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A canteen staff member of Cluster Innovation Centre (CIC), University of Delhi, was allegedly attacked by a group of students from Delhi School of Journalism (DSJ) on 25th September 2018. This incident has triggered apparent hostility between two institutions that are housed in the same building of University Stadium. 

Around 4 p.m., after the Chhatra Sangarsh Rally held on the same day, a group of students from DSJ had come to the canteen.  According to Udit, an eyewitness and a student of CIC, the DSJ students hadn’t thrown the plastic plates and cups in the dustbin after eating. When Sanju bhaiya (canteen staff) asked them to, the students got aggressive and started abusing him. One of them then threw a napkin holder at Sanju, which barely missed his eye,” he added. This agitated the canteen worker, who jumped off from the counter and stepped towards the boys, following this a huge fight broke out. Later Sanju had to seek medical treatment at a hospital. 

Yashwant, another CIC student who was present at the spot added, “Everybody knows about the self-help rule of the canteen. We collect our order ourselves and dispose of the leftovers as well.  Sanju bhaiya merely pointed it to the assaulters who immediately got riled up. A teacher who intervened to break off the confrontation was also disrespected immensely. This is nothing but pure hooliganism which shouldn’t be tolerated.”

However, according to the students from DSJ it was the canteen employee who had provoked them. Prashant Yadav, a student of DSJ who was involved in the violence, explained his side of the story to DU Beat. “After the rally, we were all tired and having our food. The canteen employee started rebuking us for occupying space. We talked to him politely but he spoke in a very disrespectful tone. He said something, and in response we said something. We are not happy with the turn of events and whatever happened was unfortunate, but we aren’t Gandhi ji’s disciples. We also paid the amount, in fact, we paid more than what was due.” When asked about throwing a napkin holder at the canteen staff, he explained that the napkin holder “wasn’t thrown deliberately but got flung accidentally”. DU Beat also reached out to DSJ students on DSJ Media Group but didn’t receive any response.

“I feel betrayed and disrespected by the incident. We supported them in their fight for their rights. In fact, people from CIC were one of the first ones to lend support to their cause. It’s ironic that moments after joined them in the Chhatra Sangharsh Rally these people enter our own canteen and hurt our staff. We regret that we ever supported them. DSJ has lost a major ally and I hope they realise it soon,” asserted Shania Mohapatra, a second-year student of CIC.

“We hope DSJ gets its rights, but more than that we hope they get a sense of decency. It wasn’t just some random students from an institute misbehaving, people who were at the forefront of the protests indulged in misconduct (Prashant Yadav had participated in the hunger strike). Instead of holding their peers accountable, the rest of the “leaders” of #StandWithDSJ movement are acting as an apologist for them. We aren’t saying you monitor every action of your classmates, but if you can share our solidarity pictures on your social media then you can also issue a simple statement condemning the shameful act of your comrades. To pretend ignorance is nothing but disingenuous,” said another CIC student. 

The following day, a verbal fight* broke out between the students of Cluster Innovation Centre and Delhi School of Journalism in the canteen.  This happened in response to the action of some CIC students, who had torn off the #SaveDSJ posters from the notice board of the cafeteria in front of the DSJ students present there.  Right after this, first and second-year students of CIC held a meeting with the Program Coordinator of BA (Hons) Humanities and Social Sciences to express their concern regarding the safety and security of the students. After much discussions and deliberations, it was collectively decided that the students will write an application to the Director of Cluster Innovation Centre, Dr. H.P. Singh, highlighting their concerns and asking him to take action regarding the issue. One of their demands includes barring the entry of the students in CIC who had hit the canteen staff. A formal application has already been forwarded by the teachers. As of now Prasant Yadav, Shabab Anjum, and Vipul have been identified as the offenders (the names are based on more than two student accounts and one teacher account, who identified the students based on photos and videos). DU Beat will update the report once we get an on-record quote from Shabab Anjum and Vipul.

Update: In a conversation with DU Beat, Vipul, a student of DSJ who is accused by the eyewitnesses to have been engaged in the tiff that transpired, denied any involvement with the violence. He said, “I went to the CIC canteen, one and a half hour after the whole incident, to have tea because the DSJ pantry was closed. I pointedly deny engaging in any fight whatsoever. We spoke to a faculty member about the incident which is why people must have remembered seeing me, but I minded my own business. I’m here to study and have no interest in hurting any employee.”

