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July 2013

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For most of us, the first thing which comes to our mind in planning our four year stay in the capital is the budget. Even for those who already reside here, college is a huge turning point. What pesters us are the daily expenses because that is something within our domain. Since our parents are usually unaware of the daily requirements of a college student, we feel responsible for keeping our “pocket money” enough to sustain us and at the same time not act as a burden on our parents. Here is a quick look at how much college life and not education can cost you at Delhi University:

Accommodation
To begin with we must make our peace with the fact that studying out is expensive even if comfort isn’t our first priority. Most of the outstation students prefer privately owned PGs and hostels for that give them more freedom as also comfort. In North Campus, finding a high end PG which provides all the imaginable services is easy if you are ready to shell out 14000 to 20000 monthly. If you want to save up on this front then college hostels and even private PGs are available which will cost you maximum 10000 per month.

Travel and coaching classes
For students, travelling expenses are inevitable. Thanks to Delhi Metro Rail Corporation Limited, you don’t need to spend an unreasonable amount for making a daily trip to your coaching centers or just “hanging out” with friends in cafes or movies, although I can’t promise you how much either movies or cafes or coaching centers might charge you. All you need is a metro card which is much more convenient than buying a token every time you travel, a 10% discount is an added benefit. Bus fares are fair with something between Rs. 5 -15 for Non-AC and Rs. 10-25 for an AC ride. One can also opt for an all route DTC pass that costs Rs. 100 for Non-A/C travel with student concession. For an all route A/C  DTC pass, you might have to shell out Rs. 1000. (Also see: Delhi University Colleges Metro routes)

Talking about coaching classes, some of the “elite” centers do charge exorbitantly but then they are “necessary evil” and you’ll rather want to pay more now than repent later.

Food
Food in either north or south campus is not an issue at all. College takes more than half of your day and naturally you can’t starve in that duration. There are uncountable food joints in and around the college campus which are not only delicious but also cheap. Bhel puri walas and Maggi stalls can be found in abundance, with the college canteen always being an option. If you care more about health then you can rely on fruits and juices as well.

On an average, with everything included you can expect to spend something between Rs. 100- 200 per day. If thinking about these expenses sends a chill down your spine, let me assure you that it’s not as bad as it sounds and you can always cut down on unnecessary expenditure. What you must care about now is enjoying these golden four years even if that means exceeding a little on your budget.

Image credit: freedigitalphotos.net

And so, much like everything else in India, we have now eventually landed up the FYUP! And instead of grumbling over what has been done, the ones who have slogged their way into DU need to focus on the brighter side now. First of all, you made it. Congratulations. That’s bright enough! Second of all, Delhi University is going to be everything you imagined. Okay not everything, but it’s going to be nothing less than four maddening, crazy and heartening years for you! But before you stop reading and start texting with anticipation and excitement, let us (your humble seniors) clear some of your misconceptions.

What to look out for:

  1. Foundation Courses (For your Mind, Body and Soul- no I am not kidding): So for all those who don’t have an “integrated mind, body and heart”… DU comes to the rescue. DU will make sure your creativity (which is a congenial trait), life skills, language etc. are all taken care of. Yes, all this so that you become more ‘employable’. Ahem.
  2. Jam Packed Social Calendar: Of the many things students will need to sacrifice this year, their social life is not one of them. With the new found freedom, the newbies can now go have a ball with their new found friends!
  3. Better societies and awesomer fests: As ECA and sports activities are synonymous with marks now, fests and societies will get a boost and improve drastically. With the fucchas working even harder to prove their mettle, it’s safe to expect each college putting up a grand show!
  4. College protests: As the hand of the ABVP and NSUI still looms large over DU, most freshers will be witness to their spectacularly conducted and overly dramatized protests. With political connections, there students will definitely try to bring the house down.

Busting Some Myths:

  1. Ragging: Contrary to the common belief of – ‘Tu kyu kar rha hai? Fucche se karwa lenge!’ DU isn’t exactly a frame out of 3 idiots and you will definitely not have to perform crazy stunts or walk around pretending to be James Bond just because a senior told you to do so. With strict anti-ragging laws, your worst nightmare should be cranky teachers and definitely not your seniors!
  2. The Ladies/ The Studs: For all those who stayed single to find their soul mates in DU, you’ll be waiting some more time. Contrary to popular beliefs, the girl’s colleges are not a pond of budding super models. And not all boys look like they were ripped off magazine covers. They too are humans, give them some credit for looking perfectly human and not like porcelain dolls.
  3. Equality Among Colleges: Okay so you’ve probably been expecting this all the way, but suddenly your best friend from the other college will become ‘them’ and your newly found united college buddies will be ‘us’.
  4. Completely Fudged up Timelines: If you had been cursing your friends, family, associates etc. for not being punctual all this time, you are about to experience a whole new level of procrastination. The University declares results exactly a month after its due date, if you’re lucky. Be glad that’s the only thing the university does. And if you have any other issues to sought with the administrative department, then god save you!

