Currently in the news and in the blogosphere, we can read that Prof. Komrad Morgan will be the new UoM Vice-Chancellor. My first reaction: ‘Euhh….a Foreigner for the first time at the head of the institution (academic)’

Sadly for Pr Ameena Gurib-Fakim, we read her reaction:

‘Je suis quant même déçue car j’ai fait plus de 20 ans à UoM. Ce que je ressens peut être ressenti par n’importe qui d’autre, qui, comme moi, aurait fait carrière, dans une institution, car on s’attend tous à ce que notre contribution soit reconnue’

Upon Googling for the new UoM Vice-Chancellor, we find that Morgan has his own Professional Online Presence: www.konradmorgan.net . That’s Great!

My first reaction: I am hyper happy that we have a Computer Scientist at the head of UoM Academics. Personally I feel that there will be a new wind of change at the Réduit Campus. We truly hope that there will be positive outcomes like: re-inforcing International Education standard at UoM, upon the appointment of the new VC.

Amongst many innovative projects that I have, one has been close to me: unimauritius.com. The idea is to have a platform for all Mauritian Students studying at Tertiary level. The use of various platforms like e-learning, e-commerce, social networking by both the Students, Alumni, Academics etc.

We hope that the new VC’s administration will have a no-nonsense philosophy maybe backed by: “Putting Students first” or “Transforming UoM into a world-class University 2.0”

Let’s wait and observe the wind of change…

Well, everybody knows about the Giant American company Kentucky Fried Chicken.  From KFC.com,

KFC Corporation, based in Louisville, Kentucky, is the world’s most popular chicken restaurant chain, specializing in Original Recipe®, Extra Crispy®, Kentucky Grilled Chicken™ and Original Recipe Strips with home-style sides, Honey BBQ Wings, and freshly made chicken sandwiches.

Every day, more than 12 million customers are served at KFC restaurants in 109 countries and territories around the world. KFC operates more than 5,200 restaurants in the United States and more than 15,000 units around the world. KFC is world famous for its Original Recipe® fried chicken — made with the same secret blend of 11 herbs and spices Colonel Harland Sanders perfected more than a half-century ago. Customers around the globe also enjoy more than 300 other products — from Kentucky Grilled Chicken in the United States to a salmon sandwich in Japan.

KFC is part of Yum! Brands, Inc., the world’s largest restaurant company in terms of system restaurants, with more than 36,000 locations around the world. The company is ranked #239 on the Fortune 500 List, with revenues in excess of $11 billion in 2008.

Recently, the big mutinational has been in our Mauritian newsroom:

KFC, Le colonel Sanders a repris son tablier

and many other articles.

Given KFC (Mauritius) had made massive loss during the closure days, an aggressive marketing campaign is being undertaken.

Apparently, we Mauritians, “Nous avons confiance en KFC”.

Putting the problem of the KFC Port Louis branch aside (problem de canalisation), let us ponder on some of the KFC Facts.

The main argument is that of Animal Cruelty:

Again from KFC.com, we can read the ‘facts’ here on the Animal Welfare Program.

From my personal point of view, concerning healthy eating, I would encourage folks to eat at Olive Salad Bar. Otherwise, if you wanna eat to have a finger licking good and spend nice moments eating really tasty chicken, grab some KFC.

Unfortunately in Mauritius, we do not have ‘mangez mieux, bouger plus‘ campaign.

After all, the politicians do not need a healthy population for the elections. You can caste your vote even if you are obese, who cares!

Summer 2009, originally uploaded by VeNiVi on flickr

Rising energy prices and changes in the global climate have put ecology issues on the strategic planning of corporate executives worldwide. The phenomenon of “Going Green” is worldwide now and naturally in Mauritius also there are campaigns of Going Green – Maurice Ile Durable: Summer Time, Solar Water Heater, Fluorescent Lamps (Ampoule économique) , Electricity production for sale to CEB, Waste to Energy, Sale of Hybrid Cars, MCB Green Initiative, reducing dependency on imported fossil fuels and increasing the use of renewable energy via use of biomass, bio-ethanol, biogas – 35%, solar – 15%, wind – 6%, hydro -3%, cogeneration – 3% and waves 3%. Maurice Ile Durable was first announced by the Prime Minister of Mauritius as a long term vision aimed at promoting sustainable development. The project is spearheaded by Professor Joel de Rosnay.

There are also environmental issues involved in the use of Information Technology. On the 21 September 2009, The British Computer Society changed its logo:

Before

After

It is very interesting to note that The BCS has various Green initiatives. On www.bcs.org/greenit, we read that, in the near future, very soon there will be the ISEB Foundation Certificate in Green IT.

In Mauritius, we gonna have the world’s first Green Data Centre using Sea Water Air Conditioning (SWAC), the project which was presented during the Data Centre Strategies.

That’s great!

Interestingly, we also have a Green Mauritian blog!

Well, it was my first opportunity to assist to a Graduation Ceremony. It was absolutely superb! During 2 years at the Réduit campus, it was amazing to see how beautifully the graduates were ‘in the coulisses’ getting the instructions for the Graduation. Well, today I am proud, I was part of a Graduation ceremony (despite not wearing the gown)

I admit, we (whole family) were a bit surprised and maybe tensed also for all the formalities for the ceremony. I mean: there were lots of rules written in the invitation letter – you cannot come late on the ceremony, you cannot bring children less that 10 years in the hall, need to be nicely dressed, only a formal handshake to be given to the conferrer and no kissing etc etc.

