this is a interview with honeble president of india

1. DR. A.P.J. ABDUL KALAM
(FORMER PRESIDENT OF INDIA)
 Avul Pakir Jainulabdeen Abdul Kalam (born 15 October 1931) is an Indian scientist
and administrator who served as the 11 th president of india from 2002 to 2007. Kalam
was born and raised in RAMESHWARAM Tamil Nadu, studied physics at st. JOSEPH’S
college Tiruchirapalli, and aerospace engineering at the Madras Institute Of Technology,
Chennai..
 Before his term as President, he worked as an Aerospace engineer withd Defence
Research and Development Organization (DRDO) and Indian Space Research
Organization(ISRO).Kalam is popularly known as the Missile Man of India for his work
on the development of ballstic missile and launch vehicle technology. He played a
pivotal organisational, technical and political role in India's pokhran nuclear tests in
1998, the first since the original nuclear test by india in 1974.

2. Q. Sir, you always say that we must dream big and follow our dreams. What makes
one follow one's own dreams? Parents, access or commitment?
A. Dreams are finally nothing but goals or mission in life. In my case I had great teachers in
various phases of life. And also my parents, my father and mother were very useful teachers to
me throughout their lives. I was the only fellow in the family studying, and their ommitment to
me was absolute. The spiritual environment at home shaped me. You should convert your goals
and mission to success in spite of problems. That is my lifelong commitment.
Q. Sir, what is more important, the ability to handle failure or the ability to
respond to failures?
A. Of course, I have myself gone through many successes and a few failures. And I have also met
a number of successful people throughout the world wherever I have gone, and when I discuss
with them, they reveal how many problems they have encountered, what kind of failures they
have had. So, I have come to the conclusion that great success has some element of failure also. I
still remember Prof. Satish Dhawan, he gave me a project in 1973, were you born then?

3. Q. I was born in '73.
A. (A burst of laughter) He gave me the SLV project in 1973, and named me the project director.
I found that there were a lot of senior people above me, you know, experienced people, they
should support me and there were a number of youngsters with high technical knowledge. So, I
had to bring them all together to succeed. At that time I was in my thirties, 39 or 40. So, I was
frightened, whether I can do it. It's a great job, how can I do it for the first time, how to build a
rocket, to make a satellite, and it's a big vision and how can I do it?
Q. And the nation's expectations were on you?
A. A lot of expectation. So then Prof. Satish Dhawan, the chairman saw my hesitation. He called
me and gave me some advice, famous advice. He said, 'Kalam, if you don't do any work, you
don't experience any problem.' Even in media, if you don't report there is no problem. If you
report, problem starts. (He laughs heartily at this). So, Prof.Dhawan said major programmes are
always coupled with major problems. But don't allow problems to become your captain, you
should become the captain of the problem. Defeat the problem and succeed. This advice he gave
me in 1973, even now it's true. It is true for politicians, educationists, media people, it's true in
every area. So, the message I'm giving is we should take control of the problems, okay?

4. Q. Sir, why do we find 2/3 of India's engineering graduates unemployable? What
do you think is the underlying problem?
A. During my recent visit to Canada I visited a university called Waterloo. For an engineering
degree students are taught in the classroom for one year, the next year they go to the industry.
So two out of four years they spend in the industry. And in the industry they learn to work
within the system, it may be the software system or the hardware system, machine system,
electronic system, or chemical system. But they learn to apply what they studied at the
university. So when they graduate there is good demand for them. They can hit the ground
running.
Q. So, it is lack of integration between real-life work and academia that is the
problem?
A. I want to share with you my own experience. In 1957 I studied aeronautical engineering in
Madras Institute of Technology. It was a difficult discipline to get into and we were only nine
students. Now, Prof. Srinivasan gave us a six months project in our final year. The project was to
design low-level (low altitude, he clarifies) attack fighter aircraft. So, having studied,
aerodynamics, structures, propulsion, control, etc., here we have to put them together into a
workable aircraft system design. I was the project leader for that. I was the ninth, so eight other
people are there, someone would give propulsion, some other aerodynamics etc. So, after four-and-
a-half-months of study, I was there in my laboratory. The teacher, my guide comes.
At that time we did not have computers, I was using the design board for drawing the design of
the aircraft and my friends were all around me. So, he comes and sees and says, 'I'm completely
disappointed with your work I am going to stop your scholarship if you don't complete the
design in two weeks time.' (Dr Kalam laughs.) It was a very costly education, if my scholarship
stopped, I had to return home. I talked all kinds of things, gave him excuses, told him we had
worked so hard, all of us are suffering etc. But to no avail. And so, finally all of us joined together
day and night, Saturdays, Sundays we didn't even go to our hostels. And we designed the fighter
aircraft.

5. Q. Why, sir, is entrepreneurship and skill development very important to you?
A. We add seven million people every year at 10+2 level and three million graduates every year.
So, we inject ten million people into the society every year as employment seekers. This is
because entrepreneurship is not taught, either in the secondary school education or in higher
education or university education. Entrepreneurship is not part of the curriculum, neither is
acquisition of usable skills. That's why I'm saying if 30% people have to procure their skills, that
training should be started during the period of education itself.
Q. Sir, what would be three qualities which you think one requires for success in
life?
A. I will say four qualities, okay. Number one, a clear aim in life, without it you will be going in
all directions. Second, you should acquire the knowledge. You acquire knowledge in multiple
ways. Great books should be your friend, great teachers should be a friend, and even home
environment and parents can help you gain knowledge. The third aspect is hard work with
devotion. I am saying since your work is towards your mission, it should be permeated with the
devotion to that mission you have in mind. And the fourth one is perseverance. Persevere
continuously. You do these four things and you can become anything. All these four things you
have, work for it, you will achieve anything.

6. Q. Sir, would you then say, that it finally boils down to focusing on one mission in
life?
A. No, it is finally that the goal should be in front of you. That is my experience. We are always
tempted to do many things simultaneously. But if you start doing one thing, have one goal and
put all your efforts into that, then definitely you will succeed. Of course, you have to win! A
problem always appears here and there but you have to face the problem and defeat the
problem.
Q. Sir, how do we, at Careers360 add better value for our readers?
A. You should not become just like any other magazine. You see 700 million people are living in
the rural area, you are reporting about 300 million people. So you should report the success
story of a fisherman, an agrofood processor, a farmer, a craftsman. The message is become the
magazine of a billion people population.
Q. Sir, one last word to our readers.
A. They must think in a big way. I remember 2000 years back, there is a famous saying
in Thirukural by Saint Poet Thiruvalluvar -Vellathanaythu Malar Neetam Mandartham
Ullathanaytu UyarvuIt means that, just like the height of the water in a pond
determines the height to which a lily would grow, it is the heights of thoughts that
determines the heights to which you could aspire for. So as human beings they should
have great thoughts, great aims, and when thoughts become transformed into actions
performed with perseverance and devotion, success has to follow.

7. THANK YOU