THE BETTERMENT OF THE SOCIETY THROUGH COMMUNITY SERVICE OR SOCIAL WORK

DO YOU ASPIRE TO CONTRIBUTE TO THE BETTERMENT OF THE SOCIETY THROUGH COMMUNITY SERVICE OR SOCIAL WORK? MAMTHA SHARMA WRITES ON HOW THIS VERY EXPERIENCE CAN ALSO EQUIP YOU WITH CAREER SKILLS AND TEACH YOU A LESSON OR TWO IN WORKPLACE DYNAMICS

    A few years earlier, the term or concept of ‘skill-based volunteerism’was an unknown entity to most corporates and citizens.The idea started taking shape when employers realised that the best asset they have at their disposal for community service was their employees, and all that it takes to leverage the maximum out of them, is to have the right person do the right job, at the right time. Connecting the volunteer with the right skills to the right job, resulted in a stronger relationship between the volunteer and the non-profit sector ensuring maximum impact. Since the inception of this concept, it has benefited all stakeholders - be it employees, employers, non-profits or the direct community that now have access to experts who would genuinely work towards their development rather than mandatory community service.
    Sectors like education, healthcare and hygiene benefit from this pro-bono volunteerism as they attract experts from corporations to help them. Also, what needs to be emphasised is the knowledge-transfer that happens in this process - first from the employee to the NGO and then from the NGO to the employee.
    The young millennials, increasingly the workforce that constitutes a majority in workplaces, are the ones looking to do meaningful work and creating an impact - a social impact that will associate their work with a larger cause for the betterment of the society. Discussions of the benefits of volunteerism typically focus on the impact such programmes yield for their non-profit beneficiaries, but perhaps more deserving of attention is the way such programmes develop leadership talent within volunteers themselves.
    Employees who lead, and are experts in talent development are priceless to the company and probono volunteer work creates this corps of employees who has great potential to impact the decisions they make on behalf of their company in the future years. Employees get a great chance to enter and work in the emerging markets of the world, where they learn the lessons about the complexity of issues facing the developing world and how to begin introducing solutions to diverse challenges in such operative situations.
    Skill-based volunteerism also helps develop a work culture that is very global in nature - something that today’s young millennial aspires to. Another important aspect of this is skill development. Many volunteers say they do not realise they had a particular skill till they started volunteering. It helps in rediscovering themselves, when they find themselves in a different environment.
    Not only this, volunteers also learn one of the greatest lessons in life - adaptability in a new environment and solving problems while considering possibilities that concern the entire mankind, lessons which they do not forget as they migrate back to their offices with this global adaptive leadership mindset. Skillbased volunteerism opens up an entire gamut of opportunities, challenges and risks involved with the markets where they and their clients operate, both in the developed world and developing nations.These volunteers learn from each other; a very critical part of the entire experience encompasses knowledge-transfer within the team, on a project, with each other.
    - THE AUTHOR IS COUNTRY MANAGER,CORPORATE CITIZENSHIP AND CORPORATE AFFAIRS,IBM INDIA

Job in Bharatiya Mahila Bank

Job in Bharatiya Mahila Bank

THE MEANING OF WORK FOR THE MODERN-DAY EMPLOYEE IS UNDERGOING A SIGNIFICANT EVOLUTION

THE MEANING OF WORK FOR THE MODERN-DAY EMPLOYEE IS UNDERGOING A SIGNIFICANT EVOLUTION. AND ORGANISATIONS OUGHT TO KEEP PACE WITH IT

    “Spirituality, to me, includes both vertical and horizontal aspects. It includes a vertical connection to the universe. But I also see spirituality as my horizontal relationships with other people, family, friends, co-workers and humanity as a whole,” says Corinne Mclaughlin, co-founder, The Centre of Visionary Leadership, which is an education centre that has helped people become effective leaders. She feels that meditation is the most popular and fastest-growing spiritual practice currently being introduced in many companies around the world, including very successful technology companies in Silicon Valley.
    The world today is truly flat and the concepts of spirituality and religion are hardly synonymous. This is proven effectively by Dr Kent Rhodes, senior lecturer, Pepperdine University Graduate Programs and an associate with The Family Business Consulting Group, who has developed the six components of workplace spirituality. He says that identifying desired characteristics of spiritual workplaces can bring us closer to understanding the role that spirituality can play in organisations and the way it can function to positively impact the bottom-line. The six effects that can be associated with a model of workplace spirituality, according to Rhodes are: 

    Emphasises
    sustainability;
    Values contribution;
    Prizes creativity;
    Cultivates inclusion;
    Develops principles;
    Promotes vocation. 

    “Some of the best examples of corporate cultures that strongly support workplace spirituality are global family enterprises. They tend to think generationally rather than quarterly or annually and so their leaders and board members work to incorporate corporate strategies that reflect that long-term view,” says Dr Rhodes. He adds, “While they never lose sight of the fact that they exist to be profitable, this approach to strategic planning actually supports spirituality because the culture encourages thinking beyond one’s self to thinking more tangibly about how to make smooth pathways for those that will follow in future decades. This, in turn, forces a different set of questions: what can we do now that will help ensure an employee group that not only wants to be here over any other company, but also embodies the values of spirit that have made us successful? How can we care for the environment to help ensure that our descendants can thrive and carry forward that spirit?”
    Medtronic (USA), which sells medical equipment, initiated a meditation center at its headquarters 20 years ago and it remains open to all employees even today. Each year, six customers share their personal stories with employees, sharing how the company’s products have saved their life or that of loved ones, and this inspiration fuels the passion and commitment of employees.
    60 Minutes (USA) did a television show on SAS, a billion dollar computer software company that has low absenteeism and only three per cent turnover, which saves them $80 million each year in training and recruitment. Their secret? A no-layoff policy, 35 hour workweeks, flex-time, and on-site amenities such as a gym, medical clinic, and massage therapists.
    Ever heard of a ‘mood chart’? IDEO (International), one of the award-winning global design firms has incorporated an out-of-thebox system called the ‘mood chart’ that helps employees adapt to change when new projects are at hand. They believe that there is always a phase when an innovation team will feel demoralised. And a mood chart will help gauge just that.
    Ram Chatterjee, director of spa and recreation at Grand Hyatt Goa tells us how yoga and meditation are changing how employees handle customers in the hospitality sector and how spirituality at the workplace is proving to develop a brighter future. Chatterjee says, “Before we start our daily drill, five to seven minutes are initially spent on meditation and three times in a week, it is extended to about 45 minutes.”
    Hence, the importance should be shifted from only profit-making to the creation of the ‘whole person’ and spirituality can help you achieve just that.

