Instrumentation engineering in demand

Nature of work of an instrumentation engineer ranges from designing, developing, installing, managing equipments that are used to monitor and control machinery.

Just imagine a world without instruments. It would be like traversing into a time that probably goes even beyond the Stone Age. Man has always been fascinated towards instruments and the quest to invent and innovate on new instruments has pushed mankind beyond barriers to an age where instruments have become a part and parcel of the life. Today, we find instruments at home and at workplace, and this was possible only because of the science instrumentation.

In scientific terms, instrumentation is defined as the art and science of measurement and control of process variables within a production, or manufacturing area. The science has further opened up the realm of instrumentation engineering.

The discipline of instrumentation engineering branched out of the streams of electrical and electronic engineering some time in the early part of 1970s. “It is a multi-disciplinary stream and covers subjects from various branches such as chemical, mechanical, electrical, electronics and computers,” says Prof. A. Bhujanga Rao, from the department of Instrumentation Engineering, Andhra University.

The professor adds that instrumentation engineering is a specialised branch of electrical and electronic engineering and it deals with measurement, control and automation of processes.

Scope

Almost all process and manufacturing industry such as steel, oil, petrochemical, power and defence production will have a separate instrumentation department, which is manned and managed by instrumentation engineers. “Automation is the buzz word in process industry, and automation is the core job of instrumentation engineers. Hence, the demand for instrumentation will always be there,” says the professor.

The growth in the avionics, aeronautical and space science sectors has also increased the scope for instrumentation engineers. Instrumentation engineers can also fit in both software and hardware sectors.

Apart from covering core subjects such as system dynamics, industrial instrumentation and process control, analytical and bio-medical instrumentation and robotics, the students deal with software and hardware topics such as microprocessor and micro controller based instrumentation, VLSI and embedded system designs, computer architecture and organisation and computer control of processes. Computer languages such as ‘C' and Fortran are also part of the curriculum. This makes an instrumentation engineer fit for both the hardware and the software industry. Moreover, since instrumentation engineers are presumed to be good in physics, the logical ability is expected to be on the higher side, which is a basic quality needed to excel in the software industry.

The demand is so high that every student finds at least two jobs waiting in the wings, by the time he or she completes her course, says Dr. Bhujanga Rao.

Nature of work of an instrumentation engineer ranges from designing, developing, installing, managing equipments that are used to monitor and control machinery and processes.

“Though there is a demand for instrumentation engineers from the software sector, we prefer the core area, as that is where we can showcase our creativity and knowledge,” says Srinivas a third-year student.

The shift towards core sector is not only due to the opportunity to showcase ones creative talent and knowledge, but also because of the long term stability and quick growth. Bio-medical is another area that is fast catching up and there is huge requirement for instrumentation professionals.

Instrumentation engineering that made its way as an exclusive engineering discipline in the early part of 1970s was earlier known as M.Sc. Tech Instrumentation in many of the colleges. It was then a three-year PG course. Even today, it is referred to by different names by various colleges. While some call it as B. Tech- electronics and instrumentation, a few name it as B. Tech – control and instrumentation. Whatever, be the name, the curriculum is the same.

The GATE advantage

Apart from reflecting the relative performance level of a candidate, GATE scores serve as a value-add.

Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering (GATE) is an all-India examination being conducted and administered by the Indian Institute of Science and seven Indian Institutes of Technology. It is conducted by the National Coordination Board GATE, Department of Higher Education, Ministry of Human Resource Development, Government of India.

In the present competitive scenario, where there is mushrooming of universities and engineering colleges, the only yardstick to measure and test the caliber of engineering students is the GATE. There is a misconception among students that GATE exam is meant for ME./M.Tech which finally leads to a teaching career only.

The GATE advantage

In this context, the following points are worth noting about this examination:

Many public sector undertakings such as BHEL, Indian Oil Corporation, NTPC, Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (there are PSUs totalling 217 in number) are using the GATE score for selecting candidates for their organisations. Students who qualify in GATE are entitled to a stipend of Rs 8,000 per month during their M.Tech course. Better remuneration is being offered for students of M.Tech/M.E as compared to those pursuing B.Tech /B.E. A good GATE rank assures a good job. After joining M.Tech. at IITs and IISc, one can look at a salary package ranging from Rs 7 lakh to 30 lakh per annum, depending upon specialisation and performance.

Clearing GATE is also an eligibility clause for the award of Junior Research Fellowship in CSIR Laboratories. M.Tech. degree is mandatory for those wishing to apply for research positions in R&D centres. The GATE score is valid for two years and those who qualify this test are eligible for doing Master’s degree at NUS, (National University of Singapore), Singapore. A GATE score definitely gives one an edge when it comes to joining reputed companies as well as off-campus recruitments. For those who couldn’t pursue their BTech in IIT, it provides another opportunity to study in the prestigious IITs. Above all, it certainly gives you a huge technical edge over others in all your interviews and career planning.

Raising numbers

In the recent years the trend is very significant. From 1.66 lakh aspirants in 2008, the number of aspirants touched 5.5 lakh in 2011 and is expected to touch eight lakh in 2013. It is one of the toughest examinations in our country where competition is very high and requires focused study in a planned manner.

It aims at rigorous testing of the students’ capability in engineering concepts along with managerial skills. Engineering subjects cover 70 per cent weightage while General aptitude and Engineering Mathematics cover 15 per cent respectively.

The three-hour GATE paper has a total of 65 questions, out of which 30 questions are of one mark and 35 questions are of two marks. The two-mark questions further include two pairs of common data questions and two pairs of linked answer questions.

To secure a high a percentile one should remember that a candidate is being judged relatively and not absolutely. The overall rank achieved depends upon the preparation level of your competitors.

Scoring tips

The following tips would certainly help you in scoring well in the exam:

Go through previous years’ question papers along with solutions, and analyse the subject pattern and focus on those subjects which have maximum weightage.

Books can further be divided into two categories: Books that deal with the fundamentals and focus on conceptual clarity. Here textbooks by reputed publishers are a must. Books that provide a great deal of difficult and time-consuming questions and are used essentially as practice material.

