Student Stories: Articles by current Engineering Students

Jobs & Careers
55

Can Neuroscience tell you anything about 'Beauty'???

'Beauty' has not just fascinated the common people but also philosophers and great thinkers since antiquity. It has also been one of the most debated words, owing to its varied connotations and subjective nature. Although it was never a standalone discourse in itself, it was studied under the broad umbrella of aesthetics in arts and humanities. Scientists were always skeptic to talk about this term. But nevertheless, many philosophers from pre-historic and post-modern age attempted to explain this seemingly simple yet complex term. Of them, a few notable people who paved the path of bringing 'beauty' into the scientific discussion were Plato, Aristotle, Aquinas, Hume, Burke, Kant and Hegel.

Borne out of paintings, sculptures and poetry, 'beauty' soon entered the laboratory where scientists were trying to quantify this subjective aesthetic appreciation by conduction neuropsychological experiments. These efforts gave rise to a new discipline known as 'neuroaesthetics' and scientists like Fechner, Wundt, Helmholtz, among others, are known for laying its founding stones. The 20th century witnessed a union of its kind when 'beauty' and 'brain' were discussed together. Popular neuroscientists like Changeux, Ramachandran and Zeki performed some seminal work in this direction which was suggesting that 'beauty' lies in the brain of the beholder. 

On his recent visit to IIT Gandhinagar, Semir Zeki (professor of Neuroaesthetics at University College London) gave a public lecture on 'The Neurobiology of aesthetic experiences and the significance of beauty'. Zeki, who has coined the term neuroaesthetics, has worked extensively in this area and is trying to explore the neural basis underlying the experience of beauty generated by sensory inputs; in other words, looking at the brain areas involved during aesthetic experience.  Zeki proposes that visual art is an extension of the functions of the visual brain, i.e. art is trying to achieve what the visual brain is doing. He said during his lecture at IITGN that "the only truth you can be sure of is the subjective truth" and studying the brain can shed some light on the subjective experience of beauty. His work suggests that a region of the brain known as medial orbital frontal cortex is involved when a person experiences beauty. This according to him, points towards the fact that 'there is a single characteristic which defines beauty and that lies in the brain'. He also added that the brain somehow 'decides', 'filters' and separately processes 'beautiful' and 'ugly' stimuli.

Zeki draws a lot of inspiration from Edmund Burke who defined 'beauty' back in 1757 as, "Beauty is, for the greater part, some quality in bodies acting mechanically upon the human mind by intervention of the senses". Zeki, therefore, insists that the future work attempting to decipher 'beauty' can always look back to the rich history of philosophy and arts and draw valuable insights from that in order to understand the complex nature of 'beauty'.

56

CleaNIT; the new cleanliness drive @ MNIT

On the delightful morning of 2nd October 2014, our beloved Prime Minister, Mr. Narendra Modi, voiced aloud his vision to pay a tribute to the Father of the Nation, Mahatma Gandhi.  This vision, ingrained deep in the hearts of every Indian, was "Swachh Bharat".

Inspired to contribute to this vision, the Malaviya National Institute of Technology(MNIT) decided to ally the Prime Minister in his efforts. The Creative Arts and Cultural Society of MNIT brainstormed the idea of 'CleaNIT' or 'Clean NIT', where students would come forward to participate in a cleanliness competition rather than just a cleanliness drive. "Cleanliness drive was the new swag in our college. Hence, we came up with the idea of converting cleanliness- a free service, into cleanliness- a contest."  says Nemish Shah, the President of CACS. 

The first CleaNIT- the clean NIT competition, was launched on August 15, 2015, the day when everyone feels a rush of patriotism. Students began to register in teams of 4 for the competition. The CACS team had created a list of all the unclean places inside the campus where the teams were sent with brooms, gloves, masks, paper soaps and a time limit of just 45 minutes to clean the area and bring as much garbage as they could.

Around 500 students and teachers participated and more than 2 tractors full of garbage were sent to the recycling plant. Since then, 3 CleaNITs have been organised in MNIT. New dustbins have been installed in campus at every 100 meters.

Through this movement, MNIT contributed, and still does, towards making India a cleaner country to live in.

