Reverts some changes in gemfile

minor change in capitalisation

CNAME

@@ -1,2 +1 @@
-wona.co.in
-
+watchout.iitr.ac.in

_config.yml

@@ -22,7 +22,7 @@ defaults:
       layout: category
 
 name: Watch Out, IIT Roorkee
-url: http://wona.co.in
+url: http://watchout.iitr.ac.in
 gems: [jekyll-paginate]
 description: The official news magazine of IIT Roorkee.
 paginate: 10

_data/categories.yaml

@@ -43,3 +43,5 @@
       title: Summer 2016
     - name: summer2017
       title: Summer 2017
+    - name: summer2018
+      title: Summer 2018

_data/categories_name.yaml

@@ -16,3 +16,4 @@ sports: Sports
 internblogs: Intern Blogs
 summer2016: Summer 2016
 summer2017: Summer 2017
+summer2018: Summer 2018

_includes/footer.html

@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@
       <img class="logo" src="/images/logo-black.png">
       <div class="name-container">
         <div class="name">Watch Out!</div>
-        <div class="desc">Official News<br>Body of IITR</div>
+        <div class="desc">Official Media<br>Body of IITR</div>
       </div>
     </div>
     <div class="social pull-right">
@@ -20,6 +20,6 @@
 
 
   <div class="container copyright">
-    <p>&copy; Copyright 2016 &#8212; Watch Out! News Agency</p>
+    <p>&copy; Copyright 2018 &#8212; Watch Out! News Agency</p>
   </div>
 </footer>

_includes/head.html

@@ -47,6 +47,7 @@
   <link rel="alternate" type="application/rss+xml" href="/atom.xml" />
 
   <link rel="stylesheet" href="/css/base.css" type="text/css" media="screen, projection" />
+  <link rel="stylesheet" href="/css/table.css" type="text/css" media="screen, projection" />
 
   <script type="text/javascript" src="/js/jquery-2.1.3.min.js"></script>
   <script type="text/javascript" src="/js/bootstrap.min.js"></script>

_includes/header.html

@@ -36,14 +36,18 @@
   <div class="container-title">New Articles</div>
   <section>
     <div class="row outer-row">
-      {% for post in site.posts limit: 5 %}
-
-      {% if forloop.index == 3 %}
-    </div>
-    <div class="row outer-row">
+      
+      {% assign counter = 0 %}  <!-- Count of articles rendered under new articles -->
+      
+      {% for post in site.posts limit: 10 %}
+      {% if post.category == "coverstory" %}
+        {% continue %}
       {% endif %}
-
-      <div class="col-sm-{% if forloop.index < 3 %}6{% else %}4{% endif %} article-col">
+      {% assign counter = counter | plus:1 %}
+      {% if counter > 5 %}
+        {% break %}
+      {% else %}
+      <div class="col-sm-{% if counter < 3 %}6{% else %}4{% endif %} article-col">
         <a href="{{ post.url }}">
           <div class="article">
             <div class="center-fill-container img-container tinted">
@@ -51,17 +55,18 @@
             </div>
             <div class="details">
               <div class="head">
-                <h3 class="title"><a href="{{ post.url }}">{{ post.title }}</a></h3>
+                <h3 class="title"><a href="{{ post.url }}">{{ post.title  }}</a></h3>
                 <div class="tag"><a href="/category/{{ post.category }}/">{{ site.data.categories_name[post.category] }}</a></div>
                 <span class="date">{{ post.date | date: "%b %e, %Y" | upcase }}</span>
               </div>
-              {% if forloop.index < 3 %}
+              {% if counter < 3 %}
               <div class="excerpt">{% if post.excerpt != null %}{{ post.excerpt | markdownify }}{% endif %}</div>
               {% endif %}
             </div> <!-- details -->
           </div>
         </a>
       </div>
+      {% endif %}
       {% endfor %}
     </div>
   </section>

