VOLUME: 1 ISSUE: 2 Indian Institute of Technology Delhi

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instinct
FEBRUARY, 2013 Page 4, 5 EXCHANGE DIARIES and a note on foreign intern spamming

Page 6, 7 Surveys on Tech culture in IIT Delhi and the SAC

Freshers and partipation in the BRCA FROM THE EDITORS DESK

The outpouring of goodwill and support that we received after the first publication has brought with it a sense of gratitude coupled with responsibility. We wish to turn Instinct into a permanent publication of the board rather than a passing fixture and the continued support of our reader base is something we value very highly. As this is a fledgling initiative, we sincerely welcome any and all suggestions from all of you as to how we can make this publication better. Also, please feel welcome to mail us any articles which you feel are relevant for this publication at bsp2012articles@gmail.com to be considered for publication in the next edition of Instinct which should be released this month. In this issue, we have explored some common perceptions of SAC and its role as a student body that looks after student interests. We have also done an analysis of the tech-culture at IIT Delhi, and its presence amongst the student community. We have included an article that highlights the objectives and successful endeavors of the IIT Delhi chapter of the Avanti Fellows Initiative. Also running parallel is an article on the issue of the restrictions placed on freshers before the Rendezvous fest with a comparison between the views of a concerned second yearite and a fourth yearite. To add to that, we have reported on the convocation ceremony for the passing batch, and a tour conducted for the students visiting from the ASEAN nations as part of an interactive exchange program conducted by the governments. The last page of this edition is an article highlighting two student festivals which are highly relevant to most IITians - MoodI and Rendezvous and how and why they differ.

Avanti Fellows and Indias educational divide

IIT and the World Stage |

Sandesh Lokhande

Do the values that we deem important affect our global ranking amongst other premier institutes of technology?
urcharan Das said that during his time at Harvard he met with a lot of great ideas. After a long time, he still remembers those ideas rather than the individuals who created them. I believe the same applies to students in IITD also. I think the major setback of the IIT system and IITians is that everybody here is behind money; interest and ideas score a very distant 2nd and 3rd. The major problem is that there are very few intellectual discussions between students. The discussions which happen are mostly concentrated on having fun and about honing the skills for a job with a fat pay cheque (EDLC guys might like to differ on this statement). I found very few occasions where I had engaged wittily in a deep and profound discussion. Why do we always think about how we can earn more after we step outside this Institute? The freshers, when talking to seniors during interactions, ask the same action question again and again : how are the placements this year? What are the average packages? The big question here is, why do we really care about such illusionary things? Money doesnt have real value - all value in it is relative. We should rather strive for ideas - ideas which possess absolute value. Why is the most celebrated actor in DnD not thinking of taking acting as his career? Why is a poltubaaz abusing the politics happening outside campus on the nationwide level? The answer is simple we dont believe in ourselves. And it is the major reason we end up the fat cheque. This is the most striking being in IIT. Most of the guys here on thing about the guys on the campus campus think they might have been best the minimal social interaction. I am not in a different field but they did not have criticizing the IIT system for this - rather the guts and the belief in themselves to that we have modified the system in go behind that. The reasons given range such a way that we could gain some from fathers wish to I was not sure I skills from it which would be an asset in really liked that. The their job seeking. entrepreneurship The major problem here skills of IITians is is that there would be very In the end I would say that not to be doubted few intellectual discussions to become the though. We just world leaders in need to produce between students. The education, we a much more diverse set of discussions which happen need to change We graduates ranging are mostly concentrated ourselves. daring should be from philosophers and politicians to on having fun or how we enough to start scientists and movie had fun and mostly about something new; we need to listen directors. Though honing the skills for jobs... to the call of our we had been heart. I would like established as a technical institute, it to say one thing: every single person in is the need of the hour to go beyond the technical field. Jawaharlal Nehru this campus here possesses the intellect would have been very proud to hear to be successful in any field of his/her that the IITs also produce philosophers interest. So we need to be daring and and writers. Though we didnt have the we need to think about the beautiful chance to choose different things in the possibilities in our fields rather than past, but now we have all the resources the money. Hoarding money should and the exposure to do the things we not be the ultimate aim - it should be always wanted to do. Why arent we the by-product of our activities. As and when we begin to follow our heart, following our heart? Why is there any club celebrating the there will definitely be more and more work of great philosophers or any social activeness and more intellectual regular trekking club? The most obvious discussions. answer is that these skills are not required to get a good job, to qualify for

UPCOMING EVENTS Fusion Night

Number Games Cue Combat Stage Play Group Dance Oil Painting

Word Games Three Muses Sopan Tryst Sportech

Trailer Making Movie Making Water colour Painting

- Aalekh Sharan

and they call us techies !!!

REPORT

www.infinityiitd.org

The Fresher and the BRCA Event

A second year student shares her views on fresher participation at IIT Delhi
he Indian Institutes of Technology are famed for their capacity to develop engineering innovation in India. Selected through an exam which has a selection rate of 1 in 80, the intellectual quotient is thus ensured. However, what defines the students after they join their respective institutes is their ability to evolve and adapt, their adeptness at developing new skills and becoming versatile in the truest sense. Co-curricular and extra-curricular activities, Projects, Workshops, Positions of Responsibility, even Humanities courses at times, help in such growth and are common to all IITs. This is probably what is referred to as the feel of a place, the buzz in the atmosphere and is what sets IITs apart from the rest. You can smell it from your first day in college and are blended into it by the end of your time here. Participation by freshers has always been actively promoted in our institute, after the initial one month period where no fresher-senior interaction is allowed. They are introduced to the various boards and clubs

