Higher Education

POST GRAGUATE PROGRAMME IN CONSTRUCTION MANAGEMENT
NICMR,PUNE 25/1, BELEWADI, NIA POST, 411 045
NICMR, HYDERABAD, NAC GROUNDS, KONDAPUR POST, 500 032
NICMR, GOA, MUSHIFUND SAUNSTHA, COMMERCE CENTRE, Two year Post Graduate Programme in Advanced Construction Management(PGP ACM)
Places: Pune, Hyderabad and Goa

Two year Post Graduate Programme in Project Engineering and Manangement(PGP PEM)
Place: Pune

One year Post Graduate Programme in Health,Saftey and Environment Management (PGP HSEM)
Place: Hyderabad

PART TIME PROGRAMME IN CONSTRUCTION MANAGEMENT
Post Graduate Programme in Construction Management for working executives
PlaceMumbai

DISTANCE EDUCATION PROGRAMMES IN CONSTRUCTION MANAGEMENT
Two Year PG
Construction Management, Project Management, Infrastructure Development and Management.

One Year Programme
Construction project Management
Building Maintenance Management
Construction Safety Manangment
Quantity Surveying
Highway Project Management
Oil & Gas Pipeline Project Management
Construction Contract Management
Construction Business Management

Six months certificate Programme
Construction Contract Management
Construction Quantity Management
Construction Safety Management
Construction Business Management
Site Personnel Management
Construction Equipment Management

LAST DATE OF SUBMISSION OF APPLICATION FORM : DEC 03,2007
DOWNLOAD APPLICATION FORM: www.nicmar.ac.in

MBA Programme in Power Management
NATIONAL POWER TRAINING INSTITUTE
NPTI COMPLEX, FARIDABAD
Approved by AICTE and Affiliate to Maharashi Dayanad Univeristy
Selection through CAT Score(conducted by IIMs)

Obective: This is a pioneering venture of two years duration to develop world class Business Managers in Power Sector
Eligibility: B.E or equivalent(General 60% marks in aggregate of all semesters , SC/ST Min Pass Marks)
Placements: ABPS , BSES CARE, CRISIL, CSIR-TIFAC, ENERCON, FEEDBACK VENTURES, KLG SYSTEL, KPMG, KSK ENERGY, LAHMEYAR, LNJ BHILWARA, MONNET ISPAT, NCDEX, NDPL, POWER PWC, RELIANCE ENERGY, SATYAM , SECURE METERS, SUZLON, TATA POWER, TORRENT POER TRACTEBEL, UJVNL ,etc.
How to apply:
The Principal Director(CAMPUS)
NPTI,Sector – 33
Faridabad 121003
Haryana

You will get application form sending crossed DD to above address
Rs. 800/- for General
Rs. 400/- for SC/ST
Rs.200/-Haryana SC/ST
Last Date of Sale and Receipt of Application forms: 25-02-2008

One year Post Graduate Programme in
Public Management and Policy(PGP-PMP)
From IIM Ahmedabad
PGP-PMP is rigorous one year programme in public management and policy with concentration in governance and policy formulation and implementation, financial regulation, infrastructure development, management of international organizations, public enterprises management, and technology policy and management. This is a one year full-time residential programme for civil servants, managers of parastatals and public enterprises, professionals from NGOs, executives of private sector firms dealing with public management issues, and those pursuing political careers with legislative experience.
International exchange/attachment has been designed to expose participants to public management policies and practices followed in a different cultural context. Currently we have formal understanding for attachment/exchange programmes with (i) Faculty of Economics and Social Sciences, IOMBA Programme, University of Geneva;(ii) Lyndon Johnson School of Public Affairs, University of Texas at Austin;(iii) The Georgetown Public Policy Institute, Georgetown University;(iv) The H. John Heinz III School of Pulic Policy and Management, Carnegie Mellon University; and(v) The Warwick Business School, University of Warwick

The Institute offers on campus placement for non sponsored candidates
Last Date of application : Nov 03,2007
More info: www.iimahd.ernet.in

Msc(Mathematics with Application in Computer Science)

IGNOU announces a two year MSc Programme in Mathematics with Application in Computer Sciences. The programme emphasizes on the relevance and usefulness of mathematics from the application point of view, and equip the learners with the core mathematical knowledge and training programme is to expose leaners to real life problems and promote the use of mathematics in industry and applied sciences

Eligibility: Gradutates with a Major or Honours in mathematics from recognized university, with 50% marks


Address of IGNOU Centres at which prospectus is available

2nd Floor, BISCOMAUN Tower
West Gandhi Maidan
Patna 800 001

52, Tughlakabad Instt. Area
Near Batra Hospital
New Delhi 110 062

Kaloor
Cochin 682 017
Kerala

1st Floor
MSFC Bldg
270, Snapati Bapat Road
Pune 411 016

CIT Campus
Taramani
Chennai
600113

Bikas Bhawan
4th Floor
North Block
Bidhan Nagar
Kolkota 91

Gandhi Smriti & Darshan Samiti
Rajghat
New Delhi 110 002

457/a, Ashok Nagar
Ranchi
384 002

ITI Bldg
Bulepur, Ludhiana Dist
Khana 141 401

2nd floor
Rajshekar Bhavan
Rani Durgavati Vishvavidhyalaya Campus
Pachpedhi
Jabalpur
482 001
Madhyapradesh

A CAREER AS AN ASTRONAUT

• If you want to become an astronaut, you must be fit, not only physically but mentally also.

• You can be a teacher or a scientist and still become an astronaut.

• Usually, though, you can become an astronaut in one of these slots — as a a c o m - m a n d e r or co-pilot of a space shuttle; as a mission specialist; or as a
payload specialist.

• A mission specialist is a person who focuses on the special mission of that particular craft. It may have to do with conducting specific experiments, or testing a specific gadget.

• When the mission deals with doing multiple experiments, but you are still a specialist in one area only, you can then go as a payload specialist. Both payload specialists and mission specialists are essentially scientists.

What do you study?

You can’t study a specific subject which will directly make you an astronaut. But superior qualifications matter these days. A research background is of great help. So try and get a PhD.
Age will not be an obstacle, as long as you are fit, but the levels of f i t n e s s
expected are very high.

• Commanders or co-pilots of space shuttles at NASA are US citizens. But a mission specialist or a payload specialist need not be a US citizen.

• You need leadership qualities, but also team player abilities.

• Once selected, you will undergo rigorous training underwater and in simulation machines

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Companies in Singapore don’t need to go far while fishing for talent. This business and finance hub is fast becoming a grooming ground for managers, thanks to a progressive education system that is designed to support the development of key economic sectors.
The country has become the MBA destination for over 80,000 students from 120 nationalities, close to 60 international organisations and 90,000 expatriates. Even respected international institutions like University of Chicago Graduate School of Business (sixth overall in Financial Times MBA 2007 ranking), INSEAD (ranked No. 7), S P Jain Institute of Management, ESSEC Asian Centre and Shanghai Jiao Tong University, are offering MBA programmes here. “We have attracted some of the best global MBA institutional brand names such as INSEAD and the University of Chicago Graduate School of Business to Singapore to complement our home-grown institutions which offer quality MBA programmes,” says Magdalene Lee, director, education services division, Singapore Tourism Board (STB).
The exposure has done local institutions a lot of good. In 2006, the Economist Intelligence Unit topranked the Nanyang MBA Programme in Singapore and pegged it third in Asia. In the Financial Times ranking of the World’s 100 Best MBA Programmes (January 2007), the Nanyang MBA was again ranked best in Singapore, second in Asia, third in Asia-Pacific and 67th overall. Also, National University of Singapore (NUS) Business School’s full-time MBA programme has been ranked among the Top 100 (81st) in the world, according to the Financial Times MBA 2007 ranking.
The Singapore Management University (SMU), which opened its doors in 2000, is modelled on the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, and aims to groom business leaders and entrepreneurs capable of excelling in a rapidly changing and dynamic world. “Plans for SMU to offer an MBA are in the pipeline. SMU currently offers 11 postgraduate degrees with specialised or cross-disciplinary focus in business and finance,” adds Lee.
Singapore’s advantage as a destination for MBA aspirants goes beyond the global institutional brand names. It is also a strategically located business destination. “Our location at the nexus of the booming economies of China and India, as well as South East Asia, and the hub of global businesses here spells tremendous opportunities for case studies, research, networking and career development — advantages unique to Singapore and unmatched by other MBA destinations across the world,” elaborates Lee.
There are also many opportunities for an MBA graduate to network in this cosmopolitan city. They get the opportunity to immerse and integrate into a multicultural environment — an experience they will find beneficial when looking for work among globally oriented businesses.

PART-TIME JOBS

“Foreign students who are full-time matriculated or registered students pursuing an MBA in our local universities and institutes of higher learning can work part-time during term time for up to 16 hours per week, as well as full-time during school vacation,” says Lee. Sometimes the employer might require a letter of authorisation from the approved institutions to indicate that students are allowed to work during the school holiday.

ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS

Entry requirements vary from institution to institution. Course brochures or the university website provide course requirements. Students can then apply directly to the educational institutions accompanied by the relevant certification and documentation. “Our local universities accept online applications although some courses or programmes will require students to undergo an interview or placement test. Upon acceptance, students will be sent a Letter of Offer. Students should then return the acceptance form by the closing date and plan to be in Singapore at least two weeks before the semester commences,” says Lee.
Lee also advises: “For private schools, students should check that the school is registered with the Ministry of Education and that the course has been approved. International students should further establish that the school is case-trusted and preferably Singapore Quality Class for Private Education Organisations (SQC - PEO) approved.”

AVERAGE SALARY AFTER PLACEMENT

Salary structures vary based on the industry and company the student is placed in, location, an individual’s personal achievements and so on.
According to Richard Rubnan Que, marketing and admissions manager, NUS Business School, the maximum base salary of NUS MBA graduates is S$130,000 per year (based on 2006 full-time MBA and IMBA graduate statistics). For the Nanyang Business School, on average, the ranking report by the Financial Times has shown 110% increase in remuneration after three years of graduation and 82% graduates moved up levels of seniority in the same period. In their employment surveys amongst their MBA graduates, the average annual salary of those who just completed their MBA 2006 is S$70,000.
For INSEAD MBA graduates, in 2006, the annual average salary was $106,500.

FUTURE PROSPECTS

With over 7,000 MNCs in Singapore, MBA students can look to gain a foothold in many prestigious organisations through internships and research with these MNCs in a range of businesses. This has also attracted MBA students to study here in order to ‘be where the action is’.
According to Que, “For the last two cohorts of the NUS MBA, we had students from over 30 countries (even from Myanmar, Azerbaijian, Uzbekistan, France) who specifically flew in, wanting to take advantage of the NUS MBA’s promise of delivering the best of the east and west, transforming them to become global business leaders.”
Elaborating further on the job opportunities, Lee says: “Singapore is always on the look-out for global talents. In the recent May Day message 2007, Manpower Minister Ng Eng Hen noted that 2006 was a good year with 2.496 million people in the workforce, the highest ever. Workers also enjoyed higher bonuses and wage increases. In addition, 1,76,000 jobs were created last year.”
MONEY MATTERS

Accommodation: S$200-S$1,500 per month (rental varies with geographical area, type of accommodation, demand, facilities and the number of people sharing)
Utilities: S$50-S$80 per month
Food: S$300-S$450 per month
Public transport: S$50-S$100 per month (depending on the mode of transport and distance travelled)
Telecommunications: S$30-S$50 per month (varies with usage and package)
Books & Stationery: S$30-S$100 a month (varies with courses)
Personal expenses: S$100-S$200 per month (varies)
Estimated total: S$760-S$2000 per month

WEB LINK
Students can seek help from Singapore Education Specialists in India, visit www.singaporeedu.gov.sg

The title of a ‘cosmetologist’ is a comprehensive term. A ‘cosmetologist’ is a person who performs services on the head, face, neck, shoulders, arms, hands, legs or feet of a client. These services may include cutting or styling the hair, manicure, pedicure, massaging or all acts of beautifying.The different job titles that fall under the umbrella of cosmetology are that of a hairstylist, hairdresser, manicurist, pedicurist, and shampooer.The training required for each of the above fields is different.

WORK SKILLS

Many elements go into making a successful career in cosmetology, one of which is to have a good sense of fashion and style.“Aspirants need to have an artistic inclination, an affiliation to colours and a little bit of brand knowledge. He or she also needs to have the zing to keep pace with the latest trends in the industry,” says Nalini Kalra, Head of Christine Valmy International School of Esthetics, India.
“Good communication is a pre- requisite,” states Sunita Motwani- Makhija, Director of Schnell Hans Beauty Schools and Salons.

ELIGIBILITY

“In order to work as a cosmetologist, a certain level of educational qualification is required. Certain courses demand candidates who have completed their matriculation while other courses such as nutrition and dietetics require candidates to possess an HSC certificate,” says Dr Kochar.
“The level of creativity involved in this field is tremendous. Several professionals across different fields have switched over to the beauty industry as a career option,” says Isha Mahmood, Manager of Nalini’s Hair Academy.

REMUNERATION

Mahmood states,“The sky is the limit. One has to remember that, like other fields, you will start at the bottom and have to work your way up. Starting pay is usually Rs 6,000 to 8,000 coupled with incentives and tips. It can increase dramatically depending on how dedicated you are to your clientele.” There are tremendous opportunities for those who want to carve a niche for themselves.
“Persons skilled in body treatments could look at career opportunities as a therapist, product trainer, consultant or manager. Persons skilled in hair can look at career opportunities as a stylist and trend designer.Those skilled in makeup can opt for a career as a makeup artist for media or fashion, wedding look advisor or trainer. And lastly, a person skilled in aesthetics could look at opportunities as an assistant to a dermatologist, aesthetician, skin consultant or product trainer,” informs Kalra.
A qualified beauty professional can opt to work with leading saloons, deluxe hotels, fashion photographers, event managers, big corporate and beauty product companies, cosmetic units, academic institutes, television and film industry, etc.There are also plenty of high-paying opportunities abroad for such professionals.The earning potential can go up to Rs 1,00,000 per month.
Dr Kochar shares,“Today, the industry of personal grooming is undergoing an explosive growth.With a number of Indian and international cosmetic companies stepping into the grooming and salon business, the future market projections state a stupendous increase in demand of trained manpower or trained beauty experts.The beauty industry is witnessing a growth in cosmetic sales and supply of beauty gadgets to an increasing consumer population and to one that is willing to spend.”

BRANCHING OFF

Besides working for a salon, there are many other avenues open to students. A qualified cosmetologist can start his/ her own salon. He/ she can also choose to become a sales representative or image consultant. A trained beautician can also opt to become a fashion journalist or beauty expert for any publication.
“I advise students to work for around six months to a year in any reputed salon before they decide to branch out on their own. As hairstylists and cosmetologists become more experienced and gain a following, they can expect their earnings to increase,” says Mahmood.

TRAINING

The courses vary in duration, from three-month certificate courses to two-year diploma courses. Polytechnics conduct diploma courses in beauty culture and hair dressing for students who have successfully completed their plus two or equivalent examinations.These vary in duration from six months to two years. Besides pursuing a course from an institute, one can also intern with a beauty clinic or salon.

INSTITUTES

An indicative list of institutes is:

VLCC Institute of Beauty Health and Management, New Delhi

Schnell Hans Beauty School, Mumbai

Christine Valmy Institute Pvt Ltd, Mumbai

Akbar Peerbhoy Girl’s Polytechnic, Mumbai

Government Polytechnic for Women, Chennai

Polytechnic for women, New Delhi

Spratt Academy of Hair Design, Bangalore

Emeralde International Institute of Hair and Beauty, Mumbai

Juice Hair Academy, Mumbai

Vandana Luthra Academy of Beauty and Hair, New Delhi

Career in veterinaryAnimal breeders and technicians: Help breed, raise and market a animals such as cattle, sheep, horses and poultry for livestock, pets such as canaries, dogs and cats, and other exotic animals such as ostriches, alligators - even minks! In general, technicians are concerned with the propagation, feeding, housing, health, production and marketing of animals.The diversity of employment available for qualified animal breeders and technicians makes this career extremely flexible. Animal caretakers: This job ranges from day-to-day normal activities for a healthy animal to caring for sick, injured or aging animals. Daily animal routine usually involves feeding and providing drinking water, making sure their enclosure is clean, safe and appropriately warm, and if needed, stocked with materials to keep the animal active and engaged. Caretakers may be responsible for creating enrichment materials so that the animal is challenged by new objects.They may exercise or train animals.They may assist veterinarians or other trained medical staff in working with animals that require treatment. Animal caretakers also maintain written records for each animal. These records include weight, eating habits, behaviour, medicines or treatment given. Animal shelter employees : They work in non-profit organisations. Their duties are similar to those performed in animal control agencies which are run by government entities. But animal shelters and animal control agencies differ in their purpose and philosophy. Animal shelters, also called humane shelters, are dedicated to protection of animals and promotion of animal welfare. Animal control agencies exist to ensure that the safety and welfare of people and property are not compromised by animals. Some organisations maintain shelter facilities or take animals to shelters for care and adoption. However, sick and injured wild animals are usually cared for by wildlife refuges and wildlife rehabilitation centres - not animal shelters.The position of humane investigator requires certification. Animal Trainers (AT): ATs teach animals to obey commands so the animals can be counted on to perform tasks in given situations.The animals can be trained for up to several hundred commands, to compete in shows or races, to perform tricks to entertain audiences, to protect property, or to act as guides for the disabled. ATs may work with several types of animals or specialise with one type. As for training, racehorse trainers must be licensed by the state in which they work. Aquaculturists: Also known as fish farmers, fish culturists or mariculturists, they raise fish, shellfish or
other aquatic life under controlled conditions for profit and/ or human consumption. Certifications are required for promotion or raises in such jobs. Aquarists: Work for aquariums, oceanariums and marine research institutes.They are responsible for the maintenance of aquatic exhibits. Among other duties, they feed the fish, check water quality, collect and transport new specimens. Diving certification is required. Equestrian management workers: Such jobs include a variety of positions, including farriers, horse breeders, horse trainers, judges, jockeys, stable managers, racetrack managers, equine insurance adjusters, breed association managers, race association managers, and related business, sales and marketing positions. Naturalists : The primary role of a naturalist is to educate the public about the environment and maintain the natural environment on land specifically dedicated to wilderness populations.Their primary responsibilities are preserving, restoring, maintaining, and protecting a natural habitat. Naturalists may work in a variety of environments, including private nature centres, local, state and national parks and forests, wildlife museums and independent non-profit conservation and restoration associations. Some of the many job titles a naturalist might hold are wildlife manager, fish and game warden, wildlife biologist and environmental interpreter. Park rangers: They enforce laws and regulations in national and state parks.They help care for and maintain parks as well as guide and ensure safety of park visitors. Pet groomers: They comb, cut, trim and shape fur of all types of dogs and cats.They also trim the animal’s nails and bathe it. In the process, they check for flea or tick infestation and any visible health problems. Groomers are also called upon to tend to more exotic pets these days, such as ferrets, birds and reptiles. New developments in animal grooming include highperformance clippers and cutting tools and more humane restraining devices. Current trends in specialised services include perfuming, powdering, styling and even massage, aromatherapy and tattooing for pets. In the US, to start your own grooming salon, a license is needed from the city or town in which the person plans to practice. Veterinary technicians: Provide support and assistance to veterinarians.They work in a variety of environments, including zoos, animal hospitals, clinics, private practices and laboratories.Work may involve large or small animals or both. Although most veterinary technicians work with domestic animals, some professional settings may require treating exotic or endangered species. Other careers: Pet sitters, veterinarians, zoo and aquarium curators/ directors and zoologists.

WORKING CONDITIONS

People who love animals get satisfaction from working with them. However, some of the work may be unpleasant, physically and emotionally demanding, and sometimes dangerous. Animal care and service workers who witness abused animals or who assist in euthanising unwanted, aged, or hopelessly injured animals may experience emotional distress. Besides keeping irregular hours, people in this field may have to work outdoors in all kinds of weather.

TRAINING AND QUALIFICATIONS

Most workers are trained on the job; however, employers prefer to hire people who have some experience with animals. Formal training is not necessary for entry-level positions. Most animal care jobs require a Bachelor’s degree and additional skills. For example, a marine mammal trainer usually needs a Bachelor’s degree in biology, marine biology, animal science, psychology, zoology, or a related field, plus strong swimming skills and SCUBA certification. Various colleges in India offer training in veterinary science.The eligibility criterion is 50 per cent of the aggregate marks in English, physics, chemistry and biology.

LIST OF INSTITUTES (INDICATIVE):

College of Veterinary Science, Assam Veterinary College, Bangalore College of Veterinary Science, Kerala Faculty of Veterinary Science,West Bengal Animal & Fish Science University, Kolkata
All in all, animal care is a job where compassionate service is of primary importance; rewards are secondary.

Multicultural, visually stunning, and one of the world’s most developed economies, Singapore is now working towards building the future - by investing in education. Now acknowledged as a globalised economy and known for its political stability, Singapore, has emerged as an education hub in South East Asia and is now in the process of attracting some of the best talent.This includes inviting some of the finest universities to set up campuses or bring in certain courses to Singapore. The result is over 70,000 international students from 70 countries!
Contemporary yet traditional - an apt description for a city, where hi-tech wizardry rubs shoulders with Chinese, Malay and Indian traditions, running the gamut from Feng Shui to ancestor worship. From a tiny island nation of immigrants, Singapore has come a long way to become the hub of 21st century Asian cultural and technical progress. Consequently, an educational opportunity there, should be quite an interesting option.
Already having gained recognition as a mega tourism and shopping destination, today, Singapore is working hard at emerging as a global schoolhouse. It now aims to become the education hub of Asia, and nowhere in the continent would you find a dynamic city that has attracted the world’s leading educational institutions, packed into an area of 670 square kilometres. Singapore, home to four million people of many ethnicities and nationalities, offers a diverse and distinctive mix of educational services in a safe, cosmopolitan and comfortable environment.
Education in Singapore draws from the latest knowledge across the globe, blending the east and the west. Students have an extensive choice between local and foreign schools and a wide array of courses.What’s more, some prestigious international educational institutions have established their presence in Singapore.The foreign universities include INSEAD, University of Chicago, SP Jain, IIM Bangalore, the MIT-Singapore alliance,Wharton-SMU alliance, Cornell-NTU alliance for hospitality management and Tisch School of Arts, among many others.
“An added advantage is that there are over 7,000 MNCs, which look to absorb postgraduates,”says Magdalene Lee, Director, Education Services-Singapore Tourism Board. She adds that students in Singapore are allowed to work while studying, to a maximum of 16 hours per week.“But they are more interested in gaining internships to build their resume,”she elaborates.
The Economic Development Board (EDB) of Singapore is the key body involved in facilitating the process of bringing a foreign university to Singapore. It has started ‘The Global Schoolhouse Initiative’ - inviting specialised foreign institutions, to set shop in Singapore.“It started with INSEAD, with a vision of ‘one school, two campuses’, so neither is a lesser campus. Most foreign universities come with a traditional base - engineering, science, MBA and diversify to include areas like culinary arts, design/art, hospitality etc,”says a representative of the EDB.
There are many other initiatives like corporate training- ie moving further from full-time students, to short-term training for those who are already employed.
In fact, to broaden the purview of an education hub, Singapore is the regional head quarters for organisations like Informatics, Universitas21, Thompson Prometric and International Baccalaureate Organisation (IBO).
An ideal example of mixing business with pleasure, Singapore is an education destination to watch out for!

