TechnoFIRST Web Edition - June 2010

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IT destination Kolkata

track 22 career data storage www.technofirstonline.com

Define your Unique Selling Point and follow your passion Boby Varghese

Technology Career & Entrepreneurship Magazine

CEO, Se-Mentor,Technopark

Vol. 6

Issue. 6

June 2010

finishing

schools Are they really worth it? top stories

network partner

21

where to look for job

28

Head Quarters at Home

30

How to face a group discussion

40

Enroll in Study Abroad Programs

Rs.20

www.technofirstonline.com

Technology Career & Entrepreneurship Magazine

Hon. Chief Editor Prof. Jyothy John Managing Editor Ajay Lal Editor in charge Abraham Tharakan Sub Editor Kushboo saji Administration Aadil Azis Marketing Prijo jose Campus Cordination Ginas KR Circulation Ginsiya KR Art Director M U Prajeesh Web Coordination Anitha Reghunathan Sandeep T Jisna CK Event Coordination Vimal Subscriptions   - 09388833888 subscription@technofirstonline.com Advertisement (+91) 9809011227 Corp. Office mediafirst Publication A-44, Road No-2, NH-8, Mahipalpur New Delhi - 110037 Ph +91-9388833888

editorial

E

ducation in India has been under a scanner for some time now.

Last 20 years have seen various issues like representation, affirmative action, parameter for judging the quality of education all discussed with violent passion across the social spectrum both in public and private. Questions have been raised about regulatory bodies and grant commissions. Opening up the private sector for education had resulted in many changes but not all of them favourable.

With the onset of foreign direct investment in education, the question again seems to be between qualitative and quantitative education,the on going case in the Supreme court over the validity of 44 deemed universities is yet another indicator of what is projected as a service and what is actually provided. Primary and secondary education seem to be pushed to the background with the clamour for higher education centres in the metros, the majority of Indians who are not from such education hubs seems left nowhere.

I.T finishing school as a pedagogical model seems a step in the right direction, it recognizes the deficiency in the formal educational system and tries to rectify the defects by providing an alternate arena, that too at an important junction in the students life, namely their first job.

The disturbing factor is that herd mentality that affects the society when it comes to choices in courses and career, is also actively playing a part in the mushrooming of bogus centres of education. editor@technofirstonline.com

Admin Office mediafirst Publications C1, Alfa Towers, I.S. Press Road, Cochin-18 Ph - (+91 484) 2397533 Printed at S. T. Reddiar Press, Kochi

Copy Right No part of this publication or any part of the contents thereof may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form without the permission of the publishers in writing. An exemption is hereby granted for extracts used for the purpose of fair review The publishers regret that they cannot accept liability for errors and ommissions contained in this publication, however caused. The opinions and views contained in this publication are not necessarily those of the publishers. Readers are advised to seek specialist advice before acting on information contained in this publication which is provided for general use and may not be appropriate for the readers’ particular circumstances

4 TF June 2010

follow us at http://twitter.com/TFMagazine visit us at www.technofirstonline.com talk to us at 093888 33 888 write to us at info@technofirstonline.com

letters to editor The Telecom cover story has provided lot of information for those who are interested in pursuing a career in telecom. Especially the story about Faith InfoTech and their special program for training engineer to become qualified employees for leading telecom companies .The fact they provide placement opportunities for students who take part in their programme is an inspiration to join their programme Meenu Kurien, Bangalore

I was very worried after taking a break from my job, the article on facing employment gaps has helped me regain confidence in trying to get a new job.

The cover story was also useful and I am very happy to know that there are so many jobs in the market for interested candidates. Its refreshing to read a magazine that provides useful information for the readers.

Nazir

I have been following Artin Dynamics through your magazine and have been very impressed with all the things they have been doing. Their brilliant product SPARA has truly revolutionised power saving in India.

Their new unique concept of E-waste awareness campaign has truly been an eye opener for The laymen and hope it will make changes in the attitudes of leading e-waste producers. Wishing artin dynamics for their future Joseph John

The web review on dare2compete was amazing it’s a great web site that gives information about various competitions all over India. The fact that they focus on business schools helps us to be up to date about the various events that are happening there and to get involved in a very competitive atmosphere in those colleges.

Tejusvi

The interview with Manu Balachandran was very interesting to read; hope there will be more such interviews. It was nice to know more about the personal side of a person who has been working for so long in the HR industry. Most of the things he talked about on the professionals shows the kind of change in attitude we need to have a successful career.

Mathew

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it destination

the job hunt

the expert talk

special stories

cover story 30

How to face a group discussion Just a bit of confidence, smartness and way of presentation can make you shine all throughout

14 IT finishing schools is it really worth?

These institutes provide the entry-level graduate engineer with critical skill sets required to get into the industry

6 TF June 2010

21

Where to look for jobs?

Apt contacts in the industry, right methods of searching and smart approach can do the magic for you

28

Head Quarters at Home what job can be more fun than having your offce at your own home?

job track

entrepreneurship

study abroad

exclusives 22

Career in Data Storage With the emergence of new trends like SOA and grid computing the DBAs have come out of those cliché back offices and getting involved in organizational planning and implementation decisions

42

Kolkata, gateway to eastern India A city with strong cultural, literary and religious favours, Kolkata symbolizes creativity and vibrance with all the modern amenities available

26

ceo talk S-E Mentor solutions started with a 4 member have grown in to a team of 40 people over a span of Two years.

Talk with Boby Varghese, the CEO

40

How to Enroll in Study Abroad Programs Check on the ambiance, travelling concerns, pre-requirements and verify all the details before you plunge into your decision to go Abroad

12

Golden Achievement for Light Logics Light Logics has revolutionised the whole concept of holographs and now the company has been elevated as the second global manufacturer of holographic weapon sight elements

regulars Letter

to the editor 5 Group Discussion 44 Beta Q 36 Career Guru 20 Book Review 49 Gadgets 46 Hot jobs 48 Web Review 18 Placement experience 39

TF June 2010 7

Infosys to hire 1,000 expats this year

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nfosys Technologies plans to give the pride of place to foreign faces in its sales and consultation teams in a radical hiring shift that the company believes will help land lucrative deals and boost its image as a global IT powerhouse.

Infosys will hire nearly 1,000 foreigners this year to push its sales and consultation practice as the company turns its gaze on high-margin consulting and

transformational deals.Infosys has about 550 people in its consulting business and 700 in the sales team. In contrast, bigger rival Tata Consultancy Services has nearly 700 consultants, while around 6.7%

Murdoch Vs Search engines Rupert Murdoch has launched a spirited defence of putting up paywalls around his newspaper websites, while embracing the game-changing potential of Apple’s iPad. The News Corp chairman hailed the new device as a possible saviour of the newspaper industry.

Murdoch renewed his attacks on search engines, such as Google, whom he accused of stealing journalism from traditional media outlets. He told a National Press Club event at George Washington University that the newspaper industry had to stand up for itself and charge for content while using copyright law to defend its journalism from being used without permission.

“We are going to stop people like Google or Microsoft or whoever from taking stories for nothing … there is a law of copyright and they recognise it,” Murdoch told a packed audience of journalists and other media professionals.

He said search engines had tapped into a “river of gold” by aggregating content but that the days of free news had to come to an end. “They take [news content] for nothing. They have got this very clever business model,” he said.

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of its workforce comprises foreigners.

Infosys, which forecast a 1618% growth for this financial year in its fourth-quarter results, is praying for a rosier economic environment for its new hiring plans to yield results.Clients are very cautious and nobody is willing to make a long-term commitment. People have budgets, but are taking a very short-term view on things.

Aricent to hire 1,000 people for new software line in India

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elecom software company Aricent plans to hire 3,000 people globally during the current fiscal out of which it will hire 1,000 people over the next four months in India to develop new products to cater to the increasing demands from customers.

With recovery in the economy, the company is seeing strong demand from telecom operators to create the next generation of telecom products and services. Out of the 1,000, almost 300 people would be based in the company’s Chennai centre.They would be doing high-end software solution for telecom clients.

Aricent is owned by Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co., Sequoia Capital, The Family Office, and Flextronics

Canadian Pension Plan Investment Board. Last fiscal, Aricent had hired 3,000 people globally across its several centres. The company said its customer list of 550 globally include Bharti Airtel, Cisco, Panasonica, Samsung, LG and Telefonica. Aricent has become a strategic supplier to the world’s leading communications equipment manufacturers and service providers.

Aricent’s products and services span the entire communications ecosystem including user experience design, consulting, research and development, testing and integration for devices and infrastructure, as well as operational and billing systems.

For more corporate news Log on to www.technofirstonline.com

corporate news ICICI Bank to hire up to 7,000 employees in fiscal 2010-11

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CICI Bank plans to increase the headcount by up to 7,000 this financial year. ICICI Bank Managing Director and CEO Chanda Kochhar announced that they are planning to hire around 5,000-7,000 people this fiscal and that they have also decided for bonus and increments for their employers while inaugurating the 2,000th branch of the largest private sector bank in Mumbai.

The bank is also planning to add more branches and ATMs in the current fiscal.

ICICI Bank has become the first private sector bank to reach this milestone, giving it a wide distribution reach in the country.

The inauguration of this 2,000th branch signifies the commitment of the company getting closer to the custmers through an enhanced branch network.Kochhar said that their branches are well-equiped to address customer needs through a wide range of products and services.The bank have now dedicated service area for privilege banking customers.

3 Indian IT giants hire 20,000 employees in Q4

I

T giants Infosys, TCS and Wipro hired over 20,000 employees in the January-March quarter, with improving business conditions propelling their recruitment plans.The three IT companies put together have made net additions of 20,014 employees (taking into account attrition) in the January-March quarter.

IT giant Infosys hired as many as 9,313 employees in the quarter, but the net addition after taking into account attrition was 3,914, according to the company’s financial statement for the period. The hiring increased the total workforce of the company. Another IT major

Tata Consultancy Services took on board a net 10,775 employees in the last quarter of 2009-10 fiscal. TCS’ total employee strength has soared to 1,60,429 at the end of the last fiscal. Besides, Wipro made net additions of 5,325 employees in the Q4 FY10, taking its total strength to 1,08,071. According to a recent survey by staffing firm TeamLease, Indian companies are increasingly upbeat about their hiring plans across almost all sectors in April-June period this year, led by an improving business outlook.HR experts predict companies in the IT & ITes sector would hire 1,50,000 professionals in the fiscal year 2011.

Cognizant promotes 15,000 staff globally

C

ognizant has started raining benefits.The company first paid out about 200% bonus in March to a cross section of its employees. Now, the company is promoting about 15,000 of its associates globally who are below the ‘manager’ level. The company has sent out letters of promotion to 15,000 employees that will take effect from May. This is just a the first round of promotions and a second batch of promotions

for people above the ‘manager’ level will happen in May.It is estimated that a sizeable chunk of the employees in that level are also likely to see themselves redesignated to a higher level.

These employees would receive a fair chunk of pay hikes as well, sources added.

The company has 78,400

employees . This is the single largest number of promotions announced by any IT company in India this year.

The chief financial and operating officer Gordon Coburn in an e-mail said that global promotions for associates below the level of Manager,Also Cognizant’s industry-leading growth over the past year has enabled promotion and career growth opportunities to a record number of employees,

TF June 2010 9

Artin Dynamics wins Sankalp Award Artin Dynamics that will pave way for greater success and encourage youngsters to take up entrepreneurship to develop innovative solutions that will create differentiation in the market

Artin Dynamics that will pave way for greater success and encourage youngsters to take up entrepreneurship to develop innovative solutions that will create differentiation in the market

Mervin Alexander, CEO, TechnoPark, Trivandrum

T

echnopark based Artin Dynamics has won the Sankalp Award 2010 for the Best Clean Energy company in India in the Emerging Enterprise Category at the finals held on May 05, 2010 in Mumbai.

Artin Dynamics was short listed among the top three finalists from 627 nominations in the final competitions that took place in Mumbai from May 3 – 5, 2010 where it was announced as the winner.