| Sanya Ohri

all the events are potentially trophy-deciding ones, selection of Hostel Representatives. The representative so I am unlikely to send a fresher who has not had should be able to carry on the culture of his or her any previous exposure to events in IIT Delhi to them. club. However, if s/he has had a limited exposure to If I can send freshers in the first semester events, I am the club, knowing the nuances of the club workings able to recognize great talent will definitely contribute to a and more importantly, potential Representing your hostel in lowering in the standard of the great talent. That would enable an event, gives you a sense club functioning. Selection of me to enhance the culture in my representatives through few hostel, thus serving my purpose of pride and belonging, events (especially only in the as a representative. both with the club and the second semester) when everyone starts working with a post in mind One of the most important hostel. Cheering for your makes it tougher to sort out the things that you learn in IIT is time hostel team at Western deserving candidates. It is a management, the golden mantra cumulative cycle that will be set repeated by seniors, faculty and Night is different from up - unexperienced freshers will administration. Participating actually being on stage and be selected, who would not know in multiple events, spending performing with seniors... what to do as representatives and evenings in practices and then would be unable to contribute to returning to do PHP and going for the 8 am class the culture of the club in their hostel and institute and the next day, we perfected that within two months in would not be able to train the next batch of freshers. IIT. We were constantly involved in doing something

and encouraged to come forward and try something new or supplement their existing skills. However, this academic year, a new rule was put into place, one that prohibited fresher participation in all cultural activities; including Rendezvous, till the end of the mid-semester break. Done in lieu of the strict anti-ragging policy that our institute follows and to not promote indiscipline amongst the freshers, this rule was a blanket ban across all clubs under the BRCA. Neither were they allowed to be a part of the Institute team in any of the Rendezvous events, where usually they are selected after rigorous auditioning and are incorporated into the family. Freshers obviously had a problem with this implementation, but as a hostel representative, I believe that I am at a bigger disadvantage. As a representative, I am expected to contribute to the growth of the culture of my club at the hostel and the institute level. Freshers contribute to an integral part of this growth, as it is only in the first year that students are willing to try out various club activities; by the second year, they all have found their niches and tend to stick to one club. Most club events finish prior to Rendezvous, effectively leaving the freshers with very little scope to participate in club activities in the first semester. Similarly, in the second semester,

constructive, participating in events or practising for those, teaching us the true value of time. We kept in mind that the next days a submission had to be made, yet, participating in the event provided us that recreational break. Better than hanging around in the Insti or roaming in SDA is staying in hostel and perfecting something. If my freshers are unable to participate in the events or their practices, is it possible for them to have the sort of exposure I did in my first year? I participated in multiple events and finally chose the club where my interest lies. We are snatching the platform that the students deserve to be given in the first year, to unearth their latent talent or pick up something new and grow to excel in that. In IIT Delhi, your hostel is an integral part of your identity (whether that is good or not is another article altogether). Representing your hostel in an event, even a Cat D event, gives you a sense of pride and belonging, both with the club and the hostel. Cheering for your hostel team at Western Night is different from actually being on stage and performing with your seniors, especially if you have the talent. Another issue is the

Not to say this rule has not had its positive impact. I see my freshers studying a lot more than I did in my first semester. They are constantly involved with their work, scoring better and punctual with their classes. No incidences of ragging were reported this year, however these have not been reported ever since the institute tightened its anti-ragging policy. The sword of a Disciplinary Committee hangs above each seniors head, the Proctorial Team conducts regular checks in the hostels. Hence, the existing rules are stringent enough to ensure that no incidents of ragging occur. And it is for the students own benefit that they learn to multi-task, a norm for any college student. Promoting the cultural spirit in the Institute must start with the freshers, who in turn will become seniors with a holistic opinion about all clubs. Limiting their participation to post Rendezvous restricts them to very few events. IIT is not just about technical knowledge; but is also about evolving into confident and experienced individuals, proficient in versatile fields. And this, I believe, should start from the first day itself, as even a days delay is an event missed.

Board for Student Publications

instinct, FEBRUARY 2013

AVANTI
Mayank Gupta

The Juggling Act |

A veteran fourth year student discusses the timeframe for fresher participation in cultural activities

he basic debate here centers around this question : When should freshers be allowed to participate in RCA events? Let us establish a few ground rules here. They definitely should be given a chance to participate in the first year itself, and this for a variety of reasons. Firstly, because of the limited peiod of 4 years (for most), if one wishes to experiment and select an activity he or she wants to pursue, the process should take place as fast as possible. Barring those people who come to IIT with a specific skill set, which is only a handful, the rest pick it up here itself. And the faster this process starts, the greater are the chances at excelling in an activity. Also the RCA structure has representatives for each club picked from 2nd year students. These are essentially picked near the end of the first year and this can only happen based on a certain level of interest and involvement in a club by a fresher. But these arguments would seem to suggest that freshers should get involved in activities as soon as they come. But there are arguments against it too. One of the major ones is ragging and the efforts to keep it at bay. The clubs allow an increased channel of interaction and assertion of authority by seniors on the freshers. Sometimes to increase numbers, freshers are compelled to become a part of street plays or decoration teams. For those who enjoy these

activities, its fine. But those who are coerced into it through mass participation would surely complain. Also the freshers are not aware of the efforts needed for academics in IIT Delhi and it makes good sense for them to become accustomed to the system here before jumping into ...freshers extra-currics.

and its effect on academics. Allowing people to chart out their own paths at IIT is one of the fundamental necessities this place needs to incorporate. And this holds true for everything, including RCA.