In the late hours of the afternoon, CIC students alleged that the DSJ students vandalised the Cluster Innovation Centre board placed on the ground floor. 

board

 

Niharika Dabral

[email protected] 

Disclosure*: Disha Saxena, a DU Beat correspondent, and Shania Mohapatra, a marketing executive of DU Beat, were involved in the verbal spat that took place.

 

For those of you with a different bent of mind, the University of Delhi provides you with more than a dozen Bachelor’s courses, the admissions to which are conducted on the basis of entrance examination.

The online registration for these 12 courses began on 15th May 2018 (registration link: https://ug.du.ac.in/app2k18/), and the last date for submission of the application for the same is 7th June. Applicants are required to apply online through the Web Portal (http://admission.du.ac.in).

Take a look at these courses and do visit the links given, to get a better idea about the programs offered.

B.A. (Honours) Business Economics

The underlying philosophy of the B.A. (Honours) Business Economics course is to develop theoretical and analytical skills of the students which equip them for the corporate world and higher studies at the Master’s level in Business Economics or Economics.
Five optional groups in finance, economics, quantitative techniques, marketing and project management and entrepreneurship provide the students a wide array of areas in which to specialise.

An aggregate of 60% marks in the qualifying examination based on a simple average of the percentage scored in four subjects is compulsory in order to secure admission to this coveted course.
At the time of filling the application form, all applicants are required to state their order of preference of college from which he/she wishes to pursue this course. The applicants are required to select at least one preference to complete the form and the applicant may desire not to choose additional preferences. The preference order once submitted cannot be changed once the payment of fee is made.

There will be 100 questions. Each correct answer will get the applicant a score of plus 4 marks, and each wrong answer will get the applicant a score of minus 1 mark and a question not answered will get a score of zero marks.

Read more: https://www.google.co.in/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=http://du.ac.in/du/uploads/old-ug-courses/19912-BA_H_BE.pdf&ved=2ahUKEwiK_YWI_o7bAhVEPY8KHVmhC34QFjABegQIAxAB&usg=AOvVaw3US0SJkAdsu9Vlh3Yj9ruo

Bachelor of Management Studies

This course, which had earlier replaced three courses i.e. Bachelor of Business Studies, Bachelor of Business Economics, and Bachelor of Financial and Investment Analysis, is now administered by the Faculty of Applied Social Sciences and Humanities.

An aggregate of 60% marks in the qualifying examination based on a simple average of the percentage scored in four subjects is mandated for qualification for admission to this course. Selection will be based on the rank computed from the combined weighted average of percentage scored in the All India Joint Entrance Test and the percentage scored in the qualifying examination wherein the weights are: Entrance Test: 65%, Qualifying Examination: 35%.

Mandatory requirement of subjects studied and passed includes one language English, Mathematics and two other subjects included in List A. List A includes the disciplines offered by the University of Delhi for admissions to the three-year undergraduate programmes which are treated as Academic/Elective subjects. All the disciplines subjects must have at least 70% component of theory and 30% component of practical. Theory component doesn’t include internal assessments or continuous evaluation.

Read more: http://www.du.ac.in/du/uploads/Admissions/2018/UG/UG_Bulletin2018Final.pdf

Bachelor of Business Administration (Financial Investment Analysis)

This course is a three-year full-time professional degree program, to be taught in six semesters. There will be 24 papers in all to be taught over the six semesters.The medium of instruction is English.

The entrance exam will be of two hours’ duration based on Multiple Choice Questions (MCQs), designed to evaluate the aptitude of the applicants.
The following areas are included in the entrance test: Quantitative Ability, Reasoning and Analytical Ability, General English, and Business and General Awareness
Mathematics is required to be considered in the ‘Best of Four’ percentage, failing which a student will not be eligible for admission to this course.

Read more: https://www.google.co.in/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=http://sscbs.du.ac.in/&ved=2ahUKEwiU9oDd_Y7bAhULpY8KHcPhCNMQFjACegQIBBAB&usg=AOvVaw3w826gJNyN9GW9x9_B3lKh
B.Tech. (Information Technology and Mathematical Innovations)

The Cluster Innovation Centre, University of Delhi, offers this four-year B.Tech course which is designed to inculcate an innovation mindset as part of the curriculum and pedagogy. An aggregate of 60% marks in four subjects (including Mathematics) in the qualifying examination is regarded as the qualifying criteria for admission to this course.

