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Five New Things Stanza Brings to the Student Accommodation Market

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Stanza Living is one of the many initiatives by the IIT-IIM alumni pool, yet with its use of the latest and greatest technology, professionally managed stack of services, and community living concepts, it is disrupting the student housing market at its very roots.

It would be unfair to tag Stanza Living as a ‘PG’. It is indeed a unique living experience. It is one of the most digitised accommodations in the Indian market today for college students. The use of innovation and technology to ensure better living has resulted in a connected Stanza ecosystem through the internet of things. Here are 5 ground-breaking things that Stanza brings to the student accommodation market:

  1. Stanza App

Unlike the dictatorial PG landlords, Stanza believes in taking commands from you through their app! It serves the purpose of not only getting the pulse of your needs all the time but also of giving you quick updates about the latest developments in your residence. It increases the efficiency of the staff at Stanza residences and leaves the students more satisfied.

  1. Flexible Policies and Entry-Exit Timings

Stanza believes in minimizing human interference in your daily schedule. It has completely done away with wardens and archaic policies. Stanza gives you the freedom to choose flexible entry and exit timings so that you don’t have to deal with an irrational argument every time you’re late. Even when you have just been stuck with classes, you know presenting your case to your warden would be just like talking to the wall. However, Stanza does not believe in such constraints and arguments.

  1. A Dedicated Maintenance Staff

While you spend years in your college succeeding and holding busy positions, Stanza understands that there is only this much of energy that you have in a day. Stanza wants you to focus on your studies and ambitions while it takes care of all your ‘household’ duties with a dedicated maintenance staff. There is a separate team to take care of laundry, daily cleaning, bathroom cleaning, deep cleaning, cooking, laundry and security so that these do not interfere with your daily duties.

4. Technology Enabled Operations

Stanza believes in making all the processes at the residence easier with the use of technology:

  • A smarter internet connection that combines high speed and a 24-hour backup support so that you’re always connected to the world. You will also be provided with quick and cutting-edge solutions to any network failures.
  • There is hi-tech security in all Stanza residences. Geo-fencing and motion sensors are used to keep a check on any unsanctioned entry. 24-hour central command centre and an ever-ready rapid response team is at your beck and call for emergency situations.
  • A seamless consumer experience is provided to all residents with Stanza’s on-boarding and KYC processes, which are paperless. One of the most hassle-free and transparent processes that Stanza supports is automated payments and the subsequent real-time invoicing updates.
  • Stanzanet is the intranet service that keeps all the Stanzens connected. It is always at your service to make community living a close and delightful affair.
  1. Machine Learning Algorithm and Feedback Management

Stanza understands that every individual is different and has his/her own preferences. To make your life better at Stanza, it has put machine learning to the noble cause of understanding your unique preferences- from food to lifestyle choices. Their amenities and services are maintained through a proactive loT enabled system. This also minimizes food wastage. Stanza technology adapts to your daily needs and way of life, and not the other way round.

In spite of that, if you face an issue, you are given the power to voice out feedback and complaints about anything you’re not satisfied with, at Stanza. Their seamless technology allows them to identify and address issues faster than ever before. Once your complaint is registered it provides you with real-time tracking of your complaint status and is sure to address it with swift actions.

Feature Image Credits – Stanza Living

Khyati Sanger

[email protected]

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Admissions 2018

LIVE: DU Colleges begin releasing 2nd Cut-off Lists

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With around 15,000 seats filled out of 65,000 and huge crowds observed in many University of Delhi colleges in the first cut-off list, all eyes are on the second cut-off list now. Given the turnout on 19th June, numbers suggest that seats for top courses in top colleges have almost filled, implying that many DU colleges may not come out with a second list only. Last year, DU colleges were able to fill only 2200 seats in the first round, which suggests that this year the cut-offs have been reasonably realistic.

Beginning now, DU colleges have begun releasing cut-off lists on their respective college websites. Watch out this space for live news; keep refreshing this article for timely updates.

Click here to check the second cut-off list for Vivekananda College.

Click here to check the second cut-off list for Satyawati College.

Click here to check the second cut-off list for Shaheed Bhagat Singh College.