58

Leonardo finally O'scarred' for life

After being nominated thrice in the best actor category for the academy awards, Leonardo DiCaprio has finally been honoured with an Oscar in his 25 year long career.

He has received the accolade for the visually magnificent masterpiece, The Revenant, directed by the Mexican director, Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu. The director also received an Oscar for the film and hence has achieved this feat for the second time as he did for Birdman last year.

It was unequivocal of social media news feeds to be flooded with posts mentioning Leonardo and his long awaited triumph. The actor, who shot to international fame in 1997 for the epic Titanic directed by James Cameron, has been nominated for a total of 161 awards winning 45 out of them. His choice of philosophically inclined roles and diligently justifying each character has earned him genuine respect and love over his progressive career.

At the age of 41, DiCaprio remains unmarried giving all he can to his profession. Undoubtedly, he is and will be one of the finest artists of all time.

59

Life at IIT: A fresher's insight

Every IITian in this nation has worked rigorously to get into the institution s/he is in now. If you ask any of them whether it was worth it? They would all say YES! 

What happens at IIT remains at IIT. If you think IITians are hardworking, 24 hour-geeks, sleep-deprived and study most of the time, then you are very wrong. IITians aren't hard working but smart working., just like any other college student.

So, I too had to burn the midnight oil for a tardy 2 years to get into IIT Guwahati (IITG). I was a normal student, "non-KOTAian" and studied for 4-5 hours daily. (Yes, you read it right, 4-5 hours of study can get you into IIT.) After my 12th board examinations, I scored average marks in JEE Mains that shook my world apart, but JEE Advanced 2015 was a game turner. The paper pattern was at a whole new level, but somehow I pulled it off, and now I am writing this article sitting in one the best engineering institutes in the country.

IIT came as a surprise to me. Students were a lot cooler than I thought they would be. Professors are a lot younger than I expected them to be(some exceptions exist). The only thing that disappointed me was  that the girl to boy ratio was 1:10, which means almost zero chances of finding a girlfriend.

The past 6 months in the institute have been packed with several big scale phenomena. During Techniche, the annual techno-management fest, and the inter hostel cultural championship we proudly proved that IITians can be photographers, actors, singers, dancers and what not. But life isn't always a bed of roses. After these good experiences came the mid-semester and end-semester exams. Just 6 months ago, we were the best academicians in India and now were struggling to just pass in a physics test

But in all, was my 2 years of hard work worth it? YES! It was. 

60

Education at IITs now closer at hand for foreign students

In a meeting recently held between Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) officials and Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) officials, it has been finalised that the entrance exams for admission to IITs will also be held in foreign countries. For the first time, JEE Advanced will be held in Singapore, Ethiopia, UAE and the SAARC nations (Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Afghanistan and Nepal). This is a joint endeavour of the MHRD, MEA and IITs to buoy India's position in international academic rankings.

Till the current academic year, the JEE was conducted for Indian nationals only. This new arrangement is the first step towards reaching out to more undergraduate and post graduate foreign students. IIT Bombay is bestowed with the responsibility to prepare the essential information for this transcend. A detailed plan for conducting GATE and JEE exams abroad is to be made and submitted to the committee by IIT-Bombay Director, Professor Khakhar. A web portal with FAQs, test and course details has to be braced soon to get through to maximum people in these eight nations. With the exam to be conducted in 2017, the promulgation has to start by the end of July, 2016. The Indian Council of Cultural Relations (ICCR) is accredited as the nodal agency for the exams on behalf of MEA. The tests will be conducted and checked by IITs with significant collaboration with Indian missions in these countries.

A comprehensive report on a new system to attract international applications to IITs was prepared by the IIT-Madras Director. It is a relief to Indian students that those number of seats for foreign applications will be supplementary and will not be whittled down from the already available seats for Indian nationals. It was also decided that the foreign applicants have to fork over more with the subsidised fee structure applicable only to Indian students. With more students applying abroad and only a handful foreign student applications for the premier institutes of India, it is high time a giant leap was taken to make necessary amendments in prevailing educational scenario in the nation. With the native students assured of not losing their space in these institutes and the entrance tests conducted and checked in foreign countries, this might prove to be epochal.