Technopark TBI felicitated Artin Dynamics in a press conference organized on May 12, 2010 The award winning product – the power saving SPARA that caught the 100 per cent jury attention at Sankalp Awards 2010, works on AI technology. The product Spara is aimed at reducing power wastages that occur during the non-usage hours of a computer.

“Our power saving product SPARA, was the highlight of the

10 TF June 2010

final presentation. The use of AI combined with Green Technology in saving power was probably the reason behind winning this award.

I owe this success to my entire team who worked day night for this product as well as for Sankalp 2010”, said Nelvin Joseph, CEO, Artin Dynamics “We at T-TBI are very elated that Artin has won this prestigious recognition. This is not just recognition for the company but also for Kerala IT for promoting innovation and entrepreneurship. We extend all our support to many more companies like Artin Dynamics that will pave way for greater success and encourage youngsters to take up entrepreneurship to develop innovative solutions that will create

differentiation in the market” said Technopark CEO, Mervin Alexander. Earlier this year another T-TBI incubated company Catalyz Scientific Technologies won the ISBA 2010 National Award for the Best Biotech Start up in India added Mervin.

“Artin winning this prestigious award is a great boost to Technopark Technology Business Incubator.

This is the 8th Award in a row theTBI companies have won in 3 years and the 3rd one in 2010 ! This recognitionproves that T-TBI has been nurturing innovation in the right direction to promote Entrepreneurship” said T-TBI Registrar and CFO-Technopark, K CC Nair.

Sankalp 2010 Forum and Awards recognizes awards and connects the most investible social MSMEs operating in 5 high impact sectors. The Sankalp 2010 Awards and Investment Forum is an annual Intellecap initiative committed to catalyzing entrepreneurship in the social enterprise space.

DST- Lockheed Martin India Inn

Golden Achievement for Light Logics Light Logics has revolutionised the whole concept of holographs and now the company has been elevated as the second global manufacturer of holographic weapon sight elements.

Dr. P.T. Ajith Kumar, Leading Scientist

L

ight Logics, based in Technopark is a pioneering holography technology Company and a leading worldwide provider of core holography machines. The company received the 2009 ISBA national award for the Best Start Up under the Engineering Design category. Light Logics Holography & Optics Pvt. Ltd. is a product of the Technopark TBI of Kerala IT. With the constant support of the Government of Kerala and Technopark - Technology Business

12 TF June 2010

Incubator (T-TBI). Technopark has been incubating the Company to become a full fledged Business Enterprises. Funded by the Department of Science and Technology (DST), Government of India this initiative provides incubation support to budding entrepreneurs in the “knowledge driven” industry. Department of Science and Technology, Government of India and Lockheed Martin started cooperation since 2007 towards India Innovation Growth Program, in order to identify and help commer-

cialising novel innovations. This year, Kerala has a reason for joy and for the first time in the entire history of the program, Light Logics Holography and Optics, a start up company from Technopark, has grabbed gold medal in the program. The award was handed over to Dr.P.T. Ajith Kumar, CEO, Light Logics by Shri. Prithviraj Chavan, Minister of Science & Technology, in a glittering ceremony held at NewDelhi on May 20, 2010. Dr. Ray O Johnson, Chief Technology Officer -Lockheed Martin, Mr. Sam Pitroda, Advisor to Hon’ble Prime Minister on Infrastructure, Innovation and Information, Dr. T Ramasami, Secretary, Department of Science & Technology, Govt. of India, Mr. H.K. Mittal, Advisor & Head, Department of Science & Technology, Govt. Of India, Mr.Sid Burback, Director, Global Commercialization Group, IC2 Institute, University of Texas, Mr. Nirankar Saxena, Director, FICCI and Dr. Arabinda Mitra, Executive Director, Indo US S&T Forum were also present during the function.

The gold medal winning technology of Light Logics was on ‘Next generation Holographic Weapon Sight, which will be enabling the armed forces and home land security forces to achieve split second sharp shooting in a ‘tactical engagement area’. Till now con-

novation Growth Programme ventional Red-dot Sights and Laser Sights are being used and such Sights have a very limited field of view due to its tubular vision. With the invention Dr. P.T. Ajith Kumar, President and Leading Scientist, Light Logics has revolutionised the whole concept and now the company has been elevated as the second global manufacturer of holographic weapon sight elements. Light Logics weapon sight hologram, when illuminated with a laser beam, produces a distant virtual image of a ‘tiny spot covered by a circle’. The soldier looks through the Sight, fixed on the gun and uses this image to easily aim the target. They have clear and near natural eyeglass type view and hence it is very easy to track, aim and rapidly fire the weapon, inflicting maximum assault to the enemy in the minimum possible time.

Dr. Ajith Kumar was the leader of the holography Team of C-DIT and Light Logics is his commercial venture.

Lockheed Martin Corporation, USA is one of the biggest innovation companies of the world and they are popularly known as the makers of F16 fighter planes. With staff strength of over 2 lakh and about 75,000 engineers, Lockheed Martin is now looking to India with appreciation on our ability for innovation and to make next generation products of global relevance As part of the program, about five hundred innovative ideas were collected across the country and it took about six months’ hard work and stringent scrutiny to shortlist the award winning technologies.

A global survey on the commercial feasibility of the technologies was conducted by the IC2 Institute, University of Texas, in association with the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industries (FICCI). The programme was also associated by the Indo US Science and Technology Forum.

Speaking at the award function, Shri. Prithviraj Chavan, Minister of Science & Technology said “For maintaining rapid growth, self

Next generation Holographic Weapon Sight The gold medal winning technology of Light Logics was on ‘Next generation Holographic Weapon Sight, which will be enabling the armed forces and home land security forces to achieve split second sharp shooting in a ‘tactical engagement area’. Till now conventional Red-dot Sights and Laser Sights are being used and such Sights have a very limited field of view due to its tubular vision reliance and help alleviate poverty, we need to fully utilize the innovation potential of our young population with science and technology background. I am convinced that programs of this nature which have been conceived in a true Public Private Partnership mode between DST-Lockheed Martin-FICCI and IUSSTF are a step in the right direction in achieving and harnessing this innovation potential. The winners of this competition, who are present here with us today, exemplify a new class of entrepreneurial spirit unleashed in 21st century India. We need to encourage, promote, nurture and mentor these innovators through programs such as this.”

According to Mr. Mervin Alexander, CEO of Technopark “This award won by Light Logics shows the capability of Kerala IT to conquer new heights. This award is a defining moment in the History of Kerala IT. This award is a sure recognition of the high standards of perseverance, competence and technical know-how exhibited by Kerala based technology Companies”.

According to Mr. K.C Chandrasekharan Nair, Secretary and Registrar, Technopark TBI, “Great ideas will remain on paper if an environment with the right conditions is not provided at the right time. We have supported Light Logics from the very inception and also funded the project. It has been a proud moment for all of us here at Technopark – Technology Business Incubator (T-TBI). Over the years TBI companies have been bringing in laurels and this has been the ninth award being received by Technopark TBI. Also this award shows the emergence of Kerala IT in the International Arena.”

Expressing his gratitude towards Kerala IT and the support provided by the Government of Kerala Dr. P.T. Ajith Kumar, President and Leading Scientist, Light Logics said, “I am extremely delighted for being recognised for the hard work we put in for the holographic weapon sight (HWS). We have developed a more advanced next generation HWS that has several benefits over other holographic sights and helps our security forces to protect our motherland in a much better and efficient manner.

Technopark – Technology Business Incubator has provided us the best enabling conditions for converting our innovative ideas into globally valued products of relevance to the entire humanity. We are aware that this product would not have seen the light of the day without the support and help of a set of visionaries and policymakers and the dedicated efforts and sacrifice of a set of people.”

TF June 2010 13

Finishing Sc

Are they rea

worth it?

14 TF June

2010

cover story

In this age where the world is rapidly turning into a global village, mere domain knowledge is not just enough for getting a good job

chool

ally

TF news desk

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itesh who recently passed out of one of the prominent engineering colleges in Kerala is still waiting to get his first job, he has attended more than ten interviews and had managed to clear the written exam in all of them, his Nemesis as usual is the HR round where he does not seem to be able to perform in the manner in which his potential employees expect him .Mini Jose who also passed from a leading college with above average marks has managed to land a job.

She is not happy with what she has got as the pay package and opportunity are below par to what majority of her class mates have obtained. Mohan Joseph who has been employed for the last 5 years feels that is career is going nowhere. Most of the people who joined the company with him have gone on to secure better positions either within the company or have moved to other companies. If these stories seems familiar or more unfortunately sounds like your own life, dear reader have you wondered why these things happen? The main reason for this disparity is the lack of certain skill sets that most employers look for. In this age where the world is rapidly turning in a global village, mere domain knowledge is not just enough for getting a good job.

Engineering graduates are expected to be employable and ready for the work place when they finish their studies. It is generally expected that the graduates should be equipped

TF June 2010 15

Finishing School Objectives  To enhance the employability of engineering students.  To enhance the standard of fresh engineering graduates so that they become acceptable to the industry

To cater to the needs of the industry.

To bridge the gap between industry and educaTo create tional instia platform tutions. where the students can work towards accessing the skills required to get into industry.

with a balance of technical skills in addition to the relevant “soft skills” required in the work place.

The ground reality is that most of the graduates passing out of various engineering institutes all over India do not meet the industry employability standards. What then could be the solution to this problem? In order to meet this deficit a particular pedagogical system has evolved- I.T finishing schools. These institutes enables the entry-level graduate engineer by providing critical skill sets, here people who leave professional educational institutions can work towards accessing the skill required to get into the industry.

The current educational system does not equip the student with the desired knowledge and skill set needed to excel in practical- professional life. At present the fresh graduate student is hired and then trained during their induction either through product oriented training program or through inhouse training program. In-house training programs are limited to basic orientation as vendor based training programs are expansive.

Finishing School is a new concept in which curriculum is developed for students to prepare them for requirements of industries. The finishing school aims to provide skills both technical and soft skills

16 TF June 2010

To provide both technical and soft skill to people to facilitate their employability.

To meet the needs of unemployed and nonemployable engineering graduates and to improve their communication as well as I.T. skills.

To reinforce the students skills and acquire industry– specific knowledge from trained faculty and experts from industries.

to people to facilitate their employability and play a part in the supply side issues (of talent) of the industry.

The Need The Industry sees the fresh graduate as one, needing a “sound base of mathematics and engineering technology” also must be equipped as communicators, with a broad understanding of, and ability to interact in the broader society in which their profession operates.

One of the questions that occurs to the readers would be what kind of balance between technical knowledge and soft skills must one achieve, well there are no set formulas for it, depending on the potential job sector this balance under goes changes. The jobs that requires more of an interaction with your clients or even your own team mates will need a certain high level of soft skills. On the other hand those dealing in core technical job may not be reviewed for such high level of soft skill, yet keep in mind that all jobs calls for interacting with people thus communication skills are a must for any sector you are working for or is planning to work for. A survey on Employer Satisfaction with Graduate Skills, in particular notes the following “skill deficiencies in new graduates: Creativity and flair, oral

To offer suitable candidates to different industries.

To help young graduates to find jobs through appropriate training.

business communication and problem solving. An independent study conducted on CEOs, by Stanford Research Institute and Carnegie Mellon in the US-In this study found that long-term job success depends75 percent on people skills and only 25 percent on technical knowledge. Study done by Harvard University- Another study done

by Harvard University had even more startling result — 85 percent of jobs and promotions happened because of the candidate’s attitude and only 15percent due to the facts and figures he packed under his or hers belt. KPMG study on ‘Global Skills for Graduates - KPMG’s recent study has found that financial services firms in both the UK and India are experiencing difficulties in recruiting the right people with the right skills, and that a “soft skills gap” is making itself increasingly apparent. This report attempts to highlight the gaps and provide direction for employers and educators looking to bridge this gap between the expectations of the financial sector and the current talent availability. The urgency of the need for inculcating good soft skills can be understood from various surveys conducted recently which concluded that presently only 15 to 20 percent engineering and other graduates being churned out every year in

India were employable in the IT industry. Sadly, of the large number most are unsuitable because of lack of soft skills.