The Entrance test will be of two hours’ duration and will be based on Mathematics, reasoning and analytical abilities at 10+2 levels.
The test is of Multiple Choice Question (MCQ) format. There will be 100 questions. For each correct answer, a student shall score +4 marks and for each wrong answer, there will be -1 mark. Mathematics is a mandatory subject for a student to be eligible for admission to this course.

Read more: https://www.google.co.in/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://ducic.ac.in/Programs-BTech-IT-Concept&ved=2ahUKEwjm66fR_Y7bAhXJtI8KHTCAB2cQFjAAegQIBxAB&usg=AOvVaw3kseh6PDFjuypV1Osdt_M2

Bachelor of Elementary Education 

An aggregate of 50% marks in the qualifying examinations as well as 50% marks in each of the four subjects is necessary for admittance to this course. The criteria for selecting the four subjects can be One subject from List I and three from List II, as mandated by the Varsity.
The Entrance test will be two hours duration and will be based on English, Hindi, Mathematics, Science and Social science up to class 10th level. The Entrance test is of Multiple Choice Question (MCQ) format.  The Entrance Test shall be bilingual (English and Hindi) wherever applicable.

Read more: http://www.du.ac.in/du/uploads/Admissions/2018/UG/UG_Bulletin2018Final.pdf

Bachelor of Science in Physical Education, Health Education and Sports (B.Sc.[PE,HE&S])

An aggregate of 45% marks in the qualifying examination determined on the basis of one language and three best subjects is the qualifying criteria for admission to this course. Admission will be based on the combined weighted average of percentage scored in the Entrance Test, Physical Fitness, and Sports proficiency wherein the weights are: Entrance test- 50%; Physical Fitness Test- 20% and Sports Proficiency- 30%.

It is essential for every applicant to appear in all the Admission Criteria Components (Entrance Written Test, Physical Fitness and Sports proficiency) in order to be considered for final admission to the course.
The questions will be asked in English and Hindi language both.

Read more: https://www.google.co.in/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=http://www.du.ac.in/du/index.php%3Fpage%3Dphysical-education-sports-sciences&ved=0ahUKEwjxoYO9_Y7bAhUBKY8KHaG0BiIQFggmMAA&usg=AOvVaw1JzyGGIsHmtQcE-gcmZa2A

B.A. (Honours) Multimedia and Mass Communication

This is a self-financed programme of DU which is only provided by Indraprastha College for Women.
An aggregate of 75% marks in the best four (including 85% in English) of the qualifying examination is required for a student to be eligible for admission to this course.

The entrance test will be based on General Awareness, Media Awareness, Current Affairs, English Comprehension and Grammatical and Analytical Skills

Read more: https://www.google.co.in/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=http://www.du.ac.in/du/index.php%3Fmact%3DNews,cntnt01,detail,0%26cntnt01articleid%3D917%26cntnt01returnid%3D83&ved=2ahUKEwiYrpmt_Y7bAhVJL48KHXHhD4gQFjAEegQIBhAB&usg=AOvVaw1_dxSDWpLhJI2h-rXaPMYl

Faculty of Music and Fine Arts

The Faculty of Music and Fine Arts allows students to pursue Bachelor’s Degree with Honours in

  • Hindustani Music-Vocal/Instrumental (Sitar/Sarod/Guitar/Violin/Santoor)
  • Karnatak Music-Vocal/Instrumental (Veena/ Violin)
  • Percussion Music (Tabla/Pakhawaj)

Admission for all the above-mentioned courses will be strictly based on practical admission entrance test.
Candidates seeking admission to these courses must have passed any one of the following examinations with 45% or more marks in the aggregate with Music as one of the subjects. Candidates who have not offered Music as one of the subjects at the last qualifying examination must have learned Music for not less than three years in a recognised institution.

Practical admission entrance test will be held on 4th and 5th July 2018 from 10.00 a.m. onwards in the Department of Music, Faculty of Music and Fine Arts, University Delhi.