61

Advaya: The annual PG fest at IIT-G 

College fests are the epitome of entertainment and zeal at any college. It brings the otherwise mundane atmosphere to life. Having recently concluded Alcheringa, the second biggest cultural fest in the country, and inter hostel events like Kriti and Spardha, the students are now preparing for  Advaya, the fest by the post graduate students at IIT Guwahati. 

Commenced in 2010, Advaya got its official name, signifying unity, in 2012.  The theme for this year of Advaya is 'La Fiesta' translating to 'The Party'. Advaya is a combined technical and cultural fest by the PG section of the college, which includes various types of events from the literary and the technical fields to the drama, sports and the art fields. The fest will be organised from 11th - 13th March at the IIT-G campus this year.

Advaya will also include some specials like the Bollywood night, the Kavi Sammelan night and some other informal events like Gully Cricket and Dumb Charades which will aim at giving the married scholars a break from their tedious routines and let them enjoy the air of celebration at IIT Guwahati. The fest will not disappoint the techno geeks or the artists who express through their paintings and sketches. The sportsmen too will be rewarded for putting up pleasing performances. The writers will try their hands or I must say pens at story writing, while the dancers will get a chance to show off their moves at a huge platform. The Advaya team further plans to organise workshops and flash mobs during the day to make it more interesting and amazing. 

Advaya therefore, can be said to be a complete fest in itself, having something or the other for everyone. 

62

To curb the alarming levels of pollution in the national capital, the Government of Delhi implemented the odd-even scheme for 15 Days. During this period, the government spent nearly 14 crores to hire more buses to ensure people had enough public transport services available to them during the implementation of the scheme. The Government of Delhi also spent nearly 5 crores on advertising the scheme, so that people were made aware of it. If such a huge amount was spent for implementing the scheme for a duration of only 15 days, then imagine the cost of implementing the scheme for a whole year.

During the implementation of this scheme, there were also a number of exemptions like, allowing two wheelers, exempting women drivers, allowing CNG vehicles and also government vehicles. Moreover, schools were closed during this period which meant a large reduction in traffic. Many reports also state that there was no substantial change in air quality after the completion of the scheme. Even though the government of Delhi was able to successfully reduce the number of vehicles on the roads of Delhi, there were also a lot of inconveniences caused to some people during that time. Moreover, if the odd-even scheme is implemented on a full scale, there will also be a tremendous amount of burden on the public transport system, which is difficult to handle during peak hours. 

The infrastructure of the road transport system should be improved based on future demand, rather than trying to solve it whenever the problems become serious. Moreover, the current metro is running at its full capacity and soon there will be a shortage in the infrastructure of the metro to meet growing commuters every year. The Government should increase the metro frequency and also try to cover as much area as possible. This will help refrain the working class from using their vehicles to go to work, allowing them to use the metro without facing any inconveniences.  

I feel that the odd-even scheme is a temporary initiative and is not an efficient solution for the pollution problems in Delhi. Rather than trying to use temporary solutions to tackle the pollution, the Government should try to concentrate more on the long term and permanent solutions which are very effective and efficient in controlling pollution. The government should also keep in mind the growing population and also the future needs of the Delhiites.

63

A canteen that promotes dining with friends at IIT Gandhinagar

Unlike undergraduates, research scholars are not lucky enough to have the option of going  home during semester breaks. However, we have found the new night canteen at IIT Gandhinagar (IIT-Gn) as something good and favourable for us. Many IIT-Gn students were longing to have a canteen near the hostel area with 24*7 availability, so that they could be freed of time restrictions in the mess and have food whenever they feel hungry.

With the opening of the new night canteen in our campus, near the panchayat circle, it seems like our desire has been fulfilled. The good thing is that we can have our tea or coffee or maggi, as many times as we want, without having to cook it ourselves.

So now our panchayat circle is no more alone! It enjoys the company of students all the time, all thanks to this canteen. Sometimes it's a delight to also see some faculty members, along with their family seated around the Panchayat circle. Thanks to this  canteen, we can now sit with friends and eat together whatever we like, not the boring mess menu with same flavour and limited varieties. It has added flavour to our taste buds  as well as convenience to our schedules. The canteen's food is tasty and hygienic.

The Panchayat circle with the canteen, has now become the hot-spot of our hostel area.   

