online directory, job portal, event management, online buying, catalogue, subscription and ticketing system for upcoming events.
“What we have launched now is the first version and an improvised one, which will give good revenue, will be launched by 2012,” said Usha Sri and Sailaja, the team leaders.
The sites.
The site www.garbo.in contains a large number of images, photos and videos regarding garbage. Users can register and look at the displayed photos or even upload their own photos on this site. Solutions to manage waste have also been provided here. “This will create an awareness about waste management, segregation and so on,” said Usha Sri.
“We have also created a site for those conscious of pollution at the global level. The site cleangreen.in deals with news regarding instruments and devices to control pollution, organisations involved in controlling pollution across the world, articles regarding individuals who have contributed towards this cause, etc,” she added.
Isaiplanet.com is sure to be a hit with music lovers. “More than 10,000 Tamil film songs are available and the site is being updated. The entrepreneurs have also catered to the taste of all women in the State through the site sareepuram.com. “One can log on to this site to know about saris available in a number of shops in T. Nagar. One can avoid getting caught in a traffic jam or driving down all the way. Instead, one can order online or just pay a visit to a particular shop to pick up their choice,” says Usha Sri. With the festive season about to begin this does seem to be a convenient way to shop.
Restaurants et al
Restaurants, coffee shop, cake shop, recipes and other food related articles and information can be obtained from eatwell.in. Disasters that had occurred across the world — date of occurrence, severity of damage, organisations that had helped during the contingency, leaders who had evinced interest in helping the people of the area and other information can be accessed through the siteworldstatus.net
The other sites created by them are opengov.in; article51.jaijagat.org and sugarmills.in
“The 10 entrepreneurs who began these sites will benefit out of it when more and more people browse these sites. The women, who were job seekers a few months ago have turned out as job creators. This is the power of open source,” says Kumaran Mani.
Tenth Planet Technologies is at 807, 6th Floor, P.T. Lee Building, Anna Salai. Ph: 4296 1000.
Creating websites for NGOs
First Planet Technologies, an unit of TenthPlanet Open Source Foundation – India has been grooming IT job seekers into job creators by offering free training in open source. Among many projects that the trainees work on, they develop websites and provide technical assistants for NGOs free of cost. First Planet Technologies has set precedence with some of the NGOs such as Isha Foundation, City Montessori School, Lucknow, Exnora, Vazhga Valamudan Group and many others in providing the required technical assistance.
First Planet Technologies invites NGOs and Not for Profit Organisations in India to utilize the technology incubator services.
First Planet is located at 807, Anna Salai, 6th Floor, P.T. Lee Building, Opp. LIC. For details, contact 4296 1000.
Committed to tackling unemployment
Avinash, Dharvesh and many other freshers and job seekers have found themselves attractive jobs in the city. They are glad that they enrolled themselves in programme Satori, which helped them in this venture. First Planet, a four-year-old social enterprise, has formulated Satori. Through the programme Satori, First Planet aims to help at least one lakh job seekers find suitable jobs in the IT industry, according to Kumaran Mani, CEO, First Planet.
The programme was started in March in which 25 participants took part. Over the next three weeks, another 50 were recruited and they underwent a training of 96 hours.
The CEO says, “Satori is free for any IT jobseeker. IT freshers of BE / B.Tech / MCA / B.Sc / M.Sc. can benefit from this programme.
The job aspirant gets the best infrastructure and atmosphere for learning the latest tools and technologies. The tools include JDK, Eclipse IDE and JSF. They will be put under trainers who will guide them to be familiar with various software. They also get hands-on learning experience from installation to deployment for every tool. Satori also gives aspirants a practical exposure to self learning and thus inspires them to learn more about the field. They are also coached in group discussion, aptitude test and interview skills.
On completion of Satori, job seekers can take up a skill assessment test. A certificate is given at the end of the programme. Their e-portfolio with online resume, photo, video and overall making and scores are promoted with various job providers. They then participate in job tours and face interviews with top IT companies.
Banupriya (BE from Annamalai University) has found herself in Hexaware after completing Satori. “It was immensely useful and taught me how to interact, communicate with and handle colleagues. It improved my knowledge about creating documents and present concepts.”
Reading, writing codes and presenting methodologies are part of Satori training. Towards the end, the students are given a video of all the concepts they have learnt. “This training gives us the confidence to communicate our technical abilities,” says Shri Vishnu, who is now with Financial Software Solutions. “It also gave us a fine idea about serving in an IT industry, understanding latest tools and technologies with effective guidance.”
Till date about 350 persons have completed the programme and attended interviews in at least three top companies and about 75 of them have been placed in the IT sector.
The next batch starts tomorrow (June 13) and to register, job seekers can call 4296 1000.
First Planet does not stop with interviews and placements. Through a module, FP Seeds, it also funds job seekers to launch and generate with their ideas and support their commitment for a social cause in building free NGO sites.
First Planet is nurtured by Tenth Planet Open Source Foundation, a corporate social entity of Tenth Planet Technologies. It is located at 807, 6th Floor, P. T. Lee Building, Anna Salai.
Satori is a free programme formulated for IT job seekers.
ISROKids Programme
ISROKids conducted a one-month space camp for children — Space Camp Kids — in the age group of eight to 16. During the camp, children dealt with assignment of space study, group discussion on assignments topic, crossword, games, puzzles, challenges, interactive sessions with experts in space science, guest lectures on new innovation and research and online exam.
Space Camp Kids showcased different talent with speech, painting, paper craft work, animation and innovative project related to space and shuttle.
Nearly 100 children from different schools participated in space camp and benefited. Finally, students attended Junior Space Scientist exam. Junior Space Scientist certification was awarded to children by the chief guest Nellai S. Muthu, ISRO Scientist.
Children study about space in a month-long camp
Budding scientist: Participants with their Junior Space Scientist certificates given by ISROkids.
ISROKids conducted a one-month space camp for children — Space Camp Kids — in the age group of eight to 16. During the camp, children dealt with assignment of space study, group discussion on assignments topic, crossword, games, puzzles, challenges, interactive sessions with experts in space science, guest lectures on new innovation and research and online exam.
Space Camp Kids showcased different talent with speech, painting, paper craft work, animation and innovative project related to space and shuttle. Nearly 100 children from different schools participated in space camp and benefited. Finally, students attended Junior Space Scientist exam. Junior Space Scientist certification was awarded to children by the chief guest Nellai S. Muthu, ISRO Scientist.