What does I.T finishing schools offer in terms of service? Given that the basic problem affecting most Indian students is their communication skills a lot of emphasis is on oratory and written skills.

A good finishing school will be working to transform a capable but shy student into a into a potential employee. There are many I.T finishing schools now in India, like most establishments they all may not be the best bet in finding the services you would want. Many finishing schools have their unique mode of teaching, like what Mr. Adil of Smart Guruji says “we plan to take things to the students of instead of them running around confused about what to do. Most of students don’t enrol for extra courses because they are worried about various things like the course fee, structure, accommodation etc.

We at Smart Guruji uses e-learning platforms and virtual class room to overcome such obstacles”.

The concept of Finishing School programme is a pre-employment training programme for graduating students from Engineering/ Polytechnic Colleges offering different specializations to cater to the needs of different industries. Finishing School is a supplementary training school that attempts to make-up for deficiencies of students providing The Finishing School aims to provide skills both in technical

The Government of Kerala has taken the first step to by setting up the Model Finishing School in the capital city of Trivandrum. The Model Finishing School is a joint initiative of IT Department, Government of Kerala and Institute of Human Resources Development (IHRD), with the support of Infosys

and soft skills to students to facilitate their employability and play a part in the supply side issues of the industry.

The aim is to “sharpen some of the social, presentation and communication skills in which many Indian engineers are found wanting when they interact with clients and colleagues from other cultures,” Kiran Karnik,ex- president of National Association of Software an Service Companies (NASSCOM).

The Current Schools The popular ones in the I.T. domain are the Mysore based Raman International institute of Information Technology, a division of Raman Computers and Bangalore based Purple Leap. These schools cover technical skills as well as communication and problem solving skills.

Other Finishing Schools attempt to make up for the deficiencies in the secondary education system

with regard to maths and science education and bring the student up to the level necessary for attending University and gaining admission.

All NIIT inductees come down to the School of Employee Education and Development (SEED), in Delhi, during their induction programme when certain generic skills for people across all divisions are taught. Engineering graduate students will have an opportunity to equip themselves with skills that are relevant to modern engineering practices in leading industries nationwide and worldwide.

Dale Carnegie Walchand Finishing School has been started in October, 2007 in Ramnagar,around 20 kilometres from Bangalore; it aims at making candidates industryready.

The Government of Kerala has taken the first step towards this by way of setting up the Model Finish-

Finishing School is a new concept in which curriculum is developed for students to prepare them for requirements of industries.

The finishing school aims to provide skills both technical and soft skills to people to facilitate their employability and play a part in the supply side issues (of talent) of the industry

web review

Magoosh.com

M

ing School in the capital city of Trivandrum. The Model Finishing School is a joint initiative of IT Department, Government of Kerala and Institute of Human Resources Development (IHRD), with the support of Infosys. This school for the Kerala students, who in spite of academic and technical brilliance are not able to get employment in adequate numbers, commensurate with their skills.

Free and Open Source Software (FOSS) Finishing school at Ernakulum, Kerala a joint venture of Kerala State IT Mission and C-DIT. The need of the school is to reduce the gap between the availability of FOSS based software tools and trained manpower in FOSS. While the jury is out on whether the existing finish-

18 TF June 2010

ing school delivery what they promise, it is without doubt that India needs an alternative system to bridge the gap that existing between the needs of the industry and the academic curricula. Through Finishing School should be able to get an opportunity to acquire and reinforce industry-specific knowledge, skills and competencies delivered by trained faculty and practicing managers from the industry.

These schools should make a difference in the lives of numerous students who pass out with grand plans of successful career and prosperous life.

Since a good number of students come from II tier and III tier cities such alternative system will go a long way to help them to catch up with their more cosmopolitan colleagues.

agoosh.com is an educational portal that offers online test preparation service for GMAT Entrance Exam. GMAT is a computer adaptive standardized test used as an admissions criterion by international business schools. The exam consists of three main sections: analytical, writing assessment, quantitative section, and verbal section.

Their online preparation service include questions written by experienced tutors, detailed explanations, comparisons of score etc.

Once you sign up with Magoosh, it provides you a dashboard where you can see your results, performance over a certain period, practice answering questions,etc. It lets you view a detailed video and written explanation for each question. At any time during your practice session, you can view your results. The results page also shows your performance compared to that of an average user.

The service offers two pricing model free and premium (499 for6 month ) which depends on Subjects, number of questions and additional features like video explanations.

job track

Where to look for jobs Searching for first job is tough. Apt contacts in the industry, right methods of searching and smart approach can do the magic for you. One should just know when to start the journey and how to exploit what one has

“

Where are you working”, the most usual question yet sometimes the most disturbing question one faces.

Searching for a job is one of most difficult situation one faces in life especially when all around us are getting placed in front of us.

Unfortunately, all the education one receives never lets one acquire any skill which would make him find a job easily.

The main thing what is required is that one need to know where to look, how to look and in which way to approach. Once you are sure on these aspects then the journey would be easier for you.

Sometimes searching a job can be very stressful for many students nearing graduation. But once you

career guru

are sure on where to land for your dream job, the path would simply become an easy process than something to be stressed out of.

When to search Most of the time students are confused on when to search. Many of them take time off after college and simply go to hometown with the idea of searching a job. Taking a couple of months or weeks off to search especially during the time when you are about to graduate would be really a foolish step.

You should prepare your self for jumping into the real world well in advance. Since you never know when an opportunity will knock your door, one need to be fully prepared for it. Even the most

qualified candidate would take maximum time to find a right job.

Hence it is needed that one need to start searching for jobs long before graduation takes place. Contacts are the key word which will help you all the time. When you are in college, its for sure that you would come across many who are from the same field.

Try to collect their contact as they would be the key for you to approach when you are on the move in search for a job. During the course, you must have already thought on where you would like to work and which companies match with you personality. Knowing what you want to do is the best way to start your search; but if you are still not sure on it then it would be really a hard time for the students.

Mail your queries: careerQ@technofirstonline.com

something new and fully confident on it, then go Q I am a mechanical engineer with 9 years of experience in an ERP driven company (SAP). I have ahead. good exposure to SAP working environment, C++ programming, Process automation, Robotic Q I have done MSc Computer science and worked on application for welding, and production planning java as software developer for 1.5 years. I want to and management. I want to relocate for better career switch to .NET. Is it necessary that I should go for a prospects. IT has always been an area of interest to course? Will by previous experience count for a career me. Kindly advice me on this front? as a .NET developer?

Varun Menon, Mangalore

a

Any day IT is a better choice, but it has its own pitfalls and benefits. You can grow fast and in the same way the work pressure is there as well. One can easily go out of job very soon too. You need to stay contemporary and learn new skills all the time which is demanding. If you are ready to venture into

22 TF April 2010

Revathy Shankar, Trivandrum

a NET is an extremely versatile course that you have chosen. Basically .NET is Microsoft’s strategy of software that provides services to people any time, any place, on any device. If you want to switch to .Net you have 2 options. Firstly, you can contact and inquire from the concerned authorities in

Methods to be adopted Internships pave way to a great career in future. During college life one should always go for internships or apprenticeships.

Though having fun during college time is really good but having the base for a strong career ahead is also needed.

The contacts and link which you develop with the industry during such internships would come for your real help in future.

Most of these companies might be waiting for taking you, if not they will surely guide you to some other better destinations.

Where to search Local newspapers always act as a huge repository of information about openings, entry level and higher level. Many companies like to hire local people so that they do not have to pay relocation fees. Once you look, you would be surprised on how many great jobs are actually posted in the newspaper.

Internet is one of the sources which will help you a lot. If you are ready to work anywhere then the web would help you search and opt down to the right one.

Once you are willing to try the

your present organization, if there is any application Q available which is working with .Net. If there is any option available with your current organization then you can request for transfer.

In that case your on-job-training and your previous a experience will be considered.

Second option would be a short term course from a reputed institute. Your experience as a Java software developer will help you in understanding and working on .Net platform.

There are many organizations that require .Net professionals and it is possible that some companies will consider your background to be useful. If you plan to do a course in .

Net, make sure you do it from a reputed institute.

You can visit www.technofirstonline.com and search for companies looking for .Net professionals.

maximum and start early then not give up until you have a job that you love and are excited about.

Employment websites offer quite a bit of exposure if you post your resume for prospective employers.

You can find on the jobs available all over the country with those which ask for the skills that you have. With good education as a strong base, you can surely apply for the jobs which you like. With pure hard work, you would land up with you dream job that fits your personality and the one which you enjoy doing. Set your first job well and give a rocking start to your career.

I’ve been on several interviews, and I haven’t landed a job yet.Can you tell me what’s wrong with my résumé?

Markrette, Delhi Since you’ve gone on several interviews your résumé isn’t the problem, it’s your interviewing skills. Interviews are nothing more than meet and greet sessions to ask questions and discuss a possible merger between the two parties. Your résumé served as the “introducer” that got your foot in the door to the interview.Since you’ve been invited through many office doors, the focus now shifts to what is happening while you’re in the room.

A number of variables can cause an interview to go sour: appearance, attitude, and scope of answers.If you want to know exactly what the problem is, ask a friend or family member who can be candid with you.

TF April 2010 23

career track

Career in Data Storage With the emergence of new trends like SOA and grid computing the DBAs have come out of those clichĂŠ back offices and getting involved in organizational planning and implementation decisions

W

ith the ever increasing number of enterprises brewing up every other day and the amount of data being transferred along, today Data Storage and maintenance has become and integral part of any enterprise. TF looks career opportunities in Data Storage Storage would often sound more or less like a box or may be a cupboard to the layman but with the development in the IT and the ITES; storage has added a lot to its meaning. Over the last decade there has been an irregular yet astonishingly positive growth to most of the segments of the economy. Enterprise information is bulging at the seams and that has fuelled the demand for storage resources, and thus for trained storage professionals.

There is a great void in demand and availability of storage professionals.

Worldwide digital information is being generated at a tremendous pace, and hence the need to store and manage this information has fueled the demand for storage professionals. Data storage is a critical exercise for any business to successfully carry out its business.

Emerging trends in storage industry have also encouraged an increase in the average storage capacity in organizations.

Although storage resources have been increasing along with the digital information deluge, so is the paucity of trained storage

22 TF June 2010

professionals.

According to the market research the total disk storage systems capacity shipped has reached close to 1 lakh TB in 2009.

This research also predicts that the booming digital information economy is expected to create a demand for a million storage professionals by the year 2012.

The same study also reveals that storage professionals have the highest average salary amongst all IT specialties. Despite the current global economic uncertainties enterprises need to store their ever-increasing volumes of business data. So even during the last years economic crisis the demand for the data storage professional was over whelming.

No matter what, data would be one of the most important resource, so it’s essential for an enterprise to maintain storage professionals for enhanced designing and organization of storage requirements of the company. The demand for such professionals is not specific to a particular vertical, but is spread across all. Be it banking, media houses or data centers; all need storage professionals. Thus, with increasing demand for such professionals, storage as a career is a safe and lucrative option.

Being a Storage Professional The job of a storage professional in an enterprise would that be of an local network administrator or may

be some what in the lines of that.

For network professionals this would be a natural extension as they would be joining as UNIX or Windows system administrators.

A storage professional can start as a junior storage administrator and then move on to become a storage administrator followed by a storage manager or a storage architect.

You can then possibly specialize to There are specific domains where a storage professional can venture. The two most important storage domains where specialist storage professionals are required are Backup and recovery It requires relevant expertise in data backup operations, and having vendor specific trainings or certifications. The job responsibilities would entail carrying the backup operations and deploying and managing backup products for specific operations.

DR and BCP Every enterprise is deploying disaster recovery and business continuity management policies. DR & BCP administrator would be responsible for planning, implementation and management of DR, backup and recovery of storage information.

Your Job Ladder as a Storage professional 1. Storage-network operator This job is at the entry level for professionals having no or little system administration experience.