64

Humanities courses for Engineering Students

Institutes like IITs foster the philosophy of holistic growth and development for their students. These institutes not just encourage the students to take part in extra curricular activities, but also explore other areas/studies of their interest by taking up courses in fields different from their respective disciplines. One such endeavour is to engage students in humanities and social science (HSS) courses. Students in IITs are required to take some HSS courses along with their regular courses. The aim behind this is to give students a wide perspective on varied discourses. Introductory courses on philosophy, world civilisation, Indian knowledge systems, politics, communication, anthropology and so on are taught to students to familiarise them with soft studies. Now one can argue- what purpose will a HSS course serve for engineering students? And won't these mandatory HSS courses come with the cost of insufficient technical education? It is undeniably true that introducing students to humanities has underlying positive aspects. But what kind of HSS courses should be offered is a question worth pondering. The courses should be such that they can engage the students who have come primarily for technical education. For example, a course on 'contemporary concerns of India' can not just expose students to the challenges that India is battling with, but also requires students to implement their technical knowledge attained so far in order to address those issues. It therefore makes sense to design and offer such kind of courses which won't just be a random humanities course for students enrolled in technical institutes, but would involve their active engagement as well. A degree in B.Tech requires completion of some basic science and core engineering courses that should be usually done within 4 years. Now if there are mandatory courses in HSS, it would naturally reduce the number of engineering course that a student can do in 4 years. It, therefore, necessitates to rethink on the number of mandatory HSS courses an engineering student should take. A proper thought on HSS courses designed specifically for the engineers-to-be will acquaint them with soft skills which along with their technical education can have various implementations at real-life problem solving and policy making levels. And if this can be achieved, then the credibility of HSS for technical institutes would not be challenged in

65

Life at IIT: overrated, not so overwhelming

"An IITian, virtually, always has a history that is marked by extreme dedication and assiduousness." 

"They are the finest brains of the country." 

Being an IITian myself, I can confirm that not a lot of things in India are so overrated as IITs and their students. I have personally seen a lot of students from non-IITs who are sheer geniuses and a few IITians who are downright dumb. I should probably fall into the latter category (No, I shouldn't.), but that does not make my point any less strong. The thing is that securing more marks in physics, chemistry and mathematics, does not make one any more of a genius than someone who scores lesser. Not going to school and preparing exclusively for this exam for around 4 years or so, or even more, as is the trend these days, can give an advantage to even a dunce. But this is definitely not to say that IITians do not deserve the adulation they get all the time. It is just that, perhaps, a person should be judged by more than just one criterion, or better still, not judged at all. 

My experience as a fresher in IIT Patna was not at all surprising or overwhelming. The campus was (rather 'is'?) still in the stage of infancy and was running from its transit campus. I did not have high hopes for the infrastructure, even though, as I found out, it was pretty decent for a transit campus. The faculty, without an iota of doubt, though, was up to the mark. Girls were a rarity, as can be easily expected from an engineering college, never mind an IIT. But the most striking fact about the IITs is how they can make one feel so special and so not-so-special at the same time. If you call yourself a genius just because you managed to crack the JEE Advanced, then, everyone else in your batch is entitled to, too. This, compounded with the CGPA system for grading students, sometimes, leads to a palpable competition and jealousy among the batchmates, which can prove to be both beneficial as well as disastrous. It is, now, largely up to the student how they deal with this competition. Do they stand strong or do they break down?

66

Procedural alteration required in reservation policy in Indian education system

The caste based reservation system in India was started with a vision to uplift the minority classes and provide them with opportunities for growth and development. The policy has, however, turned into a bane for the general class of people.

The reservation system has its roots in the communal awards, introduced by the British Prime Minister, Ramsay MacDonald in 1933, when some communities were provided with separate representation. After Independence, the first changes came in the year 1989, reserving about 49.5% of the seats in private institutions and high end government jobs for the reserved castes. In the year 2005, the caste system also hit the government funded institutions like the IIT's and the IIM's.

Today, less than 50%of the seats are available for the general class students in the IIT's and the IIM's. This means that more than 50% of the candidates are deprived of the opportunity to study in their dream institutions owing to the system of reservations. While saying so, I also realise that the reservation system was introduced with a vision to develop all classes of the society and is an important step in ensuring the overall growth of the country but is caste really an appropriate measure of a person's living conditions? Or is the idea of including the annual family income of a person as one of the criteria before considering him for reservation is so very bizarre in itself?