Do not rely on just one book for a topic; instead consult a couple of books for the same topic. Prepare notes after completing each chapter.

Practise the maximum number of questions possible on a given topic. This certainly strengthens your preparation.

Keep in mind that those topics which are not in GATE syllabus could be certainly left out.

Make a list of topics in which you think you are ‘weak’ and focus on them. Have all essential formulae on your fingertips. Try to see if there are shortcut methods for a particular problem.

Joining a coaching institute is beneficial as you would be exposed to a regular systematic study. Also, joining a peer group would make one more competitive. Online coaching classes/test series are beneficial too.

Theory preparation should be completed one month before the exam and then practise many number of times.

Keep oneself updated about any changes or developments in the GATE examination for the coming year.

How to tackle the paper

Start the paper with one-mark question (25 in number). Since these are easy to attempt, they will help in building confidence. Proceed then to two-marks questions from Common Data and Linked Answer Questions.

Attempt this part with caution. These add up to eight more questions in addition to the 25 attempted above. Then go to General Aptitude section of 10 questions. All these will add upto 43 questions attempted. All these should be done in a timeframe of 100-110 minutes.

Now we are left with 22 questions in the technical portion and we can allot 50 minutes to this comfortably. At the end, you must have 15-20 minutes for a quick revision of the answer sheet to ensure all is in order.

While attempting the paper, leave questions which you are not sure of. The most deciding factor is negative marking. Avoid making any guesses and try to eliminate choices by analysis and calculations.

Dangerous assumptions

TOPICS

human interest

people

Drawing baseless conclusions often leads to anything from wasted time and lost opportunity.

“Assumption is the mother of all mistakes,” a good friend once told me, while discussing how one could get students to think critically and carefully. “And that’s the first rule I put up in my class, in big bold letters: Do not assume anything.”

Cut to 20 years later. I am waiting in my office for a student who is scheduled to meet with me. My door is closed as I catch up on work in the meantime. Time passes, but she does not arrive. I take a quick walk down the corridor to talk to someone and catch a glimpse of her waiting in the lobby so I go back to my room expecting that she will come by any moment. More time passes, but no sign of her and I get caught up with something else. Later I find out that since my door was closed, she thought — assumed — I was in a meeting, and therefore hesitated to disturb me. Net result: we had both wasted our time waiting for a meeting that never happened, despite the fact that we were both ready and available to meet.

We all routinely act on assumptions. In fact, we can’t get by in life without assuming some things. That trains and buses will run on schedule. That a cloudless sky means no rain. That paying for a service will result in its being rendered. That people will behave in certain expected ways. That thirst will be relieved by drinking or hunger by eating.

Four kinds

But assumptions sometimes stand in the way of things happening, and can prevent us from taking full advantage of opportunities. In my experience, there are at least four kinds of assumption that can limit what we learn, what we do, and what we get out of life.

About our own abilities/aptitudes: Either because people have told us we are good or bad at something or because we have convinced ourselves that this is so, we tend to avoid certain activities or areas of doing/learning. If we think carefully about why this has come about, we may find that the judgment of our abilities was based on very flimsy evidence. We may have performed poorly in a few tests or not found some lessons interesting enough to apply ourselves. We begin avoiding certain types of exposure because we think we’re not “suited” to it.

About what is expected: Most of the time, when someone asks us to do something, we just jump into doing it without thinking through why we have been asked to do it, and whether we understand the requirements completely. I’ve talked about this earlier, the need to understand clearly what is asked of us. We assume too much, and therefore end up delivering either too little, too much or something completely different from what was required.

About other people: A student once told me that no one took me seriously when I said they could come and knock on my door to talk any time, that they could come discuss doubts and assignments at any point in the semester, and if I was not terribly busy, I would make myself available. Given his past experience with the system he (and others) assumed this was just one of those things people said without meaning it. By the time he realised I was actually as accessible as I had indicated, it was already the end of the semester—we had all lost many opportunities to interact and learn from each other. It’s important to keep an open mind about people; avoid making judgments without giving them a chance. If you’ve heard the expression “try me,” this is what it means!

About situations: We need to develop the ability to “read” our environments critically. This means that we make use of our own eyes and ears (and other senses) and use the evidence to understand or make meaning of a situation. Of course, we should also not disregard earlier knowledge but we do not depend on it entirely. We need to weigh the evidence produced by our own senses against other facts we may have access to, and make a decision accordingly.

Coming back to the situation with my student, I must admit to having been tripped up by my own assumptions. When I passed the student in the corridor, I assumed she had seen me and would then come into my office. It wouldn’t have taken much for me to go back and invite her in, instead of taking it for granted!

How well do you know your State?

Knowledge of the socio-political and economic aspects of the state from where you hail is important when you attend the interview. Last in the series on the Civil Services Examination.

The civil services exam interview conducted by the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) focuses on the personal details of the candidates including the home town, district and State. The last decade had witnessed an exponential increase in the number of successful candidates hailing from Tamil Nadu in this exam making the last one and a half decades the golden era of Tamil Nadu in the civil services exam. The State sends about one seventh of the candidates to the personality test, and a staggering number of 25,000 candidates attend the preliminary test annually. The interview panel focuses on the society, politics, economy, culture and paramount personalities of the State in the interview of candidates from this state.

Urbanisation

Tamil Nadu is the most urbanised-state among the larger States of the country with about 48.45 per cent of the people domiciled in urban landscape as per the census of 2011. The decadal increase in the urban population of the State was an impressive 4.41 per cent. The interview panel had asked frequently about the forces and factors that are adducible for this remarkable transition. There are a plethora of factors rooted in social, economic and educational planks through which this trend can be explained.

The colonial legacy of Madras metropolis as a kind of capital of peninsular India, tremendous growth and diversification especially in the post liberalisation period, privatisation and concomitant expansion of educational institutions, implementation of the 74th Constitutional Amendment Act and the resultant incorporation of adjoining and adjacent villages into ever expanding municipal corporations and municipal councils and the presence of numerous census towns are the assorted factors that propel this frantic pace of urbanisation in the State.

