MM Print Issue 2 | Winter 2015

DECODING INTERNSHIPS WARMING YOU UP

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n internship is an opportunity to integrate professional education with practical experience. Internships are a gateway for the students to explore and gain relevant knowledge and skills required to enter into a particular field.

Keeping up with the demands of the radically competitive world, every institute or college tries to encourage the culture of internships among students to help them properly relate their courses with the requirements of their respective industry.

Hence, internships are planned so as to fit into the undergraduate experience.

THE PERKS Opportunity to work in a professional environment, thus enhancing networking contacts.

Gaining valuable experience to secure future employment and developing job search skills.

Through these, employers can evaluate potential students for full time employment.

KNOWING “SIRE”

Every student of NIT Rourkela has to undertake an internship at the end of their sixth semester under the program SIRE which stands for “Summer Internship and Research Experience”. There are two credits allocated for their internship, the evaluation of which is done by a panel which judges and awards grades accordingly.

Since internships are taken very seriously in NITR, there is an optimized process of helping the pre-final year students of NIT Rourkela by the Training and Placement Cell to ensure that every student secures an internship, keeping in mind the requirements that their curriculum demands.

T&P cell contacts companies it deems fit for providing internships, and requests them for internship opportunities for students of related departments.

“Conceptualize, Understand, Do! Classes teach us the former two.

And for the third, there’s internships!”

THE HIGH FLIGHT (FOREIGN INTERNSHIPS)

As lucrative as the prospect of interning at a foreign company or university abroad seems, a lot of personal interest is needed to grab the opporStudents keep a check on various universities in different countries providing courses of respective interest and visit the profiles of the professors involved in the corresponding fields.

Steps to secure a foreign internship

MM: What is the time limit on summer internships?

They send their CV/ resumes to the concerned professor of the foreign university along with a strong statement of Purpose, an impressive cover letter and a letter of recommendation from professors.

BB: The SIRE program requires an internship to be a minimum of 8 weeks. However, it may extend, provided that the student gets back to the institute before the registration for the seventh semester starts, which is generally during the third week of July. However, for some research projects and foreign internships, if the need arises, a student can be granted a leave till 15th of August, but the T&P cell needs to be informed about it beforehand.

If the application gets accepted, the T&P Cell needs to be duly informed and if issues like extension of leave arises, necessary steps are taken by the T&P Cell.

MM: Is the number of students getting PPOs satisfactory?

tunity. Since it would not be possible for the T&P cell to directly contact foreign organizations and universities, it needs the effort of the students.

And thus, a student proceeds to intern in a foreign university. Foreign internships can be paid, unpaid or partially paid, in which case, only the travel expenses and some other costs are covered. There are also several scholarship programs like DAAD, MITACS, SN BOSE, TIGC TAIWAN, KHORANA Program.

MM: Why does the T&P cell provide priority to third year students over second year students when they approach for internships?

BB: As stated before, it is extremely important for third year students to opt for an internship under

(An Interview with Prof. B B Biswal)

practices of the organization and gives a career building

outlook.

The following are excerpts from an interview with Prof B B Biswal, the head of Training and Placement Cell, NIT ROURKELA: MM: Why are internships after the end of fourth semester not considered a part of SIRE?

All the applications are then forwarded to the companies for shortlisting the students to be hired as interns .

BB: Yes, the number of students getting PPOs is quite satisfactory. When we approach a company for placement, a request for PPO is also made. It is a sad fact that the concept of PPO and its advantages have not yet fully sunk in some companies.

It is considered as an unnecessary use of resources and manpower. However, some modern companies with a broader outlook do provide suitable students with PPOs, and the T&P Cell tries its best to convince the companies.

While most students of our institute start becoming serious about internships and training at the onset of their third year, predominantly because of the two credits it carries in the curriculum, there RESEARCH PAID has been a great shift in this trend. Like all institutes of national repute, our Training and PlaceINTERNSHIPS INTERNSHIPS ment Cell also plays an active role by sending They have more of an Exist primarily in the web-mails to all concerned students informing academic bent as students private sector. them about various internship opportunities are required to take up a specific Constantly scrutinized on a ll course of specialisation and fronts as future employees a nd both within and outside India. Web-mail, be r participate in a project related maybe paid either stipends o ing a commodity that is seldom used by the robability to similar research oriented hourly wages. High p students, most of these mails go unnoticed. programs. of PPOs. Similar to other institutes, Placement Co-ordinators of all branches act as links between INDUSTRIAL

INTERNSHIPS the institute and the companies, and hence

FOR CREDIT they are mostly responsible for inviting com- INTERNSHIPS Involve participation of the panies to come for internships. Foreign in- Integrate theory with practice.

employer, student and college, ternships are not significant in number but it Introduce students to the work culture and industrial

integrating work-experience is encouraging to witness the upward trend.

THE HEAD OF T&P SPEAKS: After agreeing on the number of seats, the interested students are provided the information and asked to submit their Biodata/CVs

semester, they gain sufficient knowledge for industry exposure. Hence, the senate has decided to concern the SIRE program (Summer Internship and Research Experience) with students of sixth semester. It is to ensure that the student is benefitted the most.

BB: Internships are important, but opting for it at the right time with the right amount of knowledge is equally important too. At the end of fourth semester, the students are at a nascent stage and are not well versed with the knowledge required for professional arena. However, by the end of sixth

into academic curriculum for credits.

Short term nature.

Include a tour through the organization and meetings with employees.

Generally last shorter than internships.