In such times, before trying to make the education system in the IIT's open for foreign students in order to improve the international rankings of these institutes, the government should focus on the task of altering the reservation system in the country.

Reservation, therefore, is important, but the current procedure of selecting candidates for reservation diminishes its value.

67

Engineering streams to show their worth at IIT Tiruptati's Inter-disciplinary sports meet

         IIT Tirupati's  first inter-disciplinary sports tournament was flagged off recently. The tournament, will have the four engineering disciplines (Civil, Computer science,Electrical and Mechanical) competing against each other in a series of games.

The tournament, which started off with volleyball matches on Monday (29.02.2016) has been scheduled for over a month considering the exams and other academic activities which were also planned around the same time.

         IIT Madras, the mentor of IIT Tirupati, in known to conduct sports competitions among hostels too. Taking into consideration the fact that there aren't multiple hostels at present in IIT Tirupati, it was decided to conduct the tournament among the engineering branches.

This tournament has primarily kick-started the sports activities at IIT Tirupati. Also, it will give the institute a chance to select players for the next Inter IIT sports meet. IIT Tirupati and IIT Palakkad weren't able to enroll for the games of Inter IIT sports meet 2015 at IIT Madras, because both the institutes started functioning  after the board meeting of Inter IIT. The sports meet was later called off because of the Chennai floods.

         The inter-disciplinary tournament started with Volleyball, followed by  Cricket over the weekend. Various other games like Football, Kho-Kho, Badminton, Basketball and indoor games are also part of this event. The tournament will end with a grand Sports Day sometime in the first week of April.

68

The unexpected trip to Daman

On a sunny Sunday morning in the hostel, when I surprisingly woke up at 7:30, a strong feeling of taking a break came over me. It was natural after a long strenuous week of examinations.

I hopped out of my bed and woke up four of my friends explaining to them the further course of action. They agreed readily along with other two, who I caught up with at breakfast.

With a single bag and our spirits, we started off for the railway station in two auto rickshaws. An express train was ready for departure on our arrival, so we boarded it despite another option we had which would have been 20 minutes later.

Our destination was Vapi from Surat - an hour and half long journey. Along the way we had both moments of laughter and silence and by noon we were at Vapi.


We took a taxi to Daman bus stand which was twelve kilometres from the station. Right opposite  the taxi stand nearby, a colourful market stole our attention. It was a well-set market having a plethora of goods and accessories- from electronics, garments, chocolates to fashionable items.

At a walkable distance was a mini-port and an old fort called Jetty fort with a functional church inside it. The walls and structure of the fort reflected its reclusive nature as did the 'rotten' jail inside it. Anyway, we couldn't stop clicking pictures.

After flinging flat-faced stones onto the water surface at a seaface close-by, we rejuvenated ourselves with non-vegetarian delicacies. Now the final spot on our list was the famous Jampore beach on the other side of Daman, called Moti Daman.


All of us were disappointed on arrival since the tides had receded. We had to walk barefoot for a long one and half kilometer before water reached knee level. It was a novel experience to walk in the mushy sand and for so long. With the sun drowned into the sea, we also receded back to dry land.

In a mad rush, all of us squeezed into a single auto to reach the station on time. Memorable moments throughout the day took a permanent seat in our memories during the return journey. It was not a day well spent but a day well lived.

69


Intra-college athletics event at IIT Patna brings students together

To build and develop a culture of sports in the college, IIT Patna is currently hosting a few events in athletics and sports. These include badminton, table tennis and football. The spirit, together with the energy that fills the atmosphere as the five teams (the four BTech years and MTech + Ph.D.) compete with each other, is incredible.

I was witness to all the matches of the TT tournament. Being a decent TT player myself, almost managing the cut in my year's team, I could truly appreciate the heat and ferocity with which the players were playing. I could feel the pressure on the players as they hit every single shot of every single rally, with the crowd roaring and cheering in delight, at the beautiful game.