This holds equally well on the side of the freshers too. They need aware of the efforts to stand up for themselves and So we come back to the question - is have the courage to refuse when there a time which can be deemed needed for academics they do not want to participate suitable for allowing freshers to in backdrop making etc. Choose participate in RCA activities? And in IIT Delhi.... what you like and then pursue the answer would remain no. One that. In that club, you will have to cannot pin point and pick up a certain time when the learn from your seniors, within the hostel and outisde. above listed issues would sort themselves out. What It is by learning from the established players that you is needed is rather a change in the attitude from the will learn the tricks of the trade. But at the same time, side of both the freshers and the seniors. The seniors getting into an activity just to gain acceptance within have to give up the idea of ragging, harrasment, the hostel will be a bad idea. It is better to wait and harmless fun or whatever. The consequences are discover what you like and then do it with full spirit too severe to take a risk. Interaction is fine, but the and enthusiasm than to pick something early for the moment it turns into either a power equation or a sake of getting involved and then do it half-heartedly. mocking fair, its a strict tabboo. So whether before Rendezvous or after, freshers cant and shouldnt be So all in all, the question has no correct answers subjected to any kind of situation which makes them because it is one which hides lots of the dynamics uncomfortable in any way. Let the young fellows and parameters. discover where they want to go. If you want to earn their respect, give them good, solid advice about clubs, their activities and possible time consumption

are

not

Avanti Fellows |
The Problem

Siddhant Sachdeva

Bridging Indias educational divide

then given free training at reputed coaching centres (Vidyamandir classes, in the case of the Delhi A lot of problems in the Indian society are results of chapter). After that is the role of the huge economic divide amongst different members the mentoring department. Why of the society. Avanti Fellows is an organisation that is mentoring needed? Imagine identifies the need to bridge this divide. The problem yourself when you were preparing can be broken down into three fundamental issues. for your competitive exams? Imagine the role that an The first being the lack of financial resources available elder brother or sister, who had gone through the same to a major segment of children in the society. The process, would play for you. That is what mentoring is second is a lack of awareness about career options all about. Since we, as students who have prepared for in the minds of these kids. And a competitive exam, the third is the lack of guidance namely JEE, we are being provided to them. aware of the various ups and downs of the To level the playing field for journey, and might disadvantaged students in India by as well have practical solutions to the same. The methodology that we, at removing the economic and social One-on one mentoring Avanti, use is to focus on the barriers to attending top colleges is provided to these kids who miss out on good selected children by IIT quality education due to lack students, thus helping of financial resources. The them in the process of whole idea is to give those students the chance that their preparation in an even, comprehensive manner. they deserve. You will be surprised to know about the huge number of motivated and intelligent kids who are out there, but who dont have access to resources like coaching institutes for competitive exams. Because these competitive exams are stepping We see a lot social service organisations going on stones towards prestigious institutes. For these kids, around us. What makes me, as a member of Avati this represents opportunity. We intend to provide Fellows, is the fact that we are actually, tangibly, them with the opportunity to excel in their lives. The bringing about a change. It is not a blind effort on problem basically is three fold. Firstly, there is the our part to undertake these kids and be done with financial barrier, which is that these students can not it. We have mentors, then managers and then the afford to go to these expensive coaching centres all team head who is in charge of the feedback given over the country. Secondly, there is a lack of general by the mentoring process. Each input is treated with awareness when it comes to the options available for appropriate action. When it comes to problems being a child after his 11th and 12th class. Thirdly, there is no faced by a kid at the time of preparation, it can range proper means of guidance for these kids. Our aim is to from an integration question stuck in the mind of the counter each one of them. child to a nervous breakdown. The role of the mentor

The Experience
Personally speaking, it has been a wonderful experience. This is primarily because you start attaching yourselves with the work, the work being the progress of the fellows. You start developing an inherent sense of care towards these kids. You feel proud when a fellow excels with flying colors, and enthusiastically tells you about it. You see a change that you helped in bringing about. And that makes you feel that you are doing your small bit in bringing about a positive change.

Our Mission

The Impact

As you read this, Avanti Fellows is expanding. We are trying to cover more areas where there are low income families, which have kids with infinite potential, but with the financial barrier weighing down on them. What goes without saying is that it is voluntary work. Volunteers are the backbone of our operations. By volunteering for Avanti, you will be able to contribute your time, talent and expertise to bringing about change in lives of many deserving students Assimilate across India. Not to mention the What we do? boundless joy and Financial Career the satisfaction it Aid Services brings.
Academic Monitoring English Training Mentors Fellow Search Role Models Guidance

As to our actual work, the first step obviously, is to seek these students. This is the task of the fellow-search team, which selects kids on the basis of their financial background, their motivation and their academic talent. This is a fundamental part of the process since identification of the correct candidates is necessary for the program to have any impact. These candidates are

is to keep the child motivated and to take care of his academic preparation. We currently have about 45 fellows in the IIT Delhi chapter, with each mentor being given 1 or maximum 2 fellows. This allows the mentor to develop a mentor-fellow relationship, so that the fellow opens up to the mentor and starts sharing his problems with him/her.

Qualify

And helping students from the low income groups suceed in college
For more information, visit www.avantifellows.org

IIT Delhi

Excel

The Method

Blacklisted |

CURRENT
Faheem Shereef

www.infinityiitd.org

certain post from the blog of renowned computer scientist and number theorist, Jeffrey Shallit, in his personal blog Recursivity has attracted a lot of attention and debate for an issue that has pestered the American academia for a very long time - why is that only Indian students, especially students from the Indian Institutes of Technology, often send mass emails without any formal preparation beforehand. As a certain Prof Vincent puts it, if IITians are the best brains in the country, then they should be brainy enough to at least send internship applications properly, to persuade the appropriate professor adequately enough for him to take them in. But how did this raging debate ensue? Lets take a brief look, especially now as the spamming season approaches. It so happened that after the reputation of the IITs exceeded the expectations of their founder Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru, some of the brains from within the IITs were exported to foreign universities in order to pursue advanced levels of research - this research often bearing fruit. Students who were really interested in doing a

