Careers 360 Nov09

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Transcript of Careers 360 Nov09

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contentscareers and courses

Jobs with a difference!

guru gyannarendra Jadav

MeMber, Planning CoMMission

“china produces five times more research. We complacently feel at par,

since we have a large english speaking set”

+

clinical research 30This nascent industry offers myriad job opportunities, and is worth about rupees 100 crores today

Teaching in schools 68The education sector in India is expanding in leaps and bounds. explore whether mentoring young minds is your calling

Information Management 74an mTech course where science, manage-ment and tech collide, to prepare you for the information needs of tomorrow

now you can earn and serve

cover sTorY 42

advIsorYQuantitative aptitude 24strategies to help you fine-tune your analytical skills and ace competitive exams

regional MBa Tests 28caT is not the only option. These entrance exam scores also make you eligible for a good management college

verbal ability and reasoning 40Last-minute preparation tips to crack reading comprehension, Grammar, and more in caT 2009

rights alert: deemed university 73It’s noT a university. That’s why you must look before you leap into a new course

expert advice, Featured

professionals

FeaTuresB-school ranking analysis 14 careers360 gets to the bottom of what’s wrong with b-school surveys. and ranks them, too

Pizza Papad with the nIdians 65 can the legendary national Institute of Design live up to students’ expectations?

36

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Publishermaheshwer Peri

Editorb mahesh sarma

Executive Editormerril Diniz

Special CorrespondentsUrmila rao sumita vaid Dixitshalini Gupta

DesignArt Directoranshul sharma

Sr Visualiserrajesh chawla

Jr VisualiserThomas mampilly

ResearchDr. nimesh chandrabharti m borah shiphony Pavithran

Business Officeab-12, 1st Floor, s.J. enclave,new Delhi — 110 029Tel: 46002914

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Printed and published by maheshwer Peri on behalf of Pathfinder Publishing Private Limited. editor: b mahesh sarma Printed at: International Print-o-Pac Limited, c 4 — c 11, Phase II, noida and published from ab-12, s.J. enclave, new Delhi — 110 029

Distributed by outlook Publishing (India) Pvt. Ltd., ab-10, safdurjung enclave, new Delhi — 110029

Cover DesignAnshul Sharma

november 2009 l volume I l Issue 8

careers360

competition360

Global Warming 94

Data Speak 93

International 96

Politics 96

Business and Finance 97

Science and Technology 98

CDSE Model Paper Solved

Economic IndicatorsNumbers are misleading!

120 select questions in GK

Sports 99

Culture 99

100

90

September 2009

Comp360-Cov.indd 1 8/25/09 4:47:12 PM

87EXTRA

Verbal Ability solved + Quicktake on Nobel Prize, Parliamentary Committees

Environment Studies 44saving mother earth, now a full-time job

Disaster Management 45Trained professionals needed, to save the day

Working for the Elderly 46caring for sr. citizens may be your calling

Community, Social Development 48India is the rural manager’s oyster

Health and Allied Sectors 50rural India needs good health care professionals

Child Welfare 53The perks of helping underprivileged kids

Women’s Studies 54Help empower the women of today

Conservation 56Protecting history, art and cultural heritage

Microfinance 57Helping the poor can yield rich dividends

Common Functions Across Sectors 60Funding raising, advocacy, Pr and more

Up Closesomdev

Devvarman

112

Topper Speak 27Professor amitabh Joshi tells us why a scientist never grows up!

Teachers’ Talk 35Dr. Thulasiraj discusses jobs in eye care

Oration 76The bill Gates commencement speech

Campus Review 78Institute of Public enterprise

Scholarship Review 80chevening Programme

Ask Us 82careers360 tackles your career conundrums

Ready Reckoner 84

Aroon Purie“There’s no point producing graduates who are in reality

unemployable”

20

REgUlARSletters 4

In the News 8

Motivation 26

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Letters

Do continue the campaign! We as Indians are proud to be part of it. This campaign will build a better future for the citizens of our country.

Divya Parekh

Higher education in our country has some glaring gaps. There are institutes which ask heavy donations to fill seats. If our institutes cannot afford to start and sustain on their own, then certainly they should not be given approvals to start their operations.

Atin Mhatre

I want to do MBA but fee is increasing like never before. How can a middle class person dare to dream to get admission in IIMs?

Dhruv Rawat

Ragging, eve-teasing is swelling in most institutes. It becomes difficult for women students to move freely. Government should increase security for women in all the institutes, so that they can study peacefully and confidently.

Rakesh Mehta

Bring institutions that are nation builders not money spinners! Indian education is too theoretical. Can we have a concept of ‘freedom of education’? Class 10th and 12th board exams have turned beast of burden for many students.

Raymond

Institutes function as per their whims and fancies. Teachers fail to deliver their best in teaching. There should be a general norm for all educational institutes. There is no proper financial back up for the parents who belong to the lower class. The promotion of scholarship or

sponsorship is marginal. Our government should lean on the side of dreams and aspi-rations of bright students, who are deprived of mon-etary benefits. Kindly guide them.

Rajiv Kumar

Education in agriculture is not up to the mark. Please form a committee, which works on the uplift of educa-tion in this sector. The com-mittee can comprise acade-micians, farmers of repute, retired agricultural scien-tists and NGOs engaged in rural development.

Dr. A. M. Oza

I am yearning for practi-cal learning. The approach on learning needs a radical change. Being a student of electronics (final year), I am challenged in fixing a radio.

Akhil

I completed my MBA (MS), from University of Lucknow, during 2007-2009 with first class marks. But due to lack of placement cell in the cam-pus, the students suffered a lot in the end. Recently questions have also arisen over the recognition of the University by the AICTE. The government should take strict action on such univer-sities and institutions.

Priyanka Pande

The so-called distance learn-ing concept has always been a mystery. I wonder how people operating from 500 sq. feet flats, actually call themselves colleges attached to universities and keep dis-tributing degrees without any proper examination and charging exorbitant fees.

Ranjit

Education is not for sale.Jagdish

I am very disappointed with the kind of placement pat-tern we have in India. During the selection process, some students are racially dis-criminated for their colour, caste, sex etc.

Deepika

Faculties are the heart of the institute. Set a norm for their recruitment! Stick to it!

Niladri Bihari Nayak

The government should help set up counselling depart-ments (both in schools and colleges). It will help stu-dents make an informed decision as to what career path they choose. This will help talented students to excel in fields in which they shine, and in turn will help India as a whole.

Akash Jacob

Faculty efficiency is a seri-ous issue. We should have regulatory actions on their recruitment and ability.

Saurabh Chatterjee

Education has become a money spinning business. We don’t need foreigners to teach us. Indian institutes are far better in imparting right knowledge.

Abbas Kapadia

World is moving ahead but we are still in the Stone Age! We need major reforms in the education system.

A Pratap kumar

Mushrooming of B-schools without any infrastructure and proper faculty should be put to an end. The fancy ads promoted by these fake institutes have ruined the future of innumerable stu-dents. Hope Department of Education will take care of this menace.

Aminul Haque

We are ready to pay. But let the money be utilised for getting proper faculties and not people who hardly know their own subjects.

Pallavi Majumder

Scrutinise and regulate the authenticity of informa-

tion provided on brochures, prospectus and advertise-ments of all the institutes. Education has become the latest business with no accountability towards the future of the students. There should be a provision of a helpline number, for stu-dents to complain against malpractices by several institutes, where innocent students are literally duped through false promises.

Tarun Sharma

Vinod Mehta on his life and times

A cAreers360 cAMPAIGN

MY CAREER! MY LIFE!

joIN usTeLL The hrD MINIsTer

your ProbLeMs. be heArD. sPeAk uP. FIGhT To

eNsure you GeT The eDucATIoN ThAT’s

ProMIseD

FIGhT For our FuTure

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I want to bring to your notice that it came as a shock to me that no banks give education loan on acting courses. They are not recognised under education loan. I had a tough time, arranging money for my son’s course.

Seema B. Sughand

Education... LET IT BE REAL

Yasir Yousuf

Mr. Sibal, please remove res-ervation policy from educa-tion system .

Meraj Shaikh

Mr Sibal, we are against res-ervation policy in education and jobs on the basis of caste. There are many brilliant stu-dents, who are still in search of good quality education.

Kuldeep

Please stop school teachers from taking private tuitions. They harass students, who oppose joining the classes. Please enforce laws related

to it strictly. They are earn-ing handsome amounts, bet-ter than their salaries.

Hitesh Raje Vij

Please provide counselling for parents, who push kids to become conventional engi-neers, doctors, lawyers etc. They should be convinced of the fact that there are cours-es beyond that.

Rahul A. Adi

Education must give the right base and help a child grow up with inquisitiveness and reasoning.

Dr. Deepali

Indian education should be cheaper like in the west-ern countries, where edu-cation is mostly free and in some cases the charges are minimal.

Sumeet Lakra

Mr. Sibal, please monitor the total fee structure of all universities.

Jatin Kashyap

Have a single governing body to rank universities. If the universities do not meet basic minimum criteria they should shut shop immedi-ately. Syllabus should be renewed every year.

Chirag

Let us all ensure that this forum speaks and not get reduced to the status of a networking place.

Aruna Iyer

I would request you to put a check on the growing num-ber of unauthorised institu-tions, which show lucrative educational offers without giving quality education.

Prashant Yadav

The quality of Indian educa-tion has degraded to a great extent. Today, the promotion of education is a business, not a service anymore.

Divya Prakash

Can we take action for the students who belong to the below poverty line. The gov-ernment should take nec-essary steps to help them pursue good quality higher education.

Prakash Pandey

Students should not be mis-guided by such false claims. Government should take actions against such insti-tutes.

Shubhav Sharma

We really need an overhaul of the education system. They must also be brought under control.

Greeta Patodia

I am a parent struggling to get my child clear his medi-cal entrance examination. This year has been an eye opener for me. I have real-ized that education in India

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Features

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is a big scandal. If you are interested then I can talk in detail about how the medical entrances are working in the country and how the univer-sities are also involved in the whole process.

Seema Sood

I am not a student but as an education advocacy activist you have my support.

Sanjay Patro

I went to Poland on study Visa last year. The college I joined proved to be bogus. They advertised MBA from LUBS. Later, I realized there was no association with LUBS. It was all fraud. Soon after, I left that college. I tried to get help from the Indian Embassy there but to no avail.

nishant Sharma

I want the minister to stop going back and forth on the issues of reforms. It would be nice if he stops mak-ing public announcements about reforms. He must immediately implement the malpractices act and the refund of fees act.

Anil Kishore

to look at a bad situation as a learning experience and now, I am much more postive.

Sulagna Mukherjee

I feel that education in India is too much about learning things by heart, rather than learning with understanding, so you are not job-ready when you graduate from an insti-tute. This pressure leads to students lacking in both social skills as well as application. We must adopt a more practical and experiential style of education.

Mary thomas

I found the interview with Mr Mehta really inspiring because in a way he was an underdog when he joined a magazine that was on the brink of shutting down. I feel he took a real risk, and in the end it paid off too. I was going through a really bad phase in my job, and feeling very negative about things. But his wise words and story encouraged me

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Letters

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Managing promotionsThe best option to get a pro-motion when you deserve it and still don’t get it is to change job; there is always demand for good profession-als in the market.

Anonymous

Late work hours, overburden-ing, companies are exploiting employees in terms of work. Now, you are given under-performer rating if you work, 9 to 6. It is expected that you work 9 to 9. Who is con-cerned about your personal life? If you want a good rating and promotion, start working late night, work on Saturday.At the end either you will have some broken personal relationships, no personal life, lose touch with your chil-dren, parents, friends.

Rohit Agarwal

The toughest part is when your boss is insecure and is scared that you will emerge smarter than him or her. I had some bad experiences in this area, and would like a story on how to manage an insecure boss.

Jini

Nanotechnology

Over time, I have found that the research in your issues though exhaustive is always incomplete. You must know that IIT Roorkee is the only IIT in the country that offers an MTech in Nanotechnology (with effect from 2008) based on the GATE score. The rest offer PhDs. Certainly Amity University cannot be pub-lished at the expense of IIT Roorkee. This amounts to providing incomplete infor-mation to students, which certainly is not your goal.

Anonymous

I would like more specific information on soft skills in your magazine. I have good domain knowledge in my field (IT), but it seems that one also needs to be present-able, know how to dress, what to wear etc. Please give tips on interviews, résumés, con-versation tips, interacting with seniors at a party etc.

Amit Bansal

While growing up, I felt very confused about what I wanted to do in life. I really wish we had an option like Careers360. I think this gen-eration is lucky to have a ded-icated source of information to understand and learn from. I advise them to think about their career from a long-term perspective, and also ask themselves what is it that they really want to achieve in life. Money isn’t everything. Working with good people, learning from those with experience, understanding everything about your field, these are important aspects freshers should consider.

Shereen B

My daughter wants to join NIFT, eventhough she is pur-suing a bachelor’s degree in commerce. She has always been a bit creative, and does lots of drawings and crafts at home. I want her to do Mas-ter’s in commerce, but she is not listening. I just want her to be happy. I read your arti-cle on fashion on your web site. But please note I would like more on the same.

N Tyagi, Noida

I like the interviews with the editors in your magazine. I want to read more on these. You should include some international write-ups, also please, incorporate far more global content.

Srinivasan

Yeah, and what about the College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering at Albany, one of the best in the world, especially the infrastructure, stipend of 20k, a 2 to 1 ratio of faculty and students, etc?

Sachin

I am a scientist of Indian ori-gin working at a university in the UK, and I’m surprised by all this silly talk of “careers in nanotechnology”. Most uni-versities, including the IITs and IISc, don’t have the basic

instrumentation neces-sary to do meaningful nano-technology research.

Jeff Stazlick

Studying Aboard

The only word I can find now to appreciate your coverage is ‘Excellent” as you have given maximum information within the 26 pages on over-seas education.

Dr Paul Chellakumar, Campus Abroad

The foreign education story is a good piece of research. For the 10-12 countries, that you identified, you have put in most of the information in a very user-friendly man-ner. I even thought that with this as a base material, one could easily zero in on a good course without the aid of any counsellor. One thing, which stuck me is the number of students’ data you have published. You are the only one, who looked at individual number of students who go to different countries. Newspapers normally confuse between total number of foreign students with the num-ber of new admissions. It shows that your research team is doing good work. But please ensure that it is exhaus-tive too, which I find is lacking in some places.

Subha, Chennai

October 2009 Rs 40

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IntervIew vinod mehta

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Careers/CoursesShIppIng InduStryeconomIcShealthcare

CraCkingSat/ap/act

FeaturemuSIc JockeyIng

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uP closesanjay leela

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Monster india

ALL THAT YOU MUST KNOW

Oct cover-Final.indd 1 9/25/09 5:41:25 PM

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Share your opinion, insights, bouquets and brickbats at [email protected]

Well done, scope for more

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carEErs NEWs caMPUs NEWs NEW cOUrsEs EVENTs

ADMiSSiONS

NMAT 2010: NMIMS admission �test goes online

Delhi School of Economics: �Admissions open for MIB, MHROD

PHD programmes at Guru Gobind �Singh Indraprastha University

16-month MBA, 11-month Master’s �(management) at Asian Institute of Management

TERI University – Two-year full- �time MBA programmes (Business Sustainability and Infrastructure)

International PG diplomas - �Institute of Insurance and Risk Management (IIRM)

www.careers360.comget details at

PGDM 2010: iMT GhaziabadThe institute announces admissions for the 3-year PGDM programmes 2010. One can opt to specialise in Human Resources, International Business, Finance or Information Technology. Candidate must have appeared for the Common Admission Test (CAT) to be conducted by IIMs from November 28-December 7, 2009. The application forms will be issued till November 27. The deadline for submission of application is December 07, 2009.

improve your English language skillsPearson Test of English Academic (PTE Academic), a new computer-based test of English language proficiency is being launched in India. Marjorie Scardino, Chief Executive Officer, Pearson plc, shares, “This innovative computer-based test is designed to give schools and employers a lot more to go on, a lot more quickly when they’re trying to decide whether a candidate is ready to learn in English or work in English.” She hopes that employers and students gain equally. The fee for India is set at US$160. A variety of test preparation material, and sample papers are available at www.pearsonpte.com/resources.

Brazil, India, Russsia, South Africa and China (BRICS), endowed with vast resources and potential, are aiming to become leading economic powers. Achiev-ing this goal depends on their ability to tap and grow knowledge resources through

research and related skill development of existent workforce. Thompson Reuters, looked at their research output, in terms of quality, quantity, reach and effectiveness. While the inaugural report examined Brazil; India will now be put under the scanner.

According to the report, India is lagging behind other key countries and some BRICS partners, thus needing a government effort to invest in education and research such as improving facilities, creating institutions such as the Indian Institute of Science Educa-tion and Research to achieve higher standards in scientific research and education. With a large educated population, the number of degree holders has increased from 2.4% (20.5 million) in 1991 to 4.5 % (48.7 million) in 2005. This would provide the manpower base for reserach activities. Publications have also grown in the last decade- 1998 saw 16,500 papers, which rose to 30,000 in 2007, improving India’s ability to contribute to science.

india lags in scientific research

indo-French dual degree in Nuclear ScienceDelhi University will offer this programme in association with French institutes. “The collaboration with seven French institutes for this dual degree programme is the first ever tie-up of this kind in our history, espe-cially in sensitive domains like nuclear energy,” Professor RK Shivpuri, Head, Department of Physics, Delhi University, said. Students will receive their Master’s in nuclear energy after spending their third and fourth semesters in Paris, through this programme. In addition, students will receive full support of organisations work-ing in the field of civil nuclear energy such as EDF and Areva, and will also get the opportunity to intern with these organisa-tions.

The AiEEE may be going online, soon Three directors from the National Insti-tute of Technology (NIT) at Allahabad, Calicut and Agartala, have set up a commit-tee to evaluate the All India Engineering Entrance Exam (AIEEE). They will look at taking the exam online, and review the cur-rent structure and the weightage to be given to Class 12 exam results. The committee proposes to submit its report by January 2010. Vacant seats across NITs, in spite of counselling rounds , is also being looked into. The first meeting of the NITs Council, under the Chairmanship of the Union Min-ister for Human Resource Development, Kapil Sibal, requested all 20 NITs to pro-vide a vision statement open for discussion at the next meeting of the NIT Council.

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carEErs NEWs caMPUs NEWs NEW cOUrsEs EVENTs

Job Alerts

Science and technology fellow- �ships at JNCASR, Bangalore

NDA & NAE (I) 2010 examinations: �Army, navy and air force wings

Department of Biotechnology: �Khorana Program for Scholars undertaking research at University of Wisconsin, Madison

Oriental Bank of Commerce �announces 916 PO positions

Atomic energy regulatory board �requires scientific/technical officers

IDBI Bank needs 1900 executives �and managers

www.careers360.comget details at

Apollo Group to open medical collegeAccording to Prathap C. Reddy, Chairman, Apollo Group, the hospital wants to open a new medical college. Reddy shared that Apollo was already in talks with three reputed international universities for a tie-up, but refused to divulge the name of the varsities. “We want to go in for super speciality hospitals only, not multispeciality, because we don’t want to compete with the existing primary and secondary health care centres. We want to complement them with the tertiary speciality,” Reddy stated.

soft skills for profession-als in the finance sectorBesides domain knowledge, which prepares its students for a career in the Banking, Securities ,Finance and Insurance sector, Centum Learning, a Bharati associate, in collaboration with Annamalai University and IGNOU, has introduced a personality development module in its degree and diploma programmes. According to Sanjeev Duggal, CEO and Executive Director, Centum Learning Limited, the methods adopted to teach the programmes would also equip students to join the corporate world and not merely get a degree.

Team Lease Services Employment Out-look Report for the October to Decem-

ber 2009 quarter, states that employment outlook is flat, but the business sentiments have started to pick up. As per the report, health care has been the least affected sec-tor in the recent downturn and the recruit-ment activity is taking place. However, sectors such a retail, media, FMCG, infra-structure, manufacturing and engineering are still lagging behind. There is an increase in the intention to hire at all managerial levels except at the senior level. The sur-vey also states that there is likely to be a steady increase in hiring across functions except for production, human resources and customer service. “During the past three months as well as the last one year, Hyderabad, Chennai and Bangalore, had the highest attrition rates compared to other cities,” says Surabhi Mathur-Gandhi, General Manager, Team lease services.

Companies want to hire at junior, mid level

Now prepare for bItsAt 2010, online Resonance, a coaching organisation for IIT-JEE, has launched the BITSAT (Birla Institute of Technology and Science Admission Test) 2010 online test series. Priyavrat Pal Singh, Manager (Academics) at Resonance stated that the obejective is to provide the students enough practise sessions so as to help them in their attempt to get admission to any of the three colleges of BITS situated in Goa, Hyderabad and Pilani. Even those not enrolled at Reso-nance can take the test series, which have a set of 16 online tests with questions per-taining to the entire syllabus. Visit www.resonance.ac.in for more details.

Nalanda revival gets AseAN approval The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is enthusiastic about India’s plans to revive the Nalanda University in Bihar, a ‘great ancient centre of learning.’ The heads of the ASEAN member states in a press release said, they were deeply impressed with the sanctity and significance of the great ancient centre of learning in Nalanda that attracted many scholars from South, South-East and East Asia. Historically, Nalanda University was ‘a great centre of intellectual activity in Buddhist philosophy, mathematics, medicine and other disciplines.’ There are high hopes that revival of the university would provide students a space to acquire liberal and human education and give them the means needed for pure intellectual, spiritual, psychological pursuits and thus achieve qualities of toler-ance and accommodation.

tenth anniversary for terI UniversityThe Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) University celebrated its tenth anniversary on October 24, 2009, renew-ing its commitment to advanced learning in areas of energy, environment and sustain-able development. TERI University has partially met the need of producing leaders in various disciplines through the years and its major strength lies in the parent body TERI with its accumulated knowledge, and expertise. Students from DU, Jamia and IP University participated in the celebra-tions. Dr. RK Pachauri, Chancellor TERI University and Director-General TERI, addressed the gathering.

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carEErs NEWs caMPUs NEWs NEW cOUrsEs EVENTs

Vanier CGS Scholarships, Canada

Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarships announces full-time graduate studies and research at an eligible Canadian university at the doctoral level in the social sciences or humanities, the natu-ral sciences or engineering, or a health-related field. The Fellowship covers tui-tion and maintenance. The details of the scholarship programme is available at www.vanier.gc.ca. The applications are to be submitted before November 6, 2009.

Watch out for !

Indian Institute of Remote Sensing: PG coursesIIRS announces multi-disciplinary courses like MTech, MSc and other diploma and certificate courses. Preference will be given to the candidates who have a valid GATE score. Fellowship support is also available. The last date of receipt of application for PG Diploma & Certificate in Remote Sensing (RS) & Geographical Information System (GIS) is November 27. For details, log on to www.iirs-nrsc.gov.in.

IGNOU/Papua New Guinea connectionIndira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Papua New Guinea University of Technology to provide educational and training programmes. This increases IGNOU’s presence in 34 countries, with 53 partner institutions abroad. Dr. Silima Nanda, Director, International Division, informed that programmes at the PNG UNITECH are likely to commence from July 2010.

Applications invited for NDA, NAE examsHere’s the opportunity for those who want to join the armed forces as officers. The Union Public Service Commission will be conducting the National Defence Academy (NDA) and Naval Academy Examination (I) on April 18, 2010. The National Defence Academy 125th Course and Naval Academy 45th (Executive Branch) courses will commence from December 30, 2010. Last date for application is November 23, 2009.

Taking broad measures that intend to capture employability and international appeal apart from the more crucial factors such as teaching and research, the Times Higher

Education – QS World University Rankings 2009, is out. Harvard University, USA, has once again topped the chart followed by University of Cambridge, UK and Yale University, USA. Sixteen institutions from Asia now figure in the 2009 rankings vis-à-vis 14 in 2008. The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kanpur at 237, IIT Madras at 284, University of Delhi at 291 and IIT Kharagpur at 335 figure, among the top 350 institutions in these rankings. While USA (32) and UK (18) account for fifty percent of World’s best universi-ties, Australia with eight universities, has two more institutions than Japan this year.

Rankings: Harvard University is No. 1

50 percent seats for NRIs and PIOs at this medical schoolNon-Resident Indians (NRIs) and Per-sons of Indian Origin (PIOs), get half the seats at a special university in Bangalore, to educate their children beginning next year. The Minister for Overseas Indian Affairs, Vyalar Ravi announced that the Manipal Academy of Higher Education (MAHE), under supervision of his ministry would set up this university, a first of its kind, to pro-vide international quality higher education. MAHE is funding the entire project on its own. According to Sam Pitroda, who heads the National Knowledge Commission, India needs at least 1,133 more universi-ties. The existent 367 Indian universities, according to Pitroda cater to a mere seven percent of the 18-24 age group which has to improve substantially. A large emigrant population from states like Kerala, Punjab, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh, may pave the way for more NRI-PIO uni-versities in the future.

Jack Welch’s new avataar as a teacherFormer CEO of General Electric, Jack Welch will now begin a new innings as teacher. The Jack Welch Management Institute at Chancellor University Class-es is offering MBA and Master of Man-agement programmes online and at the school’s Cleveland campus, both catering to different audiences. The faculty would receive inputs from Welch along with online video updates from him about the current business issues. The programmes would approximately cost $20,000 as each credit is valued at $600.

Guruvar Awards‘Established by the Varkey Gems Foundation, Gurvar Awards aims to hon-our the teaching community. According to officials there are multiple awards and the last date for nominations has been extended to November 15, 2009.

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12 NOVEMbEr 2009360carEErs

carEErs NEWs caMPUs NEWs NEW cOUrsEs EVENTs

Wanted: Passionate Contributors

Careers360 is on a mission — to inform and empower — which can only succeed if it is a collective endeavour. Now, we need people across India to join us.

You may be an academic, student or a professional. You could be a CEO, a man-ager or an executive. But, all you need to have is a flair for writing concisely, have a nose for data and numbers, be obsessed with getting facts right, and above all, have an abiding commitment to the youth of the country.

What do we expect you to do?

As a contributor, you would be the primary contact for the magazine in your geography. We will require you to occa-sionally do full stories for us, assist our editorial team in gathering information, and be engaged with the idea to enable the delivery of a better product.

COMPENSATION

In addition to the sense of satisfaction you will gain, we will compensate you adequately for your efforts.

Write to: [email protected] or call us at 011-46142503.

New course announcements,university/institute news,

conferences, summer schools,

job announcements

Campus newsletter: If your school, college, institute has one, send us a copy. We will feature the best pieces

If there is an event, seminar or conference at your institute, mail us

at: [email protected]

Mail your letters to us at: [email protected]

www.careers360.com

Log on to our website

FOR REGULAR UPDATES ON

Common test for new central universitiesUnion Minister for Human Resource Development, Kapil Sibal proposes that new central universities should conduct a common entrance test for admission pur-poses, enabling common counselling and saving visits to various locations. The sug-gestion came about at the conference of Vice-chancellors from the newly formed central universities. Citing international trends, the Minister suggested temporary mobility should be possible, students and faculty should have flexibility to move from one university to the other. Also on the cards are a uniform academic calendar and credit transfer schemes.

Manipal University opens arms to CIE studentsManipal University has enabled students with the University of Cambridge Interna-tional Examinations (CIE) certifications to apply to the university by recognising the same as equivalent to 10+2 for the purposes of admission. Ian Chambers, CIE Regional Manager, South Asia said, the recognition by Manipal university would enable Cam-bridge certification students from all over the country apply to Manipal every year.” CIE qualifications have been recognised by universities, educational providers and employers globally in about 150 countries. MAHE is one of the few universites that recognise the same.

Fletcher School comes calling

If you wish to study the full spectrum of issues that are inherent to doing business in an international environment, the Fletcher School at Tufts University is one of the

better places to go. Known for its expertise in international affairs, Fletcher is the latest professional school to jump onto the management bandwagon. As Professor Stephen W. Bosworth, Dean comments, the idea was to leverage the substantial cross-cultural learn-ing the Fletcher has built over the years to teach students better management skills. The Fletcher Master’s programme in International Business also integrates fields of study of the former including international geopolitics, development economics, environment and resource policy, culture, humanities and trade legislation that are practised globally. With close to forty percent students outside the US, Fletcher school also offers scholarships to help defray tuition costs. The application date for early notification for enrolment in Fall 2010 is November 15, 2009, while the final deadline is March 1, 2010. The school also has a long standing online MA programme in international affairs.

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14 NOVEMbEr 2009360carEErs

B-School Ranking analySiS

by Mahesh Sarma

As the admission season begins, ranking of institutions follow, with B-schools being ranked the most. While some of the

rankings are distinctly misleading, one would find it very difficult to question the integrity of players like India Today, Outlook, Businessworld etc. If it is so, as the table alongside shows, why is it that the ranking of most B-schools swings like a pendulum from one extreme to the other? The elite ISB too, suffers the swing, getting a lowly 13 in Business Today 2009 to an ok 4 in Business India 2009. The variability in the ranking goes up substantially as one moves down-wards in the listing. Careers360 goes behind the numbers, and this is what we found.