The job responsibilities entail configuring fiber-channel switches and provisioning storage on a storage array.

2. Storage-network administrator This is the next step, up the ladder and responsibilities entail switch zoning and management, storage system administration and host integration.

3. Storage architect With SAN administration experience at different capacities, a storage professional can become storage architect, responsible for capacity planning, SAN design and process management.

The top five storage certifications that IT managers want     

Vendor-specific storage platform Backup software Volume management SNIA certification Storage networking

become a recovery administrator or DR/BCP administrator.

Also as the enterprises give increasing attention to archiving and journaling, these two areas of specialization along with compliance know how can also be a great career curve for storage professionals.

The Latest Trends The storage domain comprises of several niche areas where a professional can develop expertise and become a domain specialist.

There are a few areas on the priority list of each CIO, CTO and IT administrator. Some of the technology areas where a storage professional can look forward to be a domain specialist are: 1. E-mail management: Majority business users rely on e-mail more than even a telephone for business communications; an ever-increasing amount of critical information is passed through

The Skills They Look Out For Managing storage growth based on the organizations requirements Designing, deploying, managing—backup/recovery Designing, deploying, managing—disaster recovery Making informed strategic/bigpicture decisions Designing and deploying emerging storage technologies Designing, deploying, and managing multi-site, multi-vendor environments Shortage of skilled storage professionals Managing data availability/data retention compliance

a company’s e-mail system.

Managing the email system and archiving email messages for complying with government’s regulations are becoming issues of concern for enterprises.

Enterprises in India are facing this huge email explosion and hence have to adopt effective e-mail management and archiving solutions.

2. Disaster recovery & business continuity: Post 9/11 organizations have woken towards adopting measures for unforeseen situations such as terrorist threats, cyber crimes and occurrence of natural calamities such as Tsunami, hurricanes, floods and earthquakes.

3. Information security: Assuring data confidentiality and integrity have become major security challenges these days.

Customers want to avoid the financial implications of data loss and potential negative publicity.

4. Storage virtualization:

Companies that have large, diverse and complex storage environments are looking to simplify the management of these environments. They are the most likely candidates to go for storage virtualization.

5. IP-based storage: IP-based storage will gain momentum because of its strengths of cost, capacity, scalability and manageability, especially in SMBs. IP SAN is a perfect solution for mid-tier organizations, that are planning to move to networked storage or help in consolidating existing SANs at high end. It helps in total network storage consolidation of resources at a lower cost and centralizes the storage architecture. It also helps in leveraging existing investments in Fiber Channel SAN. In case of NAS, it extends NAS consolidation capabilities to include traditional block applications.

Certifications A certification from a particular vendor acts as a value add-on for a storage professional.

Though the storage domain is restricted with vendor-specific certifications, there are nonprofit organizations like Storage Networking Industry Association (SNIA) that standardizes the education and training for storage professionals on a vendor-neutral basis. SNIA Storage Network Foundations exam is useful for those having limited or no SAN experience at all. This course provides relevant hands-on labs experience to befit a professional for the role of storage-network operator. For administration level job roles, a professional should have storage architecture and implementation experience.

And as these storage implementations are vendor specific, they have their SAN Host Integration certifications available for the professionals. The SNIA foundation course imparts skill on managing the switch and zoning along with provisioning, configuring the host operating system for fiber-channel storage.

TF June 2010 23

Company review

ADP India

ADP provides integrated computing solutions to auto, truck, motorcycle, marine and recreational vehicle dealers. The company was founded in 1949 and is headquartered in Roseland, New Jersey

O

Overall rating Satisfaction with Salary, Hikes & Bonus Nature/Quality of work Onsite Opportunities Work Environment Job Security

Satisfaction with Salary, Hikes & Bonus ADP pays medium level salaries. Bonus and hikes are very good if you are a top performer. As the company has a relatively flat hierarchy, don’t expect promotions every 2 years.

Onsite Opportunities Onsite opportunities are generally poor. If there are, they would be for a month or so

Job Security ADP recruits good people in general and is not known to throw people.

Moreover the business is stable and most of the revenues are recurring

24 TF June 2010

ne of the world’s largest providers of business outsourcing solutions, ADP provides application development, technical support, software development and solution center services. The company has expertise in client server, communication, enterprise, mainframe, web technologies, software testing, non voice processes, transaction processing, analytics, data conversion, payroll processing, customer calls and tier 1 & 2 client technical support. ADP provides integrated computing solutions to auto, truck, motorcycle, marine and recreational vehicle dealers. The company was founded in 1949 and is headquartered in Roseland, New Jersey.

ADP India, is the fully owned subsidiary of ADP INC., and is engaged in providing IT and ITES service to ADP business divisions worldwide. Established in 1999, with offices in Hyderabad and Pune, ADP India provides the opportunity of working on multiple processes, domains and technologies to over 3500 associates. In the space of IT, the India operation provides complete range of software development and technical support services.

Company Website http://www.adp.com Skill / Technology used by ADP Datawarehousing, ERP, Java/JS/ J2EE/Struts/Servlet, Mainframe, MS.Net/C#/VB/XML/VC++/Ajax, Oracle Apps, Peoplesoft, Cognos Best & Worst thing about this company

Work environment is very good and people get the chance to prove themselves. There are not much of onsite opportunities Your Recommendation Yes “I love my Company” Work Environment ADP gives an amiable work environment, people are friendly.

While it is not possible to claim that none of the projects are stressful, you get to interact with the management in an opne environment and they would listen to you. The company prides in making the workplace a place that you’d love to go to. As the company is small, getting noticed by others (for good or bad work) is also easy.

Nature/Quality of work Quality of work is much better than some other IT companies where they shift people from one technology to another depending on project availability. There is no concept of bench, so work is always balanced.

There is rarely a situation where you’d have too much of work for 6 months and no work for next 6 months. It is a product company, so you’d mostly not need to work according to the whims and fancies of a customer. You might get involved in development and maintenance of an existing product or servicing the internal business customers.

Disclaimer:This is an individuals point of view about the company that he/she is employed in and we, at TechnoFIRST, won’t be held responsible for the same. As per the request the identity of that individual shall not be disclosed under any circumstances.

ceo talk

Smart Solutions at

se mentor

S-E Mentor solutions started with a 4 member have grown in to a team of 40 people over a span of Two years. It has crossed many significant milestones in this journey.

Mr. Boby Varghese, CEO se-mentor talks to Technofirst.

A

ny particular information and achievement of the company that you would like our readers to know?

We are a company focussed on Software engineering services with special emphasis on testing and test automation services. SeMentor solutions started with a 4 member have grown in to a team of 40 people over a span of Two years. We have crossed many significant milestones in this journey.

We became IBM ATP(authorised training provider) for the Rational brand and is the leading player in the country in that category. We were chosen to partner with Technopark to Run the TSECC . We were invited to partner many open source communities in the soft ware engineering space to provide cost effective solution to the SMB segment.

What was the primary motivation for starting a company?

To follow our passion as a team and me and my team believed we can be the best in our category. It was a road rarely taken and we believed in our instincts and the market. We had our own share of ups and downs but we stuck together as a team and gone this far.

What were the major steps you had to go through to start the company?

The challenges were many as we started from the scratch. We had to build it brick by brick. We

26 TF June 2010

Brief sketch Advice to future entrepreneurs?

Be prepared to come out of your comfort zone. Define your Unique Selling Point and follow your passion and be prepared for the long haul.

Play the team game if you want success in the long run.

Entrepreneurship according to you is ...?

Ability to be innovative and find your own way.

The best thing about your team?

The ability and willingness of my team is to stretch beyond the day to day work and contribute to build up the organisation.

The Most memorable moment as a team ?

There were many and the biggest moments were when we got the IBM partnerships and when we were allotted the same office in Technopark where we have worked earlier as employees. didn’t have any investor or funding source. We had to go through the hard way to get the ball rolling.

Once the first major order came through there was no looking back.

We cannot forget the support from the Technopark team and

specifically the TBI team who did everything possible from there side to support us.

The biggest break came when we got the partnerships (Authorised Training Provider and Consulting partner) from IBM which was a major break through. IBM policy stipulates that any organisation has to submit three years balance sheet to attain eligibility for becoming an IBM partner.

After being convinced about our technical capability IBM offered us the partnership with in 3 months of our company being registered.

Where did you find the seed capital for your company?

We raised it from our own sources and luckily for us we struck our first major training order from UST in the first month itself. That was the capital from where stared off.

Your most meaningful asset would be?

My team who trusts each other’s abilities and the good will we have generated over a period of time.

We have defined our core values clearly and we have never deviated from that. Our value system ensured that we never lost a customer or and employee. Yes, we had some attrition over this period but , all the people who left are still a part our family are with us in thick and thin. I believe my team , our value system , the work culture and good will generated around it is our greatest asset.

testing and test automation division and want becomes the No 1 player in that area.

On the short term plans, We are bringing in some experts to our management structure and are putting systems and processes in place.

We aspire to become an eighty member organisation by the next financial year.

We are bringing in some experts to our management structure and are putting systems and processes in place. We aspire to become an eighty member organisation by the next financial year.

What has been the biggest challenge for you as a CEO, how did you overcome it?

The most critical challenge was during the lean period last year as our main source of business at that time, the training consulting Business from IBM , which almost came to a stand still due to recession. The cash flow was severely hit and that forced us to question the fundamentals of our business plan . We revisited our strategy and decided to put more focus on outsourced testing and test automation and it paid off. Now our outsourced testing and test automation division is 32 member strong is generating good revenues.

What is your vision for your organization? Future plans?

We want to be the best service provider in the software engineering space. We will be focussing more on

What is the toughest part of being a CEO? To keep the flock together and give direction to the aspirations of every team member in tune with company goals.

The important aspects of being a CEO? You should have a very clear vision and focus. You should be clear

where you are taking your team.

You need to carry the team long with you on all major decisions.

If you wouldn’t have been a CEO, you would have been?

I do consult for many IT majors on software development process, Business modelling, Requirements Management, Analysis and Design, UML etc.

May be, I would have focussed more on my consulting career, if I have not taken up this responsibility.

What do like the most about being a CEO? What I enjoy most is the thrill of giving shape to dreams of an organization and going through the challenges of realizing that dream.

entrepreneurship

Head Quarters at Home The positive and negative trends of the business should be already known to you.

If it is in the same field, then the new direction which you want to choose should be rightly selected

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hat job can be more fun than having your office at your own home? A home-based business is gaining

importance in this 21st century with many opting for it. Ideas would be there with many but taking the right step is what is needed. How to move ahead and make it into reality needs to be thought over and well planned.

The dos and don’ts should be studied before in hand.

One needs to be prepared to face all the hiccups on the way. Once you are set to start a venture, you should think on both sides- positive and negative. Firstly, the question should be whether you are ready for starting a business on your own. The confidence in you is the key which guides the path to success What interests you Decide on which area you want to start with. Whether you want to pursue what you are already doing or something new. If you want to move ahead with something different then proper search is required. You need to be fully aware of what you are going to take. The positive and negative trends of the business should be already known to you. If it is in the same field, then the new direction which you want to choose should be rightly selected.

Type of business Once you have opted on the area of interest, next step would be to know the type of business. Whether it is a

If you are about to start a product based business, then Check your idea- before plunging on to it, think twice. Think on your potential competitors before developing the product Check the market- The right market should be chosen.

Even if you have a great product, the wrong market would make it a failure.

Availability of financingEven if you have a great idea, you need to have the adequate funds to make it a success Plan out your operationslook for suppliers and distributors. Identify the places from where you can get the ingredients and raw materials. Decide on where and how to sell Make business plan- Think on your business and make a plan, once you are set looking for investors. product based business or service based business, needs to be noted.

Service based business can be anything which interests you and offers great profit potential.

Firstly, check on whether you need any licensing or certification to run the type of business you are considering. Make a list of the assets you’ll need to get your business off the ground. Make

necessary arrangements for the finance. Write a proper business plan. Make a structured office and market your business well.