EXTERNSHIPS SIRE program. It is the responsibility of the T&P Cell to make sure that every third year student secures an internship. We write to various companies and try our best, but it is not an easy task to ensure the internship of 900 students. In this scenario, when a second year student approaches us, we don’t give him priority. If the case comes up where all 900 or so students are hired as interns in some or the oth-

BITS Goa •

BITS Pilani

Two compulsory internships2nd Year Summer (2 months) and 4th Year (6 months).

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Separate division to guide intern applicants.

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10-20% opt for foreign internships.

10% of companies give PPOs.

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Proactive placement division.

Students to intern under faculty supervision.

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Placement Cell involved with student representative for coordination

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Mandatory internship. Minimum 28 days.

IIT Roorkee

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One mandatory internship.

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E-notices, pre-placement talks, alumni • interactions etc for awareness.

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Companies prefer telephonic conversa• tions, Skype or VC.

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Placement secretaries: the link between departments & placement office.

Large number of foreign interns from 2nd and 3rd year.

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Two compulsory internships- 2nd year ending and 4th year. Option to work on a thesis also exists.

VIT Vellore

ISM Dhanbad

IIT Guwahati

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6-8 weeks training at the end of 6 semester for credits.

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T&P cell actively invites companies for internships by separate mails.

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Only few students of Earth Sciences and related branches bag international internships due to lack of relative grading

th

NIT Warangal

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Research interns pursued in IITs, CRRI, CBRI, ISC etc.

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Telephonic conversations preferred.

Interns also taken during final year placements.

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Very active placement office. Placement secretaries in place.

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No international internship culture.

FB, MS, Amazon, Directi, Qualcomm, ITC, G.S., EA Sports, Samsung, Arista, L&T - top companies this year.

BB: This has never happened before. Under SIRE, it is necessary for every student to do an internship after the end of their sixth semester. The T&P cell makes sure that every students gets an internship somewhere or the other. If a student fails to get one all by himself or herself, T&P cell will come to the rescue. So the situation will never arise.

MM: What is the role of Alumni in internships?

BB: Yes, we are trying to exploit the big alumni network we have and they may help in getting better internships for students. But it has not been

NIT Silchar

T&P section is pro-active, solid executive body that assigns work among coordinators of different levels and collaborates to give final output.

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MM: What happens when a student does not secure an internship anywhere?

Lucrative ones include MIT Media Labs, UoC, Berkeley, Kyoto University, ETH Zurich, etc

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Tie-ups with National Univ of Singapore, Univ of Munich + colleges in Australia, Netherlands, NZ, USA, Beijing

BB: The T&P cell ensures that every pre-final year student secures an internship in some place or the other. So, an internship coordinator will not be very helpful. Moreover, when placement coordinators approach companies for placements, they make sure that they also approach them for internships. So, the work of an internship coordinator, had there been one, is also taken care of.

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Part of 7th sem gradation.

Students having scores>8.5 are recommended by senior professors for overseas internships.

MM: What are your views regarding having an internship coordinator for pre-final year students?

Companies invited for PPTs and written tests much before the placement interviews during which they select interns.

Office of Dean of Alumni & External Affairs send mails regarding foreign internships.

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BB: Yes, it is possible. We understand that with the changing trends, it is possible that students can acquire interests in other non-related fields and try to pursue them. We offer no restrictions on that. We even try to provide a huge base for students to experiment and discover their interests. That is the whole logic behind keeping a slot for “Open Electives”. If a student wants to pursue an internship in a non-related field, we pose no restrictions. However, the student does need the permission of the concerned professor or HOD of his/her department and should be able to convince him to allow him to do the same. So ultimately, it all depends on the student. Grading will be done on the basis of the quality of his/her internship.

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No academic credits.

Placement Secretaries & Professors write recommendations to companies on students’ behalf.

MM: Is it possible for a student to intern in a field that is not related to his/her branch?

Customary internship, not compulsory.

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Interactive talks from tech clubs where professors guide students.

er company or institute, we can look after the second year students. We would not prefer any encroachment of opportunities available for 3rd year students by the second year students. It is more important for them than the second year students to complete their internship. However, we do encourage everyone to decide what’s best for them. Interested second year students are free to intern independently or in consultation from their department though, it will not be included under SIRE program.

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effectively done till now.

INTERVIEW WITH CHANDRA PRAKASH (JOINT SECRETARY IN INTERNSHIPS) MM: What is your role as the joint secretary in internships?

CP: When we approach a company for placements, we make it a point to approach them for internships as well. There is a job notification form in the process where the companies have to specify whether they are up for taking students for internships or PPOs. That is how we are involved in the internship process.

MM: What is the reaction of companies when you approach them for PPOs or Internships?

CP: We don’t get much positive response because most of the companies do not understand the importance of internships. In my experience, around four or five of every fifty companies we approach hire students for internships and PPOs as well. They hire students and groom them.

MM: Is the number of students getting foreign internships good enough for an institute like NITR? CP: In my opinion, the number of students going for foreign internships is less than it needs to be. But the institute cannot be blamed for it. We have a pretty good standard academically but for foreign internships, the students need to put in a lot of effort.

Sometimes they need to send their CVs to around 300 professors of different universities, that too repeatedly, then follow up with them and even then, getting an internship under them is a difficult process. Some students become unwilling right after knowing the weariness of the entire procedure and opt for easier ways.

DAAD tests are a way of getting foreign internships.

But in spite of that, you have to personally put in a lot of effort. You need to have a good cover letter, strong statement of purpose and recommendations from at least two professors. Students usually start applying for internships by October and November but for foreign internships it is even a longer process. All the student needs to do is work hard and put in constant effort to get an internship abroad for a better future.