> Dr Kent Rhodes,senior lecturer,Pepperdine University Graduate Programs

> Corinne Mclaughlin,
co-founder,The Centre of Visionary Leadership

The 10 LEVERS OF ‘smart engineering’

The 10 LEVERS OF ‘smart engineering’

‘Smart engineering’is all about using insights to conceive,model and scale an appropriate solution to a problem or an objective.Scientific, economic,social,and practical knowledge is applied in the process.This knowledge serves as an engine behind designing,building and maintaining structures,machines,systems, materials and even processes.  

1 NEED-OF-THE-HOUR ENGINEERING: IN THE BEFORE CHRIST PERIOD,
    people focused on primitive technology for agriculture - studying soil characterisation,improving irrigation system,and finding means of ploughing land for harvesting.As civilisation moved from the Stone Age to the Metal Age,the society learnt to cook and prepare food.Agriculture to heavy engineering to electronics engineering - various themes have got emphasis during India’s series of five-year plans.Today’s ‘need-of-the hour engineering’ is towards a wide deployment of broadband and connectivity, and an optimisation of required infrastructure.  

2 IMPROVISED ENGINEERING: I CALL the second lever of smart engineering as ‘improvised engineering’. This deals with how the same or similar purpose is achieved by more sophisticated technology.For example, in the early days,the shadow from an anchored stick used to give relative time-of-the-day.Currently,we have watches of all types including highprecision instruments that capture the split-second difference between winner and runner-ups in the Olympics 100-meter race.Smartphones have not only enriched voice communication,but also eased filesharing and multimedia data transfer.  

3 STRIP-DOWN ENGINEERING: CURIOSITY about what goes into a product design gets satiated to a great extent by reverse engineering. How many people have tried to unravel Coke’s signature formula? We also hear about frugal engineering, which drives down the cost factor but at times fails to maintain the durability of the product.‘Strip-down engineering’combines the strengths of reverse engineering and frugal engineering.The engineering smartness here is built around applying Pareto’s 80:20 principle and analysing how to keep essential functionalities.The goal is to select the top 80 per cent features from a user perspective and implement them with 80 per cent cost reduction.  

4 PERFORMANCEBOOSTING ENGINEERING: THE SUCCESS of a product or service lies in its performance by relative as well as absolute measures.‘Performance-boosting engineering’seeks to enhance performance by keeping constraints in mind.Let us take the example of the mobile phone where we currently leverage the octa-core
    processor.The evolution from single-core to octa-core has enabled us to incorporate parallelisation and increase processing power.In a heterogeneous processing environment, appropriate partitioning of code across ASIC,DSP,CPU,GPU,and MCU chips significantly drive up system performance.This category of smart engineering also encompasses developing multi-resolution systems,such as a spectrum of products from phone-with-full-connectivity-but-basic-camera to higher-resolution-camera-but-basic-phone-connectivity. This class of smart engineering facilitates introduction of more complex features,reduces response time or boosts other system performance metrics.  

5 INTELLISYS ENGINEERING: ‘INTELLISYS ENGINEERING’empowers intelligent systems,promotes autonomous operation based on closedloop control,energy efficiency and networking capabilities for a platform or a system to be intelligent.IntelliSys engineering for connected cars enables us to build cars that aid in navigation,cars that can go driverless,cars that talk to each other by wi-fi technology and cars that will even fly! 

6 CROSSPOLLINATION ENGINEERING: STUDYING a single field dries up one’s ideas! Newer fields are emerging.And solutions for some problems require extensive knowledge of multiple faculties - either to tie ideas up,or learn from one field and apply to another.This is what I term as ‘cross-pollination engineering’.For example,knowledge of geology and soil engineering combined with biology helps to address problems pertaining to geo-microbiology.This helps us understand how bacteria and viruses come to our food through soil contamination and what possible remedies could be taken up. Geography knowledge in conjunction with information system expertise paves the way for Geo-Information System (GIS).Cross-pollination engineering gives birth to new fields like fiber optic communication that combines optical physics with telecommunication.The field of music,coupled with acoustics engineering,opens a chapter of musicology by cross-pollination of subtleties in both fields.  

7 SMART-AUXILIARY ENGINEERING: AT TIMES, engineering plays second fiddle to scientific projects - it helps in next-level of scientific discoveries through infrastructural support.Let us consider the lLarge hadron collider mega project recently conducted in CERN,Geneva.The very simulation of the Big Bang has been an engineering feat - this has been a pre-requisite to determine what happens after the big bang event.The support role of engineering should not be misconstrued as engineering trivia.One mouse can bother an elephant! One bird can hit a plane and knock it down.  

8 SUSTAINABLE ENGINEERING: ‘SUSTAINABLE engineering’encourages us to build products that consume less energy and cause least damage to the environment.Let us take the example of electronic circuitry.Researchers have progressed to operate digital chipsets in 1.8V instead of 3V or 5V.Energy-aware protocols have also been designed.These techniques substantially help in overall power reduction for electronics equipments. Sustainable engineering addresses concerns around energy consumption,electro-magnetic radiation hazards produced by cell towers and so on.How to reduce contamination and even re-purify natural resources for our well-being is the concept behind sustainable engineering that impacts the product design phase. 

 9 NATURE-INSPIRED ENGINEERING: CITY parks often have bushes that are shaped like animals.We can also design usable products inspired by flora and fauna.Cranes are built mimicking a long-necked giraffe.Look at our national flower lotus.The lotus leaves manage to remain free of contaminants as they possess a field of small bumps and dust is easily picked up by water drops.Nature-inspired engineers study objects and phenomena from nature to understand how a fundamental scientific principle works in daily life and apply the notions in product design.  

