Delhi University Admissions 2008 – On Air!

Delhi University admissions are just round the corner and everyone’s gearing up for the heat in the sultry summer! With forms to be released on June 2 this year, DU has come up with a great idea to help admission seekers. DU Community Radio is the latest buzz word for admissions 2008.

Available on 90.4 FM, DU Community Radio will work towards supporting Delhi University aspirants and those awaiting their admission lists. The radio channel would be accessible anywhere within the radius of 10 km from Delhi University’s North Campus (for location, go to Delhi University Map).

The radio will broadcast an hour-long program on undergraduate admissions of DU regularly from June 2. This comes as a follow-up to week-long Open Day programs in various colleges of the university from May 24. The Open Day is aimed at acquainting students with the various courses and colleges of the University of Delhi.

Schedule for the Open Day sessions is given hereunder:

• May 24, 2008: Khalsa College
• May 26, 2008: DDU College
• May 27, 2008: Keshavpuram College
• May 28 – May 29, 2008: SP Jain Centre (special 2-day Open Day)
• May 30, 2008: Shyam Lal Anand College
• May 31, 2008: Vivekananda College

The Open Day sessions will begin with a brief presentation of the courses available in Delhi University, admission eligibility criteria and last year’s cut-off percentages. This will be followed by one-on-one interaction with 17 student volunteers and faculty members of the university.

Foreign brains on Indian campuses!

The Indian campuses have some of the top minds of the country. From the IIT as well as IIM campuses, MAs and MBAs are head hunted directly into companies. Some of the Indian campuses are actually attracting ‘foreign students’ as well.

In IIM Ahmedabad alone, there are currently about 35. Most of the foreigners who come to India to study are actually from European countries. Although Carneige Mellon is trying to gain some footing in India as well. The best part about India is the fact that students are challenged mentally as well as spiritually. Some people prefer Indian universities because it’s cheap out here. The campuses are government funded and they cost about $7000 for every two years. This is much cheaper than foreign campuses and things are still done efficiently. Many of the big brains in Management argue the fact that the Indian business schools are somewhat similar to the ones like Yale, Stanford, and even the French INSEAD. So, if you are born and raised in India there’s no point in going abroad. Although some might argue otherwise.

As of now, more foreigners are coming into the country than ever. With the influx of all these foreign people, India is becoming more global in nature and hopefully the Indian business schools will overcome the problems that they currently have. Whatever it is, the Indian business schools are attracting the top global business population. Right now, there’s more foreign folks on campus than ever.

Campus recruitment

In today’s day and age, campus recruitment has become a big issue. Some of the best headhunters target the best Indian campuses for recruiting young grads straight out of college. Campuses like the Indian Institute of technology, Indian Institute of Management actually boast about campus recruitment.

One can look at the campus recruitment from the angle of a placement service. Basically, the young and fresh minds graduating out of college are placed directly into organizations like WIPRO, INFOSYS, etc. With this many grads coming out of the college, campus recruitment is the easiest way to go about. This makes the job of the recruiter a whole lot easy.

Campus recruitment takes the placement service issue out of question. Various things are done before a student is finally recruited from campus. An interview, salary discussion as well as aptitude tests are held before a recruiter can actually hire the fresh out of college grad. Group discussion is yet another aspect of the on campus interviews. In India, the companies pay the recent grads a flat out rate. For example, WIPRO starts you out at Rs.10,000.

Therefore, it is apparent that the on campus recruitment is the best way to go about getting a job in India. Although long and a rather ugly process, this is still the only way to go about getting a job besides online job portals.

The virtual Indian campus

With the changes in the education system and with the induction of the internet as well as the intra net to the modern society, the Indian education system has changed. One doesn’t have to physically show up on campus anymore. The modern campus has indeed become virtual. No more going to classes or actually waking up early hours in order to show up for the tests or whatever.

Wireless technology has been introduced on Indian campuses very recently. 802.11b and 802.11g are the couple of wireless bandwidths that have been introduced on campus. Using this technology, virtual classrooms are held via video conferencing. This is making life easier for students as well as teachers.