I arrived at around 12: 15 and joined by friends who were obtaining their Diploma and Post Graduate Diploma. Then we obtained instructions to align ourselves according to our prizes. Certificate – row 3, Diploma – row 2, Graduate Diploma/ Honours – row 1.

After having waited for the Chief Guests to arrive (included ICT Minister Hon. Asraf Dullull), they joined us, in the coulisses. BCS Executive members were in nice blue gown, whilst the special guests in red.

At 13:10, the parade started. There was a music in the background and everybody in the hall standing up during this process.

As usual, Some Speeches…

Then the conferment of awards.

It was a great honour for me to be awarded by a UTM academic.

Then Vote of Thanks by Chief Examination Officer BCS, Mrs Sharon Hurd

Then Photo taking time

Finally refreshments….

Now, me gonna get ready for the BCS IT Personality Award 2009!

Keep Connected!

Grab your basket, take out your bicyle, let’s go to Bazaar to replenish kitchen stock with fresh vegetables….

Pomme d'amour

Annanas

Bingel, Carrot, Lichou

Margoze

Cresson

Sousou

Cauliflower

giromon

Onions

Potatoes

Légumes fin

yummy, tamarind!

Business Angel

Following the:

The Board of Investment (BOI) is pleased to invite you to the 2^nd edition of the Mauritius Technopreneur initiative to discuss projects that could be developed by the Mauritian Technopreneur community on the Google platform, amongst others.

we were at the BOI conference hall at around 17:00.

It was very exciting to meet the ‘Mauritian Technopreneurs’ again, after the Google Mauritius 2009 event. To refresh our memory, the Google initiatives in Mauritius was launched on 5 Nov 2008 by the Hon. Rama Sithanen.

At around 17:10, Mr. Mahen Govinda – Director International Business Services at the BOI welcomed us, we the Mauritian Technopreneurs. Mahen’s style of presentation was great and showed an example of being experienced in making presentations. With an Anglo-Mauritian English accent, he knew his audience well.

Well, as a brief summary, what I have understood is that:

1) A list of pre-selected projects have been presented to us

2) We were introduced to the term ‘Business Angel’ . Also an interesting definition of the term ‘technopreneur’ was given

3) The required profile of a technopreneur: Young at mind, Web programming skills, passion for technology etc.

4) The roadmap to the commercialization of the projects

5) We are the players trying to forge efficient techniques and in the lounge there are giants like Microsoft and Google watching us.

My personal opinion on this initiative launched by the BOI is that: “creating something out of nothing” is not as easy as pressing on a button. I had raised the issue concerning the development of mobile applications running on iPhone which requires resources like: Macbook, Developers trained on the environment, overheads etc. I am not totally convinced yet of the concept “trace tracer do avek seki to ena”. I mean if you do not have the spare parts to build an engine, despite having an MSc Automobile engineering, replacing the genuine spare parts by cheap alternatives, would not always guarantee commercial success.

For now, maybe another business meeting with the Business Angels would let us breathe “Ahaaa….that’s interesting!”

We, the Mauritian Technopreneurs, we are optimistic

(The meaning of the mantra can be found here.)

There’s also the Matrix (Navras by Don Davis) version

Wishing you and your family, Deepaavli tyohar Abhinandan!

Don’t forget to come share some ‘gato patates’ at my place also..hee hee

I am curious to know what are the cakes being cooked at your place?? Apart the traditional gato patates, of course…:)

Edward Maya Feat Vika Jigulina ’s Stereo Love: Qui dit mieux (House Music)?

Beauty and Music in a sound soul: Ouchhh!

I adored the subject: Creative Education at CPE level. You have to do a lot of cool stuff within the coursebook: from cutting potatoes and onions (which were used as brushes) to cutting fabrics and pasting them in the book.

At secondary level, I also wanted to do Arts at O-Level and then compete on the Arts side at A-level.

To even satisfy my passion as a Fine Arts artist, it was a pleasure for undergoing the Hobby  Course – Fine Arts offered by MGI in the Regional centres.

Painting is a passionate hobby for me, and I know friends who are intending to do a career in it. At the printing press, during the new design for my business card, I was impressed by the young guy doing very well in CorelDraw. I told him: I am still a Photoshop guy!

Despite the super computing power (via Macbooks, of course ) in the Digital Graphic world, nothing is betta than taking some pastel and a blank sketch pad page to churn out some creativity.

Long live Creativity, Imagination and State-of-the-Art design!

Having already embarked on the Diploma in IT journey, here we are, with the final obstacle: The BCS Core Diploma Module. Reading the blog post of last year for the preparations for the BCS Professional Examinations, I realise that I am not ready for the exams which is due in a  few days only.

Personally I think the main reason behind this lack of thorough preparation is the Practical Training 2009. I just wanna damn complete this stupid thing as fast as possible so that we could return to the knowledge temple of UoM.

The another reason is: I am passionate about my freelance opportunities. It is a great pleasant surprise to find that loyal customers exist. Its an honour for me to continue working with them and providing quality IT service. It is about this that I have read in the Marketing textbooks:

Marketing is the process by which companies create value for customers and build strong customer relationships in order to capture value from customers in return.

Thirdly, I cannot resist reading books which are not necessarily related to the BCS exams, for eg. reading psychology books to at least try understand human mind and behaviour scientifically.

Despite all these constraints, bastard you exams, I gonna nail you down. I am even more determined to accept this challenge (this core module has the no 1 failure rate, followed by software development module) and deliver my best shot in the exams room.

Yo Lady luck, are you free tonight?

Data Centre Strategies Mauritius 2009 has been organised by the Board of Investment, in collaboration with Broadgroup consulting. The Agenda for the 2-day event can be found on broadgroup’s website.