10 FORWARD-LOOKING ENGINEERING:
ENGINEERING foundations that are based on strong theory and driven by science can be quite forward-looking. Information theory,game theory, number theory and string theory have all been playing roles in telecommunication,cryptography and other associated areas.Technology is moving from virtual reality to augmented reality.User interactions are changing from touch-base to gesture-controlled.Integration of audio, visual and haptic feedback is becoming a part of next user interaction. Quantum computing uses qubits with superposition and entanglement.Using these basic principles, quantum teleportation allows the same entity to be in two places simultaneously,but observation decoheres. Forward-looking engineering aims to manifest scientific ideas or even science fiction concepts to reality.
    - THE WRITER IS SENIOR VP AND CTO,SAMSUNG INDIA - BANGALORE

Engineering undergraduates should not be charged fees. They should receive grants not student loans, and the government will get the money back long-term from increased exports.
JAMES DYSON

DR ALOKNATH DE PRESENTS TEN REVOLUTIONARY APPROACHES TO TRADITIONAL ENGINEERING

the merits of using engineers as intrapreneurs in companies

INTRAPRENEURS, WITH AN EDGE

discusses the merits of using engineers as intrapreneurs in companies

    Innovating and exploring
    ‘blue oceans’ is critical for the survival of business ventures today. In marketing parlance, ‘blue oceans’ are untapped and uncontested markets, which provide little or no competition, since the markets are not crowded. Engineers can play an invaluable role in this area because of their expertise in generating new ideas. Why should engineers take up the role of intrapreneurship in an organisation? Somakumar Kolathur, CEO and co-founder, Moonraft Innovation Labs, Bangalore, answers, “Intrapreneurship gives you an opportunity to experience the challenges of building something of your own within the safety net of your organisation. It is the best way for you to create a larger impact in the business and build leadership skills. Engineers have the requisite skills to bring ideas to life.”
    Sampatkumar B Aratti, VP and CHRO, Lapp India Pvt Ltd elaborates, “Keeping in mind the current industrial and economic scenario, companies are definitely feeling the pressing need to use the best innovative strategies, so as to achieve a competitive edge. The ability to develop new products and services and catering to dynamic market conditions calls for a crucial focus on innovation. It is important that the work culture lays emphasis on value-driven work rather than focusing on volumes.”
    Madhur Ramani, managing partner, Stratum Consulting, tells us why employees generally hesitate in expanding boundaries, “Exploring blue oceans is not an easy task because it involves treading unknown and vast waters in search of hidden talent, which brings along high-risk factors. When potentially applying a blue ocean strategy, there is ample opportunity for organisational growth that can be both profitable and rapid.”
    Engineers are naturally oriented towards innovation and have a good knowledge of the idea generation cycle. Prithvi Shergill, CHRO, HCL Technologies Ltd explains, “Engineers are trained to be logical and follow a methodological approach in solving problems. This very skill leads them to fill the void in the market through new ideas and creativity in a structured manner. They often end up generating a whole new idea, which has higher chances of being effective. Thus, many of them are known for their innovative, out-of-the-box thinking.”
    Which other qualities are required for engineers to fit into the intrapreneurship role? Nalin Kumar Thakur, group president (HR & systems), Anil Group of Companies answers, “The intrapreneurship mindset requires challenging set norms and assumptions, stretching the horizon of ideas; yet remaining within the overall cultural and professional confines of the organisation. Selling
    ideas, leadership, ability to manage successes as well as failures, tackling conflicting ideas, handling diverse cultural backgrounds and so on, would be the traits that go into making a good intrapreneur.”

Jobs in Dr. Hegdewar Hospital Aurangabad

Jobs in Dr. Hegdewar Hospital Aurangabad

Why should I be an engineer? GIVES YOU 10 UNBEATABLE REASONS WHY YOU SHOULD BE AN ENGINEER

Why should I be an engineer?

GIVES YOU 10 UNBEATABLE REASONS WHY YOU SHOULD BE AN ENGINEER

1 Opportunity to invent, design and build things –Engineers apply creative imagination to convert scientific knowledge into applicable theories.Engineers help create and refine the artifacts of modern life.They seek, through ingenuity and invention, to fashion a more livable world;  

 

2 Innovation is fun – From earthquake resistant homes, to lasers, microchips and computers to dimpled golf balls - engineers touch every single aspect of human life today.In a time of rapid social and technological changes, the creative thinking of engineers has helped shape today’s world.The need for innovation in every field is most critical today than in any other era;  

 

3 Learning is global – Engineering is one of the rare professions of modern science where learning can be applied across the globe, irrespective of regional, geographical and demographical differences.Engineers are trained to‘exercise’their brain, develop the ability to think logically and solve problems;  

 

4 Make a difference to the society - Engineers play a primary role in sustaining our nation’s international competitiveness, maintaining our standard of living, ensuring a strong national security, and protecting public safety.Engineers work on projects that clearly benefit the society, such as cleaning up the environment, developing prosthetic aids for disabled persons, developing clean and efficient transportation systems, and increasing the standard of living in underdeveloped countries; 

 

5 Challenging work - There is no shortage of challenging problems.There is no single answer in your books that can prepare you for real-life situations.You are required to devise a solution and persuade others that your solution is the best one;  

 

6 Professional freedom - Engineers are treated with respect and have a certain freedom in their work. They can influence what happens in an organisation and in doing so, get many opportunities to learn and grow through work. There are ample career choices post an engineering degree. You can be an astronaut, professor, designer or film maker – engineering teaches you to be methodical in approach and to apply your knowledge in the most effective manner.Leonardo Da Vinci, Neil Armstrong, Jimmy Carter, Alfred Hitchcock, Henry Ford and Yasser Arafat all had engineering backgrounds;  

 

7 Job satisfaction - The creation of so many inanimate objects can be termed to be the result of engineering science and no other job can give you this kind of satisfaction;  

 

8 Explore the world – Engineers spend most of their time being out in the field – be it offshore refinery work in the Gulf countries, manufacturing/ maintaining/servicing the products in China, developing safe drinking water systems in India or excavating diamonds in South Africa.An engineer can never escape deputations;  

 

9 Financial security - While this may not be the main motivation, engineering
graduates do receive excellent entry-level starting salaries;  

 

10 Greater understanding of how things work - An engineer gains a great insight into how things work, whether it is how planes manage to stay in the air or how energy is derived from tidal power. An engineering education helps to have a good understanding of technology and understand the many challenges facing our society. For example, why don’t we have electric vehicles rather than highly polluting cars? And what will we use for energy when oil runs out? 

 
- The author is works manager at Siemens Healthcare factory at Vadodara

A day in the life of an engineer

A day in the life of an engineer

ENGINEERS AND THEIR CREATIONS MAKE A DIFFERENCE IN EVERY ASPECT OF OUR WORLD. ON THE OCCASION OF ENGINEER’S DAY, YASMIN TAJ MEETS A FEW ENGINEERS TO FIND OUT WHAT A TYPICAL DAY IN THE LIFE OF AN ENGINEER IS LIKE

SOUMITRA SANA, head of Technology Centre,Bangalore,Nokia Solutions and Networks: 

 
    The engineering dream: I completed my engineering degree from IIT Kharagpur and then worked in Canada for 15 years before returning to India. I have worked as a hardware engineer, software engineer and now manage large engineering, research and development operations primarily in the areas of data and wireless communication. Tinkering with things, building things with my own hands and simplifying complex problems in the areas of technology have been my passion since my school days.