MM: What is the importance of alumni network in this regard?

CP: Alumni involvement can improve the standards of internship greatly and will be highly beneficial.

However we do not get much help from alumni due to a weak network. Some do help but it’s difficult to get help from most of our alumni. About two or three out of every ten alumni actually prove to be helpful. For example, TATA Motors came to hire students after two years in NITR. All this was possible because of an alumnus. We need to focus on building a strong alumni network.

MM: What are your suggestions for improvement?

CP: The students should start preparing from their fifth semester itself and be mentally prepared and aware about the whole process of applying and getting internships in India and abroad. They should not get intimidated by the effort the process requires and should work hard and regularly follow up with the professors they are interested to work with. They should have a good cover letter and a strong statement of purpose as they are extremely important.

The students should first sort out their area of interest and work accordingly. It usually happens that in final year, when students sit for placements, they are asked about their “contribution” in the internship they took up. When that question arises, students go blank. This scenario should not occur. Students should make sure that they get the best out of the internship they go into and learn to the maximum extent.

CONCLUSION Internships are important. The seniors know it all and the juniors know it not. The aim of this article was to give an overview of how the process takes place in our institute so that it would help the students to be better prepared for internships. It will be beneficial if the final year students advise the first and second year students about the do’s and dont’s and help them in clearing up their doubts owing to their experience.

To sum up, optimism does pay and there is always a scope for improvement. Change happens to be the only constant and NIT is changing dynamically and positively. NIT Rourkela has improved a lot over the past few years. Good is now better and our optimism, hard work and dedication can make the better reach the best.

3

A Tryst with DISCO

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ISCO. A word that stirs up frantic emotions among young turks, dancing and enjoying to the last shred of life left. Strangely, in the case of students of NIT Rourkela and other institutes that are well aware of the real meaning, it is something a student wouldn’t dare to get associated with, till the end of graduation. DISCO is the popular term often used to denote the ISDC (Institute Standing DISciplinary COmmittee). A term dread-

ed by those who bear absolutely no knowledge of it or those who have cause for the same. Fear of an entity stems from the unknown, and that is what the ISDC owes its infamy to. Team MM explores the workings of the ISDC and chronicles a testimony of the cases where the committee has made its presence felt, be it for the good or the bad.

Students feel more comfortable to speak out the true facts of the case to the student representatives rather than elder members in the panel. So, it is up to these nominees to ensure the proper extraction of facts from the accused and the punishment given to them is justified enough for them, and others, to not repeat the act again.

The authorities are known for their strict disciplinary action, but more often than not, the difficulty on the part of the authorities in dealing with tough situations is neglected.

The EMC

Apart from the ISDC, there is another committee which most of us are unaware of, the Examination Malpractice Committee with a manual separate from the ISDC. It basically deals with debars from placement, an extra semester, grade backs and other kinds of punishment given on the basis of the different kind of malpractices taken place within the examination hall. The point to be noted is that if anyone is caught in case of any malpractices during an examination, he/she will be sent to the panel of EMC. This panel is in no way related to the ISDC and comes into practice only during the seven day period of the exams, twice a semester. These punishments are given to set up an example for the future defaulters.

As stated by a member of the EMC, the committee members feel that the punishment given is at times harsher than required in order to curb such malpractices in future.

The Indicted’s Insights:

Team MM caught up with few individuals from the institute who were under the scanner in either a ragging or a disciplinary case. Starting with the most recent case that reached the ears of ISDC was a ragging case that involved physical abuse of few first years by a bunch of drunken seniors.

cused. The injured, who was merely an acquaintance to the accused felt that he was targeted, hence he took the incident personally. The accused was punished with one of the least possible punishment which comes under P-2, doing Social Work during vacations. The decision was taken in one meeting after explanation about the incident and some interrogation.

From both the incidents, one possible inference is that the ISDC is not quick to pass a judgement.

The accused are always cross questioned and the students under the scanner have to provide instances of evidence or mention a witness present at the time of the incident. The decision taken has not affected the accused in any manner. However the accused believes, it was a matter that could have been solved between the two conflicting parties and that ISDC is meant for much more serious matters.

The final case that we touched would be a rather delicate one to talk about. This is a two year old case of a senior who might have been a victim of a changing time and a changed attitude of the ISDC. The celebration of a festival later on turned out to be one of the worst nightmares for them.

How would a celebration become a case of the ISDC’s interest? It would have only been possible if there were any juniors involved. Well known by most students who have been at NITR of late, there is a certain kind of segregation into various groups and these groups have their own tradition and ways of interacting with juniors. Calling juniors over for Diwali celebrations and interacting was this particular group’s custom. The interaction came to a guard’s notice, and soon the warden and the ISDC got involved. As per the books, juniors are not allowed in senior hostels. Since ...CONTD ON PAGE 6

Pre-ISM (International Students’ Meet 2014) a bunch of juniors who had entered a senior hostel to paste a few T Shirt posters, eventually ended up in one of their senior’s rooms. The incident soon channelled to the parents of one of the students and later some professors too, ultimately reaching the ISDC. Despite having committed a mistake, all that the accused could hope was for some leniency with the punishments. But there was no getting out of this after accepting the charges. The action taken against four of the eight accused people was Outright Expulsion from the institute as per punishment P-24 (any group activity which have consequences of physical injury) from the Disciplinary Manual.

Being a member of the ISDC is more of a responsibility than power.