Financial assistance

The most popular scheme for international students is the Tuition Fee Loan Scheme. For studies at a local university or polytechnic, the scheme administered by the Ministry of Education (MOE) loans up to 80 per cent of tuition fees and is available to all students. As an international student, you are eligible for the same grant, subject to the signing of a deed with the Singapore government, undertaking to work in Singapore, for a company registered in the country for three years, upon completion of your programme.To view scholarships offered by the government and local educational institutions, which are open to international students, more international students make an informed decision on studying in Singapore, the Singapore government has mandated the set up of Singapore Education, a promotional arm for education opportunities in Singapore.

Other things you need to know:

For universities and polytechnics, the academic year generally commences in July/ August and comprises of two semesters.
Check the website of the university of your choice to see if you meet the course requirements. Apply directly to the educational institutions as all of them accept online applications. Some institutions or courses may require you to undergo an interview or placement test, so be prepared for that, too.
Entry requirements vary from institution to institution. As English is the common language of instruction, most institutions require students to meet a minimum standard of English and TOEFL and IELTS scores are taken into consideration.
An international student is required to apply for a Student’s Pass and visa (if applicable) from the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA). For details visit: http://www.ica.gov.sg
Living expenses come to about Singapore $750 - $2,000, including accommodation, food, transport, telecommunication, books and medical insurance.
Accommodation options range from University Halls of Residence to boarding houses to sharing apartments with other students.

Higher studies abroad in the fields of social work; education and welfare of children with special needs; family/ child health and welfare; status, health and empowerment of women; women’s studies; health planning and education; public health (community health) and rural organisation work for the academic year 2007-2008

Who can apply?

Indian women graduates from a recognised Indian university having a consistently good academic record; applied for admission or secured admission to universities of Europe or America for 2007-2008

Application:

Apply for the forms giving full particulars of academic record to Lady Meherbai D Tata Education Trust. Bombay House, Homi Mody Street, Mumbai-400001

Risk and insurance managers analyse possible risk factors within corporate programmes, supervise loss control and claims processing and communicate insurance issues to the staff responsible for these areas. They meet with underwriters and brokers to set out insurance strategies, discuss underwriting submissions, set terms and conditions for coverage and participate in negotiations and policy renewals. They are responsible for analysing potential risk factors and maintaining maximum protection of the organisation's assets at the most economical rates.
Specifically, risk management analysts participate in the risk identification process and in the auditing of insurance programmes and claims to ensure compliance with corporate philosophy and objectives. They provide management with status reports reflecting claims activity, loss projections, actuarial analysis, insurance coverage and premiums, loss costs, and claim handling fees. In addition, risk and insurance managers are responsible for the development of corporate guidelines for health reporting, training and development.
Risk management is not confined to insurance. Rather, these professionals are hired by companies not only to examine the risks related to fire, thefts, accidents, sabotage and the like but also to give advice about financial matters. Risk managers play a vital role in an organisation as they assess the risk involved in making financial investments; undertaking new projects and also matters related to government policies.
Says Riten Shah, Assistant Manager, Marsh India Limited, a company that works in the area of corporate insurance, "It is a fast growing profession owing to the rapid globalisation of the insurance and related sectors. Due to widespread fluctuations in every field, companies need risk managers to assess the risk involved in any transaction or proposed business move."

ELIGIBILITY


The minimum eligibility to become a risk manager is graduation followed by a post-graduation in insurance and risk management.This course could be a degree, diploma, a certificate course or even an MBA.There are a number of institutes that are now offering short and longterm courses in insurance management and risk management. Ashwin Mehta, who worked in life insurance for several years, before moving to risk management, says, "The role of a risk management professional is to take decisions relating to financing, insurance and control of risks for a company.These are important decisions, and to be effective in this field, one has to be a good communicator, besides possessing sound knowledge of insurance matters."

REMUNERATION


A risk and insurance management professional can get a minimum start of Rs 12,000 to Rs 15,000 per month plus perks. The remuneration goes up with experience in the field. "It is a paying field," claims Shah.

TRAINING


A regular programme in insurance and risk management will focus on: Risk management as a strategic competitive strength The analytical framework for measuring, managing, and monitoring risk The enterprise perspective: culture, governance and relationships with regulators.
"The programme should generally aim at providing a thorough understanding of risks and their management through insurance. It also imparts general management skills," says Prof Sibrata Ray, visiting faculty for insurance at several institutes in Mumbai.

CAREER PROSPECTS


According to industry estimates, presently, the Indian insurance sector employs about five lakh people. In the next two years, an estimated 35,000 people are likely to be employed and a number of new job opportunities are expected to crop up. "With the liberalisation of the insurance sector, the industry is projected to grow at a rate of 15 to 20 per cent annually," says Prof Ray.

INSTITUTES

(indicative listing)

Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies (NMIMS): www.nmims.edu

International Institute for Insurance and Finance, Hyderabad: www.iifindia.com

Institute of Insurance and Risk Management: http://www.iirmworld. org.in

ICFAI - www.icfai.org/icpe

Birla Institute of Management Technology, Greater Noida: www.bimtech.ac.in

The West Bengal University of Technology, Kolkata: www.wbut.net

National Insurance Academy, Pune: http://www.niapune.com

Amity School of Insurance and Actuarial Science, New Delhi: www.amity.edu

ICFAI University, Hyderabad: www.icfai.org

The Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan Kendra at different centres in India: www.bhavanis.info/rpimc

Pondicherry University: www.pondiuni.org

Annamalai University: www.annamalaiuniversity. ac.in

The Symbiosis Centre for Distance Learning, Pune: www.scdl.net

Scientific research positions in India, especially those scientists who want to return to India from abroad. The fellowships are scientist-specific and very selective. The Ramanujan Fellows could work in any of the scientific institutions and universities in the country and would be eligible to receive regular research grants through the extramural funding schemes of various S&T agencies of the Government of India. All areas of science (in the broadest terms) will be covered by this Fellowship. The duration of the Fellowship will initially be five years. The value of the Fellowship will be Rs 50,000 per month for the first three years of the Fellowship which will be increased to Rs 60,000 per month during the last two years; in addition, there is a contingency of Rs 5 lakh per annum for conferences and other expenses. Who can apply: Brilliant scientists and engineers from all over the world, below the age of 60 years possessing higher degree or equivalent, such as PhD in Science/ Engineering, Master’s in Engineering or Technology/ MD in Medicine, etc and adequate professional experience. Only those with
research publications and
recognitions would be eligible. Various
academic and research institutions receive applications from interested scientists and technologists. The institutions will subsequently submit their recommended nominations to the Department of Science & Technology. Individual scientists and technologists can also approach the institutions for hosting them for the Fellowship and forwarding their nominations to DST for the Fellowship. Application: The nominations of scientists and technologists by the institutions would be received throughout the year. More on www.dst.gov.in and www.sercdst.org. All nominations may be sent to Dr Praveer Asthana, Scientist G, Department of Science & Technology, Technology Bhavan, New Mehrauli Road, New Delhi - 110 016. Deadline: There is no last date for this scheme.

• Academy of Maritime Education and Training, Chennai: An extension centre of Birla Institute of Technology (BIT), Ranchi offering two-year fulltime MBA in Shipping & Port Management. Visit http://www.ametindia.com or contact the institute at No 135, East Coast Road, Kanathur-603112.

• The Directorate of Distance Education under the Alagappa University,Karaikudi, offers MBA (Shipping and Port Management) through distance education mode. The curriculum focuses the economics of sea transportation, shipping laws and marine insurance, charting, lines trade and multi-modal transportation and port management. Visit http://www.aluniv.org

• Farook Institute of Management Studies under the Farook College, Kozhikode- 673632 affiliated to Calicut University, offers MBA that has shipping and port management as one of the super specialisations. Visit http://www.fims.ac.in.

• The National Institute of Port Management (NIPM), East Coast Road, Uthandi, Chennai-600119. Web: http://education.vsnl.com/ nipm

• Indian Institute of Port Management, 40, Circular Garden Reach Road, Kolkata-700 043.

Diploma in Life Insurance/General Insurance
Distance Education programme
IIRM Institute of Insurance & Risk Management
Jubilee Hills
Hyderabad
www.iirmworld.org.in
Employed professionals with minimum graduate degree in any discipline at least 50% marks from any recognised university and age 30 years and above can apply

Basic qualification for pilot training is successful completion of 10+2 or an equivalent with 50% marks in Physics and Maths. The applicant should have completed 17 years of age. The first step in pilot training is acquiring of Student Pilot Licence (SPL). Thereafter he can start flight training to get Private Pilot Licence (PPL). This includes 60 hours of flying comprising 20 hours of dual flying, 20 hours of solo flying and 5 hours cross country flying. Theoretical examinations have to be passed in subjects like air regulation, navigation, aviation meteorology, aircraft and engines, After PPL another 190 hours of flying training is required for Commercial Pilot's Licence (CPL) i.e., a
consolidated 250 hours of flying training. A flight radio operator's licence and radio telephone licence have to be obtained. During CPL, you require exposure to a range of aircraft and fulfil other conditions like specified hours of solo flying, cross country flying and height flying. Theoretical papers must be cleared and medical tests passed. It usually takes 2 to 3 years before required flying hours and classroom learning are completed. Entry to the PPL course is through an entrance test conducted at certain centres. The test is based on subjects like English, General Knowledge, Maths, Physics and Chemistry. Applications are called in April and must be sent to The Director General of Civil Aviation (Training Section), Technical Centre, Opp. Safdarjang Airport, New Delhi-110 003.
Indira Gandhi Raashtriya Urban Academy at Rae Bareli is the premier institute which offers a BSc in aviation along with CPL licence. For details
visit:

www.igrua.gov.in

At government flying clubs the course costs around Rs 8 lakh (subject to revision); while those at private flying clubs under DGCA cost around Rs 15-18 lakhs. Career prospects are promising. Union Bank of India offers loans upto Rs 15 lakhs, low interest rate and no collateral security upto Rs 7.5 lakhs. For details visit:www.unionbankofindia.com

Two year programme - Post Graduate Diploma in Management
Equilance to MBA
Eligibility: Three years Bachelor's degree in any discipline
Admisson test: All applicant will have to appear for a admission test conducted by XLRI
Doctoral Level Programme in Management.
Financial support will be availabe to students
Post Graduate diploma in Rural Management
Eligibility: Three years Bachelor'd degree in any discipline
Admission test: All applicant will have to appear for a admission test conducted by Institute of Rural Management, Anand
plese send seperate application for IRM, Anand for admission test apart from XLRI

Par time Post graduate Diploma for working executives.
for more information Log on to www.ximb.ac.in

XLRI JAMSHEDPUR offers boath full time and partime fellow programmes
FELLOW PROGRAMME IN MANAGEMENT
Full time residential doctoral level programme
Fellowship : Rs.10,000 per month
The institute provides a financil support up to Rs. 1,00,000 for participating in conference in India or abroad. Beside this there is a contingency grant up to Rs. 20,000 per annum
Maste degree and equivalent in any dicipline or CA, ICWA, CS with atleast 55% of marks(5% relax for SC/ST Students)
BE/BTech with 60% of marks

Executive level programme in Management(part time doctoral level programme)
should be employed in full time and have 5years experience in Managerial/Teaching/Reaserch.
Maste degree and equivalent in any dicipline or CA, ICWA, CS with atleast 55% of marks(5% relax for SC/ST Students)

NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF INDUSTRIAL ENGINEERING, MUMBAI, INDIA
Post Graduate Diploma in Industrail Managment
Post Graduate Diploma in Industrail Safty & Environmental Management
Post Graduage Diploma in Information Technology and Management
Engineering/Technology Graduate with first class (5% relax for sc/st/pd Students)
Final year students can also apply
For more information and application form
www.nitie.edu

Sony Vio Available in five stunning colours

HIGHER STUDY IN CANADACanada, which comprises ten provinces and three territories, is the second largest country in the world. Here, education is the responsibility of the provincial government while the federal government plays a marginal role. Each province boasts of quality post-secondary institutions and competes with the others.
Admitting that the absence of a cohesive international plan is a challenge for Canada, Rodney Briggs, President, Canadian Education Centre Network (CECN), says,“It is tough when we have to compete with other countries such as the US, UK and new entrants like New Zealand and Australia, who are also doing well in the overseas market. It can be confusing for Indian students with every province marketing itself as an individual entity.”
A high rejection rate for student visas and the requirement of 16 years of education for admission into a postgraduate programme (the Indian system is 12+3, ie, 15 years) hasn’t helped Canada score well with Indian students.
A high rejection rate for student visas and the requirement of 16 years of education for admission into a postgraduate programme (the Indian system is 15 years, 12+3) hasn’t helped the country score well with Indian students. Consider this: As compared to 24,600 students heading to the US, 18,000 to the UK and 15,600 students to Australia in the last academic session, only 2,400 students chose Canada for higher studies. So, what does Canada have to offer Indian students?

Opportunities and strengths

A friendly culture is the USP. States Errol Xavier Lobo, Graduate Recruitment Advisor, John Molson School of Business, Concordia University, Montreal,“Canada is a safe country and there is no racial tension. People are very warm and welcoming, which is why, on completing my MBA, I decided to stay back and work.”
To satisfy the varying requirements of students, the country offers several higher education options: Universities have semesters and offer UG/ PG degrees and PhDs.They are research-intensive and have one or two intakes, primarily in September and January. University-colleges offer university degrees as well as college diplomas and certificate programmes.They may also offer combined degree-diploma programmes and university transfer programmes. Community colleges offer diploma certificates and applied degree programmes, which are hands-on and industry-driven, preparing students for the job market. Career colleges provide specialised training, and their focus is on business, technology, service industries and arts.
Every student has a different requirement and accordingly chooses his or her institution.
For Delhi’s Samarth Modwal, it was McGill University’s research reputation that made him choose it, while it was Sheridan’s strong links with the animation industry that reeled in Mumbai’s Christopher Diaz.
Many students like Leo Chang prefer a college to a university, as the class size is smaller.“The strength of a class is between 30 and 40 students. We receive personal attention, and the teachers know us by our names,” says Chang. Originally from Calcutta, Chang is is currently studying at Kwantlen University College.
For Hritish, who completed class 11 from GD Goenka in Delhi before taking admission to Columbia College, Vancouver, to finish high school, university was an intimidating proposition. He shares,“The college is helping me get the grades required while also letting me ease into a foreign culture before I take the giant leap into the University of British Columbia.”
The flexibility in study plans as well as in academic programmes helps students to tailor their education to meet their goals. Janet Hurd, Director, Student Recruitment, University of Toronto, underlines that students could choose their courses from different disciplines. This helps, says a science student, to step out from his discipline and get a taste of Arts.
Another example is McMaster University, Toronto, which has redesigned its computer software programmes so that students can choose from ten degree options in areas such as computer science, game design, business informatics, mechatronics and software engineering. Co-op or internship is also available with several academic programmes across institutions that provide students with valuable work experience.
Elaborating on credit transfers between institutions, Hazel Siromoni, Director, Education Projects, CEC-India, says,“In many provinces like British Columbia, the transfer agreements between institutions are well-articulated. A student may start off, for example, in a business programme at the undergraduate level at a college or a university college for two years and have all his credits transferred to a university without losing any time and instead gaining a Bachelor’s degree in business. The student may actually earn a diploma and a degree for a four-year programme. This, of course, is assuming that the student has maintained the grade point average for his credits to be transferred to a university.”
Students also receive hands-on training and apply their book knowledge by working on machines and with tools that meet the industry standards. For example, students of hospitality run their own restaurant, while students of medicine practice on robots in simulated labs. “We want our students to have the skills to meet industry demands, therefore, we work closely with the industry to keep our programmes relevant,” says Zane De Serrano, Manager, Recruitment, Externships and Career Services, Faculty of Hospitality and Tourism, George Brown College.
A few other changes in the Canadian landscape can be turned into opportunities by Indian students. These include the demographic decline in the country leading to a high demand for fresh workforce. Besides, thanks to the IT and natural gas and oil sectors, the economy is booming - leading to several job opportunities.
And some Indian students are making the most of it. Take Chetan Mallikarjunaiah, for instance. An MBA student at Schulich Business School, Chetan is working as a summer intern with the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC).“There are a lot of job opportunities and I plan to get some experience that would help me wherever I decide to work. Most companies, even in India, are now looking for employees who have global experience,” he states.

Student support

The international office provides support to international students; they can approach the office for information on accommodation, travel, banks, and so on. Sometimes, students are paired with a senior from their country who helps them to settle down. McGill University has a phone counselling system - a student answers aspirants’ queries about the university. Concordia University has a drop-in centre for students and parents, and provides campus tours. Most institutions have societies and groups on campus that organise events, which is a good way to interact and make friends.
There is good news for students keen to pursue postgraduate studies. The recent federal budget announced funding initiatives for graduate students, committing CAD$120 million to the Canada Graduate Scholarships. Indira Samarasekera, President, University of Alberta, is excited about funding to attract international students.“As countries like China, India and Brazil rapidly develop, we need to be building relationships with them, and one of the best ways to do that is through students,” he avers.

THE COST FACTOR

Tuition fees: Canadian dollars (CAD$) 8,000 to 15,000

Living expenses: AD$10,000 (Fees vary depending on the institute and programme. Living expenses may vary depending on the city)

KEY WEBSITES

www.studycanada.ca/india

www.india.gc.ca

www.aucc.ca

THE leather sector in India is categorised by the government as one of the crust sectors, and it is one of the very few industries that has a large employment generation potential. Predominantly export-oriented, in 2006-07, the industry earned about three billon dollars in finished leather, footwear, garments and leather article segments, making it the fourth largest export earner after gems, jewellery, textiles, and engineering goods.
Moreover, since the European Union put up an anti-dumping duty on products made by China and Vietnam, India has become a lucrative, alternative source with cheap labour and upgraded technology. Due to technological advancements in the sector special care is taken towards environmental protection. It is no more considered to be a polluting industry. “Most of the tanning industries especially in Tamil Nadu, are equipped with treatment plants, which is a mandatory requirement for the tanning sector to commission an effluent treatment plant and this is one of the industries where the environment pollution board had asked for the setting up of tertiary treatment plants, where the effluents are not only treated but post treatment used for recovery and reuse within the factory itself. This step has made the sector one of the model sectors with respect to environment protection,” explains Dr V Chandrashekar, Head of CLAD division, Center for Leather and Research Institute (CLRI). He further emphasises that during the tenth five-year plan, the focus was to create nearly one million jobs for the leather product sector. For this the GOI has set up a Human Resource Development mission, where an effort is made to promote various levels of training to develop specialised skills across the country, and also to create an interface with the industry in order to understand the nature of demand.

CAREERS GALORE
Ironically, careers in this sector are not very popular, perhaps due to the general perception that it is not a lucrative field to venture in. But in reality, the industry is a hi-tech arena, with well-paying jobs, evolving with escalating demands both domestically and internationally.
To many it might come across as a surprise that there scores of good institutes offering a B.Tech or M.Tech in leather and footwear science and technology, footwear fabrication and design, footwear management and a wide range of short and longterm vocational training programmes, diploma and certificate courses.

PEEP INTO THE ACADEMICS
Students who pursue vocational training programmes learn about leather process technology, leather product technology (under which there are three major classifications, footwear, leather apparel and leather accessories).Vocational programmes are classified into skilled development, and supervisory level programmes. Both these programmes deal with assembly which includes the sewing operations, cutting leather components, and learning about the pattern-engineering module ie, how to make patterns for different products. The modules consist of assembly, cutting and designing. This module is followed for all the products whether it is footwear, apparels or leather products. The vocational programmes are for a duration of six months.
Students who a pursue a BTech in Leather Technology undergo a four-year rigorous course where the first two semesters are the same as any engineering course, the third semester curriculum is similar to that of chemical engineering. In the fourth semester they diversify into leather technology, followed by the next four semesters wherein they can pursue a specialisation in either leather processing, environmental management or leather products.

WHAT’S IN STORE?
“Finished leather segment requires high capital investment as is the case in the shoe making sector. However, all four segments: finished leather, footwear, garments and leather articles, remain highly labour-intensive as well. The product-making segment is booming since last year. Also, the companies are taking up capacity expansion of the sector, so there is a huge manpower shortage in the product sector right now. Finished leather and shoe-making requires a lot of knowledge of science and technology, while in the case of footwear, it is design,” enlightens Rajlingam, deputy general manager, leather operations, Tata International Ltd.
Students can opt for either the technical side or the management side in the industry.To begin with they are absorbed as trainees. Some get into material merchandising, which deals with procuring the raw materials and checking their quality while others work in the finishing department, which deals with colouring and texturing leather.
Students with skilled-based vocational education are called master technicians; they get into as technicians in the industry. Diploma holders take up supervisory jobs in the factories. BTech graduates in Leather Technology graduates are the techno-commercial people who begin their careers as management trainees or graduate engineers in various product and leather factories in the country and across the world.
Under the finished category ie finished leather, one can start his career as a technologist. The nature of the job involves manning the tanneries, controlling various processes, developing different types of processes as leather goes through several chemical processes in order to become conducive to make garments, shoes and automobile upholstery.
In case of footwear, one can begin his career as a production or a material manager or a designer. The role of the production manager it to coordinate with materials, labour, marketing, quality control, optimum utilisation of resources, timely delivery of goods, maintaining industrial relations, to name a few. A material manager looks after sourcing the materials at a right price and time. The profile of the designer goes way beyond merely creating innovative designs.He shoulders the responsibility of converting a prototype, concept or an idea into reality. He has to test the viability of the product and make it reach a point of mass production. It is not necessary that each time the designer comes up with a new innovative design, they ideally follow textile trend and fashion, refer to fashion magazines and bring about additions and modifications to a prototype.

MOOLAH MATTERS
B.Tech graduates can earn as high as Rs 25,000 per month, while the industry average is between Rs12,000 and Rs15,000. A diploma holder can expect to earn Rs four to six thousand at the start of his career.
Over the last five years there has been an increasing trend of students with B.Tech in leather technology being absorbed by the IT sector, which is not very healthy for the leather industry. Ramlingam concludes, “There is a huge shortage of manpower to meet the growing gap between the demand and supply, especially in the footwear business. The capacity of production is increasing but the manpower is not rising proportionately. If the government sets up more academic institutes in the future then it will augment the supply of such personnel’s to our trade.”

INSTITUTES
Central Leather Research Institute (CLRI) Chennai

College of Leather Technology, Calcuttta

Footwear Design and Development Institute (FDDI), Noida

Central Footwear Training Institute (CFTI), Agra.

National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT), New Delhi

AVI School of Fashion and Shoe Technology, Chandigarh.

Shoe Design Centre, New Delhi

Central Footwear Training Institute (CFTI), Chennai

Indian Institute of Leather Products (IILP), Chennai.

Prototype Development and Training Centre (PDTC), Chennai

VTA Institutes of Leather and Leather Products, Vaniyambad

Careers in fashion merchandising are challenging, exciting, and rewarding. Some jobs require people with a high degree of artistic creativity and originality, while others require people with business know-how and management skills.