Study the market The market you are targeting should be well studied. Whether it is a local market or universal market which you are planning to focus should be decided. The ways to approach the market should be planned depending upon the characteristics of the market. Each market will have its own special features which when fully tapped will make you have success in the business.

Hence knowing the market mix is very important. Since you are headquartered at your home itself, the timings can be made flexible as you need. Before starting a full fledged business, you have to decide on whether you are planning to work full-time

I had to make my own living and my own opportunity! But I made it! Don’t sit down and wait for the opportunities to come.

Get up and make them!

C J Walker Nair

Founder, African-American hair care products and America’s first black female millionaire

or part-time. The time you are allotting for the job also makes a difference. It should neither get sidelined nor should your job get affected with your part-time business.

The future One need to always have the

right idea on why you are doing this. Why there is the need to have a SoHo (Small office/home office), one need to always have the answers to all the questions.

In addition to determining what kind of business you want to start, it is imperative to do a research to assess if there is potential market for that business in your area.

Though the idea might be good since it saves on lots of money but in the end your attitude matters the most.

One needs to be focused on what to do without loosing the idea. If you are sure about its outcome then your future is secure in your hands. One needs to be confident about one is doing.

You will have to face the hassles on the way but still remain undeterred. If you have the strength and will then success will come calling for you.

job hunt

How to face a group discussion Speaking from a group or a crowd is always feared by all. Just a bit of confidence, smartness and way of presentation can make you shine all throuchout divya v

Taking more time or speaking in between will create an impression that you are over smart and impatient. Hence try to be polite and attentive during the group discussion.

How to prepare

G

roup discussions, one of the most feared of all the tests. For most of the people, they prefer one to one talks than talking in a group. Speaking out from amongst a group of people is always considered as uncomfortable by the candidates. The shy feeling or the lack of confidence that what one speak would be wrong or considered as a stupid point; makes one uncomfortable in speaking out.

The group discussion makes the interviewers to judge on many qualities. Few of them are mental agility, spontaneity of decision, interpersonal skills, alertness, power of assimilation, clear and logical exposition, leadership, intellect and moral integrity. One should face the discussion with full confidence so that there won’t be any form of doubt in their minds.

30 TF June 2010

How to behave One should be clear in one what one speaks. Clarity is one of the main key. You should make the point crystal clear to the rest of the speakers. Never hesitate in what you are saying. Speak your mind but do make sure that you don’t blabber unnecessary. Doing round and round talks will create a bad impression about you.

Give maximum time for other speakers too. Let them express their opinion. Never speak in between. When one speaker is expressing his opinion, just note down if you want to say against it and speak only when the concerned speaker has completed his explanation. Never take overtime in speaking your own point of view. Once you have conveyed all your supporting points then give way for others.

When it comes to group discussion, your knowledge is on test. Taking it as it comes attitude won’t work with the discussions.

You should have clear picture on the topic. Once you know on it then only one can decide on which side to take, either you are for the topic or against it.

Waiting till you get the topic would be a foolish step to take. You need to prepare well in advance.

You need to understand that most students would have started their GD preparation early itself. Just clearing the written test won’t do, even the GD matters a lot. Only when you have perfect points with you, you can stand for your side.

If you are for the topic, you should have the points that support it and similarly in the other case.

With the competition on rise, you need to be updated with the day to day happenings and improve your knowledge.

To improve your knowledge, read a general newspaper and a business newspaper everyday to keep abreast of current events and business- related news. You should also make it a point to read one general magazine and one business magazine to supplement newspaper reading. If needed write down the points which are related to the

Dos and Don’t at GD Be as natural as possible Think on multiple angles on the topic Do take care of your body language Be assertive and not dominating Have control over your emotions Keep your ego to your self Speak only those facts which you are confident of Don’t argue or humiliate anyone Be confident in what you say core issue. This will help you remember them better. Always make it a point to read articles that cover a range of issues to increase your knowledge on a wide variety of topics.

How to approach

Try to understand the topic at first. Once you get the key word in the topic, you can later add from your information.

You can interpret from your understanding once you build a base. Later, think on the pros and cons of the topic. Decide on which side you will be comfortable or on which side you can speak more.

Once you are confident on the side, you can confidently speak from that angle. Try to bring forth all your views and prepare counter views after hearing what your partners in the discussion are speaking of. One need to focus on all angles right from socio-cultural, political, economic, legal and technological angles. Students should analyze a given topic using multiple angles.

Once you are confident and well prepared, group discussions are very easy to deal with. Its just a matter of luck, patience and smartness which can win you the deal.

The top 6 skills for an IT career Finding a job in the IT industry is really a tough job in itself, more the same when you have lesser skills on hand. We bring you the Top six job skills that will get you your first job.

SAP The surging demand in the ERP market is expected to increase the adoption of SAP in organizations around the globe. Currently, SAP and Oracle are the two major ERP players, however the former is having an advantage over the latter when it comes to the demand in the market. The reason behind this dominance of SAP in the ERP market is because of the customer satisfaction, according a study conducted by Panorama Consulting Group. Analysts have also predicted that SAP’s Business ByDesign offering will do well this year, which will drive the demand for more SAP professionals.

PHP PHP is estimated to have been installed on more than 20 million websites and over one million web servers as of 2009, the number would have multiplied today considering the current surge in the online world. Today, there are several companies that are getting into this space that is driving the demand for professionals with knowledge about PHP. Embedded C++ The increasing demand for embedded systems is driving the growth for Embedded C++, which was defined by an industry group to address the shortcomings of C++ for embedded applications.

The official website states the goal of Embedded C++ as to provide embedded systems programmers with a subset of C++ that is easy for the average C programmer to understand and use.

C++ Many believe that the demand for

C++ has always been there and there are not many signs that show the fall of this computer language in the near future. It is believed that the demand for programmers like C++ remains constant because these are used in segments such as automobile, healthcare and communication systems, which are always in the growth trajectory. .NET Since the birth of multi-core computing, there has been a requirement for parallelprogramming architecture.

Incidentally, almost every programmer considers .NET Framework 3.5 as getting distant and out of the way. To prevent its programming market fiasco, recently, Microsoft released the beta version of .NET Framework 4.

Primarily, the MSDN site shows that the parallel extensions in the .

NET 4, has been improvised to support analogous programming, targeting multi-core computing or distributed computing. Thus, making it the right time to be equipped with the .NET skills.

Java Often accused of being “soon to be out dated” Java has stood its ground. For the records Java is being used in more than 4.5 billion devices around the world and the usage is expected to rise further because of the growth in the number of mobile phones, personal computers and smart cards.

Java applets help to have an improved functionality while browsing the internet also making it more attractive.

start up story

Secure Documents just a click away A 3 years feasibility study and part of the brainstorming session on National Security conducted by the Department of Science and Technology Myeasydocs secures your most important documents online

Company Name Tharakan Web Innovations (P) Ltd – Owner of Myeasydocs.com Founded in May 2007 Head Quartered in IIT Madras Research Park Industry Internet.

Business Description Online document verification Why you are unique The only company that provides an online document verification facility, linking document issuers, document owners and companies.

The Team Avira Tharakan Chief Executive Officer

Shameem P J

Chief Operating Officer

Thomas Tharakan

Chief Financial Officer

No. of employees 5 Achievements Promoters of Company were part of the brainstorming session on National Security conducted by the department of science and technology. Business plan was selected as part of the PAN IIT Business Plan conclave

32 TF June 2010

Avira Tharakan and Shameem P.J

What was your primary motivation for starting a company?

There is no organised document sharing portal today. We still use the courier based system for submitting documents. I was working as Credit Cards review manager, when a lot credit applications were getting declined for want of proper documents. These included KYC documents, income documents etc. The company decided to call back customers and procure documents from these applicants. There were multiple issues with this model. One was there was a delay in submitting the documents. People had to carry original documents so they could photocopy them. There was also problem of verifying these documents for fraud. That is where we struck the idea of three pronged approach for “Retail Document Management” A web portal that allows to store documents, facility for getting these documents veri-

fied by the issuer and sharing these verified documents online.

What were the major steps you went through to start your company?

We had to get the right kind of information to start with. We spent 3 years on just the feasibility study.

We were part of the brainstorming session on National Security conducted by the Department of Science and Technology which chaired by the Union Minister. We had taken back a lot of valuable inputs back and started working more towards the problem of fake documents, which was a national security threat. We had approached KPMG to prepare a concept note in which the firm helped us to identify the exact route in which the system and proces was to be built. We had interacted and taken feed back from quite a number of people who were very helpful in our early days – from inputs to providing feedback to secretary,Kerala M

Department of scientific and industrial Research (DSIR)

Technopreneur Promotion Programme (TePP) wanted 200 innovators with grit and

determination to become technopreneurs TePP along with its network partners provides grants, technical guidance and mentoring to independent innovators to emerge as entrepreneurs by incubating their idea and enterprise in two phases. Till date 400 innovations have been supported. Proposals are now

invited on the following for support in the year 2010-2011

Program

Eligibility

Micro Technopreneurship Support (TS): (Max support Rs 0.75 lakhs)

Any independent innovator testing new ideas with computer generated /physical models. Student innovators and others who have not worked on their idea can avail this support to develop their novel concept further and understand challenges in implementation.

They can apply to phase-1 grants thereafter.

TePP Phase I (Innovation Incubation)

Any independent innovator/start-up firm for developing function proving prototypes. Innovators can apply direct for TPF support without applying for TS/ if they have worked on their idea to the extent they understand challenges in implementation. Before submitting proposal, they can take a self check based on Check list placed on DSIR website.

TePP Project Fund (TPF) (Max support Rs 15 Lakhs)

TePP phase II(Enterprise Incubation): 1 Supplementary TePP Fund(STF)

Successful TePP innovators of TePP Phase 窶的 for licensing technology to a third party

2 Seamless scale-up support(S3T)

Successful TePP innovators of TePP Phase-I for starting own enterprise.

(Max support Rs 7.50 lakhs)

Shri R. R. Abhyankar contact: Scientist- G & Head, TPDU Department of Scientific & Industrial Research (DSIR)

Technology Bhavan, New Mehrauli Raod NEW DELHI 110 016, Tel. : 011- 2863805, FAX : 011-26960629, E-mail : rra@nic.in

Important:

1. Women innovators are encouraged to apply. All assistance will be provided to them by TePP Network 2. TePP works in a network mode with several out reach centers spread across the country. Addrsses of TePP Outreach centers(TUC) with name of coordinator and contact numbers are placed in DSIR web page. Few more TUCs will be added in the current financial year. All outreach centers provide counseling and mentoring, some provide incubation facilities too. Innovators are encouraged to submit proposals through the TePP Outreach Centers.

3. The application blank appropriate to the category may be downloaded from DSIR Website: http://www.dsir.gov.in

we share your dreams

N Reddy, IG of Police, Bangalore, Aruna Chaba, Senior Technical Director, NIC, Lokanth Behra, IG National Investigation Agency, Sujith Banerjee, Director, Department of Science and Technology, S T Ramesh, ADGP, Karnataka, Vittal Raj, Dr Arun Nigavekar former Chariman, UGC, were to name a few people who really helped us shape the idea.

Two distinguished and achieved family members – P K Hormis Tharakan IPS (Former Chief of RAW) and P K Michael Tharakan (Vice Chancellor Kannur University), helped us a long way to mould the idea at the very early stage.

Where did you find the seed capital for your company?

Most of the funds were from our own pockets. Our entire savings and small loans helped us complete the prototype. Most of initial money was spent on travel and technical experiments. We had to make sure we plugged all loop holes and every possibility of failure. So most of the money was spent on networking, travel.

What was your most valuable asset in the process?

Think the idea itself was the most valuable. In the initial stage, it was supposed to just plain document upload and sharing but there was no true business model on that.

We added the verification leg, which transformed the business proposition completely. Based on the feedback, research and inputs, we filed a patent under the PCT in 2008 and other select countries the next year.

Did you get supports from any incubator’s or professional bodies? How helped it during your scale up?

We did approach the funds from

to get one client for securing the investment. To secure the client, we needed an application. To build an application, we needed funds. It was like the chicken and egg story which kept on happening for about two years. Thats when IIT Madras helped in shaping the idea to the next level which also helped us raise our investment.