At the time of practical admission entrance test, candidates are required to bring a print out of duly filled in an online registration form and all original documents (mark-sheets, degrees etc.), along with a set of photocopy of each document.
5% of the total number of seats in each course is reserved for the children/widows/wives of officers and men of the Armed forces.

Read more: http://music.du.ac.in/admission/b-a-music.php

Five-Year Integrated Programme in Journalism in Delhi School of Journalism

This course offers a Five Year Integrated Program in Journalism in two languages, English and Hindi. The program offers an exit option after three years, in which case the student will be awarded Degree of Bachelors in Journalism  The students completing two years post graduate course will be awarded the Degree of Masters in Journalism

An aggregate of 50% marks in the qualifying examination determined on the basis of all five subjects offered in the qualifying examination is considered the eligibility criteria for this course.

The Entrance test will be of two hours’ duration and will be based on the General Awareness (GK), Media Awareness, Current Affairs, English Comprehension Grammatical and Analytical Skills, Logical Reasoning and Basic Mathematics Skills.

Read more: https://www.google.co.in/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=http://www.du.ac.in/du/index.php%3Fpage%3Ddsj&ved=2ahUKEwjQxKaZ_Y7bAhVGqo8KHapxAngQFjACegQIBBAB&usg=AOvVaw0_ez3mkrQOXiHhiaxA0kQT
BA. Honours in Humanities and Social Sciences 

This course is provided by the Cluster Innovation Centre nestling at the heart of North Campus.
An aggregate of 60% marks in four subjects in the qualifying examination is compulsory for a student’s admittance to this course.
The Entrance test will be two hours’ duration and will be based on General Awareness, Current Affairs, General Knowledge, Communication skills (English/Hindi), Logical Reasoning and Analytical Ability at 10+2 levels.
The questions will be asked in English and Hindi both.

Read more: https://ducic.ac.in/Programs-BA-Hons-Concept
Feature Image Credits: The Indian Express
Vaibhavi Sharma Pathak
[email protected]

The University of Delhi is a hub of intellects from various corners of India and abroad. The name and fame of DU are spread far and wide. However, how well is this fame justified?

Delhi University is a dream of many. From Assam to Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh to Kerala, students flock in to study in the centuries-old, prestigious university of India. Be it privately funded or government aided, the colleges under DU are known for the excellent courses provided in Arts, Commerce, and Sciences. Illustrious reputation doesn’t necessarily ensure everything proficient. And I say that because of the pros and cons that must be highlighted in lieu of the hype that people relate to a national university like ours.

As I begin in favour of the university, I must say that the liberal staff and students are the pillars in making DU differently awesome. From Pinjra Tod to Nazariya, students of DU are collectives of various mindsets that have helped shape the future of the university.

  1. Less stringent curfew timings for the girls’ hostels: After upheavals from students communities about the huge differences in the in timings of boys’ hostels and girls’ hostels, the curfew timings of many hostels became less stringent, allowing the girls to stay past 10 p.m. at night.
  2. LGBTQ representation: People of all genders must be paid equal respect and attention – that’s what has been the main agenda of the queer collectives that stand to empower the students of DU and Delhi-NCR region. This is indeed a great step towards creating awareness about equality in every aspect of social life.
  3. Social work for Persons with Disabilities (PwDs): The National Service Scheme (NSS) and Equal Opportunity Cell of DU provide ample services for the students who have entered the university through the PwD quota. Ranging from scholarships to placements, no student is denied help when needed.
  4. Dynamic societies: DU is known for its vibrant societies, be it dance, music, drama, or photography. The fame of these societies is spread far and wide as they have won in national platforms.
  5. Flexible class hours: More than anything a student can ask for! The teachers are cooperative, in many cases and allow for rescheduling the classes. In fact, for internal examinations, the dates are chosen by the students. How grateful are we?
  6. DU is cool enough to have created the excellent course design of Cluster Innovation centre (CIC). Students who enter CIC through entrance tests can later choose their own set of subjects and that too in the college of their choice, provided they have good grades. Which other university in India has given the student this choice?
  7. Politically active students try to make conditions better here in DU. The student unions work for better fests, better amenities, and a better environment for all.

Cracks and crevices are a part of every institution. As much as we are grateful for everything mentioned above, we should also highlight the ills of the institution.