Apping and its drawbacks

project in a certain field were often sent on special without any actual interest in the field. programs to highly developed universities and acad- What is the result of this endless spamming? The deemies such as UC Berkeley, Stanford, Princeton and serving students who have an original desire to study the like. And so the trend began. Soon more and advance their knowledge in students began sending applications on ..Stanford has their field of choice are often considered their own, and it was not long before it blocked the IITD bad eggs along with the rest of the crowd. became somewhat mandatory for stuWith such an exodus of spam mail from servers, and so IITD, the reputation of the institute has dents to do so. End result - Stanford has blocked the have more than fallen over the rocks, with the net result IITD servers, and so have more than being most internship applications being ten other major US universities. Which ten other major rejected. means we IITDians have been relegated US universities... It is high time that internship applicants to the back bench. Which means we from the institute have some effort being have been branded outlaws. Which means a host of put into them. For starters, stop sending mass general other bad things for us, apart from the fact that our emails to professors. Send specialized emails carefully, application mails directly land in their spam conver- after researching the professors background and his sations. Reason? Students from Indian colleges have expertise in his field. Lastly, for goodness sake, always been senselessly sending mails desperately to all pro- make sure you are mailing the professor whose work fessors, simply with the aim of securing an internship, interests you, and research his past works, his papers for the sole purpose of, as a certain foreigner profes- and his theses, etc. Hopefully, its not too late for us to sor put it, a free full-expenses paid vacation abroad, be removed from the blacklist.

The Convocation |

Abhilasha Sinha
Ceremony. Despite the inconvenience produced by the seating arrangement, there was pride and joy on each of their faces. They had been equal partners in our journeys through IIT. Their enthusiastic participation served as a reminder of the importance our IIT education had in the lives of our parents and families. We may have grumbled about the long ceremony, the early morning schedule or even the orange robes. But the reality was that each one of would rather be at the convocation than be anywhere else in the world. The sad fb/ GTalk statuses of friends who couldnt attend the convocation helped us realize our good fortune at being able to attend the ceremony. The convocation was the last time many of us would meet. It was the last time we came to IIT as students of the institute. It was the last time we were a part of a protected and secure world. After the convocation we are well and truly a part of the adult world. The convocation marked the end of an exciting journey and the start of another that will hopefully be as exciting.

Abhilasha shares her experiences of convocation day

of camaraderie in the air. Camaraderie born out of sharing a memorable journey together- a journey that had been a heady mix of laughter and tears. The convocation ceremony was a longdrawn affair. Thankfully the rehearsals on the previous day had prepared us for this. With the UGs slotted to get their degrees at the end, the first half of the day was spent catching up with friends and classmates, clicking pictures in the orange robes and of course discussing why we were made to wear orange robes. This air of casualness turned into one of seriousness the moment a department of students was called on to receive their degrees. You feel a mix of emotions when you finally have the degree in your hand. There is happiness at having finally graduated. Yet there is sorrow as the realization hits you that college is well and truly over. Parents were an integral part of the Convocation

8th October. A bright Sunday morning. It was time for the Convocation Ceremony of the batch of 2012. For the first time the convocation was being held at the Open Air Theatre instead of the Convocation Hall: the Dogra Hall (I wonder what this hall will be called now that it no longer hosts convocations). OAT with chairs arranged all over it looked much smaller than the venue which had hosted numerous Rendezvous events over the years.

There was a buzz in the air - a wave of excitement all over. After all it was the day we were graduating - the culmination of a spectacular four or five year long journey. Interestingly enough this was the first time after orientation that the entire batch was together. 4 years ago I had wondered whether I would recognize all my batchmates by the time I was graduating. Surprisingly enough the answer was no. Yet, despite the fact that most of us knew only a fraction of the graduating batch there was an air

....There was a buzz in the air - a wave of excitement all over....

ASEANs day out |

Kalki Kukreja

College students of various ASEAN countries visit IIT Delhi

very December, a bunch of meritorious students Activity Centre, Sports complex and the boys from all across South Asia visit India as an initiative hostel area. The bus stopped at SAC. Brimming with of Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India excitement, students got down from the buses and with the primary motive of promoting cultural and explored that area. They roamed about, interacted educational exchange and bridging the information and shared experiences all overwhelmed with gap. It is organised by the CII to present the academic amiable feelings. They clicked photographs at all the and industrial state of India to our neighbours besides random place, posing at each and every wall painting, enhancing one-to-one interaction among the citizens missing nothing at all. All were lost in the exuberance of the ASEAN countries. A select group of educational of meeting so many new people of different countries institutions, plants and factories, places of historical in a nation thousands of miles away from their homes. and cultural interest make it to the packed itinerary to ensure this visit provides an After about half an hour, we gathered excellent exposure to the Indian together and sat in our respective buses way of life, its culture and ethos. .....One of the foreign which took us back to the main building IIT, being the countrys most students stunned us of IIT. prestigious engineering Institute, is one of the inevitable stops of with his melodious Next in the schedule was a short formal their trip. voice when he sang a interaction session in the Seminar Hall which was commenced with a speech Hindi song.... It was 19th of December, 2012. by Prof. Ambuj Sagar, Dean (Alumni Silent and serene, drowned in and International Affairs), welcoming dreams was I when one of my seniors woke me and the students and introducing them to IITs academic asked me to be a part of the great experience that I am and administrative aspects, also inspiring all to make going to tell you about. IIT Delhi welcomed as many as the most of such a unique opportunity and work for 250 students from South Asian countries - Singapore, development of their respective countries. Vietnam, Cambodia, Myanmar, Malaysia, Philippines, Indonesia and the like who were then taken to a Followed by the speech was an interactive question Campus tour in 5 Volvos with each bus accompanied answer session between the foreign students and the by two students from IIT Delhi who introduced them team of Prof. Ambuj Sagar and 5-6 IIT Delhi students. An to the campus. outburst of enthusiasm was witnessed when plethora of hands went up in the air with students of all the We travelled from the girls hostel area and covered participating countries asking questions which spread all the important sites at IIT Delhi - academic blocks, across from different aspects of Indian Education departmental buildings, the MS, Bharti, Students to International issues faced by the developing

