CAREER OR DO VALUES SUCH AS SERVING THE NATION ALSO COUNT FOR SOMETHING?

IS MONEY THE BE-ALL AND END-ALL OF A CAREER OR DO VALUES SUCH AS SERVING THE NATION ALSO COUNT FOR SOMETHING? FLIGHT CADET TANMAYA NAIK AND CALL CENTRE ASSOCIATE GIRISH BABLANI INDULGE IN A WAR OF WORDS

Flight Cadet Tanmaya Naik is a Thane resident. She is currently undergoing training at Air Force Academy (AFA), Hyderabad.

POINT:
I believe that choosing the career you want is your right and working towards it is a challenge. As a kid, I always dreamt of soaring in the skies but during my formative years, there was no awareness about opportunities. Back then, I was almost about to forgo my dream and 'go with the flow'. However, in college, I made some friends who were in the NCC Air Wing.Through them, I came to know of this option and I realised - I can turn my dream into reality!

Whenever the topic of a career came up among my friend-circle, the options discussed would always be conventional ones such as engineering,business,law,etc.I concede it was tough to break away and pursue something completely different,yet which I loved very much. But it's only the will to make a difference that can get you through.

My parents were totally supportive of my decision to join the Indian Air Force (IAF) and backed me throughout.Truly speaking, there is nothing unconventional about the IAF. It has been home to thousands of air warriors since 1932. A career in the IAF is like any other challenging profession. If you have the grit in you and are prepared to dedicate your life to the forces, if you dream of a career full of challenges and adventure and want to lead a disciplined and healthy life, then I must say that IAF is the right place to be.

To get in, you must qualify the Service Selection Board (SSB) examination as also meet other required criteria like medical, educational qualifications and age. IAF offers you a vast spectrum of career options either in the 'Ground Duties Branch'or the 'Flying Branch'. In the ground duties, we have logistics, accounts, education, administration, meteorology and aeronautical engineering. In the flying branch can be a pilot or a navigator. Irrespective of any branch, the Air Force Academy (AFA) is the Alma Mater of all the air warriors.

Since I am in the flying branch, I will focus on that. People in the flying branch, after successful completion of the rigorous training imparted at AFA for a year, are trifurcated into 'Transport','Choppers' and 'Fighters'branches for further training at Bangalore and Hyderabad.They then get commissioned as 'Flying Officers'in the IAF. Here, everyone is given an equal opportunity to prove himself or herself without any bias.You get to see different places in India and it teaches you to adjust and accommodate to different cultures and people. Apart from giving you a sense of satisfaction and achievement every single day, the 'job'comes with many perquisites for you and your family. Like they say,'The more you sweat in peace, the less you bleed in war'. Of course, being a pilot comes with a risk factor attached which is eliminated if you are good at your skills.

Just as I was leaving for training at AFA, a friend said to me,"You could have led a relaxed life had you taken up a conventional job with a fat pay packet."I asked him,"Will that fat pay packet be enough to buy the pride of serving the nation as well as the satisfaction of realising my dream?"

Girish Bablani is a Mumbai-based Call Centre Associate.

COUNTERPOINT:
I'm an English-speaking graduate.I don't wear a uniform.Thousands of people have the same designation as I,and it is easily gotten.I'm a Call Centre Associate.I don't have the traditional social life as I work nights and rotating shifts.Why? Survival.I could go on acquiring qualifications with no rewarding employment in sight.At least this job pays.And let's get real; we live in a materialistic world.Ideals sound good in speeches and look good on paper.That's it.I need money.And money is what this job gives me.If the money is good,what else matters?

You're told about great people who didn't make it to the IAF and other defense forces:President Kalam, Amitabh Bachchan,Rahul Dravid...But have you heard of any great people rejected from call centres?

In a civilian job, you're giving a certain number of hours for your salary. In the armed forces, you're giving your life.You can't claim your Fundamental Rights.There's a separate set of laws for you.

Compared to the defense services,civilian jobs do have fatter pay packages.What they don't have are the perks.For defense personnel,CSD canteens provide subsidised rations.Military hospitals have some of the best doctors.Children of army-men get preferential quotas in reputed government schools.Officers indulge in expensive pursuits like polo,paragliding, etc as compared to plain old hiking and river-rafting in the civil arena.In a civilian job,you may get the odd foreign junket,but compare this to lucrative postings for army officers as Presidential Escorts or even,postings abroad.What gets more respect - a well-earned uniform,or an easily-available executive suit?