Very nice atmosphere in the conference Hall. The giant screen broadcasting an underwater diving clip was wonderful!

My First impression: Waow, I learnt a lot during these 2 days. It was absolutely well organised, well disciplined and global experts on the topic present at the conference hall of Four Point Sheraton Business Hotel.

Mahen, the master of ceremony on day 2

A bit hats off to Mahen Govinda of BOI, who is the ‘Mastermind’ of organising this event very professionally.

Got the opportunity network also with a South African Hosting company – Hetzner, who have 10+ years in the hosting business.

Hetzner directors from South Africa

It was also great to talk business with the Director of a Mauritian Hosting company.

Secondly, it was also a very, very cool, jovial and happy atmosphere. With most of the professional speakers also having a good sense of humour.. There was also a Great Gala Dinner organised where we enjoyed a lot the Bollywood show.

Thirdly, my favourite presentations were on :

• Steve Wallage – his nice pace of presenting, I was absolutely amanzed by that. He knew his slides well..
• the presentation of the Mauritius Eco-Park Project (maybe the main reason why I wanted to
• come to the conf.),
• 

  Mr. Iqbal presenting the land based oceanic project

• Data Centres: New Trends  – Virtualisation and Cloud Computing
• 

  Nitin Shan presenting benefits of cloud computing

• Business Continuity Management
• European Commission Presentation on Code of Conduct for Data Centres (mainly because he was funny)
• Dr. Ian Bitterlin, the Specialist. was absolutely amazed by his expertise

It was a good experience to network with key IT professionals in the country and internationally. Opportunity cropped up to have professional discussion with them during lunch time or during the tea break!

I wish, the guys are right now, enjoying the Cocktail and Dinner at Ile aux deux Coco – Blue Bay!

I was happy to purchase some books on eBay during Aug-Sept 09.  It was another pleasure to receive them at home as fast as: from 1 week to 3 weeks. Yupi! E-commerce rocks!

So here are the new books which are proudly in my bookshelf:

Professional Issues in Information Technology

Author: Frank Bott

Professional Issues in Information Technology is the only textbook tailored specifically to match the syllabus of the BCS Professional Examination compulsory Diploma module, Professional Issues in Information System Practice, in its entirety. And, I am preparing for my BCS Core Module, as you already know.

Essentials of Management Information Systems

Author: Kenneth & Jane Laudon

This second book is the Primary text for the BCS Graduate Diploma module: Management Information Systems. This book rocks!

Finance for IT Decision Makers – A Practical Handbook for Buyers, Sellers and Managers

Author: Michael Blackstaff

Since, I have a close relationship with the world of finance, I could not resist this BCS book. Finance for IT Decision Makers covers those aspects of finance relevant to IT professionals in both business and non-commercial organizations who make or influence decisions about IT.

And finally, the new book that is still in shipping progress is:

Weaving the Web: The Original Design and Ultimate Destiny of the World Wide Web

Author: Sir Tim-Berners Lee

I want to read a book from the inventor of the World Wide Web.

Happy Reading to me!

International Law

Following the advertising of the event on facebook by the UoM Student Union:

We are pleased to inform you of the following activities :

The Law Society is organising a Talk By Mr. Milan Meetarbhan on Financial Services Commission
Date: Thursday, September 24, 2009
Time: 12:00pm – 1:30pm
Location: Lecture Theatre 2, University of Mauritius

it was another great pleasure to be on the réduit campus to attend a talk after a looooooong time.

I agree, the talk did not start at 12:00 and we had to wait for the Guest speaker to make appearance.

At around 12:30, finally Morgini, the Master of ceremony welcomed the Guest of UoM Law Society and introduced to us Mr. Meetarbhan, Chief Executive of the Financial Services Commission (FSC). Most of the information on him was found by Googling. I should admit that I was personally waiting to see a ‘live demo’ of  Mr. Meetarbhan, having heard of him so much. I got the confirmation yesterday: He is real professional!

It was a pleasant surprise to witness the presentation skills of Mr. Meetarbhan. The experience of teaching at the UoM for 10 years was evident. He started with the history of the Law Department at the University of Mauritius being set up in 1989. It was also interesting to note the candidate selection procedure for LLB course at the UoM. After applying for the course, one would be called upon for interview and would encounter the traditional question: “Why do you want to study Law??” . After the ‘hollywoodian’ answer of the candidate, he would be put for a 3 months time to get a taste of what Law is about. And the same traditional question would be given to him at the end of the 3 months.

The main topics covered during the talk were:

• The role of FSC
• Global Business/ Offshore
• International Law (treaty)
• Double Taxation Avoidance
• Treaty signed with India

The aim of the FSC as a regulator is:

To ensure that promises are kept.

This was the simple definition of what they do the FSC people.

Milan share with us some very very tasty, unforgetable food for thoughts:

It is not only about qualifications (yes it is important to be qualified, even important to be a specialist) but it is not only about that.  It is also about ETHICS!

Then he elaborated on this magical piece of wisdom by some annecdotes:

Being on time at work: The big problem of working with professionals found worldwide is: at what time will the meeting be held. The ideal time for mauritius is at 4:00 a.m or 6.00 a.m. So at six in the morning, you have to be here, to answer the call and participate in the meeting.

Respecting the deadline: if you have to submit the work by latest x date and at y time, you have to respect it.

another quote of him:

In professionalism, it is about 70% attitude and 30% competence.

Whilst fertilising us with this message, Mr. Meetarbhan was having a look at the Human Resources Manager who was also present in the lecture theatre 2.

The end of the talk was with the usual Part: Questions/ Answers

The interesting question that came from the students: about the job prospects with a Law and Management degree .