The job:
Merchandising is a specialised management function within the fashion industry. Fashion merchandisers are responsible for selection of materials, liasoning with the production team and meeting market requirements.The job demands knowledge of fashion trends, textures, materials and colours on one hand and understanding of market demand and the production processes on the other.

The work:
Fashion merchandisers combine the advertising, marketing and retail know-how of the marketer with the creativity of the designer. Anticipating consumer preferences and ensuring that goods are in stock when they are needed require resourcefulness, good judgment, and self-confidence. Buyers must be able to quickly make decisions and to take risks. Marketing skills and the ability to identify products that will sell also are very important.

At the outset:
For people just beginning a career, many large companies offer entry-level training programmes while smaller firms offer a wide variety of entry-level positions. Typical entrylevel positions include executive trainee, buyer’s assistant, and department manager. Regardless of the starting position, responsibilities increase with hard work and a keen interest in the job. For those people who demonstrate the necessary talents, upward mobility is relatively easy. Individuals work as merchandisers, buyers, sales representatives, store managers, regional managers, wholesalers, manufacturer’s sales representatives, merchandise planners, merchandise analysts, promotional co-ordinators, manufacturer’s store co-ordinators, fashion co-ordinators, fashion directors, visual merchandisers, resident buyers, fashion forecasters, educators, divisional merchandise managers, product developers, general merchandise managers, entrepreneurs, and company owners. So many choices!

GETTING A BREAK
The key is to start with disciplined study to direct your talent into a successful career.There are also many opportunities for internships and these should be considered vital for advancing your career. Indeed, any work with experienced industry connections, be it in a design house or in retail, provides a key stepping stone for students to meet important industry personnel who have open positions and knowledge to share.

Qualities required:
“Fashion is an art that’s created to be sold, and fashion merchandising is a science which goes hand-in-hand with this,”says Mitesh Thakkar, a fashion graduate who now owns his boutique. Success in fashion merchandising careers relies on having the best education you can get. Pursuing advanced learning teaches you not only the theoretical principles of the business, it also gives you the practical knowledge you need to take into the workplace.You learn about distribution, marketing and how latest technologies impact the fashion industry.

Personal factor:
Analytical ability, computer skills, strong communication skills, leadership ability, initiative, high degree of motivation and energy, maturity, fashionable appearance is required.

Future prospects:
In the words of fashion merchandiser Veena Manghnani, “As with many industries and professions, the Internet has brought a number of changes in the world of fashion merchandising. New planning and distribution organisations have been created via networking to assist the buyers and merchandise managers to manage the business more profitably. As e-commerce grows and users become more comfortable shopping online, fashion merchandisers will spend more time with this nascent medium — trying to identify target customers and creating a merchandising strategy uniquely suited to them in order to create a differentiation among brands and retail operations.”

Money matters:
“Remuneration mainly depends on the personal ability and skills of the individual,” says Manghnani. As a fresher you’ll start out with a monthly package of Rs.8,000-14,000. A couple of years down as your designing skills mature, your salary would be in the range of Rs.30,000-40,000.“The best bet for a beginner is to get associated with an established designer or design house, and begin with doing the menial work. Most trainees get a stipend of around Rs. 4000, but what you can learn in terms of working knowledge is immense,” Manghnani adds.

Study routes:
After Graduation: Students from any subject or stream may enter the course through a competitive written examination. Most fashion institutes run a course in fashion merchandising.These courses are offered to graduates. Production management is a postgraduate diploma. The course curriculum is aimed at imparting training in practical skills and techniques of merchandising.

Aeronautical Engineering
Aerospace engineers design, develop, and test aircrafts, spacecrafts, and missiles and supervise the production of these products.Those who work with aircrafts are called aeronautical engineers, and those working specifically with spacecrafts are astronautical engineers. Aerospace engineers develop new technologies for use in aviation, defence systems, and space exploration, often specialising in areas such as structural design, guidance, navigation and control, instrumentation and communication, or production methods.They also may specialise in a particular type of aerospace product, such as commercial aircrafts, military fighter jets, helicopters, spacecrafts, or missiles and rockets, and may become experts in aerodynamics, thermodynamics, celestial mechanics, propulsion, acoustics, or guidance and control systems.
Aeronautical / Aerospace engineering deals with the development of new technology in the field of aviation space exploration and defence systems. It specialises in the designing, construction, development, testing, operation and maintenance of both commercial and military aircrafts, spacecrafts and their components as well as satellites and missiles.
As aerospace engineering involves design and manufacture of very high technology systems, the job requires manual, technical as well as mechanical aptitude. Aeronautical engineers usually work in teams under the supervision of senior engineers, bringing together their skills and technical expertise. Though highly paid, the work is very demanding. An aeronautical engineer needs to be physically fit and fully dedicated to his work.
The specialisations include areas like structural design, navigational guidance and control systems, instrumentation and communication or production methods or it can be in a particular product such as military aircrafts, passenger planes, helicopters, satellites, rockets etc. Engineers may work in areas like design, development, maintenance as well as in the managerial and teaching posts in institutes.They are in great demand in airlines, aircraft manufacturing units, air turbine production plants or design development programmes for the aviation industry.The aerospace environment is sophisticated with rewarding career opportunities involving leading edge technology.
By definition, aerospace engineering is involved with all phases of research and development in
aeronautics and astronautics. Aeronautical engineering works specifically with aircraft or aeronautics. Astronautical engineering works specifically with spacecraft or astronautics. As technology races forward, the industry that once built aircrafts and then spacecrafts is now building aerospacecrafts such as the Space Shuttle, National Aerospace Plane (NASP), or the single stage to orbit X-33. Thus, two interrelated disciplines have merged into one mature “aerospace” industry.This is not to imply that there is no distinction between aeronautics and astronautics.They are two very separate areas that operate according to completely different natural laws and theories.

Employment opportunity:

Companies and government agencies in the aeronautics field employ a broad range of professionals: chiefly aerospace, mechanical, and electrical engineers, but they also include engineers, scientists, and technicians from a variety of specialties. Four major divisions exist in the Aeronautics side of the Aerospace Industry: military aircraft, civilian aircraft, aircraft engines, and missile systems.These engineers can look forward to employment at Hindustan Aeronautics Limited, DRDO, Air India, Indian Airlines, ISRO.There are limited opportunities in this branch, therefore a large number take Research and development areas in Ministry of Defense and Ministry of Civil Aviation, Defense Laboratories or Civil Aviation departments.
Eligibility: II PUC/ 12TH STD PASS with Physics/ Chemistry/ Mathematics
Universities and Institutes offering Undergrad study in India:
1. Academy of Aerospace & Aviation, Swadesh Bhawan, 2, Press Complex, A.B.Road, Indore, (Madhya Pradesh)
2. Bangalore Institute of Aeronautical Engineering and Information Technology, # 5, SRS Complex, NGEF Layout, 80 Feet Road, Nagarabavi, Bangalore 560 072.
3. Hindustan College of Engineering, Post Box No. 01, Old Mahabalipuram Road, Padur Post, Kelambakkam-603103 (Distt. Chengalpattu),TN.
4. Hindustan Electronics Academy, 61, Cambridge Road, P.B.No.806, Ulsoor, Bangalore 560008.
5. Hindustan Institute of Engineering Technology, 40 GST Rd, P.O.Box 1306, St. Thomas Mount, Chennai-600016, (Tamil Nadu)
6.IIT (Indian Institute of Technology), Powai, Mumbai 400076, (Maharashtra) 7.Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur — 721302 (West Bengal) 8. Indian Institute of Technology, Chennai — 600036 (Tamil Nadu) 9. Nehru College of Aeronautics & Applied Science, 451-D, Palakkad main road, Kuniamuthur, Coimbatore - 641 008, (Tamil Nadu) 10. Punjab Engineering College, Chandigarh-160012 and many more. Students interested in Undergrad studies to US must take TOEFL and SAT. Students interested in graduate and doctoral programmes must take TOEFL and GRE.

AERONAUTICAL ENGG CAREER IN INDIAN AIR FORCE
AND MANY MANY MORE..

Now you have a fair idea of what the branch of Aeronautical Engineering is all about. So, you must plan and take the appropriate entrance examinations to qualify for study.

Here are a few Universities offering the course:

1. University of Florida Aerospace Engineering, Mechanics and Engineering Science Aerospace Engineering PO Box 116250 Gainesville, FL 32611-6250 U.S.A. web:www.gradschool.rgp .ufl.edu/ Phone: 1-352-392-0961 Fax: 1-352-392-7303 E-mail: cch@mae.ufl.edu 2. Aerospace Engineering The Pennsylvania State University 229 Hammond Building University Park, PA 16802 Phone: (814) 865-2569 Fax: (814) 865-7092 aerospace@engr.psu.edu web:www.aero.psu.edu/ 3.Illinois Institute of Technology(IIT) 10 W. 33rd Street, Perlstein Hall Room 203, Chicago, IL 60616-3793 Tel: 312.567.3020 Fax 312.567.3138 web:www.grad.iit.edu/ 4. Purdue University School of Aeronautics & Astronautics 315 N. Grant Street West Lafayette, IN 47907-2023 web:www.engineering.pe rdue.edu/ 5.Massachusetts Institute Of Technology Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics Aeronautics and Astronautics Graduate Office, Room 33-208, 77 Massachusetts Avenue Cambridge, MA 2139 U.S.A. Fax: 1-617-253-0823 E-mail : aeroastro@mit.edu web:www.mit.edu/

If you are genuinely interested in the environment, enjoy travelling, physical activity, have sharp reasoning and analytical abilities, a basic knowledge of computers and are ready to try to tackle society's most challenging problems then this is definitely an option for you. The Earth sciences, which are interdisciplinary, include a study of the ithosphere (land), hydrosphere (water), atmosphere (air) and biosphere (life).

LAND

“As far as the scope is concerned, geology is really moving ahead, especially as the hunt for natural resources intensifies. Economic geology, which is concerned with research in ore, mineral resource, coal and petroleum reserves, offers an extremely challenging career,” expounds Dr Praveen Henriques, St Xavier’s College, Mumbai.The
lithosphere or the solid outermost covering of the earth’s surface can be oceanic or continental. A thorough knowledge of the genesis of soil — the primary resource for food production, its evolution, practical applications with respect to agriculture, and the impact of climatic conditions on its productivity is what pedology or the study of soil is all about. Edaphology, however, deals with the influence of the soil on the biosphere and living organisms.” Soil science is definitely diversifying and job opportunities exist in many areas such as agrology, civil engineering, bio-security and funded research,” adds Henriques. With the discovery of ice caps on other planets, glaciology, the study of glaciers and ice (the cryosphere) has emerged as a subject of interest.

INSTITUTES

At the undergraduate level, applied geology, biogeography, marine-geology and remote sensing is offered as one of the combinations. Mumbai University offers geology with chemistry and life science. Osmania University has introduced a three-year BSc (vocational) degree course in geo-exploration. The Union Public Service Commission conducts a geologist’s examination for the recruitment of (1) geologists in the Geological Survey of India and the other agencies under the Ministry of Steel and Mines; and (2) hydro-geologists in the Central Ground Water Board in the Ministry of Water Resources. Indian School of Mines, established in 1926, an institution in the field of geology and mining, enjoys the deemed university status. Besides B.Tech courses in Mineral Engineering, Mining
Machinery, and Petroleum Engineering, it offers an MSc (Tech) in Applied Geology, and an MBA course. Admissions are based on IIT-JEE results.

WATER

“Only two per cent of the ‘hydrosphere’, which comprises of more than 70 per cent of the earth, has been thoroughly understood. Careers in oceanography, limnology, marine biology, marine bio-technology, marine pharmacology and remote sensing are relatively new with much scope for discovery,” explains Prachi Sawant, who has an MSc in Zoology, with specialisation in oceanography.
The largest employers of oceanographers are government and academic institutions. Physical oceanographers deal with ocean properties such as temperature, wave motion, tides and currents while biological oceanographers and
marine biologists research
marine animal and plant life. Another interesting branch is marine archaeology where
recovery of articles from shipwrecks and preservation of sites is studied.The techniques used in the study of satellite and
remote sensing of the sea are included under remote sensing oceanography. “Though the subject is very interesting, it
requires extreme dedication, perseverance and a very high level of interest,” expounds Sandhya Hariharan, an aspiring oceanographer from Ruia College, Mumbai. In fact, considering the importance of the ocean in the national economy, a separate Department of Ocean Development was created in July 1981 by the government of India in order to promote ocean development activities.

INSTITUTES

Central Institute of Fisheries Education, Mumbai. National Institute of Ocean Technology at Chennai, for developing technology relevant to the ocean sector. Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services at Hyderabad, for generating ocean data products and their dissemination. National Centre for Antarctic and Ocean Research at Vasco (Goa). Most science colleges in Mumbai offer marine science as an applied component with zoology.

AIR

Climatology and meteorology are upcoming careers related to the atmospheric sciences.The difference between them is that while the former records available data on world temperatures and develops technology that helps predict changing weather patterns, the latter deals with current climatic conditions and making short term forecasts. Climatologists also lend their services to industries, private consulting firms and organisations concerned with construction projects like airports and
factories and study the effects of temperature on energy usage, food production, survival of endangered species, and even human health and life expectancy. All the courses are at the master’s degree level (MSc or M.Tech), but for some topics, postgraduate diploma courses are available.

INSTITUTES

The first institution for training in the use of aerial photographs was the Indian Photo Interpretation Institute, established in Dehra Dun by the Survey of India. It has since been renamed the Indian Institute of Remote Sensing (IIRS) and comes under the administrative control of the National Remote Sensing Agency (NRSA) in the Department of Space. IIT - Kharagpur offers course in physics and meteorology. The center for Atmospheric and Oceanic Science (CAOS), Indian Institute of Science,Bangalore. Andhra University, Vishakapatnam, MSc in Oceanography or Meteorology. Cochin University of Science and Technology, one-year Diploma in Meteorology. As the world becomes increasingly eco-conscious, deciding to capitalise on this would certainly be a wise move. The demand for specialists in the above fields is much more than the supply. So, go ahead and try to get a grip on the globe!

career in forensic science and criminology

“WHEN you reach the scene of crime, Macavity’s not there!”This is an oft-repeated line in TS Elliot’s famous poem Macavity the Mystery Cat. In reality too, the perpetrator is never present at the crime scene and the police have no idea ‘whodunit’.
So who do the baffled police turn to for help? The modern day Sherlocks — forensic scientists and criminologists — who find clues, correlate evidence and help crack a case.
Forensics is the application of scientific principles and techniques for investigative purposes or in legal matters. Criminology is about understanding the psychology behind a person committing a crime. “The two fields are inter-related in that they both work towards the common goal of solving the crime,”explains Riva Pocha, Coordinator, Forensic Science Certificate Programme, St Xavier’s College.

WITNESS FOR THE PROSECUTION

Forensics and criminology have great scope in India.“They have always existed and their need is reinforced with every case,”says Javed Ahmed, Inspector General, State Reserve Police.

FORENSICS

Forensics involves the analysis of physical evidence recovered from the crime scene and its comparison against evidence recovered from the suspect.The scientist must then form an opinion based on the analysis and past experience to present as testimony in court.
There are many areas that you can specialise in. Among them - criminalistics, forensic medicine, forensic anthropology, forensic toxicology, forensic chemistry, questioned document analysis, ballistics and tool mark examination, fingerprint examination, crime scene investigation, forensic psychology and psychiatry.
A forensic scientist can work in both the public and the private sector.The public sector includes the State Forensic Science Laboratories (SFSLs) or the Central Forensic Science Laboratories (CFSLs).They can also work with law enforcement agencies, police, defence services, universities and research institutes.
“Forensics as a field is growing tremendously in the private sector.The most common jobs include document analysis, fingerprint examination and graphology, but now fields such as ballistics and serology are on the rise,”says Sujeet Menezes, CEO, IBI Detectives Pvt Ltd. Forensic scientists are also being hired by banks — insurance and corporate —- as investigators and security advisors.
Shrikant Bhat, a prominent criminal lawyer, says,“One area that is developing for the forensic scientist is that of assisting defence and prosecution counsels in understanding the scientific evidence in a case.This could be a great career in the future.”

CRIMINOLOGY

“Most crimes that involve forensics definitely include aspects of criminology,”says C Samyukta, Lecturer, Forensic Science Certificate Programme, St Xavier’s College.“Criminology helps the investigator understand aspects of the crime and the perpetrator,”adds Ahmed.
Areas of study in criminology include causes and correlates of crime, crime prevention, crime statistics, criminal behaviour, criminal careers and desistence, deviance, evaluation of criminal justice agencies and comparative criminology.
Criminologists can find work in areas such as law enforcement, police, defence, universities and research institutes. “They are, in fact, preferred in areas such as jail administration,”says Dr GS Bajpai, Associate Professor, Department of Criminology and Forensic Science, Dr Harisingh Gour University. In the private sector, NGOs involved in areas such as human rights and juvenile issues, and corporate sectors such as insurance and private security, have shown an interest in criminology.
Investigative journalism is another developing field for aspiring forensic scientists and criminologists.

A STUDY IN SCARLET

Courses for forensic science include: BSc (Hons) Forensic Science (three years), MSc Forensic Science (two-years), PhD in Forensic Science and a PG diploma or certificate (oneyear). A postgraduate degree in arts, science (pure or applied), commerce, or medicine offers an advantage.
For those interested in studying criminology, several universities in India offer a two-year course in MA criminology and there are also some diploma and certificate programmes.
“Educational qualifications aside, you need to be someone who loves science, fights for justice, is systematic and has an eye for detail,”expounds Riva.

CRIME DOES PAY

The average starting salary for a forensic scientist in the public sector varies from Rs 6000 to Rs 10,000 per month, and will increase with experience. In the private sector, interns can start at around Rs 6000 per month, which can go up to Rs 1,00,000.
Being a consultant is another option.“If you are a forensic scientist with good qualifications, lots of experience, and a good reputation, you could charge as much as Rs 1000 to Rs 1500 per hour on opinion,” says Riva.
The pay packet for a criminologist in the public sector depends on the government payscale, and on the job profile in the private sector.

THE GREEN MILE AHEAD

“Forensic science can make or break your case. It has a huge and an exciting future ahead,”says Ahmed.“As the courts rely less on eyewitness accounts and more on scientific data, the importance of forensic science will be truly understood,”says Bhat.
“Newer areas in the field of criminology and a greater awareness about this field will result in a better future for it,”says Dr Bajpai.

CRIMINOLOGY

TATA INSTITUTE OF SOCIAL SCIENCE, MUMBAI DR. HARISINGH GOUR VISHWAVIDYALAYA, SAGAR KARNATAKA UNIVER SITY, DHARWAD UNIVERSITY OF MADRAS, CHENNAI

FORENSIC SCIENCE

OSMANIA UNIVERSTY, HYDERABAD BUNDELKHAND UNIVERSITY, JHANSI PUNJABI UNIVERSITY, PATIALA NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF CRIMINOLOGY AND FORENSIC SCIENCE, NEW DELHI

career in environmental law

IN the recent past, growing awareness and sensitivity towards the environment have ensured that both the common man and major industrial houses are sentient about the effects of human activities on our natural surroundings and resources. This has led to an increasing need for professionals who can take up litigation related to the environment. It is no wonder then, that the field of environmental law today offers tremendous potential.
"Environmental law has to do with trying to prevent what nature has given us from being depleted and destroyed," explains Vivek Menon, lawyer, adding, "Public interest litigations are often borne out of such noble causes."
There are many avenues for a lawyer working in this field. There are employment opportunities for lawyers with industries, which may face litigation related to environmental law, as well as NGOs who may be fighting for certain environmental causes. Public interest litigations, for causes such as fighting for open spaces or to protect mangroves in Mumbai, are a part of the bulk of issues that concerned lawyers can take up.

WHAT IS TAKES

One needs to be a practising lawyer in order to take up cases related to environmental law. In order to pursue law, one will need to have passed HSC (or its equivalent) before pursuing the five-year LLB course. Selection to courses is often on the basis of an entrance test.
Once you are studying to become a lawyer, you must focus on the optional subjects of your choice. Several law colleges offer the optional module of environmental law. It would be useful to visit the websites of various law colleges and then have a look at the compulsory and optional modules that are offered in order to get a better picture. For example, the National Law School of India University (Bangalore) not only offers environmental law as an optional module, but also as a single credit course, beyond regular teaching. Further, environmental law specialisation can be chosen as a part of the masters course too. The WB Institute of Judicial Sciences offers advanced environmental law at the undergraduate level.
Hence, it is highly recommended that you study the subjects offered at the undergraduate and postgraduate level in different law schools. The most effective way of doing this is to scan websites of different law schools in India. http://www.webindia123.com/career/law/li st_all.asp is an excellent guide to law schools in different Indian states.
There are not many stand-alone courses for environmental law in India. The National Law School (Bangalore) offers a PG Diploma in Environmental Law in distance learning mode. However, most law schools include the subject as a compulsory module or an advanced optional module.

PROSPECTS AND PAY

Menon, however, avers that environmental law is not ideal for mainstream practice. "Environmental law needs to be supplemented with more remunerative options," he states, adding, "As a practising lawyer you can pursue this area if you are passionate about certain environmental causes." Bakul Parekh, Consultant, Environmental Pollution Control, readily agrees. "In the present scenario, this may not be a career with the potential for very good remuneration. Maybe ten years down the line, the situation could improve," he offers. However, his advice for students is to choose industrial law along with environmental law, if given a choice. They can then represent industrial houses in litigations against them. This could be a remunerative option.

PARTING SHOT...

Those considering a career in this field need to take certain factors into consideration. Parekh suggests that a person taking up cases related to the environment must be familiar with the terminology of environmental sciences. Menon suggests that in order to pursue a career in the field, students can look out for internships or placements with lawyers who are involved in environmental issues. They could also try their hand at publishing research and articles in law journals and working with NGOs that champion causes related to the environment.