In spite of the obvious answer,I made my choice.I prefer my freedom in the call centre,the freedom of being able to chuck this job if I don't like it.I'm not into adventure sports anyway.And what's the point of subsidised rations when I can afford the best foreign brands? I prefer pleasant air-conditioned environs to chilly mountains and blazing deserts and lonely jungles.No armed forces for me.I'm happy right here.

Lastly, I have the freedom to chart my own success. Learning on the job, gaining process knowledge, perfecting the easy procedures, I can grow to the managerial level before I'm 30.Which other job gives you that kind of growth? I can work out at gyms that my employer has tie-ups with. Every quarter, we have our 'Rewards and Recognition' programmes.The company pays for us to have fun, celebrate achievements. If I perform really well, I may be posted abroad. I can pursue higher education at subsidised rates within office premises. So what am I missing? Nothing. I work in pleasant environs and earn well. My life rocks! What about yours?

AFMC Entrance Exam 2009 scheduled on May 3

The Armed Forces Medical College (AFMC),Pune will conduct an entrance exam for admission to its MBBS Course on May 3, 2009.

Aspiring students will have to appear in a competitive written test of Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Intelligence, Logic, Reasoning, English Language and Comprehension.

Applicants must have passed the XII standard /pre-professional /premedical examination or equivalent examination of statutory Indian University/Board or any other recognized Board / University as a regular student in all the subjects opted for in first attempt with the subjects of English, Physics, Chemistry and Biology, securing not less than 60 percent of aggregate marks in the three science subjects taken together, not less than 50% marks in each of the science subjects and not less than 50 percent marks in English.

South Indian Students Eager To Fly To UK

25,000 engineering graduates, in Bangalore alone, are produced every year. But a recent survey shows that more than 30% of them are not skilled enough to be employed. In other words, they don’t know what they’ve studied or why they took it up in the first place.

There may be several reasons for this such as parental pressure, and so on. But the Indian education system is one of the prime culprits.

The story behind all this is that a teacher invests about two hours per subject to cram in the facts, figures, and derivations concerning it. But very little is being done to introduce the subject in a holistic sense. The relevance of the subject in the real world is hardly being emphasized.

Considering the fact that the student does take pains to understand the subject on her own, more often than not, she meets a dead-end called exam, which reinforce the adage: curiosity killed the cat.

Some solutions to this are: Reduce the number of hours. Perhaps about one and half hours must be devoted to dwell on details concerning subject, and spend half an hour explaining its larger purpose and motivate them to study it.

Exams must be made as unpredictable as possible. Standard question patterns in exams is a deterrent to learning. In reality, its ignorance that kills the cat but curiosity gets framed. Grades must bank on project work, interviews, interaction with peers and professors and, most importantly, on classroom discussions.

Sakaal Education Fair

Hey guys thanks for your support and participation for YQworld sakaal event. It was an education exhibition aim towards the youth to guide and updated them on educational grounds. The event was held over for 5 days  from 26^th Nov till 30^th nov.  With so many Colleges and institute participating, 

 

  Ø      Integrid Media ( Y& Q) That’s us.

Ø      ICFAI

Ø      SIEC Sonya International

Ø      Sumeru Academy of Digital Arts

Ø      Campus France

Ø      JetKing

Ø      NIMS

Ø      Spidernet (Animation and More)

Ø      Hindustan Aero Space

Ø      Pune Institute of Management & Research

Ø      Pride Institute of Hospitality

Ø      Avalon Aviation Academy

Ø      Kompass Aviation

Ø      NIIT Imperia

Ø      State Bank of India

Ø      Sinhgad Technical Education Society

and many others.

We had our Yqworld contest where audience were asked few simple question and rewarded with T-shirts and Dg cams. Many were able to answer and few were not and our targets were those few who were not.  

 We had our 5-6 representative at our stall at any given time who were talking to the students and showing them our website on the big projectors and laptops that we had installed.

Internet was connected and students were asked to surf on it and look for the education and career information, aim was to see the searching pattern that students follow, so we can understand and make changes and build our website accordingly and also showed them how easy it is to find info on www.yqworld.com.

We were able to help and educate the youth on present education and career environment, through the exhibition we came across so many prospects and were able to reach our youth (TG) on ground level and got an opportunity to speak and survey them in person to know what are the difficulties that students are facing regarding which studies to take up, career, information on universities, institute. 

We made the notes of all the questions, problems faced by students and quires that we got over 5 days of the exhibition and worked on it to design our website www.yqworld.com in such a way that it gives out quality and relevant info to our users. We came also came across students who has difficulties in choosing the right career, so we also created our own exclusive Aptitude test design taking which a student can have a better understanding of which career are they more suited in.

It was an amazing education exhibition and we are proud that we were part of it. And we are glad that we were able to help our youth and solve their problems and look forward to keep doing that in future with www.yqworld.com

We also looking forward to participate in many other such Education exhibition.