countries. Questions on humanism and environment were central to the conversations, suggesting a sensitive and humanist bend of the young audience. Also highlighted were the educational opportunities provided to poor students within our country and abroad with a special focus on IIT Delhi. Discussion about race and ethnicity, women education, student movements, diaspora and technology took place. One of the foreign students stunned us with his melodious voice when he sang a Hindi song, Tujhe Dekha to Yeh Jaana Sanam from the classic DDLJ, add to this the fact that he couldnt speak English! All in all what came out was a contemplative and visionary session with students getting an excellent opportunity to share their thoughts and ideas, interacting freely in a healthy atmosphere. So affable and lively were the students that they clicked photographs with us, with a few of them gifting us a souvenir of their countries. We exchanged contacts and bid a sentimental adieu carrying in our hearts ineffaceable memories of these priceless moments. As highlighted by Prof. Ambuj Sagar in his speech An interaction among countries which share regional and cultural similarities is very important. The South East Asian camaraderie stretches back far into history, and this welcome initiative by the CII will go a long way in ensuring lasting peace, and healthy cooperation in the region. The youth, as they say, are the future, and when these young, vibrant minds get together, they carry the potential to shake the world.

Board for Student Publications

instinct, FEBRUARY 2013

Exchange Diaries
Suryank talks about one of the most coveted experiences at IITD

STUDENT REPORT

fter coming back from my trip as a part of the foreign exchange program, there has been one question I have been continuously asked regardless of the asker - How was your exchange experience? Simply put: It was different. Everything was new. Many places to explore. Meeting new people,visiting new places,eating new food and enjoying new culture. This is the answer generally given by exchange students after coming from an exchange program.This is what I would say as well but I would like to reveal the real facets of exchange experience which is what motivated me to write this article.

The exchange program for me is not different. It has been a culturally enriching just about stuffing new food and visiting was all European countries just for the sake Everything was experience as well. Hanging out with of visiting and boasting to your friends people, participating in their activities, about it (for instance people say: umm....I new. living a life that they live which is totally visited 11 countries). It is more about different from here in IIT brings in you understanding and the enlightening and enriching some positive changes and new thinking. Small,small experience with a totally new environment and culture, experiences at every moment of your life act as lifewhich helps you in building new perceptions about life changing ones. When I went for skiing, I fell down on and also help you understand the world in a better my first day due to entangling of my skis. Seeing me way. fall, a small child aged around 5 or 6 years came near me and asked:Ca va, Monsieur?(Are you alright?). This Exchange has totally transformed me: from a guy who is where I pondered over the question : Have we really belonged to a small city with a limited thinking space, cared of somebody else who is completely unknown to then following the rat-race present in IIT of getting us or helped any stranger? This is the reason I respect high GPA and good PORs(Position of Responsibility), French culture, because they are helping people with to get out of this rat-race and do whatever I feel like really good etiquettes. Many of the incidents like this doing and for the first time living for myself rather urge me to help the society in the best way I could than pressurizing myself to do whatever people are and to give up anything society requires of me. While doing. This is what French culture or for that matter there are many advantages of going on exchange to any foreign culture teaches you. The way of living of France but simultaneously there is a dark side of it as

Simply put: It

those people is significantly different and has really influenced me. People there give as much value to their professional life as their enjoyment and their recreational activities like travelling and sports. Being on exchange not only makes you a nicer person with good etiquettes gained as a result of interaction with some of the very good people but also changes you professionally. For instance, you would not believe that even after partying till 3-4 am in the morning, all the people come for their morning class at 8 am sharp without even 5 minutes of delay. Whereas for us it is usual either to not add a course with an 8 am class or if we have taken it majority of us are usually late.This affair of getting late was the usual for me before going on the exchange.

well. As during our exchange program academic load is not much,we usually lose the habit of studying and working hard and some of us even lose big interns. Also, sometimes the urge to come home to meet your parents and friends makes you feel alone. Being a guy from Mechanical Engineering with loads of labs and some courses which require mugging up in IIT made me dislike it. Never during my 2 years in IIT I had thought that I would start loving it and respecting it. And now during exchange, the only thing which I missed was academics here. Also there rose in me the respect for the IITs (which was apparently not present before) and studies here. If you ask me:Were you satisfied on the academic front? My answer definitely would be No. The education system in France is relatively chill. Sometimes you study subjects which you havent even thought that sometime you would study them. Therefore I would advise people who are more interested in their respective fields to not to opt for exchange but rather do something creative in their respective fields in IIT. But other experiences were really worth it. Some people think of exchange as getting a semester off from the struggle of life at IIT and just enjoying, partying to fullest, visiting places etc. This is what I am opposed to because, in greater perspective, it is the greater understanding of the other culture and taking the positives of them and implementing in your life but also never losing your culture, your basic pillars of faith and beliefs to the things they do wrongly in the curtain of western culture. Overall, exchange is the best thing that has ever happened to me after coming to IIT.

Suryank Gupta

Aaditya shares his exchange experience

Aaditya Agarwal
incited an interesting story of the application of what we were learning that they have seen at work! I hope that one day we have an educational model that can encompass the depth and knowledge of our classes here along with the liveliness and practicality of the classes there. These classes held one end of my life while the other was held up by the list I had made. As a kid, I always wanted to sit on the banks of a river and read a book. So thats what I did for many of the days, I took a novel, went to The Scarpe, the small stream that flowed through my city, and read for hours straight. Maybe it was not the best way to spend my weekend when my other friends were frolicking across Europe, but it allowed me crossout one thing from my bucket list. The exchange program was not a life-changing event for me. Whether it has made me a more mature or a better person, that only time can tell. But what I do know for a fact is that it has given me a valuable lesson, All that glitters is not gold is indeed true. The exchange program, to all those who havent been on it, seems like a brilliant experience, the best time that one can have. I felt the same to me too when I had got selected for it. However, all those generic experiences that excite a person can be encapsulated in a Euro-Trip as a traveller, because in reality only a few people care about the educational aspect of the Exchange Program (howsoever they might protest otherwise)-and this perhaps includes me to a certain extent. When I look back, I realize that it was a relaxing time, a different time - but I love my time in IIT more than I loved my exchange program to France!