Automobile industry

The panel fires a fusillade of questions on the different dimensions of the economy of Tamil Nadu. When we analyse the economic landscape of Chennai city, the automobile industry is very conspicuous by its presence making it the automobile capital of south Asia, manufacturing everything from B to B, that is, Bicycles to Battle tanks — everything that moves or carries is manufactured in the city. The panel tends to ask in detail about these economic aspects and therefore the aspirants of the civil services exam should prepare thoroughly. A comprehensive preparation on this subject will cover factors like the long history of strong engineering base in the city, investment friendly political dispensation, availability of skilled manpower, excellent infrastructure, cost effectiveness of land, labour, power and other resources. Candidates studying in or hailing from Chennai must understand profoundly issues, legacies, uniqueness, advantages and disadvantages of the city as there is a greater probability of the interview panel posing probing questions.

Film and politics

One of the unique dimensions of politics in Tamil Nadu is the intrinsic and intimate rapport between politics and cinema with as many as five chief ministers hailing from a cinema background. The interview board in the past had enquired repeatedly on this trend and the plethora of questions asked include how did this relationship evolve historically? Why did this dominance of films in politics emerge? Who are the cinematic stalwarts who became successful in politics and who failed to make a mark? What impact films made on politics and what impact politics made on cinema?.

Candidates can say cinema provided film personalities an opening in politics. But there are other social, political, administrative and personality factors which enabled domination of politics. Cinematic popularity is not the single thread of the fabric of political success as other strands and threads are also important.

Strategic suggestions

Candidates must answer the questions about Tamil Nadu through the prism of national perspective as they are competing in the recruitment test intended to select officers for All India Services and Central Services.

Interviewees can defend their State-level interests through logical and impassioned reasoning that seek simultaneous national and regional betterment.

They need not betray the legitimate interest of their respective States, and their answers and arguments should be always underpinned by the basic features and objectives of the constitution of India.

Aspirants must possess sufficient knowledge of topics pertaining to the home State. The syllabus of the preliminary test and main exam of civil services do not contain all aspects of society, politics , economy, culture and architecture of Tamil Nadu as it is a national competitive exam where it is not plausible to cover the basics and specifics of all 28 individual States of the Indian union.

Candidates would not have studied these aspects as part of their preparation for the preliminary test and main exam.

Therefore the candidates must devote considerable amount of time, energy and attention on Tamil Nadu-specific issues and the three months interregnum between the main test and personality test is ideally suitable for such an intensive preparation.

Contestants must also cultivate diverse soft skills falling under both interpersonal and intrapersonal categories. They must focus on the cultivation of English communicative skills as there is a deficit of effective and fluent communication in the personality of students hailing from semi-urban and rural landscape or a socially underprivileged background.

New shores, New beginnings

Worried traditional destinations for studying abroad are getting costlier? Cheer up! Here are some alternatives.

The rising cost of education in the West combined with the falling rupee has meant that traditional destinations for students intending to study abroad are getting increasingly unaffordable. However, new destinations have emerged for those seeking a reasonably priced international education.

Some of these are Asian countries, such as China and Hong Kong, which have become competitive education providers in recent years and figure in the top 50 of the Times Higher Education ranking and the QS World Universities ranking. Others, like Dubai have succeeded in getting reputed international universities establish their offshore campuses. Apart from academic merit and affordable fee structures, relatively easy admission systems, good facilities, and in some instances, attractive job opportunities are some of the factors that have attracted Indian students to these destinations.

CHINA

According to a report by the Ministry of External Affairs, the last few years have seen a significant increase in the number of Indian students choosing to study in China. While in January 2012 there were over 8,000 Indian students studying in various Chinese universities, in 2013, this number increased to 9,200 — 15 per cent more. Garima Arora, the China consultant at the India-China Economic and Cultural Council, corroborates, “There are thousands of Indian students studying in provinces across China today. Most of them are pursuing medicine.”

Yatindra Joshi, who recently completed his MBBS from the Chonquing Medical University in China, says, Pursuing medical education in India these days is becoming difficult for most students. China, on the other hand, offers admission based on Class XII results and a much better academic environment at a far lower cost. There is an emphasis on research and an excellent faculty. In fact one of my professors was a Nobel prize winner.”

While most courses for international students are offered in English, it is advisable for students to be open to learning the local language. Says Joshi, “International students have to take a Chinese language course in the first academic year. This familiarises you with the language and helps you with your day-to-day living, because most locals do not speak English. It also helps you in making friends, as you can communicate better. Moreover, for medical students it is absolutely important as we have to talk to local patients in the course of our studies.”

Also, unlike traditional destinations, China does not offer any extension on the student visa. If students wish to stay back after completing their studies and take up a job, they have to clear a language examination before securing a job permit.

Average cost of living per annum (including tuition fees, accommodation, food and travel): About Rs. 2.5 lakh.

For more information: Contact the India China Economic and Cultural Council (www.icec-council.org) and check the website of the Chinese embassy (in.china-embassy.org).

HONG KONG

With world class institutions that have excellent rankings, Hong Kong has, in recent years, emerged as one of Asia’s leading higher education destinations.

Moreover, its cosmopolitan character that blends both Chinese and Western cultures provides students a truly international experience.

Indians make up a major chunk of the non-Chinese community in Hong Kong, and its universities have a good number of local as well as non-local Indian students. Education consultant Viral Doshi reports an increasing interest in studying in Hong Kong in the recent years.

While a number of students are interested in finance-related courses, humanities is also gaining importance.

Lucrative job opportunities are a major draw for students. Says Saloni Atal, an undergraduate student at the University of Hong Kong (HKU), “Job opportunities for students in HK are quite promising because HK is one of the largest financial centres of the world.

HKU has a career centre which sends out notifications to all students about job offers on a daily basis and also organises sessions to help prepare students for job interviews. Several reputed companies hire students from HKU every year.”

Students can avail themselves of a year-long extension on their student visa after completing their studies to search for and take up jobs in Hong Kong.

For more information: http://studyinhongkong.edu.hk/

RUSSIA

Much like China, Russia is a sought-after destination for students keen on pursuing medical education. Popular Russian medical colleges, such as the Tver State Medical Academy, have hundreds of Indian students enrolled in them. The reasons are the same — ease of admission, excellent academic infrastructure and lower cost of education.