According to a student repreMy experience in the ISDC was to make sure that the committee is sentative, the case is still on hearing and the investigation not biased by the mistake or behaviour of the accused but passes continues, although the acjudgement as per the constitution set up by the institute. cused have been out of the Bikash Mohanty academic system in the meanFormer Student ISDC Member time.

Another ISDC case that had an amazing twist to it emerged during the much hyped celebrity night of the year, where an act of celebration (‘airlifting’ as people nearby would call it) turned into a disastrous accident and was reported to ISDC. This accident led to an injury of a NITRian and Team MM caught up with the ac-

No member in ISDC wants to punish anybody. But at times, the situation gets so worse that we are forced to take such steps. Nobody wants to play with the careers of the students but some situations are just not under our control.

K.C. Pati Dean (SW)

The number of cases reported in a semester has reduced drastically over the years. That definitely shows the efficiency of ISDC. Mr. Bamdev Acharya

Assistant Registrar

How does an ISDC case actually come about?

Any untoward incident or a student behaving in a questionable manner, is reported by a student or Professor

Accused is summoned by the ISDC for a hearing.

Accused is provided fair chance to plead his case.

After numerous hearings and consultations, a final decision is meted out.

If not satisfied with the decision, the accused can appeal to the Senate, whose decision is final.

dawn of diligence : LA’s Man of steel

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umble is probably the middle name of the man who pulls the strings in Lecture Annexure (LA), patrolling every nook and corner of the grandiose edifice. Seldom do we come across a personality like this; he never tries to draw attention to his presence but his absence distresses every scholar in LA. Be it a malfunctioning tap in a washroom or a short circuit, Mr. Nityananda Pattnaik never excuses himself from any problem brought to his attention. We sit down talking under the silent evening ambience of the Lecture Annexure with the man himself.

The lean, thin, bespectacled man hails from Rourkela. Nurturing ambitions of becoming an engineer; financial privations of his family weighed down on his dreams and forced him to opt for +3 and a hardware course later on after a couple of part time jobs.

He has stood as a testimony to the developments in and around the NITR campus in the past four years and has seen LA getting transformed from a two roomed building to the vast expanse it has become now. A man full of admiration and veneration for the students, he joined NITR upon his sister’s recommendation who was earlier working in Director’s office. “LA only had two rooms then, LA-104 and LA-114. LA104 had a projector and both rooms needed microphones.”. Four years from that day, he rose to become the guardian of this reddish brown constitute.His goodwill extends throughout the campus, having amicably adjusted to the pressures and workload of this place. Upholding a pleasant relation with staff and students, he efficiently handles the LA and ensures that no faculty or student encounters any trouble. Having an assistant helps, but with no staff identity card or access to dispensary facilities and the hostel mess, as other regular employees do, he has to find his own way of managing with his income sans the benefits.

With a couple of students knocking on the door asking for keys for their respective club meetings in that short span which had passed since we started the talk, we ask him about his best experience at NITR. He says -

Caught in the Web

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ith Google laying the framework of its Fiber network, ushering in a new era of ultra fast internet connectivity, back home in India, students find it difficult to get a proper internet connection. For those who might be rushing towards their laptops to google the word Fiber, here’s a quick insight about the connection you are going to use. According to a real time survey by NetIndex, India ranks at 134th in the world in terms of speed, in a world, where internet connection has become an indispensable amenity, so indispensable that many consider access to internet as a fundamental right.

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FAST FACTS: Every citizen of Finland has the

right to access 1Mbps broadband connection. The entire country plans to be connected with a 100Mbps network by 2015.

The Right to Internet access, also known as the right to broadband, is the view that all people must be able to access the Internet in order to exercise and enjoy their rights to freedom of expression and opinion and other fundamental human rights, that states have a responsibility to ensure that Internet access is broadly available, and that states may not unreasonably restrict an individual’s access to the Internet.

Although Rourkela takes pride in hosting many renowned industries but the meagreness of internet connectivity with other nationally recognized institutes that share the same paradigm as that of NITR, affects the quality of education and finally the vocation of those who want to pursue higher studies.

Since 2002, when it was granted autonomy and functional independence by the MHRD, NIT Rourkela has taken giant strides to become one of the leading institutions imparting quality technical education, churning out hundreds of technocrats every year.

With immense investments being undertaken to satiate our infrastructural aspirations, there is a glaring lag when it comes to our development in terms of our networking capabilities. An increase in the influx of students every year calls for an overhaul in our infrastructural framework.

Measuring Up to Other Institutes: Now, let’s have a sneak peek into the internet related facilities provided to their students by some other prominent technical institutions of the country and how the stats compare with the internet facilities at NITR. While NIT Rourkela acquires a net bandwidth of 1.06 Gbps, top ranked institutes like IIT Bombay, IIT Kanpur and IIT Kharagpur have a net bandwidth of 2.7 Gbps, 3 Gbps and 1 Gbps respectively. Just like NITR uses Cyberoam as

All experiences have been good. You learn a thing or two from everything that happens with and in and around you.

His serious demeanour masks his love for the decorations and the way the campus is transformed into an aura of shimmering lights and glittering bulbs during fests and other events. Though he does not frequently attend the events of the institute, he ensures that all the arrangements are perfectly done. This superman never complains.

His laconic persona doesn’t give away his love and admiration for the students. He understands their mischief, loves their company, admires their energy and gets inspired from them. “Kids are kids. They’ll pull off pranks. That’s who they are. They’ll switch off MCBs and do all other kinds of “childish stuff.” But no student has ever misbehaved with me. If it hadn’t been for their cooperation, it would’ve become very difficult for me to manage this whole place so easily.”. It has been four years since students have been a daily treat to his eyes. He points that first year students are generally submissive and calm, final year students are usually reserved and composed, however, the sophomores and the pre-final students have the most fun. The students enliven the entire building and that makes him more than happy to work.