IIT Delhi

hate the French system, and I will become the Prime Minister one day and nuke that country! - Those were my words on the 28th August, the day I was to fly to France for a Student Exchange but could not as I had no visa. I cant put into words the emotions I felt that time, it was a mixture of irritation, fear, sadness but most of all, it was anger I guess! It had been more than a month since I had filled in all the paper work and I had no Visa. I was going to miss my flight in an hour and I had no date to look forward to, to be sure that on this date, the French bureaucracy will decide whether I am good enough to enter their country! As the clock struck 12.35 am, I knew my flight had left for good and my anger had reached its peak. All the trips made to the embassy, all those applications submitted had not prevented me from missing my flight. The visa came a week later and I was on a flight on the 10th September, but as happens to most people, when they have gone through a phase of anger, I had all the negativity in my heart and I felt as if I am embarking on a cursed trip and that nothing good would come out of it! But those initials moments though important were not enough to peg me down for more than a couple of days and I decided to stay positive. However, it took me perhaps less than a week to realize, that staying positive doesnt come naturally to people like me. I had to crib about everything and anything that came my way. I had always been in conditions that I could either influence or compromise with my surroundings, but here I was in a foreign land, with a language which I wasnt fluent in and eating food that I had never imagined I would ever have to eat! It went from bad to worse when the classes started! Being a studious IIT lad, I have always been religious about my classes but here I was in a 4 hour lecture where I barely understood anything. I could

....My priorities were more about spending some ME time that I find hard to get in the hustle and bustle of IIT life....

understand about three-quarters of words being said.....but that last missing quarter made everything sound alien. I had no clue, how to manage or what to do. I talked to a few friends who asked me to just relax but I guess in the past 2 years, I have forgotten what the word relax meant when the academic session begins, be it India or France. My confidence had taken a hit and I did not know what to do about it. I realized that unlike most of my friends, travelling to different parts of Europe was a very low priority for me. My priorities were more about spending some ME time that I find hard to get in the hustle and bustle of IIT life. And after all, wasnt exchange all about a different experience? I had no idea how much I would love this readjustment of my view and how pleasant it was going to make the days to come. No hurries, no planning but just taking each day as it came one by one. The student exchange programme, in my opinion, was primarily about studying in a system of education far removed from ours than about anything else. And this educational experience was bitter-sweet for me. Some classes, like that in IIT, were the same boring stuff, an auditorium of non-interested students facing a professor who loves his/her subject so much that he/she fails to realize that half the class is asleep. But the classes of the core subjects were amazingly interesting. But for the greater part, most of the classes impressed upon me the immediate relevance of whatever was being taught. In France, the teachers seemed liked us, there was a more comfortable air in the class where we could at any point of time say anything to them. It felt like a better learning experience because we were even free to say that the class was going boring, which always

......I love my time in IIT more than I loved my exchange program to France.....

The Rise And Fall - of IITDs tech |

SURVEY

www.infinityiitd.org
Anant Govind Rajan
co-curricular event, we seem to enjoy the comforts of our rooms where we go on watching movies or TV series or Facebooking endlessly or sleeping after a night-out. So the next time there is an Institute / department lecture by a famous researcher, or there is a co-curricular event, shun your laziness and participate! Unfortunately, the catalyst for possible change the departmental societies are in deep slumber, or busy organizing freshers welcome, farewell and TBCs! While these events are definitely looked forward to, it is felt that the department societies should play an active role in organizing academic / co-curricular activities, that too, throughout the year. These societies need to be enthused with life, and the change should begin with you! You should suggest new tech oriented events and more importantly should participate in them. After all, IITs are the Indian Institutes of Technology and tech culture should be as important as the cult or sports culture, if not more! Come, let us sow the seeds to cultivate tech culture within IITD!

Do we embrace technological activities to the same degree as the various cultural activities?
ur tech tradition (or the lack of it) is definitely a matter of concern. While we have come a long way from the days when the Automobile Club, Entrepreneurship Development Cell, Robotics Club, and Technocracy were not Institute-recognized bodies, there still is room for a lot of improvement. as much enthusiasm as they cheer dancers during the dance competitions. Perhaps with the establishment of the Innovation Centre, more such projects would come alive. The batch of 1986 envisions the i-Center as a place where students would look forward to go to during the evenings or during their free time to have fun with tech just like we often go over to SAC to enjoy a game of say, badminton. With the Institute already setting apart a sum of money for new initiatives (apart from the four co-curricular bodies), the future seems bright. However, academics at IIT Delhi has historically been quite draining with the huge number of credits that we have to complete during our stay here. The Institute has taken a number of steps in the right direction to improve the situation. The latest in a series of steps is the curriculum review, with which the load on students is expected to reduce by quite a few credits, and the students will also be encouraged to do projects (even with co-curricular bodies!) through the concept of non-graded core credits. Great, we must say! However, one aspect, which needs urgent remedy, is students willingness to participate (or the lack of it, yet again!). Whether it is a regular course lecture or an Institute lecture by some eminent personality or any