In answering this question, we came to know about the Young Graduate Recruitment programme set up by the FSC. That’s interesting for those interested in having a career at the FSC.

Step 1. No one can see your password or whatever you are typing

Step 2: Step 1 + No one can see on which website you are surfing

Step 3: No one can identify you on the web!

courtesy: funandfunonly.org

We have 3 stupid stages of life:

TEEN AGE

Have Time + Energy ….. but No Money

WORKING AGE

Have Money + Energy……but no Time

OLD AGE

Have Time + Money……but no Energy

What say you?? Ayooooooo mo pena letemps??

Today I woke up and said to myself: yupi going to uni today! What was worrying is that I did not have time during the week to read about my unexpected blogger talk (my first one) on my blog post: Air Mauritius Hedging – Strategy or Aptitude?

Arriving at the Réduit Campus after a relaxing drive, big problemo: Parking!!! Just after saying oufff…finally managed to get a nice car park, the Genius phoned me: “hey Ash, where are you??” It was 9.30 a.m. I replied, I will be in the class at 10:00 a.m after drinking a hot coffee.  I then quickly read my blog post so as to be able to talk about it before the class.

Then I set up for New Academic Complex and before opening the classroom door, I was amazed by the number of students present. Amazingly I saw the lecturer in T-Shirt and Sandales. But I was reassured by the “Hi Ash!” in a nice English accent.

The blogger talk started. I was happy to present myself as a blogger and to talk about the UoM Blogging community. The geek talk (which was hyper brief) was on real-time web. Otherwise the main talk was mostly on Hedging. Ahhh…I enjoyed the intellectual discussions. Real Delight!

Then I went to the library after a long time! As I entered, just at the security check point, I felt a shock!!! I asked the security guard: What has happened, how come this is not at its usual place. The latter then explained me what the heck has been going in the UoM Library. Here are some screenshots:

New computers will be installed here with high-speed internet connection!

New Boards..Nice design

As usual, I would go to visit my favourite Reserve section….Euhhhhh…what ?? it has been transferred!!

Even the past exam papers —> transferred!

Do you like this new place to site and work, UoM fellows?

The new place to borrow/ return your books

The Mauritiana section has changed! Even the girl who would be serving you is a newcomer!

What the heck is this??

CCTV surveillance in a library????

Can anybody explain to me the reason behind CCTV in a place like a library?

The day was really nice indeed. Felt hyper nice to spend time with friends in the café! Preparations for Diwali show is going hard I remarked. This year, I think I gonna perform Till then, keep connected

Have a nice and relaxing weekend!

Here is a revised version of L’internet pour Tous:

The Download link: http://www.slideshare.net/curiousEngine/internet-for-everyone/download

Today Morning, had the chance to be at Dad’s office. I had an interesting talk there with one of the officers who know me since childhood. And my this blog post is based entirely on this discussion.

In fact, the discussion started with Drama workshops being organised in primary and secondary schools. More details on the subject matter can be found on Ministry’s website concerning the Press Communiqué: Inter-Primary School and Inter-College Drama Competition 2009 (Mauritius and Rodrigues). I wanted a feedback of how is it going with the workshops being organised at the colleges/ primary schools and what about the new supply-coach being recruited for this competition??? And that is where the interesting point started…

you know Ashesh, once the son of a colleague came in my office. He is from Royal College Curepipe and is competing for State Scholarship. THE GUY COULD NOT EVEN HAD A NICE CONVERSATION WITH ME. Il était comme-si complétement immersé dans ses livres et le monde intellectual. I even wonder if he is aware of the term: “participating in extra-curricular activities organised by the school”. In the end, I told his Dad: Let your son break this introvertness by doing some theatre. This will greatly develop his personality for his whole life.

Eureka!

I completely agreed with the advice given.Personally, this was my case: during the primary school days, I was the guy who is most shy to talk with others (girls specially). My ears would become red if I would look in the eye of a girl class mate and I would find 101 ways to avoid talking to girls.

Then my life took a turning point when I was put to an audience of 300+ people to talk with on the stage, with lights spotted on you and so many eyeballs and observing your acting and appreciating your talent. I was even once interviewed in one of India’s TV Channel and I had to answer the journalist whilst I was a primary school guy (Standard 5)!!!

Honestly today,  I am satisfied of my communication skills. Some people complain that I talk too loud (that’s my normal tone, pal) but this is to ensure that my voice reaches my audience. For instance my presentations: First presentation at uni, Accounting,  Barcamp Ile Maurice 2,  Marketing, HRM, and last but not the least: Software Engineering!

Today, I had the great honour of presenting E-Learning philosophy and L’Internet pour tous to the staff of a secondary school. I was honestly very much stressed on the eve (during which I did a presentation on Google conference for) as I had prepared the powerpoint during a short time. But it was a nice shot. When I entered the lecture theatre, I did not panick and I was shy to present myself (an ex-student of MGI) to Head of Department Staff. And the mega lol part was that: I did not hesitate to use the lecturing style of Mr. Dirpal, geeky style of Mr. A. Meetoo and sarcastic style of Dr. House!

So you, yes you, why have the pain of adopting the obscure style of mad carrot man 6!!??!!

Develop the communication skills, join the UoM Drama Club, and do not hesitate to speak to your audience!!!

Image Src: Flickr. Caption: UoM Tree of Knowledge powered by Green Leaves…..

