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Village Adoption through the Swacchata Pakhwada program
The aim of this program is to motivate people to create clean and green environment. Through this program the School of Energy, Environment and Natural resources (SEEN) has adopted a village located about ten kilometres approximately away from the University called “VELLAPARAPATTI”. The students and faculty members have interacted with the people to identify their issues by using questionnaires, which were given to every household in order to analyze their nature of life. From the questionnaires it was observed that peoples in the village are living without electricity in many houses and also using firewood for cooking, another problem is the unawareness of public sanitation. In addition to this survey faculty members interacted with local government middle School students and teachers to understand their problems from their point of view.
Village Forest Council
The School of Energy, Environment and Natural resources (SEEN) collaborates with the Department of Forest for Village Forest Council program, involves local people in re-afforestation and protection of degraded forests and to share with them the sustainable benefits from these forests.
Sensitization to college and School students
SEEN has organized many awareness programs on Renewable energy to public, entrepreneurs, college and school students. School and College students from Madurai and other districts such as Ramnad District were sensitized with the awareness program on coastal hygiene and sanitation by ICCD programs.
Extension work
The School collectively does fair amount of extension work so that results of the laboratory reach the field and beneficiaries. The Action Research Centre on Biomass Gasification Technology and Utilization along with the Regional Solar Energy Testing Centre do quite a bit of interaction with industries around. The Environment group also is involved in the awareness campaigns. Most of the faculty members give AIR talks regularly in relevant topics to communicate to the masses the latest benefits of research and development. Training programmes at various levels are also arranged frequently. The Department also takes part in many regional and local exhibitions to popularize renewable energy gadgets and the environmental quality. The Marine group is actively involved in the awareness campaigns in marine resource protection and conservation, coastal litter cleanup programmes, and marine fishing communities livelihood options, marine underwater diving.
Interaction with Industry
The School is involved in giving consultancy to chosen group of industries in areas of energy conservation, development of alternate energy devices pollution abatement tech-nologies. The School of Energy along with the Plantation Community has formed Planters Energy Network (PEN) and is engaged in many activities pertaining to the energy interests of plantation community. The School is also an active partner of the MKU-Industrial Consultancy Group (ICG) in delivering successfully many consultations in various industries.
Interaction with Governmental and Non-Governmental Agencies
The School of Energy assists the nodal implementing agencies in rural development, Energy & Environment in many of their pre and post implementation processes. Tamilnadu Energy Development Agency seeks assistance from us from time to time in the monitoring of devices, in the installation of solar monitoring devices, in the various energy surveys including the IREP, the conduct of training programmes and various seminars. Similarly any voluntary non-governmental agency when they approach us for collaboration and assistance is given the maximum support and co-operation from our School. The School of Energy is the State level Technical Back-up Unit for the IREP activities in Tamilnadu, funded by the Planning Commission of Government of India. Faculty members also serve as members in various committee of TEDA, Ministry of Non-conventional Energy Sources (MNES), IREDA and other agencies including international advisory bodies. Gulf of Mannar Marine Biosphere Reserve Trust (GOMBRT), Ministry of Earth Sciences (MOES), GCRMN, GEF/UNDP and IOC/UNESCO have identified and included this Department as a member institution to carry out research activities in the Gulf of Mannar Marine Biosphere Reserve to protect and conserve the coral reefs and to develop seawater quality criteria for fragile coral reef ecosystem of Gulf of Mannar.
International Coastal Cleanup Day
The third Saturday of September each year is observed as International Coastal Cleanup (ICC) Day. This Coastal Cleanup Day is dedicated for the improvement of beaches, coastal regions and surrounding areas throughout the world. In this event, the volunteers around the world participate in the coastal cleanup activity in their territory. Our School is conducting ICCD events every year since 2013. This event also signifies the Swachh Bharat movement in our country.