Thomas Tharakan

the TePP program of the DST, but the same had been declined. Our problem in the initial stages were not funding but credibility and inputs to create a robust system. Our business plan was selected to be part of the PAN IIT Conclave held at IIT Madras, 2008. It gave us a platform to discuss the idea and technology with seasoned technology professionals. We must have met and interacted with atleast a 100 people over three days and the inputs we took back were huge. We had come across probable key challenges and possible risks of failure, which we had later mitigated.

We are currently getting incubated under the IIT Madras Industrial Consultancy & Sponsored Research incubator program in which we are getting support from Professors and students of the Department of Management Studies and Compter Sceince Department in completing the application and the business as whole.

What has been the biggest challenge for you so far, and how did you overcome it?

As faced by most start-ups, our major challenge were the funds.

We were not able convince the idea to the investors, including high risk takers such as TiE. We were given feed back that we had

What is your vision for your organization/ Future plans?

We hope to the single largest web portal for document verification and sharing. 100 million documents are shared every day, and a few are verified for the authenticity. Our proposed model eliminates the need for paper, courier and verification agencies. The combined market potential is about USD 100 billion. We hope to tap about 10% of the market share by 2015. And of course to keep our very basic DNA and aim to become one of the most innovative companies in the world not only on this model but other models as we progress.

Your advices to budding entrepreneurs?

“People spend money investing companies. An entrepreneur spends money creating companies for people to invest in”. Take that risk. Go ahead and try to create a company that creates shareholder value. Keep your eyes and ears open for opportunities. Many of them are just a matter of connecting the dots. Its not what you decide, but when you decide that makes all the difference.

Company Address & Contact: Tharakan Web Innovations (P) Ltd. IIT Madras Research Park, Kanagam Road, Taramani, Chennai 600 113

now subscribe TF just with an SMS SMS ‘Ask< space> TF’ to 56161

34 TF June 2010

Priya boosting MSI Netbooks in wide range

P

riya Ltd has started boosting MSI laptops and Netbooks in wide range . Entire Profolio of products for partners has been launched in South India. Looking at the trends in Laptop Market the models are Sleek and Designed with world class quality. The models have 1year of International warranty and 1 year of Local warranty with

windows 7 loaded .

Speaking with Executive Director of Priya Ltd Mr Aditya Bhuwania “Today the trends in IT are changing.

Students, housewives, professionals, teachers & small businessman, consultants are tech savvy and more people require more choice, hence we have introduced a wide range in south for end user markets” MR K.R Varma B.M said “The partners require good margins and they have to do value addition to customers.

For them MSI

becomes a very good choice looking at the flexibility and availability. We have entire range from Rs.14000/- to Rs.65000/- range. We also lead in Gaming laptops”

Contact Priya limited 28/3296, Priya house Cheruparambath road, Kadavanthra, Kochi - 682020

Mobile no: 93490 07139 Ph: 0484 - 2311397, 2311398 3083185 to 89 E-mail : priyakch@priyagroup.Com Advertorial

1.Why is May 23, 1995 important to Sun Microsystems?

2.Name the founder of Palm Computing, who also co-founded Handspring.

3.A 3rd generation wireless technology derived from CDMA and known in Europe as UMTS is commonly called as?

4.An MP3 song file that contains a song different than what its name suggests is called a... ?

5.Who owns NumTV? 6.Who has launched a search facility, which the company claims is the first of its kind in the mobile Internet space in the country?

7.Name the online music company that develops and distributes Rhapsody, the digital music subscription service 8.What is Sony’s follow up to PlayStation 2 called?

Answers

1.It launched Java that day.

2.Jeff Hawkins 3.WCDMA (Wide-band Code Division Multiple Access) 4.Cuckoo Egg 5.Pentamedia Graphics.

6.Rediff.com 7.Listen.com 8.PSX

36 TF June 2010

tbi news

For more TBI News Log on to www. technofirstonline.com

86th Company joins T-TBI

Azinova provides E-Governancesolution to Kerala University

T

echnopark TBI incubatee Azinova Technologies P Ltd has developed a software solution to affix Digital Signatures on Degree Certificates issued by Kerala University. As part of its ongoing egovernance drive, Kerala University has installed a ‘digital signature device’ that can affix the signature of the Vice- Chancellor on degree certificates.

As many as 100 certificates can be printed at a time.

After each batch of certificates is printed, the Vice-Chancellor has to manually sign a form which states the number of

New Mentors joined T-TBI 38 TF June 2010

T

certificates printed and the time of printing. This, according to Dr. Jayakrishnan, VC, Kerala University makes the new system tamper-proof.

The added security features with biometric recognition system and control by user name & password ensures that only authorized person can operate the system.

For students, the installation of the new system will mean a drastic reduction in the waiting period for getting a degree certificate signed by the Vice-Chancellor.

Azinova Technologies joined as the 86th company in Technopark.

he Board of Governors meeting held on March 29, 2010 at Technopark decided to engage 2 more expert consultants and advisors for T-TBI. Accordingly Mr.N.Radhakrishnan

‘INSPIRE’ Forum launched

by T-TBI ‘INSPIRE’ – the Incubation Network Support Programme for Idea Review and Enrichment for Incubation Companies and SME’s in the Technopark TBI was launched

by Mr. Mervin Alexander, CEO Technopark on May 6, 2010.

The INSPIRE Forum is aimed at building competitiveness among the Micro, Small and Medium enterprises operating from TBIs, Technopark and other government owned parks in the State. It is planned to conduct the INSPIRE programmes every month where the Incubation companies can interact with the successful Entrepreneurs and Business men, VC & Mentor Capitalists in and outside Kerala. The first session of ‘INSPIRE’ titled “Funding Growth Companies” by Mr. Raja Ganapathy, Vice President, Sequoia Capital was held after the launch.

Technopark TBI associated with GTech (Group of Technology Companies in Kerala IT parks) to conduct the first programme as part of ’INSPIRE’ Forum.

The session started with welcome remarks by Mr. Anoop.P.Ambika, Secretary, GTech after the launch of the INSPIRE Forum by Mr. Mervin Alexander, CEO , Technopark.

Mr.KCC Nair, Secretary & Registrar, T-TBI and Mr. Binu Sankar, CEO – GTech were present.

Nair, President- Toonz Academy and Former CEO, Technopark and Dr.B.Anil, Special Officer Centre for engineering research and development (CERD) & Prof of Mechanical Engineering, College of Engineering,

Trivandrum will work as Expert Consultants and Advisors along with Mr. R.C Dutt who is already there in the panel. They will guide and mentor the budding entrepreneurs during their tenure in the business incubator.

placement experience

A nesting in Nestle A small description about your placed Company Am placed in Nestle India Ltd. Nestle is the world’s largest food processing company. It has its operations in more than hundred countries. It was founded in 1980’s

by Henri Nestle. It started its operations in India in 1912.

What are the various procedures or hurdles that you had to face before getting placed with this company?

I had a telephonic interview in my college. Then we had a written test, GD and three rounds of interviews.

Describe briefly about their recruitment procedures Telephonic interview, Written test, GD, Interviews What was the type of questions that were asked in the

Written Test?

Aptitude, reasoning, Basic biology questions(for Nutrition officer) What was the type of questions that were asked in the interview?

Questions to check our attitude towards marketing What kind of preparation did you put into this (written test and interview)?

We got enough training from our college for aptitude tests and GD. So i just prepared for my Interview only. I prepared answers for the common questions in my own style.

were you nervous at all during the entire process? How did you overcome?

I was pretty confident because i was well prepared How were you able to manage all these pressures?

That we have to learn through our experiences Advice to juniors/other job seekers?

Be confident always and trust the abilities you have Brief profile of yourself Am Eldho Mathai, native of Kerala( Cochin). I did my U G in Biotechnology from Nehru College, Coimbatore and did my PGDM from SCMS COCHIN. Currently am working as Nutrition Officer for Nestle India Ltd.

New Tie Up for SMC Network SMC Networks is determined to make a definite mark in networking market on Indian shores. A brand by Taiwan based Accton Technology, SMC has forged alliance with national level distributor – Priya Limited. Sarfaraz Dhanji, Country Manager – India, SMC Networks informed, “India has always been a key country due to emergent networking landscape and wireless revolution. This partnership will help us scale India operations wider and deeper across various geographies.”

“Priya Limited’s fourteen branch

offices with sales and technical staff will elevate us in a league of a more competent networking vendor,” admitted Dhanji.

The company aims to gather a partner strength of 300 plus in the next six months growing from their present number of 100. Priya Limited has an active channel partner base of 1000. “We expect 20 to 30% of partners to sell SMC products as many of our partners were demanding a reliable networking brand from us,” added Aditya Bhuwania, Executive Director, Priya Limited. Highlighting the channel strategy,

Bhuwania elaborated, Accton’s enterprise networking brand, Edge - Core is the next ‘Go to Market’ for alliance of SMC Networks and Priya Limited.

Edge-Core’s latest technology includes broad stack of products including L2/L3 managed switches,10G products and others for enterprises and ISPs. “In next few months, we would introduce this brand to partners. We are looking for system integrators with enterprise expertise, domain knowledge and customer base,” said Shekhar Kulkarni, Vice President- Marketing, Priya Limited.

TFJune 2010 39

study abroad

How to Enroll in

Study Abroad Programs

Choosing the right location and your area of interest is a must when you have decided to go abroad. Check on the ambiance, travelling concerns, pre-requirements and verify all the details before you plunge into your decision

S

tudying abroad has become one of the most fascinating and preferred experience by the students. With many going abroad, it has emerged as a trend in the society these days.

Each and every student wants to experience the study abroad programs in their student life.

Once you have made up your mind to study abroad, do make sure that you have all the equipments required along with you. You should have computer access, the money, help from the concerned authorities like teachers or study abroad agencies. You should learn how to choose the right location, find answers to traveling concerns, and how to enroll.

Choose the right location The first step needed is you should choose the right location. Decide on which country you want to go.

Do proper research before opting for it. Look whether the climate, atmosphere, study programs in that area are apt for you. If possible try to get in touch with your friends or relatives abroad who can give you a better opinion on it.

Once you have selected a location, try to narrow the location to a specific city. Just deciding on a country won’t do, you have to select the specific city as well.

There would be several programs available throughout the country, so you have to narrow it down to the city which offers the program that you want. Each program

40 TF June 2010

would have its own specifications so select the one that suits you.

Traveling concerns Once you have decided on which program to apply, think on the later traveling concerns. List down on the things which you will need when you are abroad. Depending on the climate and atmosphere do take care of the things which you will require while you are studying there. For example: In Latin America, you can’t drink the water, so you’ll need to budget for buying bottled water.

Check out on the financial aids which are offered in that country.

Do not spend huge bucks without proper investigation on the matter.

There might be many non-profit organizations which offer financial aids in the form of internships.

Try to get in touch with them and you will be surprised on how much money you can save through this method.

Check and clarify Since you are planning to

venture into something new and completely different, do make sure that you have checked on all the details. Do make sure that the application of the program is well read by you. Fill them completely and clarify on all the details. Most of the sudy abroad programs will allow you to apply online. Do check on all the details of the campus before confirming and filling the form. Since most of the campuses provide complete review on their site. Check on the online campus.

Whichever program is of interest to you, try to check into its details.

Try to get the details on the courses they offer, the amenities close to the campus, the facilities provided, etc.

Most of the programs have certain pre-qualifications required for the program. Do check and make sure on it before applying.

Some study abroad programs will only take students who are at least 16 years of age, and who have taken 1 or 2 years of the program country’s language. Some prefer students of the age group 13-17 only to apply. Do check on them before applying. There would be a benchmark for admission as well, may be a certain percentage of marks are required for admission.

Make sure that you are eligible before applying for the courses.

Once you are sure on all the details and ready with all the necessities to go abroad, then just go for it. Utilize the maximum of the resources available there and aim high for the future.

What is that?