Dushyant Singhal spent eight years in Russia, completing both his undergraduate and postgraduate medical education from the Russian State Medical University, now known as the Russian National Research Medical University (RNRMU) in Moscow. He says, “RNRMU is one of the oldest medical schools in Russia and is well known among the medical fraternity even abroad. I was extremely happy to get admission here and the quality of education is so good that I also decided to complete my postgraduate studies here. In Russia, colleges are extremely well-equipped and students get the best facilities despite paying a lower fee.”

However, like China, even in Russia, students are advised to learn the local language. Singhal says that most universities teach Russian as an additional subject to familiarise students with the language. Tatiana Perova, Head of Russian Language Teaching-Training Centre at Rus Education India, adds, “Although these days many universities are offering courses in English, learning Russian will help the students better appreciate the local culture. They can also choose to take courses in the fine arts, humanities and other such subjects that are only taught in Russian.”

Additionally, Russia does not give any extension on the student visa, and students wanting to stay back and work after completing their studies need to a clear a language examination.

Average cost of living per annum (including tuition fees, accommodation, food and travel): Rs. 2.5 lakh to 3.5 lakh approximately.

For more information: Contact Rus Education (http://www.ruseducation.in/) and also read about education in Russia at www.russia.edu.ru

DUBAI

Home to offshore campuses of leading universities from around the world, including prestigious Indian institutes such as SP Jain and BITS, Dubai has slowly become a coveted international education destination. Most students wanting to study in Dubai are interested in business programmes as well as certain engineering disciplines like logistics, oil and petroleum, renewable energy, etc.

Proximity to India and attractive job opportunities are the other factors that make it a viable option for students keen on pursuing higher education abroad. Ankita Sudhir, who is pursuing M.Sc. Energy at the Dubai campus of the UK-based Heriot Watt University, says, “The quality of teaching is similar to that in the Edinburgh campus of the university. At the same time Dubai is closer home, and it also has more job opportunities compared to the U.K. and its current recession period.”

Education consultants Edwise International adds that academic flexibility is a major attraction for students in Dubai. “The classes are held in such a way that students can easily take up part-time jobs, balance their work with academics, and gain hands-on experience. International students can work part-time for 20 hours a week in free zone areas, once they seek permission from the university.”

Dubai is home to a large Indian population. Knowing the local language is not as important as it is for some of the other destinations. Hence, day-to-day living is somewhat easier for Indian students.

However, the UAE does not offer any extension on the student visa and students wanting to stay back must start looking for jobs before completing their studies to acquire a job permit and stay back.

Average cost of living per annum (including tuition fees, accommodation, food and travel): About Rs.12 lakh.

For more information: There are a number of private education consultants. Apart from that, you could look up the website of the Knowledge and Human Development Authority of the Government of Dubai (www.khda.gov.ae).

GERMANY

For students keen on living the European dream, Germany is an upcoming destination that offers the best of the West at affordable rates. According to a report from the Deutscher Akademischer Austausch Dienst (DAAD), the German Academic Exchange service, the number of Indian students in Germany has increased enormously since 2008-09. From a little over 3,500 students at the time to more than 7,500 students today — it has grown steadily and is predicted to rise further. A majority of students pursue courses in mathematics, natural sciences and engineering.

Padmavathi Chandramouli, information and office manager at the DAAD information centre in Chennai, says, “Most universities in Germany are public-funded and either charge no tuition fee or an extremely nominal amount. Also there is no application fee and students only have to pay for the postage. This makes the cost of German education easy on the pocket, as students mainly have to worry about their living expenses.”

Despite this, academic rigour is not sacrificed and a number of German universities figure in the top 100 universities around the world in the Times Higher Education ranking and the QS World Universities ranking. Harita Natarajan, a postgraduate student at the Stuttgard University, says, “The German education system, especially in universities, focuses more on research and development. Industry tie-ups, projects from the German government and many such application-oriented research takes place in the university... (and) we (have) to do many group projects with real time data.”

Students are also enticed by the travel possibilities available to them. Harita reveals, “You get a vacation every semester (and) all it takes is an hour or two ride in the train to reach the neighbouring country.

In the past one-and-a-half years, I’ve travelled to the Netherlands, Italy, Austria, Luxembourg and Belgium.”

Also, unlike most other European countries, Germany still has a strong economic environment and students can seek an 18-month extension on their student visa to search for jobs.

Knowing the local language is a definite advantage for students keen on studying in Germany, even though the course may be in English.

Average cost of living per annum (including tuition fees, accommodation, food, and travel): About Rs. 7 lakh.

For more information: Contact the DAAD (www.daaddelhi.org)

Smart students know the way

With the board exams fast approaching, they say that the concept of combined studies not only helps overcome the fear factor but also makes them understand where they stand subject-wise..

More than the actual experience, it is the fear for board exams that makes one feel the stress. Apparently, smart students have a different version!

With the board exams fast approaching, they say that the concept of combined studies not only helps overcome the fear factor but also makes them understand where they stand subject-wise compared to others.

Except a few, most students say combined study is particularly instrumental in easing the anxiety among slow learners.

“Group studies are helpful when you include below average students in the session. By drafting some tips and summarising subject-wise points, we can improve our performance too,” says Sampath Pattjoshi, a hostelite.

Since every student cannot excel in all subjects, group discussions aid in remembering tough topics much better. “For instance, since history is not my area of interest, I find it difficult to recollect different names and places. But, my understanding level enhances when I interact the same topic with my friends,” says Manish, Class X student.

However, for G. Lalitha, a young girl, the idea of combined studies is different. “It distracts me and induces a certain degree of inferiority complex when I discover that my friends are better than me. So, I generally prefer studying alone except during seminar sessions that form part of the academic curriculum,” she says.

Some of the classmates say that the length of time is prolonged when they study alone.

And that combined studies would help them discover beyond classrooms by shedding their inhibitions.

“Many are not comfortable getting their doubts clarified in an open forum. When you are in a comfort zone with friends, you can clarify any doubt without the fear of being laughed at,” explains Shalini Babu, a Class X student.