Today I was very surprised to see a letter written by the UoM council representative, addressed to the following key personalities:

i. Dr Navinchandra Ramgoolam , GCSK,FRCP , Prime Minister of the Republic of Mauritius.

ii. Dr Vasant Kumar Bunwaree, Minister of Education, Culture and Human Resources

iii. Prof S Jugessur , GOSK , Pro – Chancellor and Chairman.

iv. Prof S D D V Rughooputh , Ag. Vice – Chancellor.

v. Mrs S R Issur – Goorah, Registrar

vi. Dr P. Mohadep, Director of Tertiary Education Commission.

vii. V Babajee , President of Student Union

   viii.All Students on Campus Via mail and notice board.

Here are some key points of the letter:

1. Penalty Fees

concerning penalty(for students who fail a whole year and need to repeat that year), exemption and late module registration penalty fees.

I (the council representative) am making a humble request to all concern authorities to cancel the penalty.

There is also a Facebook Group with over 900 members: PENALTY FEE Rs. 20,000 by UoM – Nous pas le!!!

2. UoM is responsible for the level of failures( number of repeaters and terminated).

a student normally needed to have 16 to 20 points prior to 2008/09 for admission but now a student with only 4 points easily gets a seat at the University. It is clear that the level of maturity and intelligence of a student having 20 points to that of a 4 points is different.

3. UoM Administration

Proper policies , attention, and support, should be provided to students.  This is where the administration of the University failed. Being the council representative, I don’t want students to pay for any mis-management for which they are not at all responsible.

UoM admits weak students, makes them fail and get  penalty fee from them to reduce the deficit created by its own mis-management. This is purely business and not quality or world class education.

When I enrolled for a degree course at the UoM, I used to hear from the student’s union, the motto: UoM: qui attire la créme de la societé Mauricienne. Today, with the introduction of policies like Penalty Fee, the motto has been modified: UoM- the Money-Making Instution qui n’attire pas nécessairement la créme de la societé Mauricienne. Ironic na???

Day 1 was really Cool:

Thanks to Mr. Mahen Govinda, Board of Investment and the staff of BOI, to National Computer Board, to the technicians of the Ebene Conference Hall, and last but not the least to the Brilliant Googlers who attracted such a large audience:

G-Mauritius Day 2 is has as target audience: Technical Managers, Developers, Digital Marketing or the new term which we heard at the Cocktail Dinner on Day 1: “Technopreneurs”.

Focus: Building a successful online business (Using Google Products & Services)

So here goes the description of Day 2 :

I went to University to collect my new Bus Pass and met Mr. G. Dirpal for the last time. He is leaving for UK in order to continue studies. Felt a bit emotional at that time and could not resist asking a last article to read from his side. Obviously the stuff that he gives to students is of Oxbridge level. UoM (Faculty of Law & Management) will definitely miss Mr. Dirpal who’s principles (Hard Work always pays, Work Hard – Relax Hard, “Think”) have always inspired students.

Good Morning Tweeps. Went at Uni to say Goodbye to my favourite lecturer Mr. Dirpal – HRM Lecturerabout 22 hours ago from TweetDeck

I set up my laptop which I felt very important to bring and launched my favourite TweetDeck client. Goshh…I did not even have the time to look at my ToDo list on my Google Desktop Bar on the right!

0900-0930: Registration, Coffee, Snacks

Then reached at Ebene CyberTower 1. Had a nice pleasure meeting Foundations in IT Law lecturer and could not stop talking about how cool Day 1 (target audience: software developers) was.

This time I sat near a guy who does Software Testing, a helpful guy I should say. And to my right….eihhhh…beautiful gurls sitting…ahem…some inspiration when eyes seeking rest!

Please read the Tweets from Bottom to Up.

#googlemu Google cool music (generic of the event) being played….. Google Moris!!about 22 hours ago from TweetDeck

#googlemu G-Day Mauritius 2009 Day 2: For DIgital Marketers and Professonials now starting!about 22 hours ago from TweetDeck

#googlemu I love Googlers comment on my blog!http://digg.com/u1By6Iabout 22 hours ago from TweetDeck

#googlemu had a nice surprise meeting my Cyberlaw lecturer who also came for the conference…about 22 hours ago from TweetDeck

#googlemu Hassen Rojoa with his Yellow flower, toujour pareil!about 22 hours ago from TweetDeck

#googlemu and here we start tweeting G-Day Mauritius Day 2 event!!!!! Goooooooogle Mauritius Rocksabout 22 hours ago from TweetDeck

now came at Ebene with my own laptop today!!about 22 hours ago from TweetDeck

 

0930-1030: Keynote

The Keynote address by Mary Himinkool (New Business Development at Google Inc) was excellent! I could not stop thinking about Google’s 9 Principles of Innovation. Despite we did not hear much of Mary on Day 1, but her keynote address (with all the quotes and informative content about the Philosophy behind Google) was great!

Please read the Tweets from Bottom to Up.

#googlemu Creativity coming from parts of the world….about 21 hours ago from TweetDeck

@AvinashMeetoo #googlemu You also get ideas that Shortlive like : Google Notebook or Google Livelyabout 21 hours ago from TweetDeck in reply to AvinashMeetoo

#googlemu If you are brilliant (1-1 Masters Degree in Computer Science and awards won in Programming Contests), Google is hiring you!about 21 hours ago from TweetDeck

harder questions are coming to come RT @yashvin: #googlemuThe questions are easier today, I keep raising my hand, or rather my finger about 21 hours ago from TweetDeck

#googlemu I love the new test products being put in Google Labs actually…about 21 hours ago from TweetDeck

#googlemu 2) Customisation 3) Participation 4) Respect … woaw it says RESPECT!!! great wordabout 21 hours ago from TweetDeck