_includes/navbar.html

@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@
       <img class="logo" src="/images/logo-black.png">
       <div class="name-container">
         <div class="name">Watch Out!</div>
-        <div class="desc">Official News<br>Body of IITR</div>
+        <div class="desc">Official Media<br>Body of IITR</div>
       </div>
     </div>
   </a>
@@ -27,10 +27,10 @@
         <span class="icon-bar"></span>
         <span class="icon-bar"></span>
       </button>
-      <a class="navbar-brand" href="/">Watch Out!</a>
+      <!-- <a class="navbar-brand" href="/">Watch Out!</a> -->
     </div>
     <div id="navbar" class="navbar-collapse collapse">
-      <ul class="nav navbar-nav navbar-right">
+      <ul class="nav navbar-nav navbar-right hacky-css">
         {% for cat in site.data.categories %}
           {% if cat.subcategories != nil %}
           <li class = "dropdown">

_posts/2017-06-11-architecture-at-iit-roorkee.md

@@ -1,100 +0,0 @@
----
-layout: post
-title: "Architecture at IIT Roorkee"
-tags: [wona]
-category: academics
-image: archi-q2_p2.jpg
-excerpt: "What is architecture? This question shall haunt you like a stubborn ghost for the initial 3 semesters of study – asked by professors to gauge your understanding of it – so it pays to know."
-height: 540px
----
-
-### What is Architecture?
-<br>
-This question shall haunt you like a stubborn ghost for the initial 3 semesters of study – asked by professors to gauge your understanding of it – so it pays to know.
-
-The standard definition – offered by a number of dictionaries – proclaims architecture to be “the art and science of designing buildings, open spaces and physical structures”; however, to fully appreciate the definition, one needs to understand the keywords better.
- 
-**Art**: As most people reading this would expect, architecture has several aesthetic considerations, “space” being the central one. Space is perhaps a very abstract concept, but it can be understood as the enclosure within which one is positioned. Your bedroom, living room, the dormitories you will come to live in – all – are spaces, although of differing quality. This quality is ascertained by the way the light filters in, the way the wind blows across the room, the sounds and smells that can be heard or smelled within a space, and myriad other factors. An architect’s duty is to make them more liveable and enjoyable to offset the mundanity of everyday life, or to elevate its loftiness.
- 
-**Science**: The science component only slightly resembles the kind you have been exposed to thus far. In architecture, science is a combination of principles and quantitative problems (numericals), with the former predominating. Architecture has several logical considerations, some of which are climate, cost (of construction, of running), making sure the structure/ building does not collapse and actually constructing whatever has been designed. Details shall follow in the next question.
- 
-**Design**: Design consists of juggling aesthetic, practical and several other parallel considerations to arrive at the best possible solution. In the case of architecture, one has to consider the sequence of spaces/rooms (their connectivity with each other), the climate, the cost, the materials that ought to be employed, the aesthetics, etc. and produce a design that pacifies each need. It is best learnt by practice.
-
-![archi 0](/images/posts/archi-q1.jpg){: style="width:60%;height:auto"}
- 
-### Architecture as a course
-<br>
-The study of architecture requires one to be a generalist rather than a specialist. The constituent courses of the bachelor degree, as ascribed by the Council of Architecture, are centred around “Architectural Design”, which will be found in all semesters except the first (1.1) and the last three (4.2, 5.1, 5.2). In the fifth year, one works on their Thesis, a culmination of all skills acquired during the last four years, where he/she designs a building from start to finish, just as one would for an actual project. Other courses impart necessary skills and information required in order to design and actually construct a building. These include climatology, structures, building construction, architectural graphics, visual art, building codes and regulations, etc. A full list of courses – and details about them – can be found <span style="color:#72C5EB">[here](https://drive.google.com/open?id=0BwI7Ki_XnyhmcURVd3FULW10azg)</span>
- 
-Each year has its own studio, a large room where they do most of their drafting; it comes equipped with an anthropometrically sound furniture set comprising a drafting table and a stool. A standard set of equipment comprises a parallel bar (a 100-something cm long scale that draws parallel lines), an adjustable set square, a sheet holder, A1, A2 or A3 sized cartridge sheets, a great number of pencils, an eraser, a cutter (to sharpen pencils with; sharpeners are for amateurs), and a fine-liner, although only the first and third are exposed.
- 
-To evaluate designs, a jury is conducted, where professors – and sometimes peers – criticize each design while the designer attempts to justify his decisions. Juries may severely damage egos or ignorance, depending on how one takes the criticism. Nevertheless, juries are the primary means of progress for any architectural design course.
- 
-Contrary to popular belief, architecture is not all about drawing, painting, and the like; although these are helpful skills during the course, they play a very preliminary role in design, and can nevertheless be picked up after joining the course. One does not need to be creative in the visual sense to take up architecture as a profession.