On the student side, cultural or sports activities definitely seem to be higher on the priority list than cocurricular activities and sometimes, even academics. This primarily seems to be due to historical perspectives since there was no body in the Institute, which would coordinate all such activities. However, this is not to say that these co-curricular clubs have not been doing great work. For example, the efforts of the Automobile Club to represent IITD in the international FSAE competition, or of EDC in promoting entrepreneurship among students, or of Robotics in representing IITD at the annual Robocon or of Technocracy in creating technical awareness through their workshops, and the activities of the Astronomy Club and Economics Club are to be lauded. However, the only gripe is probably that these activities have remained esoteric i.e. confined to a select set of few people on campus. It would be heartening to see a day when students would cheer fabricated robots fighting each other, with

Tech talks - with startling numbers

W
A survey on the level of awareness of tech activities amongst students
some complained that it was a far cry from what they had actually expected to do. Around 12 % felt that the club activities hampered with their cultural activities, and they preferred giving their time to the RCA clubs practice sessions. Perhaps, the returns seemed potentially more viable, with a greater chance to participate in something more tangible? Then there were the guys who felt that the club activities were an obstacle to their studies. 36% of the freshers felt that the club activities demanded more time, time that was crucial for their studies. But arent club activities supposed to be co-curricular? Could it be that the club activities arent actually being able to impart to them any new skills? Or that these skills havent got much in connection with what they learn in the classroom? Either way, it looks like the clubs could do with some restructuring of their activities. Moving onto the veterans, there were 21% of the total number of people interviewed who were not at all interested in participating in co-curricular activities. But another unexplainable observation was that, out of this segment, a sizeable 38% of the people were still active in some club or the other. It would be prudent to assume that they joined the clubs simply because their friends had joined and peer pressure took over. Or it could be that they wanted to try things out, and soon found out that the clubs werent up to their expectations, but still decided to hang around in order to continue propagating the tech culture. Or there could be some other incentive? Apart from them, there were 7% of the surveyed people, who were involved before in the clubs, perhaps in their faccha years, and around 55% of the surveyees were not involved with the workings of the club to the slightest degree. Around 29% of those surveyed were somewhat interested after just joining IIT, and it seems that they have continued to participate in the club activities, as they constitute roughly a quarter of those involved in Technocracy - which could mean that for this segment of the participants, the interest was gradually developed towards the clubs, regardless of what others say. But 32% of those somewhat interested were involved in their earlier years and then discontinued a clashing observation. 44% of those partially interested did not participate at all. A lot of reasons could be said about this - RCA took more priority,
63% think The budget is highly undermined

10% think The budget is sufficient 27% think The budget is just sustaining costs

ith only a few weeks to go before IIT Delhis signature tech fest Tryst takes off, the BSP decided to take a brief look at the ongoing research and innovative activities on campus. Though we were, to some extent, marveled by the activities of the existing clubs such as Robotics and Electronics societies, we also gleaned some highly bizarre information that simply did not correlate with our primary objective as being IITians - the crme de la crop innovators of the country. On an average, we observed that around 35% of those surveyed were involved in some co-curricular activity or the other. But the percentage of students joining these clubs was observed to be dwindling by the year. The participation of freshers especially has been taking heavy casualties. This is especially odd, considering that the RCA has a constant stream of freshers ready to showcase their enthu and participate in every activity that the boat takes them to. Our question was pretty much simple after these dismal stats showed up - wheres the enthu going? The majority of the freshers had very less idea about these clubs, their happenings, their activities. Though the whole lot of them was highly interested in participating in the plethora of co-curricular activities we have on campus, they simply had no idea on how to join. As one fresher put it, if he had been informed about these clubs, he would have surely given up his participation in debating in order to join the Electronics club. Out of the whole bunch of freshers, around 36% were involved in some tech activity or the other, though

or perhaps even pressure from peers and brainwash from seniors saying that it is pointless to participate in Technocracy. Out of those who discontinued (totally from the number of surveyees), around a tenth of them felt that the scope for self-improvement was too low, whilst 41% felt that club coordination was not upto mark; some suggested a model tending towards the RCA one. A good quarter of those surveyed felt that the RCA activities were more important, more viable and hence more fruitful. A notable observation is that this number is double that of the number of freshers who agreed for the same. Another quarter of veterans felt that the clubs activities took much time from their studies. A good point to be noted is - are the freshers moving away from the RCA tradition and leaning towards their own interests? Looks like so. With regard to initial impressions and club support, a very measly number of surveyees felt that the clubs were duly represented, with 36% feeling that the clubs were slightly supported. The broad majority - a sizeable 63% - felt that the clubs are highly neglected. With regard to budgets, 10% felt that the budget was sufficient for the clubs, while a quarter felt that the budget was just sustaining the costs and hence stagnating the club. But a hefty 66% of the surveyees - including those who are not a part of Technocracy - felt that the budgets for the clubs are way below par. So is the solution to that simply equating Technocracy to the RCA? Apparently not. 41% of the surveyees felt that PoRs for clubs arent necessary, out of which 24% felt that the club members themselves were good enough for the publicity quotient. 76% felt that clubs need not get that extra competitive impetus that the RCA has. The rest felt that PoRs were necessary to spread club awareness. With regard to Tryst and its organization, 48% of those surveyed said that there should be a body separate from the CAIC which is solely responsible for the organization of Tryst. This body should be a political and constitute members from all across the IITD community, depending on their contribution to the various clubs. While 52% felt that the CAIC should be made responsible for the fest, as is the status quo. This could say that a majority did not want an extra body to come into place, thus reducing the power of

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0 Scope was too low Club coordination not upto mark RCA activities more important, hence more viable Club activities took too much time from study time

Board for Student Publications

instinct, FEBRUARY 2013

the CAIC, while at the same time causing more logis- Perhaps, they felt that the theoretical approach gave tical and bureaucratic hurdles. But the big question is, them a bigger advantage in increasing/maintaining how to increase the importance of these clubs? their CG. Or they felt that some departments are not likely to benefit from such an approach. 12% felt that The answer is simply one word - integration. Inte- the NCC/NSO/NSS model should be applied for cograte these clubs with the mainstream. 56%, a broad majority of the surveyees, felt that regular short term projects of some core courses and optional courses like MEL120, EEL, etc. should be integrated with their respective club activities. This would increase the importance of these clubs, their coordination and their recognition in terms of the amount of research input that could potentially come in. But then others chose a less hardline stance too. 31% of those who were interviewed felt that there should be no integration with academics. This shows that a quarter of the IITD community felt that actual participation and involvement in the core activity of their department is of very less tangible use in their careers. They simply did not want to do practical work in their courses.