Perception may be a culpritAn old hand at opinion surveys, BT conclusively proves what is wrong with business school rankings. While we are not advocates of consistency, the kind of variability this ranking displays is to be seen to be believed. It has the largest number of odd men out when we ana-lysed the Top 20.

Another classic example of percep-tion playing havoc is the recent Outlook survey, which has jumped on to the per-ception-based ranking bandwagon from this year. NITIE lost 17 places, Amrita (which was in the top bunch last year) lost about 45 places, just to identify a few prominent losers.

And less said the better, about the

as a magazine, which believes in social responsibility, we thought of identifying what is wrong, before trying to do something about it

surveys conducted by Zee Business and Mail Today. If quotes attributed to Samir Ahluwalia, Editor, Zee Busi-ness are to be believed, parameters like academic papers, books in the library etc. are debatable and hence not worthy of consideration, but factors like Global Placements, International Internships or Global Faculty must be critical ele-ments. When you compare the results with the parameters they claim to con-sider, you could draw your own conclu-sions on the integrity of their survey.

The same applies to the Mail Today survey that grants 40% weight to per-ception and 60% to information pro-vided by institutes. It conveniently ignored leading institutes like FMS, citing late submission of data. If the objective is to give readers the right advice, it fails miserably. It may as well have termed it an advertorial. No wonder, institutes in the habit of lying, came on top in quite a few categories. But it may be difficult to lay all the blame on perception, since results of surveys like that of Pagalguy, a known MBA website, are very close to objective rankings.

What objective rankings sayThe situation is slightly better when it comes to objective rankings. But even here, Business India, a longtime player in the game, gets away by creating large enough clusters, so that very few schools have reason to complain (its A+ cluster, in 2009 has 67 schools). But such a ranking is of not much use to the stu-dent, since he does not study in a cluster.

He studies in a school, and he needs to know how one compares to another. Or else the cluster must be small enough to fit the decision-making set of a stu-dent, which is not more than 10 schools at best.

On paper, the best among the lot in terms of methodology is the Business-world ranking, though it could do with substantial improvement in its method-ology and parameters (see page 16/17 for a more detailed analysis).

However, it is not fair to blame the media completely. The absolute lack of transparency on the part of the B-schools when it comes to sharing cru-cial data does make it impossible to develop a sensible methodology. Some schools almost behave as if placements are a national secret, and revealing the usage of placement consultants is akin to selling a nuclear plan! But the answer lies not in taking shortcuts. That would mean GIGO. (Garbage in Garbage out).

What is the way out? We are work-ing with a team of experts to identify a way out; we will come back to you with more details in the next issue. But as a magazine sworn to standing up for the student, we would be interested in knowing what you think. Write in to us at [email protected].

(We analysed the top players in the rank-ing business. Mail Today/Zee Business feature in the tables only as an indicator of what is wrong. If any of the publica-tions mentioned in the story, identifies factual inaccuracies, they are most wel-come to write in to us.)

RepoRt caRd

b-schOOl raNkiNg

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15 NOVEMbEr 2009360carEErs

One rank wonders: BT has 8 entries in three years, whereas BI has 3, BW 3 and Outlook 4

Rankings Business India Business Today Businessworld Outlook

Agency if any N/A N/A N/A Neil Neil Neil Synv Synv Synv MDRA GfK C-fore

2009 2008 2007 2009 2008 2007 2009 2007 2005 2009 2008 2007

Publ

ic b

-sch

ools

IIM Ahmedabad 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 — 1 1 1

IIM Kolkata 3 4 3 3 3 3 2 2 — 3 — 3

IIM Lucknow 6 6 5 6 5 5 4 7 — 5 3 4

IIM Bangalore 2 2 2 2 2 2 — — — 2 — 2

IIM Kozhikode 18 17 15 12 13 — — — 8 — 12

IIM Indore 17 18 — 12 8 6 6 10 — 7 4 9

NITIE Mumbai 14 13 12 — — — 5 8 4 22 5 8

FMS Delhi 11 11 11 11 9 12 7 6 — 10 6 —

IIFT New Delhi 13 16 17 17 14 16 12 11 3 14 9 13

JBIMS Mumbai 10 12 15 5 7 6 9 — — 11 14 —

SJ SOM IIT Mumbai — — — — — — 14 18 — 20 12 16

Priv

ate

b-sc

hool

s

IMT Ghaziabad 9 9 10 — — — 18 13 8 15 10 11

MDI Gurgaon 7 8 7 — 16 18 11 — 1 9 11 6

XLRI Jamshedpur 5 5 6 7 5 8 3 3 2 4 2 5

ICFAI B Scool Hyderabad 12 7 8 9 9 9 — — — 17 — 14

NMIMS Mumbai 16 15 13 18 — — 10 12 — 16 15 10

SPJIMR Mumbai 8 10 9 14 11 11 8 9 5 6 7 7

XIM Bhubaneswar 20 16 — 17 — 13 14 6 19 8 15

IMI New Delhi 15 14 14 — — — 15 17 11 13 17

Wellinger Mumbai — — 19 15 — — 21 21 19 21 16 —

ISB Hyderabad 4 3 4 13 — — — — — — — —

SIBM Pune 19 — — 4 4 4 — — — 13 17 —

KJ Somaiya Mumbai — — — 20 — — 16 19 — — 19 —

TAPMI Manipal — — — — — — — — 13 — — 18

Alliance BA Bangalore — — — — — — 20 15 — — 20 —

LIBA Chennai — — — 9 — — — 20 35 — — —

SCMHRD Pune — — 18 — — — 17 16 — — — 19

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Report Card b-scHOOL raNKING aNaLYsIs

BUSINESS INDIA BUSINESS TODAY BUSINESSWORLD MAIL TODAY/zEE BUSINESS OUTLOOK

PARAMETERS CRITERION WhAT IS STICKINg/ STANDINg OUT

CRITERION WhAT IS STICKINg/ STANDINg OUT

CRITERION WhAT IS STICKINg/ STANDINg OUT

CRITERION WhAT IS STICKINg/ STANDINg OUT

CRITERION WhAT IS STICKINg/ STANDINg OUT

Entry requirements All B-schools that respond either through their websites or through filled-up questionnaire

Captures maximum number of institutions

30 schools selected from a list of 60 based on a survey

No announced criterion for the selection of top 60 schools in the consideration set. Selection bias is a distinct possibility

Only AICTE approved 2-year programmes

Misses out on both good non-AICTE approved schools, as well as 1-year programmes

MT: National Capital Region schools ZB: All India

No clear basis for selection provided

Only 2-year programmes from institutes, which are five years old at least and graduated three batches

Misses out on one-year programmes, as well as institutes that opened after 2004

Total No of institutes 1700 60 200 While Mail Today claims to have surveyed 30 B-schools no information is available with respect to Zee Business

100

No of institutes surveyed 190 Looks like fatigue is setting in on the part of participating B-schools

30 94 89

Non-participating institutes 4 These were still ranked N.A N.A 7 Who are these institutions and why did they not participate?

Agency Own website AC-Neilson Synovate MDRA

Total Marks 1000 N.A 970 1000

Criterion for evaluation Infrastructure, background, intellectual interface (175)

Has 50 marks for background. What is it and how does one measure it?

Infrastructure

It is impossible to comment on any of the criteria, because none of these factors have any assigned weight in the survey

Interestingly, to provide a sense of fair play, BT too gives a long laundry list of sub-parameters for each criterion

But without adequate information on the relative weights of individual parameters, the scoring process and the process of conversion of scores into the rank, it remains just that, a laundry list

Infrastructure (130) Location and recreation get 40 points each. So by these criteria Nirma and IIMA gets equal marks

Faculty

Placement Record

Salary Packages

Global Exposure

Industry Interface

Infrastructure

Course Content

Other than mentioning some of these parameters, elaboration appears irrelevant to both of them

Infrastructure (174) How does one measure a parameter like support staff?

Criterion for evaluation Curriculum, faculty, academics (430)

Here we have the category Academic Programmes ( 150). What this measures is left to the imagination

Admissions, Teaching methodology

Learning experience (270)

This is a comprehensive listing, one of the best in class evaluation

Selection process (187) No points for the process. Just the type of exam gets 105 points

Criterion for evaluation Faculty International exposure (90)

Why does this criterion get 10% weightage?

Academic Excellence (227) Neatly laid out

Criterion for evaluation Alumni, placements, students (315)

Why should student quality and placements be put together?

Placements, quality of placement

Placement (280) Only ranking to look at lateral placements. Also scoring appears very mechanical or at least not very different in many cases.

Placements (182) No. of recruiters visiting stands out. But ranking on that basis?

Criterion for evaluation Finances (20), MDP (60) Will somebody please explain the rationale of putting these two parameters together and calling it growth?

Reputation, presence of specialised units

ROI (200) A great initiative, but to add up international and domestic salaries together and average them out, is not the best way to go

Personality Development and Industrial Exposure (231)

Nearly 100 points goes to dificult to define criteria like opportunity to try new ideas, involvement (for whom?) in framing the vision and participation (by whom) in institution-building activities

Validation process Has a vague statement about cross-verification. No data available

N.A No information on validation provided

MT: Acknowledges 60% weightage to information provided by the institutes

Validation appears to be an alien concept

Field visits by researchers to 89 institutes that par-ticipated in the survey

But then all they did was to interview 5-6 people

Relative weights for survey parameters

N.A None assigned N.A N.A Recruiters’ perception (108 in 10 cities) ( 50% weight)

Sample size N.A MBA aspirants 134, MBA students 132, Executives 109, Functional heads 111

Better mix of sample, but lesser in absolute numbers

Recruiters 357, Faculty and students 350+ and Aspirants 118

N.A Recruiters (108). Students and Faculty (539)

Quicktake This year’s ranking is slightly better in terms of number of schools individually ranked ( From 30 to 50). Lack of clarity on parameters and non-availability of individual scores makes this ranking too vague. Large size of the clusters is also a no-no

For a perception survey, the sample size appears too small. But the biggest error appears to be the admission of the surveyor that prominent omissions by the respondents while forming the consideration set is identified and brought to the attention of the respondent. This is almost akin to prompting.

Both in terms of detailing, as well as the honesty to separate perception from objective score, this one scores very high. Kudos for bringing out the percep-tion-based ranking on the website so that the reader does not get confused. The only place this ranking falters, is the lack of information on validation.

MT: It is smart piece of writing that attempts to gain credibility by dropping names of good schools like FMS, IIFT etc. but goes on to promote what suits them ZB: A complete list of rankings but no explanation of the ranking

Conversion of perceptive ranking into specific scores, gives an impression of being an objective ranking. Par-tially because until last year it was so. Outlook should have informed the reader that they are changing their survey mode, up front, and given an appropriate reason. The methodology is more robust, but the conversion process of ranking scores to marks is not very clearly mentioned in the survey.

Comparative analysis of methodology

B+B-SCH

OOL RANKING

REPORT CARD

B

Page 19: Careers 360 Nov09

17 NOVEMbEr 2009360carEErs

BUSINESS INDIA BUSINESS TODAY BUSINESSWORLD MAIL TODAY/zEE BUSINESS OUTLOOK

PARAMETERS CRITERION WhAT IS STICKINg/ STANDINg OUT

CRITERION WhAT IS STICKINg/ STANDINg OUT

CRITERION WhAT IS STICKINg/ STANDINg OUT

CRITERION WhAT IS STICKINg/ STANDINg OUT

CRITERION WhAT IS STICKINg/ STANDINg OUT

Entry requirements All B-schools that respond either through their websites or through filled-up questionnaire

Captures maximum number of institutions

30 schools selected from a list of 60 based on a survey

No announced criterion for the selection of top 60 schools in the consideration set. Selection bias is a distinct possibility

Only AICTE approved 2-year programmes

Misses out on both good non-AICTE approved schools, as well as 1-year programmes

MT: National Capital Region schools ZB: All India

No clear basis for selection provided

Only 2-year programmes from institutes, which are five years old at least and graduated three batches

Misses out on one-year programmes, as well as institutes that opened after 2004

Total No of institutes 1700 60 200 While Mail Today claims to have surveyed 30 B-schools no information is available with respect to Zee Business

100

No of institutes surveyed 190 Looks like fatigue is setting in on the part of participating B-schools

30 94 89

Non-participating institutes 4 These were still ranked N.A N.A 7 Who are these institutions and why did they not participate?

Agency Own website AC-Neilson Synovate MDRA

Total Marks 1000 N.A 970 1000

Criterion for evaluation Infrastructure, background, intellectual interface (175)

Has 50 marks for background. What is it and how does one measure it?

Infrastructure

It is impossible to comment on any of the criteria, because none of these factors have any assigned weight in the survey

Interestingly, to provide a sense of fair play, BT too gives a long laundry list of sub-parameters for each criterion

But without adequate information on the relative weights of individual parameters, the scoring process and the process of conversion of scores into the rank, it remains just that, a laundry list

Infrastructure (130) Location and recreation get 40 points each. So by these criteria Nirma and IIMA gets equal marks

Faculty

Placement Record

Salary Packages

Global Exposure

Industry Interface

Infrastructure

Course Content

Other than mentioning some of these parameters, elaboration appears irrelevant to both of them

Infrastructure (174) How does one measure a parameter like support staff?

Criterion for evaluation Curriculum, faculty, academics (430)

Here we have the category Academic Programmes ( 150). What this measures is left to the imagination

Admissions, Teaching methodology

Learning experience (270)

This is a comprehensive listing, one of the best in class evaluation

Selection process (187) No points for the process. Just the type of exam gets 105 points

Criterion for evaluation Faculty International exposure (90)

Why does this criterion get 10% weightage?

Academic Excellence (227) Neatly laid out

Criterion for evaluation Alumni, placements, students (315)

Why should student quality and placements be put together?

Placements, quality of placement

Placement (280) Only ranking to look at lateral placements. Also scoring appears very mechanical or at least not very different in many cases.

Placements (182) No. of recruiters visiting stands out. But ranking on that basis?

Criterion for evaluation Finances (20), MDP (60) Will somebody please explain the rationale of putting these two parameters together and calling it growth?

Reputation, presence of specialised units

ROI (200) A great initiative, but to add up international and domestic salaries together and average them out, is not the best way to go

Personality Development and Industrial Exposure (231)

Nearly 100 points goes to dificult to define criteria like opportunity to try new ideas, involvement (for whom?) in framing the vision and participation (by whom) in institution-building activities

Validation process Has a vague statement about cross-verification. No data available

N.A No information on validation provided

MT: Acknowledges 60% weightage to information provided by the institutes

Validation appears to be an alien concept

Field visits by researchers to 89 institutes that par-ticipated in the survey

But then all they did was to interview 5-6 people

Relative weights for survey parameters

N.A None assigned N.A N.A Recruiters’ perception (108 in 10 cities) ( 50% weight)

Sample size N.A MBA aspirants 134, MBA students 132, Executives 109, Functional heads 111

Better mix of sample, but lesser in absolute numbers

Recruiters 357, Faculty and students 350+ and Aspirants 118

N.A Recruiters (108). Students and Faculty (539)

Quicktake This year’s ranking is slightly better in terms of number of schools individually ranked ( From 30 to 50). Lack of clarity on parameters and non-availability of individual scores makes this ranking too vague. Large size of the clusters is also a no-no

For a perception survey, the sample size appears too small. But the biggest error appears to be the admission of the surveyor that prominent omissions by the respondents while forming the consideration set is identified and brought to the attention of the respondent. This is almost akin to prompting.

Both in terms of detailing, as well as the honesty to separate perception from objective score, this one scores very high. Kudos for bringing out the percep-tion-based ranking on the website so that the reader does not get confused. The only place this ranking falters, is the lack of information on validation.

MT: It is smart piece of writing that attempts to gain credibility by dropping names of good schools like FMS, IIFT etc. but goes on to promote what suits them ZB: A complete list of rankings but no explanation of the ranking

Conversion of perceptive ranking into specific scores, gives an impression of being an objective ranking. Par-tially because until last year it was so. Outlook should have informed the reader that they are changing their survey mode, up front, and given an appropriate reason. The methodology is more robust, but the conversion process of ranking scores to marks is not very clearly mentioned in the survey.

adopted by various b-school rankings

junkB-SCH

OOL RAnkInG

REPORT CARD

B+B-SCH

OOL RANKING

REPORT CARD

A-B-SCH

OOL RANKING

REPORT CARD

Page 20: Careers 360 Nov09

18 NOVEMbEr 2009360carEErs

Report Card b-scHOOL raNKING aNaLYsIs

Ranking of schools RatheR than pRogRammes: A student goes for a programme. The general PGDM at MDI attracts a very differ-ent audience vis-a-vis PGDM (IM) or PGDM (HR). No ranking captures this, barring probably the ones done by coaching institutes like T.I.M.E.

Quality of students: Any institution can pay the required fee and get the CAT score for shortlisting can-didates. So granting marks for it means very little. The cut-off percentile counts here, the relative percentile within the broad clusters counts much more. The process, level of transparency, number of lists that schools put out, number of seats and refund policy are much more crucial.

Quality of faculty: The number of PhDs is a good indica-tor for the robustness of teach-ing, but for a student, number of faculty with hardcore industry experience scores any day. Most surveys let the institutes get away with a bland category called ‘fac-ulty with industry and training experience’.

infRastRuctuRe fixa-tion: An AC classroom, or a swimming pool, is great, but its absence does not hurt. But the absence of a resi-dential facility does hurt. So, relative weights must be used to determine what adds value, which is not visible.

placements: The average salary must never be the average of domestic and international. For example: BW slips when it calculates the all crucial ROI. It adds everything together. Domestic and international salaries are absolutely incomparable, unless normalised.

inteRnational place-ments: Sales executives, counter salesman workshop managers, ad sales

coordinators, these are some of the jobs we found in the placement records of some institutions, offering a package of 3-5 lakhs per annum. Do they count just because these jobs are based abroad?

salaRy stRuctuRe: Another gim-mick is declare a 12 lakh package, where in 5 is the salary and 7 is the incentive. The ratings must highlight this.

output Rating: A B-school has three kinds of outputs: research, cor-porate training, and placements. They must be rated independently, but slot-ted together in one broad parameter.

present an impression that, since it is independent, they can conveniently wash off their hands. People identify with the magazine, not the agency. The parameters, differential weights, scoring and final reportage, each must have the imprint of the magazine. Ultimately the ownership lies with the magazine.

paRameteR definition: Infra-structure and placements are the only two parameters that all surveys have in common. The rest that goes into the value-addition process of a B-school, is often structured in a rather erratic manner. For instance, slotting quality of students, which is an input alongwith

placements which is distinctly an output, reflects a certain level of

intellectual laziness.

the foReign col-laboRation deal: Any institution can take its

students for a one-week junket to a foreign college, if they have the money. That college would also happily oblige for a few pen-nies. If we count this as collabo-ration, then we have only our-selves to blame. Another culprit is the number of MOUs. It is just another number, unless fully operationalised.

data on defaulteRs: Every year BusinessWeek publishes a list of institu-tions, which did not participate. Barring probably an apologetic note about the holy trinity not participating but still being ranked, One is yet to see a list which says these are the defaulters.

suRveyoRs’ Quality: B-schools are not soaps or hair oil. But many research agencies treat it as such. Look at the rookies they send out as survey-ors! If they are not able to differentiate between number volumes and titles in the library, to give an example, the qual-ity of data they bring in is suspect.

Where do the surveys go wrong?

Let’s not even venture into a social value debate here.

validation of data: Until a time when regulatory agencies make it man-datory for institutions to publish data in the public domain, and hold them accountable for any lapses, it becomes imperative that submissions by institu-tions be validated, by the magazine or party conducting the survey.

outside agency fixation: Magazines have a tendency to hide behind the fact that an independent agency did the survey. They almost

Parameters that are being messed up due to lack of either access or understanding

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arOON PuriE

IndIa’s youth EducatEd but unemployable!

Editor-in-Chief of India Today, Aroon Purie, drifted from one job to another, before he founded the India Today Group. In a chat with Urmila Rao, he expresses his views on govern-ment regulations in the education sector, apathy towards vocational studies and the mismatch

between industry needs and the education imparted to India’s employable youth

Q: You studied at the prestigious Doon School. What was your experience there? A: At Doon School, there were quality teach-ers, very passionate about whatever they taught. They created an interest in the stu-dents. I didn’t realise it at that time but did later on, how well I was taught, how well I was introduced to English literature, geography, chemistry and other subjects. The students there were from every walk of life; rich kids, children of bureaucrats, engineers and armed forces, among others. It was a very egalitarian kind of community and everyone was treated equally. This created a great bond between the students. Besides, the school gave an all round education; physical activity, community serv-ice, sports, and studies were all integrated into our lives. That is what I don’t see today. There is so much pressure for percentages.

Q: How was college life?A: At the London School of Economics, I realised that I was surrounded by people who were ten times brighter than I was and the only way I could keep up with them was through hard work. So, I worked hard and played hard too. I think the biggest experience was to have these people as my friends. It was a really great experience.

Q: An economics graduate and also a CA, why didn’t you opt for a career in finance?A: I didn’t study, thinking that I wanted to be a CA. I was one of those kids who really didn’t know what to do. My father said ‘you will get into a good job if you are professionally quali-fied’. From economics, accountancy seemed to be a good option, so I went for it. I worked for a little while and was bored to death. My CA training did hold me in good stead for many things. It gave me an opportunity to organise my mind, look at figures and not get intimi-dated by them. It helped me to be able to probe into things as an auditor, to get the right answer and not to take anything for granted. But in the end, I wasn’t enjoying the work.

Q: You did not even join your father’s business? A: My father was actually from the film busi-ness, and had set up a printing plant in collabo-ration. I started working in the printing plant as a production planner. And I soon realised that this printing plant will not make any money if we didn’t have our own work. And that’s how we got into publishing children’s books. My vision at that time was to create children’s books for Indian children with Indian themes. But in those days paper was very highly priced in

Ideally, public education should be so good, that people shouldn’t have the need for private education

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21 NOVEMbEr 2009360carEErsPhotographs: Rajesh Thakur/Outlook Group

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22 NOVEMbEr 2009360carEErs

arOON PuriE

India, so commercially, books were not viable. So, our next venture was maga-zines. And then the magazines became much bigger than the press.

Q: Why a news magazine?A: There was no grand vision. We stum-bled from one thing to another. Actually it was a niche magazine, a comprehen-sive news digest, meant for Indians liv-ing abroad. But it failed as we couldn’t get hold of the Indians, who were all too spread out. So then we decided to put it into the local market and it got a good response. Actually India Today grew from a failure in the sense that it went from one project to another before it took final shape. Q: What do you admire in the youth of today?A: I see a great energy, a great desire to succeed and get ahead. And get ahead very quickly. They want success right away. Today kids create a company or a product and they think about selling all over the world. So, there is a great degree of enterprise and energy which the environment has brought about. Today children are born in affluence. So now they look towards the future; enjoying life, spending money, looking for very quick returns. They are willing to try so many things and the opportuni-ties are also there. Earlier there were so many restrictions from the government; today the world is open for them.

Q: As you pointed out, kids want to become rich too fast. Don’t you find that a bit disconcerting?A: It’s not a bad thing to go after money but I think sometimes kids get carried away. They are not able to take a longer view. They are willing to shift to another company for a little more money, which in the long-term is not good for their future career. But that is also a way to learn; soon they will find out that it is harder to take jumps only for money. However, mobility is always good. Peo-ple move, change, new challenge comes in. As long as society is full of that kind of mobility, it is good for everybody.

Q: Are you happy with our state of higher education ?A: Not at all. People should be allowed

to set up institutions with certain stand-ards laid down by the government, and they should be allowed to charge what-ever the market is willing to pay. At the moment, people make money under the table; there is capitation fee and all sorts of unhealthy practices are on because the sector is completely restricted. Ide-ally, public education should be so good, that people should not have the need for private education. But since this is not happening, the government should try and focus on public education and let private education flourish under some standards and regulations that have been laid down.

Q: Do you think the role of state governments is enough in higher education?A: It’s a complete failure on both the sides, states and the centre. I think both have to work together. They must set up quality institutions. I think we have gone sometimes too much for quantity, and not quality. There is no point in pro-ducing people who are in reality unem-ployable. Then there is a whole layer of vocational training, which in India, exists in very sparse manner. It is not degrading to be in vocational education. And parents must realise that it is okay to be in vocational training and every-body is not capable of benefiting from an educational institution. No point being a graduate and becoming a bus conductor. A focus on vocational training will help both the economy and society.

Q: How much faith should stu-dents have in the B-school rankings brought out by various publications, every now and then? A: It depends on who is doing the rank-ing and how it is done. In our case, in India Today and Business Today, the rankings are done by outside agen-cies. We only publish the research. So it is done in a very fairly independent, autonomous way and there is no axe to grind one institution or the other. The fact is that there is no other information available, and the surveys can be a good guide. Students should match a lot of surveys and see the common outcome and then verify the information.

Q: Some colleges don’t hesitate in giving misleading information. What is the way out of this? A: There has to be some kind of gov-ernment supervision to see that what-ever has been promised is delivered. Maybe the HRD ministry can look at this in terms of the kind of advertise-ments being given out. There should be some kind of monitoring, either by the government or by self-regulatory bod-ies to censure such practices. I feel that nobody can hide these things for too long. Sooner or later institutions come to be known as fraud and people will stop going there. The only question is how long does it take and who continues to suffer because of it.

There is no point being a graduate if you end up

being a bus conductor. A focus on vocational training will help the economy and society

It is a complete failure on both the sides, states and

centre. I think both have to work together

to set up qualityinstitutions

Page 25: Careers 360 Nov09

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Cracking cOMPETITIVE EXaMs

Master Quant AptitudeDeveloping your analytical skills will not only help you improve your entrance test scores, but enhance your career prospects in the long run

by Ashish Kumar

Typically, the B-school admis-sion process comprises a written test comprising questions from school-level mathematics, logi-

cal reasoning, general awareness and general language, followed by a per-sonal interview. All these tests assess the candidates on their employability skills. One of them is Analytical Skill, which includes Quantitative Aptitude and Logical Reasoning. These demon-strate your ability to apply analytical and logical thinking while gathering and analysing information, designing and testing solutions to problems, and for-mulating plans.

Need for analytical aptitudeEmployees have to demonstrate the ability to recognise patterns in com-plex sets of data and develop practical models. Applications of analytical skills come into play at various levels in the functioning of an organisation. There-fore, every recruiter who wants the best would like to ensure that the candidates have adequate level of analytical apti-tude (general intelligence or IQ).

Almost every competitive exam for recruitment includes sections on Quan-titative Aptitude and Logical Reasoning. In Bank PO and Bank Clerk exams, these sections have about 66 percent weightage. In SSC exams, the weight-age for these sections is about 50 per-cent. CDS and NDA exams also have a separate paper on maths and numerical ability. In MBA entrance exams (CAT/XAT/MAT & GMAT), major portions of questions are from them.

Problem-solving skills Quantitative Aptitude is not mathemat-ics in the true sense. But it is prob-lem-solving skills where mathematical

questions are poised as problems and one needs to demonstrate competence to solve those questions. These ques-tions are not textbook questions, which normally test understanding of some formulae or theorem. They are real-life situations where application of math-ematical knowledge is required to find the solution. For example, in festival seasons, there are many discount offers and schemes to attract buyers. These are perfect situations to demonstrate quantitative skills to identify the most profitable scheme. This also offers an opportunity for test-makers to create some quant questions.

Applying common senseLogical Reasoning is application of common sense in a structured manner in problem solving. Logical Reasoning questions may involve arrangement of data or analysis of some pattern to find

desired output or result. It may require finding some missing data in a sequence or table or some application of day-to-day observations to solve a question.

Some students feel that there are some tricks to crack aptitude questions. A few students crib that they are not very good in maths or they do not have maths after class 10th and they find these sections very difficult. The truth is that Analytical Aptitude is skill which can be developed only by regular practice and through simulations and this is not such a dif-ficult task.

Solving aptitude problemsOne should make it very clear that these skill sets cannot be grown overnight. It requires around 2-3 months to devel-op adequate competency. Secondly, irrespective of one’s educational back-ground, anyone can master these sec-tions, provided one honestly practises

Illus

trat

ion

: Gou

ri N

anda

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Number crunching In the beginning, one should start with number crunching. It means a lot of addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, squaring, cubing etc. without using paper and pencil, i.e. lot of mental calculations. You need to be fast as all these tests are timed tests where you are required to solve 40-50 questions

in 40-45 minutes. You are required to device some quick methods for addition, multiplication, etc. You should also mug up tables upto 30, square upto 30, and cubes upto 15. There are many books available in market, which will guide you on this. You should devote about 15 days (3-4 hours per day) for this.