By Raghav Chopra ([email protected]) and Akriti Gupta ([email protected])

Cluster Innovation Centre (CIC), University of Delhi conducted a Webinar on the 12th of July with the objective of fostering further knowledge about the admission process for 2013 and enlightening students interested in pursuing courses at CIC.

In what seemed like an interesting panel, there were second year CIC students interested in a wide array of subjects. They were accompanied by an equally skilled and distinguished bunch of faculty members, all engaged in an engrossing discussion which was seeking  to answer  the various questions posed and addressing the innumerable doubts at the same time. Amongst those joining the discussion were Professor Madan Chaturvedi, Director CIC , Dr Shobha Bagai and Dr Sanjiv Singh. On the other hand, students hailing from different interests such as Economics, Mathematics, Physics and IT were seen putting forth and asserting themselves passionately.

The genesis of the entire concept of having an Innovation Centre could be traced back to July 2011 under the supervision of the Vice Chancellor. The essence of this change stemmed from the need to evaluate the relevance of the present education system and for it to be reformed. In what ensued, it was made amply clear in the discussion that the Cluster Innovation centre and the programmes offered by it sought to mark a departure from the conventional methods of learning, impart a problem solving approach which is realistic and can help students to execute what they learn in the confines of their classrooms practically.

As the discussion progressed, multitude of dimensions to what makes courses like the B.Tech/ B.S. in Innovation in Computer Science and Mathematics offered by the centre relevant and different from the rest, could be seen. The student based interaction was equally informative with some of them sharing their internship experiences and the opportunity to explore a combination of subjects under one course. For a lot of us, who are unsure of our areas of interest and what we may want to pursue in future, this seemed like an opportunity which allows you to weigh your career options.

A lot of things stood out from the discussion. Firstly, what the Centre offers you is a Unique Curriculum. Possibly one not found in a lot of technological institutes, owing to the number of subjects one could pursue at a given point in time. Secondly, the teaching imparted is extremely different and what they have is an “engineering kitchen” which includes state of the art electronics, computer science and electronic fabrication. And finally, the kind of exposure and the linkages built with real world seem to be fascinating.  Over 50% weightage is given to semester long projects and interning opportunities are available to students in their first year itself , with the biggies like the Indian Institute of Technology, Indian Institute of Management and Defence Research and Development Organisation.

A small interaction with Sahil Mathur, who conducted the Webinar session, proved to be quite insightful. The objective of such a session was to reach out to a larger audience and engage as many as 400 students. Besides this being a success, Sahil told us about the unique course structure, the facilities like the laboratories equipped with different technologies available to students and an immensely dedicated faculty working to strive for excellence of their students. The organisers have also summed up the various key points discussed during the session in the form of a PDF for easier dissemination.

The endeavour definitely seems to be a positive one with the colleges of Delhi University experimenting and broadening their scope, both in the technological areas and in terms of exploring new ways of imparting information.

Here is the entire video of the webinar:

It does not take a million to earn another million and the students of  Faculty of Management Studies (FMS) embarked upon a journey to prove it and succeeded. In mere six hours (yeah, that’s right! SIX HOURS!) , a four digit figure was converted to a whooping six digit figure, thanks to the extraordinary marketing and entrepreneurship skills portrayed by the young and talented minds of FMS. All this was done with sublime precision and creativity of the students of FMS who captured the hearts of the people of the national capital on 15th July.

‘Merchants of Delhi’, the flagship event of The Marketing Society and Entrepreneurship Cell of FMS, had the students divided into 15 groups, who earned Rs.1.22 lacs with just Rs.7,500 , with each group being handed Rs.500, in six hours. Last year, the total amount earned was around Rs. 74,000.

The objective was to go out to the streets of Delhi and multiply the amount by utilising the seed capital given to each team. The teams were given just a few hours to think, strategise and implement their ideas. Mobile phones and wallets were strictly banned. Revealing the name of their institution was not allowed either.