ANSI (American National \Standards Institute) Stands for “American National Standards Institute.” ANSI’s primary goal is to enhance the global competitiveness of U.S. businesses and to improve the American quality of life by promoting and facilitating voluntary consensus standards and conformity assessment systems. “Voluntary” standards are driven by marketplace needs rather than regulated by the government. “Conformity assessment systems” test the compliance of a product or service to a standard. ANSI does not itself develop standards or conduct tests, rather it facilitates this work by “accrediting” (i.e., recognizing) qualified groups with appropriate expertise.

The Institute is the official U.S. representative to the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC). ANSI is a private, nonprofit membership organization with offices in Washington, DC and New York CityIf you’d like more information about ANSI, there’s no better place to visit than ANSI’s website. There you’ll find more information about ANSI and what they do, as well as the latest news on national and international standards. Check it out!

sudoku

Puzzle rating: Easy A mind game and a puzzle that you solve with reasoning and logic. Fill in the grid with digits in such a manner that every row,every column and every 3X3 box accommodates the digits 1 to 9, without repeating any. The solution to the sudoku is on page no:

TFJune 2010 41

it destination

Kolkata, gateway

to eastern India

The city symbolizes creativity and vibrance with all the modern amenities available.

Though on one side it has adapted to the modern trends and techniques of the world on the other it has not shed the leisurely life style and the calm of its hey days

D

eveloped from fishermensâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; village, it has developed on to become one of the largest cities in the world. The city symbolizes creativity and vibrance with all the modern amenities available. Though on one side it has adapted to the modern trends and techniques of the world on the other it has not shed the leisurely life style and the calm of its hey days.

A city with strong cultural, literary and religious flavours,

42 TF June 2010

Kolkata acts as the gateway to the North-East. Having the countryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s first metro railway, one need not specify its technological advancement.

Perfect blend The city boasts of lot of opportunities. Gateway to eastern India, the city is the third largest city in the country. It has a huge work force of English speaking people.

With most of the people being computer literate, IT has lot of scope

in the city. To tap the talent to the maximum, many companies are emerging. Right from IT companies, SEO to content writing; all have a strong base in the city.

The city is beautiful as well as the busiest cities in the country.

Being the birth place of many great luminaries like Mother Teresa, Tagore, Subaash Chandra Bose, the city speaks for itself. On one part, when it is the destination of historical importance, it also offers

the platform for all sorts of fun.

Not just that, it also holds several industries, factories and IT industries which are playing a vital part in providing jobs for thousands of employees. Kolkata is always well known for its excellent education and houses several schools, colleges for medical, engineering, management studies etc.

Technology is emerging as the key industry in the city. It is becoming the city’s forte and now several prominent global IT companies have stepped into the state which is sure to provide lots of jobs in Kolkata for the candidates.

With newer companies establishing

themselves, it has become a dream destination for many.

Other than IT jobs, there are also various jobs in outsourcing, BPO, marketing executive, part time jobs, content writing, etc. With IT industry gaining momentum, it has developed a strong base in the city.

Charming culture Being the capital of British India, its culture goes back to ages.

With people from different places accommodating themselves to the city, it has a presence of many vivid cultures. Right from the British raj, the city has developed on to become one of the most sought destinations in the country.

Being the most laid-back city, the atmosphere is very friendly in the city. The most prominent factor of the city is the sweet language and friendly nature of the people; it helps outsiders to easily mingle with the city. In case of transport, the local and suburban rails and buses, as well as underground metro railway are usually packed during office hours.

Share taxis are a common preference for travel and even car pooling is another usual trend. Autorickshaws or autos are another major transport used in the city.

Known as the social and cultural capital of the country, the city has a vibrant culture. The ‘adda culture’ is a significant feature of the Kolkatta culture. With major festivals and events, the city absorbs people to its kitty. They are intrinsic part of the city; poetry; poetry, music, dance and theatre are finely woven into the whole fabric of the Kolkata culture.

food and fun

budapest

Not just bars and discos, the city even has theatre, music, dance and an artistic flair. It is very famous for cultural activities. Cultural programs are held on a daily basis, including dance performances, poetry reading & drama.

For the youth, there are a huge number of bars and discotheques as well.

Tourism is always a boom in Kolkata with many historical places available. Right from Fort William, Victoria Memorial, Eden gardens, Howrah bridge, Marble palace, Birla planetarium, Nicco park, Writer’s building,

Saheed Minar, National library, Belur Math, Botanical gardens; are among the few most preferred places.

The traditional food of Bengal has been famous since ages.

The most popular being the sweets of Bengal. Bengal boasts off its cottage cheese based sweets like sandesh, rosogolla and chanar payesh.

Misti doi (sweetened curd), Patali gur confectionery (date palm jaggery) are among the rest preferred. Each district of Bengal is said to have its own unique dish to offer like Langcha and mihidanasitabhog of Bardhaman, sharbhaja of Krishnanagar, chanabora of Murshidabad etc.

With complete in all its forms, right from entertainment to art to leisure, Kolkatta is one of the most sought destination for the youth. With major companies establishing their base even the new ones; the youngsters are thronging to the city to catch hold of

More details Summer temperature 30°C - 40°C Winter temperature 30°C - 10°C Languages spoken Bengali, Hindi, Urdu and English Known as the land of intellectuals, Kolkata is one among the preferred destinations in the country. Also famous as the land of Mother Teresa and Rabindra Nath Tagore, the city has its own unique features and specialties.

The rainy season

TF June 2010 43

discuss it ARE MARRIAGES BECOMING A BUSINESS IN INDIA When it comes to the question of marriages in India, groom is actually a commodity. Girls’ parents are vying to get a good commodity.

The concept of marriage is becoming a business in India and this is palpable in all people irrespective of caste, creed and other social factors. Even though, they are not using the term ‘dowry’, virtually boys are receiving cash and gold, which depends on his job and status in the society. Again when it comes to the matter of upper class business families they are finding suitable alliance with another business family, so that their business got expanded in the name of marriage. Then the role of event management is also a new generation trend. They will take care of every thing of a marriage. So, bride’s family is pooling a huge amount for the marriage without any complaints. Even though many are advocating simple marriage, when it comes to the question of their daughter or son, they are transforming into a typical Indian society who believe in show offs rather than other human factors. Another interesting factor is that marriage industry is not at all hit by this so called recession.

Vrinda K Nair, Sub Editor, Docndoc

Marriages are really becoming a business in our current scenario.

The online matrimonials, Newspaper supplements, Yellow pages, marriage bureaus are live examples.

They are finding their partners through chats and social networking channels.

The marriage IT boom is a good example.Nothing matters if the family is financially sound. It has become a prestige issue and competition to expose their wealth.Marriages lost their seriousness and commitment that existed before. Now the marriages are for Ford cars and luxurious flats not for two hearts.Women are being harassed and killed for the sake of dowry. Marry a girl but not money. Money is sick it just come & go in our life but your wife will stay with you till your final breath. You cannot measure a girl with money. She is more than any amount of money Suja, MBA Student, Amritha school of bussiness

Some marriages are a business both in the past as well as now. Wealthy families want to keep their land and money in the family itself or two such families want to combine their resources. The role love plays in the scenario is a question.

Following that train of thought, then isn’t all arranged marriages a business. Parents find a suitable spouse for their children depending on the family background and looking at factors such as the education and the job. Then they make a calculated decision on how suitable the family and the person is. Then when is marriage not a business? When two people fall in love and marry, not considering any other factors. But are there any such pure love marriages? Aren’t most of the love marriages also a calculated decision – a decision based on the kind of life the other person can provide, how comfortable one feels with the person and the significant others in the person’s life?

Rebecca Chandy

44 TF June 2010

I have seen guys joining professional courses just for the sake of enjoying a decent status in the marriage market and to get a good dowry. Its high time for people to realize that its not this dowry that makes their life different, but the girl who comes to their life, with whom they spend the rest of their life, that makes the difference.The real wealth and fortune is the girl herself and not her Dads bank balance. For all those who think marriage is a business take it from me you won’t earn profit in that business.

Be prepared for a loss, but keep in mind you are losing in your life and life is not a business its a serious game POORNIMA, MBA Student, Amritha school of bussiness

Dowry is the reason why the institution of marriage is considered a business and as a farce. When the bride is from a rich family, the exchange of money never rattles the family. Dowry is evil only in the lower middle class families. But in this 21st century, the power of dowry has been taking a backseat as more girls are educated and employed which functions as their resistance. As long as they are independent (and emplyment adds to their dignity) women are free to make choices as their future is not dependent on a husband or his family. Moreover, marriage becomes a choice and not a necessity. Women’s parents too will not be under pressure when they become aware that their daughters are able to provide for themselves. A woman will be free to marry the man of her choice. Marriage becomes a business only when there is a lack of choice.

Jojo Jose

gadgets

Spice S-1200 12.2 mega pixel sensor 9x digital zoom and 3X optical zoom Multi face detection and smile shutter microSD memory card

Xenon Flash 2.4-inch screen. FM radio Bluetooth with A2DP Rs 14,500

iAUDIO 7 16GB Mp3 player Apple iPod nano 8 GB Black Petite 2.75 inches long 2 inches wide and 0.25 inch thick Crisp 320x240 video resolution Supports H.264 or MPEG4 video in many formats iPhone’s unique file-management requirements Polished anodized aluminum end and a larger screen

Samsung Jack Candy bar stylish look 3.2 Megapixel camera Sever hours of battery back up Unique pressure-sensitive d-pad for fast scrolling Windows Mobile 6.1 (upgradeable to 6.5,) QWERTY keyboard 96 MB internal memory Memory card slot and Bluetooth.

Sony Playstation Portable PSP 3004 LCD screen 4.3 (10.9 cm) (16:9) Wide colour gamut LCD with anti-glare screen Memory Stick / SD / Compact Flash Built-in microphone DC IN 5V connector Wave length 655 - 665nm wavelength UMD laser Weight Approx. 100g Lithium-ION rechargeable battery Capacity 1200mAh Rs 9224

46 TF June 2010

Built-in Flash Memory USB 2.0 High Speed 200 folders and 4,000 files File transfer speed: Write : max 40Mbps, Read : max 40Mbps Built-in Rechargeable Lithium Polymer Battery (Max. 60 Hours Continuous Playback) Charging time: About 3.5 hours by adapter Size: 35.6 X 76.1 X 19 mm (H X W X D) MP3 : MPEG 1/2/2.5 Rs 6996

hot jobs Power Grid Corporation of India Limited Recruitment for the post of Assistant Engineer/ Junior Engineer.

Name of the post : Assistant Engineer (Electrical)/ E1 No.Of Post: 24 (UR-12, SC-4, ST-2, OBC-6, PH (HH-PD)-1) Qualification - BE/ B.Tech/ B.Sc Engg/ AMIE in Electrical Discipline from a recognized University with minimum 55% marks.

Name Of Post: Jr. Engineer (Electrical) S1 No.Of Post: 34 (UR-13, SC-6, ST-4, OBC-11, PH (HH-PD)-1) Qualification: Diploma in Engineering in Electrical discipline from a recognized polytechnic with minimum 55% marks.

Name Of Post : Jr. Engineer (Civil)/ S1 No.Of Post - 06 (UR-3, SC-1, ST-1, OBC-1) Qualification: Diploma in Engineering in Civil discipline from a recognized polytechnic with minimum 55% marks.

Date of Written Test: 26.06.2010 How to apply : The applications should be sent by ordinary post only at the following address.

On the top of the Envelop it should be super scribed as “ Application for the post of Assistant Engineer (Elect) or Jr. Engineer (Electrical) of Jr Engineer (Civil)” as the case may be.

Last Date: 11.06.2010

Public Service Commission Recruitment of Assistant Drilling Engineer, Tracer, Junior Instructor Name of the post: Assistant Drilling Engineer Qualification: Degree in Mechanical Engg or equivalent Stipend/ Pay Scale: Rs.11070-18450 Name of the post: Assistant Engineer (Boiler Operation) Qualification - B.E/ B.Tech/ Diploma (Mechanical/ Electrical).