School-level mathematicsThe second step should be developing and reinforcing your concept in school-level mathematics. Start with percent-age, ratio-proportion, averages, profit-loss and such basic topics and analyse different types of questions. Try to solve each question using 3-4 different approaches. After that, you can take the topics like time-speed-distance, geom-etry, number system, etc. Do as much variety of questions, as much as possible. For this section, you can devote 20- 30 days (3-4 hours per day).

Non-verbal reasoningYou should start preparation of Logical Reasoning along with quantitative part. Here, you should start with non-verbal

them regularly over a period of time.One very important thing is the

approach to handling aptitude prob-lems. Since analytical aptitude is abil-ity to solve real-life practical problems, there is no formulae or short cuts which are applicable, neither are these based on topics or chapters. Therefore, the understanding of a problem in totality is important. Once you understand the problem, you can easily find the solution by First Principle. It is a method to solve any problem by its definitions. Most of the students have learned this in class 11th – 12th maths (calculus). Therefore, one should try to analyse the questions rather than just solve them.

The right approachThe second important thing is the nature of aptitude questions. Each of the aptitude questions is a mix of three or four simpler questions from differ-ent chapters or topics. Nobody faces textbook problems in life. Here, Rene Descartes’ Cartesian Theory of Knowl-edge is relevant to quote. He says that a complex problem is nothing but a mix-ture of four-five simpler problems. To solve this complex problem, one should break them into their constituent sim-pler problems, solve these simpler prob-lems and then synthesize their solutions to find the answer of the complex prob-lem. This should be the right approach in handling aptitude questions.

Action plan for beginnersMost of the candidates who prepare for these exams are already familiar with the topics of Quantitative Aptitude and Logical Reasoning. They might have done a lot of practice and developed some comfort level in these areas. Some of them may be finding some trouble in mastering these sections. Remember, learning is a continuous process which follows the cycle--Learn-Unlearn-Relearn. They need to unlearn few things to relearn them again. But there’s no need to worry. Here are some quick tips to master them.

reasoning. Solve around 15-20 ques-tions daily for 15-20 days. Analyse the changes in figures, their rotations, and changes in pattern. You can also solve 15-20 questions from series completion, coding-decoding, analogies, etc.

Sectional testsIn the third step, start taking sectional tests. Your target should be to solve one complete chapter consisting of 40 ques-tions in 30 minutes. Take these tests very sincerely, they are very important. Take sectional tests for both sections, quantitative as well as Logical Reason-ing. You can also build your concept in other areas of logic like syllogism, criti-cal reasoning etc. You should follow this step for about 15 days.

Practice testsIf you have sufficient practice in individ-ual sections and topics of quantitative and Logical Reasoning, start taking full-length practice tests. You should also start analysing previous years’ exams papers. You should go for 15-20 full-length practice tests. After every test, analyse your performance and find out your weaker areas and work on them for improvement.

There are a few words of caution. Always follow standard books from good, reputed publishing houses for the preparation and for practice tests. Do some researches before buying study material and magazines.

Assuring success Since more than 50 percent questions are from quant and Logical Reason-ing in most of the competitive exams, these sections are very important. These examinations have negative marking and are time-bound exams, so, your accuracy needs to be very high. Solve about 70 percent questions from these sections with more than 90 percent accuracy. So bear in mind, accuracy is the key to achieving your goal. Ensure your success with intelligent hard work, true commitment and perseverance.

Number crunching. Device quick methods for addition, multiplication etc.

Reinforce your concepts in school-level maths

Analyse different types of questions

Prepare Logical Reasoning along with non-verbal reasoning

Take sectional tests regularly

After individual sections, start full-length prac-tice tests

Improve your accuracy level to at least 90 percent

Quick Take

and Logical Reasoning

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Talk Point MOTIVaTION

monetary commitments are a strong impetus for action. The fear of losing money or wast-ing it, can spur you into action. We follow up on our commitments, if only to ensure our money is well-spent. Plan to lose weight? Pay up for that three-month weight loss pro-gramme! Don’t wait.

Surround yourself with people who share your objective, who are co-passengers on your journey to success.

Bestselling management author Tom Peters tells the story of a man who approached JP Morgan with an envelope, and said, “Sir, in my hand I hold a guaranteed formula for success, which I will gladly sell you for $25,000.”

“Sir,” JP Morgan replied, “I do not know what is in the envelope. However, if you show me, and I like it, I give you my word as a gen-tleman that I will pay you what you ask.” The man agreed to the terms, and handed over the envelope. JP Morgan opened it, and pulled out a single sheet of paper. He gave it one look — a mere glance — then handed it back to the gentleman. And paid him the agreed-upon sum of $25,000! On that sheet of paper, were two things:

Every morning, write down a list of the ●●

things that need to be done that day.Do them.●●

JP Morgan benefited from this advice, and you can too. Knowing what to do is often easy. We all have our list of things to do. Our plans and our resolutions. Doing it — that’s the tough bit. But that’s the hallmark of successful people. The Nike guys are right. Want to be a winner? Just do it!

Prakash IyerCEO-Cards, Future Group, and executive coach

Here’s a simple question to get you started. There are three monkeys sitting on a tree, above a pond. One of the monkeys decides to jump into

the pond. How many monkeys are left on the tree? Two? Wrong.

The right answer is three. You see, the mon-key only made the decision to jump into the pond. He didn’t actually jump! If you think about it, we are all like that. We take deci-sions. We make resolutions. But somehow, we don’t follow through with action. And intent without action is quite useless, really. Getting started — taking that first step — is often the master key to success. As someone once said, you don’t have to be great to get started. But you sure have to get started to become great!

Do you find yourself struggling to take action on your plans and intentions? Well, here’s a five-point programme to help you move from intent to action.

Make a beginning…right away.●● What-ever be your goal, take the first step — however small — right away. Until you take that first step, your mind does not believe you. You need to signal to yourself that you are serious, that you mean business. Commit to taking action, immediately. Today. Now.

Break up the grand plan into smaller ●●

tasks. Remember, a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. Sometimes the task ahead looks so enormous that we feel overwhelmed — and we don’t do anything about it. Break that up into smaller sub-tasks, and suddenly you’ll find something that’s doa-ble. Remember that old adage ‘something is better than nothing’? It’s still true.

Think of the pleasure, not the pain.●● Vis-ualise success. If you want to do an MBA at a premier school and plan to devote three hours a day to studying, don’t think about missing the football game on television, or about not being able to go out for that Saturday night bash. Think instead of the job that you could get post your MBA, the rewards that it would bring, the dreams that would get realised.

Create a support group.●● Surround your-self with people who share your objective, who are co-passengers on your journey to success. The excitement of being in it together will help you fight the inertia, and get you going with the rest of the gang.

Pay up…in advance.●● For most of us,

Want to be a winner? Just do it!

Surround your-self with people who share your objective, who are co-passengers in your journey to success

exciting journey to the top begins with a small step

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Topper Speak PrOf. aMitabh JOshi

When he was a kid, he was fas-cinated by the army, but soon realised that he disliked being

bossed around. Then, young Amitabh decided to follow in his dad’s footsteps and become a teacher, and the idea stuck. “Teaching is more rewarding than doing research, sometimes I think I have a romantic vision of it,” says Amitabh Joshi, an Associate Professor of Evo-lutionary and Organismal Biology at the Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Science and Research, Bangalore, and winner of this year’s prestigious Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Award (see Box) for evolutionary biology.

He has been studying the evo-lution of life-history, biological clocks, and population ecology in organisms through his work on the common fruit fly (drosophila melanogaster). His labs do inter-esting work in these domains. He believes that a succinct defi-nition of evolution in biology would be “that it is an interac-tion between genetics and ecol-ogy mediated through the process of development”. In an interview with Shalini Gupta he talks about life beyond science, what inspires him and makes him tick.

Who is your inspiration?I grew up in a gurukul kind of atmosphere at home with my father being a professor of sta-tistics. He was a dedicated and sincere academician who influ-enced me a lot. Then while doing my graduation at Delhi University in the 80s, it was the legendary Prof. CR Babu - a teacher par excellence, a dedi-cated scientist and a wonderful human being, who encouraged me to go abroad for my PhD. Ronald Fisher is my intel-lectual hero. He is considered the father of modern statistics, who almost single handedly created quantitative genetics (traits governed by a large no. of genes), and was instrumental in setting up of the Indian Statistical Institute.

What is your view on India’s scientific talent?There is no dearth of scientific talent in India. If the saying ‘Genius is one in

“A ScienTiST

never growS up”

a million’ was statistically true, we, a nation of over one billion people would be having more than one million genius-es. But here is where our education sys-tem comes into play. It authoritatively emphasizes on consuming knowledge and regurgitating it during exams for the first 17 years and then suddenly one is expected to be a producer from a con-sumer. Having said that, India produces some of the best scientists in the world,

not “because” of the system but “despite” it.

How would you define scientific temper?Every kid is a scientist, because they ask a lot of questions, they are inquisitive about anything and everything under the sun. But over a period of time as we go through our educational sys-tem we somehow lose that spark, our inquisitivity dies and we start accepting things the way they are. I think, someone who is a scien-tist to the core never grows up, he still keeps on asking questions.

What would be your advice to budding scientists?If you enjoy the thrill of puzzle solving and discovery, then there’s nothing like science. Get into a field that you find interesting, not because people say it’s the next big thing. Students today tend to get practical and plan their career to the last detail. When I decided to pursue my PhD in evolution-ary biology, many warned me that

it is not a“hot” subject, but I persisted just because I believed in it.

Better to be paid for doing something that you enjoy rather than getting paid and then thinking how you can enjoy yourself. This is the value I believe in and I have been enjoying it for the past 22 years. So if you enjoy doing some-thing, don’t worry if you will get paid or what its scope is, just focus on doing good work. Scope is not a function of the field you are in, it’s a function of you. Also remember that science is a collec-tive endeavour. Like Newton said, “If I have been able to see further than other men, it is because I was standing on their shoulders.”

Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar PrizesShanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prizes

Annual award constituted by the Council of ■■

Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR)

Aim: To recognise outstanding Indian work ■■

in science and technology

Named after the founder director of CSIR ■■

Indian citizens, researching in any field of ■■

science and technology, below 45 years

Contributions made primarily in India ■■

during the 5 years preceding Prize year

The Prize comprises a citation, a plaque and ■■

a cash award of Rs. 500,000

In additio,n recipients also get Rs. 15,000 ■■

per month up to the age of 65

prof. joshi believes that a true scientist should be like an inquisitive child, questioning everything

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Cracking rEGIONaL Mba ENTraNcE TEsTs

management institutes affiliated to local universities, which conduct their own entrance tests.

Easier questionsAnother major attraction is that regional tests feature relatively easier questions. Problems appearing in these question papers are of a relatively lower level of difficulty, as compared to CAT and other national level MBA entrance tests. Many students have an inherent fear of CAT and other national-level MBA entrance tests, and feel comfort-able with the level of problems in these regional tests. However, the low level of difficulty also means that top institutes, which accept regional test scores, have high scoring requirements.

Salient features of regional tests Most regional tests have no negative ●●

marking.In most of cases, there are no sec-●●

tional cut-offs. Some tests such as the Maharashtra ●●

Common Entrance Test (MAH-CET)

by Saurabh Shrivastava

While the media tends to hype the Common Admis-sion Test (CAT), statistics indicate that the number of

students taking regional MBA entrance tests is increasing. For instance, And-hra Pradesh’s Integrated Common Entrance Test (ICET) is taken by over two lakh students, a number that com-pares with the number taking CAT. Regional MBA entrance tests are gain-ing immense popularity for a variety of reasons. The primary one being the absence of adequate number of seats in the Tier-1 institutions.

Going LocalThe largest chunk taking these tests comprises those students who don’t wish to leave their hometowns or states, due to personal or family constraints. But they still need to look at good higher education options. Such students can opt to do their MBA, locally, as most of the states in the country have various

have problems on visual reasoning, where as others feature questions based on management cases/situations.

Test eligibilityYou must be a graduate in the streams recognised by the respective test author-ities. The passing score varies from test to test. Students appearing for their final year exam can also appear for these tests, within a cut-off date, as informed by the body conducting the test. For eligibility and domicile requirement details, visit the website of the body conducting the test or the test brochures.

Institute count Minimum eligibility score

Your local university may offer a good management programme. Tips to help you ace the entrance test

CAT is not your only option

Marks in graduation (in percentage)

Test Region Open Reserved

MPMET Madhya Pradesh 50 40

ICET Andhra Pradesh Pass

GCET Gujarat 50 45

RMAT Rajasthan 50 45

TanCET Tamil Nadu Pass

CET Maharashtra 45 40

PGCET Karnataka 50 45

KMAT Karnataka (Mgmt Quota & Private colleges)

50 NA

State Test Seats Institutes

Madhya Pradesh MPMET 1,840 36

Andhra Pradesh ICET 13,050 421

Gujarat GCET 2,900 53

Rajasthan RMAT 4,910 76

Tamil Nadu TanCET 6,205 101

Maharashtra CET 14,000 207

Karnataka PGCET 9,965 134

Karnataka (Mgmt Quota & Private colleges)

KMAT 3,600 99

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Overview of regional admission tests

Institute countThe number of institutes and seats under each of these tests keeps on changing every year, hence the given table is only indicative. Get the latest numbers from the respective websites/brochures.

Test patternIt varies across regional tests, with ver-bal, quantitative and reasoning form-ing the core. Some also have questions

Test Region Duration (in minutes)

Total no. of Questions

Areas tested/number of Questions

MPMET Madhya Pradesh 165 200 English (90), Numerical Ability (50), Data Interpretation(20), Data Sufficiency (20), Business Judgment (20)

ICET Andhra Pradesh 150 200 Analytical Ability (75), Mathematical Ability (75), Communication Ability (50)

GCET Gujarat 120 150 English Language Skill (40), Quant (50), Logical Reasoning (30), GK (30)

RMAT Rajasthan 150 200 Reasoning & Aptitude(40), Data Interpretation (40), Mathematical Ability (40), Eng-lish Language proficiency (40), General Awareness(40)

TanCET Tamil Nadu 120 100 Analysis of Business Situation (20), Reading Comprehension (20), PS (20), Data Sufficiency (20), English Usage (20)

CET Maharashtra 150 200 Quantitative ability(15), Visual reasoning (30), Logical and Analytical reasoning (50), Reading Comprehension (15), Data Interpretation (25), Data Sufficiency (10), Verbal reasoning and ability (55)

PGCET Karnataka 120 100 English Proficiency(25), GK (25), Logical Reasoning (25), Quant (25)

KMAT Karnataka (Mgmt Quota & Private colleges)

120 160 Language Comprehension (40), Mathematical Skills (40), Basic Aptitude (40<), Logical Reasoning (40)

on visual reasoning, questions based on business situations, general awareness etc.

Preparation strategyAs most of these tests are easy, the scores are very high. Questions are often straight forward and not too application-based (as in CAT). Hence, you must be familiar with concepts, followed by a lot of practice to attain the attention level

required for the test duration. Many students who take CAT also take

regional tests, which make them eligible for management institutes of national repute. For instance, MAH-CET is the entrance test for Jamnalal Bajaj Insti-tute of Management Studies (JBIMS), Mumbai, and is taken by students across the country. Hence the competition is at par with that of CAT. Secondly, as there is no negative marking in this test, the cut-offs are really high. So the strategy must be to attempt all questions with maximum possible accuracy, and intel-ligent guessing/elimination of choices, is desirable.

A common pitfall when a test has an unconventional testing area such as business situations or visual reasoning is that students end up skipping these sec-tions. But with a little effort, these can be converted into major scoring sections.

Need for speedSince the cut-offs are high, the level of difficulty medium-to-easy, you must attempt all the questions, and time-management is key. For instance, if you have to solve 200 questions in 150 min-utes, no matter how easy they may seem, stress can make them appear really diffi-cult. Time management and stress man-agement become two crucial skills.

Saurabh Shrivastava works with IMS Learning Resources Ltd.

higher scores are a must for regional MBA tests as the level of difficulty is comparitively less

Rajesh Thakur/Outlook Group

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Career Review cliNical rEsEarch

Developing the DRugs of tomoRRowThis sector is emerging as an attractive option for sci-ence graduates, doctors, management/ iT profession-als, technical writers and paramedics

by Shalini Gupta

India’s pharmaceutical and biotech-nology industry is booming. Drug companies such as Biocon have made the world stand up and take

notice of this sector. And according to the recent FICCI-Ernst & Young report, the Indian pharmaceutical market will experience a compounded annual growth rate of 12.3 percent, and triple its worth to 20 billion dollars by 2015, thus catapulting India into the world’s top 10 markets.

No wonder MNCs such as Pfizer, Roche, Novartis and Sanofi, to name a few, have already established a base in India, having gauged the huge potential that the country offers. This in turn has fuelled the growth of clinical research, a nascent industry estimated to be worth close to 100 plus crores today but with a huge potential, which in turn offers myriad job opportunities.

What is clinical research? When a drug is found to be effective under laboratory conditions, it cannot be directly launched in the market. It is first tested on animals, then human beings (healthy volunteers/patients) through a series of trials to find out whether it is safe to be administered. The sample size of volunteers is increased till adequate information has been gathered.

“Clinical research thus refers to the process, which is basically the evaluation of how effective or useful a new drug, vaccine, diagnostic test, new device or surgical technique, can be in humans,” says Dr. S.C Sehgal, who is the head of the clinical research department at Sharda University.

Clinical trials usually involve a sizable expenditure that is taken care of by the sponsor, usually a governmental organi-sation, pharmaceutical or biotechnology company. Often a clinical trial is man-aged by an outsourced partner such as a contract research organisation (CRO) that has a gamut of professionally quali-fied task force to handle the trial.

India, a commercially viable clinical trial destinationA few years back, clinical research cours-es were completely unheard of. Most of

the industry specialists with a science or medical specialization, learnt on the job. But the situation has changed in the past five years with every country drafting its own guidelines and laws for clinical trials. Dr Josemund Menezes, Clinical Project Leader and Medical Advisor with a multinational pharma and vac-cines company in Mumbai says, “The number of trials approved by the Drugs Controller General of India is on the rise, with India becoming a one-stop destina-tion for many disease indications, and both MNC and Indian companies eager to conduct multinational multi-centric trials here. India offers cost advantage, as well as quicker completion of trials.” India’s vast population no doubt offers a larger pool of volunteers.

Clinical research is a nascent industry

estimated to be worth close to 100 plus crores today. its huge poten-tial offers myriad job

opportunities

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Although initially, sponsors and CROs were driven to offshore locations due to their cost advantage, the focus has now shifted, opines Apurva Shah, Co-Group Managing Director, Veeda CR, an Ahmedabad-based CRO. “Earlier only preliminary work was being outsourced to India but because of our depth in scientific knowledge and experience in drug development we have moved up the value chain and are now adding value to drug development by providing scien-tific inputs and innovative drug designs,” he said.

Who is eligible? This subject is usually offered at a

postgraduate level to life science grad-uates (biochemistry, pharmacology, toxicology, biotechnology, microbiol-ogy or zoology), doctors (MBBS, BVSc, BDS, BAMS, BHMS) bachelors in Physiotherapy, pharmacists (BPharm, MPharm) and nursing graduates, since they are in a better position to under-stand the nuances of the course.

The course One can opt for a full-time two-year MSc in clinical research, offered by many prominent universities after graduation. You can also go for diploma and certificate courses for further spe-cialisation such as advanced courses in

clinical research evaluates how effective a drug, vaccine or technique can be, in humans

Veeda CR, an Ahmedabad-based CRO, won this year’s Frost and Sullivan Award

for the best clinical research company. Apurva Shah talks about what it takes to be a part of this industry.

Q. How does your company hire clinical research professionals? A. Earlier, we would go through regular channels like academic institutions, phar-maceutical colleges and placement agen-cies. But in the last two years, because of our reputation in the clinical research fra-ternity, people approach us directly. Most of our employees recommend Veeda as a workplace to their friends.

Q. What is your view on the quality of professionals trained by universities and institutes in clinical research?A. From our experience we can say that most of the time, freshers from training institutes are not exposed to the nitty-gritty of a real-time clinical research envi-ronment. We realised that they must be exposed to different facets of the business and client expectations, and must imbibe the spirit of good clinical practices, which is why we at Veeda have our own intensive training programme to train our people as per the international industry require-ments. We also send groups of our people from India to our units in the West for on-the-job training for up to six months.

Q. What should a student keep in mind before thinking of a career in the field?A. You must be passionate about science and believe in being a partner in the discov-ery and development of drugs to preserve and improve the quality of human life.

Q. Tips on choosing a company... A. Turn the interview process around. Inter-view the company to understand its growth path. Look for excellent work environment, a good team to work with, one that could give you a rich research experience. A good salary package would be yours in the years to come. But if you start pursuing a salary then you will soon realise it’s a mirage!

APURVA SHAHCo-Group Managing

Director and co-founder, Veeda CR

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Career Review cliNical rEsEarch

pharmacovigilance (safety) or advanced courses in clinical data management and statistics. These courses usually cover the entire gamut of drug development from pre-clinical to post-marketing activity, trial design, and life cycle of a trial, the regulations involved, ethics, good clinical practices (GCP) and an understanding of the various services offered under clinical trials.

Typically, the selection procedure for most courses is a qualifying writ-ten examination followed by a personal interview, to gauge level of interest and aptitude. However, the courses are not standardised, a concern that is voiced by some. Dr. Anant Bhan, a Pune-based independent researcher with a specialisation in bioethics and public health feels that we need to have a good regulatory framework in place. Though the mechanism is in place for the drug approval process.

Choosing an instituteWith several institutes offering clinical research courses, zeroing in on where

you want to study becomes all the more important. Dr. Vijay Moza, chairman of CREMA, a Mumbai-based institute which offers clinical research courses, recommends a good faculty, and a cur-riculum that delivers. The placements is also a very important criterion.

Industry interaction is very important, stresses Dr. Ashok Kolaskar, former Vice Chancellor of Pune University and professor of Bioinformatics. “We are looking at creating individuals with skill sets. Hence we brought in experts with hands-on experience in the indus-try,” he says, talking of the course cur-rently being managed at Goa Univer-sity in collaboration with Bioinnovat Research Services, a Delhi-based know-ledge resource company.

“Students should see to it that they get practical exposure, go to the sites (usually a hospital or a research organi-zation) where the trial is conducted. In other words, industrial training is very important,” says Pooja Puri, who passed out from a prominent clinical research institute this year.

Job opportunities Many allied sectors offer opportunities after completing a course in clinical research and the numbers are on the rise. “The employment of manpower is the highest in the R&D at biopharma-ceutical companies, which are always on the lookout for new drug candidates,” says Guljit Chaudhary, Managing Direc-tor of Bioinnovat Research services.

Biopharma includes companies such as Eli Lilly, GSK and Ranbaxy. CROs, as the name suggests, offer a wide range of “outsourced” pharmaceutical research services to pharmaceutical industries and hence are the next big employers of clinical research professionals.

These include SIRO, Clinpharm, Veeda CR, Clinigene as well as MNCs such as Quintiles and Kendle. You can also work in government laboratories or non-profit organizations, working towards development of new vaccines, drugs, etc. Trial management organisa-tions are yet another option. These offer a range of services to CROs, pharma and biotech companies and even sites.

What you can earn

In some pharmaceutical companies, CROs and SMOs, fresh pass-outs are

recruited only as trainees or on a con-tract basis. On an average, freshers draw Rs.10,000 to 15,000 (or more), depend-ing on their qualification, capability, the role outlined, performance at the job interview and negotiations with HR. Based on their performance, they may be inducted into managerial positions.

If the mid-year and annual reviews are positive, a fresher can move to new roles like Clinical Research Associate (CRA) but many companies currently do not offer CRA positions to freshers, owing to their lack of industry experience.

The competition to gain entry into the

industry is very stiff, and students must possess decent soft skills and compu-ter knowledge, to get an edge during the initial rounds of the interview. Very few institutes offer guaranteed place-ments, and those who do, come at a price. Therefore preparing well for your job interview, and building up a good résumé, is a must.

Once the experience kicks in, so does the remuneration. A CRA with over two years of experience can be promoted to the CRA II level. The roles in career development can include Senior CRA, Lead CRA and Team Leader (over a span of three to five years of active site moni-toring). Overall, the entry level salaries in this industry depend on whether the stu-dent is a fresher or has past experience in a hospital or any other industry such as management, academics, nursing, to name a few. Initially, those who come from the latter group, tend to be offered better packages.

Dr JosemunD menezesClinical Project Leader and Medical Advisor, pharma and vaccines MNC, Mumbai

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33 NOVEMbEr 2009360carEErs

SAS progrAmmer: This involves creating analysis datasets, tables, fig-ures, listings and ensuring accuracy of project or study-level output. A degree in statistics would be helpful for the position as SAS programmer. regulAtory depArtment perSonnel: This involves compiling different documents that are sent to the drugs controller’s office for approval. It involves liaising with regulatory author-ities with respect to approval applica-tions and other types of license/permit requests, handling in-house regulatory documentation and playing an advisory role to provide country-specific regula-tions for clients outside India. phArmAcovigilAnce dept. in phArmA compAnieS: This involves monitoring, researching, assessing and evaluating information from health care providers and patients on the adverse effects of medications, biological products etc. Several central research labs for laboratory sampling and diagnostics have Clinical Trial Sup-plies Management teams that provide

they can also take up the role of Manag-er - Clinical Research at a hospital trial centre to coordinate five to ten trials for the entire hospital. clinicAl dAtA mAnAger: This role mostly involves looking after the data gathered at the investigator site, in this case, report form. It may not require interaction with patients or doctors, and involves data entry and data validation the way the client (CRO, pharma, bio-tech company) requires it. He or she mostly collaborates with various depart-ments on the design, documentation, testing and implementation of clinical data studies and develops systems for organising data to analyse, identify, and report trends. protocol development: A set of protocols for conducting trials are set up after discussing it with the spon-sors. It is more knowledge-driven and requires an understanding of medical terms. MBBS graduates can look at pro-tocol writing and safety management.

Job profilesA fresh graduate from a clinical research course can join as a Clinical Project Assistant/in-house CRA (clinical research associate) in a pharma compa-ny or CRO/Site Management Organi-sation. A CRA typically ensures com-pliance with the clinical trial protocol, checks clinical site activities, makes on-site visits, reviews Case Report Forms (CRFs) and communicates with clinical research investigators. A CRA does not work on the site, itself, but monitors a clinical trial. clinicAl reSeArch coordi-nAtorS: Coordinators carry out trials at hospital sites using good clinical prac-tice (GCP), under the supervision of a Principal investigator (PI), along with CRAs. Their duties include recruiting, studying the site, enrolling participants for trial, follow-ups, maintaining and dispensing drugs, performing experi-ments, testing accuracy and creating the reports etc. As they gain experience,

“Clinical research requires hard work and

focus. There are no shortcuts to

success. Ethics are crucial as you are con-

tributing towards the life or death of a

patient”Dr. SaurEnDra DaS

Country Head, Excel Life Sciences

india’s drug development expertise has helped it move up the value chain in clinical research outsourcing

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Career Review cliNical rEsEarch

storage and shipment of drugs at desired temperature. Technical wriTer: This pro-fessional is responsible for writing and editing standard operating procedures, clinical study protocols, laboratory pro-cedure manuals, and other related docu-ments in the field.

Most MNCs conduct internal training programmes to help their employees match international industry require-ments. As part of the two to three-month training, employees are oriented in standard operating procedures, the vari-ous departments within the organisa-tion, as well as educated in the practical aspects of clinical research.

What it takes to get a footholdSaurabh Sharma, a chemistry graduate from Delhi University has an MSc-cum-MBA in clinical research, and started out as a trainee clinical research coor-dinator at a clinical trial management organisation based in Noida. Today, he works as an Assistant Business Develop-ment Manager after he was promoted. And he did not even study biology in

Class XII. “Passion is what will make you grow in this field. It gives me a great high and an even greater sense of responsibility to know that I am contrib-uting in a small way to the approval of a drug that could offer better treatment to future generations,” he says.

A degree in clinical research is impor-tant but employers look for something more. “We want people who are passion-ate about clinical research and have the same Veeda DNA i.e. honesty, integrity, excellence and innovation,” said Shah.

Clinical research is a part of the serv-ice industry, wherein an individual has to deal with patients (with little or no technical knowledge) and doctors. It requires patience to accommodate both points of view and be flexible. “You need to have the right attitude,” says Dr Saurendra Das, Country Head and Director of Operations, Excel Life Sciences.

And, as Gracy Milan, Program Officer, IAVI in Delhi says, follow good clinical practices stringently, but do show some empathy towards volunteers. After all you are dealing with life.