Control engineering is an engineering discipline that focuses on the mathematical modelling systems of a diverse nature, analysing their dynamic behaviour, and using control theory to create a controller that will cause the systems to behave in a desired manner.
The impact of control systems engineering is seen everywhere around us. Control systems are found in cars, house appliances, medical instrumentation, petrochemical refineries, commercial and military jets, robotic manufacturing systems, precision missile systems, etc. At the core of every control system are basic feedback principles.
Control systems engineering is a sub-branch of engineering which addresses modelling, analysis, design, and implementation of feedback control systems. Perhaps the best way to introduce feedback control systems is to refer to the cruise control system found in most cars. The cruise control system accepts a desired speed command from the driver. The actual speed of the vehicle is measured. This measurement is fed back and subtracted from the commanded speed to produce an error signal. This error signal is processed by a control system which figures out — on the basis of a mathematical model — how much fuel must be sent to the engine for the actual speed to “closely match” the commanded speed.The control system tries to achieve this close match in the presence of unmodelled wind disturbances and sensor noise as well as uncertain (or poorly modelled) vehicle/engine properties. In the above car example, the driver specifies speed commands. In autonomous vehicles (e.g. the voyager spacecraft), commands are generated by a guidance system; i.e. a higher level control system.
The above (very simplified) description captures the essence of feedback control systems. Similar control systems and feedback principles are found in many areas: satellite attitude control systems, launch vehicle guidance and control systems, modelling of neural cortex functions and other biological processes, semi-conductor manufacturing furnace temperature control systems, environmental systems (eg ozone depletion), autonomous exploration vehicle guidance and control systems, etc.
Control engineering is necessary in the design of many other products such as robots, automobiles, computers and peripherals, medical equipment, household appliances and space stations. In addition to being useful in many engineering systems, control engineering methods also are highly applicable to diverse areas such as economics, biological systems, climatology and sociology.
The curriculum contains major components in basic mathematics and science, humanities and social sciences, communication, engineering science, engineering design and ethics, breadth in electrical engineering and depth in control engineering.
Control Engineers work in research, design, sales, testing, installation, development and teaching. Many graduates find that an engineering education provides excellent training for fields other than engineering such as business, medicine or law. Since engineers are problem-solvers, there is a constant demand for engineers to solve problems outside typical engineering fields.
Modelling, analysis, design, and implementation are all vital components of control systems engineering. When all are considered, the job opportunities for control engineers are excellent. Graduating engineers who possess implementation/building skills should have no problem finding challenging positions. Individuals interested in modelling, analysing, and designing control systems should note that mathematical maturity is essential. Controlling, for example, a critical communications satellite cannot be taken lightly. Systemspecific modelling knowledge is important. Such knowledge can be obtained via independent study and senior design projects. Internship positions are also highly recommended. New graduates can find job opportunities in many areas: aerospace, chemical, medical instrumentation, semiconductor manufacturing, robotics, intelligent systems, etc.

CAREER AS WOMEN PILOTUnmarried female Indian citizen
born between Jan 02, 1985 - Jan01 1989
Mathematics and Physics or BE
For More information
www.careerairforce.nic.in

Many students are not aware of the career opportunities available in the field of agricultural engineering.We feel safer about knocking on known doors rather than the unknown. This article will throw some light on the field of agricultural engineering, if you plan to take it up.
Agricultural engineering is the discipline of engineering in agriculture, food and biological systems.Agricultural engineers develop engineering science and technology in the context of agricultural production and processing, and for the management of natural resources. They apply their engineering knowledge and skills to solve problems relating to sustainable agricultural production.
Agricultural engineers are trained to deal with soil, water, crop and engineering principles and apply them to agriculture. They provide inputs for mechanisation of agriculture, conservation of produce and by-products, minimisation of losses, value addition and agro-processing enterprises for additional income and employment generation, energy management in agriculture and rural living.They act as knowledge binding agents between traditional agriculturists and engineers because of their knowledge in the field of farm machinery and power, dairy and food processing and agricultural structure; land and water management engineering, energy and aquaculture.
Agricultural engineers apply engineering principles to all activities related to agriculture and horticulture. Improvement in agricultural farm machinery, farm structures, rural electrification, bio-gas, new technologies in the design and manufacture of agricultural products and also conservation of soil and water are some of the jobs handled by an agricultural engineer. This basically implies looking after the mechanisation of agricultural activities for the smooth functioning and efficient increase in food productivity.
Agricultural engineers apply their knowledge of biological and agricultural systems and engineering to equipment design and assure environmental compatibility of practices used by production agriculture. This includes all activities related to agriculture and horticulture for smooth functioning and efficient increase of food productivity, improvement in agriculture farm machinery, farm structure, rural electrification, biogas, new technology in the design and manufacture of agriculture products, conservation of soil and water are the major jobs handled by agriculture engineers.
CAREER OPPORTUNITIES FOR AGRICULTURAL ENGINEERS
There is tremendous scope for qualified engineers having professional degrees in agricultural engineering. Agricultural engineers work in production, sales, management, research and development, or applied science in agriculture. A large number of agricultural engineers work in academia or for research and developmental activities in private and government agencies such as Central and State Agricultural Universities (SAUs), Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), Council of Agricultural Research in various states at different capacities. Opportunities with UG Degree Agricultural engineers with UG degree have job opportunities in private and government sectors. Private sectors include tractor industries for sales, R&D and management, irrigation equipment companies for sales, R&D and maintenance, dairy and food industries’ for quality control, R&D, and maintenance of processing machineries, computer applications for software development, instrumentation for automation and control, consultants to many organisations; agri-clinic, agribusiness and NGOs. The government sectors include field executives and engineers, training assistants and organisers in areas of mechanisation of agriculture, irrigation, drainage, soil and water conservation engineering, command area development, watershed management and rural development. Work in SAUs, ICAR, Krishi Vigyan Kendras (KVKs), universities,colleges and other organisations for teaching, research and development, extensions and other scientific and technical jobs are also possible. Nationalised banks also recruit agricultural engineers for agriculture officers and managerial level posts both private and government sectors. Private sectors include Tractor industries irrigation equipment companies, dairy and food industries, computers, instrumentation, agri-clinic and agribusiness. In private sectors they work as subject specialists for R&D, management and consultants to many other organisations including NGOs. The job opportunities in government sectors include teaching, research and development and extension activities as scientists, assistant professors, training organisers, research officers, subject matter specialists (SMS), engineers, in universities, SAUs, KVKs, ICAR, and other organisation such as DRDO, BARC etc; and also as executives aid managers in areas of mechanisation of agriculture, irrigation, drainage, soil and water conservation engineering, watershed management.
Agriculture engineers with doctorate degree are have job opportunities in teaching, research and development, and extension activities as scientists, assistant professors, research Officers, SMS, and engineers at senior levels in various universities, SAUs, KVKs, ICAR, and other organisations involved in high-level research, development, extension, consultancies, planning, and policy framing activities.

EDUCATION

Professional degrees at various levels UG, PG and Doctorate programmes in agricultural engineering are offered by State Agricultural Universities (SAUs), Deemed Universities (DUs), Central Agricultural University (CAU) and Central Universities (CUs).
Different universities and institutes offer undergraduate (UG) degree (B. Tech.) in agricultural engineering. Eligibility for UG is 10+2 pass with Physics, Chemistry, and Mathematics or equivalent. The mode of admissions is through entrance test conducted by NTs state governments, universities, Institute and Indian council of Agricultural Research (ICAR). ICAR conducts All India entrance examinations for 15% of UG seats in SAUs, DUs, CAU & CUs. Eligibility for admission to post graduate (PG) degree (M.Tech./M.Sc.) programmes in agricultural engineering is B.Tech. in the discipline, if mode of admissions is through entrance-cumacademic performance (entrance test and/ or interview). Entrance test conducted, by the universities and/or qualified in Junior Research Fellowship (JRF) conducted by ICAR for 25 per cent of seats in SAUs, DUs, CAU and CUs through all India entrance examination or Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering (GATE). The specialisations offered for post graduation are: Soil and Water Conservation Engineering; Irrigation and Drainage Engineering; Farm Machinery and Power Engineering; Dairy Engineering, Food Technology, Food Processing and Agricultural Structure Engineering; Aquaculture Engineering; Renewable Energy Sources; and in other multidisciplinary branches in Civil Engineering, Mechanical Engineering,Biotechnology, Computer Applications, Management and Humanity disciplines.
Eligibility for admission to Doctorate degree (Ph.D.) programme in various disciplines of agricultural engineering is M. Tech. or M.Sc. in that respective disciplines or equivalent. Mode of admissions is through entrance cum academic performance (entrance test and/ or interview) conducted by various universities and NTs including those qualified in Senior Research Fellowship (SRF) conducted by ICAR for 25% of seats in SAUs, DUs, CAU and CUs through all India entrance examination.
Here are a few Universities and Institutes offering various courses in Agricultural Engineering:
IIT Kharagpur, National Institute of Technology (NIT) Warangal, (Andhra Pradesh) ; Silchar, (Assam) ; Jamshedpur, (Bihar) ; Surat, (Gujarat) ; Kurukshetra, (Haryana); Srinagar, (Jammu and Kashmir); Surathkal, (Karnataka) ; Calicut, (Kerala) ; Visvesvaraya REC, Nagpur, (Maharashtra) ; Rourkela, Orissa ; Jaipur, Rajasthan ; Tiruchirapalli, Tamil Nadu ; Allahabad, Uttar Pradesh ; Durgapur, (West Bengal) ; Hamirpur, (Himachal Pradesh) ; Jalandhar, (Punjab); Birla Institute of Technology (BITS) - (Pilani and Ranchi), Delhi College of Engineering, Delhi, University of Roorkee, Roorkee, Uttar Pradesh and many more

For: Investigating the best interest principle within the broad framework of justice for children. Who can apply? Potential fellows will be Indians residing in India, above the age of 18 years. There is no upper age limit. Preference will be given to applicants who have studied in government schools, where no fees are charged. In all upto 10 fellowships for grant sizes ranging from Rs 50,000 to Rs 1 lakh will be awarded. These will be support grants and fellows will be free to continue their primary occupation or study programme. Time frame is from one month to one year. Selected fellows will be expected to participate in an initial workshop to share research plans and gain from the collective experience possibly in January 2008. CRY will take care of travel, boarding and lodge for fellows participating in the workshop. Log on to www.cry.org for details Application: Proposals may be submitted in any Indian language. They will be translated into English and it is the English translation that will be reviewed. Please email a three-page proposal (including scope, relevance, research question, conceptual framework, proposed methodology, time frame and required budget) along with a twopage CV (please include names and contact numbers of two references) and a sample of related published/ unpublished work. For those sending the above proposal and CV by post, please mail to Documentation Centre, CRY - Child Rights and You, 189 A, Anand Estate, Sane Guruji Marg, Mahalaxmi, Mumbai - 400 011 E-mail your proposal to research@crymail.org Deadline: September 10, 2007

Every year, thousands of students appear for the SAT, GRE, GMAT,TOEFL and IELTS tests in Mumbai. Only a small proportion of these students actually take classes and tutorials for these exams. Most of the students study on their own and yet, manage to do well in these exams.“I did not take any class for my GRE exam and just studied from the ETS books and the Internet. I scored a 1450 and I am very happy with my scores,” says Bhupen Shah.
Student who are disciplined and firm on their concepts can manage a self-study programme. Students who are not selfdisciplined should consider taking extra help. Many students find structured coaching programmes helpful and learn better in a class interacting with other students.
The following is a sample study format you can adopt if you plan to do a self-study program:

GRE

Week 1
Go through the ETS Big Book and make a list of new words. Look up a dictionary and start making your own word list.
Week 2
The Big Book has over 26 tests and you need to try and remember as many words as possible. Don’t just memorise the words- create sentences which will help you remember them.
Week 3
Use “the review of the quantitative section”in the Practicing to Take the General Test by ETS, to brush up your math concepts.
Week 4
Start practicing math problems topic by topic and identify the areas where you need more practice.
Week 5
Now that your vocabulary has improved, start the analogies section of the verbal portion of the test.
Week 6
Progress to the sentence completions and antonyms questions. Again, use the questions from the Big Book.
Week 7
Dedicate this entire week to the reading comprehension and essay writing component of the test. You can use the essay topics from Practicing to Take the General Test.
Week 8
Practice mixed math problems from all topics. Use Big Book and Practicing to Take the General Test for this.
Week 9
Now you are ready to practice an entire GRE test at one stretch. Make sure that there are no distractions and time yourself.Try and finish one test per day.You can use the paper tests from the ETS book, but avoid repeating the tests.
Week 10
You can practice the Computer Adaptive Tests CDs - Powerprep and other online software. You will now have the confidence to take the GRE exam at the testing center.

GMAT

Week 1
Go through the ETS Official Guide for GMAT, for a description of the GMAT.Take a mock test to see where you stand.
Week 2
Find school grammar books and brush up your grammar.The GMAT English focuses on grammar and not vocabulary.
Week 3
Use the ‘Math Review’section in the Official Guide for GMAT to brush up your math concepts.
Week 4
Start practicing math problems topic by topic and identify your problem areas. Use the Official Guide for GMAT for help.
Week 5
Start with the ‘Sentence Correction’ section of the verbal portion of the test. Practice from the guide.
Week 6
Progress to the ‘Critical Reasoning’ section from the guide.
Week 7
Dedicate this entire week to the reading comprehension and the essay writing component of the test. You can use the essay topics from the official guide.
Week 8
Practice mixed math problems from all topics. If you need more help, consider getting school text books and practice from there as well.
Week 9
Now you are ready to practice an entire GMAT test at one stretch. Make sure that there are no distractions around you and time yourself.Try and finish one test per day.You can use the paper tests from the ETS official guide, but avoid repeating the tests.
Week 10
You can practice the Computer Adaptive Tests CDs – Powerprep and online software.You will now have the confidence to take the GMAT exam at the testing center.

SAT

Week 1
Go through Gruber’s Vocabulary and start increasing your vocabulary. Don’t just memorise words; make associations with words,to help you remember them.
Week 2
Revise your math concepts. Dig out your class 10 and 11 books to brush up your basics.
Week 3
Start practicing math problems topic by topic and identify the areas where you need more practice.You can consider using a book such as Barron’s SAT.
Week 4
Start with the ‘Sentence Completion’ section of the verbal portion.Practice from the Official Guide to SAT.
Week 5
Progress to the ‘Reading Comprehension’ section. Again, you can practice from the Official Guide to SAT.
Week 6
Work on grammar concepts and writing essays.Grammar clarity is important in the SAT, and you can use Barron’s SAT and the Official Guide to SAT for this week.
Week 7
Practice mixed math problems from all topics. Identify your weak areas and focus more on these areas.
Week 8
You are ready to practice an entire SAT test at one stretch. Make sure that there are no distractions and time yourself.Try and finish one test per day.You can use the tests from the Official Guide to SAT.
Week 9
Dedicate this week to taking full-length SAT tests.
Week 10
Even though the SAT is a paper-based exam, you can practice the exam online on various websites such as
www.takesat.com

IELTS

Week 1
Go through the IELTS tests provided by the British Council and ascertain the format of the exam.
Week 2
Most students who have studied at an English medium school or college will not have problems with the IELTS. But if you want to prepare, go through the Macmillan IELTS Testbuilder.
Week 3
For the ‘Listening’section, prepare with CDs from the Macmillan Testbuilder.
Week 4
Practice the reading and comprehension section this week.
Week 5
For the essay and an analysis of a chart/ graph preparation, look at sample essay topics from the Macmillan Testbuilder.
Week 6
Dedicate this entire week to writing essays.
Week 7
The IELTS has a special speaking module for 11 to 14 minutes consisting of a personal interview and a two-way discussion on a general topic. Check out the samples in the Macmillan Testbuilder.
Week 8
Now you can practice full-length tests this week and you are ready to take the exam.

TOEFL

Week 1
Use the TOEFL Cliffs/ TOEFL sampler (ETS) to prepare for the ‘Listening’section.
Week 2
Practice from the Cliffs for the ‘Structure’ section involving basic grammar.
Week 3
Practice ‘Reading Comprehension’from Barron’s TOEFL and the TOEFL sampler CD.
Week 4
For essay writing, look at sample essay topics in the Cliffs.
Week 5
Write essays and practice ‘Speaking’.
Week 6
Finish questions from the TOEFL sampler CD or any other TOEFL testing software.
Week 7
Take a full length computer TOEFL test. Powerprep software has two such tests.
Week 8
Take the second Powerprep test to complete your preparation.

The Joint Entrance Examination (JEE) conducted by the seven Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) located at Chennai, Delhi, Guwahati, Kanpur, Kharagpur, Mumbai and Roorkee, and the Institute of Technology , Benaras Hindu University (IT-BHU), is one of the most competitive examinations in India. Nearly two lakh aspirants appear for this exam, of which approximately 4000 are selected.

LEVEL OF IIT-JEE

The syllabi level expected at the IIT-JEE is that of plus- 2- stage.

HOW IS IIT-JEE DIFFERNT FROM THE CBSE BOARD EXAM?

The CBSE board exam is an achievement-oriented exam. It attempts to find out how much the student has learnt in a specific subject from the prescribed text book. The questions set in the board exam follow a definite pattern (based on a prescribed syllabus) which is made available to the students well in advance via sample papers. The questions set in the JEE exam are generally tough and involve more than one branch of the subject.Students are thus, not only expected to have a thorough knowledge of all the topics included in the syllabus of physics, chemistry and math, but should know how to apply these concepts in different fields.
Most of the problems set in the JEE exam are thought provoking, and demand an in-depth study of the subject.Memorisation of definitions, formulae and the results is not adequate. Moreover the trend of questions in the JEE exam keeps changing.
For instance, matrix – match type questions were introduced in the question paper for the first time in JEE – 2007 and passage based questions found their way in the paper a year before.

BEGINNING THE PREPARATION

The best time to begin your preparation for the JEE is the time when you have learnt almost fifty per cent of your class 11 course, that is, almost a year and a half before the day you wish to appear for your JEE .For instance, October –November 2007 is the best time to begin your preparation for JEE – 2009.

EFFECTIVE STUDYING

With such advanced planning, the most valuable resource you have is your time. You need to set priorities so that you can get the best return for time invested. Write down the time you wish to devote for the preparation of JEE, allocate separate times for physics, chemistry and math. As you study, you will develop a list of your problem areas, which will direct you further.It may require you to rearrange your priorities. Do not overestimate the time you have.Extra preparation always helps.The key is to set up a workable plan and stick to it.
Regular study in small sessions is much better than occasional
larger periods.

HOW TO STUDY?

Always look at the larger aim and be positive.Don’t lose heart if you don’t understand something when you first read it or you are unable to solve a problem in the very first attempt.
Some students panic when they are introduced to new techniques to solve a problem.They invariably ask,“How do I solve this problem if I do not know the technique or approach?”Remember, you are now studying only the techniques and not attempting to solve the problem.

TAKE MEANINGFUL NOTES

Note down important formulae, tips, tricks and techniques in a separate notebook.It will be a great help at a later date, particularly when you are hard-pressed for time before the exam.
Rapidly review the section you
have just studied and recall all the major ideas of the section.If you have difficulties in recalling things get back to your notes.
Keep a note of the questions you could not solve at the first attempt.Rework all the question you had solved incorrectly.
Do not make any problem a prestige issue.If you fail to do a problem in a reasonable amount of time, consult your teacher. Maybe the problem needs a technique you are not aware of.

SOLVING PROBLEMS FAST

Develop the ability to do things fast and accurately- these two should be your watch words.
The key to improvement is not merely understanding the explanation of why the right answer was correct but the ability to see exactly what clues in the problem lead you to the right explanation and the correct answer. For multiple choice and multiple answer questions, develop the ability to rule out the choices that cannot be correct.

STUDENTS SET TO APPEAR FOR JEE - 2008

You have almost seven months left for the exam due to be held on April 13, 2008.
By now you must have read almost all the material required for the exam, especially the material taught in class 12.You therefore, have almost all the requisite tools needed to crack JEE-2008.
As already said, many problems in the JEE involve more than one branch of the subject. By finishing your class 12 course, you are ready for such problems.
During your preparation for the exam, try to focus your study time on recognising your problem areas.Be definite and precise, take care of your speed and try to solve the problems as quickly as possible.
Your entire effort must be aimed at maximising the total number of correct answers without regard to the amount of thought which went into finding the correct answer. You get the same credit for a guess as you get for a well thought answer

ENERGY STUDIES
Energy is growing exponentially in India and is today the prime mover of economic growth. With huge requirements of various energy resources, the government is actively driving investments in this sector. According to recent reports, India ranks sixth in the world in total energy consumption and needs to accelerate the development of the sector to meet its growth aspirations.

THE ENERGY REVOLUTION
Says Dr Ram Babu, MD of CantorCO2e India Pvt Ltd, “In a few years time, there will be tremendous pressure on energy management as the demandsupply gap is set to widen with imports of crude being maintained at 75 per cent, which has a direct impact on the GDP progress.” Adds Dr Atmanand, Dean of the School of Energy Management, Management Development Institute (MDI), “The changes in the future will be remarkable, as the implementation of the Energy Conservation Act 2001 would call for about 16000 certified energy managers (CEM) and certified energy auditors (CEA) from 2007- 2012, besides a large number of energy professionals in the vast areas of energy management. Also, the Electricity Act 2003 would further accelerate the energy business in India.”
Dr B K Choudhury, Assistant Professor of Energy Management at Indian Institute of Social Welfare and Business Management (IISWBM) states, “The government has set the target to make electricity available to every part of India by 2012. This would call for at least doubling the available power by judicious energy management comprising capacity addition by installing more power plants, alternative energy use, energy conservation, efficiency improvement and demand side management.”

POTENTIAL

With the objective of creating world-class professionals in the energy sector, the government has enforced the Energy Conservation Act, 2001 with effect from March 1, 2002. The country’s formal education system has just started to wake up to the needs of aspiring energy analysts and managers. Here’s a quick guide to a variety of careers in this demanding, yet rewarding world.
People looking to work in the energy sector would find openings with corporates, banks, nongovernment organisations, academic and research institutions, and the media. Some of the functions available are:

Energy Manager:

Occupies an important position and is a focal point of all the activities pertaining to energy management in a particular organisation. He plays a key role in the formulation of corporate energy policy. Energy managers also perform activities related to plant energy management, project management, personnel management, and financial management at the plant level. They prepare the information to be submitted to the designated agency with regard to the energy consumed and action taken on the recommendation of the accredited energy auditor.

Energy Auditor:

Carries out a detailed energy audit, quality energy consumption and establishes base line energy information, constructs energy and material balance, performs efficiency evaluation of energy and utility systems, compares energy norms with existing energy consumption levels, identifies and prioritises energy saving measures, analyses technical and financial technologies and alternate energy sources, writes reports and follows up for implementation.
The essential qualification for a certified energy manager and energy auditor is the passing of a national-level certification examination, which is conducted under the aegis of the Bureau of Energy Efficiency. Individuals should have a couple of years work experience to write the certification exam.The national level certification examination, conducted by the National Productivity Council, Chennai, establishes a uniform criterion for the certification of energy managers/ auditors and also ensures that services of qualified persons, having the requisite knowledge on the subject, are available to the industry.The details on the certification examination are available on the website www.energymangertraining.com

Energy Analysts:

Aim to increase the understanding of the current and future characteristics, roles, and interactions of government, markets, and technologies. The acquired understanding is used to analyse technology, benefits, markets, and policies.Thus, programme decisions are made for optimal energy consumption.This is also a way to conceptualise energy efficient and renewable energy technologies and then advance them from concepts to commercial application.

Specialised Jobs:

This is the highestearning category of professionals involved in the energy industry. Professionals include consultants in a specific area, statisticians, energy analysts and economists, who are engaged by all corporates. Understanding the overall market is a prerequisite here.
According to Dr Choudhury,“A career in the energy industry has a good number of alternative opportunities for a mixture of energy policy, planning, energy audit, conservation, technological upgradation, renewable and other alternative energy use, awareness, marketing, financing and costing.”
States Dr Atmanand,“The employment rate in the energy management field is bound to increase at a faster rate than the growth rate of energy intensive industries which are at present 13.6 per cent, because more and more companies from developed countries are recruiting energy professionals and consultants from India. Also, the legal obligations (Energy Conservation Act 2001) will force some of the companies to employ CEM/ CEA.
It is very important that you start exploring the various facets of energy as early as you could.Volunteer or internship experiences at corporates or NGOs will help you get an insight into this industry and enable you to prepare towards your career goals.While the job may not be directly related to your career goals, the aptitudes required for the jobs are similar and the experience will prove useful.