Thank you. 

Game Designer Education - The Facts

If you want to become a game designer then you will need to gain the appropriate education. While some game designers have gained stable employment by simply showing their portfolio, this situation is becoming increasingly rare. Nowadays employers want to see where and what you have studied and where you received your degree. Of course, they will also want to see your portfolio which means working on games in your spare time or as study projects is the best way to present yourself to an employer once you've received the proper education. Most good game design schools now incorporate work experience into their courses and as such you will leave school with real world practical experience as well as the knowledge learned at school or college.

Where to Get a Game Design Education

More and more game design schools are popping up around the n so knowing which to choose can be difficult. Some of the better schools and colleges include:


International Academy of Design and Technology
The Art Institute Online
Full Sail University
Westwood College Online
Ex'pression College for Digital Arts
ART CENTER COLLEGE OF DESIGN
Savannah College of Art and Design
Johns Hopkins University
Pratt Institute
Animation Mentor
AGA Digital Studios, Inc.
University of Texas at Dallas Arts and Technology
ITT Technical Institute
Digital Media Arts College
Collins College

The above colleges, universities and schools focus on game design and development in specific courses dedicated to the subject.

The Collins College has a Visual Arts degree program where students can major in Game Art. It also involves game audio and project management and uses tools like 3D Studio Max and 3D Modeling. They have top class facilities like computer labs, animation labs and video labs. The degree takes about 2.5 years to complete full time and upon completion, will allow you to search for work as a Game Designer.

The Savannah College of Art and Design is located in Savannah, GA and was ranked by 3D World magazine as one of the top 3 animation schools in the USA. They train students using a wide range of tools including After Effects, Anime Studio, Pixar Renderman, Flash and more.

You can choose from an associates degree or a bachelor's degree at many of these programs. In addition, many game design schools also offer certifications instead of a full degree. You will need to decide what fits best into your plans. Many game designers choose to begin with a certification as they are often quicker and then if they choose to do so later, complete a fully fledged 4-year degree. It really depends on where you're at now and what your plans are.

Computer game design is a growing industry and as such more and more skilled people are required to fill positions. Computer and console games are becoming more complex as time goes by so by improving your skills and gaining employment at reputable gaming development companies will ensure that you are in a great position to make a career out of this exciting work.

INDIA, A POTENTIAL EDUCATION HUB

For a culture that traditionally values education, it is only natural that India should become an education hub. An average middle-class household in India spends 15 to 20 per cent of its income on education/careers of children. In fact, education takes the second position after
food in the spend hierarchy, with clothing and housing following it. Fuelled by the popular dream of a foreign degree, the Indian education market is on the verge of a boom. Pursuing a course abroad is not always possible because of the inhibiting expenses involved. Since there aren’t as many scholarships as aspirants, foreign education, often an entry point into the West, remains a dream. Realising the huge market potential, foreign institutes are entering into partnerships with Indian institutes or companies.

And it's not only the lesser known colleges that are trying to hardsell themselves to prospective students here. Ivy League institutions such as Duke University from North Carolina and Columbia University from New York were among those who participated in the October 2004
road shows conducted by the United States Educational Foundation in India and the Institute of International Education in several Indian cities. The others involved Georgetown University from Washington DC and Tufts University of Massachussetts.

Going by US News rankings for America’s Best Colleges in 2005, Duke is at 5th place, Columbia at 9th, Georgetown at 25th and Tufts at 28th. Not only American, top colleges like McGill and York from Canada and Oxford University of UK are increasingly reaching out to recruit Indian
students, especially in newer courses like management and masters in financial economics.

Clearly, the Indian student is in demand. As Stephan Chambers, head of MBA programmes, Said Business School, Oxford University, said: “We will be in India in mid-February 2005 to promote our school and courses. Our reasons are very simple: To attract the best students from around the world and some of them come from India."

A study reveals that at least 131 Indian institutions have collaborative arrangements with foreign universities. The study titled "Foreign Education Providers in India" and conducted by the National Institute of Fuelled by the popular dream of a foreign degree, the Indian education market is on the verge of a boom.Realizing the huge market potential, foreign institutes are entering into partnerships with Indian institutes or companies.

Educational Planning & Administration (NIEPA), reveals that Tamil Nadu has the highest number of Indian institutions with foreign collaborations.Tamil Nadu is followed by Maharashtra and Delhi in that order. While NIEPA admits that the survey was not exhaustive, it gives an idea
of the extent of the education market. The number could actually be close to 250 with an estimated number of 10,000 students enrolled incourses of this nature.