From innovative ideas like drawing random sketches and customized greeting cards for the people around to daring ones like boys dancing on item numbers, offering career counseling to students outside coaching institutes and further, the clichéd ones like selling roses, singing and poetry, they implemented them all. Their efforts borne fruits and three teams earned more than Rs.11,000.

“It was an exhilarating, fulfilling yet a body numbing experience. Given that this was our first sales stint, this day will go down in our memories as a truly special and memorable one”, said Shivam Agarwal, Sneha Motwani & Pooja Pai, part of the winning team.

Image credit: FMS Facebook Page

Women’s colleges across the globe have had the history of producing some of the smartest, bravest and greatest minds we’ve seen – from Hilary Clinton to Aung Sang Suu Kyi, from Sheila Dikshit to Gita Gopinath – the most brilliant women today credit their successes to their all girl alma maters. So what values do these all women institutions instill in their students that inspire them to achieve greatness? A sense of confidence, a feeling of being comfortable in one’s own skin, breaking stereotypes, understanding that the only person you need to impress is yourself? Ofcourse!

Besides these, the experience of studying a women’s college is like no other – our college life comes with its own set of problems, solutions and sweet nothings. Some funny and some downright crazy, here is a list of ten little things that I’ve learned from my experience in a women’s college:

1)      Being a male professor is not easy – Can you imagine the plight of a man aged between 25-50 teaching a class of fifty 19 year old girls? Well, you can’t! Each move he makes is scrutinized, duly noted and discussed after class. God forbid he decides to wear acid wash jeans, mispronounces a word, or says one thing too many times, he can be rest assured to be topic of discussion throughout the day!

2)      Pyjamas are completely acceptable college wear – While this may vary from individual to individual and from college to college, most of us couldn’t care less about our attire in college. In the end, it’s all about being comfortable.

3)      College fests are a time when all your guy friends will decide you exist – WHAT IS WITH BOYS WANTING TO ENTER GIRLS COLLEGES? I mean, relax guys, we aren’t a species from outer space and our campus is not a UFO! Sure, come in and see what our fest is all about but don’t treat us like exotic birds you’d like to sight at a picnic with your pals.

4)      Beauty is not skin deep – Forgot to get your eyebrows done? Or shave your legs? Been too busy to watch your weight? Welcome to no man’s land. As long as you’re a great person and can help a friend in need, we really couldn’t care less!

5)      Everybody here is not a feminist – Sure, many of us lean towards gender studies or feminism as a political ideology, and that maybe because of the stark difference in our lives in and outside college, but not everybody claims to be a feminist, per se.

6)      Being a feminist and being lesbian are two different things – Many of us have heard this and it’s gets more frustrating each time. Feminism is not a man hating, lesbian loving idea – it’s an idea striving for equality of all genders in every sense, and should not be associated only with women’s colleges.

7)      Women aren’t delicate creatures who need to be constantly pampered – There are NO men here – we take our own food to the table, shift around the heavy furniture all by ourselves, travel alone and are well aware that the ‘girls are soft, boys are strong idea’ is stupid and has no place in the 21st century.

8)      Men who advocate for gender justice are extremely ‘sexy’ to us – Okay, so to be clear here, there is no battle of the sexes. There are men who are pathetic and misogynist; there are also women who think the same way. When we see someone from the privileged sex with the intellectual capacity to make sense of the war against women and genders other than male – and because it’s not very common – our hearts can’t help but leap with joy!

9)      There are no flocks of guys waiting outside the gates of our college – This is a myth buster – there are no boys peeping in from gates and windows, no men trying to sneak in. The only men outside college are the auto vaala bhaiyas, the rickshaw vaala bhaiyas, the bhelpuri/sevpuri bhaiyas and the icecream vaala bhaiyas.

10)  College is a real place, not Barbie land – Contrary to what outsiders or aspirants may think, everybody is not incredibly feminine, nor are there catfights, or women making out behind bushes. We go there to study, have fun, and learn about life – and that’s exactly what we do!

College teaches us all of this and more – love it or hate it, you’re going to learn here – both about yourself and about the world, and when you’re learning all of this in a women’s college, your life is going to be all new and very unique roller coaster. All freshers going to women’s colleges – welcome aboard!

According to the norm, extracurricular activities are defined as being outside the regular curriculum of a school or college. But under Delhi University’s Four Year Undergraduate Programme (FYUP), sports and Extra Curricular Activities (ECA) have been pinned as obligatory. Cultural Activities including NCC, Sports, NSS and Extra Curricular Activity are an integral part of the programme and all students will have to take up a cultural activity in Semester III, IV, V, VI, VII and VIII in some form.