48 TF June 2010

Boiler operation engineer proficiency certificate duly endorsed for validity by the Chairman of Board for operation Engineer’s Examination, kerala.

Stipend/ Pay Scale -Rs.7200-11400 Name of the post : ITI (Electrician/ Wireman) Rs.3560-4935 135/2010 Vocational Teacher (Civil Construction & Maintenance) Qualification - B.E/ B.Tech (Civil) with not less than 60% marks Stipend/ Pay Scale – Rs.11070-18450 How to apply: Apply Online.

Last date is on 16th June 2010. http://www.keralapsc.org

Agro-Economic Research Centre Recruitment of Office Superintendent and PA Name of the post: Office Superintendent Qualification: Bachelor Degree from a recognized University.

Desirable: A Master’s degree from a recognized University. Three years experiences in office work in social science organization.

Pay Scale: Rs.9300-34800 Age limit: 35 Yrs Name of the post: PA to Director Qualification: Bachelor Degree from a recognized University, Desirable: A Master’s degree from a recognized University. Three years experiences in computer typing (MS Office) in social science organization.

Pay Scale: Rs.9300-34800 Age limit: 35 Yrs How to apply: Application on prescribed form along with 9 (nine) photo copies of properly filled in application form and one set of true copies of testimonials, Certificates and two recent passport size Photograph (non-refundable) duly attested by a Gazatted Officer/ Principal, Govt. College/Head Master, Govt.

School/MP/M.L.A. should reach the Director, Agro-Economic Research Centre, Visva-Bharati, Santiniketan, Dist-Birbhum, Pin-731235. The last date for submission of application is 21st June, 2010.

Food corporation of india Recruitment to Management Trainee Posts Name Of Post: Management Trainee (Accounts) No.of Post : 14 ( UR – 09, SC-01,OBC-NCL- 02,PH-02) Qualification: CA/AICWA/ACWA (London)/ MBA(Fin.) from a recognized University / Institute.

Name Of Post: Management Trainee (Technical) No.of Post :10 ( UR- 09 , OBC-NCL-01) Qualification: Degree in Agriculture or in Science with Diploma in Food Technology from a recognized University / Institute.

Pay Scale : 16400- 40500 (Annual Increment @ 3%) Stipend During Training: Rs. 8500/Age Limit :28 years ( as on 01.01.09 ) How to apply Apply Online on the website http://specialtest.in/fci as per the instructions,the last date for recieving of application will be on or before 21.06.2010 Department Of Atomic Energy Recruitment of Technical Officer,& Scientific Assistant Name of Post : Technical Officer No.of post : 6 Qualification : B.E. / B.Tech degree in Mechanical Engineering, with a minimum of 60% marks in degree from a recognized University.

Age Limit : Not more than 35 years (as on 1.01.2010 ) Name of Post: Scientific Assistant No.of post: 4 Qualification: B.Sc. Degree in [Electronic Science/Computer Science] with a minimum of 60% marks in degree from a recognized University.

Age Limit : Not more than 30 years (as on 1.01.2010 ) How to apply Apply online on or before 21.06.2010 http://www.igear.gov.in

Central Building Research Institute(Council of Scientific & Industrial Research)

For more Hot Jobs Log on to www. technofirstonline.com

Recruitment of Scientist , Technical Staff and Research Interns Name of Post : Scientist No.of post: 52 (UR-32, SC-08, ST-03, OBC-09) Qualification: Ph.D in Civil Engineering preferably in the area of Environmental Engineering with a focus to EIA / Environmental Management for building material Industry.

Pay Scale + Grade Pay : Rs.1560039100 + G.P. Rs. 6600/Name of Post : Technical Staff, No.of post: 10 (UR-07, SC-01,OBC02) Qualification :B.E./ B.Tech. in Civil Engineering Pay Scale + Grade Pay : Rs. 930034800 + G.P. Rs. 4200/Name of Post : Research Interns No.of post: 17 Qualification: First Class or equivalent GPA in MCA / B.Arch./ B.E./B. Tech. in Engineering or 1st Class M.Sc. Electro/Organic Chemistry/Inorganic Chemistry/ Polymer Chemistry/ Geology/Geography/Mathematics/Physics Pay Scale + Grade Pay : Fixed Stipend Rs.11,500/- p.m.

Upper Age Limit : 25 Years How to Apply Apply online on or before 08.06.2010 http://www.cbri.res.in

Life Insurance Corporation of India Recruitment of Direct Sales Executive Name of Post : Sales Executive ( Marketing) No.of post : 100 ( General- 50, SC-15,ST-20, OBC- 15) Qualification : Bachelor’s Degree of a University in India established in India under a statute. Preference may be given to those applicants who possess who possess the Bachelor Degree or Diploma in Marketing / Management Age Limit : 21 - 35 years ( as on 01.05.2010) Pay- Scale : Rs 25000/- p.m How To Apply :Apply online on or before 7.06.2010 http://www.licindia.in

HLL Lifecare Limited Recruitment of CA/ ICWA Trainee Name of Post : CA /ICWA Trainee Qualification : CA / ICWA Final OR CA / ICWA Intermediate Passed.

Age Limit : 35 years Pay- Scale : Final Passed:1st YearRs.10500, 2nd Year–Rs.10750;Inter Passed: 1st Year-Rs.5500 , 2nd Year–Rs.6750 How To Apply: Apply online on or before 9.06.2010 http://hlllife.org

Mazagon Dock Limited Recruitment of Finance Officer Name of Post : Finance Officer No.of post : 10 ( SC-3, OBC02,UR-04) Qualification : CA/ICWA or MBA (Fin) from a recognized university/ institution. Computer Literacy is a must.

Age Limit : 26 years ( as on 18.06.2010) Pay- Scale : Rs. 16400- 40500 How To Apply: Apply online on or before 18.06.2010 9 http://mazagondock.gov.in

India Infoline Recruitment of Sales Manager – Insurance Name of Post : Sales Manager Qualification : Graduates or MBA with 1 to 2 yrs experience in sales form any industry.

Age Limit : No How To Apply: Apply online on or before 10.06.2010 9 (Freshers can also apply ) www.infoline.org

sudoku answer

book review

You’re hired Nasha Fitter Published by : Penguin books India Price: Rs 199 Author: Nasha Fitter Number of pages: 452

A

perfect book for Indian job seekers to know their abilities and disabilities.

The author gives a complete picture of Indian job market and contemporary living especially on our communication skills. The contemporary writing and speech errors with the unnecessary inclusions of ‘GenY SMS tongue’ and the ‘email lingo’, which makes “you are” to ‘u r’and replaces ‘to’ with ‘2’. This leads to the poor communication of the candidate.

The well written book is divided into four sections for easy understanding of students. First section focuses on the practical English grammar and helps aspirants improve their skill with written exercises on verbs, tenses, common Indian errors, etc. The second section probes pronunciation and accent aberrations.

While the third section deals with interpersonal communication, the fourth focuses on professional etiquettes like dressing, greetings, telephone conversation and conduct at interviews.

TF June 2010 49

Abhishek Dhawan www.askganesha.com Aries (March 21-April 19)

(Sept. 23-Oct. 22) You will be fascinated and attracted by the possibility to set up short term projects which could help you advance in your career. You would be having a good time no matter whether your pocket is filled with money or not. At professional front setting ambitious goals would drive you to achieve success.

Use your energy in a positive way and work harder than usual.

Lucky Color: Sky Blue. Lucky Number: 5

Taurus (April 20-May 20)

Scorpio (Oct. 23-Nov. 21) This month is not seen very auspicious for you. It would be better to keep on working without many expectations, try taking your decisions according to your capacities. You must try to control risk taking tendencies and extravagance so that you could have savings for future. Your enthusiasm and determination will be the key to steady progress. Colleagues and associates will be helpful.

Lucky Color: Walnut brown. Lucky Number: 1

Gemini (May 21-June 21)

Sagittarius (Nov. 22-Dec. 21) A push from the stars will let you reason with colleagues and superiors. Make the most of this opportunity. Your public communications skills will fetch more income. A bump of enthusiasm and energy into your work picks up your spirits and gives you much to be thrilled about. A ‘change of plans’ is possible and ‘adapting fast’ can save time, money and grief.

Lucky Color: Golden Yellow. Lucky Number: 7

Cancer (June 22-July 22)

Capricorn (Dec. 22-Jan. 19) You could find some slow pace that might make you set your plans aside for a while. Keep confidence in your great ideas. Your financial situation will be slowly progressive and your income will increase in a steady pace. Simultaneously it is a good period for making new contacts. Those looking for new opportunities can expect an encounter which will be important for their career.

Lucky Color: Lemon. Lucky Number: 8

Work is more likely to go well and you will be able to get betterment. You would meet people or settle deals with new partners and co-workers, thus creating new alliances, which will open up alternative horizons. You will also have the opportunity to take or plan a trip to a far away place. Join some regular course where you could learn more to sharpen your skills.Lucky Color: Aquamarine. Lucky Number: 2

This month the stars are favorable and you can expect some rewarding times ahead but still you are advised to take all the career, finance and investments related decisions with bit caution. Your knowledge will be heightened with your continuous efforts in exploring new areas. During end of the month your intuition may play role in risky gamble, which can bring in modest profits.

Lucky Color: Copper. Lucky Number: 4

You shall be able to concentrate better in your work/business after succeeding in giving it a right direction. Your financial status will also follow this pattern as you will not only gain some money from an unexpected source, but also receive bonuses for your overall work. You will be given the responsibility of an important assignment which would be the beginning of good things to come.

Lucky Color: Lavender. Lucky Number: 10

This is a fortunate month to make some extra gains.

Monetary position is likely to improve because of an important payment. New friends are very likely this month and can create big time good luck in career by providing impressive networking in the days and months to come. Keep your eyes and ears open for unexpected opportunity.

Lucky Color: Orange. Lucky Number: 9

Leo ( July 23-Aug. 22) This month you would show how gifted you are as you command attention and present the wonderful goals you are working toward. Your expert advice on how to handle the situations especially to financial matters will be appreciated. Show your capabilities at your work and don’t hesitate to answer any questions that are posed by superiors. Try starting a new hobby or pursue a new interest.

Lucky Color: Navy blue. Lucky Number: 12 Virgo (Aug. 23-Sept. 22) Situations that you have been expecting might come up this month. Everything will come back to normal again and you will be able to continue with your plans. Money will come in from recently concluded deals. Recent activity on the financial front is set to continue and you be made an offer that is of benefit to you. Avoid making any fast decisions.

Lucky Color: Sepia. Lucky Number: 3 50 TF June 2010

Libra

Aquarius ( Jan. 20-Feb. 18) Financial issues and career matters will be stabilizing this month. You will have the chance to show that you are here to stay and gain everyone’s respect. Strong determination and decision-making trait helps in overcoming a challenging situation.

Regaining your balance would help you to resolve the problems at hand. promotions may seem a bit distant this month; try to maintain focus on current issues. Lucky Color: Purple. Lucky Number: 6 Pisces (Feb. 19-March 20) This month will open up some lucrative opportunities with attractive financial possibilities.

You would feel gifted, brilliant, imaginative, and stimulated to expend your energies toward your goals. You’ll have ingenious ideas which you can put into action with those around you. Your hard work shall definitely yield positive results. Try to be less tensed and focus on precise definite aims. Lucky Color: Oceanic Blue. Lucky Number: 11

Printed and published by: Arun Balachandran, ErupulamKattil (H), Edakadathy P.O., Edakadathy, Owned by Shine Damodharan, Kollattu (H), Chiyyaram P.O., Thrissur. Printed at ST Raddiar Press, Cochin. Published from Mediafirst Publications, Cochin-21 and the editor is Basil P Varghese, Pokkanathil (H), Pothanikkadu P.O., Ernakulam District, Kerala.

Postal Reg. No. KL/TV(N)/587/2008-10 TechnoFIRST June 2010 RNI Reg. No. KERENG/2004/22131 Licensed to post without prepayment : kl/tv(n/wtt/587/2008-10) Posted from RMS TVM

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