Neeman medical International

http://www.neeman-medical.com

Vimta Labs

http://www.vimta.com

Suven Life Sciences Ltd.

http://www.suven.com

Dr. Lalpathlabs

http://www.lalpathlabs.com

Lambda

http://www.lambda-cro.com

SRL Ranbaxy

http://www.srlranbaxy.com

Wellquest

http://www.nicholphpiramal.com

Indian Contract Research Firms

Indian institutes and courses in the sector

Institute Course Duration Web site

Goa university

PG in Clinical Research and Clinical Data Management 6 months

www.clinicalresearchgoa.orgAdvanced Post Graduate Diploma in Clinical Data Management with hands on training on ORACLE Clinical, ORACLE TMS & SAS Software

8 months

ICRI

PG Diploma in Advanced Clinical Research 1 year

www.icriindia.comMSc Clinical Research 1 year and

2 years

PG Diplomas in Clinical Research, Clinical Trial Management, Pharmacovigilance, regulatory affairs and others (part-time)

Bioinformatics Centre, University of Pune

PG Certificate Course in Clinical Research and Clinical Data Management (CRCDM)

6 months (weekend course)

www.clinicpune.org/

Jamia Hamdard University, Delhi MSc in Clinical Research 2 years www.jamiahamdard.edu

Sharda UniversityPost Graduate Diploma in Clinical Trials Management (PGDCTM) 1 year

www.sharda.ac.inMSc Clinical Research 2 years

Chettinad University MSc Clinical Research and Experimental Medicine 2 years www.chettinaduniversity.com

Bilcare Research Academy PG Diploma in Clinical Research 10 months www.bilcareacademy.com

CREMA

Advanced PG Diploma in Clinical Research Management (APGDCRM)

1 year full-time

www.cremaindia.orgPG Diploma in Clinical Research & Regulatory Affairs, Clinical Data Man-agement, Pharmacovigilance, Drug Development (Only for MBBS doctors)

1 year part-time

ClinimindsPG Diploma in Clinical Trials Management 1 year

www.cliniminds.comIntegrated PG Diploma in Clinical Research & Pharmacovigilance 6 months

Page 37: Careers 360 Nov09

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Teachers’ Talk jObs iN EyE carE

“India needs 75,000 ophthalmic technicians”

While we have enough ophthalmolo-gists (estimated at about 15,000 and a training capacity that gradu-ates 1,000 new ophthalmologists

a year), the situation pertaining to all other cadres of eye care personnel is extremely bleak. I would like to focus especially on those who work in a hospital under the supervision of an ophthalmologist. In a way, they enhance the overall efficiency of the system and the quality of eye care provided. They are referred to as ‘Ophthalmic Technicians’.

For an ideal performance, an ophthalmolo-gist needs five ophthalmic technicians. Thus, India would need anywhere between 75,000 to 100,000 such personnel. Today, very few structured training programmes exist in the country. Even less have any sort of accredita-tion and there is no national accrediting body for this entire workforce.

In general medicine nurses carry out rou-tine diagnostic and clinical tasks. So doctors can focus on more important aspects. Such nurses with general training are not useful in an eye care setting since most techniques employed, such as refraction, measuring intraocular pressure, assessing the field of vision or performing ultrasound biometry are not taught to them. Also, most nursing skills are not relevant in an eye care setting.

Moreover, when there is a shortage of nurses in India, it doesn’t make sense to take well-trained nurses and train them in completely new skill sets, while discarding what they have

already learnt. This necessitates the develop-ment of the cadre of ophthalmic technicians, as a separate career track.

Currently there are such people working in eye hospitals or eye clinics, under an ophthalmologist. They are all trained on the job. As a result they possess varying levels of skills and knowledge, and their utilisation is also varied.

This very situation existed in the US, some decades back. To address this enormous prob-lem, various eye care associations in the US came together, to promote an independent body. The organisation known as the Joint Commission for Allied Health Personnel in Opthalmology (JACAPO), took on the role of defining a common curriculum and conduct-ing examinations to certify qualifying candi-dates in the US.

While neighbouring countries such as Nepal, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and even a tiny country like Bhutan, have accredited training programmes for this cadre, for some reasons this has not happened in India despite several attempts over the last two decades.

But recently, various organisations involved in eye care came together, and asserted the urgent need to have a common curriculum and certification process, so that this cadre of personnel -- who in many ways are the back-bone of eye care -- can evolve into a formal, well-trained and effective workforce.

Several eye hospitals that are currently engaged in such training have formed a net-work. This network, which is in the process of taking form, will initially focus on establishing the standards and guidance for accreditation, agree upon a common curriculum and lay down the assessment and certification proc-ess for the students undergoing the training. The network will also produce and dissemi-nate teaching materials so that standard of training is enhanced.

This initiative would contribute towards developing a new cadre of formally certified eye care personnel. This would also open up career opportunities for them in a big way. And it would be further strengthened when the government comes forward and recog-nises the training.

R D ThulasirajExecutive Director,

Lions Aravind Institute of Community Ophthalmology

Aravind Eye Care System, Madurai

Today, very few structured

training pro-grammes exist in

the country. Even less have any sort

of accreditation and there is no national

accrediting body for this entire

workforceopthalmic technicians are the backbone of eye care and can evolve into an effective workforce

Page 38: Careers 360 Nov09

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Guru Gyan NarENdra jadhaV

Q: After three years of an extraor-dinary stint at Pune University, now you are now in charge of education planning in the Planning Commis-sion. What areas are you looking at?A: My work portfolio comprises pri-mary education, secondary, and higher education. I would also be looking at technical and vocational education as

well as literacy programmes. In addi-tion, I have employment and capacity creation, sports and youth affairs, art and culture. This is the job of giving a human face to reforms. More specifically, higher education is what I would be involved in; however, the work is not confined to just that. I would like to implement all simi-lar successful experiments, here.

Q: The radical changes you made at Pune University in three years? A: I closed down my MBA programme and replaced it with MBA++. Of the two years of this programme, the first year followed the standard MBA programme. For the second year, I made two lists, functional and sectoral and tied up with emerging industries in Pune. It became

What’s wrong with Indian education?

With a dynamic leadership and a reform agenda, Narendra Jadhav, the erstwhile Vice Chancellor of Pune University, ushered in radical changes at the institution during his three-year stint, which ended in June 2009. Growing up in a shanty neighbour-hood, his ambition was to become a gangster, which later changed to peon for want of a steady income. Jadhav turned childhood adversities into opportunities, and the road to self-discovery made an illustrious economist out of him. A teacher by passion, he was appointed as a member of the Planning Commission in June, with education as work portfolio. He shares with Urmila Rao, his accomplishments at Pune University and his action plan for the education sector, in his new role.

Phot

ogra

phs:

Arij

it Se

n

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37 NOVEMbEr 2009360carEErs

mandatory for second year students to take one subject from the functional and sectoral list, each. Thirty combinations are made available to students. Besides, Pune University also introduced a spe-cial PhD programme exclusively for senior citizens. When I announced this, within a month we received more than 5,000 applications. My first student was 91 years old!

Q: Universities don’t focus on peri-odic revision of the course content. What is your take on that?A: Syllabus revision is a very nebulous area. Colleges tinker with the syllabus in the name of revision but for me that is making a mockery of the syllabus. Revi-sion means a complete overhaul of the course involving the relevant industry. For instance, revising chemistry sylla-bus means taking in people who are at the cutting edge of research in the indus-try. That is real revision.

Q: The shortage of quality faculty is another challenge in our education system. Your comments...A: Around 50% of the teachers don’t have the foggiest idea of the recent advances in their subject. Besides, there is a complete disconnect between society and higher education. They are not growing in tan-dem, in a mutually reinforcing manner. The best symptom of this malady is that students passing out from the best IT or finance colleges need 8-10 months of training before becoming useful for the company. Virtual classrooms can be set up for teachers’ training. For each subject, a global expert could be roped in to have an interactive session with the teachers. This would indeed be a quantum leap.

Q: What reforms can colleges/uni-versities adopt to provide students a certain level of quality education?A: Higher education can be seen in three aspects: in teaching-learning environ-ment, in research and in social connec-tivity. Until the early ’80s, the research in Indian universities was broadly com-parable to the research coming out of the Chinese universities. Today, they are producing five times more research than us. But we have a complacent feeling that since a large number of students

speak English, we are at par. In order to achieve social connectivity,

I started a few programmes, centered on students and their connectivity with society. One was an education guaran-tee scheme, where every student must be given a job for at least three hours a day at Rs. 20 per hour on demand. In Samarth Bharat Abhiyan programme, students were required to work in vil-lages, in the areas of primary education, environment, plantation and sanita-tion.

Q: It seems our policies are not designed keeping students’ interest in mind?A: Reform is not an event. It is a proc-ess. When we take a mid-course criti-cal evaluation of schemes, we will drop, modify and add some schemes. The modalities are being worked out. You can’t close everything down and start everything else new. You have to seam-lessly integrate and implement the schemes. I don’t agree that policies are not framed keeping students in mind. What I did at Pune University was in students’ interest.

Q: Should institutes that claim exag-gerated job placement figures be brought to book?A: State and central universities don’t make such claims. Some of the deemed universities and unrecognised ones do. It is a serious legal issue and a crime. In terms of fixing the responsibility, people are equally responsible if they are not verifying what adverts say and end up with a wrong university. And in a democratic set-up, you can’t control everything. In democracy you can’t stop people from giving adverts. People have to do their own verification as well.

There are tricksters coming to your doorstep saying that they will double your gold possessions. Is the govern-ment responsible for that? Transpar-ency is a must. But it is also the respon-sibility of every parent and every student to verify the claim.

Q: What bothers you most in the cur-rent education system? A: In the Indian university system, com-munication skills are not taught. Stu-dents from rural areas don’t know what kind of dress to wear to an interview, how to enter, when to sit down. They don’t know that you need to look into the eyes of the interviewer while speaking. These basic aspects have to be taught.

A student coming from Delhi or Mumbai is able to face the inter-view not necessarily because he is intelligent but because he has great-er finesse and greater exposure. A rural fellow may not have great expres-sion to show in a 10-minute interview, but if you give him enough time, you will discover his depth.

“China produces five times more research than us. We com-placently feel at par since a large

number of students speak

English”

Q: Do you favour self-regulation of academic institutions?A: I am entirely in favour of autono-my but it has to go hand in hand with accountability and accountability with transparency. This is a package deal. We are right now undergoing a major overhaul in the higher education system. The modalities are not spelt out. We are looking at a complete change in regula-tory reform which is long overdue.

Page 40: Careers 360 Nov09

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Voted as one of ‘The World’s Best Places to Stay’ by Conde Nast Traveler (US)

Grand Banyan Suite at Banayan Tree Bangkokwww.banyantree.com

Page 41: Careers 360 Nov09

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40 NOVEMbEr 2009360carEErs

Cracking caT/VErbal abiliTy & rEasONiNg

Last-minute preparation tipsThese focused strategies could help you up your verbal score. Practise daily and gather momentum as the D-day approaches

How to prepare Why?

Read editorials daily Exposes you to various writing styles

Summarise in your own words…as if you are explaining it to your kid brother!

Helps you answer the following: - What is the main idea? - Why has the author mentioned xyz? It also helps you structure questions

Make a mental note of what you think of the author you are currently reading

Helps you answer the following: - What according to the author… - The tone of the passage - This text has been most likely extracted from…

Take note of unfamiliar words and phrases, and look them up later

Helps you answer the following: - The term xyz in the first paragraph means… - The word xyz can best be replaced by… Also helps to improve your word usage score

by Sangeetha Sashidharan

Common Admission Test 2009 is approaching fast! This year it will be conducted from Novem-ber 28 (Saturday) to December

7 (Monday). With less than a month to go, it is now time for a reality check on your preparation level. Have you been reading and working on your grammar, vocabulary and sentence structure?

Will you be able to find an assumption hidden in the author’s idea? How do you know what is implied in the passage? Can you logically complete a paragraph in the given time?

Do you know the difference between words that sound similar? And do they make sense in a sentence? Also, now that CAT is a computer-based test (CBT), will you get less or more time to answer questions? How do you address these problems? Here are some suggestions to help you up your verbal score.

During the testHere are some quick tips to help you absorb information, faster and more precisely.

Make sure you read the RC, as you ●●

would, say, a magazine article. You should also try to mentally sum-●●

marise what the author wants to say in each paragraph.

Make it a point to link the ideas in ●●

each section to those in the previous paragraphs.

Reading Comprehension (RC)Last year, 20 of 40 Qs were based on RC. Before that, it was 12 of 25 and in 2006 it was a whopping 15 of 25 Qs. This pat-tern indicates that you cannot afford to skip RC questions.

Remember, RC is like data interpreta-tion. And it is the only section, where the answers are right in front of you. So, you must learn how to find them. Practise these strategies daily.

This way, you may be able to answer all questions without reading the pas-sage again.

When you are through with reading, you must be in a position to answer the following Qs without referring to the passage:

What is the author trying to convey?●●

Why has the author written this pas-●●

sage?How has the author structured his/ ●●

her thoughts?How can you convey in two sentenc-●●

es, the core idea and impact of each paragraph?

What is the mood of the author?●●

Illustration : Gouri Nanda

Page 43: Careers 360 Nov09

41 NOVEMbEr 2009360carEErs

How to prepare Why?

Practise from a grammar exercise book You may only cover what you’re unsure of

While practising, explain why the other options are wrong rather than justify why one is right

You learn to identify common errors and increase your ability to spot errors, in the options

Familiarise yourself with a list of common errors such as subject-verb agreement, modi-fiers, parallel structure and pronoun errors

Since sentence structure is based on a set of rules, so are the errors. There’s a readily available list of com-mon sentence errors, making it easy to cover them before CAT 2009

How to prepare Why?

Tackle each question format separately Reasoning questions are based on inductive and deductive reasoning Practising them separately will help you score better

Read up on the following: argument errors, cause-effect relationship, faulty analogy, strength of evidence

This will help you answer logical reason-ing Qs

Practise from CAT question papers and similar tests

Once you are familiar with the question for-mats, then like most students, you will find reasoning questions, easy

The new formatLog on to the CAT web site (www.catiim.in), and take a tutorial for the computer-based test format. During the test, you can mark questions that you wish to answer a little later. You will be more comfort-

How to prepare Why?

Underline five words in a newspaper and look them up, daily

CAT lays more emphasis on whether you know how to use a word

Form sentences once you’re confident of their usage

You rarely find direct antonym or synonym questions

Go through a list of words that sounds similar (with meanings and usage) Eg: Dissemble and disassemble

Look at the last few years’ papers

Compete with a friend. Quiz each other on words from word lists, newspapers and CAT Qs

It is one of the best ways to learn a word list

Read up on phrasal verbs and idiomatic usage Unless you know a phrase, it’s difficult to answer these Qs. The idiom or phrase by itself may make no sense. Eg: Catch forty winks (meaning taking a short nap)

Vocabulary and word usage For the past two years, word usage ques-tions were based on words that sounds similar, context appropriateness, awk-ward usage and incorrect phrases. Remember, these are tricky questions and the options are bound to con-fuse you unless you know all words. The bad news is that there is no easy way around these questions except in the fill-in-the-blanks section where you can work with the logic of the sentence. Questions based on idioms and phrases are likely to appear.

GrammarUsually, grammar questions in CAT are presented in these formats: Choose the incorrect sentence, choose that part of the sentence, which is incorrect or the GMAT style sentence correction where a part of the sentence is underlined and you have to choose the right option. They could include word usage as well.

ReasoningFor sometime now, students have been expect-ing GMAT—style Critical Reasoning questions. However, as a rule, the CAT never falls for pre-dictions. Jumbled sentences have always been a favourite. Fact and Inference Judgment questions popped up in a difficult avatar, a few years ago. Syllogisms, once popular, are pretty easy to solve and you will be lucky if they appear in CAT 2009. The section ‘Complete the idea or paragraph’ tests your ability to understand the flow of logic. Heed these tips to improve your reasoning score.

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able when you understand how the RC passages appear. As the format of CAT has changed you should practise reading passages on a computer screen. Now, test your reading speed vis-à-vis a hard-copy test. Good luck!

(Sangeetha Sashidharan is an independ-ent education consultant, with 12 years of experience in the field of training for various entrance examinations such as CAT, GRE, GMAT, TOEFL, IELTS and SAT.)

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Work that iS more than juSt a CareerDevelopment is suddenly glamourous. read on to find out what has changed and what hasn’t, plus a rundown on corporate jobs aiding this phenomenon

Cover Story sOcial sEctOr

Environment and Energy

Community and Society Development

Health Care and Wellbeing

Industrial waste, toxic elements

Clean environment, preserving nature

Energy conservation

Forests, related development

Disaster ManagementSocietal crisis, intervention

Natural calamities

Emergency management

Relief and rehabilitation

Working for the ElderlyHospice and palliative care

Geriatrics

Family counselling

Old age homes

Special education needs

Society development, empowerment

Rural and urban development, planning

Shelter providing, street denizens

Adult literacy

Refugees and resettlement, slum development

Population, poverty and related issues

Hygiene and sanitation

Public health

Mental health and related issues

Camp coordination

Improving hospital and nursing centres

Accidents and trauma

Drug abuse /de-addiction units

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For Lalitha A.S. Nayak, her work is never a job, it is a part of her lifestyle. Working on women’s issues for the last 30 years, Lalitha is also very clear that it is finally someone

else’s suffering that she attempts to mitigate, a view strongly endorsed by Leena Dewan who works with street children. Welcome to the new world of the development sector.

A loaded term, this ‘development’! If the men-tion of the word, still conjures up the image of a stern looking jholawala, always frustrated about anything and everything, and living on peanuts, you are both right and wrong, but more wrong than right. This sector is currently populated by some of the best minds. So much so that Nachiket Mor, the Prince-in-Waiting at the ICICI Group, who was tipped to be the next CEO, chucked it all, and in his own words, wants to bring the power of the market to benefit people. Today, Mor heads the ICICI Foundation, and is busy bringing manage-ment philosophies to bear on issues as diverse as rural electrification to water distribution. “These people are rural managers,” concurs Fr. PT Joseph, Director, XIMB.

The sector is witnessing a substantial change, at least, in pockets. While at its core, it is still driven

by thousands of one-man armies, who work on shoe string budgets under extreme duress, it also has space for young graduates with professional qualifications. Dileep Ranjekar, CEO, Azim Premji Foundation acknowledges, “ The work in the social sector is no less intense than working in a highly-driven, result-oriented corporate organisation.”

From sanitation to eco-living, from preserv-ing Kargattam (a Tamil art form) to fund rais-ing, this sector has jobs for everyone. The sec-tor attracts two kinds of people. Some like Mor, have given up high flying corporate careers with an avowed motive to make a difference, a view brilliantly articulated also by Bill Gates (read more on Page 76). But as Ranjeker asserts, the sector also needs committed professionals who see it as a viable career option and are in it to make a liv-ing, as they satiate their conscience. As Meenakshi Madhvani, Founder, Spatial Access Solutions says, both have their own place and relevance.

The sector is vast, and the problems they encoun-ter are mindboggling. So, we have put together a dossier of 10 such domains where you could earn a decent living even while making a difference.

Go just do it! Others would benefit much more because of what you do.

Child Welfare, Schooling

Women Welfare and Empowerment

Conservation and Heritage

Microfinance,Asset Building

Allied and Supporting Sectors

Adoption and fostering

Child welfare and Rights

Education

Sexual and drug abuse

Counselling, including addressing dilemmas

Special education needs

Day care

Women’s empowerment

Maternity and related issues

Early marriage, dowry

Sexual exploitation

Domestic violence

Art and culture

Monuments

Tribes and indigenous people

Traditional knowledge

Investments

Relationship Building

Project Assessment

Default Resolution

Capacity Building

Loan Management

United Nations, World Bank identified issues and policies

Advocacy

Teaching, research and policy

Public relations and media

Expertise, consultancy

Fund raising guidance and counselling

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Urmila Rao

If issues like global warming, defor-estation and fuel wastage make your blood boil, why not consider a career

in the field of environmental studies? Not only will you do your bit for Mother Earth but chart out a career in an area that you are passionate about, also.

Know your domain: Environmental sciences initially dealt with scientific issues such as water pollution, toxicity, mineral properties etc. But as industri-alisation began to impact human life by way of climate change, instant floods and desertification, the discipline began to embrace economic and social issues as well. So two pathways are possible in this sector. One is to specialise in the science of environment and attempt to identify solutions to problems. The other is to look at the issue holistically and work for changes in a wider eco-nomic or social realm. In both cases, a certain understanding of both sides is necessary, though the level of expertise might vary depending on the choice of one’s area of specialisation.

WORKING FOR A CLEAN, GREEN WORLDthe private and public sector, and NGOs offer ample job opportunities in this internationally relevant sector

EnviRonmEnt and EnERgy

Wind energy is one of cleanest sources of energy and a viable option for a country like india

OrganisationsApplied Environmental Research Foundation

Integrated Research and Action for Development (IRADe)

The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI)

Centre for Environment Education (CEE)

SELECT COURSES IN ENVIRONMENTInstitute Course Eligibility Course fee (Rs)

National Institute of Industrial Engineering, Mumbai

PGD in Industrial Safety & Environmental Management (1-year)

First Class Engineering Graduates, CAT, GD/PI

2.27 lakhs (including hostel accommodation)

Indian Institute of Social Welfare & Business Management, Kolkata

MPSM (Environment Management), Calcutta University (2-year)

Engineering/Science Graduates

1,41 lakhs

Bharathidasan University

MBA in Environmental Management (2-year)

Science/Commerce graduates

35,000 (excluding hostel charges)

The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI), New Delhi

MSc in Environmental Studies (2-year)

Bachelor in Engineer-ing/Science/Geography and Economics

1.60 lakhs for two years

TERI, New Delhi Msc in Natural Resource Management (2-year)

same as above same as above

TERI, New Delhi MSc in Water Resource Management (2-year)

same as above same as above

Be eligible: A Master’s degree requires a BSc or equivalent degree in natural sciences, chemistry, environmental science, agriculture, geography, envi-ronmental economics or engineering. Work experience is preferred by some institutes when you opt for an MSc in environmental science.

Job prospects: There are job oppor-tunities in private and public sector companies, as well as in NGOs. “They exist across industries,” says Dr. Rajiv Seth, Registrar, TERI University, which offers postgraduate programmes. “Our students have been placed at ACC, Coca Cola, Ernst and Young and Suzlon among others,” he says. A qualified stu-dent can have a career in areas such as research and development, engineering, business management, education and training, environmental activism and tourism, among others. One can also become an ecologist, who studies and understands the environment, or else a soil and water conservationist working on crop rotation, reforestation among other areas, on recycling, fish and wild life or as an environmental scientist. An

added qualification in architecture or urban planning can also open up a fruit-ful career in these two areas, especially when the trend these days leans towards ‘green’ buildings.

Where to study: The Indian Institute of Social Welfare & Business Manage-ment, Kolkata, offers courses in environ-ment management, energy management and transportation and logistics man-agement, TERI University conducts a

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THINK CRITICALLY, ACT CREATIVELYas more tsunamis rock the world, Mother Earth needs trained professionals to save the day

Master’s programme in four disciplines, the National Institute of Industrial Engineering (NITIE), Mumbai offers a PG Diploma in Industrial Safety & Environmental Management.

Entry level salaries: Graduates could earn anywhere between Rs. 8,000-12000 at domestic NGOs such as Toxic Links, approxiately Rs. 15,000- 25,000 at an international organisation like WaterAid, and up to Rs. 75,000, if you are lucky enough to work for an inter-national funding organisation such as CIDA or IDRC. The entry level salaries in private companies are usually better. “The average salary is Rs 9.60 lakhs per annum,” says Professor Ashok K Pundir, Associate Dean (Placement) at the NITIE, Mumbai, Typically, post-graduates from NITIE would move into mitigation jobs in the environmental sector, where the objective is to reduce and manage environmental pollution.

disaster management

Urmila rao

Disaster management is a strat-egy to avoid, reduce, manage and overcome any type of catastroph-

ic event that threatens human lives. It is done by identifying potential disasters, man-made or natural, and by creating contingency plans and procedures to be initiated when and if disaster erupts.

Know your domain: A Master’s course in disaster management offers a mix of thematic and issue-based courses that deal with aspects such as relationships between environment, livelihood and disasters. They also include the skills essential for intervention in disasters, as well as their prevention. The programme builds up a multi-disciplinary knowl-edge base. Students develop expertise in areas such as logistics and supply chain management, public health, information and communication and peace, which are useful in the long run.

Be eligible: The Master’s programme

WHEN DISASTER strikes technology and prepared-ness both come in handy

OrganisationsCoastal Area Disaster Mitigation Efforts (CADME)

Catholic Relief Services (CRS)

Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA)

needs a bachelor’s degree in any dis-cipline, and correspondence certificate courses need Class 12. Working profes-sionals are eligible for short and long-term courses. An MBA requires at least a year of work experience.

Job prospects: There are employment opportunities in government and non-government organisations, as well as consultancy companies. You can also consider a career in research, training and teaching. For instance, you could work in institutions such as Delhi Disas-ter Management Authority, State Insti-tute of Disaster Management, Urban Disaster Risk Reduction Research Cen-tre, JTCDM, SVARAJ in Doddabal-lapur, Kerala and international NGOs

this science graduate first became environ-

mentally-conscious, during his graduation days. This awareness evolved into a keen interest in making the earth a better, cleaner place. After graduating from the Sri Venkateswara

College in Delhi, Manpreet enrolled for an MSc in Environmental Studies programme at the TERI University in Delhi.

“This is an interdisciplinary course, which is conducted in four semesters. The last semes-ter is the dissertation,” he says. The course curriculum comprises topics such as air, water pollution, environmental law, biodiversity con-servation and sustainability, among others.

Manpreet passed out in the year 2005 and interned at Synergy Global, an offshoot of Suzlon Limited. As an officer of Clean Devel-opment Mechanics (CMD), Manpreet worked on renewable energy. After a one-year stint, he moved on to join global consultancy firm, Ernst & Young, as a senior consultant in climate change and sustainability.

“There’s immense scope for a career in envi-ronment, as there is a lot of research being con-ducted in this emerging area,” he says. “Every industry now has a department that deals with environmental compliances, policies and other environment related matters,” he adds.

With respect to what it takes to make a career, Manpreet feels that one should be inter-ested in this area. “Skill sets can be developed, accordingly. And having a science background, helps,” he advises.

Manpreet Singh, 26

Senior Consultant (Climate Change and Sustainability), Ernst & Young

Jitender Gupta/Outlook Group

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like the Red Cross. Large industrial establishments also maintain disaster management cells.

Where to study: “The National Insti-tute of Disaster Management (NIDM) provides short-term courses rang-ing from one to five days. These pro-grammes are mainly meant for govern-ment officials at mid and senior levels,” says Colonel Prabod Pathak of NIDM. “We have web-based e-learning courses of four and six weeks, in collaboration with The World Bank, Washington,” he adds. The Jamsetji Tata Centre for Disaster Management offers a Master’s

course. Guru Gobind Singh Indrapras-tha University, Delhi offers an MBA in Disaster Management. Training is also imparted by The Disaster Management Institute, Madhya Pradesh, All India Disaster Management Institute and Gujarat Institute of Disaster Manage-ment, among others

Entry level salaries: They range from Rs. 15,000 to Rs. 1 lakh depending on the sector and job profile. Delhi Disaster Management Authority, a public sector enterprise, for instance, offers a junior executive assistant a consolidated salary of Rs. 20,000.

Select courses in Disaster ManagementInstitute Course Eligibility Course fee (Rs)

Jamsetji Tata Centre for Disaster Management, TISS, Mumbai

MA/M.Sc in Disaster Management

Bachelor’s degree in any discipline

2.33 lakhs (including hostel fees)

Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University (GGSIPU)

MBA in Disaster Management

Graduates, students with Master’s degree and work experience are preferred

1.6 lakhs

The Wise

caring for senior citizens may be your calling

working for the elderly

Bharti M Borah

Bedtime stories, stolen memories, forbidden treats and the occa-sional toys, the thrill of a doting

grandparent is something most of us have experienced. But as jobs become geographically mobile, living with grandparents has become a luxury, and devoid of family support, old age could be very painful. The population of citi-zens above the age of 60 is expected to reach 137 million by 2021. and pro-viding them with a life of comfort is a huge challenge. For those with a little empathy and loads of skills, geriatrics or the study and care of aging persons, is a tremendous opportunity to do good work and be blessed for it.

Know your domain: The scope in this area is large as it permeates various sec-tors such as health, legal services and training, to name a few. Also, one needs to have an overall understanding of vari-ous areas that influence the quality of life for senior citizens.

Typically, you need to develop spe-cific skills according to the area of your

in the last 10 years, disas-ters have affected approxi-

mately 3 billion people, killing 750,000. Data collected by the Centre for Research on the Epidemiology of Disaster (CRED), Belgium, indicated that the casualty rate and losses incurred due to disas-

ters, has increased phenomenally. So also the rise in the number of disasters, thus demanding quali-fied professionals to tackle them.