“In a way, making ECAs compulsory will boost up the societies’ performance, but on the other hand it will be more of a burden on the authorities and societies as well”, said Ayushi, Member of Alumna Cell, LSR College.

As per the curriculum, students will have to latch on papers like Integrating Mind, Body & Heart (IMBH) in the first two semesters and Cultural Activity (CA) from the third to the eighth semester. Indoor and outdoor teaching like visiting a museum or showing an informative movie and other fieldwork are some of the threshold activities included.

Making sports and ECA mandatory was objected by several teachers across the University. According to them, imposing Sports or ECA on over 1.5 lakh university students is absurd. It is like imposing homogeneity.

Arshiya, Member of NSS, Jesus & Mary College says “Compulsory ECAs will be helpful in identifying hidden talent rather than the usual focus on rote knowledge. There will be mixed crowd, including people who are passionate and others lacking interest and one can’t really hope to get the best of a student this way”

To ensure that all students get access to the activities they want and need, should ECAs be part of the curriculum? Let’s canvas the matter further.

Merits:

  • In some countries, the educational systems are only based on fixed curriculum with a number of books and learning materials that most people consider them as insufficient or restrictive for the student’s comprehension skills and imaginations. Although it is now believed that today’s the best educational systems constitute not only a curriculum but also extra-curricular social or cultural activities which have many advantages like increase in sociability, learning new things and better motivation.
  • Due to the fact that people will spend some time on extra-curricular activities in addition to studies, as a result, they will feel motivated, emotionally better and ready to take the challenge of studying varieties.
  • Companies are looking for all-rounded students. While high marks serve as a testament to an applicant’s studiousness and intelligence, they do not indicate the type of person the applicant is. These activities lessen the likelihood of spurring anti social behavior and increase career prospects.

Demerits:

  • Balancing academics work with extracurricular activities can be stressful for some students, especially when an abundance of activities (including travel!) takes up valuable time they need for studies or completing assignments.
  •  Students will have to stay out later than usual which can be tiring.
  • A lot of them may find it difficult to get the right activity.
  • Adding to all of these, the way societies function in most colleges is deeply hierarchical. So, while one might take up an activity due to the ‘compulsory notion’, making a mark in that field is not guaranteed. This might demotivate a lot of students.

One of the spotlighting features of the proposed scheme is that students will be awarded credit points for different papers as well as co-curricular activities. So if a student shines at sport, he can seek credit for it and avoid studying for a paper.

The sky-high cut-offs of Delhi University have finally led us to the seventh cut-off. As several colleges released their individual cut-offs on the evening of 17th July, it seems that the admission process is headed towards a close.

While in the General category only a few seats are up for grabs, the reserved category seats are still vacant in majority.

Commerce is now available in 12 colleges as opposed to 16 in the sixth cut-off. S.G.T.B. Khalsa for instance has re-opened admissions for Commerce.The college had closed admissions for Commerce in the sixth cut-off. However, the course is now again open for admissions at a cut-off of 95%.

Ram Lal Anand has closed admissions for all courses in the general category. The college is still accepting admissions for Computer Science on the basis on cancellations.

On the other hand, Hans Raj has finally dropped the qualifying bar for Commerce by 0.25%. Hans Raj College had stuck to its Commerce cut-off of 96.5-98 for three consecutive cut-offs. Well, now the college has placed the requirement at 96.25-98. All other courses are closed for General category at the popular college.

At Shaheed Bhagat Singh College, Economics is still up for grabs with the rest of the courses closed. However, reserved category cut-offs for Commerce at the college go till 54%.

Popular girls’ college Daulat Ram, has closed admissions for all courses in the general category, barring English.

With vacant seats in popular colleges such as Hans Raj and Miranda House even after the seventh cut-off, only time will tell whether general category admissions will last as long as the ninth or tenth cut-off.

Links to college cut-offs: Arts and Commerce | Science | B.Tech

Imagine a world where Mark Zuckerberg hadn’t thought of Facebook; or a world where the genius of Google was still unknown; how would you book those minutes tickets if it wasn’t for MakeMyTrip or Yatra? Can you survive a hot summer evening without a refreshing beverage and a book you got from Flipkart? Don’t we all love the quirky trinkets we see at Happily Unmarried or Chumbak?  What would our lives be without innovation, invention, creativity and technology? What we do if it wasn’t for courageous young people who decided to take a leap of faith, start their own new age businesses or service companies and turned them into success stories.

