SALEM || Dean R&D and Professor of Civil Engineering, Sona College of Technology, Malathy R, has won the first AICTE-Visvesvaraya Best Teachers Award 2020 on the occasion of Engineers Day, a statement said on Monday. Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’, Union Education Minister presented the award to Malathy R along with 11 other teachers of AICTE approved institutes.

Speaking at the virtual award presentation ceremony Pokhriyal said that the awards have been introduced to identify extraordinary teachers and recognize their excellence, best practice and innovativeness.

Expressing her pride at receiving the award, Malathy R, said, "I am interested in creativity and innovation. I chose civil engineering since we can do wonders and a civil engineer can create uniqueness in each project.”

Thirty years ago, when Malathy chose to do civil engineering, women were relatively less seen in the domain. As she points out, she took it up as it was the dream of her father that she become a civil engineer. But as she began pursuing the course, she got passionately interested and involved.

Initially, she did a diploma in civil engineering. But it was only after marriage that she did her BE, Masters in Engineering and PhD encouraged and supported by her husband, a textile engineer. Today, 30 percent of the students joining the civil engineering stream at Sona are girls.

The passionate teacher who goes far beyond the curriculum plays a key role in the women's technology park that the Sona group runs. She is an inspiring figure for her students and the community at large at Salem.

The awards have been named after Bharat Ratna Sir M Visvesvaraya, a pioneer of Engineering and one of the most eminent Engineers and Statesmen, whose contribution to the advancement of the country is cherished till date.

The annual awards have been instituted to recognize the meritorious teachers on the Engineer's Day at National level and encourage them to update themselves to the ever-changing needs of higher education at global level and thereby become effective contributors to society.

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