Nowadays, classes are held using the wireless technologies. Team teaching can actually be done using this technology. Institutions like RDI India are actually hosting on line classrooms and making good use of the facility. Indira Gandhi Open University or IGNOU, Jadavpur University in Kolkata as well as a host of other universities are making good use of the wireless virtual classrooms. Even Punjab tech university is about to set up an on line university pretty soon.

Another aspect of making classrooms virtual is the fact that teachers can be hired from anywhere. However, the cost of the virtual classroom is never going to go down. The cost of setting up a virtual classroom is actually around 10 crore. By implementing a virtual classroom one thing is completely solved. A lot of times students don’t get opportunities to enroll into a course due to the lack of availability of seats. This problem can be completely avoided by starting a virtual campus. Nevertheless, the virtual campus is a great thing and with the wireless computer networking technology in place, this is indeed the coolest technology ever innovated.

Campus politics in India

Campus politics in India is actually taking an ugly shape. With the killing of a cop in Kottayam, things became really ugly in nature. In this country, campus politics is basically an entrance into the real politics. The student unions on Indian campuses actually recruit young students and get them trained in politics. At least this is the strategy that CPIM has adopted.

In South India, outsiders have been banned from entering campuses. This is a step taken to prevent on campus violence in Southern part of the country. Campus security has also been beefed up lately. In 2003, the Kerala High court passed a law which banned students from indulging themselves in political activities. As a matter of fact, the religious institutions have actually banned religious involvement as well.

A complete ban on all campus political activities is something that will stop the campus political activities. For this to happen, all the student unions need to be completely shut down and all campuses should be free of political colors. The bottom line is that the educational institutions are there for students to learn new things and simply have fun. All the rest of the baggage should be taken away from the campuses and should be made a fun place to study and work. All the political stuff should not be there.

Campus safety issues in India

With all the campus shootings going on in the US and a few in India, campus safety has been a primary concern among students, teaching community as well as the parents. The campus is supposed to be the safe heaven for the students. It is supposed to be a serene place where the college kids can learn something new as well as have fun. But, that is not meant to be. Safety has become a big issue lately.

Recently, in the state of West Bengal, a student stole a revolver and shot a girl over a personal matter. This happened on Viswa Bharati campus. The Sibpur Engineering college is notorious for the on campus violence. Cops are always there to secure the area. They sealed off the entire campus not long ago. So, this sad state of campus safety has been bothering students and people concerned quite a bit.

Starting from the Columbine shooting, things have changed in US as well as in India. Campus police move around to keep things secure without much luck. Here in India, the students unions are notorious for the illegal activities. Everything starting from beating up students to alcoholism as well as drug usage are mostly done by the student unions on campus. This has gone to extremes.

Specially, the ragging part is a very Indian specific issue that worries both students as well as parents. Several kids die every year during ragging incidents. Yet another problem that irks the Indian campuses is the eve teasing. However, eve teasing is basically a culture specific problem in India. This doesn’t quite happen in other places. Whatever it is, the campus cops have been busy trying to make the Indian campus secure from all the perils.

Although the crime rate has gone down over the recent years, the campus security still has a lot to do in order to improve the Indian campuses. Students play a crucial role in improving campus security as well. They need to be alert, need to fight back and most importantly, report any kind of crime that happens on campus. Hopefully, the next few years will see a decrease in the campus security.

The Indian campus radios

The radio had long been the medium for communication on Indian campuses. The campus radio has been the source of infotainment for the students. Most of the campus radios are meant for training the professional radio entertainers.

Currently, the campus radio or the college/university radios are mostly run by students of other universities or colleges. An interesting aspect of these campus radio stations is that the Bollywood and pop music are a big no no. Apparently, the campus music stations refuse to be dominated by music. These radio stations have custom built programs for the respective campuses. Some of the campus radios like more student interaction while others simply inform. With all these campus radios in place, newer radio jockeys or RJs are working on promoting their stations.

However, there is a difference between the regular FM/AM channels as well as the campus radio channels. The campus stations mostly broadcast with a low power broadcasting. The first radio station came up at the Anna University in Chennai. The channel is called Anna FM. Yet another good campus radio station is the Pune university radio station. The campus radio Gyanvani has also been licensed as well. There are reports of people trying to start illegal radio stations i.e. without any permission.