- 
-The course as a whole is rather challenging. It involves the longest contact hours of all courses and a great load of assignments, both of which – thankfully – eventually decrease. Good grades call for a mastery of all courses and fields – most importantly architectural design, which has the highest number of credits in any given semester. Architecture involves solving the biggest problems as well as the most minute. All these manifest as a great degree of frustration and a considerable number of late nights. For people who have studied the sciences all their lives – presumably with much interest and love – this will be a very different ball game.
-
-![archi 2](/images/posts/archi-q2_p5.jpg){: style="width:60%;height:auto"}
- 
-### Architecture @ IITR: Cons – where we lag behind other colleges
-<br>
-If architecture is what you are interested in, IITR is perhaps not the best place to pursue it. A list of reasons are given below:
- 
-1. **Lack of competition**: Out of the thirty-something classmates that will constitute your class (most colleges have at least 70), very few will actually be interested in architecture. A great number of them shall turn in a very poor quality of assignments – if they do – aiming at just keeping their heads above the water. There is a tendency for the “good students” to become too self-sure and swim in seas of mediocrity.
-
-2. **Focus of the professors**: Unlike other colleges of architecture, the primary focus of professors in IITR is their body of research. All professors are highly qualified (holding at least a M. Arch degree; most have a PhD), although in their specific fields of interest. Only a handful of professors actually put in effort to keep the class interesting and impart relevant and sufficient knowledge. At present, there are only two visiting professors (practicing architects), who are infrequent with their visits. At top architectural schools such as SPA Delhi, this ratio is almost reversed; the design studio and juries are held and evaluated by practicing architects, who have an idea of the real world, of what really works and what doesn’t.
-
-3. **Not enough emphasis on design** : Architectural design, as stated earlier, is central to the entire curriculum. However, there are only 9 hours allotted to it per week, far less than any other good architectural school in the country. Design is a reiterative process, and requires constant feedback and work to be done right; 9 hours a week hardly ensures that.
-
-4. **Lack of studio culture**: “Studio culture” is an important part of the architecture degree (to know more, watch <span style="color:#72C5EB">[this](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=62r3UPrOS9k&t=1294s) </span>). All schools (almost without exception, including our sister IIT Kharagpur) leave their studios open during the night in order for the students to work on their assignments. It keeps one away from all the distractions of the hostel and ensures that those willing to work get a conducive environment to do it in. However, IITR chooses to be different in this rather inconvenient way.
-
-5. **Skewed sex-ratio**: The sex-ratio varies across all years, depending on the collective luck of the incoming freshmen. However, it is much lower than other colleges, where the sex ratio is 1:1 or better (with girls predominating).
-
-![archi 3](/images/posts/archi-q3.jpg){: style="width:60%;height:auto"}
-
-### Architecture @ IITR: Pros – how IIT is better/different from other colleges
-<br>
-You have now managed to read past all the faults and misdeeds of architecture, so pat yourself on the back for a bit.
- 
-Architecture at IITR has many unique advantages. These are:
- 
-1. **A chance to make another field/skill your profession**: Even if one discovers that architecture isn’t their cup of tea, there are many alternate options available, unlike any other college of architecture. Related fields such as product design, graphic design and industrial design exist. Fields bearing little resemblance to architecture include coding, finance, consultancy and start-ups, to name a few. Self-interest and effort are primary requirements in such an undertaking, but campus groups and seniors help greatly. One can build his CV by interning in capacities closely related to the profession he/she wishes to pursue. Interns are much easier to come by with the help of the IIT tag. This is a good point in time to reiterate that very few people in any given batch choose architecture as their profession; the rest go into non-core jobs. 
-
-2. **The “Family system”** : All first years are inducted into one or more families within the initial two weeks of joining IITR. A family may choose to adopt you based on any number of criteria, or even at random (by chit-picking). Once in the family, the very first responsibility is helping the fifth year with their thesis; here one picks up preliminary model-making skills, and even software skills, should their baap allow it. This duty is renewed every year, but its formal nature is not. In return, it is any baap’s duty to give chaapos and advice on how to weather the storm that is architecture.
-