#googlemu Five Principles for Captivating Users : coming now 1) Relevanceabout 21 hours ago from TweetDeck

#googlemu The googlers don’t mention the word Microsoft or Windows often….. weirdabout 21 hours ago from TweetDeck

@yashvin Mone met Classic Zordi!! 0_o about 21 hours ago from TweetDeck

#googlemu listening to Key concepts and trends in Internet Growth keynote by Maryabout 22 hours ago from TweetDeck

#googlemu Roy Amara’s Law-> for the first time am hearing of himabout 22 hours ago from TweetDeck

#googlemu G-Africa initiative has been kicked off in Mauritius via G-Mauritius 2009? what next: G-Johanesbourg 2010?about 22 hours ago from TweetDeck

#googlemu Chewy has a new shave…. mega lol…about 22 hours ago from TweetDeck

#googlemu Innovation insights from Mary Himinkool -> New Business Developmentabout 22 hours ago from TweetDeck

@yashvin Mo kot sa zoli hotess BOI en top Rose la….eihhhhhhh quelle est belle seat no. 88. toi kot toi bhai?about 22 hours ago from TweetDeck

#googlemu A laptop with Intel Centrino….Non….I prefer mine: Intel Core 2 Duo!!!! ha haabout 22 hours ago from TweetDeck

#googlemu Happy Birthday Google!about 22 hours ago from TweetDeck

#googlemu Welcome to G-Mauritius Day 2009!! Day 2…yupi….. Hassen welcomes us..about 22 hours ago from TweetDeck

yupi my lecturer gave me a last fantastic paper of his on HRM : "Why good workers make bad people"about 21 hours ago from TweetDeck

#googlemu Tea Break time…about 21 hours ago from TweetDeck

#googlemu Excellent Keynote from Mary!!! hats offabout 21 hours ago from TweetDeck

#googlemu 2019 will be the iRobot Age!about 21 hours ago from TweetDeck

@yashvin #googlemu He is a media guy and hence tries to get an audience for his talent showabout 21 hours ago from TweetDeck in reply to yashvin

#googlemu Money Money Money $$$$$$ …Money will follow, dn’t worryabout 21 hours ago from TweetDeck

#googlemu I use Google Trends for Browsers download info

1045-1130: Adwords & Adsense – Advertise and make money

Presentation by Matthew “Chewy” Trewalla, Developer Advocate – Google.

Chewy is a Customer Solutions Engineer at Google. His job is to make technical things accessible and relevant to non-technical people. He is particularly knowledgeable about Google’s APIs and webmaster programmes. He’s has a BEng in Software Engineering, and he’s been with Google since November 2005. When he’s not at work, he likes to play the banjo, and sleep. Chewy is also the Lord of Goats and his Mum doubles click on everything!

Please read the Tweets from Bottom to Up.

#googlemu small break before the next presentation on Google Analytics start… am tweaking my yest. blog post in the meantimeabout 20 hours ago from TweetDeck

@kurtavish THank you for the tips, z Mauritian "John Chow"about 20 hours ago from TweetDeck

#googlemu Google Adsense presentationhttp://adsense.google.comabout 20 hours ago from TweetDeck

#googlemu mega lol: Goats Rock ad by chewy!about 20 hours ago from TweetDeck

@girishmungra i Met guy yesterday who thought he would be recruited by Google and at z end he was disapointed since he’s in networkingabout 20 hours ago from TweetDeck in reply to girishmungra

@AvinashMeetoo Now you understand y today ALSO I did not sit next to him! lol #googlemuabout 20 hours ago from TweetDeck in reply to AvinashMeetoo

#googlemu Google is saying : Advertise min : $30 a day would be niceabout 20 hours ago from TweetDeck

#googlemu Creating a test : GoatFarming campaign on Google Adwordsabout 20 hours ago from TweetDeck

#googlemu I like Chewy’s presentation style: showing where we are on the agenda. Will try to adopt this approach in my future uni present.about 20 hours ago from TweetDeck

#googlemu I hate ads on youtube videos! what about u?about 20 hours ago from TweetDeck

#googlemu I had 261 on 21373 impressions clicks on my ads… not badabout 20 hours ago from TweetDeck

#googlemu In mauritius, Internet penetration rate is very low!! its sadabout 20 hours ago from TweetDeck

#googlemu wow,, google had billed me $2.00 for one of my ad campaigns…about 20 hours ago from TweetDeck

#googlemu Does Chewy knows anything besides GOATS, CHEESE AND LORD OF GOATS?? mega lolabout 20 hours ago from TweetDeck

#googlemu ahh Google Keyword tool is very usefulhttp://digg.com/d1YZfeabout 20 hours ago from TweetDeck

@loic Have nice breakfast at AirFrance! We are at Google Mauritius Event 2009 in ile Maurice about 20 hours ago from TweetDeck in reply to loic

#googlemu Cool: Anatomy of an Ad Campaign..about 20 hours ago from TweetDeck

#googlemu Let’s increase our Quality Scorers, Digital Marketers!!!about 20 hours ago from TweetDeck

#googlemu Quality Score X MaX CPC = Ad Rankabout 21 hours ago from TweetDeck

#googlemu 2) Willing to Payabout 21 hours ago from TweetDeck

#googlemu Ad position is determined by: 1) Quality Scoreabout 21 hours ago from TweetDeck

#googlemu Sponsored Paid Advertising……… DIgital Marketers in the hall are concentrating….shut…don’t disturbabout 21 hours ago from TweetDeck

#googlemu Google is continually changing and improving the search Algorithmabout 21 hours ago from TweetDeck