Studying together leads to better understanding of the subject, however, monitoring mechanism within the group is essential to keep the children on track as most girls end up discussing about fashion, food and school gossips while boys talk about hairstyle trends, sports and internet games, says Vaishali More, a parent-cum-teacher.

That sudden slump

Board examinations are around the corner.  Students are kept busy with their study schedule by vigilant parents. Everyone believes that the career option and the future of the students depend on the result of the Board examination. This mindset leads to an unrealistic study routine. Most students follow a pattern of preparing for examinations, which does not take into consideration their individualistic learning style. This may bring on tremendous stress, either because they are not able to keep up with the gruelling routine, or realise that in spite of studying hard, they are not really learning. They are dejected, disheartened or simply slump. Many a time, even the most motivated learner experiences a slump.

Definition of a slump

So, what is a slump? A slump is an unexplained drop in the tempo of your study routine, which extends beyond the normal ups and downs. Being human, you cannot keep up the tempo of your study routine for a long period of time. You need to deal with it so that you can bounce back to the planned routine with renewed vigour and enthusiasm. In order to do so, you need a few moments to fathom why the slump happened, what its causes are, and how best you can deal with it.

Slump before examinations is one of the worst things that could happen to a student. Quite unfortunately, it happens often. The purpose of this article is to discuss ways to deal with it.

Some students spend a lot of time rehearsing material but are still not well-prepared. They are not confident of taking exams. The feeling of being inadequately prepared is the result of not being able to measure the effort put into their chosen method of studying. If you are not able to recall what you have been learning for days together, then how can you be motivated to go on? Measurement process for a student becomes a good reference point, when he says, ‘Yes, I have learnt’.

Three-phase method

A practical way to prepare for exams is to follow a three-phase method.

Pre-preparatory phase

In this phase, you are ready with the topics you will be tested on. You are aware of what questions will be asked in each area. Do a complete revision of all subjects. Some students do not have a study plan. Each morning they ask, “What should I do today?”  This will hasten the slump. Instead, plan your exam preparation on a visual chart. Make a mind map and then follow what you planned.

Maintenance phase

This phase is crucial. It helps you measure what you have learnt, thus giving you confidence. This phase involves actual application of ideas and strategies through discussions, questions and answers, and solving previous years’ question papers. When you finish studying for the day, end it with an application exercise. You will know how much you have learnt. It will reinforce your knowledge. The next day, start with an application again of what you did yesterday. Form a study group. Discuss questions with one another to understand difficult concepts better.

Peak performance phase

Everyone has a peak level; the optimum level, that is, when you are fully motivated, happens when you phase out the preparatory level. You are motivated to muster energy for the final effort. 

Slump-busting suggestions

It is a fact that slumps are frequent among students and could be dangerous for them. However, it is easy to combat slumps by following a few suggestions that can make a significant improvement in your life.

— A brief time-out. Take a day or two off to do things you want to do.

— Pursue activities that are allied, but different. Meet a friend for coffee and discuss common issues or just be by yourself. The basic idea is that you do not follow your schedule and just relax.

— Keep yourself focussed on what is important. Black out the rest.

— Develop the ability of seeing the success you so much crave for, visualise a successful outcome.

— Have tremendous faith in your ability to perform.

Possible causes

— Physical fatigue or lingering illness.

— Are you trying to adopt a different way of learning?  Maybe the change is causing the slump.

— Are there some non-academic issues? Maybe some unresolved issues are causing you to slow down.

Slump prevention

— Monitor your physical state; “listen to your body”.

— Schedule rest as part of your routine.

— Eat nutritious meals.

— Study what is relevant.

— Build a resiliency plan to combat negative thoughts.

— Introspect, may be unknowingly you are contributing to the slump. Get the focus back on the goal.

Preparing for Board examinations is hard, stressful, and slump is serious. But it is surprising how often the suggestions described can get you on course. Parents need to take note of why slump happens and help their wards in taking the much-needed break to overcome it, instead of mercilessly driving them to a punishing routine.

By 2030, Indian towns may turn dry, stinking hellholes

Dry taps, untreated sewage and piles of solid waste strewn all around. This can become a stark reality of our urban landscape by 2030, when India's urban population will grow from 340 million in 2008 to 590 million - 40 per cent of the total population - and twice the present population of the United States, predicts a report by McKinsey & Company.


But this gloomy picture can be turned around if India invests $1.2 trillion (Rs 54 lakh crore) to keep pace with the growing urbanisation, says the report, India's Urban Awakening: Building Cities, Sustaining Economic Growth, which was released on Thursday.

India's current per capita spending of $17 (Rs 784) on urban infrastructure is just 14 per cent that of China's $116 (Rs 6,030). The report states that if existing services are not improved drastically, the per capita water supply to a average citizen could drop from an average of 105 litres to only 65 litre a day in the next 20 years.

Also, 70-80 per cent of the sewage generated in the country would go untreated, while of the 377 million tonne per annum solid waste that would be generated by 2030, only about 295 million tonne will be collected because of inadequate facilities.

Thirteen cities will have a population of more than four million by 2030 with five states - Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Karnataka and Punjab - likely to be more than 50% urbanised. Also, 70% of India's GDP will come from cities - up from 58% - and drive a near fourfold increase in per capita incomes.

"India's approach to urbanisation is likely to result in urban gridlock and chaos, jeopardising the 7.4% growth rate. India needs to act with urgency for the well being of its citizens and economy," says Ireena Vittal, partner, McKinsey & Company.

Laughter is good exercise for promoting health

Laughter is as good as exercise in promoting health and a sense of well-being, a new study says.


Lee S. Berk, preventive care specialist and researcher at Loma Linda University's Schools of Allied Health (SAHP) and Medicine, and Stanley Tan have come up with the study.

They have been studying the human body's response to mirthful laughter and have found that laughter helps optimise many of the functions of various body systems.

Berk and his colleagues were the first to establish that laughter helps optimise the hormones in the endocrine system, including decreasing the levels of cortisol and epinephrine which lead to stress reduction.