IN DEMAND
Renewable Energy (RE):
The RE segment is actually a vast group of subindustries (wind, solar, hydropower, geothermal and bio-energy) that offer employment opportunities for people with different educational backgrounds. Engineers, scientists, architects, lawyers, businesspeople, human resource and public affairs specialists, as well as a host of administrative support workers have opportunities in various aspects of researching, developing, installing and promoting RE. For years now, remote villages have relied on wood stoves and diesel generators to provide heat and electricity. Efforts to increase the use of energy through solar, wind and biomass sources in remote areas have put the nation at the forefront of renewable power use.

EDUCATION REQUIREMENTS

Normally a scientific background (either three-year graduation with science subjects such as physics, chemistry, mathematics, biology, economics or four-year graduation in core engineering such as electrical, mechanical, chemical, civil, etc) is required. However, a postgraduate degree and work experience is an advantage.“Disciplines such as automobile engineering and architecture are also relevant since the transport and residential sector consumes 20 per cent and 15 per cent of our commercial energy respectively,” says Dr Choudhury.
Adds Dr Atmanand,“Subjects such as basic electrical and electronics engineering, applied thermodynamics, fluid flow, economics, etc are quite relevant in today’s scenario.”There are a couple of postgraduate diploma programmes that one could pursue. Certain institutes offer training to midcareer professionals in the energy industry, while some are setting up energy management courses with emphasis on the power sector. For an energy analyst, institutes like the Tata Energy Research Institute (TERI) and the Indian Institute of Petroleum could be a good choice.

PERSONAL TRAITS

Explains Dr Choudhury,“Qualities such as hard work, dedication, good communication skills and an open mind for continuous updates helps a lot in this profession. Empathy and a good sense of humour would help to build your team.Team work plays a very important role in this profession.” An expert from the TERI adds,“It is very important to be flexible in your thinking as this sector requires working on different ideas and projects simultaneously.” One should possess the ability to adapt to different situations quickly. Conditions in the energy industry change with every shift in world affairs. Energy technology evolves daily. Also, it is advisable that one remains alert all throughout to collect and assimilate numerous activities going on in the areas of energy and environment.

SPREADING WINGS

“Being an entrepreneur, embarking on emerging fields like green buildings and global warming related projects, updated skills in the latest technology of power systems and switching over to the clean development mechanism profession are some of the opportunities for advancement,” says Dr Babu.
Energy professionals do interact with top-level decision makers or become a part of them with experience in the corporate sector.This is because energy management saves money, enhances productivity, and improves the bottom line of the organisation.“I have seen students with a science background joining companies at positions similar to their engineering counterparts and progressing at a faster rate than their engineering colleagues. Similarly, sincere individuals either with a science or engineering background could secure top-tier positions in five to eight years through multiple promotions in the same or in a different company” recalls Dr Choudhury.
The opportunities are ever expanding in the field of energy management both in India and abroad. Most of the energy intensive industries have an energy management cell or an activity group may be in different names whose sole responsibility is to identify, work out, and implement the energy conservation opportunities in the plant and plan the energy supply for the industry’s energy security.There are 14 energy intensive industries and the commercial buildings listed in ECA 2001, namely aluminium, fertilisers, iron and steel, cement, pulp and paper, chlor-alkali, sugar, textile, chemicals, railways, port trust, transport sector (industries and services), petrochemicals, gas crackers, naphtha crackers and petroleum refineries, thermal power stations, hydel power stations, electricity transmission companies and distribution companies, commercial buildings or establishments.
Dr Choudhury observes that the job profile may initially appear to be tougher in the energy segment since it involves a lot of fieldwork, often inside a manufacturing unit or in remote villages for assessment of energy sources.This should not deter individuals from choosing to work in this segment.With hard work and dedication, one could secure promotions, awards, foreign trips, or visits to industries/ organisations within four to five years. Besides this, the employment opportunities in consultancy and research projects are increasing rapidly.

REMUNERATION
Most jobs are well paid. It depends on the background, calibre and experience of the candidate and on the type and policy of the organisation. A postgraduate fresher can expect up to Rs five lakh per annum, while a PhD or equivalent qualification holder can expect anything between Rs seven to10 lakhs.

INSTITUTES
The University of Petroleum and Energy Studies, Dehradun - www.upesindia.org

Jadavpur University, Kolkata - www.jadavpur.edu

School of Energy Studies, University of Pune - www.unipune.ernet.in

Indian Institute of Technology Mumbai and Delhi - www.iitb.ernet.in and www.iitd.ernet.in respectively

Indian Institute of Social Welfare and Business Management, Kolkata - www.iiswbm.edu

Banaras Hindu University, Uttar Pradesh - www.bhu.ac.in

Management Development Institute, Gurgaon - www.mdi.ac.in

Annamalai University , Chennai - www.annamalaiuniversity.ac.in

Devi Ahilya Vishwavidyalaya, Madhya Pradesh - www.dauniv.ac.in Vellore Engineering College, TamilNadu - www.vit.ac.in

Rajiv Gandhi Proudyogiki Vishwavidyalaya, Madhya Pradesh - www.rgtu.ac.in

Interior designing is the process of shaping interiors through the manipulation of spaces, volumes and different forms. It draws on different aspects like the environment, architecture and product design in addition to traditional decoration. It is not to be confused with interior decoration, which is concerned mainly with managing colour schemes and making aesthetic changes to an interior space.

TRAINING
An interior designer is a professional who has a degree/ diploma in the field of interior design and is concerned mainly with optimum space management. He/ she should have technical knowledge of building and an understanding of ventilation, electrical circuits and installations, drainage and water supply, air conditioning and heating systems. Additionally, designers need to develop the design documents, and diagrams that outline their clients’ needs, for which knowledge of software packages like CAD, 3D Studio Max, Photoshop and Corel Draw is an added bonus. Veena Arunkumar, Proprietor, Hallmark interiors, says, “If students want to get the right kind of exposure they should work under an interior designer. If working under an architect, then they should have a separate department with interior designers working on interior designing projects. If aspirants were to work only on the drawing board, it will dilute their efforts.”

SKILLS


In addition to educational qualifications and a substantial training period, interior designers need to hone certain skills to build a successful career.They should be able to communicate with the people they are working with, such as carpenters and contractors, and learn their lingo. Also, they should have a good imagination and possess good visualisation skills, as they are responsible for selecting colours, materials and finishes, which appropriately convey the design concept. An interior designer should be flexible enough to understand the clients’ needs, absorb their ideas and translate them into reality, simultaneously meeting socio-psychological, functional, maintenance, environmental and safety requirements. Coordinating with allied design professionals such as architects, structural engineers, mechanical engineers and electrical engineers, is part of the job demand.
Anish Shaikh, who has completed his course from Academy of Applied Arts, Dadar, says,“An interior designer should keep abreast of the latest innovations and be proactive, visit websites, read books, visit exhibitions and always be in touch with the market so as to have knowledge of new materials available.”

OPPORTUNITIES AND SCOPE
Interior Designer Alisha Doshi says,“In Mumbai, many architects are doing interiors, but there is lot of scope for a trained interior designer too.The earning potential depends on a person’s contacts and skills. One can work as a freelancer, and can take up this career even if he/ she has only the basic qualifications and an aptitude for the job.”
Mrinalini Godbole, Architect and Interior Designer, says,“With real estate rapidly developing in towns and cities and the rate per sq ft going up tremendously, everyone is interested in utilising space optimally. Thus an interior designer is of great value in today’s times.The budget is decided by the customer and he may pay the interior designer a fixed amount or a percentage of the total cost of the project,” adds Mrinalini who is also the proprietor of Godbole Associates.
Earning potential can start from Rs 2,500 as an apprentice and go up to Rs15,000 as a design coordinator (as a designer’s assistant). A person whose work is very good can even be made an associate/ partner. One can also start an individual practice where one can earn anywhere between 10-15 per cent of the total cost of the project which is a colossal amount. As in many other fields theoretical knowledge has to be backed by plenty of hands-on experience which can be gained by working as an apprentice under an architect or an interior designer from anywhere between three to five years.

“BIOMETRIC traits are unique, universal, permanent, and easy to measure. It is for these reasons that they make an ideal identifier,” says Sujeet Menezes, CEO, IBI Detectives Pvt Ltd.The traits include fingerprints, facial features, retinal vein patterns, hand measurements, iris patterns, tone and timbre of the voice, DNA, gait, dental structure and an individual’s signature.

SCOPE

“The scope of the technology is infinite - it all depends on the user and how he chooses to employ the tool,” says Vinit Bhasin, Country Manager, Ingersoll Rand (India) Ltd. Biometric technologies are mainly identity-verification technologies. Earlier, they were primarily used for access control in secure and sensitive zones, and used exclusively in military and other government applications, but now are finding their way into a number of everyday applications.“There are an endless
number of applications to which biometric technology can be applied,” says Dr Kumud Sarin, Programme Director, Bioinformatics Institute of India.“With computers and the internet penetrating almost every essential service today, there is a need to check and verify whether the user of a service is authorised to do so or not.”
In India, biometrics has a wide scope in banks, defence installations, research laboratories, etc, where high security and secrecy is required. Considering the vast population, it has a very useful application in elections, where the authenticity of a voter is very difficult to ascertain.The devices can also be used to provide confidential financial transactions and personal data privacy. Enterprise-wide network security infrastructures, government IDs, secure electronic banking, investing and other financial transactions, retail sales, law enforcement, and health and social services are some fields that are already benefiting from biometric technologies.

BIOMETRICS IN INDIA

Of the various branches of biometrics that exist currently, only six are
used in India.These are fingerprints, hand geometry, iris and retina scanners, voice recognition systems, and facial recognition systems. Of these, the major technologies are fingerprints (about 80 per cent of the Indian market), hand geometry (about 10 per cent), iris and retina scanners (about 5 per cent) and voice recognition systems (about 5 per cent). Facial recognition systems are still in the preliminary stages of development in India.

JOB DESCRIPTIONS

“Career opportunities exist in abundance in biometrics,” says Dr Sarin. Research and Development is one of the promising areas. Newer devices are being developed and companies are looking to reduce the error rates of the devices. Software development is another area that is on the rise as newer algorithms are being designed to improve the accuracy of the devices. Retail, product application and security consultancy are also areas where there are promising job prospects.
Manufacturing is not a major career option in India at present, since the field is still in the nascent
stages.“The majority of the manufacturing is done abroad. The devices are manufactured in USA, China, Korea and Japan and then exported to India where they are sold,” explains Bhasin. However, Ankur Patel, Director, Market Research and Development, Orange Web Technologies says, “Manufacturing sectors are coming up in Gujarat and West Bengal now.”

FUTURE OF BIOMETRICS

Biometrics as a field is constantly evolving and the future looks promising.“As the level of security breaches and transaction fraud increases, the need for highly secure identification and personal verification technologies is becoming apparent. The answer can be found in biometric technologies, which are becoming the foundation of an extensive array of highly secure identification and personal verification solutions. We have to create a methodology that will give the user privacy,” says Dr Sarin.
“Newer technologies are being developed and its applications are growing,” says Bhasin. These new technologies include the veins of the hand, ear shape, body odour and palm print identification. “Where these technologies get used, you never know!” he adds.
“The increasing demand and need for identification of an individual has created a very positive outlook to push India ahead in technology as well as maintain security. Very soon every house, vehicle, and office will integrate the biometric technology to maintain a specific and unique record,” reasons Menezes.“ Keeping all this in view, India shuld become the second biggest market for biometrics correlated to the vast population of India,” he predicts emphatically

The Common Admission Test (CAT) conducted by the Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) will be held on November 18.

The IIMs collectively use a very competitive selection process. With close to two lakh candidates competing for a little more than 1,500 seats, the competition is stiff. Appearing for highly competitive examination such as the CAT of the IIMs needs a lot more than bookish knowledge. Sometimes, it is the entire mindset that needs to undergo a change.

Various sections

‘The CAT consists of questions that evaluate a candidate’s quantitative, verbal, logical and data interpretive abilities.’ – as laid out in the CAT bulletin.

For many years now the CAT has been testing a candidate on similar lines. A test-taker can no longer rely on memorising standard formulae but has to have a strong conceptual understanding, coupled with the ability to apply his/her mind in an innovative manner to challenging questions. This is true for all the sections and this is where the exposure to a variety of challenging questions can help the test-taker in deciding on the thought process that can lead to the final answer.

Bulletin

The CAT Bulletin this time again gives an indication about several sections and the various groups of questions in each section. However, there is a clear direction that the test-taker is free to work on the different sections in any order.

Optimal allocation

CAT requires you to ‘demonstrate your competence in all the sections;’ it is important that you learn the skill of optimal allocation of time across the sections. Similarly, it is clearly not advisable to spend unnecessarily longer time on any one question and waste time

But then, which section should one tackle first? Should you do more of reading comprehension or less of it? Should a person strong in English spend more time and attempt more questions in English?

Or is it that since a test-taker is weak in quantitative ability, the stress should be on just managing to clear the cut off in that section and maximising the overall score? There are many factors like these and more that have an important bearing on gaining or losing precious marks.

Over the years

From a plain-vanilla CAT in 2003, the examination format has seen changes year after year. With a normal – easy, medium, difficult – classification of questions possible in 2003, speed turned out to be the clear differentiator – identify the easy questions, skip the difficult ones and maximize the gain from the ‘solvable’ ones at a lightning speed – the ‘strategy’ was clear.

With differential marking, mastering the art of rejecting the difficult / tricky ones took the lead in 2004. Chances of a direct correlation between marks and difficulty level puzzled the test-takers. Those who had familiarity with pattern questions and had done several mock examinations to prepare themselves found the going relatively smoother. They had trained themselves to develop an ‘instinct’ on how to stay clear of the tricky ones and solve the hand-picked ones.

Exam duration

The stress on speed kept reducing over the years and in 2005, the paper saw greater level of importance being placed on comprehension skills and the power to infer from a given situation in order to reach an optimal solution. The examination duration remained consistent for two hours for many years. However, the duration was changed to two-and-a-half hours in 2006 (with the format remaining the same this year again).

CAT 2006, in addition to the change in duration, witnessed a clear change to a situation where analytical thinking, comprehension skills and the power to logically infer and extrapolate from a given situation took the lead. More time to attempt lesser number of questions, absence of differential marking and a five option paper with very easy questions hard to find, was palatable to only a few and a rude shock to many.

Visible shift


If one has a look at the previous year papers, there is a clear and visible shift away from tedious and time consuming calculation based questions. The stress is more on interpreting a problem / group of questions and zeroing in on the best ‘logic’ to ‘crack’ the ‘set’.

The Element of Surprise and what’s in it for me?

Year after year, CAT has been successful in creating hype with some elements of surprise in the exam; be it the exam format or the evaluation criteria.

The number of questions in each section and for the entire paper at large has seen a decline over the years. Does this mean that there is a qualitative shift in the focus to giving out challenging questions with a reasonable time limit rather than testing merely the skill of the candidate to churn out a number of answers at a lightning speed? The truth, however, remains that the CAT has to be effective in grading more than 2 lakh students; the paper would still have a good mix of ‘workable’ questions.

Differential marking was yet another deviation from the usual format. Sections got divided into sub-sections with different set of marks awarded for the different sub-sections.

Does it mean that a two mark question in comparison with a one mark question would consume more time to solve OR that it would be more tricky and intriguing? Establishing any direct correlation seemed to be difficult.

Possible ‘surprises’


Let us now look at some possible ‘surprises’.

Questions may have more than one correct answer – throwing a situation where the students are forced to be doubly sure about all the possibilities for the given question. The strategy of “elimination of choices” may not work in this scenario.

Progressive negative marking explicitly stated – here the extent of negative marking would keep increasing with the number of questions that you have got wrong. Introducing this would mean that the test-takers would have to exercise a high level of prudence while deciding on whether a questions needs to be attempted or not.

Mark the grid – test-takers may be expected to “actually find the correct answer” and then darken corresponding ovals to denote a numerical response like 12.6. One would have to go down to the last step to work the answers as approximations will not hold good in this scenario.

Should the test-taker be really worried about the surprise element packed in the exam? It would be better to say that one should be confident enough and prepared to deal with the surprise. Just like the hardness of the pitch, the level of moisture in the air, the pace of the outfield, the weather forecast, etc would have bearing on the strategy adopted by the captain of a cricket team winning the toss; a well-prepared CAT test-taker would have to be flexible to use the right mix of strategies as the situation demands.

Preparation


To quote Ed Macaulay, “When you are not practising, remember, others are practising elsewhere and when you meet them, they will win.” It is especially true for CAT. You need to continually benchmark yourself with the best and practice continuously to help you perform better than others

A serious test-taker at this stage should focus on:

Exposure to a number of questions / exam formats and patterns by preparing with a number of pattern papers / mock exams Benchmarking oneself with the best across the country

Identify one’s strengths and weaknesses – this is important in order to develop and fine-tune one’s course of action for the exam and

Developing the Best Fit strategy for the different possible scenarios based on one’s strengths and weaknesses– No single pre-conceived strategy can work wonders for an exam like CAT that can contain an element of surprise.

Here it is important to simulate as many different scenarios as possible, find out the strategy that fits each and overall be flexible enough to zero-in on the strategy that best fits the given paper

The All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi, has invited applications for the All-India Postgraduate Entrance Examination for admissions under 50 per cent open-merit seats in MD/MS/ PG Diploma and MDS courses in medical and dental colleges across the country.

The entrance test will be held on January 13. Only Indian nationals (except from Andhra Pradesh and Jammu & Kashmir) are eligible to apply.

Those who possess MBBS/ BDS degree from a recognised medical/dental college with full registration either from the Medical/Dental Council of India or State Medical/Dental Council after completing internship are eligible for admission.

The prospectus-cum-application form costing Rs.500 (Rs.400 in case of SC/ ST students) can be obtained from select branches of the State Bank of India till October 3.

It can also be obtained through Speed/Registered Post by sending a written request with an account payee Bank Draft for Rs.550 (Rs.450 for SC/ST) in favour of AIPGMEE-2008. The bank draft issued by the SBI should be drawn on SBI Service Branch (Code No. 7687), New Delhi, and valid up to March/April 2008.

The request must reach the Assistant Controller of Examinations, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Ansari Nagar, New Delhi-110608, before October 3. The envelope should be super-scribed ‘REQUEST FOR APPLICATION FORM FOR AIPGMEE- 2008’.

Last date for receipt of completed applications at the Examination Section of AIIMS, New Delhi is October 10, 2007 up to 5 p.m. For more details visit www.aims.ac.in

Distance education is an instructional design that imparts the content of a course using study material in the form of books or other printed material, CDs, audio/ video tapes or some other electronic devices and involves correspondence through mail or Internet.

This form of instruction does not demand the students to be on site. The interaction between students and teachers, mainly physically is only occasional. In fact the interaction has become much better and often only with the advent of Internet. Distance education is primarily intended for people, who are working, people in remote areas of a state and people with health limitations. The fact that distance learning is offered at a lower price is also one of the factors upholding its existence. Distance education also gives students an opportunity to pursue two courses at a time- one in distance mode and other in regular mode. One can study at a place and time flexible to him. The universities offering courses in distance mode have their test centres in several cities. Students can opt for the nearest one to take the examination.

In regular mode, the students must be physically present at the site. Apart from the study material, it includes the services of a dedicated faculty who explains the content of the course. Regular mode of study promises constant interaction between students and teachers, which in turn help in better understanding of subject. The students can get their doubts cleared instantly. It enables better debate on the subject between students and teachers. The well-scheduled practical sessions improve the understanding of subject.

Master of Computer Applications is a course intended to impart the new technologies of computer science to students along with strong background theory.

It includes subjects like computational theory, programming, network and database management, electronics, mathematics, probability and statistics. Thus, a background of mathematics at graduation level or at the Intermediate level is made mandatory to take up this course.

MCA is offered in both regular and distance modes. Some of the colleges offering MCA in regular mode are:


Vellore Institute of Technology, Vellore: The eligibility criterion is bachelor’s degree with mathematics or statistics as major or minor subject, or mathematics as one of the subjects in the higher secondary level. The admission is based on performance at entrance test. For details, visit www.vit.ac.in


University of Hyderabad, Hyderabad: The eligibility criteria are graduation in any discipline with minimum 60 per cent marks and mathematics as a compulsory subject at higher secondary level. The admission is based on performance at entrance test. For details, visit www.uohyd.ernet.in


Annamalai University, Annamalainagar: The eligibility criteria is graduation in any discipline with minimum 55 per cent marks in part III and mathematics as a compulsory subject at higher secondary. The admission is based on performance at the entrance examination followed by interview. For details, visit http://annamalaiuniversity

.ac.in

Distance mode


Some universities offering MCA in distance mode are:


Indira Gandhi Open University: The eligibility criterion is

Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science/Applications / Information Sciences / Information Technology or

Graduation in any discipline or Non-Computer Science B. Tech / M. Sc or

Graduation with PGDCA or its equivalent course not less than one year from a State Board of Technical Education, or its equivalent body established by the Central / State Government.

The graduates under eligibility criterion (b) and who have not studied mathematics at higher secondary level must take up an related additional course offered by IGNOU along with MCA first semester.

Students under eligibility criterion (b) who completed DOEACC O-level programme are not required to enroll for the additional course. For details, visit www.ignou.ac.in


Bharathiyar University, School of Distance Education: The eligibility criterion is pass in any degree with mathematics at higher secondary level or any degree with at least one paper in mathematics or statistics at degree level. For details, visit www.b-u.ac.in/sde

University of Madras:The eligibility criterion is pass in any degree with mathematics at higher secondary level or any degree with at least one paper in mathematics or statistics at degree level

The Common Admission Test conducted by the Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) will be held on November 18. The IIMs collectively use a very competitive selection process. With close to two lakh candidates competing for a little more than 1,500 seats, the competition is stiff. Appearing for a highly competitive examination such as the CAT of the IIMs needs a lot more than bookish knowledge. Sometimes, it is the entire mindset that needs to undergo a change.

Various sections

As laid out in the CAT bulletin, “The CAT consists of questions that evaluate a candidate’s quantitative, verbal, logical and data interpretive abilities.” For many years now, the CAT has been testing a candidate on similar lines. A test-taker can no longer rely on memorising standard formulae but has to have a strong conceptual understanding, coupled with the ability to apply his/her mind in an innovative manner to challenging questions. This is true for all the sections and this is where the exposure to a variety of challenging questions can help the test-taker in deciding on the thought process that can lead to the final answer.

The CAT Bulletin this time again gives an indication about several sections and the various groups of questions in each section. However, there is a clear direction that the test-taker is free to work on the different sections in any order.

CAT requires you to “demonstrate your competence in all the sections.” It is important that you learn the skill of optimal allocation of time across the sections. Similarly, it is clearly not advisable to spend unnecessarily longer time on any one question and waste time.

But then, which section should one tackle first? Should you do more of reading comprehension or less of it? Should a person strong in English spend more time and attempt more questions in English?