#googlemu PageRank…..PigeonRank (Googlés April fool joke) coming in the sessions…about 21 hours ago from TweetDeck

#googlemu Anatomy of a Google Search Results page! coolabout 21 hours ago from TweetDeck

#googlemu Behind the Scenes: Life of a Search query…about 21 hours ago from TweetDeck

#googlemu Ahh Microsoft Bing is interesting from Googlers…about 21 hours ago from TweetDeck

#googlemu Half of internet search r from USabout 21 hours ago from TweetDeck

#googlemu : post your questions on google moderator site:http://moderator.appspot.co…about 21 hours ago from TweetDeck

#googlemu Chewy starting presentation on Google Adwords & Adsense

1145-1230: Google Analytics & Website Optimizer – the importance of testing

Presentation by Julian Harris, Social Computing Guy, Technical Account Manager (TAM) and Agile Coach at Google (julianonsoftware) .

Please read the Tweets from Bottom to Up.

#googlemu Julian Harris on Software: http://www.julianonsoftware…about 19 hours ago from TweetDeck

Follow Julian Harris on Twitter: http://twitter.com/julianha…about 19 hours ago from TweetDeck

#googlemu 85% of traffic from Search Bots… about 20 hours ago from TweetDeck

#googlemu Google Analytics, I think comes from Google Paris team…if am not mistakenabout 20 hours ago from TweetDeck

#googlemu Crazy Tweeting going on for G-Mauritius 2009 Day 2! long live real-time Web!about 20 hours ago from TweetDeck

#googlemu How Google Analytics Works…by Julian harris in progressabout 20 hours ago from TweetDeck

Time for Special Friday lunch!

1245-1330: Search 101 – a great website is nothing without search results

Presentation by Chewy

Please read the Tweets from Bottom to Up.

#googlemu Googlers like scary and Geeky Web stats!about 15 hours ago from TweetDeck

#googlemu Search Click here on Google!about 15 hours ago from TweetDeck

#google I use Google Webmaster Tools for eg. to check sitemap.xml being submittedabout 16 hours ago from TweetDeck

#googlemu We are on slide 35 of Chewy’s presentation!http://digg.com/u1ByrAabout 16 hours ago from TweetDeck

#googlemu Ahhh yupi!!!! Flash now about 16 hours ago from TweetDeck

#googlemu Webmaster Guideline: Test and measure EVERYTHING!about 16 hours ago from TweetDeck

#googlemu is going to talk on Flash. am happyabout 16 hours ago from TweetDeck

#googlemu Describe your images. lots of users search onhttp://images.google.comabout 16 hours ago from TweetDeck

Happy birthday, Google, incorporated as a company this day in 1998. Powerful today, we hope its leadership will remember "Don’t be evil."about 16 hours ago from TweetDeck

#googlemu Oups, its Think instead….sorry for mistype 0_oabout 16 hours ago from TweetDeck

#googlemu Thank about you title of your articles or pages on your siteabout 16 hours ago from TweetDeck

#googlemu Google gets confused when a site redirects you. Avoid Redirection..about 16 hours ago from TweetDeck

#googlemu If a url looks scary, people won’t click on itabout 16 hours ago from TweetDeck

#googlemu Basic Site preparation guidelines for all web developers wishing Online successabout 16 hours ago from TweetDeck

#googlemu Relevance + Importance (BBC Linking to your website) -> tasty for Googleabout 16 hours ago from TweetDeck

#googlemu Repeating words in a web page is a bad practice…Google hates that!about 16 hours ago from TweetDeck

#googlemu Google understands Flash, AJAX applications…Cool!about 17 hours ago from TweetDeck

#googlemu Interesting Agenda of the presentation….about 17 hours ago from TweetDeck

#googlemu Presentation by Chewy Trewhella on Search 101 is going to start in 2 minutesabout 17 hours ago from TweetDeck

#googlemu just returned from a Special Friday lunch with an E-Commerce Expert…about 17 hours ago from TweetDeck

You see the Macbook Pro

#googlemu exploring a bit of Macbook Pro with my friend Joel at the G-Day Mauritius 2009!

1430-1515: Knol & Blogger & Web Elements – if you know stuff, tell people

Did we hear much of Knol???

1530-1615: Inspiration – some great sites already using our tools

Last session by Mary

Please read the Tweets from Bottom to Up.

#googlemu waow! WIki moris: a new project being presented by Fraçoisabout 14 hours ago from TweetDeck

#googlemu Lets talk about Android !!!about 14 hours ago from TweetDeck

#googlemu I like the nice discussion going on Concerning the page results of a Google Search and its accuracyabout 14 hours ago from TweetDeck

#googlemu Sacha jumping on the stage for bilingual results…about 14 hours ago from TweetDeck

#googlemu checking out Google Audio Indexing…about 14 hours ago from TweetDeck

#googlemu Questions and Google Answers Time!about 14 hours ago from TweetDeck

#googlemu Fun music on : http://www.funradio.muabout 14 hours ago from TweetDeck

#googlemu presentation of funradio.mu by Hassen Rojoaabout 14 hours ago from TweetDeck

#googlemu demo of http://www.kotzot.com by a Mauritianabout 15 hours ago from TweetDeck

Leave http://tweetree.com/ and follow the Mauritian Version by @asvinb on http://twitree.com #googlemuabout 15 hours ago from TweetDeck

#googlemu weahhh @asvinb on stage to demo : http://twitree.comabout 15 hours ago from TweetDeck

#googlemu is wondering what is the purpose of the whiteboard set up in the hall??? @julianharris @LordofGoatsabout 15 hours ago from TweetDeck