  1. When we talk about the infrastructure of DU, we do have a frown on our face. Be in the classrooms in the government aided, and semi-government colleges, something or the other is always missing. Fewer classrooms and ever-increasing number of students has led to the downfall of the infrastructural amenities. The students’ unions are trying their level best to pave way for the coming batches to take over the improved base in the college.
  2. Student exchange programmes: DU hasn’t been much active in the student exchange programmes from different colleges in India and abroad. This is a lag that DU needs to work on to provide better opportunities to students.
  3. Specialised courses: DU doesn’t provide extensive specialised courses in the various disciplines of the university. This makes the students opt for other universities for higher education when they want to go for specialised courses.
  4. More colleges like IHE, CVS: Vocational studies are important courses that need to be more diversified and integrated. Better opportunities can be provided to students who want to go for more branched out disciplines like performing arts, photography, mass communication, etc.

 

Feature Image Credits: News18

Radhika Boruah
[email protected]

Often perceived as the leader of reforms, be it academic or technological, the University of Delhi (DU) has been the birthplace of and a home to several reformative ideas. These ideas have changed the lives of students and have had an impact on the culture of the University in the past decade.

Change is the only constant. In this case, it is an apt description of the state of affairs in one of the most prestigious universities of the country. In the past decade, as India’s development story has gone through a sea of change, so has that of one of its premier universities. Some of the reformative initiatives taken up by the University have positively impacted the lives of students and improved the quality of education. In a nutshell, for a university established in 1922, innovation was not a luxury but a necessity in order to ensure that the varsity continued to thrive.

Antardhvani

A cultural festival started in 2013, Antardhvani served as a pan-university platform for talent to showcase itself. The event was the brain-child of then Vice-Chancellor, Professor Dinesh Singh who wanted students to “march to the drumbeat of his or her inner calling”. It helped students unleash their inner creativity by performing at an event of a greater magnitude than any college fest. Rock band competitions, National Cadet Corps parades, stalls, and flower shows were all part of Antardhvani. Lucrative prizes worth more than INR 18 lakhs were given to colleges based on criteria like architecture and technology, as well as on various artistic parameters. The flagship event was discontinued after 2015.

Image Credits: The Univesity of Delhi
Image Credits: The Univesity of Delhi

Cluster Innovation Centre

The Cluster Innovation Centre (CIC) was established in 2011. It was built to create an educational ecosystem that would teach its students innovation and allow them to think outside the box. CIC offers students bachelor’s degrees in Humanities and Social Sciences as well as in Mathematical Technology and Innovation. It has resources like an engineering kitchen, a robotics and embedded systems lab, a digital fabrication and prototyping lab, along with a computer science lab, an information technology innovation lab, and a library. With an alumni list extending from Oxford University to Google India, the institute has proven to be an excellent experiment of learning innovatively in the last seven years.

 

Image Credits: Cluster Innovation Centre
Image Credits: Cluster Innovation Centre

 

Commonwealth Games

The Commonwealth Games left behind an important asset for the University. Apart from the posh stadiums and sports arenas of the University which saw great upliftment in their infrastructure during this time, other basic provisions in the campus also got upgraded. Today, these amenities are used by the University for its academic and extracurricular purposes apart from housing some of the University’s top research centres. They are also used as the venue for the annual convocation ceremony.

Image Credits: Government of India
Image Credits: Government of India

Delhi Metro

With the introduction of Delhi’s very own metro service, the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation gave the national capital a priceless gift in 2002. With subsequent phases of development, each part of Delhi-NCR became well-connected. It no longer matters if you live in the far ends of Shahdara, Gurgaon, or Faridabad; reaching college has never been this easy. Remarkably, the two main campuses of the university have their very own stations. Metro rides have become a regular part of student lives, so much so that we cannot imagine what we would do without them. The Delhi Metro undoubtedly changed students’ lives, one token at a time.

Image Credits: The Journal of Banking and Finance
Image Credits: The Journal of Banking and Finance

Delhi University E-Journals

In the last few years, one of the major steps undertaken by the University in the direction of literary development of the students was coming up with various e-journals. These include the Delhi University Journal of the Humanities and the Social Sciences and the Delhi University Journal of the Natural Sciences. In addition to these, DU-Vidha is a bilingual journal for creative writing while the Delhi University Journal of Undergraduate Research and Innovation publishes original research work from student projects with the aim of disseminating academic articles. The University has put arduous efforts in its endeavor of bringing forth latent talent in the students into the limelight.