Or is it that since a test-taker is weak in quantitative ability, the stress should be on just managing to clear the cut-off in that section and maximizing the overall score? There are many factors like these and more that have an important bearing on gaining or losing precious marks.

Over the years


From a plain-vanilla CAT in 2003, the examination format has seen changes year after year. With a normal — easy, medium, difficult — classification of questions possible in 2003, speed turned out to be the clear differentiator — identify the easy questions, skip the difficult ones and maximise the gain from the ‘solvable’ ones at a lightning speed — the ‘strategy’ was clear.

With differential marking, mastering the art of rejecting the difficult / tricky ones took the lead in 2004. Chances of a direct correlation between marks and difficulty level puzzled the test-takers. The stress on speed kept reducing over the years, and in 2005, the paper saw greater level of importance being placed on comprehension skills and the power to infer from a given situation in order to reach an optimal solution. The examination duration remained consistent for two hours for many years. However, the duration was changed to two-and-a-half hours in 2006 (with the format remaining the same this year again). CAT 2006, in addition to the change in duration, witnessed a clear change to a situation where analytical thinking, comprehension skills and the power to logically infer and extrapolate from a given situation took the lead. If one has a look at the previous year papers, there is a clear and visible shift away from tedious and time-consuming calculation-based questions. The stress is more on interpreting a problem / group of questions and zeroing in on the best ‘logic’ to ‘crack’ the ‘set’.

Possible ‘surprises’
Let us now look at some possible “surprises.”

Questions may have more than one correct answer — throwing a situation where the students are forced to be doubly sure about all the possibilities for the given question. The strategy of ‘elimination of choices’ may not work in this scenario.

Progressive negative marking explicitly stated — here the extent of negative marking would keep increasing with the number of questions that you have got wrong. Introducing this would mean that the test-takers would have to exercise a high level of prudence while deciding on whether a questions needs to be attempted or not.

Mark the grid — test-takers may be expected to “actually find the correct answer” and then darken corresponding ovals to denote a numerical response like 12.6. One would have to go down to the last step to work the answers as approximations will not hold good in this scenario. Should the test-taker be really worried about the surprise element packed in the examination? It would be better to say that one should be confident enough and prepared to deal with the surprise.

Preparation

To quote Ed Macaulay, “When you are not practising, remember, others are practising elsewhere and when you meet them, they will win.” It is especially true for CAT. You need to continually benchmark yourself with the best and practise continuously to help you perform better than others. A serious test-taker at this stage in one’s preparation should focus on: a) Exposure to a number of questions / exam formats and patterns by preparing with a number of pattern papers / mock exams, b) Benchmarking oneself with the best across the country, c) Identify one’s strengths and weaknesses — this is important in order to develop and fine-tune one’s course of action for the exam and, d) Developing the Best Fit strategy for the different possible scenarios based on one’s strengths and weaknessesHere it is important to simulate as many different scenarios as possible, find out the strategy that fits each and overall be flexible enough to zero-in on the strategy that best fits the given paper.

Applications have been invited for entrance test for admission to the Postgraduate programme in Rural Management (PRM) and Fellow Programme in Rural Management (FPRM).

Graduates in any discipline with 50 per cent marks (45 per cent for SC/ST/PH) are eligible for admission to PRM. Final-year degree students are also eligible.

Entry qualification for FPRM is anyone of the following — PRM from IRMA; postgraduation in any discipline with 55 per cent and 50 per cent marks for graduation; professional graduates in medicine, veterinary science, engineering, agriculture, etc. with 60 per cent marks.

The test will be held on November 11 across the country. Online application facilities are also provided. For more details, visit http://www.irma.ac.in . The last date for receipt of completed applications is October 8.

The Xavier Labour Relations Institute (XLRI) Jamshedpur, has invited applications for the Xavier Aptitude Test and the following academic programmes for 2008: Two-year Postgraduate programme in Business Management (BM), Two-year postgraduate programme in Personnel and Industrial Relations (PMIR), Four-year Fellow programme in Management (FPM).

XAT score is also used by several other management institutes for admission. The test will be held on January 6.

Graduates in any discipline are eligible to appear for XAT-2008 and also eligible for admission to the PG programmes in Business Management; Personnel Management and Industrial Relations.

XAT-2008 application form and bulletin and XLRI prospectus can be downloaded from the website www.xlri.edu , www.xlri.ac.in .

They can be also obtained from select SBI Bank branches for Rs.700 till November 30. Online registration facilities are provided on the website www.xlri.edu.

Fair & Lovely Foundation, has been bringing about a transformation in the careers of talented young women across the country over the last four years by offering scholarships to bright young women.

The foundation offers a scholarship of up to Rs. l lakh to young, financially-challenged girls, for graduate, post-graduate and doctorate studies in India.

It is through this venture that over 300 women have seen their dreams fulfilled.

Application forms can be downloaded or submitted online at www.fairandlovely.in and interested people can call on the toll free number 1800 220130 or on 022-32971682 for more information.

One can even SMS FAL to 455 and BSNL users can SMS to 4555. Reliance users can apply directly over the phone. Application forms can be posted to: Fair & Lovely Scholarships 2007, Fair & Lovely Foundation, P.O. Box No. 11281, Marine Lines Post Office, Mumbai 400 020.

Scholarship of up to Rs. l lakh to young, financially-challenged girls, for graduate, post-graduate and doctorate studies in India

It was another achievement for the National Institute of Technology, Calicut (NIT-C) as it secured the seventh position among the educational institutes in the Indian subcontinent in the Webometrics Ranking of world universities released by Cybermetrics Lab, a unit of the National Research Council, a public research body in Spain for July.

The institute secured the 2,258th rank among the 13,074 world universities which were included in the ranking process. A total of 3,546 universities\Institutes were ranked in the Indian subcontinent.

According to the Webometrics website, www.webometrics.info, this ranking is being published since 2004 on a regular basis using the web data as indicator of the visibility and impact of the activities of the universities, colleges and research institutions worldwide.

It says that the original aim of the ranking was to show the commitment of these organisations to the electronic publication, the open access to scientific results and the internalisation of their activities.

“As other rankings are more focused on world-class universities, our purpose is to offer an extended coverage, including information about the developing countries’ institutions,” the website says. The ranking is updated in January and July every year.

IIT, Mumbai; Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore; IIT, Kanpur; IIT, Madras; IIT, Delhi; and National Informatics Centre, Karnataka are the only institutes in Indian subcontinent ahead of NIT-C in the ranking.

“This is the result of cooperation of faculty and students. It is a feather in our cap. It is a great boost for the institute,” Dr. G.R.C. Reddy, director, NIT-C. Webometrics did not contact any institute, but conducted evaluations on their own by searching the Internet

A career as a chartered accountant

To become a chartered accountant, you need to be very hardworking and committed. But once you become a chartered accountant, you can have a flourishing career.

How to become a chartered accountant:
Under the new scheme, you can register to become a chartered accountant even as soon as you complete your 10th class. But the eligibility is II PUC, so you get two years to prepare for the entrance exam. This is called Common Proficiency Test (CPT). The ICAI conducts these CPTs quarterly — in the first week of February, May, August and November. Once you pass the CPT, you must join articleship under a practising CA for three and a half years. During the three and a half years, you have two exams to clear. The first is the Professional Competence Course or PCC.This was formerly called the Intermediate or PE2.You can do the PCC if you have completed one and a half years of articleship under a practisiong CA.
You can do the final exam after three-and-a half years of articleship.
There is another exam you must do before the PCC. That is the Information Technology Test —which you must do after three months of articleship and 100 hours of IT training.
Also, after completing the final exam or after two years of articleship or after passing PCC, there’s another exam you must pass and that is the General Management and Communication Skills.

Scope:
Once you complete your CA, you can easily be attached to a firm and earn a minimum pay of Rs 3 lakh to 4 lakh a year. In fact some even get as high as Rs 8-10 lakh a year. So keep your nose to the grindstone and work hard — you will reap benefits in the end.

ICMR International fellowships

ICMR International fellowships for the year 2007-2008 number six for young scientists and three for senior scientists. Financial support is to the extent of $1800 per-month, contingency grant of Rs 10, 000 and return economy class air ticket (excursion airfare) for young scientists. $150 per-day including accommodation, subject to a maximum of $ 1800 for the entire duration and economy class air ticket (excursion fare) for senior scientists (likely to be revised).

• Requirements:
Indian biomedical scientists with MD/PhD with at least three years’ teaching/research experience for young scientists and at least 15 years‘ teaching/research experience for senior scientists; Regular position in a recognised biomedical/research/health institution in India; below 45 years of age for young scientists and 55 years for senior scientists. Applicant should submit a letter of acceptance from the foreign institute where he/she proposes to work alongwith a concrete
plan of training/research work to be
undertaken during the fellowship; recommendation from the head of the parent organisation/institutions.

• To apply:
Log on to www.icmr.nic.in for format of application. Ten copies of the application should be submitted to The Chief, International Health Division, Indian Council of Medical Research, V Ramalingaswami Bhawan, Post Box 4911, Ansari Nagar, New Delhi-110029.

• Submission:
September 30, 2007 for submission.

Humboldt research fellowships

The Alexander von Humboldt Foundation awards approximately 600 Humboldt research fellowships a year.Their purpose is to allow highly qualified young foreign doctorate holders to carry out research projects of their choice in Germany. Applications may be submitted for long-term research visits of at least six to a maximum of twelve months, and which may be extended to a maximum of 24 months. The scholarship amount is currently between 2,100 and 3,000 euros a month (plus travel expenses and family allowances). The sum is determined according to scholarship holders' age and career level.

• Requirements:
Doctorate or comparable academic degree (PhD, CSc or equivalent) or several years' professional experience in research, credibly proven through publications in (internationally) recognised scientific periodicals; applications from scientists who are about to complete their doctorate will be considered if the dissertation manuscript is submitted; proof of independent research activity through scientific publications in recognised periodicals (international if possible); prior arrangements with a scientific host in Germany who is prepared to support the research project and provide a post to carry it out. Natural and engineering scientists must have a good command of German or English; scholars and social scientists must generally have a good command of German and submit proof thereof (language certificate required). The complete application must be received before the applicant's 40 th birthday.

• To apply:
Download application documents from www.avh.de/de/programme/stip_aus/ stp_01-02.htm

• Submission:
Applications can be submitted to the AvH (Alexander von Humboldt Foundation) at any time. Selection meetings take place thrice every year, in March, July and November.

The aviation industry is synonymous with the words pilot and airhostess. However, Shubha Subbaraman discovers that there is more to this field than meets the eye

CONQUERING the skies is a dream for many,and the glamour and opportunity that the aviation industry offers has indeed made a career in this sector irresistible.The surge in the Indian economy has led to a major boom in aviation.The Civil Aviation industry predicts 20 to 25 per cent growth in the next ten years.

OPTIONS GALORE

Pilots:
The glamour quotient attached to being a pilot makes it one of the most coveted jobs in aviation. Being a pilot is a dream for many, but reaching there is not easy. Says Rajiv Sharma (name changed), a commercial pilot with a leading airline, “The selection process is tedious. To become a pilot, one needs to enrol with a pilot training school.After that,at first,you need to acquire a Student Pilot Licence (SPL), followed by Private Pilot Licence (PPL),and finally you get the Commercial Pilots Licence (CPL).At each step,there are tests and stipulated flying hours that a pilot has to complete. You also need to go through a complete medical check up. Besides, a pilot must have perfect vision- 6/6.”There are several institutes in India that offer pilot training, but one must ensure that the institute is recognised by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA),Government of India.
The defining characteristic of a pilot is emotional stability, especially in case of an emergency.“Panicking does not help. Presence of mind and self-confidence is your trump card during a crisis,”elucidates Sharma.Apart from confidence, a pilot needs technical proficiency, thorough knowledge of air traffic regulations, navigation, and understanding of meteorological reports.
On obtaining the CPL, a pilot can join any airline as a trainee and based on seniority (calculated on the number of hours of flying experience), you get promoted to pilot or First Officer. You can then go on to become a Commander, Captain, etc. The remuneration offered is subject to seniority and varies according to the airlines.It ranges from Rs 50,000 to one lakh and above per month.

Airhostess/ Steward:

The defining characteristic of many airlines is the quality of the service.To guarantee that passengers return,every journey has to be comfortable for them, and the airhostess plays a key role in ensuring this. Speaking about the role of an air hostess/ steward, Manisha Vardhan, PR Manager, Air Hostess Academy (AHA), says,“They have to make people comfortable on board,help passengers with their problems and ensure that the flight is a pleasant one for all passengers.” To secure a job as an airhostess or steward,you need a diploma or degree in hotel management, tourism management or aviation and hospitality management from a recognised institute.

Aeronautical engineering:

Aeronautical engineering forms the basis of aviation.Right from the stage of designing an aircraft to actually building it to repair work, the engineer is always involved. Aeronautical engineers also conduct research to develop new and improved methods for designing aircrafts. You can opt for the u n d e rg ra d u a te B.Tech and postgraduate M.Tech in Aeronautical Engineering or the four-year AMAESI degree course.There is an increasing demand for aircrafts, thus soliciting the need for aeronautical engineers.

Air Traffic Control:

Air Traffic Control or ATC is a ground job that requires the personnel to guide and direct aircrafts, both in air as well as on ground. There are more than a thousand aircrafts flying daily. With such a huge volume of air traffic, ATC forms a crucial part of aviation, by supervising air traffic and ensuring that aircrafts maintain safe distance from each other. Major areas of work include airport control, keeping a watch and organising the runway for take offs and landings, communication with pilots, location of other aircraft in air, sharing navigation information, etc. Pre-requisites to become an air traffic controller include a class 12 or graduate with a good hold over math and science.There is an entrance exam to get into this field.

Reservations/ service staff:

“Today, there are several airlines that have outsourced this work to BPOs,”says Rakesh Shetty (name changed), who works at the reservation desk of a reputed international airline,“Nevertheless,there are passenger problems that need to be catered to at the airport.” Needless to say,like any other customer service job, you need a pleasing personality, good communication skills,and a proficiency over English and the local language. “Not all your passengers will be well versed with English.So knowing the regional language becomes important,” says Shetty. You also need knowledge of computers. It is important to have formal training to get into aviation.The industry is likely to create 30,000 extra jobs by 2010 - an estimate that does not include ground jobs! With this growing demand, the sky is literally the limit to secure a promising future in this field.

INSTITUTES

Avalon Aviation Academy, Mumbai

IITC

Blue Diamond Aviation, Pune www.bdapune.com Asiatic International Aviation Academy, Indore. www.aeroasia.co.in

Academy Of Aerospace & Aviation, Indore.www.aaaindore.com

Indian Institute of Aeronautical Engineering & Information Technology, Hyderabad www.iiaeit.org

Indian Institute of Science www.iisc.ernet.in

Indira Gandhi Rashtra Udyaan Academy (IGRUA), Uttar Pradesh

Flytech Aviation Academy, Andhra Pradesh. www.flytechaviation.com

Frankfinn Institute. www.fiatfrankfinn.com

Air Hostess Academy. www.airhostess academy.com

Around 47 million uninsured Americans are unable to afford private medical treatment in their own country, while in the UK, the National Health Service is under immense pressure to meet the demands of an increasing population. In 2006, this scenario translated to over 1.5 lakh foreign nationals visiting India for various medical needs, and today, global business growth in healthcare ranks second only to retail. According to a McKinsey report, the Indian healthcare sector will be worth a whopping Rs 1,200 billion by 2012. The bottom line is simple — with more portfolios like healthcare economists and healthcare managers being created, medicine graduates, who were expecting to continue with their specialisations and super specialisations through their mid-30s, now have the option of being part of industries like information technology and insurance, among others, not merely as doctors, but as managers.

THE BUSINESS

Explains Dr Sanjiv Malik, Regional Director, Max Healthcare, who graduated with an MBA in healthcare from Faculty of Management Studies (FMS), University of Delhi, in 2003, “Healthcare service delivery has been redefined, and service providers are consistently trying to conform to international standards.This is the reason behind the demand for professional healthcare managers, who can apply established management principles to provide efficient healthcare.”
Until recently, retired personnel from the army or medical services managed Indian hospitals. But the sector’s evolution into a business has led to an increased emphasis on the application of management skills, operational strategies and a sense of ethics to run it successfully, and the new breed of medicine professionals with management qualifications promise to address these requirements effectively. Adds Malik,“Healthcare is a unique business wherein people with diverse backgrounds and qualifications work in the same system, and in order to successfully manage such a diverse workforce, the healthcare manager needs to be adept at fostering change without disrupting continuity.”
Though the demand for professional managers in healthcare is still at a nascent stage, investments in the sector by corporate giants like Reliance Industries, Wockhardt, Max Healthcare, Fortis, Apollo Group, and the Hinduja Group, among others, are likely to provide the necessary impetus.

CAREER OPTIONS

Healthcare management is not the only option the sector offers, and apart from the corporatisation of hospitals, the socio-economic changes offer an even wider range of career options.The World Bank has been sponsoring healthcare reforms across several states, starting with Andhra Pradesh in 1994, and thereafter, West Bengal, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Gujarat, and most recently Rajasthan.
NGOs in healthcare also offer an array of opportunities under projects sponsored by the European Union Commission, World Bank, Department for International Development, German Technical Cooperation, and United Nations, among others.
Dr Indrajit Ray, Principal, Kolkata Medical College, delineates additional options, saying,“The IT sector has opened up to professionals beyond software engineers, and doctors are currently participating in clinical trial interpretations, formerly referred to as medical transcription. A huge amount of data has been acquired by major IT companies and they need trained doctors to interpret this research.”
Other emerging areas include medical tourism, telemedicine, pharmaceuticals and health insurance. A McKinsey report states that India’s private health insurance cover will reach 20 per cent to 25 per cent by 2020. According to A Venkat Raman, Associate Professor, FMS,“In the context of health insurance, economics is an area that most doctors are not comfortable with. Hence, doctors trained in these skills are going to be in great demand in the insurance sector, as ‘health economists’ with a clinical background.”

ACADEMIC PROGRAMMES

FMS started India’s first management programme in healthcare in 1971 and is currently revising its syllabus. According to Raman, the new curriculum will be more intense and will include emerging components like IT, telemedicine, and insurance, among others. Although FMS is the pioneer in offering customised management courses for the healthcare sector, with the increase in demand for trained professionals, other institutes are also customising their management programmes for the health segment.
“The government has iterated the need to groom public health management cadres, and hence, other institutes have also started to offer programmes in hospital administration and other areas,” adds Raman. Both, the All-India Institute of Medical Science (AIIMS), New Delhi, and the Tata Institute of Social Science (TISS), Mumbai, offer masters’ programmes in hospital administration. While the institutes mentioned above only offer courses for MBBS graduates, others offer programmes open to graduates from all disciplines. For instance, the Institute of Integrated Learning in Management, New Delhi, offers a twoyear hospital administration course, in association with Max Healthcare.

INSTITUTES

Administrative Staff College of India, Hyderabad

All India Institute of Local Self Government, Mumbai

All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi

Apollo Institute of Hospital Administration, Hyderabad

Birla Institute of Science and Technology, Pilani

Birla Institute of Technology, Mestra, Ranchi

Christian Medical College, Vellore

Department of Management Studies, Madurai

Faculty of Management Studies, University of Delhi

Indian Institute of Health Management Research, Jaipur

Institute of Management Studies, Indore

Manipal Academy of Higher Education, Manipal

National Institute of Health and Family Welfare, New Delhi

School of Medical Education,

Systems Applications Products in Data Processing (SAP), a big software company head-quartered in Walldorf, Germany, has developed an Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) Software designed to reduce cost and increase efficiency for IT Companies.
SAP consists of three types of modules viz., functional, technical and techno-functional. Persons interested in taking up a career in the functional area of SAP should have experience in the relevant areas such as sales and distribution (SD), market management (MM), human relations (HR), controlling operations (CO), financial (FI) etc. Since you have experience in marketing (sales and distribution), as you have rightly planned, you can take up SAP(SD module).
Siemens Information Systems Limited,
No. 206, Logos, Ground floor,
Bible Society Building, MG Road,
Bangalore-560001 (Phone: 25095577/79) is the only officially authorised institute by SAP to conduct the SAP certification programme which includes 25 working days’ training session followed by the Certification examination.
SAP has set up a Community of Education Partners across India, which provides well-developed and accessible training on SAP Technologies. SAP Training partners in India are:-Siemens Information Systems Ltd, Genovate Solutions (I) Pvt Ltd, Delphi Computech Pvt Ltd,VC ERP Consulting Private Ltd, Kauf Solutions India Pvt Ltd, Boston Software Consultants India Pvt Ltd, BITECH and Cognizant Technology Solutions India Pvt Ltd, SAP training centres located across India in major cities including Bangalore, Mysore and Mangalore in Karnataka. For further questions and queries, you can contact SAP at education.india @Sap.com or
SAP India Pvt. Ltd.,
Victoria Layout, 30,
Vasavani Victoria,
Victoria Road,
Bangalore-560025.
Phone: 41365555
SAP Training at Bangalore
You can also opt for e-learning from SAP Education.htm

The Associate Member of Institute of Engineers (AMIE) is not offered by any colleges. It is being offered by a professional society known as the Institute of Engineers (India). The AMIE is recognised as equivalent to BE/B.Tech degree awarded by universities. It is also recognised by several authorities such as the Union Public Service Commission and the Ministry of Education as equivalent to the corresponding university degrees in the concerned subjects for purposes of recruitment to superior posts and services in governm e n t s. The institute cond u c t s t h re e examinations; (i) Section A ( N o n D i p l o m a S t re a m ) examination, (ii) Section A (Diploma Stream) examination and (iii) Section B examination. A pre-requisite for appearing in the examination is enrolment as a member (generally called student member) of the institute. On passing Section A and B examinations and fulfilling other requirements, the candidate is admitted as an Associate Member of the Institute of Engineers

there are quite a good number of management institutes in Karnataka, students often find it difficult to choose the right MBA college for their career because there is no definite survey that lists only the top management colleges in Karnataka. Most of the popular surveys like the India Today, AG Neilsen Survey, Outlook C fore Survey, Business week, B School Survey, CSR-GHRDC Survey etc. are done on all India level. Based on this and other factors, some of the top colleges in Karnataka under the purview of Visvesvaraya Technological University are as follows: Alliance Business Academy, Bangalore BMS College of Engineering, Bull Temple Road, Bangalore Canara Bank School of Management Studies, Bangalore Christ College Institute of Management, Bangalore Acharya Institute of Management & Science, I Stage, Peenya, Bangalore Administrative Management College, Bannerghatta Main Road, Bangalore-560083 MP Birla Institute of Management, Associate Bharathiya Vidya Bhavan, Bangalore-560001. St Joseph’s College of Business Administration, Bangalore Sri Bhagawan Mahaveer Jain College of Engineering,Bangalore VTU University Department, Jnana Sangama, Belgaum K LE Institute of Management Studies and Research, Hubli. (Indicative listing) Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore in Karnataka is number one in the list of business schools in Karnataka, admission for which is based on Common Admission Test (CAT) on all India basis. Some of the colleges/institutes like the Xavier Institute of Management, Indian Business Academy, Institute of Finance & International Management, Institute of Business Management & Technology etc. though top the list of business schools in Karnataka, conduct their own entrance exams for admission to MBA Course.