    A typical day: A typical day in an engineer’s life is a combination of activities like designing, testing, troubleshooting and documenting interspersed with a number of meetings for reviews, planning and brainstorming. The key to delivering successful projects apart from the technical skills is a sound knowledge of the big picture, ability to multi-task and work in diverse teams and a great amount of self-discipline. For example, for an engineer like me working with NSN, I need to be thoroughly aware of the immense opportunities and challenges that the mobile telecommunication industry goes through, but at the same time, be cognizant of the huge dependencies and expectations of individual subscribers on this technology in today’s life. 

    The usual glitches: The environment in which an engineer works today has undergone a sea change. Products are more complex and specialised; development is made by global distributed teams; life cycles have shrunk considerably and disruptive
    technologies are the order of the day. Agility in execution, accepting and adapting to frequent changes, influencing a multitude of colleagues and teams and balancing personal life are challenges that today’s engineers are facing every day. 

Janardhanan Pathangi, director - technologies, CTO, Networking, Dell R&D: 

    The engineering dream: I completed my under graduation (84-88) and Masters (88-90) from The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Madras and have since then worked in various roles in the operating systems and networking space. I was also an independent consultant for a period of four years. I was mainly motivated by the satisfaction of solving problems, especially the ones which take time and are difficult. 

    A typical day: I usually try to start the day with a review of what was done and needs to be done for the day. Most of the time, the challenge is to ensure that you get the planned items completed without activities slipping to the next day. 

    The usual glitches: Given the volume of demand and pressure at the work environment, it is easy to become focused on just finding solutions, but lose focus on innovation. The ability to stay focused on important things to be solved and innovate is a key challenge.
Ganesh Bhadti, AVP (operations) & mill manager – Kadiam, The Andhra Pradesh Paper Mills:
    

 The engineering dream: I graduated in Pulp and Paper Technology from Karnataka University in Dharwad in the year 1982, securing second rank in the University. I have also received the national merit scholarship for intermediate and degree courses. My academic record remained very good throughout my student career. Technology has always fascinated me and it further created a lot of curiosity about stunning technical achievements around me. 

    A typical day: My day starts with the planning of all the problems that are waiting to be solved. I think and plan about how things could work better and explore the different options that can be implemented. Organising and delegating the right job to the right person is also an important task. I also plan to ensure that the resources are aptly available and safety and environmental issues are taken care of. I always ensure that responsibilities are very well-defined at every layer. For making the projects successful, I firmly believe in providing moral support and encouragement to boost the progress of the people. Also celebrating success gives confidence and builds trust in people to face new challenges and make new projects successful.
 

The usual glitches: According to me, the real challenge for any engineer is the speed and accuracy of the task. Even a very small mistake can lead to the failure of not only the project, but at times disasters too.

THE NUMBER OF WOMEN IN THE ENGINEERING SECTOR IS INCREASING, BUT AT A SLOWER PACE

THE NUMBER OF WOMEN IN THE ENGINEERING SECTOR IS INCREASING, BUT AT A SLOWER PACE

    WHILE ENGINEERING and technology are generally perceived as male-dominated professions, in India, a study done by IIT (Indian Institute of Technology) Bombay seeks to dispel this myth. The study found that 22 per cent of students who are currently enrolled in engineering and technology courses are women. And while the number of women in engineering is lower, the wheels are turning!
    As the need for engineering professionals grows, educators and industry leaders are increasingly turning towards newer ways and means of attracting, retaining and mentoring women amongst the engineering ranks - and for good reasons. For example, empirical studies clearly indicate that companies with more women in decision-making positions tend to perform better in terms of financial results. Also, a recent Booz & Co study calculates that if India’s women and men were to be employed equally, the country’s GDP could grow by 27 per cent!
    The increasing complexity and pace of project execution now places a premium on improvisation, innovation, efficiency and costeffective solutions. London Business School’s research again indicates that equal gender representation can help unlock the innovative potential of teams.
    Gender-balanced teams - those with a larger representation of women - are known to better possess and apply the skills of persuasion, motivation, flexibility, quick assimilation of information and an eye for detail that are all hallmarks of productive and innovative teams. Thus, it is now a market imperative for companies to hire and retain female talent to ensure that their businesses remain relevant and competitive.
    Industry growth has also led to an increasing number of fields where engineers, especially women engineers, can be deployed. Apart from the traditional disciplines of civil, mechanical and electrical engineering, opportunities are opening up in several new areas including process engineering, control systems, automation, graphics, modelling, project controls, analysis, project management, material management, field engineering, and many more.
    Engineering companies are taking several actions, both leading and trailing, to recruit, retain and promote women so that they consider engineering as a profession of choice.
Today, it is vital that companies engage and seek a diverse slate of candidates for both entry-level and other positions.It is also beneficial to:
Institute and fund scholarships for women engineering students; Network with women teachers at engineering colleges; Encourage women employees to reach out to their social and professional networks to attract more women candidates; Increase referral bonuses for women candidates; Encourage couples to both seek employment at the same firm; Promote lateral induction of women through unconventional programmes like dual careers or second working innings.
In a country like India, child bearing and rearing and filial care introduce an element of uncertainty and drift in the careers of many women engineers. Companies must recognise this crucial phase in the life of women engineers and incorporate processes to not only educate and sensitise men to it, but also mitigate the impact of such potential slowdowns. However, all is not lost. Several measures can be taken to promote a work-life balance. A few companies strongly believe in a worklife balance and have formulated family-friendly work policies, such as alternate Fridays off that are in addition to the two-day weekend. Other efforts to support a work-life balance include abbreviated work hours on work Fridays; flexible work schedules; the ability to work from home on occasion; empanelment of discounted and subsidised child daycare facilities; supporting smooth transitions before and after parental leave; performance evaluation systems that neutralise the impact of parental leave; and spousal mobility. Other measures include the institution of structured offand on-ramping programmes to help women engineers leave and return with the least amount of anxiety and organisational impact.
    Sponsorship by leaders is a potent method to promote women in the workplace that has been adopted by many companies. Another method that is routinely applied at firms is providing visible work opportunities for women employees to make their mark in ways such as leadership of team events, portfolio assignments, cross-functional roles, leading new initiatives, challenging tasks in new environments, and client management roles.

QS World University Rankings: Methodology

QS World University Rankings: Methodology

The rankings compare the world's top institutions using six criteria:

1. Academic reputation (40%) - measured via a global survey, asking academics to tell us where the best work is currently taking place within their field of expertise. This year the rankings draw on 62,094 responses globally.  