They have also shown that laughter has a positive effect on modulating components of the immune system, including increased production of antibodies and activation of the body's protective cells, including T-cells and especially Natural Killer cells' killing activity of tumour cells.

Their studies have shown that repetitious 'mirthful laughter,' which they call Laughercise, causes the body to respond in a way similar to moderate physical exercise, says a Loma Linda release.

Laughercise enhances your mood, decreases stress hormones, enhances immune activity, lowers bad cholesterol and systolic blood pressure, and raises good cholesterol (HDL).

As Berk explains: 'We are finally starting to realise that our everyday behaviours and emotions are modulating our bodies in many ways.' His latest research expands the role of laughter even further.

Berk along with Jerry Petrofsky at Loma Linda University presented their findings at the Experimental Biology conference in Anaheim, CA.

Air pollution can kill

A growing body of evidence shows that air pollution is linked with heart attacks, strokes and cardiovascular deaths.


People, particularly those at high cardiovascular risk, should limit their exposure, says an updated American Heart Association (AHA) scientific statement.

The evidence is strongest for fine particulate matter (PM2.5) having a causal relationship to cardiovascular disease, said the expert panel of authors who updated the AHA 2004 initial statement on air pollution.

There are several ways by which PM2.5 could affect the cardiovascular system; however, one leading explanation suggests that several components of PM2.5, once inhaled, can cause inflammation and irritate nerves in the lungs.

These responses can start a cascade of changes that adversely affect the rest of the body, Brook said. 'It's possible that certain very small particles, or chemicals that travel with them, may reach the circulation and cause direct harm,' said Robert D. Brook, associate professor of internal medicine University of Michigan (U-M), Ann Arbor.

'The lung nerve-fibre irritation can also disrupt the balance of the nervous system throughout the body. These responses can increase blood clotting and thrombosis..., elevate blood pressure, and disrupt proper cardiac electrical activity which may ultimately provoke heart attacks, strokes, or even death,' said Brooks.

The major source of PM2.5 is fossil fuel combustion from industry, traffic, and power generation. Biomass burning, heating, cooking, indoor activities and forest fires may also be relevant sources, particularly in certain regions.

'Particulate matter appears to directly increase risk by triggering events in susceptible individuals within hours to days of an increased level of exposure, even among those who otherwise may have been healthy for years,' said Brook, lead author of the statement.

It was written after review of epidemiological, molecular and toxicological studies published during the past six years.

'Growing evidence also shows that longer-term PM2.5 exposures, such as over a few years, can lead to an even larger increase in these health risks,' said Brooks.

'The foremost message for these high-risk groups remains that they should work to control their modifiable traditional risk factors - blood pressure, cholesterol, diabetes, smoking,' said Brook, associate professor of internal medicine at the University of Michigan (U-M), Ann Arbor.

'These studies also indicate that there is no 'safe' level of PM2.5 exposure,' he said, according to an U-M release.

Recommendations include: Physicians should emphasise treatment of traditional cardiovascular risk factors, which may lessen patients' susceptibility to air pollution. Patients with cardiovascular disease should be educated about the risks of air pollution.

These findings were also published in Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association

‘Parents, do not panic’

Parents of Murali (name changed) ‘booked’ an engineering seat in the management quota just after his half-yearly examination. The stream and college was decided by Murali’s father.

This was in spite of the fact that Murali was a very good student who had 100 per cent chance of getting a seat in the single-window counselling of Anna University.

Once the booking was done, the pressure mounted on Murali to get very high marks because he had to meet the college’s cut-off, failing which the capitation fee would be hiked.

By the end of the examination he was a nervous wreck and could not come out of it even after he joined college.

A good student, Murali failed in all the papers in the first semester and the same continued in the second semester too, till his father was forced to discontinue his engineering studies and admit him in an arts and science college.

For educationists and counsellors, these are everyday cases, some borderline and others severe.

Single window engineering admission in Tamil Nadu is now an established case of many seats and a few takers. Educationists say that every student who applies for an engineering seat is assured of one.

Yet, the clamour for a preferred course and a college makes parents put undue influence on their wards to go after that particular course and college.

R. Hemambika, psychotherapist and counsellor, who works mainly with school and college students, says the situation is very bad.

“Parents are the main culprits. The future of their child is not based on his interest and aptitude, but on their own prestige, ego and social compulsions. Their main aim is to show to their relatives or neighbours that their son / daughter is an engineer or a doctor,” she adds.

“CA, designing, Defence, dance/music, photography, besides others, are very popular among the higher secondary students, but unfortunately not among parents,” she says.

E. Balagurusamy, former Vice-Chancellor of Anna University, says that though parents are to be blamed, the system is also part of this.

The examination and evaluation system is based on rote that a student who scores every high marks in Plus-Two is not able to manage a pass in the first semester of engineering or medicine.

It has become worse with the Samacheer Kalvi system where students are awarded 200 out of 200 marks in subjects and even in languages,” he adds.

He says if the Government regulates the admission to management quota seats, much of the pressure on students will be reduced. Private colleges will only be keen to get as many numbers as possible because the competition is great.

Students will be able to study and write their final examinations peacefully if the management quota admissions are entertained after the Plus-Two examinations, he adds.

It is time to tackle examination stress, in students and parents too

Everything seemed to be falling in place for a 17-year-old girl from the city who was about to take her Plus-Two public examinations in a couple of weeks.

Teachers always had high regard for her and she was good at her studies. Her father had already secured her a seat in a private medical college by paying a huge capitation fee. She had no reasons to worry. Yet she decided to quit school and apply as a private candidate through National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS).

The reason- she could not stand the pressure from her parents to perform well and fell into a depression. The incident came to light when officials of School Education Department - whose nod was mandatory for issuing Transfer Certificates – made an enquiry with her parents. A senior official here says that this is the second such instance in the past few weeks. Earlier if it was schools, which put pressure on students to keep up its name, now the role of parents in pressurising students is on the rise.