It is a similar story for every other game and athletics event. I am on the football team, and playing for and representing our year is a lot of fun. It gets even better when you are not that good a player. The matches are not of the usual one and a half hour duration, but of 50 minutes. A few matches remain in the league stage and we are fighting hard to secure a place in the final. The thrill of your friends rooting for you as you play is unrivaled. Beating the best team in the tournament so far, comprehensively, was the biggest moment for our team. We are looking forward to reaching the final as I write this. The 4x100 m relay was the talk of the college as the third year displayed an immense presence of mind and concentration, with all the four team members dashing like thunderbolts, bagging the first prize. 

The best part I like about these intra-college games is how they manage to bring the whole student community of the college together, and how they serve as perfect ice-breakers between the students of different  years.

Playing against your seniors, or your juniors for that matter, helps one  create a friendly bond against one another. Even though the rivalry during the games is intense, one cannot deny the fact that at the end of the day, everyone is a winner. That also shows in the clean hugs and handshakes at the end of any game, because "when the one great scorer comes to write against your name,  he writes not whether you won or lost, But how you played the game."

70

Two Indian state govenrments, Haryana and Odisha abolished the diploma entrance tests (DET) in successive weeks last month. DET was conducted every year as admission tests for various diploma courses such as pharmacy, engineering and technology, hotel management et al. The decision by these two states to ban DET was mutually exclusive. But, the underlying motive was common:  to encourage vocational education in these fields in the states.

The marks in the qualifying examinations will be the yardstick to get an admission in these courses. The working rule for lateral entries (LE) for the three to four year diploma courses will continue. Class XII with vocational training or class X with ITI or equivalent courses can seek admissions through the LE scheme.

The Skill Development and Technical Education (SD&TE) ministry of Odisha has made it clear that the DET system was removed to facilitate more easily available vocational education to the needy. There is a towering 49000 diploma seats in 121 colleges in the state with around 16 percent of seats offered in government-run colleges. Last three years have witnessed a vacancy of around 60% of these seats. The education ministry has held the strenuous DET responsible. The state government advocated of more frugal methods for these admissions. It added that the new admission process will be simpler for applicants.

Haryana education ministry has also stated that these tests were time consuming and costly. The new admission process in place is designed with the ease of applicants and guardians taken into consideration.

With the new admission system in place in these two states, it can only be hoped to get more admissions into diploma courses. Diploma courses also act as a platform for LE in many undergraduate courses offered by government-run institutions across the country. If the intake of the diploma colleges in these two states shows significant growth over the years, the number of LE applicants for undergraduate courses will also improve. These diploma courses impart basic vocational skills to students at very low costs. The increase of diploma students may therefore prove to be a viable aid in the process of abating the problem of unemployment.

The very simplicity of the new admission process can be epochal in carving out the future of those students who are left out by the arduous DET system. With the new system, more students from remote corners of these states can reach out to better education. Although,  there is another belief that a single examination cannot be held as a yardstick to someone's knowledge and with qualifying degree marks as a criteria, there might be few cases where the new system might be put through the wringer. With every coin having a flip side, only time will tell us what the current change will deliver!

71

It's about time: JEE Mains 2016 is here

Dreams are at stake. Around 15 lac students are gearing up for probably the biggest event of their lives, the Joint Entrance Examination (JEE).

Some 2-3 years of dedicated hard work is put to test on two days in the names of JEE Mains and Advanced to find the top minds of the country. From 15 lacs students, finally some 10,000 get admission in the prestigious IITs and NITs.

Stepping in class XI, no one really realises the decisions they have made. Getting into an IIT or NIT can change one's life like anything. That's why getting in there is so tough. The first exam JEE Mains generally takes place in the first week of April after the XII board examination. For many years, the examination pattern has remained the same comprising of 90 multiple choice questions with negative marking and total of 360 marks. It is a 3 hour exam which generally contain questions of board exam level. This exam is the deciding parameter along with board percentage for selection into NITs.

This year 2 lacs students will qualify this exam and will be allowed to sit for JEE Advanced which is scheduled for May 23 this year. JEE Advanced comprises of two papers over 6 hours with 3 hours for each paper. The pattern is not predefined, it changes every year. Last year, IIT Bombay, the paper setting institute introduced a whole new pattern with a dreaded marking scheme of +4 , -2 for the multiple choice questions. The patter came as a shock to almost all of the student fraternity and teachers as well. But, as said earlier, getting into IIT isn't easy at all. In accordance to the JEE Advanced scores, students are given admission into IITs.