2. Employer reputation (10%) - based on a global survey, this time taking in 27,900 responses. The survey asks graduate employers to identify the universities that in their view produce the best graduates. It is unique among international rankings.
3. Research citations (20%) - sourced from Scopus, the world's most comprehensive citations database.
4. Student-to-faculty ratio (20%) - a simple measure of the number of academic staff employed for every student enrolled.
5. International faculty ratio (5%) - proportion of international faculty members
6. International student ratio (5%) - proportion of international students

QS Brings World's Top Business schools and Top Universities to your doorstep

The QS World MBA and Grad School Tour - India

QS Brings World's Top Business schools and Top Universities to your doorstep

    QS organises the world's leading series of education fairs for aspiring MBAs, Masters and PhD candidates. The QS World MBA Tour and QS World Grad School Tour will be in India from 23rd November to 5th December. The fair provides candidates with a fantastic opportunity to meet face to face with admission directors from the world's top B-Schools and Universities.
    The QS World MBA Tour will kick off in Mumbai on 23rd November and also go to New Delhi, Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Hyderabad and Chennai. Some of the travelling international business schools visiting India include Babson, Boston.U, EMLYON, G.Washington, HEC-Paris, Imperial, IE, ISB, INSEAD, Toronto-Rotman, Thunderbird, Wollongong, York-Schulich amongst many more.
    Candidates will have the opportunity to also attend informative GMAT seminars and network with MBA Alumni from leading B-Schools. Register now at www. topmba.com/toi
    Also around the same time QS will be bringing the World's Best Master's and PhD Fairs to the following cities: Mumbai, Pune, New Delhi, Bangalore, Hyderabad and Chennai starting 24th November. The top universities participating at the fairs include CASS, G.Washington, HEC- Paris, EMLYON, Grenoble GSB, IE, Imperial, King's, NYU-SCPS, UCL and many more.
    Discover information about studying in different countries and which university is best suited to meet your career aspirations at the QS World Grad School Tour. Register now at www.topuniversities.com/toi to get free entry for an event near you.
    In addition, QS also offers Exclusive Scholarships worth US$1.2 Million for attendees of these fairs.
    For any further information about the tour in India, please e-mail us at india@qs.com 

LIVE YOUR DREAM

LIVE YOUR DREAM

    At a recently held event in Mumbai, eight college students were awarded up to Rs 1,50,000 to fulfill their dreams that ranged from shooting a music video in the laps of the Himalayas to building a fully renewable energy driven school for the girl child in Bundelkhand. The initiative, Godrej LOUD, undertaken by Godrej, was open to first year students from B-schools including IIM-L, IIM-A, SIBM, IIFT, etc.
    In its second year, the initiative required applicants to speak about their dream through a video clip, pictures, poems and short stories and received over 700 entries from across the country. According to Sumit Mitra, head, group human resources and corporate services, Godrej, “The eight winners — Shikhar Mathur, Shreyas Dwivedi, Abhishek Iyer, Gopi Reddy, Kanika Virmani, Praveen Gupta, Shipra Agarwal and Digant Bhatt — were selected because their dreams are distinctly different and backed by immense passion.”
    Shikhar Mathur, a student of IIFT Delhi, whose dream is to establish a fully renewable energy driven school shares, “My dream is to create a renewable energy driven school for the girl child in my hometown in Jhansi, Bundelkhand. This will lead to sensitisation and advocacy of renewable energy. The sponsorship will help me establish the school soon.”
    Kanika Virmani, a student at MDI Gurgaon, received the award to fulfill her desire to scuba dive at the Great Barrier Reef in Australia. She informs, “As a child, when I first saw a scuba diving video, I was scared. Fear soon gave way to curiosity and it was my dream to explore the world that exists beneath the oceans. When I heard of the initiative, I immediately applied for it.”
    Apart from prize sum, students have been given a pre-placement opportunity to participate in Gurukul 2014, a summer internship programme at Godrej Industries Limited and Associate Companies (GILAC). “We started Godrej LOUD in 2012 to help Indian students realise their dreams, which had been shelved due to their career path or sponsorship constraints. We hope that some of these young people will find the company an inspiring place to work and so, they have the option to spend a summer at Gurukul, our internship programme,” concludes Mitra. During the two-month internship, students will work on live projects across businesses under close mentoring from senior leaders.

MIT tops the table as India falls further behind

MIT tops the table as India falls further behind

    US research powerhouse Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) has retained the number one spot in this year's QS World University Rankings, but there is still no Indian university in the global top 200.
    MIT has gradually improved its ranking position in recent years, having risen from 10th in 2007 to take the top spot for the first time in 2012. MIT's consistency across the range of indicators was enough to beat the competition, making the top 50 in all of the six indicators.
    MIT stays clear of thirdplaced University of Cambridge due to its superior research citation rates, and trumps second-placed Harvard University due to its better student-to-faculty ratio and more internationally diverse student and faculty body.
    The US has seven institutions in the top 11, with Princeton and Caltech tying in tenth position. Yale (8th) and University of Chicago (9th) have both slipped one place, having been displaced by this year's only new entrant into the top ten, Stanford University (7th).
    The UK retains four of the top ten spots, with University of Cambridge retaining its lead over University College London (4th), and Imperial College (5th) moving clear of University of Oxford (6th).
    The UK's oldest institution, Oxford slips one place in the overall table, but ranks first in the faculty area ranking for arts and humanities, and is also the number one university for employer reputation, following a poll of 27,000 graduate employers worldwide.
    Harvard takes the top spots for social sciences & management and life sciences & medicine, while MIT is top for engineering & technology, and University of Cambridge is number one for natural sciences.
    The institutional ranking continues to be extremely stable, with only one university dropping out of the top 50 and four leaving the top 100. The volatility of some international rankings has been a frequent source of criticism, but the average movement in the top 100 is less than 3.5 places, down from 4.6 last year.
    Nunzio Quacquarelli, the founder and managing director of QS, said: "The extra stability in this year's rankings will be good news for the countless students across the world who rely on them to narrow down their choices. As more and more people compete for places at the top universities, it is the responsibility of ranking organisations to ensure that what they produce is transparent and accurate. As the first global ranking to have been accredited by the International Ranking Expert Group, we are living up to that."
    American universities continue to dominate the top of the rankings, taking
more than half of the leading 20 places, but there is much greater diversity beyond that. They represent less than a third of the top 100 and exactly a quarter of the top 200. Thirteen of the 19 US universities in the top 50 have gone down this year, albeit only by a single place in many cases.
    After several years in the doldrums, Continental European universities are enjoying a resurgence. It is led by Switzerland, which now has two universities in the top 20, following a leap of 10 places by Ecole Polytechnique Federal de Lausanne (EPFL). ETH Zurich is the highest-placed university outside the Englishspeaking world, having moved up to 12th.
    The Netherlands has two more universities than last year in the top 100, and all six have improved their positions this
year. Although Germany still has only Heidelberg in the top 50, eight of its 13 universities in the top 200 have gone up this year. France has two universities in the top 50 and 19 in the top 400 and, while Italy still has no institutions in the top 100, every one of its representatives in the top 400 has moved up this year, some by as much as 50 places. In Scandinavia, Norway now has University of Oslo in the top 100, the highest-placed of four new entrants to that group, while Denmark has the University of Copenhagen in the top 50, the sole new entrant there.
    Elsewhere, the trends are less clear-cut. Some Asian universities have continued their progress up the rankings - National University of Singapore (24th) has overtaken University of Hong Kong (27th) to become the continent's leading institution, for example - but none has reached the top 20 and there is little sign
of the wholesale advance predicted by many commentators.
    International enrolments at the top 400 universities in the QS World University Rankings grew by 80,000 this year to a total of 1.37 million. This represents an average of approximately 3,400 international students per institution, up from 3,225 in 2012 - an annual growth of 6.5%.
    The trend is even more evident among the elite top 100 institutions, where international enrolments grew by 9% to an average of approximately 5,100 per institution.
    No Indian institutions in the top 200
    With the depreciating value of the rupee making international study more expensive, it will come as unwelcome news to students that there are still no Indian institutions in the global top 200.
    The nation's top performer is still IIT Delhi, which this year drops 10 places to 222nd. IIT Kanpur Bombay (233) and IIT Kanpur (295) both also rank lower than last year.
    While India's top IIT's have a good reputation among academics and employers, they are held back by high student-tofaculty ratios, a lack of influential research, and low levels of international diversity.
    Yet, while no Indian institutions feature in the top 200 - representing just the top 1.5% of universities worldwide -11 of the nation's institutions feature in the total top 800 universities ranked this year at www.topuniversities.com. They include seven IITs, alongside University of Delhi, University of Mumbai, University of Calcutta and University of Pune. India remains the only one of the group of emerging BRICS nations without a global top-200 institution. China leads with seven, headed by Peking University (46th), while Russia, Brazil and South Africa each have a single representative: Lomonosov Moscow State University (120th), Universidade de São Paulo (127th) and University of Cape Town (145th).
    A new, targeted ranking of the BRICS nations, planned for later in 2013, will give a more in-depth profile of Indian institutions in comparison with those of the other emerging economic powers.