Image Credits: The Univesity of Delhi
Image Credits: The Univesity of Delhi

Delhi University Website

The emergence of technology in the University completely transfigured its charm. The University of Delhi got its own website in the year of 1998, making it one of three south Asian universities to have websites of their own. However, the current website in use was designed during the tenure of Professor Dinesh Singh. The latest development in this direction is the examination department getting a website of its own in 2017.

Image Credits: The Indian Express
Image Credits: The Indian Express

Electronic Voting Machines

In 2007, the use of electronic voting machines (EVMs) was incorporated into the Delhi University Students’ Union (DUSU) elections. EVMs were used for one of the first times in an academic institution in the country. It was a historic move following which the contesting parties started using technology while vying for attention and campaigning. In subsequent elections, EVMs began to be used in college union elections as well.

Image Credits: DD News
Image Credits: DD News

Entrance and Practical Exams

Examinations like the DU Joint Admission Test, the entrance examination for CIC, and practical examinations for courses like B.A. (Honours) Music have led to students being evaluated on the specific skill set that they wish to pursue rather than being dependent on vague and often unreliable board results. The Common Aptitude Test for English (CATE) conducted for students wishing to pursue B.A. (Honours) English, although discontinued later, is another example of a major change that aimed to make the University more student-friendly.

Image Credits: Hindustan Times
Image Credits: Hindustan Times

Feature Image Credits: Prateek Singh for DU Beat

Kinjal Pandey
[email protected]

Sandeep Samal
[email protected]

Raabiya Tuteja
[email protected]

Held on the 24th and 25th of October, the two-day event saw an array of activities devoted to the cause of raising awareness about mental health issues.

Students of B.A. Honours (Humanities & Social Sciences) celebrated a two-day Mental Health Awareness Week at the Cluster Innovation Centre (CIC), University of Delhi.

The first day began with a panel discussion on the topic, ‘Sorting Through Gender Identity, Sex, and Sexual Orientation’. Bhani Rachel Bali, the creator and founder of Kranti Kali, a startup that promotes feminism through art and technology, spoke about online harassment of women.  Taksh Sharma, a model, brought light to the transgender perspective through her personal experiences as a trans woman. Rakesh Kumar Singh is an author, activist, and founder of Ride for Gender Freedom, an initiative that aims to sensitise people about gender-based violence, talked about male privilege and the ways in which men can be good allies in feminist movements.

After the panel discussion, a workshop on menstrual hygiene was conducted by the students of CIC belonging to the Menstruation is Not a Taboo (MINT) Project. A quiz contest on mental well-being and psychology took place. Adil Jacob and Siddharth Garg from Jamia Millia Islamia won the competition. The first day of MHW came to a close with the film screening of the Academy award-winning movie, The Danish Girl.

The second day started with Living Stories, a project that initiates conversations between a person who acts as a book and others who come as readers. This edition of the project was solely dedicated to mental health.

This was followed by a panel discussion on the topic, “What’s depressing the millennials?” One of the panelists, Simran Luthra, the founder and curator of Talk Happy Therapy, an initiative which works for mental health awareness, shared her experiences of dealing with people with depression. Subhra Solanki is a guest lecturer at Jamia Millia Islamia, and discussed the problem of rigidity Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM).

Slam poetry competition on the topic, ‘When Love Checks In’ saw 14 participants perform moving pieces of the spoken word that was followed by a special performance by slam maestro and judge, Shibani Das. Riah Rath from CIC won the competition and Aditya Kapur from Motilal Nehru College came second.

In the late afternoon, a cultural extravaganza hosted an array of wonderful performances. Rubhen D’sa, the founder of Taameer, a Delhi-based social community, shared fun stories about his travels. He was followed by Prateek Sachdeva, self-identifying Drag Queen, who entertained the audience with a stunning dance performance. Devang Panday and Apurv Chatterjee, students of DU, serenaded the audience with a medley of hit songs.  Zikr, the dramatics society of Cluster Innovation Centre, also performed a short but impactful play, narrating the story of a young gender-nonconforming boy.