A majority of these foreign partners are from the US and the UK, the biggest players in the education export market worldwide. For instance, the British Council-supported site Edulinks, which helps foster Anglo- Indian partnerships in education and training, lists 57 collaborations
between the UK and Indian institutes across areas such as business, engineering, medicine and fashion design.

Of the 131 institutions identified, a majority of foreign collaborations are in professional and vocational courses. About 107 provide vocational courses, 19 technical courses and only five offer general education. About 80 per cent of these foreign endeavours are in business and hotel
management. This is because management is in huge demand and requires minimum infrastructural investment. For Indian educational institutions, this is an opportunity to build their brands as well as harness the financial strengths of the foreign universities.

It is evident, education now spells big business. One indicator of the growing education market is that educational institutions have emerged as the largest ad spending category in print media in 2004, up from the 6th position just a year ago, according to Adex India, a division of TAM
Media Research. They spent US$48.48 million on print media advertisements in 2004.

In May 2005, the Indian Institute of Planning & Management (IIPM) emerged as the highest advertising brand in the print medium with an ad spend of US$1.18 million. In comparison, its April spend amounted to US$647,329. IIPM’s campaign, which sells its MBA courses offered in eight cities, is well timed and is directed at students who are in the Education now spells big business. One indicator of the growing education market is that educational institutions have emerged as the largest ad spending category in print median 2004.

Stanford University will set up its first campus in India soon. Yale University from the US has formed a joint venture with Great Lakes Institute of Management
(Glim) of Chennai to set up a management research centre INDIA, process of deciding on the educational options available to them.A study of advertisements by foreign universities, conducted by the Association of Indian Universities (AIU), reveals that they are increasingly zeroing in on India. The study conducted in 2000 found that of the 144 advertisers, 53 were from the UK, followed by Australia (40), the US (24), Canada (7), and New Zealand. The
other universities are from Bulgaria (2), Cyprus (1), France (2),
Hong Kong (1), Ireland (1), Mauritius (1), Nepal (2), Romania (1),
Russia (1) and Switzerland (3). While 117 institutions are seeking to attract students to their countries, the rest are offering programmes in India. These
programmes are predominantly in the high-demand management
and engineering faculties.

So guys why go there and study when most of the Top and A listed university from around the world are coming to us.

Fuelling India's youth with quality education

During the Independence Day address to the nation last year, Hon'ble Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh mentioned that India needs to ensure far greater availability of educational opportunities at the higher education level so that we have not just a literate youth but a skilled youth, with skills which can fetch gainful employment. However, he expressed concern about the fact that as a country endowed with huge human resources, we cannot let the imminent shortage of skilled employees be a constraint to India's development.

As countries like India race to embrace the next phase of growth and become more globally competitive, it is technology that will provide the advantage. Every country today is vying for a place in the global economy and the network can give them the edge they need. According to Gartner's Market Trends: Industry Analysis, India 2004-2009, Information and Communication Technology (ICT) investments in India are expected to double by 2009, which implies, the need for a skilled workforce is growing exponentially.

Given India's 1.1 billion population it maybe difficult to imagine how we can face a shortage of talent. However, with literacy at 52 percent, high poverty levels (319 Million live below USD 1 per day), India's wide rural-urban divide, and the quality of education available, the paucity of talent is indeed becoming a cause for worry. In particular, this demand-supply gap is already being felt by India's burgeoning IT industry and fears of the gap widening in the future are being examined carefully. In fact, according to NASSCOM, each year over 3 million graduates and post-graduates are added to the Indian workforce. However, of these only 25 percent of technical graduates and 10-15 percent of other graduates are considered employable by the rapidly growing IT and ITES segments. Hence, what we have today is a growing skills gap reflecting the slim availability of high-quality college education in India and the galloping pace of the country's service-driven economy, which is growing faster than most countries in the world.

In this demand-supply gap scenario, a look at the Indian education system will reveal that the number of technical schools in India, including engineering colleges, has actually more than trebled in the last decade, according to the All India Council of Technical Education. Part of the skills gap problem is that only a small percentage of India's youth pursue higher education. No more than 7 per cent of Indians aged 18-25 go to college, according to official statistics. Even a more fundamental level of education is proving difficult with nearly 40 per cent of people over the age of 15 being illiterate (Source: The Economist, "A Survey of Business in India"; June 2006.)

Looking at Northern India alone, studies reveal there are a significant number of engineering institutes: Delhi 14; Chandigarh 5; Haryana 38; Himachal Pradesh 5; J&K 5; Punjab 45; Rajasthan 56. However, problems associated with a dearth of skilled teachers, funding, language, outdated syllabi, etc are commonly faced by educational institutions. Furthermore, today there is a situation wherein the best and most selective universities generate too few graduates and new private colleges are producing graduates of uneven quality leading to an imbalance.