So, only one month remains before JEE. Now is the time where you have to know exactly what to do and what not. It's time to summarise and pack up, not to start a new topic. Practice is very, very important, so you need to practice more and more questions regularly. Also, JEE is not only about accuracy, it's about speed too, so always practice under time constraints.

You should not over stress yourself, try to at least get 6 hours of sleep daily. Shortcuts and tricks will surely help you but knowing the conventional method is important too because JEE isn't tough, it's TRICKY. It is designed to bring out the best of you.

Also you need to analyse the questions well, you should know which questions to attempt first and which not. While attempting paper, one should precisely allocate time to each subject and also leaving some time for the end analysis. Most importantly, one should be confident while attempting the paper and have a positive attitude constantly. Remember, it's tough but achievable. Work hard and you are sure to succeed.

This article is part of PaGaLGuY's innovative internship certification programme for engineering students. Currently, two such programmes are on - one is an Internship in Creative Writing, and the other is a Certification in Digital Media. If you are interested in partaking and bagging a certificate, besides learning the nuances of effective writing, write to us at [email protected].

Note: This article about IIT Guwahati has not been written by the PaGaLGuY Editorial Team. Readers should research and verify the claims and judgements in the article before reaching a conclusion.

72

Installation of 4i Lab at IITG will bridge gap between concept and realisation

IIT Guwahati, in a bid to match up to its counterparts and improve the ambiences of the studetns working in technical projects, has proposed the establishment of 4i-Labs at the New Students Activities Centre of the college. The 4i's correspond to the 4 stages of development of any kind of tech product - Innovation, Integration, Incubation and Implementation.

The 4i-Lab was an initiative at the Indian Institute Of Technology, Kanpur. It was built to provide a central facility for concept design and product realization. It is expected to be of great help both for professional course requirements and industrial consultancy.

Being one of the most sophisticated and advanced facilities in the college, it includes high-end technology like the Laser Engraving and cutting machine and the Rapid prototyping machine.

The 4i-Labs at IIT Guwahati, expected to start by the July-Nov 2016 semester will provide a huge oppurtunity to  students  in the campus for developing their ideas and working on them to improve them. The 4i-Labs will be a two-tier system including an ideation and an innovation room, equipped with all the essential equipments. Planned to be an open space with Google Office like ambience, it is expected to be a great place for the students to learn and develop their skills under the guidance and mentorship of the experienced faculty of the college.


The Robotics, Aeromodelling and the Electronics Clubs are most likely to be the most benefitted of the lot in the campus.Being an extremely important and advanced workplace, the 4i-Labs will have strict guidelines and will probably work on the Principle Of Least Authority for all the students.

The 4i-Labs will surely play an important role in the activities of all the clubs under the Technical Board of IIT Guwahati in the coming years. It will also contribute in buoyating the rank of IIT Guwahati among the fellow IITs and enhancing the participation of the college in Technical matters.

This article is part of PaGaLGuY's innovative internship certification programme for engineering students. Currently, two such programmes are on - one is an Internship in Creative Writing, and the other is a Certification in Digital Media. If you are interested in partaking and bagging a certificate, besides learning the nuances of effective writing, write to us at [email protected].

Note: This article about IITP Patna has not been written by the PaGaLGuY Editorial Team. Readers should research and verify the claims and judgements in the article before reaching a conclusion.

This article is part of PaGaLGuY's innovative internship certification programme for engineering students. Currently, two such programmes are on - one is an Internship in Creative Writing, and the other is a Certification in Digital Media. If you are interested in partaking and bagging a certificate, besides learning the nuances of effective writing, write to us at [email protected].

Note: This article about IITP Patna has not been written by the PaGaLGuY Editorial Team. Readers should research and verify the claims and judgements in the article before reaching a conclusion.

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The act of putting together words like 'technology' and 'human values' would seem quite paradoxical at first glance. But if you dwell on these two words, you will realise that the two go hand-in-hand. So, why are  'human values' not part of learning at technical institutes in India? Lucas Introna, a philosopher, backed up this approach adopted by these institutes (of not teaching human values) by arguing that educators thought that 'the traditional sources of moral knowledge such as religion, community and family' should be the agencies to impart human values. But as time progressed, Introna pointed that the credibility of these traditional sources began to get challenged. As a result, a need was felt to reconsider the way technical education was being imparted in the institutes.