Organisations and agencies involved in disaster management find it necessary to recruit profes-sionals with specific skills and knowledge. Further, scholars and researchers across the world are increasingly involved in conceptual work, evalu-ation studies and in the prediction of disasters. Technologies are being evolved or reassessed for their implications for disasters and their effective management. But disaster management is yet to be recognised as a specialised field by Indian universities, although it seems to be emerging globally as a full-fledged academic discipline.

The Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS), has a tradition of responding to a disasters in India, and TISS’ interventions date back to 1947, when the institute sent a student-faculty team to Kuruk-shetra (in Haryana) to work with Pakistani refu-gees. Since then, the institute has responded to floods, riots, cyclones, earthquakes and industrial disasters, including the tsunamis of December 2004, Mumbai floods of July 2005, the Kashmir earthquake of 2006 and the Mumbai terror attack of 2008.

Core intervention areas include relief manage-

PRofESSoR JankI andhaRIaPhD, Jamsetji Tata Centre for Disaster Management, Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai

ment, assessment of losses/needs, psycho-social intervention, training and capacity-building, demonstration of participatory processes, advo-cacy, policy formulation, mobilisation of human resources, popularising appropriate technology, NGO coordination, publications and documenta-tion, and peace initiatives in the context of com-munal tensions.

In our analysis, disaster response in India has been constrained by several factors ranging from weak government policies to fragmented disas-ter management strategies. Having contributed systematically to disaster response in India, our experience suggested the need to develop quali-fied, skilled and committed professionals in the field of disaster management -- people who could think critically and also act creatively.

The course is multidisciplinary and is meant for mid-career professionals who are keen on acquiring advanced and systematic knowledge of dealing with disasters. People from diverse back-grounds are encouraged to apply – relief workers, engineers, people from armed forces, social sci-entists, medical and para-medical professionals, environmentalists and so on. Besides possessing an ability to rough it out in difficult circumstances the course requires intellectual acumen, an abil-ity to engage in reflective dialogue, a commitment to hard work, sensitivity to people, especially the poor and the vulnerable and good command over English language.

The interest in pursuing Disaster Management seems to be increasing. Even in TISS for the year 2009-2010, for a total of 32 seats 600 candidates appeared for the written tests conducted at the all India level.

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working for the elderly

COURSES IN CARING FOR THE ELDERLYCourse Institute Eligibility Course fee (Rs)

Diploma in Gerontology, Centre for Lifelong Learning

TISS Graduate in any discipline

19,365

Certificate in Care of Elderly ARDSI, Kochi 10+/CAT NISD sponsors

Post Graduate Diploma in Geriatric Medicine

Indira Gandhi National Open University

MBBS Doctors 15,200

Course in Geriatric care Symbiosis Nursing college Graduate/CAT NISD sponsors

Certificate course in Geriatric Care (6 months)

National Institute of Social Defense (NISD)

Graduate/CAT No fees

choice, and you will face some challeng-es on the job. Patience is an important virtue, and don’t take statements made by your clients, personally.

Be eligible: You must have a Master’s degree to specialise in geriatrics (refer to listing for more options).

Job prospects: You could work at a home for senior citizens. An NGO such as HelpageIndia, which works towards protecting the rights of India’s elderly, is another avenue. The opportunities are growing especially in the health sector, even for those who may not have a medi-cal or nursing background.

Where to study: The courses available are still small in number. The National Institute of Social Development (NISD)

has actively been providing opportuni-ties in this field all over India, taking care of all expenditure of selected candidates and offering a stipend on completion of the course. But the number of students who take up such programmes is still very less. “Students still don’t see it as a viable career option, “ says Dr Haripriya, Resident Diriector, MIDSR.

Entry level salaries: Since 1993, the Alzheimer’s and Related Disor-ders Society of India (ARDSI), has been managing the School of Geriat-ric Care in Kochi. Course Coordinator Babu Varghese shares that the need for trained professionals is increasing. You can earn anything between Rs. 4,000 to Rs. 25,000, per month depending on whether you work for a national or international NGO.

The city and state you work in, also influence your package. A metro offers more job opportunities, though a large population of senior citizens do live in rural areas. Usually, administration skills are essential. And above all keep that smile in place, when it matters.

senior citizens need a helping hand, especially in health care and in protecting their rights

CaREER avEnuEs In GERIatRICshealth care – Physicians, pharmacists, psy-chiatrists, psychologists, social workers and therapists Mental health – Geropsychiatrists, nurses, social workers, mental health therapists, other specialists leisure and recreation – Recreation special-ists and exercise therapists education – Educators in local schools, col-leges and universities need to be trained on handling the aged and acquire skills to interact with this group. research and communication – Related to biological, psychological and sociological aspects of ageing, research needs to be com-municated to wide audience through media. Policy and programme planning – Specialists in policy development, policy analysis, pro-gramme development and evaluation work at agencies at the local and state government. Administration – Manager, administrator, supervisor, programme specialist, programme director, analyst, evaluator, public relations and media experts, and specialists. legal services – Specialised knowledge of the elderly and related areas of laws and legal services.

OrganisationsHelpAge India

Alzheimer’s society of India (ARDSI)

International Network for prevention of eleder abuse (INPEA)

Anugraha India

Family Health International

CARE Foundation

A doctor by profession, Shinde works with sen-

ior citizens in the Mahar-ashtra hinterland. And he refuses to refer to them as ‘aged’ or ‘old’. Instead he prefers the Marathi word ‘jesht’, which translates to ‘elder.’ Urged by his wife,

also a doctor by profession, Shinde has been actively visiting rural parts of Maharashtra to work closely with the ‘jesht’ population.

He completed a six-month course on geriat-ric care from Symbiosis Nursing College and International Longitivity Centre (ILC) in Pune, last year, to strengthen his understanding of the elderly.

Having spent many years in the field, he launched Swasthya Darpan, a magazine, to address issues relating to senior citizens.

According to Shinde, the government does not allot funds to this set of citizens, and he dreams about creating spaces where the eld-erly can meet, talk and play a game of carrom. As a principle, he is against the concept of old age homes, and aspires to set up recreation centres all over Maharashtra. He also wants to educate villagers about the specific needs of senior citizens.

DR PRashant shInDESwasthya Darpan, Ahmednagar

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bringing wealth to the marginalisedthis is the sector where it really began. so if all-round learning is your concern, csD is the place to get started

Community and SoCiety development

nimesh Chandra

Village upliftment, poverty eradi-cation, slum redevelopment, anything to do with raising the

economic and social profile of the poor comes under this catch all phrase. In some sense Gandhi with his Gram Swarajaya, was the first community development manager in the country. One could easily argue that, this is the sector where it all began. “This is pre-cisely where people trained in different aspects of social work can make a huge difference in India,” says Vinod Koshti, a postgraduate from Delhi School of Social Work who has been engaged in the developmental sector in Delhi for over a decade now.

Know your discipline: Although

anyone pursuing a degree/diploma course in social work is exposed to all the above mentioned areas, there are specialised courses, both long and short-term to get a focused understanding of the particular area and even branch out later as a specialist (see table). Most of the courses are full-time, lasting for one or two years, with part-time options available for those already working in the field. The good training courses ensure that academic theory and practice skills are effectively integrated. Apart from training in the core subject area, gener-ally the courses in this domain will also include modules on human growth and development, disability, assessments, communication skills, law and partner-ship working.

Be eligible: While a graduate degree

is the minimum requirement, for spe-cialised Master’s and Diploma courses, preference is given to working profes-sionals in the related discipline, gener-ally with two years of experience.

Job prospects: One has the option of selecting organisations that are state owned statutory entities; NGOs, private players in the voluntary sector; agen-cies both national and international that also deal in funding; or they can work independently. There are significant dif-ferences in the structure and function-ing of the organisations, for instance a voluntary organisation would usually

Select courses in Community & Social DevelopmentProgramme Institute Eligibility Course fee (Rs)

PGD in Social Development and Organisation Management - 1 year

Maharaja Sayaji Rao University, Vadodara

Graduate in any discipline 8,650

MA (Social Work) - Urban & Rural Community Development - 2 years

Indore School of Social Work, Indore Graduate in any discipline with 45% marks

40,000

MA/MSc - Population Studies (intake 20) - 2 years

International Institute for Population Sciences, Mumbai

Bachelor’s degree; preference to those having UG in Maths/Statistics, Economics,

PGD in Governance and Management of NGOs (intake 30)- 1 year

Karve Institute of Social Service, Pune Graduate in any discipline; preference to working professionals

10,000

MA/MSc in Habitat Policy & Practice (intake 15) – 2 years

School of Habitat Studies, Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai

Bachelor’s degree, with inclination towards habitat-related issues

1,25,000 including hostel facility

Postgraduate Diploma in Rural Man-agement – 2 years

Xavier Institute of Management, Bhubaneswar

Graduate in any discipline 5,36,000 including hostel facility

Post Graduate Programme in Public Policy & Management – 2 years

Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore

Primarily for officers of All India/Cen-tral Services; open to graduates from PSUs, financial institutions/NGOs with at least 7 years of experience

Sponsorship for Government Department of Personnel & Training (DoPT) candidates; 9,75,000 for non-DoPT participants

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follow a clearly defined role to advocate on behalf of particular group and the nucleus of operations would be around promoting the welfare and rights of that group. According to Professor M N Parmar, Head of Department of Social Work at the MS University of Baroda, “The job opportunities in the develop-ment sector are growing and NGOs in particular are recruiting people who are engaged in direct service delivery.” The firms in the corporate sector have a social responsibility function where opportunities are aplenty.

Where to study: Most Indian univer-sities have a department of social work that offer degrees, diplomas and certifi-cate courses. There are specialised insti-tutions such as Entrepreneurship Devel-opment Institute of India at Ahmeda-bad or XLRI at Jamshedpur that offer courses in Social Entrepreneurship. One can pursue a Master’s programme in development studies at Centre for Economic & Social Studies, Hyderabad or opt for an MBA in rural development from G.B. Pant Social Science Institute at Allahabad. Most of these institutes facilitate campus placements and make sure that support mechanisms such as appropriate training and assessment are in place.

Entry level salaries: While the start-ing salary varies from place to place, the nature of work and type of organisation one tends to join, one is likely to get anywhere between Rs. 1 lakh to Rs. 4 lakh per annum in an NGO. The fund-ing agencies and research organisations most of which are international, pay in the range of Rs. 3-6 lakhs annually, while the big corporate entities in the private sector offer a tad higher salary. Remember, development is a conten-tious term, and especially in villages where feudal tendencies do play a role. So it is important to be patient, have a long-term perspective and not rush things through

EmpowEring womEn along with developmental concerns is equally important Community and Society

DevelopmentCommitted Communities Development Trust

Integrated Development Society

Centre for Rural Systems and Development (CRUSADE)

Centre for Operations Research and Training (CORT)

Institute of Social Research & Development

Asian Institute for Sustainable Development (AISD)

Prerna Social Development & Welfare Society

When Indian social activist Arvind Kejriwal

was selected as an Ashoka Fellow to bring down the level of corruption in the government, Ruchika put him in touch with social entrepreneurs from across the Ashoka network, and

worked on how they all in turn could take the Right to Information (RTI) movement forward. Arvind’s campaign took the shape of the Right to Information Act (RTIA), now a national law.

This is what Ruchika does at Ashoka. She gets social entrepreneurs who want to impact social change to meet other likeminded change mak-ers from across the world through collabora-tions and partnerships. As she facilitates these interactions she also gathers support within Ashoka for funding opportunities so that these novel ideas can finally make a difference.

Of late she’s been involved with the legal aspects of social entrepreneurship. “When you are in the business of creating a change, the knowledge of law becomes important,” says Ruchika, who is also a lawyer. She convinces lawyers to give pro bono services (free of cost) to social entrepreneurs.

Ruchika is one of the few people who, from the start, were clear that they wanted to work in the social development sector. As a schoolgirl she taught children in a slum in south Delhi. “The Arya Samaj culture of ‘daan’ at home made me sensitive to the needs of people.” There-fore, when the time came to choose between commerce and psychology at Lady Shri Ram College (LSR), she opted for the latter. “I am so glad I chose psychology because course helped me engage with the social sector in a more pro-fessional manner.”

She recalls her first day at TISS she joined after her graduation. She was taken, along with other students to Dharavi, a slum in Mumbai. “I was wading through excreta floating in the monsoon downpour. And I asked myself, was I prepared for this kind of work?” She took a week off to review her decision. But she returned, and since then, there’s been no looking back. She went on to study Gender and Social policy at the London School of Economics and Political Science, as a British Chevening Scholar.

During her 13 years of development experi-ence, Ruchika has worked on issues ranging from human rights, women and law and rural finance with citizen sector groups and interna-tional agencies like The World Bank and GTZ. Her work has taken her to several parts of the world. Very recently she attended the 2009 International Summer School on Pluralism and Development in Indonesia.

“The social development sector has fully allowed me to realise my potential. Ruchika says salaries in the social sector may not be as high as those offered in the private sector, but then a fat pay package is not what drives Ruchika; making a difference does. But more than anything she finds getting change makers to work together and agree on something the most challenging part of her work!

Sumita Vaid Dixit

Ruchika Bahl Global Director, Law For All initiative by Ashoka

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it’s not about patients alone Medical expenses are a major cause of debt in rural india. You can make a difference

HealtH care

Nimesh chandra

For a nation with super power ambitions, India fares abysmally low in almost all indicators per-

taining to health care. Next to marriages, health care expenses are the primary cause for debt in rural India. And thanks to technological innovations, this is also one sector wherein results could be achieved within a short span of time. So if you are a socially conscious individual interested in making a difference double quick, this is the sector to be in.

Know your discipline: Work in the health sector is varied but may be grouped roughly into the following cat-egories: public health, mental health and

related issues, administration of hos-pitals and nursing centres, drug abuse/de-addiction, accidents and trauma, and medical laboratories services. According to Dr. A Dyalchand, Director, Institute of Health Management, Pune, “Under the National Rural Health Mission, the Government has adopted a policy to appoint district managers with a man-agement degree or professionals with a Master’s in health science or social work degree.”

There are both regular and special-ised courses that are offered to make a niche in this field (See Table). While it is extremely difficult to list exclusive courses in this domain, one can see that the syllabus is usually a judicious

HigH tecHnology has a space in healing, but what still matters is the personal touch

at times it’s a nine-to-five job. Other times it

involves being in the field, interviewing people and meeting up with govern-ment officials. “But it’s a job that fulfils my intellectual, creative and social needs,” says Sana, who started her

career as a dentist but gave up practice to work in the public health sector. Both her parents are doctors and it was a given that she too would become one.

“At the age of 17, one doesn’t ponder much over career choices as you are preparing for the boards, chasing deadlines. There’s just no time to reflect,” she explains. But it was while studying dentistry, that she developed an inter-est in public health. “In medicine we are taught a treatment-approach rather than a preventive approach and I believe in the latter.” While prac-tising at small community clinics, performing all kinds of dental procedures, she began vol-unteering at CEHAT, where she was exposed to health issues related to violence.

This was a new area of work and she was curi-ous to know how domestic violence or abuse impacted health. “It’s almost terrifying that emotional abuse can express itself in more silent ways than a bruise or a broken arm,” she observes. Often this kind of abuse results in mental disorders. This area of research excited Sana, and so she joined CEHAT full-time as a research associate and later on went on to complete a Master’s in Public Health from Johns Hopkins University, USA.

“Having a noble intention alone is not good enough to make a contribution in social work; you require professional skills, as well.” But her parents were surprised and sceptical about her decision, as dentistry was considered as more ‘professional’ than social work. Sana rues this impression that social workers are people who do good for free.

“But much has changed in the past 10 years. Today, the social sector is largely professional. It offers lucrative jobs and pay packages that can go up to Rs 70,000, depending on where you work,” she says. To really make a difference, while you need passion and skills, you also need a reasonable income. “After all, who’s going to pay the rent?”

Sana advises social work aspirants to apply to the right organisations; since the social sec-tor is largely under-regulated, it is important to do a background check before applying.

by Sumita Vaid Dixit

Sana ContraCtor, 26, Research Officer, Centre for Enquiry into Health and Allied themes (CEHAT)

mixture of theoretical and practical assignments. Students gain the much-needed experience, a prerequisite for employment to some organisations, even as they pursue their programme. A lot of emphasis is now being given to courses that are intense, highly special-ised and of a shorter duration.

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Job prospects: Developments in the health and allied sectors during the last decade have provided enormous oppor-tunities for students to choose a career of their interest in this sector. One can opt for a suitable course to work as doctor, nursing personnel, qualified scientific, technical or therapeutic staff – including clinical psychologist or say a biomedical researcher. One may also think about alternative therapies, like Ayurveda which has its own niche in India. There are allied health professionals, including occupational therapists and radiogra-phers. Learning disabilities is an inte-gral part of the health sector. Here one deals with a variety of conditions such as autism, cerebral palsy and Down’s syn-drome or generally speaking, conditions of physical disability, or mental health or behavioural problems that cause impair-ment or delay in intellectual progress. Professor Anand Goud, a faculty at the Indore School of Social Work says, “There is a dearth of skilled personnel to fill in the gap between the doctors and patients in India. For instance a medical psychiatrist-cum-social worker will be equipped to counsel and deal with the patients, emotionally.”

Be Eligible: For general undergraduate

Courses and InstItutIons: an IndICatIve lIst In health and allIed seCtorsInstitute Course Eligibility Course fee (Rs)

Indian Institute of Social Welfare and Business Management, Kolkata

Master’s in Public Systems Manage-ment (specialization in Health Care & Hospital Management) - 2 years

Graduate in any branch of Medical Science/ Pharmacy/Biological Science/Social Science & Nutrition

2,60,000

Indira Gandhi National Open University

Diploma in HIV and Family Education; 1-year

Completed 10+2 (higher secondary) 2,000

Indore School of Social Work, Indore

MA in Social Works (specialisation in Medical & Psychiatric Social Work)

Graduate in any discipline with 45% marks 40,000

Institute of Health Management Research, Jaipur

Post Graduate Diploma in Hospital and Health Management

Graduates in any discipline with a minimum of 50%

3,95,000

Symbiosis Institute of Health Sciences

BSc – Medical Technology – 3 years 12th Pass; working professionals get admission to 2nd year subject to approval

45,000 for first year

Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai

Master of Public Health – 2 years Master’s in any discipline/Bachelor’s in medicine/ Bachelor’s other than medicine with 2 years experience in the health sector

37,640 for two semesters

Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai

MA in Disability Studies and Action - 2 years

Graduates in any discipline. Preference to those with at least two years experience in the field of disability or social welfare

36,940 for two semesters

Centre of Social Medicine and Community Health, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi

MPhil Community Health (Pre-PhD) – 2 years

Master’s degree in social sciences 1,000

Faculty of Management Studies, University of Delhi

MBA (Part-Time) Health Care Administration - 3 years

Graduation in any discipline with 45% and at least 3 years experience as an executive/administrator

11,000 per year

health CareIndian Network For People Living With HIV/AIDS

Aasra

Latika Roy Foundation

CBR Forum

Health Education and Social Research Organisation

Centre for Enquiry into Health and Allied Themes

CHETNA

courses in medicine and nursing you need to be good in subjects like biology, chemistry, mathematics and English at the higher secondary school level and develop reasoning and logical thinking skills, for entrance examinations. For specialised courses at the postgraduate level one needs to have a Bachelor’s degree with a certain minimum level of pass percentage. The essential qualities or attributes that employers look for in professionals of this sector are resilience, empathy, emotional intelligence and warmth. Social workers require a sound knowledge of the legislation and policies

that drive their work. They should be able to communicate with a wide range of people - an essential skill, if any inter-vention is to be successful. More than half of the social workers’ time is spent out in the community, visiting affected people and their care providers, assess-ing new referrals and developing care plans to meet their needs.

Where to Study: Apart from universi-ties, institutions such as the National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences, Bangalore; College of Social Work, Nirmala Niketan, Mumbai; Welingkar Institute of Management, Mumbai, Ranchi Institute of Neuro-Psychiatry & Allied Sciences and Apol-lo Institute of Hospital Administration, Hyderabad offer highly specialised courses that can prepare oneself as an expert and help contribute to the better-ment of life for several people.

Entry level salaries: The salary struc-ture for someone in the medical labo-ratory services would range between Rs. 1.5 to 3 lakhs per annum. It would be a little less for a community health worker in the rural areas. An expert in disability studies or a clinical psy-chologist would earn anywhere between Rs. 2.5 lakh to 6 lakhs , annually.

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tHE PRICE OF A SMILEPrimary education has been a major focus in this area. but there’s a lot more to accomplish

child welfare

Bharti M Borah

Children - the word immediately brings a smile to everyone’s face. But the conditions in which you

will find children when you decide to enter this domain, may not bring any smiles. Despite the legal ban on child labour, children are employed as domes-tic help in homes, on the streets, in res-taurants, and some are even initiated into sex work. Child labour is just one problem in the vast area of children’s welfare. Malnutrition, health, literacy, development are the others.

The smiles you can bring to a child’s face are priceless. So, if you can stand the grime and dirt, that priceless feeling is yours.

Know your domain: This area suffers both from lack of preventive as well as proactive measures. While issues like malnutrition, health and infant mortali-ty have larger linkages to social and eco-nomic realities, issues like abuse, forced labour and literacy are more systemic and addressable. And professional inter-vention is required in both the places. As Bill Gates succinctly puts it (refer Page 76), “Humanity’s greatest advances are not in its discoveries – but in how those discoveries are applied to reduce ineq-uity.” Government initiatives such as the eradication of polio through free vac-cination camps throughout India, are a step in the right direction. But the field needs efficient and dedicated profes-sionals to really make a difference. Sev-eral NGOs are dedicated to providing shelter, health, education and training, to street/slum children.

Be eligible: Most courses require you to be a graduate. Some require an MBBS degree. You can also pursue courses

unwanted gems: if not aborted, they end up being abandoned

Courses in Child WelfareCourse Institute Eligibility Course fee (Rs)

PG diploma in Child Rights Law National Law school Graduate 11,100

Intensive practical training programmes of Pychological assessment, counselling and other psychological therapies in children and adolescents

Institute of Child and Adolescent Mental Health and Behavioural Sciences (ICAMBS), SNEHI

Graduate Approx. 15,000

PG Diploma in Maternal and Child Health

Indira Gandhi National Open University

MBBS 14,000

PG Diploma in Health Sciences in Adolescent Health and Education (1 year)

Annamalai University MBBS 34,200

PG Diploma in Child Psychology (9 months)

Osmania University Graduate/ entrance exam

8,000-10,000

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in Child Guidance and Counselling or Early Childhood Care as well, which needs 10+2 or graduation.

Job prospects: So far, education has been the primary focus in child wel-fare, with organisations such as Pratham working actively in 28 states. You could also be involved in various aspects of adoption and foster care by working at orphanages such as Mother Teresa’s homes.

One could also work at an NGO in various capacities such as counselling, rehabilitation and crisis intervention. For instance, sexual/drug abuse is a

common feature in the lives of slum/ street children, and providing counsel-ling to address these issues, is another area of work. Active involvement is a must, to protect children against various forms of abuse and child labour.

Where to study: You could pursue courses such as the Postgraduate Diplo-ma in Child Rights Law at the National Law School of India, Bangalore for a fee of Rs. 11,100. Classes commence in November . However, you could still try applying with a late fee.

Beena Chintalapuri, a professor at Osmania University’s psychology department, informed that a nine-month PG diploma in child psychology for Rs. 8,000-10,000, is specifically open only to women. As part of the course, you will participate in outreach programmes, which involve working in the field. Most students who opt for this course, then pursue a Master’s in psychology.

Entry level salaries: They range from Rs. 5,000 to Rs. 25,000. International NGOs and fund raising organisations, usually offer a better pay.

EmpowEr thE opprEssEdareas such as micro entrepreneurship and skill development are sweeping this domain

women welfare

Bharti m Borah

Hearing a mother’s tale of her daughter being burnt alive for dowry, will leave very few

unmoved. But resilience is one qual-ity that will come in handy when you decide to work in this area. As Lalitha Nayak asserts, after a lifetime of working closely with sex workers, her goal is to prevent the second generation from fol-lowing suit. If you can think long-term, and be content snatching minor and major victories along the way, this sector is the place for you. Skill development is an exciting area to work in as well

as promoting micro entrepreneurship. Both have a faster turnaround time and are for people who are impatient for results and take heart in the fact that this (patience!) is a trait, whose time has come!

Know your domain: A basic awareness of the history of the women’s movement and feminism, is a must. Caste, class and patriarchy, along with understand-ing colonialism and nationalism, puts women and development in context.

This area also comprises aspects such as early marriage, dowry, domestic vio-lence, exploitation, widowhood and maternity and related issues.

Violence against women is a reality even in urban india, despite legal protection

It is a course that changed her life. Leena was blissful-

ly going about her exports business, when she heard about and joined a course offered by SNEHI, on pro-viding support to children. As part of the course, she had to spend two weeks at

Bal Bhawan and Child Welfare Centre. She says, those two weeks “did something to

her”. She quit the business and started working full-time with children. “The work has various challenges but satisfaction is inevitable when you participate fully and feel for the cause. When the children laugh, you feel so motivated.” Her days are full, and emotionally and mentally disturbed children get the maximum attention from her. But she is very clear about not having very high expectations.

She warns; never meddle with the children’s realities by making surreal promises. Stay grounded and deal with one issue at a time. It is also very important to stay connected and engaged, but always maintain a certain level of detachment. It helps in dealing with the high rates of failures of initiatives and intervention in this sector. She concludes, children are very resilient. One just has to help them find way.

Leena dewanVolunteer at SNEHI (organisation for psychosocial support, mental health care)

Child Welfare/Schooling CCF-India

CARE India Trust

Child In Need Institute (CINI)

Childline India Foundation

CRY - Child Rights and You

Astha

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Early marriage, maternity, dowry and widowhood broadly need you to understand the institution of mar-riage. For instance, an unmarried woman might find it difficult to work in sexuality-related areas, as the influ-enced parties may not feel very com-fortable sharing their lives with her. It is advisable to dress up depending on the group in which you work initially, until you gain their confidence.

Most people working in this area learn hands-on, lessons that you usu-ally gain only after experience in the field. And you will possibly make mistakes during the initial process. Most courses require practical training,

courses in women’s welfareInstitute Course Eligibility Course fee (Rs)

The Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda

Interdisciplinary Course in Women’s Studies (6 weeks)

Graduate 300 (for students), 500 (others)

Tarabai Shinde Women’s Studies Center, Dr. B.A. Marathwada Univer-sity, Aurangabad

Certificate Course in Women’s Studies (1year PT)

Graduate/entrance exam 500 (for students) 1,000 (others)

University of Pune Post Graduate Interdisciplinary Cer-tificate Course in Gender, Culture and Development Studies (1 year FT)

Graduate Approx 4,000

University of Mysore PGD Women’s Studies (1 year) Graduate/entrance exam 3,300 (general)

TISS, Mumbai MA in Women’s Studies (2 years) Graduate Approx 58,000

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Lalitha has spent the last 20 years working with

women and children at GB Road, Delhi’s red-light area. “The women are not here by choice, but at least they have a roof over their heads,” asserts Lalitha. Her work involves looking

out for their interests, right from interven-ing due to ill-treatment, encouraging safe sex practices and preventing the next generation from getting into the trade. In addition, the Joint Women’s Programme has dedicated a separate space where the children receive informal edu-cation and medical care.

She emphasises the importance of sensitiv-ity and patience because there are no instant results. Last but not the least, the time and effort that you put in, has meaning only if you don’t treat your work as a job. To her it is also important to keep a certain level of detach-ment from the immediate problems. Lalitha sums it up by saying that the objective is to prevent second generation prostitution, and to the current generation, give them dignity that they deserve.

The strength of an activist in this field is the ability to make a positive change.

LaLItha s.a. nayakIn-Charge, Joint Women’s Programme

women welfareAction for Women and Rural Development

SEWA

National Council of Women in India

Kali for Women

Saheli

CHETNA

Affus Woman Welfare Association (AWWA)

Voice of Women

Calmani Memorial Sansthan

National Resource Centre for Women (NRCW)

as the work is not easy. Be prepared to handle challenges, stick to the cause no matter what each day brings your way. Put in your best, gain the trust of the group of women you are working with.

Be eligible: Graduation is the usual requirement. Some courses also have an entrance test and interview. Certificate, diploma and degree programmes have different requirements. It’s a good idea to look at the curriculum before you decide.

Job prospects: At the National Com-mission for Women, your work would involve crisis intervention and follow-ups, in a range of cases, right from dowry to domestic violence. On the other hand, at the the Ministry of Women and Child Development, you could be involved in policy making as well as improving health-related problems at the grass-roots level. Simply put, the work varies, based on the profile of the institution. Typically, people choose to work with an NGO, based on the issue they handle. However, some NGOs such as Jagori, tackle multiple issues.

