Saturday, October 12, 2013

9:12 PM

With college festivals over and special days almost done with, switching back to study mode can be very depressing

When the ‘fun’ phase ends...
With college festivals over and special days almost done with, switching back to study mode can be very depressing

Participating in college festivals gives you a real high. Standing in front of cheering crowds, visiting different campuses, making friends... Like the Jack Dawson character essayed by Leonardo Di Caprio in the movie Titanic, you want to stand up and scream, 'I'm the King of the World.'
Perfect strangers come up and congratulate you for a well-delivered speech or niftily executed dance step. Actors with a meaty role in plays get besieged for their first autographs from swooning fans... It feels as if you have finally 'arrived' in life. Your presence in college gets noticed, every hairstyle change commented upon as if you were MS Dhoni or Katrina Kaif.
Suddenly, one day, the Rose Day deluge is over, Valentine's Day is the last signpost and fun comes to an abrupt end. The time table provides a harsh reminder of what attending college entails at the end of the term. From now onwards, your status or worth will be determined only by the marks you score. Nothing else matters.
However, the change is so swift that the mind is sometimes unable to cope. Instead of getting on with the academic workload, the mental faculties may just slip into depression mode if one is not careful. Being in denial at this stage is dangerous. Counter any feelings of helplessness or frustration at missed opportunities with positive thoughts and be focused on the exams.

Engage your mind
A depressed student approached his professor and asked, “Sir, if I wake up on exam day and my mind is totally blank, what should I do? Will praying to God help me pass?” The professor replied, “By all means pray to God for a moment. Then immediately pick up my notes and start refreshing your memory in the few hours available!”

Coping with change
- Take stock of remaining days, assign tasks.
- Manage key subjects when fresh and alert.
- Schedule easy subjects when you are tired.
- Switch to 'exam' mode; focus on solutions.
- See previous patterns; segregate portion.
- Understand formats that get you marks.
- Avoid people with a negative attitude.
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Wednesday, October 2, 2013

10:53 PM

Elaborates on the five paradoxes of leadership development

Embrace the leadership polarities

Elaborates on the five paradoxes of leadership development



    In 2011, the Human Capital Leadership Institute (HCLI) teamed up with the Center for Creative Leadership to study how leading companies in Asia build leaders faster than the competition. We uncovered five paradoxical insights that are crucial for developing top leaders in Asia. 
 
    PARADOX 1: TO FOSTER LEARNING WHILE EMPHASISING DOING When we asked business leaders what accelerated their own development the most, many mentioned real-life experiences, such as turning a business around or overseeing a complex merger and acquisition. Yet, too many companies today still invest disproportionate time and money into classroom-based initiatives like executive education courses or eMBA programmes. Why does this happen? One reason is that individuals often do not know which experiences are most important for their development and of ways to identify and secure such experience. Our research suggests that leaders need to do two things. First, develop a firm vision of what you would like to achieve in your career. Second, create flexible plans that allow you to identify the experiences needed to achieve your career vision. 
 
PARADOX 2: TO ACCELERATE DEVELOPMENT WHILE SLOWING DOWN
As we sought to understand how leaders accelerate their growth, we realised that the best leaders were able to slow down, engage in deep reflection, and plan for their longer term development. While almost everyone we speak with recognises the importance of slowing down, many struggle to find the time to engage in deep reflection. We discovered that deep reflection need not be a timeconsuming affair – we simply need to be smarter in when and where we engage in reflection. 
 
PARADOX 3: TO EXCEL AT THE TASK WHILE HARNESSING RELATIONSHIPS Many Asian cultures appreciate the importance of relationships, and yet in today’s fast-paced work culture, too many leaders adopt a transactional approach to leadership and do not take the time to build personal relationships with their colleagues. The best time to build relationships is before you need to. Think about a colleague whose help you need the least. Now find an opportunity to help this individual. 

    PARADOX 4: TO ACHIEVE SUCCESS WHILE LEARNING FROM FAILURE Failure is not the opposite of success. Failing to learn is. Good companies encourage individuals to openly recognise and learn from their failures. Great companies encourage individuals to share their failures and learnings with others. Many leaders we speak to in Asia confide that they struggle with this paradox as failures can be very painful. The pain of failure prevents many leaders from acknowledging them, but they also ensure that the lessons from the failures are deeply entrenched and not forgotten. What can you do to create a culture that is open to learning from failure? Craft and share a failure story with your colleagues. Be sure that your story covers the pain of failure, what you learnt and how you applied those learnings to succeed in future endeavours. 
 
    PARADOX 5: TO DEVELOP GREATNESS WHILE PRACTISING HUMILITY
    Remarkably, the greatest leaders are often the most humble. While many Asian cultures have traditionally emphasised the importance of humility, a challenge is that many corporations seem to reward those who are best at self-promotion. Another challenge is that many leaders struggle to maintain humility as they achieve greater career success. How can you stay humble? Think about your greatest success as a leader. Now, list down all the ways by which others – and serendipitous factors – have contributed to this success. This simple exercise can remind you that your greatest successes are not yours alone.
    Implicit is the notion that each paradox contains two seemingly opposing polarities. In today’s world, there is often an imbalance that needs to be restored. However, what we have learnt is that both polarities are important. The potential of each paradox is fully realised when both polarities are embraced.
   




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Wednesday, September 25, 2013

11:45 PM

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
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Wednesday, September 18, 2013

11:01 AM

Job in Bharatiya Mahila Bank

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10:54 AM

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


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10:52 AM

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


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10:50 AM

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.”

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10:43 AM

Jobs in Dr. Hegdewar Hospital Aurangabad

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10:37 AM

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

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10:35 AM

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.

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