#googlemu Have a nice visit on: http://obamavisits-ghana.ap…about 15 hours ago from TweetDeck

@LordofGoats #googlemu 107 slides…phew….humans have a concentration limit of 20 minutes and then they start thinking of SEX!about 15 hours ago from TweetDeck

#googlemu having fun taking photos for the last Google Session….about 15 hours ago from TweetDeck

@LordofGoats Hey Chewy! Do you know anything else besides GOATS??!!about 15 hours ago from TweetDeck

#googlemu Mary on: "Inspiration – some great sites already using our tools"about 15 hours ago from TweetDeck

#googlemu Mary is starting the last session today!about 15 hours ago from TweetDeck

 

1630-1700: Wrap up

#googlemu bye G-Mauritius 2009. Thanks to the Google Team about 14 hours ago from TweetDeck

#googlemu End of photo sessionabout 14 hours ago from TweetDeck

#googlemu Everybody on Stage for a Photo!about 14 hours ago from TweetDeck

Just returned from Cocktail Dinner offered in Honour of the Google Team in Mauritius for G-Mauritius 2009 held at Sheraton Four Points

It was an excellent day!

The event has been live-tweeted under the hashtag: #googlemu, #GGMD etc..

Join the Google Mauritius Group on: Google Mauritius

My Flickr Set for Day 1 Photos: G-Day Photos

Had a great opportunity to use and review an HTC running Android. Using the Android SDK running on Windows and simulating the mobile is another thing and using the real phone is another…

It was a nice time to meet key IT personalities in Mauritius and share contact cards

am tired and have to rest in order to be ready for G-Mauritius 2009 Day 2

This is a the work desk of a Girl:

and

this is that of a boy:

So what can you conclude???

Interesting eLearning-related articles:

100 Free and Essential Web Tools for college

This is a post still under construction. The aim is to ponder about the advantages and disadv of eLearning, the possibility of implementing such a system in Mauritian Education system. Your ideas are most welcomed.

The case of eLearning in Mauritius

1. National Computer Board’s Presentation on “E-Learning: Challenges and Opportunities For Mauritius“
2. An Interactive E-Learning Tool for kids in Mauritius from University of Technology, Mauritius
3. Ebene SSS Boys – eLearning Portal : ebs3.org
4. E-Learning in a Small island State: The case of Mauritius by Prof. Indurlall Fagonee

Mahatma Gandhi Institute Secondary College

Ha! School days! I feel a bit emotional writing this blog post  …enfin…let’s start

Doing a follow up of  ”A Website for each Mauritian School“, yesterday night we had a meeting with one of the best rectors in the island. It was a great pleasant surprise for me to be able to meet that person who I respect so much and is amongst one of the best, best, bestest english teacher I have ever known, after so many years.

The meeting was mainly about the eLearning platform which would permit students of the school to download their homework. I was pleasantly amazed by their fast comprehension of the utility of the system!

Then at the dinner, we had very nice discussions about School days! I expressed my pleasant surprise and warmest congratulations to the rector given that the school had an amazing performance: 3 after – laureates on the first batch of HSC students competing for State Scholarships.

My questions (out of curiousity ) were about the administration style of the school, the school infrastracture (notably Library and internet connection) and what about extra-curricular activities of the school? I was pleasantly surprised by the dynamic being of the rector, open-minded and “putting students first!“. That’s the spirit!

Being the webdesigner of mgicollege.com team (I have done mainly the flash part ), it was another great pleasure for me to offer my Web skills to the prestigious institution of the island. Mgicollege.com was the era of Web 1.0. Today we have moved towards a new evolved form of the web: Web 2.0 – where focus is on easy creation and sharing of content via media like blogging, tweeting, facebooking, youtubing etc. With this state of mind, I proposed training sessions to both staff and students on Web 2.0.

I would like to end this blog post by the memorable quote that Sir rector told me yesterday as we were discussing about teachers and their style of teaching (as it is not necessary that college students appreciate all teachers):

Ou kapav kombien tire manzer pou zeleve, mais so dignité, zamais ou pas touché!

I 100% agree with this quote. Students (so do I) always have a grudge against teachers who have hurt them and had no respect for students.

website of a Mauritian educational institution

Due to the problem of Swine Flu, Mauritian students are on holidays up till the end of the August month.  Yupi!

However, its not a real holidays. Students have to prepare for the final exams due in the month of October/November. The Ministry of Education, Culture and Human Resources, Mauritius has decided that students are not to attend private tuitions also.

The big issue is that: Students need to have their homework!

And how to get the homework from the school teachers?

Solutions:

To go to school on Friday for eg. in order to take the homework

To email homework@mail.gov.mu

For those who do not have internet access at home or who do not have a personal PC available, The Government of Mauritius has put into place SMS service: 9045999

Furthermore a telegram service system or being informed by the nearest Police station to collect the homework has been setup.

Last but not the least:

According the Minister Vasant Bunwaree:

Each college should have its own website. From primary to tertiary, each institution should have its own website, this will solve a lot of problems.

Ha! What’s your first reaction to this announcement?

We notice that the ministry has an Internet Usage At School.

Secondly questions like:

How about students who do not have knowledge to use the internet yet?

As far as I remember, it was in Form 5 that I discovered internet and then I explored the passion of web designing by taking part in Website competition organised by the National Computer Board.

How about school teachers who are not used to the internet? will they be able to use the new online website to post homework etc.. effectively?

What about the website itself? On which platform (HTML pages, Open Source e-Learning Platform, existing gov.mu platform) shall the website be operated?

As far as I am concerned, I am already receiving phone calls from school teachers requesting to have their website setup soon! Tant mieux!