Where to study: The Maharaja Saya-jirao University of Baroda offers some-thing unique, a six-week interdiscipli-nary course in women studies, which offers an overview of the field. You must be a graduate to apply. The course fee is Rs. 300 for students/NGO workers and Rs. 500 for others. The fee is dependent on the duration as well the kind of pro-gram that is on offer. A two-year Master’s in Women’s Studies from TISS would cost you approximately Rs. 58,000, but this course has a higher value.

Entry level salaries: Indian NGOs would offer Rs. 5,000 approximately, and international NGOs would offer up to Rs. 25,000, per month.

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Protecting history there are several vacant posts but very few qualified professionals in museology and conservation

conservation

Urmila rao

For a nation whose recorded his-tory dates back to 3000 BC and beyond, we are callous about pre-

serving it for posterity. If messages like ‘Rahul loves Priya’ scribbled on the walls of Shajehan’s personal hamam, irk you no end, or the sudden identification of a palm script, that might have passed through the hands of Raja Thodarmal gives you goose bumps, conservation is an area you should consider specialis-ing in. From restoring ancient havelies to recreating historical events, from researching on new forms of preserva-tion to communicating the importance of heritage to school children, the job profiles are as diverse as the domain. But they could demand tremendous patience and long hours of backbreaking work. After all most domes are arched and the entrances to many monuments, really small.

Know your domain: In general, there tends to be a lack of awareness on con-serving historical artefacts and cultural heritage. Disciplines like art history, museology, archeology and conserva-tion, can be studied and pursued, pro-fessionally. Museology encompasses the role and functions of a museum, its philosophy and multiform character, whereas conservation is the science of conserving, persevering and restoring art forms. “We study ancient, medieval and contemporary art, architecture, miniature paintings and artists,” says Ruchi Sharma, 24, a student of MA (History of Art).

Be eligible: You must have a back-ground in social sciences, liberal arts or fine arts for a Master’s in Art. For conservation, a science background or a graduate degree in art, architecture or archaeology is preferred. Sumitra Sun-der, a BFA student from Bangalore, cur-rently pursuing Museology had to drop the idea of conservation because of her arts background. Museology candidates need a BA, BSc or BFA background.

Job prospects: You can work as a cura-tor in museums, art galleries, or as a researcher. You can also intern at NGOs such as India Foundation for the Arts (INTACH). “We placed our students at

Select courSeS in conServationCourse Institute Eligibility Course fee (Rs)

MA in History of Art, Conser-vation and Museology and PhD in Art, Conservation and Museology

National Museum Institute, University of History of Art, Conserva-tion and Museology, Delhi

A background in social sciences, liberal arts or fine arts for Museology and Art History, Science or archaeology back-ground for conservation

12,000 approx

BA and MA in Indian History Culture and Archaeology

The Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda

Bachelor course in History/Archaeology

_

MA and PhD in Museology The Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda

Bachelor’s degree Iin arts or science. For Ph.D master’s in museology or conservauion

_

Master’s in Archaeology and Heritage Management

Delhi Institute of Heritage Management and Research

Bachelor’s degree

Master’s in Conservation, Preservation and Heritage Management

Delhi Institute of Heritage Management and Research

BA History, Archaeology 20,000

MPhil in Archival Science Gujarat Vidyapith, Ahmedabad

Master in Arts _

MA in Art and aesthetics Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi

Any degree 374 per semester

PGD in Museology Osmania University Any degree _

taj mahal, the pride of India also needs periodic conservation initiatives to keep it fit

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the Prince of Wales Museum, Mumbai, LD Museum, Ahmedabad, Palace Muse-um, Jaipur, among a few others,” says Dr. N R Shah who heads the Department of Museology, Faculty of Fine Arts at The Sayajirao University of Baroda. There are several vacant posts but a lack of trained professionals. Sunder’s interest in curatorship may take her abroad for advanced studies in the display of art objects. She says, “Museums in the UK and US are organised, very differently.”

Shashikanta Sharma from Manipur, a second-year student of art history at the National Museum Institute, Delhi, opines that most museums in the North East are tended to by lay people who aren’t professionally qualified for the job. His classmate Nitin Kumar Saini adds, “The Government is not doing much to provide enough job opportuni-ties in this sector.”

Where to study: The Maharaja Saya-jirao University of Baroda offers a Diploma, Bachelor’s and Master’s pro-gramme on archaeology, museology and fine arts. The National Museum Insti-tute (NMI), Delhi, Delhi Institute of Heritage Research and Management, Deccan College, Pune, CAVA College Mysore, Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh are some well-established insti-tutions for graduate and post graduate courses. NIMU offers PhD courses.

Entry level salaries: An assistant cura-tor’s salary is approximately Rs. 20,000 and increases with promotion as dep-uty curator and then as director. Entry level salaries are anywhere between Rs. 5,500-8,000 per month. “An art restorer can start with Rs. 10,000-20,000,” says Nasir, a student at NMI. He, however, rues the lack of opportunities in the sector. But as a nation’s wealth increases in size and strength, art and culture will become the means to maintain exclusiv-ity, and that may be when one would see opportunities taking wings.

Banking for the poor Designing smart finance products for the underprivileged, could yield rich career dividends

microfinance

financial independence leads to positive spin-offs in multiple social processes

Urmila rao

With over 41% of India’s adult population lacking access to banking, credit would mostly

come from the local moneylender or the village elder, and at outrageous inter-est rates. But thanks to the pioneer-ing work done by Mohammed Yunus and Grameen Bank in Bangladesh, the dispossessed became a viable business proposition. It also simultaneously made tremendous changes to their live-lihood. And micro credit as an idea, took off. So, if money interests you but you want to stretch it to its limits for the right reasons, microfinance is the place to be in. It is actually banking with a difference.

Know your domain: The idea at its core is simple; build a good financial corpus and lend it judiciously to a large and diverse population in small tranche.

Focus on lending for revenue generat-ing activities only and use community building as a tool to bring about empow-erment as well as to ensure prompt loan servicing.

As the returns became attractive, pro-fessional players also got in to the game, and the field is getting increasingly competitive. At most business schools, the economics and finance curriculum include a section on microfinance. It was while pursuing an MBA in rural management in 2007, Pooja Bharech, 24, also opted for a three-month elective course in microfinance. NGO Drishtee recruited Bharech as an assistant man-ager through campus placements, and a year later she has been promoted to Controller, Rural Finance.

But an interesting aspect of microfi-nance is that equal emphasis is placed on the social value that every rupee lent generates, as well as the economic value

Outlook Group

ConservationINTACH

Charles Wallace Trust

EU network of cultural centres

International Council of Monuments and Sites

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it generates. Thus the curriculum invari-ably would provide substantial inputs on team building, social problems, issues of exclusion, gender dimensions of devel-opment etc.

Be eligible: The requirements vary from programme to programme (refer to listing).

Job prospects: “You can seek out opportunities with venture capital firms, corporate social responsibility divisions of banks and private companies,” says K Sukumaran, Head-Training, Indian School of Microfinance for Women, Ahmedabad. Entry level jobs can be found in microfinance institutes, in vari-ous banks and research institutions.

Where to study: “It is the short-dura-tion courses that are more in demand,” says K Sukumaran. The Centre for Microfinance at IFMR, Chennai, con-ducts an internship programme for two -and-a-half months to three months for undergraduates and graduate students. “Interns absorbed into the programme can choose to work on either an exist-ing projects or developing a new project for a period of eight to 12 weeks,” says

Amulya Krishna Champatiray, Coordi-nator-Courses and Workshops, CFM-IFMR. Sa-Dhan in collaboration with Indian Institute of Banking and Finance (IIBF) offers a Diploma in Microfi-nance, a distance learning programme. The Institute of Finance, Banking and Insurance (IFBI), established by NIIT in association with ICICI Bank has two to three-day programmes for working professionals.

A few private colleges have also ven-tured into the sector by offering long-

Arun gives financial securi-ty to poor people such as

Rajni, a local vegetable vendor who makes a meagre profit of Rs 30-40 a day. He works with the Kshetriya Gramin Financial Services (KGFS), an outfit that offers investment, insurance products or loans

to buy cattle or open up small shops to poor rural customers who can invest small sums for the rainy day. “My job is to design financial products for rural people,” he explains.

The services offered by KGFS save poor peo-ple from exploitation at the hands of local mon-eylenders. “It also gives them a chance at real empowerment,” says Arun who has played a key role in bringing money market mutual fund prod-uct to remote rural customers.

Through this product, client’s money is invested in the ICICI Prudential Liquid plan – the minimum investment is Rs 1 – but he or she can withdraw money at any point. KGFS gets its money back from the market a day later. This gives custom-ers a better alternative and thus, in an emergency they needn’t rush to a moneylender.”

Arun cites the example of Rajni to show how such services are making people in need self-reliant. Rajni has availed of a loan from KGFS at 16 per cent declining rate to invest in her vegetable business, while earlier she used to borrow from the local moneylender at exorbitant interests.

Arun says career opportunities in the social

Arun VAtS, 26 IFMR Trust development sector are vast. “I remember,

during my induction in IFMR college with an NGO, its directors, two ladies, had said that peo-ple were under the impression that jholawallahs work in the social sector.” Pointing to himself, he says, “Like any other executive professional, I am being paid well for my work and while on work, I travel in air planes and taxis, stay in good accom-modation.” As we speak, Arun orders his lunch: a chicken biryani. “In no way my lifestyle is less than a person working in the private sector”! The only difference is Arun also gets to serve people in need.

He, too, like the others, had thought of becom-ing a doctor but now when he goes back to his village in Champaran district in Bihar he tells young people that there’s much more to life than becoming a doctor or an engineer. Arun had lost two years preparing for medical entrance exams. “Now when I think of it I feel like a fool!”

When he cleared his CAT, he opted for Institute for Financial Management and Research (IFMR). “Although, I had little idea about microfinance, the fact that it could substantially improve the lives of poor people got me excited.” Arun did his spe-cialisation in Finance but feels that it is willingness which is important and not specialised degrees.

He’s just finished his field work in a small village in Thanjavur in Tamil Nadu and is already thinking of the next product he can design for these villag-ers. “The smiles on the faces of people from these remote areas keep me going.”

by Sumita Vaid Dixit

Q: Many institutes now offer course in microfi-nance. What is the impor-tance of such courses?A: With increasing interest in financial inclusion, a lot of professional courses have made microfinance as part of the regular cur-

riculum. At most B-schools, economics, finance curriculum includes a section on microfinance. Microfinance courses provide the sector with manpower that understands the business of microfinance, resulting in better productivity and less training period.

Q: Is it a lucrative career option? A: As marketers increasingly shift their focus to rural markets, there will be a need for manpow-er that understands the dynamics of this mar-ketplace. Opportunities in the coming days are likely to increase. It provides lucrative career option to the field staff/loan officer, who are matriculate, between the age group of 18-28 years, not computer literate and not English savvy. Fresh management graduates who join as area managers receive salaries averaging Rs. 7.5 lakh per year

Q: What are the growth opportunities for a professional in this sector? A: Promotions and growth opportunities being good, the field assistants move into desk jobs at the branch office in approximately two to three years. They are then exposed to other roles at the branch like accounting and administration. With enough experience, they can become unit heads and go up to assistant branch manag-ers. For area managers who join with an MBA degree, the job profile will become more and more exciting as the need for manpower that understands the dynamics of the market grows over the years.

MAnjuShA rAulkArVice-president, Human Resources, SKS Microfinance

term courses. In April 2008, Sa-Dhan, an association of community develop-ment finance institutions, in collabora-tion with the IIBF launched a diploma course for working professionals and graduates. According to Mathew Titus, Executive Director, Sa-Dhan, “The sec-tor is growing and reaching out to more clients. So, we have launched a distance learning course which includes both soft and technical skills.”

Entry level salaries: The salary of a professional varies from organisation to organisation. According to Titus, a fresh executive can earn nearly Rs. 20,000 in cities. For MBAs with a specialisation in microfinance from any prominent insti-tutes, the salary structure may start at Rs. 6.5 lakhs per year.

Micro FinanceBandhan

Sharefin Microfinance

SKF Microfin

Aaviskaar Goodwell

Spandana

IFMR Trust

Adikhar

Asmithamicrofin

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allied sectors

jobs that enable change

Nimesh chandra

The social sector used to abhor over-heads more out of necessity; most organisations were perennially short

of cash! But as professionalism and long-term funding creeps in, a whole lot of allied pro-fessionals are entering the sector to ensure that efficiency increases not by default, but by design.

Advocacy: This sector has been pick-ing up momentum, recently. From plan-ning campaigns to promoting causes, this job has a tremendous role to play in the social sector. Some organisations like Greenpeace or PETA spend a sub-stantial amount of time and resources exclusively on this domain. Advocacy organisations champion a particular cause. The National Centre for Advo-cacy Studies in Pune is an Indian equiv-alent in this sector. Jobs would demand very good communication skills and the ability to work under pressure.

Public Relations: A recent entrant in to the sector, PR firms are the big cous-ins of advocacy. Though an anathema, in the early days, communicating the work an NGO does appropriately is as important as the work itself, in the cur-rent era. In fact, one of the doyens of Indian advertising Meenakshi Madhva-ni, has set up Spacial Access Advertising Communications, to exclusively provide communication advice to social sector organisations.

Policy: While some argue it is cru-cial to intervene at the level of policy, many believe it would be a waste. But for ensuring long-term change in the positive direction policy making would remain crucial. An understanding of inter-relationships of issues and ability to balance different interest groups are crucial to survive and flourish in this competitive sector.

Teaching and Research: Your role is a function of your expertise and experi-ence gained in primary, secondary and tertiary education. As both creators and disseminators of knowledge, the con-tribution of the teaching and research community helps in getting the right orientation and critical review of the activities that run across domain.

Proposal Writing: This is a much sought after skill in many social sec-tor organisations. Unless they are state funded, it is the series of projects funded by various agencies, which ensures that many of these organisations survive and serve. And grant-making organisations demand crisp proposals that identify the stakeholders, introduce innovations in theory and practice, and cater to the needs of the funding body. Reconcil-ing conflicting demands is the biggest challenge for a proposal writer. Though many of the skills are transferable across the sector, a fundamental understanding of what the domain is all about is crucial to write a great proposal, and hence some ground experience is essential.

Fund Raising: A crucial responsibil-ity in development projects is to raise funds. While the skills for this role are equated with the skills of a business

Sudeshna initially aspired to be an engineer. ‘I

come from a progressive but conventional Bengali family where you either become a doctor or an engineer.”

During her final year, one of her friends showed her

the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) brochure. And she was on! Sudeshna’s parents were not very encouraging about her decision to study social work; however, she insisted her parents attend the graduation ceremony. “They were relieved to see that students were being placed with international NGOs including the United Nations and even Fortune 500 compa-nies of the country.”

Her first job was with GiveIndia where she was in charge of evaluating proposals for grants disbursements. As this profile allowed her use both analytical and managerial skills she decid-ed to do a further specialisation in this field and did a Master’s certificate course in Resource Mobilisation and Management from S. P. Jain Institute, Mumbai.

Now she’s working with Oxfam India, based out of New Delhi and looks after acquisition and retention of corporate donors, consulting them on strategies and engaging them for both short and long-term support through cause-related marketing, direct project funding, disaster relief support, special events.

In her free time, she represents the Show-case of Fundraising Innovation and Inspiration (www.sofii.org) as its ambassador in India.

by Sumita Vaid Dixit

SudeShna Mukherjee, 28 Corporate Fundraising Officer, Oxfam India

these functions play a pivotal role in converting good intentions into viable, effective action

Allied OrganisationsSpacial Access

Observer Reserach Foundation

PricewaterhouseCoopers

Embassies & ID organisations

Development Alternatives

Rural Marketing Firms

IBM Centre for Government

PRIA

THE UN still represents all that is possible when nations come together for a common cause

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development manager or a marketing professional, the dexterity in effectively handling issues of funds comes with experience. Apart from good negotiating skills and subject expertise, a methodi-cal approach is what government and international agencies such as DFID or IDRC look for, in those interested in such jobs.

Administration: One of the least glam-ourous areas of any organisation, more so in the social sector, it is nevertheless one of the most important functions, and is crucial for overall efficiency. An administrator marshals resources in such a way that all other professionals in the organisation can deliver with utmost economy and efficiency.

Professional Consultancy: Synony-mous with for-profit organisations, they are primarily functional experts who could provide an outsiders’ perspec-tive. As the size, structure and depth of initiatives in the development sec-tor become more complex, the need for outside experts does come into play. IT and marketing are the two fields where NGOs seek assistance.

UN and International Agencies: These don’t fit the general description of allied sectors. But these organisations operate across all sectors and invariably set the agenda for change. Their politics and convictions are debatable, but here that is not the focus. But entry is dif-ficult, you must either have a tertiary degree from a leading institution or long years of progressively responsible work at the grassroots level.

An overview of importAnt institutions you must knowInstitutes offering Social Work courses Organisations

Bharathidasan University, Tiruchirappalli Action Aid

Bharati Vidyapeeth University, Pune Archaeological Survey of India, New Delhi

Christ University, Bangalore Amnesty International

College of Social Work, Nirmala Niketan, Mumbai Azim Premji Foundation, Bangalore

Dr. BR Ambedkar University, Agra Centre for Economic & Social Studies, Hyderabad

Gujarat Vidyapith, Ahmedabad Centre for Policy Research, Delhi

Indira Gandhi National Open University SAARC Disaster Management Centre, New Delhi

Jamia Milia Islamia, New Delhi Centre for the Study of Developing Societies, Delhi

Jiwaji University, Gwalior Centre for Women’s Development Studies, Delhi

Karve Institute of Social Service, Pune Child In Need Institute, Kolkata

Kurukshetra University , Kurukshetra Department for International Development (DFID)

Loyola College of Social Sciences, Kerala

Gujarat Institute of Development Research, Ahmedabad

M. Gandhi Antarrashtriya Hindi Vishwavidyalaya, Wardha

International Development Research Centre (IDRC)

Madras School of Social Work Social Audit Network

The Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda Institute for Social & Economic Change, Bangalore

Osmania University, Hyderabad Institute for Studies in Industrial Development, Delhi

Punjab University, Chandigarh Institute of Social Sciences, New Delhi

Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai International Centre for Research on Women, New Delhi

Udaipur School of Social Work, Udaipur Jamsetji Tata Center for Disaster Management, Mumbai

University of Delhi National Disaster Management Authority, New Delhi

University of Lucknow National Institute of Social Defence

University of Mumbai NRL for Conservation of Cultural Property, Lucknow

Visva Bharati, Santiniketan Oxfam India

Indian Institute of Education, Pune Rehabilitation Council of India

Centre for Studies in Social Sciences, Calcutta Red Cross Society

conclusion

Jobs in the social sector are an interest-ing phenomenon. They are always available,

but their quality and returns vary substantially. Some unscrupulous elements would exploit their staff ruthlessly in the name of serving the poor. Some jobs are at times exceptionally dangerous, especially if you take on established interests. Some other jobs, say, in a grant-making organisation, offer a cushy, hectic but interesting life. Qualification for entry varies, too. Some like geriatrics or counselling demand specific professional qualifications. Others

like community development demand empathy and commitment. Though an MSW helps ease your entry it is not a must either. What comes across in our interaction with a host of executives is that the sector still has a long way to go, in terms of profes-sionalism and pay packets. But, thankfully both are on an upward spiral.

So if there is fire in the belly, and you have the abil-ity to take a few shocks in your stride, then go ahead and take the plunge. As Vinod Khosti concludes, it is a different life for sure; tough, but worth it.

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Dileep RanjekarCEO Azim Premji Foundation (a non-profit organisation)

universe is your world. Five, you need to be much more sensitive to people around you – be it people from a different socio-economic status, or differently-abled. In a corporate set-up you can get away with a community or gender joke, but in the development sector you’ll be chewed. You will need to make an attitudinal change, here.

Q. So the problem of talent continues…A. Absolutely. The development sector is craving for quality talent, even though as com-pared to a corporate job our work is far more rewarding in every way (apart from monetary gains). Trouble is that salaries in the corpo-rate sector are a function of talent availability and demand, it bears no co-relation to what people actually contribute. It’s very largely driven by the market value of the person. That equation gets broken when a person decides to join this sector and that’s a shift not many people are able to or willing to make.

Q. Is the sector more professional now? A. It’s changing. We work with numerous NGOs in the education field and I can see they have evolved over the last few years. They are now much more focused on the issues in hand – it’s no longer just about scrimping, scroung-ing and somehow getting the work done. They are also adopting technology to work smarter, faster – something that was unthinkable some years ago. We, at the Azim Premji Foundation, are a little different compared to many others in the sector. This is because some individu-als associated with the organisation are from the corporate world. For example, we have been able to put in place a set of metrics (that revolves around the process of achieving an outcome rather than the outcome itself ) to measure and track performance, both at the individual level and the organisation level.

Q. What is your advice to students ?A. This is the sector of the future – there are going to be many new opportunities. If you’re planning to get in, be prepared for a long-drawn association. And invest in prepar-ing yourself thoroughly for a specialised role – there’s no room for generalised work. We need people who can come up with ideas for change and then ensure that they are imple-mented with a multiplier effect.

Nandita Datta

The Azim Premji Foundation aims to improve the quality of elementary edu-cation in government schools across the

country. It has 200 professionals associated with it, currently, in addition to several hun-dred paid volunteers working in the field.

Q. What is the one myth you would like to bust about careers in the social sector? A. We encounter a stream of people who want to contribute or give back to society on a voluntary basis. Unfortunately, voluntaryism doesn’t fit into our scheme of things - ours is very long-drawn, long-term and intense work. We are a professional organisation in the field of education - just like a company in software or manufacturing. The only difference is that we do not have a commercial interest.

Q. But surely there are differences, because the flow of talent isn’t the same.A. In the development sector, it’s very dif-ficult to measure performance – it’s not easy establishing a one-to-one co-relation between input and output. This is because issues are far more holistic. They involve several stakehold-ers who come with very different paradigms and objectives in mind. In the corporate sec-tor, on the other hand, there’s complete unity of objectives and that is, making more money. And because performance is easy to measure, commensurate rewards are easy to design.

Q. So what does it take to build a career?A. One, a willingness to appreciate the fact that it’s a very intense, frustrating and high resilience work, because you’re dealing with issues over which you have very little or no control. Two, you need to understand that whatever you contribute will always be minis-cule compared to the scale of the issue. You may have a great idea but unless you can design and build a multiplier, it’s not going to make a tangible difference. Three, you have to compromise on existing expectations regard-ing compensation and benefits because the development sector does not have a highly competitive salary structure. Four, you need to have empathy for the whole eco-system. You cannot be myopic and think only of your organisation, employees or targets. The whole

“Prepare for a specialised role”

In a corporate set-up, you can get away with community or gender joke. But here you will be chewed. You will need to make an an attitudinal change, here

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Father PT JosephDirector XIMB, Bhubaneswar

in 1995. After having successfully run the rural management programme, XIMB felt that it was the right time to bring about large-scale capacity building through management development programmes in the develop-mental sector.

Q: Which sectors/functions are open for students of the rural management pro-gramme?A: They are not confined to the social sec-tor, but also work in sectors such as rural banking, rural marketing divisions of FMCG companies such as ITC and Unilever (HLL). There are various job functions, which they undertake in areas of agri-business, micro-finance, social entrepreneurship and liveli-hood support systems. They also help support industrial activities through social research, resettlement and rehabilitation support as well as improving public awareness through grass root sensitisation programmes and per-ception changing programmes.

Q: What effort is required by the govern-ment/private sector to make this domain attractive enough? A: The government needs to bring about pol-icy changes that provide scope for rural man-agers to head social development projects. With a large number of functional projects being managed by non-rural managers, there is an absence of grassroots sensitivity, and lack of proper skills to develop and sustain social interventions. The private sector also needs to encourage educational institutions by sponsoring the infrastructural and logistic support for such programmes under the CSR interventions so that the cost of education for such programmes is reduced and the employ-able youth feels encouraged to undertake such courses at affordable costs.

Q: How is the sector impacted by “profes-sionalism” (or the lack of it! )?A: About 10 years back, it was quite disor-ganised and scattered, but due to consistent focus on monitoring, evaluation and stringent norms by donor/funding agencies, the profes-sionalism level has grown. The role of profes-sionally trained rural managers has also to a certain extent helped in improving the profes-sionalism levels in this sector.

Urmila Rao

The Xavier Institute of Management (XIMB), Bhubaneswar played a pio-neering role in emphasising the need to

apply management science to the rural sec-tor, by introducing its two-year Postgraduate Diploma in Rural Management (PGPRM)

Q: What is the biggest reservation, of pro-spective students willing to enrol in social development programmes? A: Being placed in an organisation that has the same values and philosophy as them-selves, as well as the opportunity to work at the grassroots level and not be only confined to project formulations, implementation and monitoring at the corporate level.

Q: Do you see students more interested in management programmes than rural man-agement programmes? If yes, why? A: The general trend is usually for students to be focused more on management programmes than rural management programmes prima-rily due to better benefits and career growth opportunities in the corporate sector as opposed to the social sector.

Q: One reason could be the low salary scale in the social sector. Do you see the salary levels increasing in coming years? A: Yes, salary levels would increase in this sector in the future, yet, not at par with the rise in corporate salaries. But one aspect worth mentioning is that the salaries in the social sector are immune to recession and the economic slowdown. Therefore, the risk in salaries and jobs is far less in the social sector than in the corporate sector.

Q: What prompted XIMB to start a pro-gramme in rural management? A: XIMB started working in the social sector through its social wing known as the Cent-er for Development Research and Training (CENDERET) since 1988. CENDERET has acted as a strong change agent bringing about socio-economic interventions in the social sector in Orissa. In order to leverage the rich work done by XIMB and help develop quality rural managers, the Institute decided to start the rural management programme

Rural agents of change

Salaries will rise in the future,

but not at par with corporate

salaries. However, salaries in this

sector are immune to

the economic slowdown

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Feature NatiONal iNstitutE Of dEsigN

Pizza PaPad with the Nidians

the legendary institute faces a unique challenge, that of living up to students’ expectations

by Sumita Vaid Dixitphotos: Ramesh Dave

Day One

The entrance to the National Institute of Design (NID) looks rather staid for a design institute. I had expected a more radical

welcome from this red-brick structure; it’s only fair to expect a little eccentricity from an institute that produces some of the country’s finest designers.

But I wasn’t very disappointed as min-utes later I stumbled upon a black ‘thing’ suspended rather low from the ceiling, almost getting in the way of passers-by. On getting closer, I saw that it was a cluster of strings with bird-like shapes pasted on them. I just walked around it like the other students. What a queer black thing, I thought.

Samir More, the media relations officer and my guide, took me to the director’s office. Pradyumna Vyas had just come back from NID’s research and develop-ment campus in Bangalore. In his large, neat, white office we got talking about how the design sector picked up in India after the 1990s when international com-panies began setting up shop.

This year 900 students are enrolled at NID. But India needs 10,000 designers every year, said Vyas. “A good design ful-fils a need whilst also looking good,” he emphasises. When Vyas suggested that we visit Design Street, a showcase of NID students’ achievements, I got excit-ed. The name suggested possibilities, but alas, it turned out to be just a dusty street that displayed the innovations of NID students in tall, glass boxes. As I looked on at the windows with works of

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1 Gandhinagar campus students discuss the Renault project

2 BAT installation by an NID student

3 students play ‘chungi’

4 Entrance to NID Paldi campus

5 Envisioning at the campus lounge

6 NIDus retails student works at Paldi

1

2 3

4

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Feature NatiONal iNstitutE Of dEsigN

bamboo, glass and ceramic, Vyas told me that the NID was committed to reviving lost art forms, such as bamboo work.

Pointing towards one window, he told me that those were futuristic car designs. “Neha Chauhan, an NID graduate, has designed the interiors of Mahindra Xylo,” he said with pride; another feath-er in NID’s cap. The mention of Xylo reminded More that he had arranged for me to meet some students at the Gandhi-nagar campus, the following day. These students were working on a project with carmaker Renault, Vyas told me, as I continued to look at those silent works in the boxes on Design Street. Some-thing was amiss.

At night, I got talking to a group of undergraduate students in the hostel mess. While discussing about design, Hannelore Dekeva from Darjeeling sud-denly tugged at her T-shirt and said, “I never wore such stuff before. I am so critical of design now!” Later she told me the black ‘thing’ was called the Bat Installation; it was the creation of an NID student.

Before we parted, Hannelore said “Do pass through it, once.”

Day TwoThe Gandhinagar campus looks unim-aginative and grey, as all structures are the colour of concrete. On this half-built campus, where iron rods still stick out of the buildings, I met the Renault team in the Lifestyle Accessory Design

“We encourage students to make socially responsible

designs, not ones based on whims”

praDyumna vyas director, Nid

(LAD) room. The team was armed with charts, laptops and notebooks. Gauri Pandey, from the team, told me they were designing spaces for the year 2030. They showed me a few futuristic designs of bikes, cars, tents and community buildings that resembled bubbles.

