ENDOWMENT LECTURE

5 Mon 10.30 AM

Government Museum Theatre

Pantheon Road

Egmore

Chennai 600 008 

A brief History of an Aspirational Profession: Engineering in India

There has been a spectacular proliferation of Engineering Programs in India

in the 21st Century. There is a perception that a degree in engineering is a mark of prestige and a ticket to a good life.But the cult of the engineer has its roots in a much older back story- the story before the arrival of the “Indian Techie” who is today employed all over the world

At this year’s Endowment lecture, Dr Aparajith Ramnath discusses the culture and the organization of engineers in the first half of the 20th Century. The period between 1900 and 1947 saw the birth of what was to become a very Indian profession.

Aparajith Ramnath is a Historian of science, technology and business. His first book “A History of Engineers in India-1900 to 1947” has just been published. He is currently a Faculty member of Humanities and Management at Ahmedabad University. From 2013 to 2017, he was Professor at IIM Kozhikode.

He did his PhD on History of Science, Technology and Medicine from Imperial College, London (Hans Rausing Scholar). He completed his M.Sc. in History of Science, Medicine and Technology at the Oxford University (Bharat Petroleum Scholar) and his B.E. (Hons) in Electronics and Electrical Engineering from BITS Pilani. He is also a linguist and plays the piano.

The meeting starts at 11.00 am.