Hence, we see that it is becoming more and more difficult to create a robust and continuous pipeline of talent. The university systems of only a few countries would be able to keep up with such demand and India is certainly having trouble.

As businesses propose to double and treble their workforces and Indian companies strive to maintain their position in the global marketplace, it has become imperative to prepare and plan for a world-class, competent, talented and innovative workforce. It is estimated that India would require a workforce of 5,00,000 capable IT professionals in the IT and IT-enabled services sectors by 2010, according to the Economist survey. However, over the past fifteen years, India has produced 1.6 million professionals and faces the uphill task of producing another 0.8 million in the next two years.

Many of the IT MNC's, viz, Cisco, Intel, Microsoft, Infosys & Wipro have alliances with academic institutions on specific initiatives covering skills based ICT education, faculty upgradation, internships, curriculum workshops, research incubation, etc. aggregating the architects of the new global economy. For instance, institutions like Shaheed Rajguru College of Applied Science in New Delhi, Chitkara College of Engineering, Chandigarh, Banasthali Vidyapith Women's University have tie ups with Cisco, Red Hat, etc.

The time is ripe for us all now to reboot the India education system by various programmes, joint initiatives and other measure by individuals, the government, industry and academia. Such activities have the potential to play an important part in plugging the talent gap in the years to come. Training individuals for the jobs of the future and allowing them to visualise what it possible today will not only make a difference in their lives but will enrich our communities now and for years to come.

What's your dream job?

Guys i'm sure everyone of us has a dream job...job that we find so kool..
EX: A chocolate tester for Cadbury's or any Swiss brand.
b) Playing for Chelsea/Leverpool/Man U as a forward.
c) A service at the IAF.
d)manager at a gaming company

Lets talk about our dream jobs..or if u have some crazy weird idea for a job...or simply the job dat u really wanted to pursue but family didnt let u..

My dream job: BARTENDER
I still remember the day i watched "Cocktails and drems" and broke 4 glasses and one ketchup bottle trying to be tom crusie. If you have seen the movie u would know that tom crusie plays the role of bartender in it.

Yep: It's my dream job to be a BARTENDER at a beach site bar. (Dream job coz thats wat i really want to do but my parents would nva let me do dat).

www.yqworld.com (educational and career hub)
http://yq-world.blogspot.com

Self Education is the Key to Making Our Dreams Come True

"Formal education will make you a living but self education will make you a fortune."

This was said by Jim Rohn, one of the top 50 motivational speakers in personal development and one of the trainers at the top online personal development site, Success University.

Formal education is never easy. When I was at school I wasn't really that bothered about whether I got an A in Maths or History. I was too worried about whether people liked me or not, where I could get the latest Rod Stewart photos or whether my skirt was the trendiest length.

Yet, education seems to happen despite the student. We come out with our varied grades and reports of "Could do better" (in my case), but somehow we get some sort of an education. Unfortunately, going to school is never the choice of the pupil, it is a requirement. In most Western countries it is the common consensus that you must go to school so you can get a job and earn a living.

Perhaps this is why many of us achieve only average results. We are not doing it out of love, but because we have to. It's the law.

However, self-education has far more power because we only come to it through personal choice. Because we have chosen it, we feel it is our responsibility to take it on and achieve the results we want. This gives us self-motivation and we are far more likely to succeed.

I know this is true because after a mediocre set of school grades, in later years I took a degree with the Open University - for no other reason than because I wanted to - and I achieved a First Class Honours Degree in Humanities. I majored in history, which was a subject I wasn't even interested in at school.

Because it was my choice, and a subject I had come to love through my own discovery, I was far more motivated to succeed.

Unfortunately, many people believe that once they have finished their school education, there is nothing more to learn. They get a job, and might earn a comfortable living, but very rarely do they live the life of their dreams.

When we were very young children, before we were old enough to allow ourselves to be limited, our dreams were boundless. We talked about what we are going to be or do when we are grown-up without any doubt that it is possible. Now we really are grown-up, we laugh at these childish statements. We think we know better.

Sadly, the last laugh is on us. We our not only stamping on our own dreams, but those of our children too.

When people reach adulthood, they start to give up their dreams and start to play small. Those huge, passionate dreams are adjusted to the mundanity of every day life, and gradually dwindle to nothing more than a distant memory.

As this happens, our vision becomes smaller; our lives become mediocre and boring. We focus only on earning enough money to keep out of debt and paying the bills. We begin to suffer and wonder why we are not happy or fulfilled.