Click here to check the second cut-off list for P.G.D.A.V. College.

Click here to check the second cut-off list for Bhagini Nivedita College.

Click here to check the second cut-off list for Maharaja Agrasen College.

Click here to check the second cut-off list for Sri Aurobindo College (Evening).

Click here to check the second cut-off list for SRCC.

Click here to check the second cut-off list for Satyawati College (Evening).

Click here to check the second cut-off list for Kirori Mal College.

You can also check our Instagram handle(@du_beat)’s stories and turn on story notifications to get live updates.

 

Feature Image Credits: Akarsh Mathur for DU Beat.

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Campus Central

Course Profile: Psychology Honors

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Psychology Honors is a degree which allows you to find meaning everywhere. One can relate to these psychological theories, question them, and observe their relevance every day.

Did the 1991 film The Silence of the Lambs kept you at the edge of your seat? Did Psycho change your life forever? Do you wish to help people struggling with mental health issues and emotional difficulties? If you wish to understand people, their conduct, and the relationships between them, Psychology might just be the right subject for you. “What pushed me to study this subject was The Psychosexual Theory by Sigmund Freud, though after gaining more knowledge I have a disagreement with this theory now”, says Ananya Tripathi, a second-year student from Shaheed Rajguru College of Applied Sciences for Women.

The University of Delhi offers Honors in Psychology in many of its colleges like Aryabhatta College, Bharti College, Daulat Ram College, IP College for Women, Jesus and Mary College, Kamala Nehru College, Keshav Mahavidyalaya, Mata Sundri College for Women, Shaheed Rajguru College of Applied Sciences for Women, and Zakir Husain Delhi College.

The previous year cut-off for general category students was 98.5% to 88.5%, for OBC it was 97% to 69%, for SC it was from 96.5% to 60% and for the ST it was 96.5% to 57%.

Psychology (H) covers many psychological and scientific principles. The core subjects under it include Introduction to Psychology, Statistical Methods for Psychological Research, Biopsychology, Psychology of Individual Differences, Development of Psychological Thought, Psychological Research, Social Psychology, Understanding Psychological Disorders, Applied Social Psychology, Understanding and Dealing with Psychological Disorders, Developmental Psychology, Organizational Behavior, and Counseling Psychology.

Psychology helps you become wiser with words and develop your communication skills. It hones your listening skills which a lot of people lack. It makes you non-judgmental. It helps to develop empathy too. “Empathising just doesn’t mean understanding the other person but understanding it from the other person’s view, putting yourself in their place and understanding”, says Kaveri Sehgal from Jesus and Mary College. “You start understanding the dynamics of your relationships with others on a deeper level and try to avoid conflicts as much as possible”, adds Aditi Roy Choudhury, a third-year student from IP College for Women.

The future prospects of a Psychology graduate are tremendous and exciting. One can work as a counsellor in school/college. One can also venture into HR, research, advertising, market research, social work in NGOs. It offers students to become a psychotherapist, sports psychologist, fashion psychologist, a developmental psychologist, child psychologist, clinical psychologist, or chartered psychologist.

Overall, Psychology is a vivid subject, one must go to depths to develop interest. Once you start reading it, things would start making sense which would help to provide an explanation for a lot of things.

Feature Image Credits: MAA Montreal
Disha Saxena
[email protected]

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Campus Central

A Guide to the Inter-College Migration Process in DU

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The high cut-offs of the University of Delhi (DU) makes it difficult for students to get into a college of their choice. However, DU offers its students a second chance to migrate to college of their choice, turning dreams into reality.

University of Delhi boasts of some of the best colleges in the country. Some colleges have excellent departments in certain subjects, but they sometimes lack in other subjects. The sky-rocketing cut-off lists, limited seats, and high number of applications make it difficult for students to pursue the subject of their choice in the most sought-after colleges of DU. However, the migration process acts as a blessing in disguise for people hoping to study in the renowned colleges. It must be kept in mind though, that according to the University of Delhi, “Migration is not a right; it is only a permissive facility and not an obligatory one. It all depends upon both incoming and outgoing colleges concerned; therefore, the policy of Reservation in Migration for both Inter-College & Inter-University is not applicable.”