19 top French Institutes on an eight-day visit to India

STUDY IN FRANCE EXPERIENCE THE DIFFERENCE!

19 top French Institutes on an eight-day visit to India

ENGINEERING SCHOOLS ISAE - Institut Supérieur de
l'Aéronautique et de l'Espace ISAE welcomes students and professional looking for high-level training in aerospace, mechanical or electrical engineering. ISAE offers a large spectrum of masters programs (MSc and Advanced Masters) in the field of aeronautical and space engineering, embedded system or project management. 3 of them are fully taught in english. Projects are an important part of our programs. They are performed in our research laboratories or within ISAE partner companies (AIRBUS, EADS, ASTRIUM). Today, 90% of our students get a job within 4 month after graduation.
www.isae.fr 

Ecole Centrale de Nantes Centrale Nantes is the leader in Indo-European academic cooperation and is known for its excellence in research and high quality teaching. We welcome qualified students for our 11 internationally-recognized MSc (in English) and for PhD across several engineering disciplines. Centrale Nantes is coordinating three prestigious Erasmus Mundus Partnership projects with India, which provide mobility grants to 430 students. We have several agreements with some of the most prestigious Indian institutions.
www.ec-nantes.fr 

Ecole des Mines de Nantes Mines-Nantes offers Masters of Science entirely taught in English in Energy and Environment, Sustainable Nuclear Engineering, Supply Chains & Transport. These programs combine scientific and management courses, projects and a 6-month paid internship, boosting student's professional career.The institute also provides free French language classes for international students, rooms in the campus, and offers a wide range of sports facilities.
www.mines-nantes.fr 

ISEP - Institut Supérieur de l'Electronique 

ISEP is a French graduate engineering school in Information and Communication Technologies. ISEP is well known by the excellence of its education. The French Engineering Master Degree Program and the international MSc programs are taught in English and provide students with optimal preparation for the current demands of the work world. ISEP is also renowned for its research, its international relations and its strong industrial links.
www.isep.fr 

ENAC Specialized in education and research in Aeronautics and Civil Aviation, ENAC offers programs to prepare the professionals, managers, and engineers of tomorrow. You have background in physics, mathematics, mechanics, electronics, telecommunications, and management, ENAC will offer you suitable master to join the exciting international aviation and aeronautical industry with opportunity to live your professional dreams. ENAC offers programs taught in English: 3 MSc, 7 advanced Masters, Pilot and Air Traffic Controller trainings and Research.
www.enac.fr 

EFREI Efrei, Engineering School of Information and Digital Technologies in Paris is highly regarded for its IT education and research. Thanks to almost 80 years of experience and a proven ability to keep up with technological advances, 95% of our graduates are offered full-time positions before graduating. We have strong international links with universities, companies and research labs across 27 countries and welcome students for research internships and full-time master's degrees.
www.efrei.fr 

ESIGELEC A Premier French Graduate School of Engineering, ESIGELEC, founded in 1901, is located in Rouen. We offer Master's programmes in Information Systems (intake - October) and Electronic Embedded Systems (intake - February). We are ranked in the top 15 of France's GrandesÉcoles.At ESIGELEC, we pride ourselves on the international perspective that we offer - 35% of our students are foreign nationals - and our close association with industry.
www.esigelec.fr 

ESB Ecole Supérieure du Bois The ESB Group is one of the oldest French engineering schoolspecialized in wood and science technology, dating from 1934, representing fields of excellence in the following matters : green and eco building, sustainable development, wood based material science and technology, International timber trade and Research. We provide individual and secure welcome facilities in Nantes, the international capital of western France, ideally located 2 hours from Paris and London and 30 minutes from Atlantic Ocean.
www.ecoledubois.fr 

EISTI EISTI, an engineering school, located near Paris, ranked among the best in France offers 12 specializations in computer science and applied mathematics taught in French and 2 master's program taught in English in Quantitative Finance and Risk Management and in Business Analytics: Architecture, Data Exploration and Optimization. 92 % of our students find a job after graduation as 8 % continue on studying.
www.eisti.fr 