 

In the end, the prize distribution ceremony took place and Mr. Ashu Mishra, Assistant Professor, CIC gave an exhortation speech. The event came to close with the vote of thanks.

 

Image Credits: Ened D’souza (From the left: Rakesh Singh, Bani Rachel Bali, and Taksh Sharma.)

Image Caption: The first day of Mental Health Awareness Week began with a panel discussion on Gender Sensitisation

 

Niharika Dabral
[email protected]

 

 

 

On 12th April, 2017 Cluster Innovation Centre (CIC), organized Meraki, its counseling fest. This year’s theme focused on Child sexual abuse and Body image.

A participant performs at slam poetry competition.  Credits- Ened D'souza
A participant performs at slam poetry competition.
Credits- Ened D’souza

One of the reasons why these sensitive and pertinent topics were chosen as themes is that there are two projects being run at CIC based on Body image and Child sexual abuse, and this fest was an extension of the same.

The fest started with the screening of “Breaking the myth”, a short film is directed, written, and acted by the counseling students of CIC. The short film chronicled the journey of recovery of a boy who was sexually harassed by a trusted elder. The short film debunked many myths regarding child sexual abuse.The screening was followed by a panel discussion.

Slam poetry competition saw the most participation. Miss Sabika Naqvi, a Delhi University student and a popular feminist poet, and Miss Arushi Aggarwal served in the capacity of the judges. Miss Sabika Naqvi’s rendition of “Mera Kajal” was the highlight of the day.  Amongst twelve participants, Anusuya Bohra of Hansraj College was declared winner for her poem “Of flesh and bone”.

The Doodle competition themed on Body image was an opportunity for all those back-page doodlers to draw their hearts out! Manali Raj, a student of Cluster Innovation Centre won the first prize.

Photography competition was also themed on child sexual abuse and body image. Salil Sharma won the completion for his two photographs “Eyes speak louder” and “The perfect desire”.

With enthusiastic participation of students across Delhi University, the fest was a success.

 

Niharika Dabral

[email protected]

 

Feature Image credits: Ened D’Souza

 

 

“The tour was awesome. I never had an opportunity to learn so much about kings and their history,” said an elated traveler after his visit to the famous Humayun’s Tomb. The tour guide replied back and thanked the traveler.

This conversation seems pretty normal, except for the fact that this communication took place in sign language, captured on video and posted on the Facebook page of a Delhi University based startup that is striving to make a difference in the life of deaf people.

Deaf Com, a company that is housed in the incubation centre of Cluster Innovation Centre (CIC), is led by a bunch of fresh graduates who aim to change the life of the deaf through technology. “We have launched an app that can help deaf and mute people across the country to access famous monuments through their smart phones,” says Manish Narayan, a historical tourism graduate from CIC who is one of the founders of the company.

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Often people with a disability are presumed to be a liability by many, who forget that we all are disabled in some or the other sense.Having worked on projects on tourism and sign language in their undergraduation days, Manish and his mates have organised several tours across major tourist attractions across Delhi for deaf and mute people. “The best thing about technology is that it can break the barriers which were earlier unthinkable of,” he says pointing out that the app ‘SignMyTour’, which is a part of series of apps that the company plans to launch, has the option of displaying subtitles in various languages along with sign language communication. This will not only help out disabled people but also help other people to self-guide themselves around the monuments without paying any professional guide. The app which already has most of the heritage sites of Delhi plans to add more in the coming days.On being asked why he chose this idea for a startup, Manish points out to the picture of one of his recent tours and says, “Do you see those smiles in the picture? They are worth millions to me.”

You can like their facebook page.

Download there app here.

Srivedant Kar
[email protected]

Image Credits: Manish Narayan

Amidst various kinds of literature that we come across, one of the least known is oral literature. This is a rich form of literature which contains stories, histories and traditions that are passed on across generations orally. This literature which is mostly prevalent among natives and tribal communities is dying a slow death in the present era. In an attempt to conserve this form of literature, the students of B.A. (Humanities and Social Sciences) are creating awareness on orality via several projects, workshops and lectures. As part of this initiative, Sohail Hashmi, an eminent historian, academician and film maker delivered a talk on ‘Delhi –Forgotten Histories and Imagined Histories’ in Cluster Innovation Centre (CIC) on 6th October, 2016. This talk was a result of a collaborative effort by two ongoing projects in CIC, ‘Digital Repositories of Oral Stories’ and ‘Invisible Heritage: The historical gardens of Delhi’.