The campus radio stuff throughout India is pretty cool. When you run a campus radio, you might hear the weather, the campus news or even a major event going on in the campus. Some radio stations even broadcast college or radio feeds over the internet as well.

Few other campus community radios have been opened by the Jamia Mia Islamia as well as the Indian Institute of Mass Communication. As a matter of fact, Jamia Mia Islamia boasts about being one of the country’s premiere radio stations. Currently, most of the Indian radio stations are spread across a wide area and they are run by students mostly. Although, the students are supervised by senior mass com. faculty members.

Recently, a TV show in India titled Sun Yaar Chill Maar is based upon the campus radio. One of the prime characters in the show works as a campus radio program host. So, it is apparent that the campus radio culture has sipped into the Indian society as well and has become quite popular. Currently, the main goal of these campus radio programs is to just bring out the community and campus news. Music and entertainment are not the priority. Hopefully, the campus radio culture in India will bring in new stuff as time passes.

The Westernization of Indian campuses

Things have been changing rapidly all throughout the Indian campuses. People no longer indulge themselves in long addas over chai. No longer do they sit on a rock and skip their college classes. These days it’s all about eating at Mc Donald’s, grabbing an espresso at your nearest Barista and maybe listening to Bryan Adams.

Things have changed indeed. If you go around a college campus in Kolkata or rather one in Delhi, you will come across kids displaying their ACDC or Metallica shirts and going dhoom on their cool looking bikes. Manna Dey and Kishore Kumar have become the topics of yesteryear on college campuses. Westernization has changed the face of Indian campuses today. Instead of Manna Dey or Kishore Kumar, college kids today listen to Pearl Jam and Pink Floyd. From music to food, everything has changed so rapidly.

Today, students prefer a strong dose of mocha to the regular phuchkas. Although there are some kids who still fall back on the phuchkas. A lot of Americanization has changed the Indian college campuses of today. ‘Let’s go and grab a sandwich’ has become the style of today. Students prefer sandwiches over mixed chaats. Many are reluctant to actually identify their roots. The young generation of today have indeed become the generation next. This is evident from the Indian campus crowd of today. They have indeed given the Indian campuses a facelift. The puma shoes, cool t-shirts, and the fashionable jeans all throughout Indian campuses tell us one thing: westernization of the campuses.

Future of computer studies in India vis-à-vis Pune University

Information Technology is going places in today’s fast paced and tech-savvy world. So much so that it has become all-pervasive in every aspect of life. Over the years, India has established itself as a country producing brilliant manpower and particularly in the field of computer studies and information technology, our computer experts have gone places. In this context, following is a brief outline of computer studies at one of the most popular universities in India – the University of Pune.

Pune University is one of the main universities in India that offer quality education in computer studied. The Computer Science Department of the university (acronym PUCSD) is a dynamic hub wherein postgraduate courses in Computer Science are imparted in addition to research, development and consultancy programs.

Way back in 1980, when computer science was just beginning to make its mark on Indian shores, Pune University came up with short-term courses. And it is indeed quite surprising that MCA course was introduced at the same university in 1983.

Getting to the university campus is not much of a problem. It is well connected by railways, roadways and airways to different parts of India. The university is thronged by students and researches from Indian as well as foreign shores.

The Indian government has been working towards giving a boost to software industry in India. There are about 23 software technology parks scattered all over the country among which the first was set up in 1991. Surely the future of IT industry is bright.

Do you think Kurukshetra University has lost its good ranking?

Campus Digest came across this interesting poll recently.

Readers are invited to go to the following link and comment/ participate:

http://www.kurukshetra-university.in/index.php?action=newpage&item=1201455551#DU_qanda

Alumni meets strengthen ties with alma mater

The rationale of alumni meets is meant to ensure that former students of an institution don't feel being cut off from their roots.

First of all, I believe that everyone at one point or another in life faces a crisis and sometimes during such moments one is led astray or is utterly disoriented. So many successful executives and professionals commit suicide in a state of deep depression because they lose track of their true identity and goal of life as they become 'cog in the wheels' in pursuing their profession and living a day to day hectic, monotonous life and having to put up with tough deadlines. They don't really get the appropriate outlet to give vent to heir true feelings.