This is not how life is meant to be.

Inside us is a huge potential: all our big dreams and passions that we have tucked away in a dark little box. But this box is always waiting for us to re-discover and open it again.

Inside this box is all the inspiration, power and joy of life; it's all there inside of you, waiting to get out.

We are aware that it's there. There is that little niggling voice at the back of our minds that we are not living the life we wanted, but we allow ourselves to be influenced by our conditioning: "it's not possible, I can't do it, it's too big". So we stuff it down again and get on with our small lives, excusing ourselves by saying, "Ah, well, it's OK I suppose".

Do you really want to live a "just OK" kind of life?

When you pursue your dreams, you feel energised, full of inspiration and excitement. You also feel authentic. Perhaps, for the first time in your life you are living truthfully. This is an incredibly powerful feeling. And the bigger your dreams, the more intense the feeling.

It may take courage to start with, but once you have made that commitment a new world will open up to you. All you have to do is to start listening to yourself - allow that little voice to tell you what you need. Once you have done this, you will start to develop the mindset that you possess all that you need to live the life of your dreams. Your will power will strengthen, your confidence will grow - and then you will be ready to learn the strategies that will reinvent your life.

Self-education then becomes a powerful resource that you will come to with passion and a will to succeed. This is real learning.

After that, making our dreams come true is only a matter of time.

Letter to Prime minister.

I am a typical mouse from Mumbai. In the local train compartment which has capacity of 100 persons, I travel with 500 more mouse. Mouse at least squeak but we don't even do that.

Today I heard your speech. In which you said 'NO BODY WOULD BE SPARED'. I would like to remind you that fourteen years has passed since serial bomb blast in Mumbai took place. Dawood was the main conspirator. Till today he is not caught. All our bolywood actors, our builders, our Gutka king meets him but your Government can not catch him. Reason is simple; all your ministers are hand in glove with him. If any attempt is made to catch him everybody will be exposed. Your statement 'NOBODY WOULD BE SPARED' is nothing but a cruel joke on this unfortunate people of India.

Enough is enough. As such after seeing terrorist attack carried out by about a dozen young boys I realize that if same thing continues days are not away when terrorist will attack by air, destroy our nuclear reactor and there will be one more Hiroshima.

We the people are left with only one mantra. Womb to Bomb to Tomb. You promised Mumbaikar Shanghai what you have given us is Jalianwala Baug.

Today only your home minister resigned. What took you so long to kick out this joker? Only reason was that he was loyal to Gandhi family. Loyalty to Gandhi family is more important than blood of innocent people, isn't it?

I am born and bought up in Mumbai for last fifty eight years. Believe me corruption in Maharashtra is worse than that in Bihar. Look at all the politician, Sharad Pawar, Chagan Bhujbal, Narayan Rane, Bal Thackray , Gopinath Munde, Raj Thackray, Vilasrao Deshmukh all are rolling in money. Vilasrao Deshmukh is one of the worst Chief minister I have seen. His only business is to increase the FSI every other day, make money and send it to Delhi so Congress can fight next election. Now the clown has found new way and will increase FSI for fisherman so they can build concrete house right on sea shore. Next time terrorist can comfortably live in those house , enjoy the beauty of sea and then attack the Mumbai at their will.

Recently I had to purchase house in Mumbai. I met about two dozen builders. Everybody wanted about 30% in black. A common person like me knows this and with all your intelligent agency & CBI you and your finance minister are not aware of it. Where all the black money goes? To the underworld isn't it? Our politicians take help of these goondas to vacate people by force. I myself was victim of it. If you have time please come to me, I will tell you everything.

If this has been land of fools, idiots then I would not have ever cared to write you this letter. Just see the tragedy, on one side we are reaching moon, people are so intelligent and on other side you politician has converted nectar into deadly poison. I am everything Hindu, Muslim, Christian, Schedule caste, OBC, Muslim OBC, Christian Schedule caste, Creamy Schedule caste only what I am not is INDIAN. You politician have raped every part of mother India by your policy of divide and rule.

Take example of former president Abdul Kalam. Such a intelligent person, such a fine human being. You politician didn't even spare him. Your party along with opposition joined the hands, because politician feels they are supreme and there is no place for good person.

Dear Mr Prime minister you are one of the most intelligent person, most learned person. Just wake up, be a real SARDAR. First and foremost expose all selfish politician. Ask Swiss bank to give name of all Indian account holder. Give reins of CBI to independent agency. Let them find wolf among us There will be political upheaval but that will better than dance of death which we are witnessing every day. Just give us ambient where we can work honestly and without fear. Let there be rule of law. Everything else will be taken care of.