The talk began with Mr. Hashmi asking audience to separate mythology from history. He said, “In China there is a popular tale of a flying monkey. People tell this story to their children, but no one believes it to be real and in India, you all know who the flying monkey is”. He went ahead to dismiss some popular claims that is made by people of the ruling party at the centre and said “A quila in Delhi that is popularly known to be constructed by Prithviraj Chauhan, was actually never constructed by him.” He went ahead to prove his point by providing several evidences, one of them being that the plasters found on the wall did not exist at the time Prithviraj Chauhan ruled. Many other beliefs were dismissed by him among which several were from the book ‘Prithviraj Raso’ written by Chand Bardai, the court poet of Prithviraj Chauhan.

He went ahead to deconstruct several popular beliefs of the Mughal period saying ‘Jodhabai was not the wife of Akbar but his mother.’ He then clarified that the historian who recorded the Mughal history of India confused Akbar’s mother for his wife. Several other references are found which prove that it was Harkha Bae, who was Akbar’s wife and not Jodha Bai.

Shipra, one of the students who attended the talk said “The lecture inspired us to question even some of our own beliefs. There are many things which we all believe blindly. As students we should question everything that we come across.” The talk ended with the audience asking questions about the concept of Charbagh, the legendary history of Saraswati River and the Iron Pillar at Sarnath, all of which were answered by him very eloquently.

Srivedant Kar

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Image Credits: Dushyant Yadav

Every year the admission process of Delhi University (DU) gathers national attention due to its sky breaking cut offs. Over the years, the admission process has been made more accessible and easier but it still remains cumbersome. Every year after the cut offs are declared students have to go through various lengthy cut off spreadsheets which requires high attention for finding the intersection of the rows and columns to make sure which college they can get in. Once they get in the college, students want to know about the college surroundings.

After facing the similar problems during their admissions, a bunch of Cluster Innovation Centre (CIC) alumnus came up with an innovative idea to build a platform which could solve these problems. They created a startup called “TNine Infotech” to make apps that can help students. Their recent release is an admission app called ‘DU & U’. Anurag Singh, a member of the startup said, “Streamlining the information flow regarding admissions into DU has been the main motive behind creating DU&U. We want to enhance the experience of studying at DU through some very cool insights of lively places around their favourite colleges”.

The app helps students to know about the location of their college and how to reach it. It even informs students about the colleges and the cut offs with just a few clicks. Students can find their expected colleges based on previous year cut offs. They can access the latest information related to admissions with just single click. The app also helps you to know the hot spots like eateries, parks or monuments around your college.

DU & U can be downloaded on the play store here.: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.bmu.tnine.campusfrienddu&hl=en

Srivedant Kar

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Cluster Innovation Centre (CIC) has received more than 20000 application for two of its flagship courses i.e. B.A (Hons.) in Humanities and Social Sciences and, B.Tech in IT and Mathematical Innovations. The admissions in these courses are secured through entrance test. Earlier, the entrance test used to be limited to the students of Delhi University; but from this year, University decided to do away with this limitation and open the courses for an all India entrance. The admission this year will be done on the basis of the all India entrance test.

The director of CIC Dr. Madan Mohan Chaturvedi said, “We invited applications from across India and there has been a tremendous response. For our two flagship courses, we received 20,796 applications this year.”

Last year, the course of B.A (Hons.) received nearly 800 applications while BTech course had received nearly 600 applications. This year the number of applicants has grown by 1275% for the course of B.A (Hons.). The nodal officer for the course Dr.Saleem Mir said, “It was expected that we might receive thousands of applications this time but crossing 10 k and touching 11,000 was a little more than expected, though, not surprising at all as the degree B.A (Hons.) at CIC is based on solid concept and is highly relevant in the current Indian scenario.”

He also accounted the innovative concept of the degree, the online registration and the pan India test centers have made it easy for the students of far states to appear for the exam as the reason for the surge.

The applicants can find the sample questions and the syllabus for the test in the CIC website. Students can have their queries related to admission answered in the facebook page of the Institute.

Srivedant Kar

[email protected]