State Nodal Officer for District Mental Health Programme, C. Ramasubramanian, says there is a steep rise in psychological problems among school students. Children were becoming victims to imaginative desires of parents. “For most parents now, the only goal is to earn money and indirectly they perceive their children as a money making machine. Parents disregard other merits like emotional intelligence which includes compassion, sharing and problem solving,” the doctor says.Dr. Ramasubramanian, who has been in the field of psychiatry for over four decades, cautions parents against providing both “reckless freedom and restricted freedom” to children and advocates the need for “reasonable freedom.” Parents must invest quality time in children and just not money, he adds.

S. Arulvadivu, the SCERT psychologist for Coimbatore, Tirupur and the Nilgiris districts, says she comes across students who forget all answers on just seeing the question paper. Some had complained of feeling drowsy while many were just plain scared at the prospect of taking the public examinations.

In many cases, students find out that they do not know the answer for the first question, then become nervous and waste nearly an hour trying to recall the answer before moving on to other questions. She advises students to thoroughly go over the question paper at least twice before starting the answers.

She counsels around 300 Government school students per day and comes across students in fragile mental state and some even with suicidal tendencies. In such cases, she says that the teachers are instructed to continue motivating the student.

In a bid to tackle this issue, State Council of Educational Research and Training (SCERT) has appointed mobile counselling psychologists across the state to help students improve academic performance and handle stress.

Benefits of MBA

Benifits of MBA
 
MBA is a versatile master’s degree program in business, management and finance. It signifies professionalism, breath of experience and success. And to achieve this success you have to firstly, opt for an appropriate MBA program and, secondly choose a respected and reputable institution. Some of the best B schools in India are located in Ahmedabad, Kolkata, Mumbai, Bangalore, Indore, Kozhikode and Lucknow. MBA in Ahmedabad, MBA in Kolkata and MBA in Mumbai is given top priority for their bright prospect.

But lets have a close look at the various benefits of MBA program: 

Advancing your career: MBA degree is an outstanding way to advance your career. It helps to increase your job security, provides a greater chance for promotion, increases your salary and also offers good networking opportunities.

Developing your business skill: Undergoing an MBA degree will help to boost up your business knowledge thereby adding to your expertise. It teaches you all the business strategies, concepts, and related aspects both theoretical and practical. Most MBA schools even prefer applicants from non-business backgrounds.

Leadership abilities: MBA program engages in assignments, rigorous training, group projects, presentations, and reports, all of which helps you to handle business affairs.

Networking: The associations that you make with your colleagues and the connections which you generate are regarded as the most valuable thing that MBA programs offer.

Developing analytical skills: Developing analytical skills is the forte of all MBA courses. An MBA degree helps in developing analytical skills to analyze, identify and solve problems faced by the management and business.

Developing people’s skills: Developing people’s skill is another benefit of undergoing an MBA degree. People-management skill, interpersonal and soft management skills are skills that are difficult to learn. So selecting an MBA program which offers a detailed curriculum in developing people’s skill is advisable.

Career prospects: MBA courses in India offers ample career opportunities in varied fields especially for executive level and managerial jobs. It opens a new world for its employees

Marketing: An MBA program provides its students with practical marketing skills and theoretical knowledge which enables them to find jobs in marketing field.

Finance: MBA finance courses offered by MBA colleges’ enables you to get top jobs in the finance field.

Government jobs: It is a misconception that MBA courses enable you to get jobs only in marketing fields. It also provides career prospects for government jobs.

Personal business: Undergoing an MBA degree becomes a great benefit for those having their personal business. It offers you all those relevant skills that are required for starting your own enterprise, thereby making you an entrepreneur.

Non-profit Organizations: For an MBA student working in a non-profit organization can be extremely rewarding both emotionally as well as financially.

Engage with words

Reading perceptively and carefully can help you assimilate the information better.

As students, there always seems to be too much to read. The syllabus is longer than it should be, and teachers seem to expect students to get through more pages in a week than there are minutes in a day.

Much of the material is infinitely boring and seemingly irrelevant. So we develop strategies to get through it with a finely honed sense of what is needed for the examination.

If we’re lucky enough to be using a well-thumbed second-hand copy of a textbook, we can read through what has been highlighted by previous users. (Of course, this means we also must trust that those who read before us had the good sense to highlight correctly!)

Some of us read only as much as we need to supplement the notes made in class. And yet others mark out portions that seem to answer questions from previous examination papers, and read just those bits.

Little wonder then, that we forget almost everything we read as soon as this primary purpose (to answer examination questions) is served.

Beyond exams

As we progress from school to college to higher degrees, reading serves purposes beyond the limited one of answering questions set by examiners. Reading is in many ways the essence of education — along with the ability to learn from seeing and doing.

Words on a page (or a screen) have the remarkable power to transport us across contexts and conditions and take us into spheres of experience that we cannot access in a material or physical sense.

It is because of this that students of chemistry have found excitement in the stories of Archimedes and Kekulé, and history buffs have relived the wars of the past.

But the problem is that not all material holds this excitement for all of us. Still, we need to be able to read both carefully and efficiently, if we are to really learn.

If we are interested in a subject, we will naturally spend more time on it and be more willing to spend time with our books.

However, we need to read materials that we may not be that interested in, and we need to do it in a way that allows us to not only answer exam questions but also retain information so that it can be used and applied in different ways.

Often we don’t realise the value of a particular piece of knowledge until much later, when it makes sense against something else we have learned. But this kind of realisation can happen only if we have read carefully — to understand rather than just to remember for a short while.

Reading is a complex activity, and I don’t mean to go into the details here. We all engage with written materials differently and in varying ways. When we read a novel as a leisure activity, we become involved in the lives of the characters and experience their highs and lows. When we read factual information, we actively try to commit it to memory.

When we read theory or argument we try to understand how things relate and fit together. Some things we skim over and others, we dive into.

In academic reading, too, there are some things we need to read quickly and “on the surface” and other pieces we need to spend time over and assimilate at a deeper level.

Spend enough time

The crucial decision that faces us when we look at that big pile of course-related reading, is — what do we dive into and what do we skim over?

Where is it sufficient to gain a general idea and where do we need to apply our minds so that the information becomes part of the way we understand and interpret the world?

Spending time reading deeply rather than superficially yields better results in the long term.