This superman loves students.

His practical approach to situations and crises, is not in tandem with the online registering system, which he finds to be unuseful. The issues are left pending for a long time and their urgency is usually shelved. He also suggests, the improvement of the management system of NITR. Due to financial constraints, he also faces problems while travelling to his home every day for lunch which is far from the campus. When asked about the flexibility of the process of a leave being sanctioned, he states an incident, where he needed leave for his sister’s wedding and had to find a replacement before he left. Getting leave here is undoubtedly a rigid process, for both students and staff. This superman paves a way for himself, no matter what.

Mr. Nityananda has great respect for the Director, his messiah at the time of utter need. The time he was appointed in NITR was extremely crucial for him. He needed a job and he still owes the Director for that favour.

An avid lover of travelling and photography, he considers the photographers of NITR at par with professional photographers. Badri, of Life Science department is one of his good friends as he considers. He gets an account of every happening in the insti-

tute from him, LA keeps him too busy to venture out during work hours. Students who know him sometimes help him to get passes for events like celebrity night, else, he’s just happy to manage.

Like every human being, he does have some regrets though. He lives his dream of becoming an engineer by watching the students. When he had joined, he had expected to do a hardware related technical job but things turned out differently. However, he seems satisfied. Inspite of the herculean workload, he manages it all with the help of an assistant and never gives any scope for complaints. With one of his dream destinations being Mumbai, he would love to visit any new place. “New places teach us many life experiences.” We get to see, experience, love and live. Nothing can top that.

its network security provider, IIT Bombay has Geotrust which is a large digital certificate provider, IIT Kgp uses Trend Micro InterScan Web Security and IIT Kanpur has iPolicy Networks to protect its network from hacking, spamming and viruses. An important fact in the internet connectivity is that the premier institutes provide 24x7 internet connection to its students understanding the myriad uses and

MM: How are these connections distributed inside NITR? SK: We implement dynamic usage to distribute the Internet. In the morning and afternoon, when the students are in class we dedicate the BSNL connection to the academic area and restrict internet access in the hostel area. And from 1700 to 0800 hours

Dissatisfied with current internet connection.

It's okay, but I'd like it to be better.

I'm fine with the internet as it is.

Spend at least an hour of FB, YouTube, etc to relax the mind, connect with people & much more.

Have watched online streaming of important games and sports events

Results of a survey conducted by Team MM applications that an internet access can have and the benefits of it for the students. IIT-B, IIT-K, IITKgp, NIT-Trichy and NIT-Patna all provide continuous unblocked access to the internet to their students.

While all the aforementioned institutions block adult and sexually explicit sites, they do not, unlike NITR, block p2p and proxy sites. IIT Kharagpur is a full Wi-Fi campus and has the largest gigabit network in eastern India. The Wi-Fi is open to all visitors on the campus subject to the fact that they know about the various proxies that they have to use. IIT Kanpur too is an open access Wi-Fi campus while IIT Bombay has Wi-Fi hotspots at certain places and is accessible only by its students.

Connecting with the Admin: Prof. SK Patra has been associated with the Computer Centre since the past 10 years and NITR has come a long way since the days of those Expensive Pentium Computers. Team MM contacted him to get into the details of the internet connectivity at NITR as well as address some of the problems that students have been facing this year.

MM: How is NITR connected to the internet? What is the existing networking infrastructure?

SK: NITR has internet service from 3 sources. One of them is the BSNL network connected to the National Knowledge Network (NKN). National Knowledge Network is a multi-gigabit network, whose purpose is to provide a unified high speed network backbone for educational institutions in India. This is operated by the National Informatics Centre (NIC) which provides the connection to all the state capitals. Since Rourkela is not a state capital, NITR uses the BSNL connection to connect to the NKN. As the end user is concerned, we are connected through BSNL link to the NKN at a bandwidth of 1Gbps. On this network, the data flows through all the institutes of the country, so any data we need to get inside India has higher transmission speed as it is within the NKN. Besides this, we have a 40Mbps connection from Reliance and a 20Mbps connection from Ortel.

Each block in a hall of residence has multiple switches which are connected to outer switches connecting the hall of residence to the Computer Center.

The CC serves as the nerve center for NITR. Here all the traffic is analyzed, then passed through using the 8 layer firewall, Cyberoam. NITR has two high-end systems dedicated for Cyberoam which are in active-standby mode. We are trying to change it to Active Load sharing mode. Cyberoam Technologies is a global Network Security appliances provider, with a global presence spanning more than 125 countries.

we switch the BSNL connection with Reliance and Ortel for the academic area and the staff quarters.

During this time, the BSNL connection is dedicated towards the hostel area. But sometimes when we have seminars, campus interviews et al we dedicate one of the connection for it. So sometimes, if we have more demand, one of the sides may suffer.

MM: Who is responsible for the management of the Computer Centre?

SK: We have multiple groups for managing the Computer Centre and the overall networking of the institute. We are in agreement with Wipro for this. There are four Network Administrators and five Help desk attendants and other team for managing all the machines in the laboratories. The network administrators and the attendants work 24*7 to keep the network alive. The help desk attendants answer all the queries of the students regarding LAN issues, Wi-Fi problems and Internet disconnections.