-3. **Societies, groups and sports**: Although architecture constitutes a very small number of the total intake, archi wale log can be found in most groups on campus. The reasons behind joining societies and groups stand as two polar opposites: some see them as opportunities to counter frustration, while others see them as opportunities to learn relevant skills, having discovered their disinterest in architecture. Either way, the number of groups and societies on campus is astronomical, with new ones cropping up every year. Chances are there is a group for each interest or intrigue you possess (an exhaustive list with brief information can be found <span style="color:#72C5EB"> [here](http://guide.wona.co.in/section/campus-groups)</span> ). Similarly, facilities for all major sports can be found here, with exceptional coaching staff that bring out the best in you. The standard of sports are much higher than one would expect for a sorry bunch of nerds. More information can be found <span style="color:#72C5EB">[here](http://guide.wona.co.in/section/sports)</span>
-
-4. **Semester Exchange** : A semester exchange is available for students having a decent CGPA (>7.5); up to three students can be accepted as exchange students in Hochschule Luzern (Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts), Switzerland, in their 7th semester (4.1). This is an opportunity to learn how our western counterparts perceive and approach architecture, as well as to travel Europe, experiencing all that it has to offer. Here is an account of the experience, as recalled by a senior who visited Hochschule Luzern this year:<span style="color:#72C5EB"> [exchange diary switzerland](http://wona.co.in/2017/03/exchange-diaries-switzerland)</span>
-
-5. **Research opportunities** : Perhaps one characteristic that sets IITR apart from all other colleges is the emphasis it lays on research. Any student interested in research may approach a professor, consult him/her about the area/matter he wishes to investigate – and once he/she has the blessing of the professor – pursue it. In addition to the above, a program called SURA (Summer Undergraduate Research Awards) is also in place. Here, however, the approval is given by the central administration (Dean, SRIC) following a detailed presentation explaining the area of study and specifying the deliverables each week. A student who is shown the green light stays back during the summer, and submits a report at the end, after which he is given a partial refund and a stipend. For students of architecture, an additional opportunity lies in the form of the CBRI (Central Building Research Institute), which, although an autonomous body, abuts our campus. The CBRI develops new materials and ways of building and assists with problems of planning, designing and disaster mitigation. The CBRI is very welcoming of IITR students wishing to research such areas; two seniors (to the author’s knowledge) have written research papers under the CBRI.
-
-6. **On-campus placements** : Reportedly (that is, with questionable certainty), other architectural colleges do not have placements, or any sort of arrangements wherein graduates can find firms to employ them. At IITR, such a system does exist, but the number of firms and companies that recruit architects are just sufficient. However, when it comes to other fields such as the ones mentioned earlier, it is a level playing field, and architecture graduates can get non-core jobs provided they are meritorious. More information can be found <span style="color:#72C5EB">[here](http://guide.wona.co.in/section/placements)</span>
- 
-![archi 3](/images/posts/archi-q4.jpg){: style="width:60%;height:auto"}
-
-### Terms and Conditions for doing well in architecture
-<br>
-If, after carefully considering all the above information, you still want to pursue architecture at IITR, here are a few pointers that might help you.
- 
-1. **Give architecture a fair chance**. A considerable number do, but their effort does not sustain, and their enthusiasm dampens within the first two months. Giving architecture a chance entails doing all assignments conscientiously, at least for the first semester (which, in itself, forms an image of architecture that is far from reality).
-
-2. **Read**. Whether its articles on archdaily, or books on architecture, the more information you accumulate, the better. Some of the knowledge thus collected will be employed in your designs at one point or another.
-
-3. **Work on improving your visual communication skills** , i.e. drafting and sketching. A good (technical) drawing or sketch is worth a thousand words. Competitions organised by NASA (National Association of Students of Architecture) are the best way to do this.
-
-4. **Learn to take criticism objectively**. Any professor criticising you or your design is only doing so for your benefit, not to make himself/ herself feel big.
-
-5. **Perseverance is key**. There will be classmates better than you at sketching and artistic pursuits, but the belief that hard work can at least equal talent needs to be cultivated and acted upon. Similarly, a lot of your initial work and ideas may be shot down in the jury. Push yourself to do better. Sadly, results are what finally matter, the effort that one puts in merely accounts for consolation.
- 
-### Contact details
-<br>
-In case you have any doubts regarding the course that you wish to get clarified, feel free to call any of the people listed below:
- 
-**Divyang Purrkayastha (2nd year)**: +91 9560588732<br>
-**Ramachandra Reddy (3rd year)**: +91 9557902784<br>
-**Lanka Adarsh (3rd year)**: +91 9410577752/ +91 8218618294<br>
-**Anshul Rathore (4th year)**: +91 9917026076<br>
-**Deovrat Dwivedi (5th year)**: +91 7895473473<br>
-**Kshitij Joshi (5th year)**: +91 7895475628
-
-Illustration Credits: Leewardists