Eligibility:

1) The migration process is applicable for students pursuing B.A. Programme & B.Com., B.A. (H), B.Com (H), B.Sc.(H) courses for students in their 3rd semester.
2) The student must have passed both the semesters of his/her first year.

3) The student must be enrolled in an undergraduate course offered by the University.

Note: Some colleges may release their own separate guidelines for eligibility, which can be accessible through the official website of the respective college.

Important points to keep in mind:
1) Candidates are not allowed from regular college to migrate to the School of Open Learning (SOL) or the Non-Collegiate Women’s Education Board (NCWEB).
2) Migration is not allowed from one college to another in a different course.
3) Migration is not allowed in Post Graduate (PG) courses.
4) The applications for migration from one college of the University to another shall be only entertained by the principal of the college from which migration is sought. There should be written consent from both the principals of the colleges concerned, to obtain the No Objection Certificate (NOC).

5) Once a student migrates from one college to another, the student cannot change their college.

Documents needed:
1) The No Objection Certificate from both the heads of the colleges’ i.e. the one where the student is studying and the one where the student wants to migrate to.
2) Leaving Certificate from the college.
3) Mark sheets of the examinations passed.

Note: Any photocopied documents submitted must be self attested. The student can collect their original certificates back after submission.

Migration is a tough task to execute. Students should have proper, solid reasons to migrate to the college of their choice.

 

Feature Image Credits: The Financial Express

Disha Saxena

[email protected]

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DUB Speak

How to Brand a Photography Business

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A photography business requires time and effort to be set up. But hard work alone is not enough, the right skill set, marketing, and collaborations and promotion go a long way to establish a photography business.

  •  Payment–

In the initial stage, while building up ones portfolio, people might do some jobs like doing shoots or covering events for free or for a modest fee in order to gain exposure and talent. This is fine for a while but once you try to engage yourself in a full-fledged photography business, there are quite a few things that one needs to take care of while charging the payment. Some of the major things that are to be considered while determining the cost are travelling expenses, equipment rents, worth of your talent and other expenses like props, makeup, etc. Determining the cost as mentioned above will give you confidence to  charge customers your talent’s worth. If you’re not able to cover all of these costs, then you’re not running a true full-time business, you won’t survive in the long run, and you’re lowering the value of your work itself.

  • Collaborations–

No matter how talented and famous photographer you are, collaborating with other photographers in the same field will always help you to grow your business. It often happens that photographers get their first job by collaborating with other photographers or assisting them. There’s no harm in it because that’s the key to growth. If you collaborate with others even after reaching a good level in photography, it will ultimately help you in sharing your ideas, improving your creativity, expanding your sources and also reducing your competition. This can be integral to your success and to get you through the hard times.

  • Active Marketing-

One has to always be proactive in marketing their business. One has to go out themselves, search and deal with their clients. The more you put yourself out there, the more business will come to you. Offering services to individuals through different means, attending different events, promoting your work, collaborating with photographers, etc are some of the good ways to market your business.

  • Responding to Customers-

Responding quickly to customers for their queries shows a level of dependability, and in addition to helping people to want to work with you, it will also make them want to refer you. You never know when a casual conversation or advice that you give will turn into a job or reference. Keeping a good relationship with customers also helps you to know what do they exactly want out of you so that you are able to deliver the same. If you don’t respond or react to the queries of the customers positively then they might back off. It’s always better to respond and maintain a good relationship with customers.

  • Working Efficiently-

The last and the most important point is to work efficiently. Efficiency is one of the most important aspects of running a photography business, or any business for that matter. No matter how much you practice branding or marketing of your photography business, if you are not efficient at your work, you won’t succeed. Being efficient means to connect with the customers, using your best creativity to capture the pictures, dedicatedly edit them and give the pictures before time. If you don’t edit the pictures on time and keep on delaying,  it might create a negative perception of the customer. Always click and edit the pictures with best of your creativity and give it to the customers on time to ensure efficiency of your work and to build trust and a healthy reputation.

Thus, always try to be efficient at your work, promote it, and expand your business to make it a success.

Feature Image Credits – Epinium

Akarsh Mathur 

[email protected] 

 

 

 

 

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DUB Speak

How to Keep Pace with Yourselves Under the College Workload?