It’s not easy to move beyond a culture where having a ‘real job’ is possibly the most important dream parents hold for their children. It’s not easy to move out of conventional, comfortable professions and tell people you bake cakes for a living, or run an adventure company, make documentary films, work at a delivery service or web portal.  It’s even tougher to make this decision and stand by it – from running an online fashion label or being a stylist to running a digital solutions firm, from running an NGO and leading a social movement to designing cars  and sometimes doing things so offbeat that you don’t understand them yourself – entrepreneurship requires more than just starting capital. It requires courage, vision, self esteem and a whole lot more. More than anything else, it requires a firm belief in yourself and what you do – only then can you change the rules; only then can you change the world.

growth

Speak to any person involved in a startup, and they’ll tell you that things do fall apart, and you will make mistakes, but you can’t be great unless you’re brave enough to make these mistakes – and learn from them. It also requires some amount of support, but you’ve got to understand that there will be times when it will all be on your shoulders.

It’s astonishing how this generation is unafraid to take the road less traveled – with all its rocky bits and thorns – and make it work. Despite being termed materialistic, selfish and unhappy, the young today are consciously developing this need for change – they’re not afraid to walk on fire, they’re not afraid to do to materializing their ideas from a rented garage, they’re not afraid to make that firm call to say no to an easy and comfortable  9 to 5.

And it is this fearlessness which will one day change the world. Every startup is based on insane courage and passion, and as a generation, we should be incredibly proud of this endearing quality. We’re learning from every wrong step we take, we’re falling and rising, we’re giving our hopes and aspirations a chance, we’re doing our part in building a society where people are accepted for who they are, and can do whatever they like for a living– and we have every right to be proud of it.

Equal Opportunity Cell (EOC), University Of Delhi plumped for Students with disabilities for an educational expedition to UK, to King’s College, London, and the University Of Edinburgh, Scotland. Professor Dinesh Singh, Vice Chancellor, Delhi University and Mr. Rob Lynes, Country Director India joined forces to bring the visit to fruition.

EOC had send letters to all the colleges and the EOC in charges of the colleges contacted the first and second semester students with disability. Out of about 100 entries send by the colleges of Delhi University to the University EOC, 22 were short listed. Two student volunteers of Delhi University and 6 faculty members were identified by EOC for the Education Excursion of Excellence for students with disability. Students had the opportunity to gain first-hand knowledge about unexampled and latest technologies in the field of disability rehabilitation. Also, the visit widened their noetic purview through interaction with other students with disabilities, teachers and professionals abroad.

University officials and helpers accompanied the students. The leader of the deputation was Shri Z.V.S Prasad, and Dr. Bipin Tiwary was the coordinator. The programme catered plentiful opportunity for the groups to establish contacts and exchange ideas, bring knowledge and circularize shared experiences, thereby paving the way to joint programmes and joint research in the future.

The journey initiated at Indira Gandhi Airport. This educational Excursion was the first of its kind for students with disability which was supported by the key ministries in India Staff from the Equal Opportunity Cell of Delhi University and British Council are a part of the group.

The student’s keenness to get to an international University and interact, learn and expand their horizons was very evident. Students could apparently notice some amount of transition in the cultural variation on the very first day. The day concluded with discussion, interaction and reflection regarding the experiences. Such a voyage is must for successful culmination and explicating a holistic framework for persons with disabilities is dished out by journey of this sort.

LEAD MUN 2013 is a three-day Model UN Conference powered by the highest performing local chapter of the world’s largest youth run organisation – AIESEC Delhi University. For first-timers – a Model UN Conference is an academic simulation of the UN which gives the participant a chance to step into the shoes of a diplomat, debate, discuss and resolve pressing global issues.

Why you should participate in LEAD MUN 2013?

Very briefly, it is important for an individual’s development to challenge oneself and leave one’s comfort zone to participate in a conference, representing a nation completely different from their home country. You will gain knowledge, experience, have fun and make friends and memories. The most experienced Executive Board and pressing agendas await you.

Apart from the General Assembly, the Security Council and the Human Rights Council, this year LEAD MUN shall be simulating, for the first time in the history of MUNS, Cripps Mission to India, 1946.

Delegate Applications for LEAD MUN 2013 are now OPEN – You don’t want to miss this! Apply now!

You could leave a message on LEAD MUN’s official Facebook page or mail them at [email protected] and they will help you understand the concept of Model UN.

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