MM: There have been many internet disruptions since the start of this academic year. Why? SK: Of late what has been happening is that the students as well as the usage has increased considerably. Research scholars have increased rapidly up to 500 from 100 a few years back along with 400-plus M.Tech second year students. For research work, they start their work in the laboratories at around 1800 hours up to late in the night. Even professors stay in their offices after 1800 hours. This has been one of the reasons for slow connection. In the evening, there are normally 1500 concurrent users and the number never drops till 0000 hours.

There is another issue which is the primary reason behind the slow internet connection. I have reports that many computers in both hostel as well as academic area have been infected with spyware. These infected machines start flooding the network with unnecessary traffic. From our experience, if there are hundred infected machines on the network at any point of time, it easily brings down the Cyberoam firewall. As the entire system resources (memory) is used up in analyzing and dropping the unnecessary traffic, it becomes almost impossible to access the internet.

MM: What can be a possible solution to this problem?

SK: The first thing we can do is form a student body like a Cyber-Team to rectify the flooding problem caused by the infected machines. This team of students can be distributed in all the hall of residences in groups of five or ten. We can provide them ad-

ditional network rights to locate the infected machines and get it disinfected. This would be a great help to the institute as we can’t enter the hostels daily looking for a computer. If we can stop the flooding, I believe 70% of the slow internet problem would be solved.

MM: We did a survey of the internet facilities at other Technological institutes. We found out that they have higher download and upload speed than ours. Why is our institute lagging behind?

SK: Actually we have enforced a 512kbps limit on all the student accounts. That’s the highest speed any person can use. It’s all related to Demand and Supply. For Example: We have limited resources and many people want to acquire it. So we divide and distribute whatever bandwidth we get. The other institutes may have higher download speed because there may be no restriction. But our institute has implemented this speed limit so that no one can get a speed of more than 512kbps under any circumstance.

The Paradox: Results of a survey conducted by Prof. Patra: • More than 150 people had downloaded more than 500MB of data each. On one side students are facing problem in opening web pages, whereas on the other end students are downloading 1 GB of data. These two cases don’t go hand in hand. If the network is slow, one can’t download so much data, and if one can download so much data then the network cannot be slow. We have a limited bandwidth that is equally shared among all the students.

• The throttle is 1Mbps. If there are 2000 users at peak time and if everyone tries to download at 1Mbps, the bandwidth needed is 2Gbps.

We have a 1Gbps connection connected to the National Knowledge Network (NKN). The NKN has an outside connection of 150Mbps. If you download anything from our college site or IIT sites it doesn’t go in to this 150Mbps connection, as all IITs and 800 universities across the country come under the NKN system. But if you download some software from a US site or US university it goes into this 150Mbps bandwidth.

• Typically, 1mbps costs 25,000 per annum. BSNL link is government funded. Apart from that anything we buy is 25,000 per mbps.

• The cost is reducing, the bandwidth is increasing, but demand for bandwidth and increase in bandwidth are not at the same pace. Individually, the user downloads are increasing because the applications are using more bandwidth. The internet statistics for user have changed today.

Its matter of demand and supply.

</Conclusion> The lives of NITians is held together by a LAN cord.

Students with varied interests, cultures and hobbies end up at NITR and internet provides them with an impetus to share their ideas, thoughts and feelings.

This is what diversifies students’ perception of the world and improves their chances of competing at the global level. For the majority of the populace, internet provides a means of escape from the tight schedules of classes and also as a tutor at the time of examinations. With improved networking capabilities, any institute can expect growth on multiple levels both in terms of research and extra-curriculars. A strong internet framework will definitely put NITR on the right path towards success and would bring our institute at sync with the fast growing technological advancements of the world.

DAWN OF DILIGENCE: H

SAC’s Dark Knight

e is that unassailable brick of SAC who almost, or at least tries to, single handedly bear the work-load of this resplendent edifice of student activity. It is almost impossible to imagine a day at the Student Activity Center without Mr. Methedius Kerketta.

From making xerox copies to forwarding leave applications, he handles everything. His enthusiasm for MM touched our hearts and made this tete-a-tete a warm and pleasant experience during this chilly winter.

A student of REC (Regional Engineering College) school and being a part of this campus throughout his entire life, he fondly recalls the REC days as he ponders on the magnitude of changes that have come along through the years. Initially working in the Applied Mathematics Department, he later shifted to the Department of Civil Engineering and then to the Registrar’s Office. Soon after, it was the SAC that beckoned him. There is no specific rule for transfer here. Those who work hard, get recognition and no one wants to let go of them, says Mr. Kerketta.

A Tryst with DISCO

... CONTD from Page 3

the presence of juniors came to the ISDC’s notice the seniors took it as their moral responsibility to save the freshers. They straight away went to the Chief Warden and took the blame on themselves that the freshmen had no intention of being there and the seniors being the reason for their presence. If only nobility could have been rewarded always.

What happened next was unexpected for them. The letter taking the blame was submitted to the ISDC and the case was turned into a ragging case. The following are the words that directly come from a victim of the case: The punishment is in accordance with P-17, P-19 and P-21 which stand for placement debar, delay of publication of result by a semester and UR in all courses for one semester.

Strictly speaking according to the disciplinary manual, the punish-

Five years have rolled by, as a staff of SAC. Students being his first priority, he says, they should not be unnecessarily troubled. Though his hands are tied in some matters, he tries his best to help students whenever he can. The assemblage of lined up fests throughout the year in NITR prove to be some of the most trying and hectic times for the man.