College of Applied Sciences and Technology (ISA/HEI/ISEN) Group HEI ISA ISEN is a fusion of 3 colleges focusing on a multidisciplinary approach and providing education and training in the fields of engineering and life sciences. It offers programs in the domains of agriculture, food sciences, agribusiness, environmental sciences, animal sciences, computer science, information technology, telecommunications, electronics, electrical, mechanical, civil, textile, chemical, nanotechnology and materials.
All degrees are accredited by the French Ministry of Education and Research
Life Sciences : www.isa-lille.com/
Engineering : www.isen.fr/gb/ & www.hei.fr/en/index.php 

BUSINESS SCHOOLS 

Toulouse Business School Why Toulouse Business School ? : Top-ranked in France and internationally, 3 international business accreditations, 3 campuses: Toulouse, Barcelona, and Casablanca, 150 partner universities, Experienced and international faculty, Innovative research and development, Internship and career service, 12000 alumni, Student support services (housing, welcome team), dynamic Toulouse, top voted student city.
Programs taught in English: Bachelor in Management, Master in Management, MSc in Marketing, MSc in Banking, Aerospace MBA, Doctorate of Business Administration.
www.tbs-education.com 

 
EDHEC BUSINESS SCHOOL At EDHEC Business School, you receive not only a top education in financial economics or business management, but also real-world business and forward thinking skills that set you apart from other graduates. Ranked amongst the best institutions worldwide, you will learn from renowned business and finance specialists and have the opportunity to put this new knowledge to work in some of the most prestigious and exciting companies in the world.
www.edhec.com 

NEOMA Business School Rouen Business School and Reims Management School, two of France's oldest and most prestigious Business Schools, merged in 2013 to form Neoma. This makes Neoma (EQUIS, AMBA and AACSB accredited) a very strong competitor on the national and international front. With two campuses just one hour from Paris and an executive campus in the heart of the capital, students are in a key location for applying for internships and jobs around Europe. 

KEDGE Business school BEM and EUROMED MANAGEMENT merged in July 2013 creating a Global player in Management Education: KEDGE Business School.The aim is to be among the Top 15 Business Schools in Europe in the FT ranking within 5 years.Its Missions: 1) Create: Develop creative talents thanks to Innovative teaching methods, Research and Entrepreneurship, 2) Share: Bring people together, whatever their background, 3) Care: Train managers who will acquire a social vision and a sense of Managerial Responsibility.
www.kedgebs.com 

ESSEC BUSINESS SCHOOL With Campuses in Paris & Singapore, ESSEC counts among the leading Business Schools in Europe.2012 Financial Times rankings:#2 Worldwide Master in Finance,#5 Worldwide MSc in Management. Programs in English include BBA, MiM, MBAs& Ph.D.Cutting edge: the way students articulate the dynamic learning environment with several integrated job experiences. As a result ESSEC Alumni are regarded by Companies in France as their preferred choice.
www.essec.fr 

ESC Rennes School of Business 

Thanks to its international focus (82% of the faculty and 1/3 of the students are international), ESC Rennes School of Business offers a full range of programs entirely taught in english:2 Bachelor, 12 master programs and a PhD program, an ExecMBA and a DBA (China, Brazil).
ESC Rennes is accredited by AACSB, the European Foundation for Management Development (EPAS), AMBA and the French Ministry of Higher Education.
www.esc-rennes.fr 

AUDENCIA NANTES 

Founded in 1900, Audencia Nantes is among Europe's best business schools and one of the few worldwide to possess all three global accreditations (EQUIS, AACSB and AMBA). Committed to global responsibility, it has just welcomed its first MBA in Responsible Management intake. This programme is one of 14 offered including international masters in management in English. The school welcomes nearly 400 international students a year of over 60 nationalities.
www.audencia.com 

SKEMA Business School 

SKEMA Business School is multi campus (5 Campuses in France, China and USA).
The school has national and international recognition through accreditations and rankings (FT 27th worldwide for the MSc Management program, 10th for MSc in Financial Markets and investments).
Bachelor, MSc, MBA to PhD level Programs are offered in English with integrated job experiences, thanks to our Career Center and the 30 000 graduates worldwide. We provide free French language classes
www.skema.edu

IESEG Business School 

IÉSEG School of Management is one of the top Business Schools in France awarded with the EQUIS and AACSB accreditations. It has a campus in the cities of Lille and Paris. It collaborates closely with the largest institute for basic research in Europe, the French National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS). More than 84% of IÉSEG's faculty is international, and the School has a wide network of international partner universities.
www.ieseg.fr/en/home/

IELTS Test

IELTS 

The test is offered up to four times a month throughout the year and across 38 cities in India. The IELTS is a paper-based test. For details about the test, visit http://takeielts.britishcouncil.org

PEARSON TEST OF ENGLISH (PTE)

PEARSON TEST OF ENGLISH (PTE) 

PTE Academic is an English language test for international students; it is widely available and offers fast results. The test is recognised by over 95% of universities and colleges in the UK. PTE Academic is approved by the UK Border Agency (UKBA) for Tier 4 (student visa) applications when students are required to demonstrate English language competency at a minimum of CEF level B1 or B2. For details, visit http://pearsonpte.com

CAMBRIDGE ENGLISH ADVANCED Test

CAMBRIDGE ENGLISH ADVANCED The test is a proof of English language ability needed to study in the UK. It is recognised by the United Kingdom Border Agency (UKBA) for Tier 4 student visas as well as by universities and colleges in the UK. For details, visit http://cambridge-englishadvanced.cambridgeesol.org

JAWAHARLAL NEHRU AWARD FOR INTERNATIONAL UNDERSTANDING - DR ANGELA MERKEL SCHOLARSHIP

JAWAHARLAL NEHRU AWARD FOR INTERNATIONAL UNDERSTANDING - DR ANGELA MERKEL SCHOLARSHIP

• OBJECTIVE: To do a masters degree (LLM) in European Law at one of the selected German universities.

• TARGET GROUP: Highly qualified graduates with a first university degree in law.

• APPLICATION PROCEDURE: The application submission process is online. The link is available on the website www.daaddelhi.org

• DEADLINE: October 1

Why UK?

Why UK?

Alum of LSR and LSE I selected the London School of Economics (LSE) as the MSc in media, communication and development was unique and of interest to me. An LSE graduate scholarship was granted to me. London, with its wealth of academic and cultural resources, was an excellent place to be in. Whilst at LSE, I had the opportunity to intern with the International Institute for Environment and Development, where I gained practical experience in developing and testing analytic frameworks for a study on sustainable agriculture.

MArch in Sustainable Tall Buildings, University of Nottingham Tall building designing has always been my passion since I took up architecture. Thus, I was fortunate to have found a suitable course offered at the University of Nottingham (Masters in sustainable tall building). This university is also associated with IIT Chicago. Given the exposure, I have acquired a more global perspective on architecture. It has boosted my selfconfidence too.