STARTING from deciding the format in which a report submitted by a reporter is to be aired to prioritising the news content to assigning someone at the news desk to value-add, edit and package the news report in the desired form — in short, plan, execute and produce a TV programme till it is aired. Sounds exciting? Well, that's exactly what the job of a producer in a TV channel is all about.

JOBS GALORE

From 10 channels in 1993 to over 200 channels in 2007 tells you the rate at which the Indian television industry is growing. With increasing number of programmes and competition between channels heating up, good producers are much in demand. Whether they are producing news or entertainment programmes, they are in total charge of a particular programme. It is the producer who is responsible for organising and coordinating a diverse range of activities involving reporters, technicians, cameramen, script writers, sound recordists to actors, music directors, set and costume designers and others. A producer also needs to make budgetary provisions for all related expenses that goes in producing a programme and needs to look into the marketing aspects of the programme as well. "It is also very important for a producer to understand the sociopolitical dynamics, both in the national and international arena, as well as the image of the channel," elaborates Riten Roychowdhury, news producer, NE Khas Khobor. A fresher desiring to become a producer is recruited first as an assistant producer. The basic eligibility is a graduation degree. While some channels hire freshers directly as assistant producers, some may want the candidates to work on the desk for a while. Shai Venkataraman, bureau chief, NDTV, Mumbai, says: "We hire people as trainees in production for a period of six months. After completing the training, the candidates can work in a studio or help a reporter in his assignments. So it's pretty much on-the-job training," she adds.
A production assistant is expected to do all kinds of jobs ranging from helping the crew, aid the producer to even assisting the logistics management. "The fresher must have the flexibility to do any form of work that he might be asked to do," says another producer with a Bengali news channel.
"It also helps to be technologically savvy in understanding the equipment you work with," explains Venkataraman. In sync with the common saying in television circles, 'you are as good as your last story or programme', how fast one can get promoted to the next level depends on how efficiently and effectively one performs.
Sreenivasan Jain, managing editor, NDTV, Mumbai, however has a word of caution for youngsters aspiring to step into this profession: "A producer's job is generally behind the scene, so it's not that glamorous. It is also a high-pressure job, so be ready for long hours. Television is very personality-driven, and so a producer has to deal with different personalities," he says.

MOOLAH MATTERS

As a TV production job is a synthesis of many roles, you have various career options available to you like direction, editing, cinematography and so on. Depending on the work profile and the company, the starting salary varies from Rs 5,000 to Rs 20,000 per month. The pay packet of a fresher depends also on his location. In Mumbai and Delhi, one can get fatter pay cheques than in other centres.

ON COURSE

The area of TV production is considered to be a rather new industry; still, there are many reputed institutions in the country that provide courses in the area. These courses are offered in two ways, as a specialised course or as a part of the mainline curriculum of mass communication.

INSTITUTES

Indian Institute of Mass Communication, New Delhi

Jamia Milia Islamia,New Delhi

Film and Television Institute of India, Pune

Symbiosis Institute of Mass Communication, Pune

Xavier's Institute of Communication, Mumbai

Satyajit Ray Film and Tele vision Institute, Kolkata

Calcutta University, Kolkata

Kolkata Film and Television Institute, Kolkata

St Xavier's College, Kolkata

Wigan and Leigh College, Kolkata, New Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Pune

COMMITS, Bangalore

Film and Television Institute of Tamil Nadu, Chennai

Asian Academy of Film and Television, Noida

IS a psychologist the same as a psychiatrist? Are psychology and psychiatry the same field and just mere specialisations within or are they two diametrically opposite fields that just happen to have the same source word? These are not only commonly asked questions but are also fairly well pondered ones. The confusion rides to such an extent that one tends to develop sympathy for those pursuing either career field, for the sheer number of hours they would be spending at dinner parties and social gatherings answering questions as to what they really do! Well, let’s clarify once and for all. Forward this to all the psychologists and psychiatrists you know, rest assured they will carry it for all the meals they get invited to!

WHAT IS PSYCHOLOGY?

Extensive training in psychology, with specific fields ranging from development psychology, clinical psychology, social psychology, child psychology and abnormal psychology, is a must to be able to become a qualified psychologist. Psychologists are also referred to as therapists or counselors, but these terms are more loosely beginning to be used for more than just trained psychologists. While an individual can take up a Master’s in Psychology in any of the prominent universities in India, the same option is available to those who hold a bachelor’s degree in the field. The master’s degree, typically, has a component of fieldwork attached to it, to make the training practical and ready for implementation.

WHAT IS PSYCHIATRY?

“Sometimes the illness is of an advanced nature, where psychology and therapy oriented treatments do not suffice. Such cases are pathological in nature and need the attention of a doctor as physical tests and medication become an integral part of the treatment, and that’s when a psychiatrist has to step in,” clarifies therapist Binaifer Jesia. In order to become a psychiatrist, one has to go through the rigours of medical school like any other MBBS doctor would. It is only after completion of the same, that doctors pursue higher studies (MD or diploma in psychiatric medicine) . MD in Psychiatry can be pursued at any of the renowned medical colleges across the country, some prominent ones being AIIIMS (Delhi), NIMHANS (Bangalore) and several colleges affiliated to universities such as Bombay University (GS Medical College, TN Nair Medical College) and others. A psychiatrist usually treats patients on a on-on-one basis and is qualified to prescribe medicines and administer therapy for instance, electroconvulsive therapy, also known as shock therapy.

SIMILARITIES:

Even though psychiatry and psychology are different professions, they stem from the same need to treat mental imbalances and illnesses. Both, psychiatrists and psychologists are trained to assess and treat neuropsychological disorders, personality disorders and dysfunctions. However, the methods of treatment are different: while psychiatrists rely on medicines, psychologists rely on psychotherapy and counselling. However, on a caseto-case basis, the appropriate mix of the two changes as every patient has varying degrees of illnesses. Both, psychiatrists and psychologists are trained to treat mental illnesses from mild issues such as insomnia and exam stress to major illnesses such as schizophrenia and mood disorders, albeit using different routes.

DIFFERENCES

Although both streams are dedicated to the same cause and work toward the common objective of bettering a mentally ill individual, there are certain essential differences. A psychiatrist is a medical doctor who has received extensive medical training and a psychologist has taken training focusing on psychology only and has undergraduate and postgraduate degrees and (optionally) a doctorate with a thesis focusing on counselling or clinical psychology. While a psychologist cannot prescribe medicines, she/ he is trained to administer several types of tests, such as IQ tests, aptitude tests and personality assessment tests, which are tools that come in handy for ascertaining the cause of the illness and thus the treatment it requires.

THE SCENARIO TODAY

“Till even a couple of years ago, the scenario and awareness levels about mental illnesses were very limited. There would be families coming with patients, where the patient would sit quietly, the psychiatrist would ask some questions to the family, and based on their responses, would prescribe medicines,” ays Nivedita, a counselor and social worker by profession.“The trend has changed now with more awareness and acceptance developing around mental illnesses and those unfortunate enough to suffer from them. Now, most clinics have multidisciplinary teams, including psychiatrists, psychologists, therapists and counsellors and not just a single doctor looking to assess a patient. Patients are spoken to, to understand the illness,” she adds. Most treatments are administered with a combination of medicines, which only the psychiatrist is qualified and capable of prescribing, and psychological therapy, which psychologists are trained to do. The patient is communicated with, because, in many cases the patient is able to communicate his/ her feelings to the psychiatrist. In cases where medicines are only solving a temporary matter, while the real issue goes way deeper, psychologists get involved. They try to hold detailed sessions, over a period of time, where they draw out situations from the patient’s past that might be the root cause, or in some cases the trigger to the current illness. In some cases fullfledged psychotherapy with a psychologist is not required, as a couple of sessions with a trained counsellor are enough.

Afew decades ago, a career in the Indian Armed Forces was the Indian royalty’s primary choice of profession. Widely regarded as a respectable and prestigious profession, the Armed Forces held a special charm, in spite of the risk that is associated with protecting one’s country.
However, in the recent past, one can’t help but wonder at the growing lack of interest shown by the country’s urban youth when it comes to opting for a career in the Armed Forces.
Is the overpowering lure of ‘power- andmoolah’ that is leading them to set their sights on upward material gain? Have students forgotten or are they simply unaware of the fact that the very reason we are able to practice our constitutional rights and choices as citizens of a democratic India, is largely due to steadfast dedication of the Indian Armed Forces? “I think we have reached this stage over the last fifteen to twenty years,” explains Retd Colonol Jai Kumar.“The reasons can be classified on two levels – one, where we can blame the non-proactive stance adopted by the AF to reach out to the citizens, failing to utilise various media tools to spread awareness; and second, is civilian apathy towards the Armed Forces, with our failure to imbibe a sense of national integrity and service in the youth.” So, what are the more specific reasons that have resulted in the Indian AF, esteemed as the world’s third largest, taking a backseat to other professional courses?
“Many of us may have considered the Armed Forces, but the truth is, while there is ample information about other careers, there’s hardly any information about the Armed Forces. If I did want to know more, I wouldn't know where to go!”reasons advertising professional and art director, Behzad Gazder.
Narendra Agarwal did take the initiative to join the Armed Forces.“I had applied to the IAF via the NCC Air Wing because of my love for flying and my sense of patriotism.But before I could enroll for the training, the dream weaned away because of various anti air-force sentiments caused by the media reporting MIG crashes. The compounded with the fact that I wasn’t confident that I’d fit in with the lifestyle and rigid disciplinarian atmosphere, triggered my decision to withdraw my dream,”he explains.
Concuring with Narendra’s opinion, SYMCom student, Aditya Naik says, “The National Defence Academy only accepts students who have completed their class 12 in the science stream, so it was too late for me.Also, the negative feedback on TV gets one rather skeptical –be it about alleged rowdy behaviour by officers or corruption within the forces or the use of outdated technology causing mishaps.”
Rachita Sawant had to forfeit her dream of joining the Armed Forces only because she didn’t have any information about career options available for women! “Had I known that the doors of the Armed Forces were opened to women in 1992, with women being inducted as regular officers in aviation, logistics, law, engineering, medical and executive cadres, I would amidst them right now,”she laments.Additionally,
women in the non-medical cadre serve as Short Service Commissioned (SSC) officers for five to fourteen years.Eligible women, who qualify through various tests, can serve in the Army, Navy, Air force and Coast Guard.The SSC option is open to all.
Adds student and MBA aspirant, Ambrish Kumar,“The pay scales just don’t match with the private sector.If I choose a life where I wouldn’t get to live with my family, be posted in faroff regions and live with a sense of danger, I would like to at least be compensated financially.Nothing compares with the sense of pride when you’re serving your nation, but at the end of the day, its sustenance that also counts.”
So basically, does it boil down to a lack of awareness and inadequate monetary compensations that has led to civilians looking to the Armed Forces for a career? One must also consider that this is not just an Indian phenomenon – Armed Forces worldwide are facing shortages of officers. The economic boom in India, caused by the burgeoning tertiary sector and globalisation plays a big role. Economics has been known to guide international doctrines and strategies, even those related to war.
“The whole sense of glamour in challenge is lost, as forms of warfare are changing from all-out conventional war to more low intensity conflicts.During the World Wars, people fought against tyrants.In the late twentieth century, we entered the jet and space age; there was a major sense of challenge within the military forces, leading to the invention of nuclear submarines and advanced systems.Even the Internet was born out of military requirement.But today, there seem to be no more challenges – even space travel is ordinary news! Our society is leaning toward hedonism and the youth take more pride in becoming rockstars,”laments Group Captain SLV Tripathi, IAF.
“Though there are some obvious shortcomings, I believe these are more than negated by the benefits,” explains Naval Lt Rajouri.“For starters, any workplace caters to its business, not the comforts and preferences of its employees.Hence, there will always be areas that lack the feel-good factor in any organisation.What the Armed Forces needs to revamp its image with proactive public relations! We tend to react only while undertaking crisis management.Due to the obvious nature of our work, security requirements are utmost, hence we can’t adopt an all-open-to-media policy! But, for us to redeem our image and attract the youth, we need PR on two levels – firstly, to do away with incorrect public notions based on distorted facts; and secondly, to provide ample and timely information about various aspects of the Armed Forces.”
A valid point indeed.The Armed Forces could definitely do with a bit of both – image overhauling and information-flow.How many of us are aware that the Indian Army is the second largest in the world, with a workforce of over a million? Or that our Air Force is the world’s fourth largest with over six hundred combat aircrafts? Or that our Navy, the seventh largest globally, comprises forty-one surface combatants and eighteen submarines? And for those struck with wanderlust, here’s a flash: naval officers with under ten years of service have visited over sixteen nations!
Armed Forces world over, hold the Indian Armed Forces in great esteem for their professionalism – code of conduct, discipline and handling of security-related situations.India’s ethical outlook and conduct vis-à-vis the war against prolonged insurgency is highly respected everywhere.
Lastly, but certainly not the least, there are lucrative non-monetary benefits that the Armed Forces provides, including free medical treatment, travel, education, overseas training, the opportunity to travel, clean and disciplined environments, pensions, subsidised food etc.As for careers in the Armed Forces- the scope is tremendous for men and women- both during the tenure as well as later- with excellent job opportunities in India and overseas. For more information, log on to www.indianairforce.nic.in, www.indianarmy.nic.in. www.indiannavy.nic.in or www.bharat-rakshak.com

OWING TO BURGEONING TOURISM AND SOCIO-ECONOMIC SHIFTS IN SOCIETY, THE
HOSPITALITY INDUSTRY HAS SEEN A SURGE OF OVER 25 PER CENT IN THE LAST FOUR YEARS. ANUSHKA PATODIA CHRONICLES THE REASONS
FOR THIS UPSWING AND PROFILES THE DIFFERENT
CAREER OPTIONS IN THIS INDUSTRY
As the economy continues to evolve and people have more disposable income in hand, the travel, tourism and hospitality sector has witnessed a phenomenal accretion. Where ten years ago, the industry was not yet fully developed, the advent of multinational hotels and the boom in Indian tourism has resulted in the emergence of a streamlined, efficient and focussed segment. The demand for professionals in the hospitality industry too is at an all-time high.
The careers in this field are manifold,ranging from high flying managers,directors and chefs to the more subdued receptionists, housekeepers and stewards. If you have the right aptitude and personality, the hospitality industry provides ample opportunities to leave your mark.
The current scenario
Going by the recent growth rate, it is anticipated that the hospitality sector will continue to grow rapidly in the country. Hence, it is not surprising to see that today, hospitality graduates have a wider range of options to choose from, when compared to a few years ago. Explains Prof Ruchita Verma, Principal, ITM Institute of Hotel Management,“The market for hospitality is growing by leaps and bounds due to shifts in society and a surge in tourism.There is a huge gap between the demand and supply of trained hospitality workforce along with the challenges of attrition which the service sector faces.This has resulted in an increased demand for trained hospitality professionals. To fulfil the growing human resource demands of the industry, numerous schools of hospitality have sprung up.” No longer limited to five-star hotels, the hotel industry includes fine dining restaurants, travel agencies, luxury resorts, high-end casinos, sports venues, cruise lines, health spas, theme parks, etc. Points out Tanmay Arurkar, a chef management graduate, working with the Taj group of hotels,“The industry holds great promise since it draws a large amount of money and talent. Jobs in the hospitality industry are lucrative wherein professionals get to meet high profile guests and attend to them.This makes it attractive for many people and also improves their confidence and grooming style.”According to Rattan Keswani, Executive Vice President, Oberoi Hotels and Resorts, the growth of a number of hotels in various categories is responsible for the upswing in the hospitality industry.
Also, employers around the world are looking towards qualified graduates who are expected to possess a superior level of training over a person who does not have a specialised hospitality degree. Keeping this in mind, a number of institutes in India are offering specific courses in hospitality, with the result that a prospective student need no longer look towards an international education as a stepping-stone to a career in the hospitality industry.

Getting in

A class 12 pass grade in science,
commerce or arts is sufficient to make one eligible to a hospitality course. However, most schools require students to perform satisfactorily at the entrance exam, whether it is the all-India entrance exam or a separate examination conducted by a private institute. At the all-India exam, students have to prove their proficiency in subjects such as English, general knowledge, reasoning and logical deduction, numerical ability and scientific aptitude. Besides this, questions are also asked on the service sector. Ranks are allotted to students and admissions are given.There are 4000 seats available all over the country, and most states have an institute that is affiliated to the national exam.The advertisements for the centralised admissions are published in leading newspapers in the months of January and February and the exam is generally scheduled for April.
Private institutes that conduct separate examinations have their own set of subjects and grading criteria to judge the students they take in. In certain cases, group discussions or personal interviews are also conducted. Explains Prof Ruchita,“The hospitality industry is all about ‘handling people’. No matter how clichéd it sounds, it is about pampering people and making them feel at home. Qualifications add operational value and make you aware of the processes.”Besides, many institutes offer campus placements to top- level companies such as the Taj group of hotels, ITC, Mc Donalds, Pizza Hut, etc, making the recruitment process simpler for students.

Career options

The hospitality field offers a wide range of career options in hotels, restaurants,
resorts, spas, ships, airlines, clubs and any other place where people go to relax. Says A D Bagul, UDC at the Institute of Hotel Management, Catering Technology and Applied Nutrition,“In a basic hospitality course, one can specialise in either of four options, ie food production, front office, food and beverage service, and housekeeping. Besides these, as one moves up the hierarchy, one can also become a manager, administrator or vice president of either of the four options.” (a) Food production: This involves working in the kitchen of the organisation. Job options include that of a chef, sous chef, commis and chef de cuisine. One could also establish positions such as an F&B manager. (b) Front office: The front office involves welcoming guests and attending to their problems and concerns.This includes jobs of a receptionist, lobby manager, cashier, captain, travel desk manager, and so on. One can move up to managerial positions including a duty manager, guest relations executive, customer care executive, etc (c) Food and beverage service: This involves service of any kind of food or beverages to the customer.Typical jobs are those of a steward, butler, bartender, or host/ hostess. Managerial jobs include the head, vice president or general manager of food and beverage.
(d) Housekeeping: It involves taking care of the requirements of guests in their rooms. Housekeeping includes two positions — the housekeeping executive/ assistant and housekeeping manager.The assistant is in charge of manually doing the work, while the manager is responsible for supervision.

The right personality

Says Prof Ruchita,“You need to be a people’s person and strive to make your customer feel at ease.You must have a pleasing personality and gifted communication skills.”Since the industry is all about providing service to customers and making them feel spoilt and at home, one needs to have dedication, tolerance as well as the ability to work flexible hours. According to Keswani,“The right attitude and listening skills contribute a great deal towards one’s success.”Also, the person must have an avid interest in travel, tourism, and entertainment.

Foreign education- a better option?

For many people, the study of hospitality management is synonymous with a fancy school in Switzerland. However, over the years, India and other countries have proved to be equally good options. Affirms Keswani,“We do not particularly prefer to hire students with a foreign degree. Ultimately, it boils down to the content taught and the candidate’s ability to learn, not the location of the school.”
Elucidates Prof Ruchita,“Although Swiss schools are very skill-focussed, a Swiss diploma may have a slightly limited acceptability across the globe for continual education. Also, the skills imparted by Swiss schools are similar to those taught in Indian institutes. However, Swiss schools do not impart research, which adds more value to your professional life and helps you analyse and synthesise information to make better decisions.”
Conversely, Arurkar believes that employers do give preference to students having an international degree.“However, unfortunately for them, most students who go abroad do not return to work in India, which leaves employers with no choice but to hire candidates with degrees from Indian institutes,”he explains. Agrees Prathamesh Kakirde, a hospitality graduate, who has worked with hotels such as the Taj President and Hotel Intercontinental,“In my experience, I have found that employers prefer students with international degrees. This does not mean that an Indian
degree isn’t good.The Indian education system has evolved to provide quality education at reasonable rates, leading to the inception of a number of good hospitality institutes in the country.”

Remuneration

The salaries offered differ by virtue of the individual’s personality and the institute from where they complete their education.The bigger the organisation, the fatter the pay check. Generally, fresh graduates are hired as management trainees with an average salary of Rs 7,500 to Rs 12,000 per month. As they gain experience, salaries can even go up to Rs 50,000 per month.

COURSES AND INSTITUTES (INDICATIVE LISTING)

Degree in Hospitality Studies and International Hospitality Management, ITM Institute of Hotel Management
Diploma in Hotel Management and Catering Technology, Dr D Y Patil Institute of Hotel Management and Catering Technology, Nerul
BSc in Hospitality and Hotel Administration, Institute of Hotel Management, Catering Technology and Applied Nutrition, Dadar
Diploma in Hotel Management and Catering Technology, B V Institute of Hotel Management and Catering Technology, Navi Mumbai
BBA in Hotel and Tourism Management/ MBA in Hospitality Management, Kohinoor- IMI School of Hospitality Management, Khandala

If you are looking to get into National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT), don’t think of throwing your basic math books away. They’ll come in really useful, since math is one of the components in the entrance exam. So brush up your math in readiness for the exam. For the under-graduate course in design at NIFT, there are three steps: General Ability Test (GAT), Creative Ability Test (CAT), and situation test. For GAT, you need 10th standard Maths. And then there are reasoning tests, and English and comprehension tests. That is, the tests are in quantitative ability, communication ability, English comprehension, analytical ability, business domain test. Under CAT, you are tested for skill, observation, innovation and design ability. You could be given a question like:“Draw a scene at a farewell party.” Or you could be asked to draw something based on a theme like water conservation; adult education; pollution. In the situation test, you are tested for material-handling and innovative ability. So you could be asked to make a three-dimensional model of, say, a ladies’ handbag, a magazine rack, or a memento for a football winners’ team.
For the under-graduate course in technology, there’s GAT. Also, there’s MAT, or
Managerial Ability Test. This would expect the candidate to have boned up on 12th standard Maths and Science; it also includes general knowledge. So, get into the habit of reading the newspapers. There’s also a test for the post graduate entrance. This includes a written exam, psychometric test, personality test and group discussion.

THE PACKAGING INDUSTRY HAS COME A LONG WAY FROM MANUFACTURING CARDBOARD BOXES AND PLASTIC CONTAINERS. ANURADHA ANUPKUMAR UNWRAPS THE LESSER KNOWN CAREERS IN THE COLOURFUL AND FLOURISHING PACKAGING INDUSTRY



A walk down a supermarket aisle exposes you to a battery of brands, each contending with the other for your undivided attention and patronage. Colours, designs, logos, and unique shapes and silhouettes — all jump out at you, attempting to cut through the clutter. In that split second, what sells you on a product? It isn't the quality of the product, which you will come only later to appreciate — or abhor — it's the packaging that helps the product stand out. The allimportant first impression.
In an era of instant gratification and tough market competition, the old adage, 'don't judge a book by its cover,' is now obsolete and inaccurate. Presentation matters, and branding and marketing managers have caught onto this powerful tool, that has ceased to act as a mere appendage of the manufacturing sector. The packaging industry today is estimated to be worth approximately Rs 65,000 crores and has a tremendous role to play in the modern economy. Not only is it a veritable warehouse of employment opportunities due to its many linkages, like manufacturing, printing, labelling etc, but it also helps preserve wealth in the form of protecting perishables and nonperishables, improving shelf life, thereby preventing losses.