We decided to continue our discussions over Pizza Papad, a papad with pizza toppings – the invention of Kishore, designer and chef-cum-waiter at the canteen. At the khopcha (NIDspeak for canteen), the LAD team talked about the initial infrastructural problems it faced on this campus. It used to be deso-late, with few recreational activities.

But now, there’s a gymnasium, and a basketball court is being constructed upon the students’ request. One stu-dent also raised the issue of incompe-tent faculty but then she added, “When you bring up these issues, NID deals with it. Here the student is respected.” I was impressed by their candour for they openly discussed these issues with me. But as I was leaving, I felt it was truly

brave of them to have adopted this dull-campus as their home.

On the way back to the Paldi campus, I thought I had seen two faces of NID in the two days I had spent here. One was the institute’s progressive approach to design – integrating design with man-agement practices, fostering an open environment for students to speak their minds, of nurturing great ideas, which I saw in the National Design Busi-ness Incubator. There, I met people like Abeek Bose of Robots Alive and MIT graduate Kranthi Kiran of Dhama Apparel Innovations, who are both doing exceptional work.

No doubt, the institute has invested in the latest design software and the

“The real victory is when your design, a per-

sonal expression, is endorsed by the consumer”

Hannelore Dekeva, undergraduate student

specialising in bamboo art

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machines, which I saw at the workshops where students were making objects out of steel, wood, glass and clay. The ancient, ceiling-high handloom in the textile workshop was an awe-inspiring sight; a library called the Knowledge Management Centre, where shoes are not allowed in because of the dust, is revered by the students. And of course the bright and colourful NIDUS, a shop that sells creations by NIDians.

On the other hand, on Design Street, I saw NID’s callous approach to the achievements of its students. Had Vyas not explained the works of the students, I wouldn’t have understood a thing. There were neither descriptions of the works nor names of the creators in the display

1 Heritage campus in Paldi at dusk

2 faculty assessing student work

3 timeout for inspiration

4 student designing an automobile

1

2

3

4

window. The street could definitely be more exciting; the display windows, interactive and modern. Why hadn’t the institute thought of this? I also felt the institute needed to promote itself and its students much more. BusinessWeek lists NID amongst the top 25 European & Asian programmes in the world, but only a handful of foreign students have come to NID in the past 49 years!

The pieces of the NID puzzle were beginning to fit. It’s a great institute that’s falling short of the students’ expecta-tions because somewhere along the way NID has started taking its reputation and its students for granted.

The two sides of NID also offered me a few amusing sights, like the guards

sitting at the reception counter in vests while their uniforms rested on hangers or the Paldi canteen where rubbish was strewn outside a half-empty bin.

It was almost five o’ clock when we returned to Paldi. I thanked More for his hospitality – on the way back he had even treated me to pakoras made by the inmates of Sabarmati jail.

But before I packed and left, I walked through the bat installation, feeling the soft fabric that was shaped into bats. There, I did it! Then it struck why Han-nelore had asked me to walk through it. The bat installation represented a student’s moment of breaking free. I suppose that’s what students look for when they come to NID.

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india needs passionate, Qualified eduCatoRs

Best Schools: Central Institute of Education, Jamia Millia Islamia, Sophia Polytechnic, University of Calcutta, University of Madras, Lady Irwin College, SNDT Women’s University, Banaras Hindu University, Bhavnagar University Qualifications: Depends on schooling level (pre-primary, primary, middle, high school/senior secondary)

fast faCts

If you want to influence and mentor young minds, teaching may be your calling. Explore the education sector, which is growing in leaps and bounds

by Bharti M Borah

Usha Kiran, a government school teacher at Baba Ramdev Sar-vodaya Kanya Vidyalaya, New Delhi received the Best Teach-

er Award at the state level last year. Her students find her very approachable; she’s not afraid to address issues such as peer pressure or family situations, often ignored by others but which can easily hamper effective study habits. “You can change your destiny by making the most

Career Review TEacHING

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of an education; it gives you choices and options in life, and a sense of control over your future,” Kiran constantly tells her students.

The Central Institute of Education (CIE) in University of Delhi, North Cam-pus has always found a large number of takers for its BEd programmes, except when there was a decline in 2000. But according to Bharati Baveja, Head of Department of CIE, it’s picking up again. So, what does it take to be a good teacher? And what are the rewards? We explore the teaching profession in today’s times.

Do you possess these qualities?Berit Jorgensen, a teacher for the past 10 years in Norway, sums up her profession rather well. “A teacher is a like a potato, which is fried, boiled, baked, stewed etc. A multi-tasker, it’s not enough to know

your stuff; you also need to prepare dif-ferent ways of getting it across and mak-ing it interesting,” she shares.

Often, people choose to become teach-ers without any insight into the chal-lenges involved and the aptitude needed for the job. The two top qualities seem to be: patience and enthusiasm. Also, striking the right balance between the two, always. Additionally, you should have a desire for learning, you must be fair, possess good organisational skills and be observant.

And beware: children ask a lot of ques-tions in the classroom, and sometimes you may not know the answers! Besides, interactivity also makes learning more fun, and engaging.

Choose your level of teachingFormal training is a must in this field, and your qualification will decide the level of teaching. And it’s important to choose the latter, wisely. For instance, if you do not have patience with young children, then pre-primary and prima-ry education is probably not the best choice for you. After completion, you can work in a government, public or private school.

Typically, starting salaries at the gov-ernment level are higher than in pub-lic schools. Private schools may offer salaries as high as Rs. 40,000 per month based on experience and qualifications. Pre-Primary: This level comprises play school, nursery and kindergarten, and children between two-and-a-half to three years of age. You need to be a graduate, along with a nursery training certificate, diploma or degree. Schools usually prefer teachers trained under the Montessori or kindergarten pattern. The salary varies, depending on the type of school. Pooja Kalra left a corporate career to teach at Step By Step, a play school in New Delhi. The pros: she has fun in the classroom and also gets more time to spend with her own children. Primary: This level comprises Class 1 to 5, and children from 5 to 9 years of age. Usually, you teach all subjects, and you must be a graduate or postgradu-ate, with a diploma or degree in teach-ing/education. You would belong to the Primary Teacher scale (PRT) and be paid roughly Rs. 17,000 per month, at public schools. Jorgensen, who recently went back to school to pursue a Mas-ter’s in Multicultural and International

College/University Location

Avila College of Education Edacochin, Ernakulam

Beselios Marthoma Mathews College of Teacher Education Kottarakkara, Kollam

College of Teacher Education Kozhikode, Kozhikode

CSI College of Education Parassala, Trivandrum

Dr. Palpu Memorial SNDP Yogam College Kodungallur, Thrissur Dist

Tagore Government College of Education Andaman & Nicobar

Andhra University Visakhapatanam

Arunachal University Doimukh, Dist Papumpara

Assam University Silchar

Barpeta Bachelor of Training College Barpeta

Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar Bihar University Muzaffarpur

Dr Zakir Hussain Teacher Training College Laheria Sarai, Dist Darbhanga

Patna University Patna

Government College of Education Chandigarh

Goa University Goa

Central Insitute of Education New Delhi

Institute of Advanced Studies in Education New Delhi

Lady Irwin College New Delhi

Bhavnagar University Bhavnagar

Teachers’ training institutes in India

the hallmark of a good teacher is qualities like patience, enthusiasm and perseverance

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Career Review TEacHING

Education at Oslo University College, says that teaching at this level is “excit-ing, demanding, exhausting, not appre-ciated, and is not for everyone. If you like it, it can be great.”Middle: This level comprises class 6 to 8. From this level onwards, teachers become responsible for a specific sub-ject. A BEd degree is a typical require-ment and being a graduate, you will be placed in the Trained Graduate Teach-ers scale earning a salary of Rs. 21,000 per month at a public school.HigH scHool/senior sec-ondary: High school comprises class 9 to 10 and senior secondary refers to class 11 to 12. At this level, teachers usu-ally need to have a Master’s degree, and a BEd, which places you in the Trained Post Graduate Teachers (PGT) scale, thus earning an average salary of Rs. 23,000 per month at a public school. Some subjects such as computer sci-ence do not require a BEd, due to lack of trained teachers. Anu Bhatia, who teaches class 11 and 12 students, finds it challenging as major generational and attitudinal change exists in this age group, making it an ongoing process to earn the respect of your students.

ShipRa GhoSh special needs teacher, step by step, New Delhi

Shipra instantly strikes you as bright and chirpy, and these qualities seem infectious. When I entered her classroom, my com-

panion received a spontaneous hug from a child. Glancing around, I noticed that all the kids were busy, and it looked like a fun day at school.

With over ten years of experience as a special needs teacher, Ghosh asserts that children with special needs are just like other children, the difference being in the manner in which they communicate. To demonstrate this, she took my hands in hers, asked me to close my eyes and demonstrated how the visually impaired communicate three simple words, “I love you.” Her insight into the world of special needs finds expression, equally, for hearing impaired and autistic children.

Many parents thank Ghosh, for the differ-ence she has made in the lives of their children and it’s not surprising. Ghosh’s strategy as a teacher is to give each student personalised attention, once she understands their specific needs. “If it’s not working then something is wrong. I change my strategy till it starts work-ing,” she observes.

Alternative schools in IndiaSchool Location State Website

Aaverbhav Hyderabad Andhra Pradesh

Krishnamurti-and-education.org/ aaverbhav.htm

Rishi Valley Education Center

Rishi Valley Andhra Pradesh

Rishivalley.org/school/overview.htm

Mirambika New Delhi Delhi Mirambika.org/mirambika/

The Heritage School Gurgaon Haryana Theheritageschool.com/gurgaon_new

The Shri Ram School Gurgaon Haryana Shriconnect.net/portal/

Center For Learning Bangalore Karnataka Cfi.in

Geniekids Life School Bangalore Karnataka Geniekids.com

Sri Atmananda Memorial School

Malakkara Kerala Kpmapproach.org

The Gurukul Thiruvanan-thapuram

Kerala Gurukulkerela.org

Adharshila Learning Centre

Sakad Madhya Pradesh

Adharshilask.tripod.com/adharshila.html

Bal-Anand Mumbai Maharashtra Kfionline.org/schools/balanand.asp

Sahyadri School Pune Maharashtra sahyadrischool.org

Digantar School Jaipur Rajasthan

Shikshantar Udaipur Rajasthan Swaraj.org/shikshantar

Anugriha Arasavangkadu Tamil Nadu Ashanet.org/conferences/Ini/anugriha.htm

Auroville Auroville Tamil Nadu Ashanet.org/conferences/Ini/auroville.htm

Lakshmi Ashram Kausani Uttaranchal Andolan.prayaga.org/2006/05/27/lakshmi-ashram-a-unique-school-for-girls-in-kumaon

Rajghat Education Center

Varanasi Uttar Pradesh

Kfionline.org/schools/rajghat.asp

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Additional perksBesides a salary, teachers receive sev-eral benefits such as accommodation at nominal rates in residential schools, subsidised fees for their children, a pen-sion and gratuity. They also get regular paid vacations when schools are closed. Some schools conduct workshops and training during vacations, to help their teachers upgrade their skills.

Salaries may have remained modest as compared to other professions but the scenario is changing. The private edu-cation market in India was estimated to be worth $40 billion in 2008, and is expected to increase to $68 billion by the year 2012, opening further opportu-nities in the profession.

Subject specialistsFrom middle school upwards, you could become a subject specialist in areas like maths, science, social science, econom-ics, computer science etc. The Central Advisory Board of Education (CABE) prescribes the manner in which sub-jects are taught in the classroom, and is responsible for updating the teach-ing methodology to keep pace with the growing demands of the system.

A special vocationYou can also train to teach children with special needs, and this requires a differ-ent attitude, aptitude and qualification. This is because though it can be reward-ing, it can also be emotionally, physi-cally and psychologically draining. It’s a part of the territory. You could opt for a certificate course or diploma course, after class 12 or graduation. You could also specialise in a specific area such as hyperactivity or learning difficulties. A BEd is not essential. You can opt for a PG Diploma in Special Education from Action for Ability, Development and Inclusion, formerly known as Spastic Society, in Delhi.

You can join a special school or opt for integrated schools that have a spe-cial needs division. Many children with special needs attend integrated schools, also referred to as ‘mainstreaming’ or ‘inclusive education.’

Alternative schoolsAlso referred to as ‘progressive’ or ‘humane’ schools, this kind of school-ing provides children and teachers with a unique experience, usually based on a philosophy, such as that of

J Krishnamurti or Sri Aurobindo. The Rishi Valley School is considered to be one of the best alternative schools in India. One space to find training is in Sri Aurobindo Ashram, Delhi for a BEd, giving you the opportunity to also teach at Mirambika Free Progress School, based in the vicinity.

Choosing the right institute Almost all universities in India offer a Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in edu-cation, as well as diploma courses in teaching at primary level. Some well known institutes: Central Institute of Education, Jamia Millia Islamia, SNDT Women’s University, Sophia Polytech-nic, University of Calcutta and Univer-sity of Chennai.

Lady Irwin College and MS University in Baroda offer child development as a subject in its Home Science course. Many employed teachers opt for corre-spondence courses in order to upgrade their qualifications. The National Council for Educational Research and Training (NCERT), New Delhi offers an integrated four-year BA-BEd/BSc-BEd programme at its regional centres in Ajmer, Bhopal, Bhubaneshwar, Mysore and Shillong.

Make sure you choose an institute with clear linkages between the Department of Education, NCERT and State Coun-cil of Educational Research and Train-ing (SCERT) along with other educa-tional institutions of central and Delhi Administration. SCERT takes care of pre-service and in-service training at elementary, secondary and advanced levels to equip teachers in this profes-sion. Educational research and training of teachers is given a lot of importance now, and teacher learning materials are being constantly updated.

Education in IndiaThe Indian school education system is largely governed by various bodies:

State government boards●●

Central Board of Secondary Educa-●●

tion (CBSE)Council for the Indian School Cer-●●

tificate Examinations (CISCE)National Institute of Open Schooling ●●

(NIOS)International schools are affiliated ●●

to the International Baccalaureate

G Gautama Director, chennai Education centre, The school-chennai, Krishnamurti Foundation, India

Teaching in schools in the 21st cen-tury is meant only for the bravest of the brave! Schools with a low student-teacher ratio, and therefore those that

are able to pay greater attention to students, may run the risk of being thought of as “easy” schools. So the challenge of creating and sustaining a “humane” atmosphere, falls squarely on teachers. Only when the teachers are clear about their role is it possible to create a friendly, purposeful atmosphere. And this role is being radically redefined.

The educator will not only have to create a learning envi-ronment for the young, but also work for the emergence of lifelong learners. He/she will have to model the characteris-tics of a lifelong learner, and not just be a specialist teacher.

Humane schools are usually quite small and have a cul-ture of teacher participation in the running of schools. This places the additional requirement of being part of a ‘think-ing’, ‘sensing’ team. Learning the art of working together with other bright colleagues, innovating individually and collectively is another exciting area.

Thus in a humane, so-called alternative school, extraor-dinary opportunities await someone who wishes to learn the art of being a teacher. However, this generally requires being open to learning and doing many different roles, often simultaneously. School salaries are going up dramati-cally and promise to go up even further in the future. But if you are brave, daring and in search of understanding and growth, as a human being, there are few better options.

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Career Review TEacHING

Launch your career on the high seas – �Merchant Navy

Obscure theories that determine national �destinies – Economics

“I am not a mind reader, I’m a psycholo- �gist” – Psychology

Raising the bar and being on the right side �of the law – Legal Studies

Do you have designs on pret or haute cou- �ture? – Fashion

Previous Career Reviews

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Programme and/or the Cambridge International examinations

Islamic Madrasa school boards are ●●

controlled by the local state govern-ment, autonomous or affiliated to the Darul Ulom Deoband

Autonomous/alternative schools ●●

The Central Board of Education has steadily increased its school count from 309 schools in 1962 to 8,979 schools in March 2007 (includes 141 schools in 21 countries). Regional offices have also been set up for better functioning.

The NCERT is responsible for creat-ing CBSE books, dealing with school education-related curriculum. Teachers are also invited to create specific chap-ters for different classes.

Rural education in focusAs early as the 1950s, rural education was brought under Community Devel-opment Blocks that controlled educa-tion in up to 100 villages. Block Devel-opment Officers would cover an area of 150 square miles, covering a population of almost 70,000. The central govern-ment, as part of the tenth Five Year Plan (2002-2007) from the total education budget of Rs. 438,250 million allocated 65.6% (Rs. 287,500 million) on elemen-tary education and 9.9% (Rs. 43,250 million) on secondary education.

The District Primary Education Pro-gramme was initiated in 1994, through which 160,000 schools including 84,000 alternative schools were opened and Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan, the ‘education

for all’ movement, was launched. Based in Rajasthan, the Vidya Bhawan

Society and Digantar have built up a reputation for being education resource organisations working extensively in terms of elementary education peda-gogy, curriculum and material develop-ment. Their aim is to improve the qual-ity of mainstream elementary education through proper training, capacity build-ing and reform initiatives undertaken at the level of government and non-gov-ernmental institutions, providing rural areas with better education.

Where should I be?Elementary education finds a large population of teachers in India. How-ever, dropout rates indicate that only

Institutes Country Website Courses

Harvard University US Gse.harvard.edu/ Doctor of Education Leadership (Ed LD)

Stanford University US Stanford.edu/ Master’s in International Comparative Education

University of Cambridge UK Cam.ac.uk/ Master’s in Arts Culture and Education

University of Oxford US Ox.ac.uk/ MSc in Applied Linguistics and Second Language Acquisition

Yale University US Yale.edu/ Master’s in Urban Education Studies

Columbia University US Columbia.edu/ Master’s in Gifted Education

University of British Columbia US Ubc.ca/ Master’s and PhD in Cross-Faculty Inquiry in Education

McGill University Canada Mcgill.ca/ BEd in Physical and Health Education

Cornell University US Cornell.edu/ Master’s in Learning, Teaching and Social Policy

The University of Melbourne Australia Unimelb.edu.au/ MEd in Student Wellbeing

University of Michigan US Umich.edu/ PhD in Educational Studies: Cross Specialization Option

University of Tokyo Japan U-tokyo.ac.jp/index_e.html

Master’s in Lifelong Educational Planning

University of Pennsylvania US Upenn.edu/ campus/

MSEd and PhD in Education, Culture and Society

Teaching level Qualification

Pre-Primary Basic Early Child Care and Education (ECCE), Full-time Diploma in ECCE, 1-year autonomous course

Primary, middle, secondary

Graduation + BEd

Senior Secondary

Postgraduation in subject, some schools need BEd

Special schools Degree/diploma in special education

seven out of 100 children that enrol in class one finish high school. Efforts on training teachers and programmes being offered at the national level do not seem to be reflecting in the number of stu-dents finishing their schooling. Qualified teachers need to enter the field, a viable profession to make an overall difference in the field of education.

When planning your career, choose the right school level, type of school and subjects, carefully. And remember, a student never forgets a good teacher because his or her influence can change a pupil’s life, forever.

Top international institutions

“A teacher is a like a potato, which is fried,

boiled, baked and stewed. It’s multi-

tasking, but interesting”BERIt jORgENSEN, Educator, Norway

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Rights Alert dEEMEd uNiVErsitiEs

by Team Careers360

This year, the Ministry of Human Resource Development ordered a freeze on Deemed Univer-sity (DU) grant approvals. A

committee is in place to review previ-ously granted approvals. In this light, Careers360 advises students to be alert when selecting courses offered by a DU.

University vs Deemed University: The UGC has withdrawn its notification per-mitting ‘Deemed Universities’ to refer to themselves as ‘universities’. This means that unlike a university, which has full liberty to launch new courses, a DU has to seek a UGC sanction before adding new courses, departments or centres. In other words, a DU status is conditional, and is a recognition.

The DU status is usually granted to an institution that is doing a high standard of work in a specialised field, compara-ble to that in a university system. As an idea, the status is offered to institutions, doing pioneering work in select fields of education. It is normally accorded for a period of five years, and a review can be ordered any time.

Only select departments are approved: DU status is granted to only select departments or campuses of a particular institution. Before taking admission, visit the UGC website and check whether the campus or depart-ment is approved by the UGC.

A DU cannot affiliate itself to any college or institution: It could have multiple campuses, provided these cam-puses are owned by the same trust or organisation that owns the DU and are previously approved by UGC.

Look before you leap into a new course‘deemed university’ isn’t technically a university, but a special status granted to institutes

All regulatory approvals are still essential: Unlike a university, which does not need the approval of regulatory bodies like AICTE, a DU need not seek approval, but is subject to verification by bodies like AICTE. So, if it is a profes-sional programme, see if the approvals are in place.Joint Degrees: Many DUs offer attrac-tive joint programmes in association

with both domestic and foreign institu- tions. These programmes are valid and recognised in India, only if they have prior approval from the UGC.

Fees refund: Since DUs are approved by the Government of India, the ruling regarding refund of fees apply to them as well. After scrutiny, a DU cannot retain your original marksheets, caste certificate, degree certificates and trans-fer/migration certificate. In case you decide to withdraw your candidature, the institute has to refund the entire fee after deducting a sum of not more than Rs. 1,000, as administrative charges.

Distance education: All DUs are tech-nically eligible to offer programmes through distance education mode, too. But they can only do so after obtaining the approval of the DEC-UGC-AICTE joint committee. So, please look for the approval letter before you opt for one.

Illus

trat

ion

: Gou

ri N

anda

DEEMED UNIV DECODEDIt is not really a university■■

DU is a special status granted to a ■■

programme/department of an institute

Check if your course has all necessary ■■

approvals

If you withdraw your candidature, DU cannot ■■

retain the original documents

The institute must return all fees, deducting ■■

not more than Rs. 1,000, as admin charges

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Course Review INFOrMaTION MaNaGEMENT

By Nandita Datta

The ‘ischool’ phenomenon some say began with the Mooore’s Law. As processing speed dou-bled almost every two years, the

range, depth and diversity of informa-tion that could be processed grew at a much faster clip. With concomitant improvements in communication, stor-age, transmission and retrieval technol-ogies, we are now swimming in a deluge of information. A 2007 study by IDC concluded that the worldwide produc-tion of information in 2006 exceeded 161 exabytes, increasing at a compound annual growth rate of 57%.

While only a small fraction of this information is accessible online (<2% by some estimates), it presents major challenges (and opportunities) in infor-mation management, access, and pres-ervation and usage. Dr. Shalini Urs, the founder of the Mysore-based Interna-tional School of Information Manage-ment (ISiM), discovered this when she tried to recruit students for a research project on information retrieval. “Nei-ther a computer science student nor an information science student could achieve what we wanted — getting them to collaborate and work together was an uphill task,” recalls Urs.

Long before that, in 1988, Dean Tony Carbo of University of Pittsburgh and her colleagues felt the same, and launched a group to enhance teaching and research in all aspects of information. And the information school (i-school) move-ment was born (for more information

Course: 2-year full-time MTech, Eligibility: BE/BTech/BArch, MBBS, Master’s degree Selection: Written exam (or CAT/ MAT/GATE score) + Interview, Institutes; ISiM, Mysore, K J Somaiya, Pune and host of international schools Fees: Less than 1.5 lakh rupees

Fast FaCts

This MTech course combines tech, science and management, to prepare students for the information needs of tomorrow

see www.ischools.org). The movement attempts to give a voice to the idea of Information Management.

What does the discipline teach?I-schools seek to offer an inter-discipli-nary approach to the study of informa-tion management. Instead of relying on technology alone to address the problem of mountains of data piling up every-where, it involves various disciplines such as economics, sociology, library science, linguistics, law, psychology, etc. The coursework involves technology,

science and management (see Box for the list of courses) -- it deals with every aspect of information, from organising it to making it accessible and useful.

The programme is normally spread over four semesters, though shorter courses are also on offer. The pro-gramme is centred on three areas, namely technology, information and management. Hence it begins with courses such as database management, programming skills, enterprise archi-tecture, and moves on to offer modules on structured learning on management concepts, organisational structure and optional papers on business functions. The integrative element is provided by courses on information life cycle, knowledge architecture, organisational learning, digital transformation etc.

Invariably, the programme would also involve a structured industrial project or dissertation. This enables the student to apply the concepts learned in the class-room, to a particular problem .

isim adopts an inter-disciplinary approach to the study of information management

India’s answer to the ‘i-school’

Useful websiteswww.ischools.orgThe website for the assocation of ischools. A good place to learn what is new

www.aisnet.orgA premier association of academics, this is a site for cutting edge news

www.arma.orgA premier organisation for data management professionals

www.isaca.orgHere is a one-stop shop for information security professionals

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Health care administration �

MSc Environmental Science �

Computer Science: where 1s and 0s �determine everything

Actuarial Science: Where demand always �exceeds supply

Nanotechnology �

Previous Course Reviews

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This MTech course combines tech, science and management, to prepare students for the information needs of tomorrow

Indian scenarioIn India, information management is still in its nascent stage. While four schools offer some form of information management programmes, it is only ISiM which qualifies to be termed as an Indian i-school. Academically affiliated to Mysore University, it functions as an autonomous body, making its own deci-sions about admissions, course structure and even the operational model.

ISiM - an overview ISiM’s operational model is unique. Urs calls it the “inverse of distance educa-tion”. In a distance education set-up, the school and faculty are in one place but students are scattered. In ISiM’s case, the school and students are at one place (i.e. Mysore) but the faculty is distribut-ed. ISiM’s faculty is largely drawn from the industry and reputed educational institutes in India and abroad. The for-eign faculty typically spends three to four weeks in Mysore to complete the coursework, after which they are acces-sible to students on e-mail or Skype. For

under than Rs. 2 lakh, Urs says, ISiM is able to attract some of the biggest names in the world of i-schools.

Selection methodologyThe selection process for foreign uni-versities would involve sitting for GRE, while Indian schools would want you to take a written exam and an inter-view. ISiM for example, conducts an entrance exam, simultaneously across many cities in the country, which tests a candidate’s verbal ability and reason-ing, quantitative skills, analytical/logi-cal reasoning and data interpretation capabilities. Students with CAT, MAT or GATE scores are exempt from this entrance test.

Eligibility Internationally, a four-year undergradu-ate degree is mandatory. And normally a sizable section of the cohort would be from an engineering background. The MTech programme offered by ISiM also follows this trend, with over half the students being from the engineering background.

Placement optionsThey could range from a highly technical

role of designing and building a data warehouse to a not-so-technical posi-tion of an information analyst whose job is to processes and interpret infor-mation. Technical communications is another option — the job entails con-veying technical information in simple speak, which could be in the form of user manuals, reference cards, busi-ness reports, etc. For example at ISiM recruiters included UNiSYS, Thomson Reuters, Rediff, SAP Labs and Infor-matics (India) among others. “With the Googles of the world trying to organise the world’s information, here is a course that would be India’s answer to the need for an army of talent to actualise it.

revolution? Course Institution Website

INTERNATIONAL

MS degree in information management and technology

School of Information Studies, Syracuse University

http://ischool.syr.edu

Master of Information Systems Management

School of Information Systems & Management, Carnegie Mellon Heinz College

www.heinz.cmu.edu

Master of Information Management and Systems

U C Berkeley School of Information www.ischool.berkeley.edu

MSc Information Management Manchester Metropolitan University www.hlss.mmu.ac.uk

Master of Information Management

Curtin University of Technology, Australia

www.curtin.edu.au/

Master of Information Management

University of Strathclyde www.strath.ac.uk

MSc in Digital Information Management

Information Management school, London Metropolitan University

www.londonmet.ac.uk

NATIONAL

Post Graduate Diploma in Information Management

Xavier Institute of Social Service (XISS), Ranchi

www.xiss.ac.in/PGDIM.html

Master’s in Information Management (MIM) Part-time

K.J. Somaiya Institute of Management Studies & Research

http://simsr.somaiya.edu

Post Graduate Diploma in Information System (Part-time)

Symbiosis Institute of Management Studies

http://sims.siu.edu.in/

Select institutions offering programmes in Information Management

Nilotpal Baruah/Outlook Group

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Oration bill gatEs

Bill Gates’ advice to Harvard University graduates

You graduates are coming of age in an amaz-ing time. As you leave Harvard, you have tech-nology that members of my class never had. You have awareness of global inequity, which we did not have. And with that awareness, you likely also have an informed conscience that will torment you if you abandon these people whose lives you could change with very little effort. You have more than we had; you must start sooner, and carry on longer.

The barrier to change is not too little caring; it is too much complexity. Cutting through complexity to find a solution runs through four predictable stages: determine a goal, find the highest-leverage approach, discover the ideal technology for that approach, and in the meantime, make the smartest application of the technology that you already have — whether it’s something sophisticated, like a drug, or something simpler, like a bednet.