Management Programme for Entrepreneurs

Nadathur S Raghavan Centre for Entrepreneurial Learning (NSRCEL) at the Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore (IIMB) has announced admissions for the third batch of its Management Programme for Entrepreneurs & Family Businesses (MPEFB) course, beginning February 9, 2009.

The course content has been enhanced this year and it is designed to support learning needs of those starting a business as well as those looking to upgrade their management skills.

Admissions for the course are based on multiple criteria. The candidate should be a graduate and is required to submit a 150-word statement of purpose along with the application. Applicants are expected to be in the age group of 25-45 with track record as entrepreneurs. The batch will have 60 students. The academic year will run from February 9, 2009 to February 5, 2010, over four terms. Last date for registration is December 7, 2008. For more information, visit www.nsrcel.org.

Conquer Thy Kingdom - By Career Launcher Research Team

Know where students win and lose in the GD/PI in order to arrive at your own rule book

For want of a nail, a kingdom was lost — an oft-quoted proverb deduced from a nursery rhyme teaches us that big things can be lost over trivial matters. When I decided to write the article, I thought of taking the example of this proverb and telling the reader, “Look son! Candidates have got rejected in GD/PI over very small things and you better take care of such things, otherwise you know the consequence.” But when I read the entire nursery rhyme there was another message. The lyrics of rhyme are set in a very clever way to make the reader apply his own logic to the events and to deduce his own lessons. “For want of a nail, a kingdom was lost” is just one moral that the reader can draw. What is more important is to understand the entire process how one thing led to another and ultimately to a bigger consequence. It was not simply the want of nail that led to the loss of kingdom. It was a chain of events — one mistake after another — an offshoot of want of a nail. The process of winning and loosing in GD/PI is also like this. One mistake can lead to another and then the next. So it’s important to critically analyse the entire process and see where you can lose or win.

There is no set of rules that can teach you what to and what not to do in GD/PI because it is a process to assess a candidate’s personality, and you cannot apply the same set of rules to every individual. What becomes important in such a scenario is to understand the why and what of GD and arrive at your own rules that fit your personality. Let us know the entire process to arrive at our own set of conclusion.

The first things first — why

B-schools conduct GD/PI when students have already gone through an acid test. Isn’t clearing MBA entrance test enough to show that you are worth it? The simple answer is NO, because B-schools are simply not looking for walking dictionaries or logarithm books. They want candidates who can be trained and polished to be managers. The entrance test is just one stage where they see whether you have basic acumen to understand the course that will be taught during the MBA programme. In that too some parts of personality like ability to take decisions, ability to perform under pressure and analytical and logical thinking are assessed. But in order to get a complete idea of a candidate’s personality, B-schools go through this long process of assessing candidate’s personality.

There can be various ways of assessing an individual’s personality but group discussions and personal interviews are accepted tools to select a student because in a limited time they can give a fair idea to B-schools whether a candidate can become a manager or not. Students may argue that if this is the case, then knowing what B-schools are looking for and presenting yourself accordingly can actually help. Knowing what B-schools are looking for can actually help but not in preparing you for a superficial mask but to help you assess whether you have those traits which B-schools are looking for.

This brings us to other question: are managerial traits natural or can they be acquired? If they are natural, what is the need to do MBA? An MBA course teaches students how to achieve larger goals and it polishes those personality traits. But there are some basic traits that a candidate should have to go through the MBA process and to know that institutes conduct GD/PI.

Group discussion

A group discussion is generally a 20-to-30 minute process whose larger objective is to select those candidates who have the ability to perform in a team. Apart from this, the kind of topic given also helps panelists to know various traits of a candidate’s personality. In most of the GDs you are made to sit in a semi-circle and discuss a given topic. The topic can be as general as ‘Women make better managers’ or as specific as ‘India-US nuclear deal.’ What matters in group discussion is your stand on the topic, your ability to analyse the given topic, your awareness about the topic, and the way you present the topic. One person from the group is asked to introduce the topic, what follows is the discussion and the conclusion. The focus here is more on leadership and decision making, because in a GD you may or may not reach a consensus because the issues given to you are debatable. The end result of GD will not always be to reach a consensus but to assess your people’s skill.

Who wins?

Those who have:

Good listening skills: Listening doesn’t mean hearing. It means listening and understanding what the other person is saying. If you have good listening skills, you will be able to keep a track of where group discussion is moving. You will know different points that have already been raised and you have to bring in some new point.

Knowledge of the topic: Some years back content was the most important aspect of GD. Although content still holds its importance but in addition to that you are also weighed on how analytical and aware are you about your surroundings. Earlier it was just about discussing pros and cons of an issue but now knowledge gathered from various sources, analysed and presented in a structured form holds the key to success in GD. Reading newspapers, magazines, and going through Economic Survey would help in enriching the content of GD.