In this context, one gets a golden opportunity in the form of one’s alma mater in order to remain connected to one's roots which is the right place to reorient, re-discover and redefine oneself in times of crisis thereby not being driven to drastic steps such as suicide.

Secondly, such meets allow one to forge new relations and be in contact with successful and eminent people from the same profession who serve as both an inspiration and prospective source of assistance and help in times of need.

Thirdly, the alumni come forward to assist and contribute towards the 'health' and betterment of their alma mater for the benefit of existing students by making contributions in cash and kind as also by sharing their invaluable professional experience with prospective employees.

Fourthly, all prestigious institutions the world over have attained the stature that they finally have by allowing the alumni of that institution involve themselves in the work of institution building, finally taking the institution to dizzy heights.

Last but not the least, the alumni also become the role model for the students who try to emulate them.

But a word of caution, an alumni meet should first decide on its objectives, rationale and the benefits for all - the students, the institution and the alumni as well. An alumni meet shouldn't become a mere occasion for fun and entertainment. It is a serious business and must be treated in a very professional and business-like fashion.

Devashish Chakraborty

M.A (Part I) Mass Communication & Journalism

Department of Mass Communication & Jourmalism

Panjab University

A sigh of relief for female outstation students in Delhi University

The women’s safety body of the University of Delhi – Pehel – has proposed a centralized office in order to cater to the housing needs of female outstation students. If the said proposal is accepted by the University, the centralized office will help girls get safe accommodation in and around the two campuses of the university. In addition, private individuals providing paying guest accommodation to girls will have to get themselves registered with the office before renting out their property.

As per the plan, the centralized office will keep a record of accommodations near various colleges scattered all over the city. Unlike the present scenario of girls and their parents moving around Delhi to locate safe and affordable houses, the office will be a one stop answer to all their worries. The proposal is in line with western countries where similar systems are at work in helping students get good accommodation if they don’t manage to make it to the college hostels.

In the wake of incidents of outstation students getting harassed by their landlords, this is indeed a welcome move. Let’s keep our fingers crossed!

Have a look at Delhi University through maps:

1. Delhi University Colleges Map - Map 1

2. Delhi University Hostels Map - Map 2

Students’ Protest against Class Tests in Delhi University

An organization of the students of Delhi University, the Joint Task Force, recently organized a signature campaign to protest against the class tests taken in lieu of written assignments. As per the university guidelines, written tests are the basis for internal grading. These days it has caught on among teachers in various colleges of Delhi University to taking class tests in place of assignments which in turn are to be done from home over a period of time.

No doubt the process of checking 1000-word assignments is quite tedious and time-consuming, but it is the duty of every teacher not to wreak havoc on students with on the spot half-an-hour tests that in any case have the potential to be of inferior quality and quantity (oops!) than written assignments done over the term.

With the said practice among Delhi University teachers, the entire purpose of having an internal assessment is being thwarted. The Joint Task Force organised a signature campaign regarding this at the North Campus on Monday, December 17, 2007. Plans are in the offing for a similar campaign at South Campus as well.

The Role of Educational Institutions in Getting Jobs

The time is a history when students were taking higher education because they wanted that degree. Today when a student takes admission in a college, his/ her main focus is at the output of that education - job. Although the education system in India is one of the bests in the world, it is more of a theoretical one. The educational institute, therefore, should not only lay emphasis on providing that awesome engineering or MBA degree to its students but it should actually bring that engineer or business administrator out of him or her.

Placement Cell in a college can also be of great help. For the human resource manager of a company, a placement cell in a college is good news. It is in fact another word for a rich database about the students of a college. The recruiter at one glance can size up the talent in a given college. It also helps the students there to `package' themselves attractively to potential employers.

Rishabh Agnihotri
Chandigarh

Role of Research and Practical Training in Education

Research cannot define only research project. It is not an unnecessary burden rather it is necessary burden to develop perfect skills in a student, whether they are professional, technical or organizational.

A research project always motivates the student to achieve a goal oriented intention, so it helps in upgrading of coherent thinking as an independent and as well as in team working environment, which is very important for today’s career profile.