To cater to this, courses on 'engineering ethics' as a subject started getting offered. But it was soon realized that these courses on 'preventive ethics' were not effective. 

Knowledge in technical education sans human values is very well exemplified by what happened with Japan during World War II. So it seems like it is necessary to build moral values in our future engineers in order to keep a check on inhuman use of technology. But how can this be achieved? Can a subject so subjective and subtle such as 'human values' be taught in the institute? Or should we go back to our traditional sources to take care of this? The answers to these questions are definitely not easy to arrive at. 

In an unique attempt, IIT Gandhinagar is trying to approach this problem. Prof. Raghubir Sharan, Professor at IIT Gandhinagar, offers a course titled, "Technological Progress and Human Values". Prof. Sharan says that the debate between 'technology' and 'human values' is quite akin to that between 'science' and 'philosophy. He further adds that the gap between the two can be bridged only if we try and reflect upon where in our endeavor of technological progress, we digressed and went on to create an 'unsustainable' form of development.

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These arethe best days of my life

Every engineer feels nostalgic when he thinks about his life at college and I am no exception. Back in 2012, when I joined Maulana Azad National Institute of Technology (MANIT-Bhopal), I was a naïve student. My first year at MANIT had many memorable experiences like being ragged by seniors (only fun nothing serious) and making some really good friends who are like a backbone to me still today. They support me both in times of happiness and sadness.

I still remember the day; when I entered my second year when I felt the pride that I too was a senior. In these four years, apart from studies I met people from all over India which helped me learn about their diverse cultures and also a little bit of their language.

The best part of college is the freedom it provides you. I feel that never in my life again I will be as 'unbound' as I was in my college. My life as hosteller for these four years is something that I will miss after leaving college. From my personal experience, I can say that a hosteller always has an extra bit of freedom which a day scholar cannot exercise. However, everything isn't easy at hostels; one should try to adjust to the food and facilities provided at hostels. Especially, when it is a hostel run by a government college, you need to be adjusting more because of the lack of facilities. Moreover, I can confidently say that those who could survive at MANIT can survive anywhere.

When I look back at my college life, I had many cheerful experiences and also had some sad ones. But, all those experiences were very helpful in shaping the person whom I am really today. From my mistakes, I learnt to accept the consequences and be careful not to repeat them again. Most importantly in these four years, I have learnt to adapt myself to the situation.

I have nearly 60 days of my college left and as each day passes on I feel nostalgic knowing the fact that my college life is coming to an end. In these last few days of my engineering, I would like to spend my happy and precious moments with my friends and enjoy each and every single day. For a student, college life comes only ones in his life and I feel that one should enjoy this period of life as much as possible.

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"360 minutes hain tumhare paas!" 90 questions, 360 minutes, 4 minutes per question seems quite an ordinary task but in reality it's not. JEE Mains is one of most eloquent way of summarising two years of Physics, Chemistry and Mathematics in a small booklet. JEE Mains is the primary step to enter an IIT/NIT/IIIT. The paper consists of 90 multiple choice questions with single correct answers. The level of questions is as same as the NCERT level with some questions being a little tougher. The paper covers almost the full 2 years course with questions ranging from basic mechanics to advanced rotational mechanics. Cracking JEE Mains requires at least two years of dedicated as well as systematic preparation. Normally, the paper consists of about 25% of questions that are easy, 50% average and rest 25% difficult questions. Holding on to your nerves is very important during the exam.

Speed and accuracy are the biggest factors to be taken care of. High speed with less accuracy is very dangerous, it can ruin your result. Also one needs to approach every problem differently with separate processes, don't hurry and think twice before marking an answer. Filtering out problems during the exam is also very important as it helps to save time. Filter out all easy and average problems and attempt them first so that you can have enough time to tackle the tough ones. Also it is advisable to attempt theoretical questions before going for numerical problems. Tricky questions are part and parcel of JEE Mains. Examiners try to trap students by playing around with questions and options. So read the questions carefully to understand what is required and the options with great concentration too. All said and done, with hard work and systematic preparation, one is sure to crack JEE Mains.