To turn caring into action, we need to see a problem, see a solution, and see the impact. But if you want to inspire people to par-ticipate, you have to show more than num-bers; you have to convey the human impact of the work – so people can feel what sav-ing a life means to the families affected. Don’t let complexity stop you. Be activists. Take on the big inequities. It will be one of the great experiences of your lives.

Knowing what you know, how could you not?

And I hope you will come back here to Harvard 30 years from now and reflect on what you have done with your talent and your energy. I hope you will judge yourselves not on your professional accomplishments alone, but also on how well you have addressed the world’s deepest inequities … on how well you treated people a world away who have nothing in common with you but their humanity.

(Excerpts from the Commencement Address)

I’m a bad influence. That’s why I was invit-ed to speak at your graduation. If I had spoken at your orientation, fewer of you might be here today. Harvard was just a

phenomenal experience for me. One of my biggest memories of Harvard came in January 1975, when I made a call from Currier House to a company in Albuquerque that had begun making the world’s first personal computers. I offered to sell them software. From that moment, I worked day and night on this little extra credit project that marked the end of my college education and the beginning of a remarkable journey with Microsoft.

I learned a lot here at Harvard about new ideas in economics and politics. But humani-ty’s greatest advances are not in its discoveries – but in how those discoveries are applied to reduce inequity. Whether through democracy, strong public education, quality health care, or broad economic opportunity – reducing inequity is the highest human achievement.

“Humanity’s greatest advances are not in its discoveries – but in how those discov-eries are applied to reduce inequity”

the barrier to change is not too little caring; it is too much complexity

Reuters

microsoft founder at the commencement Address at Harvard university on June 7

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Campus Review INstItutE Of PublIc ENtErPrIsE, HydErabad

Established: 1964 Courses: PGDM, PGDM-RM, PGDM-BIF, PGDM-IB, PGDM-BT, MBA-PE, PhD Students: nearly 600 Core Faculty: 43 Fees: Rs. 5.5 lakhs for any diploma course Placement: 100% as claimed Publications: Six Journals including the Journal of Institute of Public Enterprise Key Achievements: Dewang Mehta and Impact Marketing Award Annual Student Events: Samathis, Sanskriti, Nurturing camps, Distinguished lecture series, NEN week

Fast FaCts

Known for management training and research, IPE has now launched full-time management programmes

B-school with a difference

executives, 8,000 government person-nel including 3,000 IAS officers, though majority of the participants hail from Andra Pradesh. These MDPs exam-ined issues such as global competition, restructuring of PSEs, progressive trade unionism and preparing boards for the 21st century, to name a few.

The Post Graduate Diploma in Busi-ness Management, launched in 1995, is IPE’s flagship programme. The selection is through the Common Admission Test (CAT). Scores in XAT, MAT, ATMA or GMAT, also make you eligible for all programmes. Shortlisted candidates must appear for a group discussion and interview at IPE, Hyderabad and other major cities in India.

The first long-term management pro-gramme, the MBA-Public Enterprises,

By Nimesh Chandra

Amidst the greenery in Osma-nia University, stands IPE, an autonomous, non-profit edu-cational institution that has

made a mark in the area of research and consultancy, for both public and private enterprises. The research outcomes at IPE have been instrumental in contrib-uting towards public policymaking in diverse fields ranging from restructur-ing, privatisation/disinvestment, infra-structure to corporate governance, pay revision and public systems. A pioneer in management development pro-grammes (MDPs) and sector specific MBAs (it launched India’s only MBA focusing on public enterprises in 1981), IPE is now striving for a place in the bevy of institutions offering MBA programmes.

Academic backgroundIPE started MDPs for working profes-sionals in the 1970s and they have the distinct ability to define problems of public and private enterprises using sur-vey and case-research methods. It also excels in training programmes for state-level public enterprises.

The institute has conducted more than 2,000 programmes (both open and cus-tomised) so far and have trained 20,000

initiated in 1981-82, imparts managerial skills to practicing executives, in both the central and state governments. They are selected by qualifying in the ICET (regional MBA entrance test for Andhra Pradesh) and a personal interview.

For the 2008-10 batch 44 students have enrolled in the course. The total number of students who have passed out is over 700. PhD programme initiated in 1976 has so far awarded 53 doctorates.

In 2008, courses in Marketing & Retail Management and Banking, Insurance & Financial Services were launched. The objective is to produce capable global business leaders, says Dr S K Mathur, Head (Institutional Development).

Gautami, a first-year student of PGDM-Biotechnology shares why she joined IPE. “This course gives a unique

Name of the Programme Inception Duration student Intake

PhD 1976 4-5 years Varies

MBA (Public Enterprise) 1981 3 years PT* Varies

PG Diploma in Business Management 1995 2 years 120

PG Diploma in Marketing and Retail Management 2008 2 years 60

PG Diploma in Banking, Insurance and Financial Services 2008 2 years 60

PG Diploma in Management–International Business 2009 2 years 60

PG Diploma in Management–Biotechnology 2009 2 years 40

Executive PG Diploma in Management 2010 15 months -

Programmes and seats at a glance

All postgraduate diploma programmes are approved by the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE). * Part time. The MBA (PE) course is affiliated to Osmania University, while the PhD programme is in collaboration with nine universities - Osmania, JNTU, University of Hyderabad, Utkal, Andhra, Kakatiya, Sri Venkateswara, SK University and University of Mysore.

P. Anil Kumar

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Financial assistanceIf you want to pursue full-time research, you could apply for an IPE National Doctoral Fellowship (Rs. 18-20,000 per month, HRA of Rs. 3,000 per month and annual contingency of Rs. 15,000), which is a tad higher than other UGC/ CSIR fellowships. The Indian Council of Social Science Research also allo-cates institutional doctoral fellowships to researchers at IPE.

Another attraction for students from low income backgrounds is the merit-cum-means scholarships with a corpus fund of one crore rupees, says V Anji Raju, Associate Professor and Coordi-nator (Student Affairs).

Campus placementsLast year, the figure was close to 100%. The maximum salary drawn was Rs. 6.67 lakhs per annum and the annual median salary offered was Rs. 4.24 lakhs. Major recruiters comprised SBI, Tata Consul-tancy Services (TCS), SBI Life Corpo-ration, IOC Limited, Emergency Man-agement and Research Institute, State Bank of Hyderabad, APITCO Limited, and Mishra Dhatu Nigam Limited.

According to Dr. J M Reddy, Associate Professor and Placement Coordinator, the placement committee at IPE has

combo of management and life sciences, equipping me better for higher studies or to take up a job immediately,” she says.

Infrastructure and resourcesThe IPE campus is WI-FI enabled, and other facilities are being built up gradu-ally, to keep pace with the increased intake of students.

The lack of a residential campus how ever, is a serious lacune. “One reason for IPE’s low ranking amongst B-Schools (even among government B-Schools, it is ranked low, IPE was not in the Top10 category) is because we do not have a residential campus,” observes S Satish Kumar, who teaches operations and quantitative methods. “With a residen-tial facility in the vicinity, already avail-able for girl students, and a residential complex in the pipeline, things would be better,” he adds quickly.

The digitally equipped library ena-bles online circulation and collection of books, and has access to most online databases. Alok Bajaj, a second year PGDM student quips, “I wish we could spend more time on campus, to make use of the library.” Students also have access to the annual reports of over 800 public sector enterprises as well as government reports and parliamentary debates.

initiated the concept of stakeholders, wherein faculty members as subject experts interact with industry person-nel, to understand the key requirements, including potential job openings.

Emphasis is on making students more ‘employable’. “Mock interviews, group discussions and personal grooming over weekends, through the mentorship pro-gramme has helped me gain confidence, realise my strengths and weaknesses,” shares Sushma Goud who is joinng TCS. Prof. Sai Kumar, Coordinator-PGDM course adds, “Students in the third semester, are segregated into groups of 5-6, and a faculty member mentors them, to increase their employability.”

The road aheadAs an institution engaged in capacity building for public sector enterprises, IPE has always focused on research, publication, training and development activities. The first full-time programme in management education came almost three decades after the establishment of IPE. However, the last two years saw the launch of four more long-term pro-grammes in quick succession. Unless rad-ical improvement in infrastructure and good faculty accompany such a growth, the institution runs the risk of losing out on commendable expertise gained in training, development and research over four decades, though financial considerations do favour the launch of long-term programmes, that account for nearly two-thirds of the institute’s total income. Prof. R K Mishra says, IPE will continue to be among the best if it strikes a fine balance between short-term train-ing and full-time courses. A difficult task indeed, considering the kind of growth IPE has embarked upon.

ipe stresses on employability of students through its mentorship programme

IMT, Ghaziabad �

Amrita University �

Jadavpur University �

IIIT, Bangalore �

TERI University, New Delhi �

Indian Statistical Institute, Kolkata �

Previous Campus Reviews

www.careers360.com

I think the ministry

handling edu-cation is in the right frame of mind. There

should be one regulatory

body

PRoF. R K MIShRADirector, IPE

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Scholarship chEVENiNg

For: Working professionals, executives Applications invited from: Early December (will be open for approx two months) How to apply: Log on to the web site, apply online Selection process: Shortlisted candidates will be called for interviews in mid-March Web site: http://www.britishcouncil.org/india-scholarships-chevening-gurukul.htm

FaSt FactS

by Shalini Gupta

Amrita Bahri, former president of Delhi University is a social activist pursuing her Master’s degree in law at London School

of Economics. She aspires to make a positive impact in Indian politics after the completion of her course.

Ankur Garg, 22, a BTech in environ-mental engineering from the Delhi Col-lege of Engineering had always dreamt of influencing environmental policy. Garg who is now pursuing an MPhil in technology policy at the University of Cambridge is clearly on the right path towards achieving his goal — to work towards better deployment of uncon-ventional and renewable energy tech-nologies in developing countries, within the UN framework. The common thread that binds Amrita and Ankur and helps them to pursue their dream studies is the UK’s Chevening scholarship.

Making a differenceLaunched in 1987 in India, four years after they were introduced in the UK, Chevening is currently the second larg-est running scholarship programme in the UK. Under the scheme funded by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, 2,000 students are offered the

scholarship in over 130 countries. Last year close to 70 scholarships were offered to Indian students. However, this year (2009-10) saw the numbers come down to 50, with a record 2,000 applications received!

Chevening offers two kinds of fellow-ships, joint fellowships ( see box below) with other agencies, which are open for candidates from all over the world and special fellowships focused on particu-lar countries. Generally the local British Council is the coordinating agency for the programme.

Instilling leadership skillsNot only does Chevening harness the potential within youngsters such as

Ankur and Amrita, it also gives mid-career executives a chance to rediscov-er and rebuild their leadership skills through the Chevening Gurukul Schol-arships awarded every year for a three-month professional training programme at The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE).

Shaffi Mather who was selected for the same in 2003, went on to found Dial 1298 in 2004, a nationwide network of Life Support Ambulance Service acces-sible to anyone, anytime and anywhere, a year after he completed his course. “The programme gave me an opportunity to look at things from a new perspective. It was a transformation point to move from a corporate career into something completely unexplored: social entrepre-neurship,” he shares.

Mather who now works as an inde-pendent lawyer says that being at the forefront of such a pathbreaking initia-tive made him realise how socially-rele-vant problems can be addressed through the private sector.

Only 20 scholarships, nowStarting 2010-2011, only 20 scholar-ships will be offered under the Gurukul

if you want to be an agent of change, make a difference, chevening may be the right platform for you

calling all leaderS

Chevening/BG/Cambridge Scholarship■■

Chevening Shell Centenary Scholarship ■■

Chevening Clore Scholarships (for potential ■■

leaders in the cultural sector i.e. theatre etc.)

Chevening Hansard Research Internship ■■

(Politics)

Chevening UNEP – WCMC Scholarship (to ■■

resolve biodiversity-related challenges)

Chevening/Rio Tinto/Dundee Scholarships ■■

(Master’s of Law, Mineral Law & Policy)

GLOBAL schOLArships

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scheme, as compared to last year when core scholarships were also being award-ed for year-long postgraduate studies in the UK in the areas of economic govern-ance, finance and public administration, sustainable development and science and innovation. These scholarships have been discontinued.

Chevening Gurukul ScholarshipsThe Gurukul scholarships are hugely popular amongst working executives owing to the short time frame of three months which is a good refreshing break from work, at the same time not forego-ing it completely, says Gurukul scholar Arundhati Ghosh (2005) who is now the Deputy Director, Indian Foundation for the Arts, Bangalore. The scholarship was her window of inspiration, she says. “Studying at LSE, which in itself is a social, cultural and political hub, and connecting with the best of minds, helps rekindle new ideas and changes your perspective on the world,” she shares.

The curriculum for GurukulClasses are followed by field visits to

organisations such as ILO, NATO and EU and also a thesis that is to be submit-ted at the completion of the programme. “It gives one a perspective on different issues facing the world, be it climate change, the economic crisis etc. and helps one see the bigger picture,” shares Amitava Bhattacharya, Gurukul scholar 2008 and founder of Banglanatak.com, a theatre-based communication initia-tive that has a network in 23 states in India. It helps empower backward and marginal sections of people with knowl-edge, skills and resources to help them lead better lives.

Who is eligibleThe programme is meant for working professionals, generally mid-career executives with four to five years of work experience, who have demonstrated leadership abilities in their respective fields, have good written and verbal Eng-lish skills and are computer-savvy.

How to applyApplication forms will be available start-ing early December. Please check www.

Chevening sCholarship has built a reputation for harnessing potential and breeding future leaders

britishcouncil.org/india for any further announcements.

What the scholarship coversTuition fees●●

Living expenses for the duration of ●●

the course (three months)A return trip from India to the UK●●

UK student visa ●●

A few words of wisdom One should spend a little more time in the chosen field/profession before applying for the Gurukul scholarship, and also plan for the thesis that you need to do as part of the three-month programme.

Please note: The Chevening scholarships are undergoing a restructure, following the discontinuation of the open scholarships. Information provided is to the best of our knowledge and is subject to further change. Log on to www.britishcouncil.org/india, to keep a tab on future announcements.

DAn CHuGG,Director Press and communications,

british High commission

“We shall no longer run the open scholarship, but

are increasing the number of Gurukul

scholarships to almost 20. This had become

more popular among mid-career level executives”

Mombusho Scholarships, Japan �

Fulbright fellowships for studies in the uS �

Australian Endeavour Scholarships �

DAAD fellowship to study in Germany �

Previous Scholarships

www.careers360.com

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Ask Us carEEr chOicE

Q. I am studying BTech (CSE) final year. Now, I’m learning SAP course on week-ends. Is my choice correct? What are the job opportunities in SAP after BTech.

RaviA. ERP or Enterprise Resource Planning is still an interesting area of specialisation and SAP is one of the best firms offering that pack-age. But remember, while selecting SAP, you would invariably specialise on a particular module. So while selecting a module, keep in mind your long-term interests.

Keep in mind that now-a-days firms also look for some functional experience in the module you are specialising in. So don’t be disheartened if the course does not aid you directly in getting a job. It will definitely be useful in the long run. In the mean time, keep your eyes and ears open for any job opportu-nity that comes your way.

Q. I am currently doing electrical engi-neering. I would like to work in the R&D area. Tell me how I can enter that area.

M ManikandanA. Research and Development is a very excit-ing domain, and is catching up in India. The best way to enter the field is to sit for the com-petitive examinations conducted by either Department of Atomic Energy, Department of Space or Defence Research and Development

Organisation, which are the three big agencies that do substantial R&D work in the coun-try. The selection process is tough, but the rewards are quite good.

The second option, if you are interested in working in the the private sector, is to apply to and pursue an MS at a good US university, and then look forward to a career in research.

Q. My son wants to do civil service exam. How to prepare for it? Give all details.

Suyog Vilaschanda BaserA. We assume that your son has fulfilled the required eligibility conditions. The civil serv-ices exam process begins in December 2009 when the advertisement for prelims comes up. He will have to apply after satisfying the eligibility conditions. Ideally he must begin preparation now. The preliminary examina-tion has two segments: GK and an optional paper. Both are objective in nature, and are elimination exams. So, he must try and score maximum marks.

Coaching is not essential, but discipline and long hours of work are very crucial. The main exam has nine papers in all, and we explored the preparation strategy in the August 2009 issue of Careers360. Good luck to your son!

Q. I am an MBBS aspirant. This is my sec-ond attempt. What are the options besides MBBS? Any career options in biology?

AnonymousA. MBBS, definitely has it charms, but to spend more than two years just seeking admission is not very advisable. If you do not get admission in this attempt, then move on to other equally exciting fields. Pursue phar-macy, and get into drug discovery, do biology and pursue biotechnology or biochemistry. The range of options available in this sector is good. You could also look at medical technol-ogy field, an upcoming area. But whatever you pursue, do it with commitment.

Q. Tell me about job prospects after a postgraduate diploma in human rights from IIHR, New Delhi in distance mode.

KumarA. Human rights is a growing domain. But

Students quiz us on the BBA, medical, electrical engineering, R&D, and more

Coaching is not essential for the civil services exam. But discipline and long hours of work are very crucial

Whatever you pursue, do it with commitment

Page 85: Careers 360 Nov09

83 NOVEMbEr 2009360carEErs

normally good jobs in the sector would go to individuals who specialise in human rights and international law, after a basic law degree. IIHR, is a private body, whose diploma is not recognised by relevant bodies like AICTE, though the institute’s website does claim to have obtained equivalence certificates from some universities.

Other than generic information regarding the potential prospects no mention is there about assured placements from the institute. So, we are not sure how much value it would have in getting you a job in the sector.

Q. What are the good institutes for BBA undergraduate course (all over India)?

AnonymousA. BBA is a very different undergraduate degree. While the curriculum and even the specialisations remain very common to MBA, its postgraduate counter part, the degree is not sufficient to get you a job immediately.

Some colleges like the College of Business Studies at Delhi University offer a very good programme with placements. In general, even after a BBA, you might still have to pursue an MBA before you can enter the job market.

Q. Is there any course after graduation in computer science and engineering (BE Comp science & engineering) to pursue a career in aerospace/aeronautics sector?

VikraantA. We are not aware of universities in India, which offer you such shift possibilities. Top class schools such as MIT, Stanford, and CalTech, offer you such multidisciplinary courses. Good schools at Michigan, Illinois, Arizona, Maryland, Washington, California (Davis), Missouri (Rolla) and Purdue, might also offer the possibility of pursuing an MS (aerospace) with computing as a specialisa-tion. Check individual universities whether such a possibilities exist.

Q. What is the future for MTech Environ-ment (engineering)?

ShrutiEnvironment will be a major area of concern in the near future. With new international treaties coming into force, India will have to get its environment act right. Job prospects would be in the environment wings of pri-vate firms, state boards, IP firms, consulting organisations, International Development organisations focusing on environment etc. Start working with NGOs like Toxic Links right now, so that you are equipped to handle assignments when they come your way.

Q. I am a first year PGDBM student from a college in Mumbai. Not sure whether I want to specialise in finance or marketing. Please suggest some short-term courses for both, which will add value to my pro-file, are not too expensive, and which can be completed in one year.

AnonymousA. The specialisations you are considering demand very different skill sets. So, first of all you need to decide whether you want to be in marketing or finance. Straddling both disci-plines may appear to be a good hedging strat-egy, but it is not. Please decide on one domain, and then do a few courses on the other to add value. You should think of short-term courses only after you are in the job market.

Q. I am a final year BE electrical student. What jobs can I get right now?

Amit TA. Electrical engineering is an evergreen field. Firms like BHEL, Siemens etc. recruit engineers from this field. But recruitment is a function of the college you are in and your performance in the entrance exams con-ducted by these organisations. So, learn to do puzzles, verbal reasoning and analytical reasoning. Be aware of general happenings in your sector and the country.

Careers360, receives hundreds of questions every

month. Some select answers are pub-

lished here. All que-ries are answered

on our web site. Visit www.careers360.

com and post your queries today

Page 86: Careers 360 Nov09

A compilation of actionable information, segmented and presented on a thematic basis and sorted out according to their deadlines

Ready Reckonerc

ou

rs

e a

lert

s

Admissions Deadline Information

Common Entrance Examination for Design: M Design at IIT Bombay, IIT Delhi, IIT Kanpur & IISc, Bangalore

3/11/09 www.idc.iitb.ac.in

PhD programme at Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, Pune 3/11/09 www.iiserpune.ac.in/

Certificate Course in Footwear Design & Product Development (one year) 7/11/09 www.cftiagra.org.in

MCA (Distance Education Mode) at Thapar University, Patiala 9/11/09 www.thapar.edu

Post Graduate Programmes in Management at MDI Gurgaon 20/11/09 www.mdi.ac.in

International Diploma in Guidance & Counselling at NCERT, New Delhi 20/11/09 www.ncert.nic.in

Diploma, MPhil and PhD programmes at National Institute of Mental Health & Neuro Sciences, Bangalore

23/11/09 www.nimhans.kar.nic.in

Symbiosis National Aptitude Test for Post Graduate admissions 24/11/09 www.snaptest.org

Post Graduate Diploma in Management at Fore School of Management, New Delhi 25/11/09 www.fsm.ac.in

MBA/MBA-IB/MBA-HR/MBA-Biotechnology at UBS, Punjab University, Chandigarh 26/11/09 http://ubs.puchd.ac.in/

Post Graduate Programme in Public Policy & Management at Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore

30/11/09 www.iimb.ernet.in/pgppm

Post Graduate Diploma Programmes in Management at Institute of Public Enterprise, Hyderabad

8/12/09 www.ipeindia.org

sch

ola

rs

hip

s

Name of Scholarship Deadline Information

Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarships 3/11/09 www.vanier.gc.ca/prog-desc-eng.shtml

Merit Scholarship to SC/ST/OBC Minority students (2009-10), Government of NCT of Delhi

16/11/09 www.scstwelfare.delhigovt.nic.in

DAAD Working Internship in Science & Engineering (WISE) 30/11/09 www.daaddelhi.org

Department of Biotechnology - Khorana Program for Scholars undertaking research at University of Wisconsin-Madison, USA

30/11/09 www.biochem.wisc.edu

UNESCO/Keizo Obuchi Research Fellowships 10/12/09 http://education.nic.in/unesconew/KezioObuchi2009.pdf

job

s

Government Jobs Deadline Information

Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited: 204 artisans with vocational training 6/11/09 http://artrect.bhelrpt.co.in

Atomic Energy Recruitment Board: Scientific Officers/Technical Officers in grades E and D (22)

9/11/09 www.aerb.gov.in

Oriental Bank of Commerce: 916 posts in Clerical Cadre all over India 10/11/09 www.obcindia.co.in

Intelligence Bureau (Ministry of Home Affairs): Security Assistants (Executive) — 650 posts all over India

10/11/09 Employment News (10-16 October 2009, page 4-5)

UN Jobs Deadline Information

Programme Monitoring, World Health Organization (WHO), New Delhi 03/11/09 http://unjobs.org/vacancies/1255522955813

Manager (Training & Capacity Building) UNDP, Steel Project, New Delhi 05/11/09 www.undp.org.in

Programme Officer, Division of Environmental Policy Implementation, Nairobi 07/11/09 https://jobs.un.org/Galaxy/

Regional Adviser, Vaccine Preventable Diseases, SEARO, World Health Organization, New Delhi

11/11/09 http://unjobs.org/vacancies/1255355379829

84 NOVEMbEr 2009360cArEErs

course alerts schOlArship listiNg jObs

Page 87: Careers 360 Nov09

Institution Name of programme Dates Mainly for whom Fees in Rs.

NMIMS, Mumbai Customer Relationship Management 02 Executives in business development/marketing 3,000

IIM, Kozhikode Organizational Behavior-Enhancing employee performance & humanistic orientation

02 - 04 Junior and middle level managers who might be heading a group or work unit

15,000

IMI, New Delhi Corporate Restructuring, Acquisitions & Mergers: A Strategic Approach

07 - 08 Those involved in strategic management/corporate restructuring/finance

18,400

MDI, Gurgaon Business intelligence-data warehousing & mining 07 - 09 Those involved in systems operations 27,500

XLRI, Jamshedpur Talent Management & Employee Engagement 07 - 09 Executives making a difference to talent management 21,000

IIM, Ahmedabad Mergers & Acquisitions and Restructuring 07 - 11 Senior executives responsible for growth strategies 75,000

XIM, Bhubaneswar Counselling Skills Training using NLP Techniques 07 - 11 Middle and Senior Managers 20,000

IIM, Calcutta Marketing of Services 08 - 11 Middle executives/analyst in marketing/operations 35,000

ASCI, Hyderabad Using data for program monitoring & evaluation 14 - 16 Programme managers from government and NGOs 17,500

IIM, Indore Hospital Management 14 - 18 Executives in hospital/health institution administration 30,000

IIM, Bangalore Doing Business in India 14 - 24 MBA/Executive MBA students, willing to gain deeper awareness of the business opportunities in India

$6,500

ISB, Hyderabad Role of a CFO - Integrating Strategy and Finance 16 - 20 CFOs and senior finance heads of business firms 125,000

IIFT, New Delhi Logistics Management for International Business Development

17 - 18 Manager/officials involved in international trade issues 8,500

IPE, Hyderabad Preparing Boards for 21st Century 17 - 18 CEOs/directors/GMs/government officials involved in overseeing performance of corporate sector

30,000

NITIE, Mumbai Cost Management in Manufacturing Firms 28 - 30 Persons with relevant experience in industry 12,000

Watch out for Management Development Programmes (MDPs) in November 2009

85 NOVEMbEr 2009360carEErs

MDP

careers360 needs advisors/counsellors

BUSINESS & MANAGEMENT

MEDICAL AND ANCILLARY COURSES

ENGINEERING AND ALLIED DISCIPLINES

OTHER PROFESSIONAL PROGRAMMES

FOREIGN EDUCATION

What We look for

In addition to understanding the discipline in depth, you must be able to go behind the obvious and identify a good institution or programme

amongst the multitude of options that are available to students.

Previous experience in assessing the quality of institutions is valuable but not essential. A passion to guide students, is a must.

about you

You could be an experienced professor or a young academic willing to change the system or an expert who has practical experience in the

discipline and an advisory bent.

You should preferably have access to other leading professors /experts in the domain, both domestic and internationally.

Write to us With a DetaileD CV

e-Mail: [email protected]

Postal aDDress: AB 12, 2nd floor, Safdurjung Enclave, New Delhi-110029

India’s leading career magazine, for its new its advisory/counselling division, is looking to recruit advisors /counsellors/experts in the following domains

Page 88: Careers 360 Nov09

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Up Close sOMDEV DEVVarMaN

“My profession is my passion”This 24-year-old broke the Davis cup jinx for India, and now he’s raring to go!

Q. Should one take up a profession for passion or pay? A. I took up a profession that is my pas-sion, and hopefully which will pay me well, too. It’s a very individual choice. But it works out well for me.

Q. Which teacher do you remember the most, and why? A. While my teachers at school were very supportive, my best memories have been with my various tennis coaches as they are the ones with whom I spent the maximum time.

Q. How do you cope with failure? A. You just learn from it. You won’t win every match you play, so just take it in your stride and move on.

Q. What do you fear most? A. I’m afraid of a lot of things. I was afraid of the dark while growing up. I still prefer not to watch any kind of scary movie! I also dread the day when (or if!) I will run into my favourite actress. I am sure I will be completely dumbfounded and I think I will be incapable of having a normal conversation.

Q. What does the current wave of success feel like?A. To my mind I have to do a lot more to feel I am successful. What I have achieved so far is good, but I still have a very long way to go.

Q. And the day before a match?A. I just go through my regular routine. Practise, rest, hydrate myself, and play my guitar.

Q. What has been the most fascinat-ing and despairing moment so far in your professional life?

A. Well, it was definitely something special for me to win a Davis Cup tie for the country and help us move into the world group after so long was definitely a great feeling. As far as disappointments go, I was heartbroken after our undefeated team in college lost in the semis of

the national championships. But I knew we let it all out on the court and

we had nothing to regret in the end.

Q. Which is better? Living for fun or living with a purpose? A. I believe that we should all live with a purpose, for sure. But I am a bigger believer that the purpose that we are living for should be a fun process. So, liv-ing a fun-filled life with a purpose would be ideal.

“You need a very strong heart and will to

pursue your passion, especially if it’s in an

alternative field.”

Q. What was your most endearing moment in school?A. I think there were many. But what I really liked most was the fact that while also being a good student, I had a lot of time to be part of different clubs and associations within the student body, as well as a good social life. I really enjoyed the balance I had between tennis and the other parts of my life as a student.

Q. What were your career plans in college? A. They were always to be a profession-al tennis player. That’s why I made the move to college tennis, and University of Virginia in Charlottesville provided me with the perfect opportunity to hone my skills.

Q. How did you spend your first salary? A. I gave it to my mother and she invest-ed it back into my tennis.

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