The reasons behind the declining numbers of international students to the United Kingdom

Genuine students

Alex Galloway, associate dean, faculty of engineering, University of Strathclyde, talks about the reasons behind the declining numbers of international students to the United Kingdom

The scrapping of the poststudy work (PSW) scheme seems to have affected the aspirations of Indian students wanting to pursue their education in the UK. Your thoughts. The government is trying to prevent students coming to institutes that do not offer good degrees. Institutes that have had their licenses to sponsor international students revoked in the past usually do not have a structure in place to take account of the visa conditions. These conditions are very clear — a tier 4 visa, which is what an international student will get for study and checks in terms of attendance. The situation that arose a few years ago was the result of a money making exercise where universities were bringing in low quality students. But if all universities operate in a system where they monitor the movements of their tier 4 visa holders in terms of attendance in lecture and visits to the college library, the situation will get better and the PSW situation will relax with time. In fact, it is already getting better. A good quality degree means you will get good employment opportunities in the UK. Such students will find that their employers want to extend their visa. 

With the PSW situation and criticism for high fee for international students, how can the UK sell itself as a viable study destination? Are there any steps the government can take to do this?
The reputation of UK education is known to be of a very high quality. So, probably the misconception of poststudy work is a reason for a fall in the number of international students. However, the fee is not an issue. Parents who are willing to give their children a high quality education will resource the funding requirement for a UK education. 
 
In India currently, a number of engineering graduates are finding it difficult to
    find relevant jobs. Which are the upcoming areas in this field that promise good prospects? Given that there is a lot of interest among young students and institutions in aerospace engineering, I am guessing that the aerospace technology sector is a growing market here. Also, students are interested in automotive industry. With the investments from large automotive companies into India, there will be a wealth of opportunities for qualified automotive experts. This industry tends to recruit graduates from across sectors including mechanical engineering, electrical and electronic engineering, and industrial engineering as well as computer science. So a degree in any of the four sectors will be particularly attractive to the growing automotive industry. Also, there seems to be opportunities for civil engineers and architects.
    As the Scottish chairman of the Institute of Mechanical Engineers, which is a global organisation, I can say that there is a worldwide shortage of engineers. While travelling here, I have noticed the presence of some large companies and you can be sure that they will be employing engineers. However, they will be very selective about who they are employing. So students need to acquire quality engineering degrees.

Alex Galloway

UK degree is global, giving you access to career opportunities

KNOWLEDGE IS GREAT BRITAIN

A UK degree is global, giving you access to career opportunities and the stamp of quality, which is sought after by potential employers, writes Rob Lynes, director, British Council India

    One of the things we are proud of in the UK is our higher education institutions. The UK has four of the top 10 universities in the world. In addition, there are 111 other educational institutions and universities which offer a wide range of courses and qualifications.
    A UK qualification is backed by centuries of academic excellence and commitment to make learning contemporary and global. It is no small feat that researchers in UK universities have won 65 Nobel prizes. More than eight centuries after they were founded, Oxford and Cambridge continue to be independently ranked by The Times as one of the best places to study in the world. These historical institutions along with other centres of learning provide excellence in the field of education and skills, which are just as relevant today to an internationally focussed student. Recent research with international students has shown that 88% of international graduates are satisfied with their learning experience in the UK and that 92% of postgraduate students rate the quality of teaching they receive positively.
    In addition, the UK is the home of the English language and more than seven lakh students come here every year to enhance their language ability. English is not just the international language of business but also of the internet and is considered a core corporate skill. Indian students have a long standing familiarity with the English language enabling them to easily understand their course requirements.
    Studying in the UK gears up a student for success in the professional world as institutions offer the largest number of MBA courses in Europe. There has been high level investment in educational technology and in curricula development to match the demands of rapidly changing economic environment, ensuring that business students are skilled with the latest knowledge.
    Science and technology courses are also sought-after by Indian students; 9% of all global research papers are published by scholars in the UK and 10% of the world’s scientific citations have been awarded to science researchers at British institutions. Technology and innovation centres have been established with links between universities and enterprises which convert great research into commercially viable enterprises.
    The professional and skills sector has also developed through important links forged with the private and corporate world. There are a range of innovative post-academic learning courses and management training, which further strengthen employability. Studies show that UK educated graduates achieve markedly higher average salaries in their home countries.
    The UK has set no limits on the number of visas to be issued to genuine Indian students. Additionally, a new visa has been introduced for graduate entrepreneurs, which allows students with innovative ideas to stay in the UK and bring them to fruition.
    Small wonder that there are more than 2.5 lakh UK alumni in India today and scholarships and bursaries are available to students as per timetables issued regularly by educational centres. 

 
>> FACT SHEET STUDENT VISAS The UK has a points-based visa system, which is designed to be objective and transparent. To apply for a student visa, you need to gain 40 points. This includes 30 points for a “confirmation of acceptance for studies” from the university, college or school where you want to study. Your chosen place of study must be on the “register of sponsors” kept by the UKBA. This register is designed to give you peace of mind that you are applying to join a bona fide institution. The tier-based system is designed to help simplify the process and it is always important to check the latest update on British government websites where the latest information is always available. For more information, visit www.britishcouncil.in 

 
    WORK RULES Though the post-study work visa was stopped in April 2012, there continue to be opportunities under Tier 2 of the points-based system for graduates to take up graduate level jobs in the UK with registered companies. However, latest changes to UK Immigration Rules will allow international students to take up corporate internships after completing their degree and making it easier for graduate entrepreneurs to take up skilled jobs. Also, individuals on Graduate Entrepreneur visas can switch to a skilled workers visa more easily. They will be able to switch visas for a job with a ‘new entrant’ salary and sponsors won’t have to complete a Resident Labour Market Test.
www.gov.uk/government/ speeches/statement-ofchanges-in-immigration-rules--5 

 
>> COURSE VS COLLEGE FINDING A COURSE The first step is to find the right course, and a good place to start is UCAS, the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service, which is responsible for managing higher education applications for both UK and international students. The UCAS website carries detailed listings of higher education courses, including entry requirements and information about the institution offering the course. For more, visit www.ucas.com
   

 WHERE TO STUDY Depending on your chosen subject, you will probably find that many institutions offer suitable courses. To help you choose between them, visit each institution’s website to assess the reputation of both course and provider. You can also consult some of the independent guides to higher education facilities. Published annually, these guides rank institutions on a range of criteria, and often include student feedback. As you may be living at your chosen institution for three or four years, you need to find a place that suits your personality and budget, so consider location, cost of living (which can vary significantly across the UK), access to transport, and so on. For more information, visit
www.educationuk.org/global