Confidence: You have all the knowledge and good listening and analytical skills, but you do not have confidence to assert what you are saying is right, may prove a negative point. In GD panelists do not know you personally; they would only be able to judge you from what you speak.

Introduction: Introducing the topic can make or break the situation. May be you do not speak for the next 10 minutes, but if you give a good introduction you are in. When the GD begins, everybody is speaking and you might not even be listened. But when you are asked to introduce the topic, you can take the situation forward. Explain the topic, don’t read what is written. Give brief introduction to the topic and what you think of it. People think that taking a stand in GD might to go against them. But there is difference in being assertive and in being rigid. You are expected to give your point of view.

Who lose?

Those who speak a lot: Of course not speaking in GD will not take you anywhere but speaking too much can also make you lose the GD. You have all the points and you can speak a lot on GD. But it is not a one-man show. It is a group discussion. If you try to grab the attention of the panelists, cut other person short, it shows that you are not a team worker. Also speaking a lot on the topic and just repeating one point will not be appreciated. You do not speak in the entire GD, but give valid points twice that can add value to the discussion, will be appreciated.

Those who become emotional: There are topics that involve some sensitive issues. You have all the valid points to support that women make better managers, but bringing in the element of argument and accusing other persons in the group will only help you in getting rejected.

Those who over-dominate: You are taking and managing the group discussion well, listening to the arguments, giving your point of view and letting everyone speak, everything is in your favour and suddenly you decide to be a godfather of somebody who has not spoken at all and who doesn’t have one single argument to present. Cutting short somebody who is making a valid point and asking the silent one to speak, can actually cut your points.

Personal interview

Your academic skills were checked in the entrance test, your people’s skills were checked in GD, now comes the turn of gauging you on your own standards. The B-schools want to know how much you are aware of yourself and how much you relate your goals to your personal self. Students spend most of the time in going through course books whereas 90 per cent of the interview questions are based on you. What could be better than answering questions on yourself? But answering questions on yourself can catch you in a tight spot. There can be some rules set when it comes to GD because there are certain expected etiquettes, but there can be no rules set for the interview because everyone has sui generis personality. The best way to tackle interview is to sit and know you in and out. Think why you want to pursue MBA. Think and make a list of your strengths and weaknesses. Not only will it help you analyse your personality, will also help you prepare many other questions for the interview. The most commonly asked questions are:

Why do you want to do MBA?

What are your personal goals?

Where do you see yourself 10 years down the line?

What are your hobbies?

What are your strengths and weakness?

Tell us about yourself.

Who win?

Those with:

Self awareness- You should be able to delve on each and every aspect of your personality, family background, the city you come from and the institutes you have studied in. If you are aware of your strengths and weaknesses you will be able to justify them, for example the panelists may ask you about your poor academic record. As long as you know why you under-perform you can prove that.

Goal clarity- You should know where the MBA programme fits in and how it will help you achieve your long-term goals. There might be different reasons for doing MBA for different people and even for one person there can be more than one objective to do MBA, but you should analyse it beforehand rather than doing it in front of the panel.

Ability to maintain calm- The real you comes up when you are under pressure situation. The panelist will try to grill you on your weakness or on the answers you are giving. They want to put you under pressure and see whether you lose your calm once put under pressure. Students at this situation become nervous and it starts showing on their faces.

Who lose?

Those who:

Give tutored answers- You have your own strengths and weaknesses. But while attending the mock interviews you were told how some students gave impressive answers and got selected. If you would try to give the same answers, you might be caught.

Lie to the panelists: They are very experienced people and can catch you if you try to bluff them on your academic record or on a fact-based question or when you try to answer the question even if you don’t know the answer.

Think that battle is over- The interview is not over till the last question is asked. The moment a candidate says, “I am sorry Sir, I don’t know the answer,” he starts coming under the pressure. There is no harm in accepting that you do not know what the population of China is. They might try to put you under pressure by asking you the population of Africa, once again you say sorry and the pressure starts mounting. The next question is of your interest, which book did you read last? You know the answer but since you have already come under pressure you might not be able to answer this question properly because you are nervous. A chain of events that might ultimately lead to getting rejected.

So the last point brings us to the “rhyme”. Let us know the rhyme to know how the kingdom was lost:

For want of a nail the shoe was lost.

For want of a shoe the horse was lost.

For want of a horse the rider was lost.

For want of a rider the battle was lost.

For want of a battle the kingdom was lost.

And all for the want of a horseshoe nail.

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