PACKAGING PROFILES

In spite of its rapid growth, the significance of the packaging industry is being recognised and appreciated separately from its cruder cousin — packing — only recently, as a growing employment hub. “There are opportunities all across the p a c k a g i n g industry, which co m p r i s e s p a c k a g i n g manufacturers, co nve r te r s, m a c h i n e r y manufacturers, and of course, the users of packaging like pharma companies, food manufacturers, producers of cosmetics and toiletries, engineering products, as well as exporters. Anything one has to move in the market, ultimately requires packaging,” explains Prof A A Joshi, Head of Training and Education, Indian Institute of Packaging.
However, careers in the packaging industry can be classified into some broad areas, namely Production, Research and Development and Marketing.

PRODUCTION

One of the largest areas in the packaging industry involves actual manufacture of packaging materials. User companies like FMCG or pharma manufacturers may require containers, boxes, bottles or other forms of packaging created. In these cases, personnel are required to oversee the actual manufactur ing process. Prof Joshi says, “Students could be put on the shop floor, managing production activities, in which case, one would require scientific knowledge about the material from which it is produced, like the melting point of plastic, for instance.”
Explaining how aspirants need to have an understanding of the technical and creative aspects, Prof Joshi says, “Aesthetics and appeal are important for most consumer products, and the scientific aspect is critical because the structure is designed after an understanding of the science and technology of packaging.”He adds,“Moreover, creative inputs like an easy-to-open cap or a pump that add to consumer convenience, can only come from an understanding of consumer needs.”

RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT

Packaging research and development throws up many opportunities for aspirants. Packaging technologists design and develop packaging materials for all types of products, working with product manufacturers to develop packaging for new and existing products, which meet client specifications, are cost-effective and adhere to statutory and regulatory requirements covering that product.
It involves planning and developing new packages, or improving present packages to meet standards of quality,
function and cost and drawing detailed specifications and descriptive materials for new package ideas and ways to improve existing packages. These developments can be made on the suggestions of marketing personnel or existing market dynamics.
“Packaging is the right combination of both art and science,”declares R Krishnamurthy, Director, Positive Packaging, adding,“Technology is the need of the hour.With more and more products shedding the rigid clothing to flexibles, R&D plays a very key role in ensuring that the product demands are well met with the new flexible substrate(s) combination.To elaborate, product compatibility, barrier values, regarding moisture and oxygen permeability, are key considerations in ensuring the package is just right without resorting to over-specification.”
Today, there are many challenges that packaging developers have to consider,
including environmental and quality control concerns. An important area under research includes conducting necessary tests of new and improved packages and packaging materials.“If any container or packaging material is produced, it has to be determined whether it meets quality standards. Many students can find employment as quality control executives,”assures Prof Joshi.
Many user companies, namely manufacturers of products are heavily involved in research and development. “All user companies need to design, develop, and identify new packaging, so a lot of students get opportunities in design and development,”declares Prof Joshi, adding,“Also, for user companies, quality control is imperative, and many have positions for quality control executives to test potential packaging options.”
Krishnamurthy insists that for profiles like quality control and R&D,professionals with postgraduate qualifications with plastics as a major,find favour.He says,“A minimum graduation in science with additional qualification from the various recognised packaging institutes is preferred.”

MARKETING

Those involved in marketing in the packaging industry are concerned with marketing of new merchandise techniques and developing display materials of new packages or packaging changes. Prof Joshi elucidates,“Packaging has to be marketed to the user industry, ie, manufacturers.This requires complete technical knowledge of the materials used. Students should have a technical background, so that they can take this product to the potential user company and convince them how their product will be taken care of, if they use the right packaging.”

DESIGN AND BRAND IDENTITY

Packaging, is perhaps, most visible — and potent — in its role as a branding tool. All consumer products are packaged in a manner that is designed to fulfill the criteria of safety, convenience and attractiveness. Heightened competition in all product sectors within the country as also the increasing need to look for export markets have contributed to the rising demand for appropriate, and at the same time cost-effective, packaging material and technologies, that not only grab consumer attention but also ensure brand retention.
“Three seconds is all that the consumer has and packaging acts like your salesperson, when it is on a retail shelf,” avers Pooja Kewalramani, who has worked in the packaging industry for five years and is currently employed with Chlorophyll Brand and Communications
Consultancy. She adds,“The designing of a package is a specialised field. Designing includes aspects like colours, patterns etc, but also includes ergonomics, which basically concerns structures, like liquid pumps or spouts or the shape of the container, whether it is easy to hold, its functionality in terms of ease of use, as well as, convenience in displaying it on the shelf.”
Graphic designers have a major role to play in the brand identity of a product and work closely with packaging technologists to ensure the appearance of the packaging, where appropriate, is attractive to consumers and relates to company marketing and branding strategies for that product.
According to Pooja, designers need to have an art background from Sir JJ College of Art or any other reputed art college.

When it comes to choosing a branch of engineering, students usually opt for popular subjects or one that a friend is planning to choose. A knowledge of what the branch is all about will give you a better perspective.
Industrial engineering is a branch dealing with the design, development, and implementation of integrated systems of humans, machines, and information resources to provide products and services.
It encompasses
specialised knowledge and skills in the physical, social, engineering, and management sciences, such as human and cognitive sciences, computer systems and information technologies, manufacturing processes, o p e ra t i o n s research, production, and automation.
The industrial engineer integrates people into the design and development of systems. So he requires an understanding of the physical, physiological, psychological, and other characteristics that govern and affect the performance of individuals and groups in working environments.
Industrial engineering is a broad field compared to other engineering disciplines. Its major activities stem from manufacturing industries and include work methods analysis and improvement; work measurement and the establishment of standards; machine tool analysis and design; job and workplace design; plant layout and facility design; materials handling; cost reduction; production planning and scheduling; inventory control, maintenance, and replacement; statistical quality control; scheduling; assembly-line balancing, systems and overall productivity improvement.
Computers and information systems have necessitated additional activities and functions, including numerically controlled machine installation and programming; manufacturing systems design; computer-aided design/computeraided manufacturing, design of experiments, quality engineering, and statistical process control; computer simulation, operations research, and management science methods; computer applications, software development, and information technology; human-factors engineering and ergonomics; systems design and integration; and robotics and automation.
The philosophy and motivation of the industrial engineering profession is to find the most efficient and effective methods, procedures, and processes for an operating system, and to seek co n t i n u o u s improvement.
So, it helps o rg a n i s a t i o n s grow and expand efficiently during prosperous times, and streamline costs, consolidate and re-allocate resources during austere times. Industrial engineers, particularly those involved in manufacturing and related industries, work closely with management.
So, an understanding of organisational b e h av i o u r, finance, management, and related business principles and practices is needed.
Industrial engineers work in every type of enterprise-manufacturers of every sort of industrial and consumer product; healthcare, financial, transportation, distribution and service industries; governmental units and agencies.
Where most branches of engineering are concerned with designing products, industrial engineering concentrates on designing, installing and improving procedures and systems for effective and efficient operation of enterprises.

The scope:

The primary idea is to apply systematic, disciplined, engineered thinking to all types of human enterprise. Often, advancements in quality, cost effectiveness and timeliness that have been learned in the crucible of global industrial competition can be extended to service providers. Industrial engineers do this. The knowledge and skills learned in an industrial engineering programme equip a person to rise through an organisation to the highest levels. Virtually every activity in an enterprise can be a professional home for industrial engineers: operations management, information systems, accounting, finance, supply chain management, human resources, marketing.
Career opportunities are many and varied and occur in such areas as industrial engineering, plant engineering, information systems, systems analysis and design, control of production and quality, performance standards and measurement systems, management, consulting and many others.

LIST OF INSTITUTES:

(Indicative) Science students with Physics, Chemistry and mathematics(PCM) after +2 or II PUC can opt for Industrial engineering courses. Indian Institute of Technology, IIT Kharagpur-721 302, INDIA Phone:+91-3222-255221 FAX : +91-3222-255303 Website:www.iitkgp.ernet.in/ College of Engineering Trivandrum Thiruvananthapuram - 695 016. Tel: 0471-2515502,Fax: 0471-259837 Website:www.cet.ac.in/ National Institute Of Industrial Engineering(NITIE), Mumbai Website: www.nitie.edu/ Dr B R Ambedkar National Institute of Technology -NIT, Jalandhar, Punjab. Tel: +91-181-2690301, 2690302, 2690453, 2690603, Fax: +91-0181-2690320, 2690932 Website :www.nitj.ac.in/ Anna University, Chennai Website: www.annauniv.edu/ Rajiv Gandhi University Institute Of Technology, Website: www.rit.ac.in/ MBM Engineering College, Jai Narain Vyas University, Bhagat ki Kothi, Pali Road, Jodhpur. Website: www.jnvu.edu.in/ And others.

IT services (including IT-enabled services) is the fastest growing opportunity in India today. It accounts for nearly 2.5 million jobs (many of them high-paying), contributes to 5-6 per cent of the GDP and $ 50 billion in real value.It is expected that IT will generate another 400,000 jobs in the year 2007-08 alone. IT services in India have steadily transformed, adapted and grown over the years. In the initial years it was more of ‘body shopping’; later, it became offshore development (pioneered by companies like Infosys, TCS and Wipro); related services like testing (pioneered by companies like RelQ) also got developed.The next stage was one of product engineering services (pioneered by corporations like Aztec Software and Symphony Services). There were software products too (Marshal from Ramco, Flexcube from iFlex, Tally from Tally Solutions, Pramati Server from Pramati, for example).Recently there have been IP creation and technology transfer (pioneered by companies like Sasken, ImpulseSoft and Ittiam). A country with billion people (that too with 40 per cent in the sub 30 age group), needs many such opportunities for employment creation. Luckily, IT is sufficiently generic and consists of many enabling technologies, that many related jobs are also created through IT. One such emerging area is that of engineering software services the focus of this column. There is significant work relating to software development and software deployment across the major industry segments, viz., Manufacturing Automotive Telecom Consumer Electronics Computing and Communications Capital equipment Automation and control equipment Healthcare Energy, and Utilities The activities for engineering software services range from product design, testing, prototyping, manufacturing simulation, warranty design, support and maintenance. In today’s world of computers and communications almost every one of these activities involves extensive use of software, often in the form of domain-specific tools M-CAD, E-CAD, PLM and Simulation. Areas like electronics design have extensive tools for VLSI design for example the tools created and nurtured by Cadence, Mentor Graphics and Synopsys (each a billion dollar company) in the form EDA (Electronics Design Automation) tools. These create tens of thousands of jobs.
Similarly in the M-CAD area tools like CATIA have been legendary, with thousands of jobs created by the eco-system that supports a major tool like CATIA alone.
In addition, end users in electronics design area who use E-CAD tools create several-fold larger number of jobs; with the networked world creating more appetite for gadgets (mobile phones, MP3 players, mobile Internet devices, PDAs and digital cameras) the embedded electronics market is growing steadily, leading to more demand for design engineers.The same is true of M-CAD engineers in user organisations, for example, automotive industries. With BRIC (Brazil, India, China and Russia) starting to consume automobiles in large numbers, there is a demand for more quantity and variety (to serve the local needs) in the car market; leading to increased design and manufacture; in turn, it creates more jobs for engineering design.
One can extend the same argument to other areas as well healthcare, automation and telecom.
What is involved in engineering software?
There are two distinct types of jobs in the engineering software. One involves working for key software vendors who create the core software tools. For example
Cadence, Magma, Mentor Graphics and Synopsys in E-CAD area UGS, Dassault Systems and PTC in M-CAD area, AutoDesk and SolidWorks in architecture, GIS software like ArcInfo.
Many of them maintain and support huge libraries to support multiple devices, contexts and applications; leading to a large number of small companies who create ‘libraries’ for the major software vendors.
With all the major design software vendors present in India, there is definitely a large opportunity for design engineers to create the next generation of the software tools.
Major industrial houses are stepping up their design activity in India. For example:
In the automobile industry, Indian car manufacturers like Tata Motors and Mahindra & Mahindra, two-wheeler manufacturers like Bajaj and TVS, truck manufacturers like Tata Motors and Ashok Leyland have successfully launched their own inhouse designed products.International giants GM, Ford Motors,Toyota, Suzuki and Hyundai are starting to design products from India.
In telecom, global manufacturers including Alcatel-Lucent, Siemens-Nokia, Motorola, Huawei and Cisco are starting to design telecom switches in India.
In healthcare, global giants GE, Philips, Siemens and Agilent are setting up design groups in India to design products to address the ‘emerging markets.’
In the automation area too, global leaders ABB, Honeywell, Schneider, Siemens and Yokogawa, as well as Indian majors L & T, Crompton, BHEL are stepping up their design activity.
Naturally, all these user industries would need engineers well-versed in the relevant software tools to design better products for tomorrow’s world. Accordingly the employment opportunities are abundant.
Why engineering software jobs?
One distinct advantage of engineering software jobs Vs routine software engineering jobs is the use of ‘domain expertise’. Chances are, you are a mechanical, civil, electrical or electronics or a computer engineer.Except the small minority who pursued a pure computer science degree, most of you have mastered an engineering discipline. Often in a pure software job, you do not get to utilise your ‘expertise’. Engineering software gives you an opportunity to ‘leverage’ your expertise; you become a ‘specialist’, commanding more respect, higher salary and reduced competition; in turn, you can be more focused, relaxed and enjoy a better quality of life. Also, years of experience add up to a formidable competitive advantage. Of course, you are likely to be in a narrow area; you may not be able to jump to any company. However, there are enough companies to choose from and your chances are by no means very small. So do explore the exciting opportunity in engineering software; be a proud engineer and contribute your part to the exciting world of engineering.
Auther:S Sadagopan,director, IIIT-Bangalore

Nanotechnology is an interdisciplinary subject that combines physics, chemistry, biology and engineering. Professor Norio at the Tokyo Science University coined the term ‘nanotechnology’ in 1974.This science is based on the scale of nanometers. One nanometer is equal to one-billionth of a metre or roughly 50,000 times smaller than the diameter of human hair.The goal of nanotechnology is to control individual atoms and molecules in order to create components which are several times smaller than the ones currently in use. In India, this field is still at a nascent stage as compared to the progress it has made in countries like USA, Japan and France. However, if current indicators are anything to go by, the field is set to grow bigger and better.The Ministry of Science and Technology has earmarked Rs 1,000 crore for research in nanoscience for the present year, ten times more than the amount alloted to the field last year.

GETTING STARTED

“Most courses in India are at the M.Tech level. To enrol for these courses, a B.Tech, BE or an MSc with specialisation (project thesis) in the area of nanoscience and technology is the minimum required qualification,”says Prof Indranil Manna, Chairman, Central Research Facility, IIT-Kharagpur. Adds Prof Ajay Sood, Divisional Chairman, Division of Physical and Mathematical Sciences, Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bangalore,“If your knowledge in mathematics, physics and chemistry is strong at the MSc level, you can definitely work in various areas of nanoscience and nanotechnology.”
In terms of aptitude, the industry prefers candidates with a scientific bent of mind and a natural propensity for research work. An open mind with sound analytical and computer programming skills is a must for this field.

JOBS GALORE

It is estimated that development of nanotechnology would have an impact on several other fields such as medicine, aerospace technology, engineering, industrial technology, health, surface engineering etc. According to Prof Arup Kumar Raychaudhuri, Director, SN Bose National Centre for Basic Sciences, Kolkata,“The job profile of a nanotechnologist will vary depending on the field of specialisation. For students specialising in materials or nanoelectronics from high-end research, there are jobs in many high technology laboratories.These jobs have significant R&D challenges and can be very rewarding if the student is innovative.There are also jobs in the engineering and automotive sectors. For students specialising in biological aspects, there are opportunities in pharmacy as well.”

MONEY MATTERS

The field of nanotechnology is expected to boom in the future and throw up a large number of job opportunities with handsome pay packages. Says Prof Raychaudhuri,“The starting salary depends upon the industry. In government — run laboratories, a person with an MTech degree can expect to start at a salary of around Rs 25,000 per month.” Obviously, your designation and pay-packet will rise commensurate to your experience in the trade and the type of work you do.

INSTITUTE LIST

The Indian Institutes of Technology at Madras, Kanpur, Mumbai, Kharagpur, Delhi, Guwahati

Jadavpur University, Kolkata

Punjab University, Chandigarh

University Of Madras, Chennai

Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore

Amity University, Noida

The Aeronautical Society of India was established in the year 1948 under the Societies Registration Act. The objective of the society is to promote the advancement and diffusion of knowledge of aeronautical science and aircraft engineering and elevation of aeronautical profession. The society provides a platform to professionals in the field of aeronautics, organises seminars, workshops and conferences to promote aeronautics and brings about greater awareness in this field.
The Aeronautical Society of India conducts the examination and awards the degree AMAeSI which is recognised by the Government of India as an equivalent degree in aeronautical engineering from an Indian University. The Government of India recognises a pass in the AMAeSI Examination at Section A and Section B levels for the purpose of recruitments to executive posts and commissioned ranks in the services in the appropriate fields under the Central Government.
Candidates with AMAeSI qualification are eligible for any job in aeronautics where BE is prescribed as the minimum qualification for the post. They are also eligible for postgraduate courses. The Engineering Council, London, has recognised our examination and those have completed section A and B of the Society examination shall be granted direct entry into Part 2 of their examination.
As there is a great demand for qualified aircraft engineers in India as well as abroad, candidates who successfully complete this course will be able to obtain lucrative jobs in the field of aviation. The minimum marks for exemption (pass) in any subject is 50 per cent.
Candidates who successfully complete section A and B of the Associate Membership examination conducted by the AeSI are treated on par with those holding a degree in Aeronautical Engineering from an Indian University for recruitment to superior posts and services under the Central Government. Students who have completed this course have been successful in the GATE, and completed M. Tech or have gone for further studies abroad. Those who have successfully completed section A&B examinations of the Society get responsible posts in HAL, Indian Airlines, Air India, Pawan Hans, DRDO, NAL, Aeronautical Development Establishment, Civil Aviation Department, ONGC, IAF, Army, Navy, Coast Guard and some more of the reputed organisations and establishments. After completion of AMAeSI Engineering Degree one may appear for ME/ M.Tech or examinations like IAS/IES/IAF/ MPSC/UPSC and many more. One may also apply for the posts in state/central Govt or Public Sector organisation where necessary qualification of BE/ B.Tech is required. For further details contact:
The Aeronautical Society of India,
13-B,Indraprastha Estate,
New Delhi 110002.
Ph: 011-23370058/23370516. Fax: 23370768.
E-mail: aerosoc@ bol.net.in.
Website: www.csirwebistad.org/aesi/

AERONAUTICAL ENGG CAREER IN INDIAN AIR FORCE
Contact at Bangalore:

Aeronautical Society of India,
9, Suranjan Das Road,
New Thippasandra Post,
Bangalore, India 560075. Email: aerosban@blr.vsnl.net.in

Other options for BSc students are:
Pilot training
MCA course
Competitive examinations like
civil services etc..
Studies in law(IPR/cyber law)
PG in Bioinformatics/
Biotechnology/ clinical research
Learn foreign languages
Can work for call centres/BPO
PG in Forensic Science
Technical/Creative/Corporate
communication/ Medical transcription/ Legal Transcription.

A robot is defined as an automatically-controlled re-programmable, multi-purpose manipulative machine, with or without locomotion, for use in industrial automation applications. Robotics engineering is all about designing robots, maintaining them, developing new applications and conducting research.
Robotics engineers design robots, maintain them, develop new applications for them and conduct research to expand the potential of robotics.This is a rapidly developing field with advances in computing constantly opening up new possibilities for robotics applications.
The profession offers a wide range of jobs. Visionary robotics engineers can work on designing experimental mobile robots, with applications ranging from medical and military uses to designs aimed at creating vehicles capable of piloting themselves on other planets. More down-to-earth jobs involve designing new production-line robots, often with programmable arms, and maintaining and upgrading older production-line installations.
In India, studies related to robot technology and its implications are conducted by the Department of Science and Technology (DST) and the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research. The research and development thrust is carried out by DST, Department of Electronics and Department of Ocean Development and other similar organisations. IITs too have taken the lead in designing programmes in robotics. Institutes running programme in robotics engineering are:
All seven IITs in Delhi, Kanpur, Bombay, Chennai, Kharagpur, Guwahati and Roorkee, and IISc.
The Centre for Robotics and Mechatronics at IIT Kanpur offers a master’s programme in robotics. A programme in robotics can be pursued from several departments of the institute, such as the departments of computer science and engineering, mechanical and electrical engineering in the institute. National Institutes of Technology. University of Hyderabad - M.Tech Artificial Intelligence and Robotics. Jadavpur University, Kolkata - ME Robotics. Birla Institute of Technology and Science, Pilani - ME Computer Science (Robotics as a special subject) Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher learning, Prasanthi Nilayam - M.Tech.Computer Science with specialisation in Artificial Intelligence PSA College of Technology, Coimbatore - Mechanical (robotics as an elective subject). Central Manufacturing Technology Institute Centre for Artificial Intelligence and Robotics

In USA:

Northwestern University, McCormick School of Engineering and Applied Science, Computer Science, Office of Admission, The Graduate School, 633 Clark Street, Evanston, IL 60208-1113 USA. E-mail: gradapp@northwestern.edu, Phone: 1-847-491-3500, Fax:
1-847-491-5258, Course offered: PhD
Iowa State University, Computer Science, Computer Science, 226 Atanasoff, Ames, IA 50011-1041 U.S.A. E-mail: gradadm@cs.iastate.edu, Phone: 1-515-294-8361, Fax: 1-515-294-0258
Michigan Technological University, Department of Computer Science, Graduate Program in Computer Science, Director of Graduate Studies, 1400 Townsend Drive, Houghton, MI 49931-1295 U.S.A. E-mail: csdept@mtu.edu, Phone: 1-906-487-2209, Fax: 1-906-487-2283
Courses offered: MS/PhD
Wayne State University, The Department of Computer Science, Computer Science, 5143 Cass Avenue - 431 State Hall, Detroit, MI 48202 U.S.A. E-mail: bjh@cs.wayne.edu, Phone: 1-313-577-2476, Fax: 1-313-577-6868
Courses offered: MS/PhD
Carnegie Mellon University, School of Computer Science, PhD Program in Computer Science, Admissions Coordinator, School of Computer Science, Carnegie Mellon University, 5000 Forbes Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15213. E-mail: grad-adm@cs.cmu.edu, Phone: 1-412-268-3863, Fax: 1-412-268-5576

A PhD in psychology needs a lot of commitments. There are several fieldd of psychology that you can specialize in. For example, one could stay clinical psychology, social psychology, counseling psychology, developmental psychology, industrial/organizational psychology, human factors psychology, forensic psychology, forensic psychology, neuropsychology, etc

As PhD involves research in the field of psychology, you enroll for a full time programme.

The Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore
Indian Institute of Technology, Kharakpur (Industrial and experimental Psychology)
Jawaharlal Nehru University(JNU)
National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences(NIMHANS)
Ranchi Institute of Neuro Psychiatry and Allied Science
Bangalore University
Kasturba Medical College, Manipal