“Serving an underprivileged background is really rewarding,” believes Chitrakala Mohan. For her, education is a weapon for financial independence and confidence. Society and women should understand the power of education. With this thought, Chitrakala acts as a facilitator, to serve for society by training several youngsters and making them ready for future opportunities.
Dr Chitrakala Mohan is the Principal of Freudenberg Training Center, which is in Nagapattinam, Tamil Nadu. She has completed her undergraduation in Electrical and Electronics Engineering and after that her post graduation in Power Electronics and Drives. She has also done her PhD in Electrical Engineering.
Chitrakala, during her under-graduation, believed that students with a vocational training background, such as Industrial Training Institutes or Polytechnic, have stronger practical knowledge in the field, and this belief stayed with her throughout her academic journey.
Freudenberg Group runs the training center, a German based company founded in 1849. Freudenberg has held business ties with companies in India for more than 90 years. The training center was established in 2008 as part of the company’s CSR initiative following the 2004 tsunami. It has successfully trained students for 17 years in various vocational trades. They offer five courses: Electrician, Fitter, Machinist, and Mechanic Motor Vehicle, each with a two-year duration, and Welder, which is a one-year course. For the Welder course, they accept students who have completed the 8th grade, while the other courses require a 10th-grade qualification.
Chitrakala has been associated with Freudenberg, initially joining as an academic consultant and later appointed as Principal in 2021.
After marriage, she settled in Nagapattinam, a coastal district with limited industrial and job opportunities. Wanting to contribute as an educator, Chitrakala already had 12-13 years of experience as a professor in engineering colleges and then she came to know about Freudenberg Training Centre which helps underprivileged children. She says adding further to it, “When I learned about Freudenberg Training Center’s initiative to support underprivileged students through vocational education, I was drawn to the opportunity. I joined the center to help students gain skills that ensure immediate employment, aligning with my belief in the power of vocational training.”
Initiative to Change the Misconceptions.
For Chitrakala, the journey was not that easy. She acknowledges that she had faced quite challenges in the journey, specifically during her educational phase. There were people who showed denial to her pursuing of higher studies as there was a lack of educational resources nearby. She remembers that her college was 60km away from her home and since she had to move to a hostel, the resistance was even more there. But she had her father who stood by her side, who had faith and believed in Chitrakala, had confidence in her. Her husband, who belongs to the same field of education sector with electrical engineering as a background, also supported and motivated her to continue her career as she was getting opportunities and to pursue her research leading to Doctorate (PhD)
Chitrakala shares, the ratio of boys to girls in vocational training is still imbalanced due to societal misconceptions about manufacturing and technical fields. Many believe vocational training is too tough for girls and that they are not suited for practical, hands-on work. For these reasons, girls are often sent to careers like nursing and clerical posts.
To change such misconceptions, the team at the training center reach out to parents and make them aware about the situation and opportunities their girl children can have. They also conduct school visits, where they introduce female alumnis of the center to highlight their success stories. These female alumnis are either successful entrepreneurs or are into manufacturing jobs.
She then shares “we also invite our alumni as guest speakers for events like Women’s Day, National Science Day, and Freshers’ Day to inspire new students. Through these efforts, we are continuously working to encourage and empower more girls to join vocational training and break stereotypes in the industry.”
Coming from a place which is prone to tsunamis, Chitakala shows concern that many children there opt for fishing as their profession as it provides daily earnings without requiring formal education or vocational training. More than 50% of the population there depends on agriculture and the remaining 40%-50% go for fishing. “Since being a south east coastal region of Tamil Nadu, we do not have that many opportunities to start, to have the manufacturing industry here,” says Chitrakala.
Happiness in Student’s Success
Talking about her PhD she shares, “I focused on reducing total harmonic distortion and optimizing component usage. I designed two different structures that improved efficiency and minimized switching and conduction losses. These innovations led to two patents, both based on my research work.”
As an educator and leader, Chitrakala feels proud when her students achieve success. She says, “In order to witness this achievement, I joined the field. To witness their first job, first salary, to start their own business, their future becoming stable. Witness all this is an immensely proud moment.”
Chitrakala also understands the growing need of technology and AI in the manufacturing industry. She along with her team has introduced collaborations with the industry, hands- on experience, and invitation to the guest lectures. She also adds, “Students are exposed to real-time industrial environments through factory visits and internships. Currently, sixty students are undergoing on-the-job training in reputed companies in Chennai and Coimbatore. The curriculum aligns with the latest DET (Directorate of Engineering Trade) guidelines.
For Chitrakala, balancing work and personal life was not easy. But she feels lucky that her husband and parents supported her in the early days when her children were small. Their help made it manageable for her.
Passion to Serve Underprivileged
Sharing one of her most precious moments, Chitrakala says, attending the inauguration of an electrical service center which was set up by one of her alumni. This alumnus started her career at the age of 32, being mother of two, her husband, an auto rickshaw driver, supported her throughout the career. From a full time, trainee to an entrepreneur, she started her own business and even hired two trainees from the training center as well.
Also, few of our female alumni started their career in Freudenberg group of company, working as operators. These stories are enough to comment about the achievements of Freudenberg Training Centre.
Her passion of doing something for the underprivileged children is evident when she says, “my passion was to work for underprivileged students, so, in our family it has been imposed on us, to serve for the people, and especially in the teaching field.” She also got an opportunity to work for the underprivileged as an Institution head.
Her message to the girls is, “break the shell and start believing.” She believes unless one is believing in herself, there will be no confidence. And without confidence, it becomes difficult to start, she suggests taking a chance. In this 21st century, there are still many misconceptions which come in the way of the success journey of a woman.
Women need to be confident enough to bring their talents and to become financially independent, so that their entire family can be stable and successful.
The manufacturing industry is also looking for women. They are providing nowadays with various facilities, from maternity leave to safety concerns. It is our attitude and confidence which will make a way.
The Indian government is taking major initiatives to promote manufacturing and automation. Various schemes provide funding for skill development, employment, and entrepreneurship, such as support for women entrepreneurs through sewing machines and food processing units and so many. In Tamil Nadu, girl students pursuing higher education receive a monthly stipend of ₹1,000.
However, she adds, there is a lack of awareness about these initiatives. She says, we must function as a facilitator and the educator, to talk about the initiatives taken by the government.