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It is very easy to forget yourself under the college workload but in order to be as efficient as required one needs to reconnect with themselves every once in a while. Here are some of the ways to do that.

1. Begin early
It is very important to begin your course a little early. It may sound ironic since studying should not be a piece of advise when one wants to just focus on reconnecting with oneself under the college workload. However, one of the ways to reconnect with oneself is not having too much of work at once. If one begins early then, the workload gets divided into the several days and you will end up having time for yourself every day!

2. Pursue a different hobby
It is important to have a hobby that is different from your course and challenges you. If a student is pursuing English Honours, then in his/ her free, it is better to play guitar than write a poem. In order to keep pace with oneself, one needs to understand and fulfill one’s desires too.

3. Indulge in self-care
It is very easy to forget oneself when loaded with work. You forget to sleep well, eat well, and rest well. But, every once in a while, you should indulge in self-care. Eat healthy and sleep till you wake up naturally. Meditate or go out to play some tough football. Self-care could sometimes also mean taking a day out for yourself, just doing nothing. Go to the fancy cafe you had been planning to go or read that book in the park. Come on, create that blog! Whatever makes you feel eased and relaxed is important for you. Be sure to take out 30 minutes every day to do at least one of these. It is even more beneficial if you do not invite company and just spend time building familiarity with solitude.

4. Party!
Every once in a while take out time to party! If you’re a workaholic, chances are you won’t be able to party peacefully unless you are done with your work. Therefore, set your target, feel accomplished, and then call your buddies home to have a blast! And, when you party, make it wild enough for you to forget about work. A little hangover after the party is great, too. Gather all amazing memories and remember you have to get to work again only to be able to relive another party whenever you make yourself proud.

Feature Image Credits: Viral Tech Blog

Khyati Sanger
[email protected]

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DUB Speak

Three Reasons Why English Honours Changes You As a Person

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English Honours is a course that doesn’t just teach you literature but pushes you to truly dissect the text, ultimately challenging your perceptions and changing your personality.

English Honours is one of the most sought-after courses and rightly so not just because of the poise and poshness surrounding it, but also because it alters your perspective and outlook towards life. It makes you wiser and modifies you for the better. Here are three ways in which it accomplishes all of that:

  1. It teaches you the plurality of truth

English Honours will make you look at a situation from all perspectives. It will not tell you which perspective is right or wrong because the course is built with the understanding that everything is subjective. Through this one learns to move beyond their opinion and understand the point of view of the person sitting across the table. This further makes one think wholesomely before coming to a decision.

  1. It encourages you to ask ‘Why?’

English Honours will not let you settle with ‘it is what it is’ when discussing ideologies. It will make you question why is an ideology the way it is, why is a certain remark was made, and why was it made by the person it was made by. It entices the student to delve into the things that won’t be said openly. In your lectures you’ll question why is astronomy considered against God in ‘Doctor Faustus’, why does eventually it glorify the perspective of idealism over materialism, was Macbeth really overambitious or just a slave to feudalism, etc. These stories cannot be separated from the dominant, emergent, and residual ideologies of the time they were written in. Therefore, it teaches you as a person to not take anything at face value and to question everything. As this inquisitiveness becomes a part of your personality, you also begin to look for the underlying causes of the behaviour of the people.

  1. It teaches you the importance of history

English Honours teach you that everything in the world today that has ever existed, exists, or will exist is rooted in history and cannot be independent of it’s past. Furthermore, while reading the translated texts, one learns the history of different places. Therefore, etymology doesn’t only help the students understand the different spellings of a word over time, but also talks about why the word acquired it’s meaning in the first place. For example, Rakshash is derived from Rakshak, meaning protectors. The term was actually used for the tribes that wanted to ‘protect’ the forests by scaring away the Brahmins who used it for Hawans. English Honours doesn’t just expand your vocabulary, it also expands your vision and teaches you that meanings move beyond dictionaries.