A Walk in his Shoes A typical day in his life, involves coming to SAC as early as 6 AM to handover keys to student co-ordinators and staying till midnight if required. The Xerox machine is abundantly used during fests and a good amount of his time is spent in helping out students with their photocopy requirements. Earlier there used to be three fests but now the number of fests have doubled, thus making it harder to keep up with the changing times. Mr. Basant Kumar, his senior, officially maintains the stock record and if the work-load is overwhelming, people are hired to help. A schedule so hectic makes it difficult to attend the plethora of functions that NITR plays host to, though Mr. Kerketta tries his level best to attend important ones like the Celebrity Nite.

Mr. Kerketta enjoys a good rapport with students. He talked about Subrat Kumar Sahu, an M.Tech student and former Techfest convener, who calls him even today. When asked about ragging, he said it was more prevalent during the REC days. Though the administration tried their best to protect students they weren’t extremely successful. Chuckling, he says children will always be mischievous. Cricket used to be a favourite hobby but now he finds himself in dearth of time and has resorted to his second favourites, television and music to enjoy his free time. Apart from his first love, SAC, he likes the gardens at NITR but is of the view that they were better maintained earlier.

A Man of Family Living with his wife, parents and two kids, one in seventh and the other in the eleventh grade, he says his happiness lies in their happiness. Being one of those few lucky souls who are satisfied with what they have, he thanks God for keeping his family safe and healthy and is grateful for the amenities available to him at NITR, especially the health care facilities. It makes him happy that the professors and HoDs he approaches for leave never turn him down.

MM salutes this dedicated and hardworking soul and wishes him luck for all his future endeavours.

He is a friendly human being and I find him very sincere in doing his job.

Prof. K.C. Pati Dean(SW)

He is an extremely hard working and helpful man Abhishek Agarwal SAC Convenor

Mr. Kerketta is a very righteous and responsible person and helps in every way he can.

Arunesh Pandey SAC Convenor

Mr Kerketta is very efficient and student friendly. He responds to our phone calls and requests even after his working hours and helps us in every way he can Chandra Mouli SAC Convenor

ment given to the offence seem harsh. The manual clearly states that calling a junior to senior hostel would lead to punishments from P-11 to P-13 and P-17.

So the harshest decision possible was a placement debar. All other punishments include only a grade back in either one or more subjects. So are we to believe the victim’s words or did the ISDC plunge upon this case to set an example?

Either of these questions still remain unanswered.

When asked about every individual’s satisfaction with ISDC, their views varied largely. While the person involved in first case was happy about getting out without any punishment, he felt that the punishment of the seniors could have been reduced. The person convicted in the second case agreed upon the ISDC’s decision making in his case and had no qualms. He accepts the punishment given to him with no complaints.

In the third case, the accused thanks nobody else but only the ISDC for turning his life around to such great dissatisfaction. Even though the case was reopened later to reduce the punishment to some extent, the decision had a huge impact on their life at NITR and that impact has only been for the worst. The placement debar for whole semester was revised to placement debar till the mid semester and the UR in all courses for one semester was also cancelled.

Few problems with the ISDC as pointed out by the accused is that the student representatives had no say in the committee and didn’t find them serving their purpose. A student representative is someone to stand for the student in front of the committee. However, they acted as lobbyists by the committee to convince the accused to accept the charges which they wanted to prove.

Also one thing that really ails the accused in the third case is that, there were few instances where there was a mass clash between groups of students, also there were mass protests in which students vandalized institute property and such cases didn’t reach ISDC. So this makes them feel as if they are the only ones who have been accused of a heinous offence.

He feels the punishments to equally heinous offences have not been equal.

The Verdict A big chunk of students are rarely aware of the facts that lead to an ISDC case or the possible punishments that can be dished out to them. They are confused about their rights and the actions of their statements, thus preventing them from making a good case in their defence. It would be a big relief for the students if they read the ISDC constitution ( http://nitrkl.ac.in/IntraWeb/Academics/Regulation/doc/DD.pdf ) and get educated of the real scenario rather than ending up being an example for people to follow. In all of the three cases, all that the accused could do is have flashbacks and repent on being a victim of fate. The ISDC stands high on its ground to keep a check on indiscipline by setting examples in every new case. A variety of conclusions can be made from these cases if analyzed from different perspectives. But all that the “victims of situation and luck” could learn from a lesson as big as this is to start afresh a new life, without hoping to get caught in the hands of fate and be an example for people not to follow suit.

)A(Political Survey P

"The first step towards change is awareness.

The second step is acceptance."

olitics commonly refers to the activities associated with the governance of a country or area, especially the debate between parties having power. It speaks of the particular set of beliefs that various groups of people adhere to, in the field of governance and administration. Politics can also mean the principles relating to or inherent in a sphere or activity, especially when concerned with power and status. These two meanings of politics are particularly significant in their manner of prioritization. While one deals with governance and citizens, the other deals with power and status.

with an altogether different setting for the Indian political circus.

A quick googling will reveal that the word originates from the Greek “politēs”, meaning citizen.

The fact that the word Politics has its roots in the Greek equivalent of “citizens” and that its use has magnified in the past 50 years is reason enough as to why every person is expected to have a minimum level of awareness regarding national and international politics.

The next two questions looked at the two existing political issues that have taken the world and international community by storm. These two are the biggest contemporary issues in international issues in international politics and have received extensive media coverage in print, television and online. The long-standing Israel – Palestine war going on around the ancient city of Jerusalem, has affected most nations at some point of time. Several nations at various points have provided arms and logistical support to either Palestine or Israel.

Team MM decided to take a recce of the political awareness of the NITR populace and check how well-informed the brightest minds and dedicated souls are about the politics of India and the world.