SURVEY
curricular activities too in some way or the other. All in all, we can see that on one hand, we have a bunch of freshers highly interested in the respective activities, while on the other, we have a group of veterans who have lost interest in co-curricular activities. This is a potentially lethal sign that our tech-culture is dying fast. The initial interest is sadly not maintained, and gradually drops after the dismal situation of the boards at IIT D. Stagnation in Technocracy persists even after six years from its inception. If something is not done immediately, such as budget increases and greater integration, then we will simply witness the fall of the fun factor in the technical culture of IIT Delhi.

The Sleeping Dragon |

Utkarsh Ohm

The Student Affairs Council and its relevance to the student community
he Student Affairs Council is like a super-cool dragon that has (alas!) been left sleeping for some time. Now, why call it a sleeping dragon? Because its powers have been overlooked for a long time. Through the years, the culture has become such that elected posts of SAC reps & G Sec have become mere decorations with little contribution from most of them. The present team is prepared to change that and we need the help of each and every one of you for that. Each one of us must make those who we elect more accountable and seek answers from them about all that you think needs to be done but hasnt been done. Reforms are being brought that will make it easier for you to do the same. The constitutions of each of the 5 student boards recognised under SAC are being rewritten for the first time since 1986. The boards themselves are being re-organised to suit current needs. To be honest, most Institute policy changes do not go down well with us. That can change when student participation at the policy-making level is such that we are constructively deciding what we want rather than doing a postmortem. I share your skepticism that the IITD Senate (which must ratify all policy decisions) may not agree with you sometimes but do share my optimism (through experience) when I tell you that all you got to do is show it why it should agree and snort some fire along the way!

Why call SAC a dragon? As a student body, its role is to take policy decisions across all spectra of student life for the benefit of student community within ideals and disciplinary constraints of an academic campus. It is the interface between the students and IIT Delhi administration. The breadth of issues discussed in the SAC meetings range from student electoral reforms to fighting the dog and mosquito menace, from recognising student boards & in-campus activities to attempts to set up a different placement program. The best part is that any and every student, even those who are not a part of the Council, can raise an issue in SAC and get answers from the administration. The SAC also works with several statutory and nonstatutory bodies recognised by the Senate like the Hospital Advisory Committee, Security Cell, Library Committee etc for efficient policy making regarding each component of student campus life.

Our Fading Parliament | Surabhi Jha

Most students who had limited or no knowledge of the discussions in SAC, were willing to know about the discussions in SAC on a regular basis. Also, 57% Are we really aware of our representatives and their activities in the IITD of the students thought that everybody should know about the functioning of SAC in detail, while another Parliament? 17% thought that they should at least have a basic AC, as Utkarsh rightly puts it, may be compared method to encourage their participation, but that is idea. to a sleeping dragon without much fear of being beyond the scope of this article). 1st year UG has also in the wrong. It is the platform we need to raise been eliminated from certain generalisations due to Irrespective of whether they knew about SAC or not, our problems and be assured that the administration the limited sample size. after being given a brief outline, 80% of the students at least hears the roar, though we should restrain from said they would be willing to participate in short As shown in the graph, awareness about SAC increases surveys conducted by SAC on certain issues regarding spitting fire on a regular basis. with the number of years spent on campus. A reason the students. This could be used In the future to The dragon has been asleep too long and needs a lot for this could be increased participation in institute understand the opinion of the majority. of poking to wake up. We may or may not have found level affairs or having closer, more personal contacts out the exact reasons, but we do have some findings with the SAC representatives and other SAC members. We also asked them whether they thought that the which you will find interesting. The latter is more evident when people who have a above mentioned surveys would have any impact fair idea about the discussions in SAC have little or no on the decision making process. While 33% of them The survey was circulated among all students via a contact with their hostel representatives in SAC. thought it would work, 57% were skeptical about the common medium (email), and all students had equal idea but thought it was worth the shot. Interestingly, probability of coming across it and filling it. This A direct correlation could be seen between the the percentage of the skeptics decreased in a steep makes the sample set diverse, if not very expansive. frequency of interaction of the SAC representatives curve from the 2nd year to the 4th year. Students who The survey, though being completed by 154 students, with the residents of their hostels and the extent to are relatively new to the system doubt it more than saw maximum participation from the 4th year students which the students know about SAC, barring a few the ones who have been here a while, makes one (35%) and it decreased with decrease in seniority to cases, mainly in the 4th year, who knew about the think that all hope may not be lost as yet. just 10% 1st year UG participants (not generalising discussions in spite of no interaction with their hostel based on the few odd PG entries, we need a better representatives.

The Team | BSP Journalism

President, Board for Student Publications Dr. Stuti Khanna General Secretary, Board for Student Publications Vishesh Jain Chief Editors, Journalism Aalekh Sharan, Rajeev Vempuluru, Vedant Design & Layout Team Mohan Sai, Navneet Saini, Vaibhav Mittal Editorial Team Dev Priyam Mishra, Faheem Shereef, Shashank Jain, Shashank Kedia, Shivin Goyal, Surabhi Jha Cartoons by Chitrodeep Gupta

Special Thanks Abhilasha Sinha Anant Govind Rajan Utkarsh Ohm Mayank Gupta Sandesh Lokhande

IIT Delhi