Feature Image Credits: Louve Smith

Khyati Sanger

[email protected]

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DUB Speak

An Odyssey of Personal Development And a Sad Goodbye: Hitanksha Jain, Head of Photography 2017-18

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Looking back at my journey, getting a chance to work with India’s largest campus publication was beyond my imagination. I started as an introverted and nervous first year photographer, who was skilled enough to make it to the team, but had very low self confidence to acknowledge the fact that I had a skill a lot of people admired. The people I met here made me realise my potential and also taught me many wonderful things. I knew I could always count on this team to have my back and if I were to mess things up, they would be there to fix it.

DU Beat has reached great heights and I feel grateful to be a part of this journey. My tenure as the Head of Photography was nothing less of a rollercoaster and I would do it all over again if I could. We spent four months organising Mushaira, handling the stalls, and I can proudly exclaim that I would spend another four just to get over the feeling of achieving what we did. Taking photography to another level and introducing videos into the weekly functioning of the team was also something we achieved this year. We have the most talented people in the world working with us. I would urge everyone to come and join the team because the kind of exposure, support, motivation and encouragement we get in this organisation is amazing. In my opinion, everyone should be privy to this life changing experience.

I would like to end this erratic farewell note by mentioning that I am extremely thankful for what I achieved on a personal level as a photographer, and then as the head. I worked with people who made me want to work harder and dream bigger to then strive to achieve those dreams.


Hitanksha Jain
Head of Photography 2017-18

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DUB Speak

Bidding Goodbye with a Tinge of Sorrow: Saim Akhtar, Head of Marketing 2017-18

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The fact that journalism has emerged to be one of the most challenging professions of recent times is a well accepted reality these days. Surprisingly though, thanks to the highly efficient team, DU Beat (DUB) emerged triumphant against the face of the anti-liberals as it always valued students’ interests the most, and made it its priority.

Be it dealing with clients for marketing and online publicity, or meetings with international commissions; the remarkable group of Heads and the dedicated team of workers undertook each task responsibly and delivered near perfect results. Brainstorming sessions, building networks for widespread coverage, coupled with hours of interaction with the beautiful souls of DUB has made it extremely difficult for me to part with this family, which has helped me evolve both professionally and socially.

I feel delighted to see the baton of independent student journalism being handed over to the next set of capable young individuals, and wish them luck for their upcoming endeavours.

 

Saim Akhtar

Head of Marketing 2017-18

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DUB Speak

How Blogs are Underutilised Mediums of Expression

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Blogs have to struggle to get recognition in today’s world of visual graphics, and therefore remain unexplored and underutilised.

It is very easy to catch a random stranger drooling over a YouTube video but rarely any engrossed in reading a blog. Blogs are short, on-the-go and compact reads that you can access on your mobile phone. They are accessible internationally and therefore reachable all around the world.

Unlike publication, you do not need sponsorship, struggle, fan following or any backing to reach the entire world anymore. But how many of us actually use this cost efficient opportunity? Furthermore, blogs are the best ways of self expression as they are personalised spaces you can create and use as per your own liking without any third party involvement or clause.

It is like an interactive book with newer innovations. One can add songs in the background of the blog to be played while reading; create tabs as different zones on the blog itself and avail an array of features to make their blog more creative. The writer as well as the reader grows on their journey as the blog progresses.

However, they have always been underutilised by the readers as well as the bloggers. It is very difficult for a blogger to become acknowledged without tying up their blog with another medium of expression like a YouTube channel or book publication. It is almost like the blogs are not independent mediums anymore. One of the major reasons for this is the distraction and consequent laziness of the readers. You will see perfectly crafted blogs without traffic and meaningless videos trending on YouTube simply because they are videos.

In today’s fast moving world, nobody has time for long term commitments with a blog. It is easier to be a passively engaged viewer with a video or laugh away the stress with memes. Reaffirming that, Shivani Gautam, the blog owner of ‘The Abode of the Uninspired and the Lost’ says, “The problem is when you don’t have viewership. It drives bloggers crazy and it is one hard thing to get. They don’t have any motivation to write further, they start doubting their worth.” Without the support and traffic to motivate the writers, the blogs do not go on and end up as just one among the huge heap of abandoned blogs on the Internet. This is why painstaking mediums like blogs remain unexplored.

 

Feature Image Credits: Elegant Themes 

Khyati Sanger

[email protected]

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