Since the survey was restricted to the students, the sample space was basically the youth in the age group 17-23 years. Being the driving force of any country, their political awareness is of utmost importance for the well-being of the nation.

The team presented a simple questionnaire covering the basics of Indian Political Framework and National & International Political News. The surveys were conducted in hostel rooms, in departments after class hours and in various locations around the campus.

Questions Asked : 1. What are the houses in the Indian Parliament?

2. Name the Vice President of India.

Najma Heptullah

Hamid Ansari

Amit Shah

Bhairon Singh Sekhawat 3. Israel has always been at war with Palestine.

Which country has favoured Israel in this war?

India China Russia U.S.A. 4. Which country is involved in a feud with Russia primarily owing to an annexation of its territories by the Russians?

5. What is your view point on introducing Student Unions in NITR? 6. To which constituency does Rourkela belong?

tured in the answers is just a reminder of how the students are not even aware of the concept of division into constituencies for the purpose of electing representatives. This puts to doubt their choices during the actual voting.

By now, it is pretty clear about the sorry state of affairs of today’s youth regarding the level of awareness in international and national politics. And the worst part is that the information unavailability is not just restricted to NIT Rourkela. There have been various occasions where media houses have conducted random street surveys in various metros to obtain some of the most hilarious answers regarding the political affairs of India and the world. The youth of the day are just as ill-informed as the actresses who light up the multiplex screens only to name Prithviraj Chauhan as the President of India.

We graded questions as per their level of importance and scored each survey form out of 15. The weightage distribution was as follows: Q.1: 1 mark, Q.2: 2 marks, Q.3: 6 marks, Q.4: 4 marks and Q.6: 5 marks. The statistics for political awareness are as follows:

10-15

However, Russia has always maintained a consistent stand in their support for Israel, which only 40% of the students were aware of. The ordinary youth of India might not be aware of the political standings of Russia. But enlightened and bright minds of an institute of national importance are expected to be aware of conflict that has seen the whole world getting involved in the last couple of decades.

The Ukraine – Russia conflict has been widely talked about and the students rightly identified it.

The first question was a sitter which 92% of the surveyed crowd got right (Lok Sabha & Rajya Sabha).

That, of course, is a wonderful figure. But the bigger issue out here is 8% of the surveyed crowd left the space empty or wrote the name of only one of the two houses. Known to be in the news for various reasons, it is surprising how some people could miss out on the names of the two Parliamentary Houses.

However, the fact that 4% of students managed to decide that Russia is in conflict because of the annexation of a territory of Egypt which is ridiculous to say the least. It is surprising how college students could say that Russia has the capacity to annexe the territories of a nation that is in an altogether different continent.

The second question presented with a clearer idea of how today’s youth is unaware of the people at the helm, of those who hold the reins to their life.

(Correct Answer: Hamid Ansari) The Vice President is the ex-officio chairman of the Rajya Sabha.

He is thus at two key posts and his name is flashed in the news with regard to various events and proceedings of the Parliament. 9% of the crowd naming Amit Shah as the VP is indicative of how the youth are probably residing in a parallel universe

The sixth question received all sorts of answers.

(Vidhan Sabha: Rourkela, Lok Sabha: Sundergarh) Rourkela and Sundergarh topped the list but Sambalpur, Bhubaneswar, Cuttack and Odisha also featured in the list of answers that the survey team encountered. It is surprising that adult citizens of the country in whom the Constitution has proudly vested the rights to elect the representatives who shall rule the country, are unaware of which constituency they reside in. The fact that Odisha fea-

5-10

0-5

The fifth question in the survey questioned the youth regarding their views on the creation of a Student Body Council in NITR. 56% of the people leaving it blank is a clear indication of the general apathy that exists today, not just among the people of this institute, but the general 20-somethings of this country who are busy leading their own lives without caring about who or what is wrong with the system that is ruling this country today. Many people also pointed out that the elected representatives of SAC are already acting as members of a Student Body. However, the basic functioning of a Student Body is different from that of SAC representatives. A Student Body shall be the voice of the students, rising in action whenever any injustice is being meted out. The fact that students are nonchalant about the creation of a body to carry their voices forward is really disturbing. Armchair politics is our cup of tea, we talk of the various problems of the system, we talk of how India is never going to change for the better but how many of us have ever shown the interest to join the system?

The question that now arises is that, despite the high level of political coverage in television and press, how is the youth missing out on the essential details? Is it the Page 3 news that is solely drawing the attention of the young and energetic? Or is it the sensational political news that raises eyebrows while the people miss out on the essential basics?

Or is it the education system that is failing to dissipate information about our history and civics in a manner that makes politics appealing and approachable for the present generation? The meaning of politics today has changed from governance and citizen welfare to that of power and status. The apathy of the youth towards politics stems from the fact that politicians have managed to develop an image of power-hungry, status-seeking, megalomaniacs who have the least concern for the development of the nation and its citizens. The kind of campaigning and manipulating that is a part of the SAC election procedure is just another example how, everywhere, it is the wrong kind of politics that is becoming a bottleneck to development. It is high time that we wake up from our political drowsiness and start making the right kind of political noise. Because no matter how hard you try, unless you join the system, you can’t change the system.

Thus we present to you the 2nd Print Issue of Monday Morning. Captured within it are the thoughts, ideas and immense efforts of our designers, writers and photographers and of course your love that makes us tick. Serving the very purpose which led to the birth of MM, the facts and statistics are presented truest to the efforts of the team.

Any erroneous causes are most welcome to be reported like any other query which concerns our readers at morning.monday@gmail.com.