The content “takes residence” in your mind and gives you the ability to understand and connect bits of information from diverse sources. For example, if you have read your history carefully you are probably better at making an argument about current politics. Or if you have read your classics well, you would be better at using language effectively.

By and large, theoretical knowledge — about how things work and how they are related — requires deeper engagement, while information or facts can be acquired by reading at a more superficial level. The former requires us to spend time and think while reading, while the latter requires only memorisation.

In other words, you can’t memorise a theory, you have to understand it. But you can memorise something like the order of elements in the periodic table. On the other hand, if you’ve spent some time understanding something, you will also be more likely to remember it.

Gear up for the grand finale

Pre-board exams are not to be taken lightly. Here are some tips that can help you use this chance to perfect your strategy for the board exam.

What is a reasonably accurate indicator of whether you are going to do well in the board exams? Yes, you guessed it right — your performance in the pre-boards.

Pre-boards are the dress rehearsals for the grand finale in March for Class XII students across India. Pre-boards assess you on the basis of how well you have understood the topics, whether you can complete the paper within the given time and deal with the related anxiety associated with an important exam, whether you can apply all that you have learnt to the case studies given in the paper.

Pre-boards for Class XII begin in January. It is believed that if you do well in the pre-boards, (which are usually tougher than the actual exam) you will be able to do well in the board exams!

If you don’t do well for some reason, don’t lose heart! This is only the dress rehearsal remember? You can use the results of this exam to find out about your weak areas, identify the chinks in your preparation and talk to teachers and experts to help you gain confidence in those topics.

General tips

In addition, here are some simple tips to help you achieve success in the pre-board examinations:

Read the NCERT textbook thoroughly.

Make sure you have read and practised all the examples and are familiar with all possible ‘angles’ and ‘twists’ to a concept.

Two heads are better than one! Discuss questions with your study group. This way all of you can solve each other’s problems and help each other understand the tough concepts better.

When in doubt — try to solve the question yourself before finally asking the expert for help.

Practise till you succeed — If you don’t have enough questions in the NCERT textbooks to practise a new problem, you can always go to other study resources available to you where you can get plenty of practice to perfect the topic.

Rev up the routine — Study according to a time table and divide your time equally between reading, testing your knowledge, taking breaks and sleeping well. Do not neglect this routine.

Time = Marks — Try to solve the previous years’ question papers and mock papers within the duration of the time allotted for the exam.

Divide and Score — Distinguish between easy-scoring questions and tough time-consuming questions. Grab the easier ones first but remember to give enough time to the tough ones too. Also, remember to get your question numbers right. Keep in mind that you have to do all the questions. The tough looking ones usually have a little twist that needs to be untangled with logic. Sometimes, reading the question carefully is enough for you to get your ‘A-ha’ moment.

Understand math

Stop trying to memorise the formulae! You need to understand them and learn how to apply them in a given situation.

The best way to practise maths is to solve the questions in a time-bound manner.

Class XII students should focus on being thorough in chapters like calculus as it has the highest weightage. Other important topics are probability, vectors, three-dimensional geometry and algebra. Focus on these to get all the easily scoreable marks in the exam. These are formula-based and can be usually solved within a short time frame. This exercise will help you score the basic 60 per cent in the paper and will let you have more time to solve the bigger and trickier, more time-consuming questions without feeling the time crunch. Now for some tips that can help you excel in commerce subjects.

Meticulous approach

Long, practical questions can be expected from any of these topics in accounts — admission, retirement/death, dissolution, share capital, issue and redemption of debentures, cash flow statement. Make sure that these chapters are on your finger tips, and that you are acquainted with the different patterns and types of numerical problems asked from these topics. Particularly from the partnership chapters, be thorough with the accounting treatment of goodwill, different reserves and funds (such as workmen compensation fund, investment fluctuation fund, employees provident fund, etc.), past adjustments and guarantee of profits. Once you have mastered these chapters, be assured that you have easily earned 20 to 25 marks.

Chapters relating to company accounts, shares and debentures carry 25 marks and are pretty easy if studied thoroughly. Be well versed with the journal entries, particularly that of the share allotment, forfeiture and reissue. Carefully work out the ascertainment of the number of shares allotted or applied for the defaulters and show the working notes properly.

The chapters of ratio analysis and comparative and common size financial statements carry 12 marks and are straightforward but do require a good command over the formulae.

Lastly, for the chapter on cash flow statement, memorise the format — particularly for the adjustments, prepare the adjustments related to fixed assets account well, as also provision for depreciation account, provision for taxation and proposed dividend. Students generally do not pay due attention to the theory portion. However, the theory part can help you score.

Illustrate answers for economics

Neat and labelled diagrams are a must for certain questions ( like equilibrium questions, relationship between AC, MC and TC, relationship between TR, AR and MR and similarly other relationships), practise as many diagrams as you can. Diagrams convey what is there in the written text, instantly.

Be thorough with formulae particularly for the estimation of national income (via gross value added method, Expenditure and income method), to ascertain elasticity of demand and supply, tabulated questions based on the relationship of TR, AR and MR, ascertaining various costs — AC, MC, TFC, TVC, etc.

A question on deflationary gap or inflationary gap, difference between final good and intermediate good, stock vs flow variables, factors affecting demand and supply, implications of fiscal deficits, measures to avoid double counting, functions of money, etc. are some of the most popular topics.

Illustrate your answers with real-life instances. For example, if a question is asked on the law of demand, you can supplement your answer with the example of rising petrol prices and falling demand. Similarly, you can find hundreds of examples relating to various topics which can enrich your answer and fetch you extra marks.

Business Studies is a high-scoring subject despite being theoretical in nature. Nevertheless, students often face a common problem with regard to time management while writing their papers. In this regard, one just needs to stick to the prescribed word limit.

A few important chapters are marketing management, financial management, directing and organising. If a question is on types, functions, features, etc. then supplement your answers with flow charts and branch diagrams. This will help the examiner take a quick glance at all the points covered by you in your answer.

Most students tend to take pre-boards lightly, thinking “I will make up for this in boards”. By doing so you are losing an important opportunity to practise and are putting yourself at a disadvantageous position. Study regularly and you will not feel the pressure.