Government Medical College, Thiruvananthapuram - Student Life and Activities

Student Life and Activities

The student life in Trivandrum Medical College is much active and intertwined with the challenge the profession presents them. Students are given liberty in organizing their own study pattern. As a matter of fact, there is no "spoon-feeding" of the subject. Meritorius students are a consequence of their own sheer hardwork. The MBBS Students, who form the major bulk of the MC Studenthood, are the heralds of quality health care wherever they go and practice. A degree from Trivandrum Medical College is much sought after, especially because of the experience the students gets from the numerous and varied cases presented to them while at the Hospital. Though the class size is 200 students, there is ample opportunity for interaction between students and with teachers. The number of male and female students in the college is almost equal. Apart from the students of the state, students from Lakshadweep, North East India and other parts of the country also gain admission through nominations and under the All India quota. Exchange students from Karolinska Institute and other public health and medical schools from around the globe also mix with this. From the initial years itself students were given ample opportunity for international scholarly interactions. The famed visitor include Dr. Alexander Fleming, E. Lundsgaard, Karl Evang, Julian Huxley, Wharton Young, Aicardi, David Morley, Lt. Col. Dr. Sir A. Lakshmana Swamy Mudaliar. The Erudite Conclave which was organized in 2011 was a major breakthrough in reviving this tradition with lectures of personalities like Dr. Rolf M. Zinkernagel, Dr. Sanduk Ruit, Prof. Anil K. Gupta etc.

The campus life centers around the Common Rooms, Smrithi and Maithri parks, canteens and the Central Garden in the campus. It's not uncommon to see a gang of medicos hanging about in the Common Room to have a game of cards. Most of the gardens were idealized and tended by former Principal Dr. M. Thangavelu. The 6 canteens in the college, in and near the hospitals also form the hot-spots of student interaction. The Men's Hostel is located just on the periphery of the campus, on the Ullur-Kumarapuram Road. Delicacies of the Men's Hostel canteen is much adored among the light-hearted Medicos. The Ladies' Hostel is near the SAT Casualty Block.

College buses, run by the Parent Teachers Association, ply between the hospital, the college building and the Hostels, though the favorite medium of transport remains motorcycles or cars.