Genesis Day marks the day the College of Engineering was founded back in 1794. The 222^nd Genesis Day celebration took place in the Alumni Centre, CEG on May 17^th,2016. The chief guest for the event was His Highness Mr Seiji Baba, Consul General of Japan in Chennai.

The welcome address, delivered by Dr. P. Narayanaswamy, Dean, College of Engineering, was followed by the presidential address by Mr. B. Karunakaran, President, AACEG. He highlighted the various achievements and contributions of the alumni of College of Engineering to this nation, made possible by the stellar education that this institution has continuously provided. He also pointed out the strong educational ties between Indian and Japan and aptly said,”Education is the medium by which all countries are unified as one nation.”

Next, the keynote address was delivered by Mr. M.R. Ranganathan, Founder and Chairman, ABK AOTS DOSOKAI who is an alumnus of the 1966 batch of Civil Engineering from CEG. He gave an engaging presentation about the history of the College of Engineering, running the audience through its evolution from a survey school with 8 students (started by Michael Topping), to a slightly larger ”Civil Engineering School”, then the “Civil Engineering College” in 1858 and finally into the “College of Engineering”. A few interesting facts he shared about the college during his days:

1. Sections were named from E1 to E5 – the number indicative of the number of years of engineering the students had left to complete.
2. During the movies, E5 students sat at the front with the E1 students at the very end. During dramas though, the order was reversed.
3. There were 5 cows in the mess to supply the students with milk.
4. Even though the numbers of students were limited, a number of mess facilities popped up.
5. Purchase of vegetables was done every morning from the Kothval Chavadi, with the student volunteering to do so receiving  two rupees and more importantly a day and a half  OD (always an integral part of any student’s life!).
6. Ragarathnam Iyer was the first Indian Principal.
7. The first female student joined Civil Engineering in 1944.
8. An interesting tradition – a ‘Toast’ to the staff made by a final year on behalf of all the students to which a ‘Reply Toast’ was made by a staff member during College Day.

He also shared with the audience interesting anecdotes about him and his “proxy buddy”, his batch’s support of the first intercaste marriage between two of his classmates, the ragging culture in those days and examples of witty conversations his professors would engage in.

Finally, the Genesis Day Address was given by H.H. Mr Seiji Baba who spoke on the topic “Opportunities for Indian Engineers in Japan”. H.H. Mr. Seiji Baba highlighted the various initiatives facilitated by the strong partnership between India and Japan. He mentioned the abundance of opportunities for Indian engineers in Japan in the fields of Information Technology, Artificial Intelligence and Financial Engineering. He stressed on the fact that Indians and the Japanese have different advantages and how an infusion of the two will lead to heightened growth.                                                                                                                   

Professor Sadasivam took a few moments to share his opinion of the celebrations and expressed his hope that the 225^th Genesis Day celebration would be even grandiose and special. The vote of thanks was delivered by Mr.M. Shanmugam, Secretary, AACEG who thanked the gathered audience for part their participation in celebrating the 222^nd Genesis Day of the College of Engineering, bringing an enjoyable, nostalgia-imbued and informative afternoon commemorating the birth of our venerated institution to a close.