We all know everyone should have managerial and professional skills in order to lead at the work front and we cannot develop these without practical training. I do not think that practical training is different from research, rather practical training falls under the umbrella of research work.

Practical training and research both are equally important for students in today’s competitive environment. We can bring in more from practical training but steadiness on that front always requires our constant research in that area.

Amal Kumar

National Institute of Pharmaceutical Education and Research (NIPER)

Mohali, Punjab

Breaking Gender Norms!

I read somewhere a few days back that we take pride in raising our daughters as sons but how many of us have the courage to raise our sons as daughters? However hard we may try, we cannot change our basic psyche of accepting men as superiors. This has been engrained into us over the centuries and has probably become a part of our genetic setup.

The only way we can curb female foeticide is by evolving the stereotypical setup where there is more equality among genders. Definitely our education system can play a prominent role in curbing female foeticide, the reason being that our family setup where there are multiple generations living together, do not provide the infrastructure for this evolution.

In an educational institute, a conscious effort can be made to provide the right education and atmosphere where mutual respect for the genders is taught. It may take time to get results but the results will definitely come if the seed is sown in the tender minds of our children.

Poppy Sharma,

Mohali

Role of Educational Institutions in Curbing Female Foeticide in India

The educational institutions have, indeed, a key role to play in curbing female foeticide. I believe that institutions help in creating a social ethos which would later become conducive to curbing such menace. Females have been worshipped in our scriptures as goddesses. Do we not love and hold in high esteem our mothers and sisters?

Following are some of the ways in which educational institutions and in turn the young generation of India can help curb female foeticide in our country:

• First, the institutions need to create awareness against female foeticide amongst the young men and women studying in these institutions. A point that is often overlooked is that it is not men alone who are responsible for female foeticide. Women, even mothers of a female infant, resort to killing and dumping the corpse of an infant in a trash box. So, it is a shame that women are involved in such detestable acts.

• Secondly, every young student of an institution should initiate a campaign against female foeticide in his/her locality as also in various adjoining rural areas.

• Thirdly, let this campaign assume the proportions of a mass anti-female foeticide movement bringing in various N.G.Os and other organizations. The movement should be so strengthened that it rocks the parliament as well as the society.

• Fourthly, and perhaps most important, these students should reform their own families and neighbourhood and remain alert all the time against any such happening in their vicinity.

• Lastly, a pressure should be built by youngsters on the government and the parliamentarians to pass the women reservation bill in the Union Parliament, thereby raising the status of women in society and ensuring women’s empowerment. A caution, however, is that a woman should not become a hindrance in the way of progress of other women.

Devashish Chakraborty

M.A. Mass Communication & Journalism

Panjab University

Gift of Books Presented by Asia Foundation and CII

A non-profit organization based in USA, Asia Foundation, and Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) are jointly presenting a gift of books to universities in North-East India. Nine universities in the north-east will benefit from the gift. These are: Nagaland University, Manipur University, Tripura University, Mizoram University, Tezpur University, Guwahati University, Dibrugarh University, Rajiv Gandhi University and Itanagar University.

Higher Education in India may get Costlier

Higher education in India may get heavier on the pocket soon. College fee is proposed to be at par with school fees despite oppositions from the Ministry of Human Resource Development. A committee constituted by the University Grants Commission is examining the proposal according to which up to 20 percent of the expenses of the university have to be met by student fees.

Not only this, a differential fee structure has been proposed as well. Under this, students who pay more as school fees will be paying higher college fees as compared to government school students. Poor and needy students may get more government scholarships as per the proposal.

IGNOU to have 3-D Virtual Classrooms!

One of the most popular universities for taking distance education in India, Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) is soon going to have 3-D virtual classrooms. This will give IGNOU students the feel of a real classroom!

The 3-D learning centres will be the first of its kind in the entire Asia-Pacific region. According to the scheme, 1000 3-D classrooms will be created all over India along with hi-tech educational material with the use of space technology from Centre of Higher Learning, NASA Stennis Space Centre.

The new technology will enable students to comprehend complex topics quite easily. Recently, a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) has been signed between IGNOU and Core Projects and Technologies for the project worth Rs. 3000 crore.