_posts/2018-02-14-Entrepreneurship-at-R.md

@@ -0,0 +1,72 @@
+---
+layout: post
+title: "Entrepreneurship at R: In conversation with Azam Ali Khan (CEO, TIDES IIT Roorkee)"
+category: verbatim
+credits: "Dhruv Singh and Ekdeep Singh Lubana"
+image: entreatr.jpg
+excerpt: "It’s great to be back here, but I think being on the other side of the table brings with it tonnes of challenges. When I started my journey here in 1998, it was a completely different place. It wasn’t even an IIT"
+---
+
+### To begin with, welcome back to IIT Roorkee. How does it feel to be back as an alumnus and handle a job that might play a salient role in Roorkee’s prosperity as a top ranked institute?
+
+It’s great to be back here, but I think being on the other side of the table brings with it tonnes of challenges. When I started my journey here in 1998, it was a completely different place. It wasn’t even an IIT; however, by the time I graduated, the transition from UoR to IIT was in full swing.
+
+A plethora of things have changed; a plethora have not. I reckon we used to have much deeper interaction with seniors, back then. Probably the hostels’ condition and infrastructure has changed for better. In our case, they weren’t particularly apt for survival! Jokes apart, I think a lot of things have changed in regards to students and their perspective about college. Students have become far more ambitious and zealous. However, still, when I compare Roorkee with other major institutions, I think Roorkee is still lacking in growing out of its self-imposed shackles. I don't get the "we're still not a full fledged IIT" mindset and other sorts of frequent comments. These thoughts merely stop us from unleashing our full potential. Case in point, we had calls from IIMs, for the first time, in 2000 - one from Ahmedabad and two from Calcutta - but once we broke that glass ceiling, we started getting multiple calls from thereon. So, probably, all that was necessary was to let go of the self designed limitations and create some awareness.
+
+Thus, things have changed a lot over the last 15 years. I was surprised that this is the same Roorkee I left in 2002; however, if the change leads to progress, it is definitely welcome. For example, about the startup revolution, this is something which was lacking in Roorkee then. Now, with a place such as TIDES in motion, we can cater to and promote a lot more entrepreneurs and entrepreneurship enthusiasts. This will end up generating employment in and out of R.
+
+### Do you think that startups are a taboo at R? Unconventional paths, such as entrepreneurship, are considered alternatives than palpable career choices?
+
+I think taboo would be tad harsh a word; but, definitely, there is a limitation, and it is put by the society at large. Students, being at the receiving end of it, have just been following the unsaid laws. Parents uphold apprehensions and have a hard time accepting entrepreneurship as a way of life. Entrepreneurship is usually considered as akin to “Shylockism”, which is not at all the case You are convincing people to buy your products; not forcing them - it takes actual skills and efforts, and, alas, should be given its much deserved accreditation. However, I believe, with initiatives like "Startup India", this limitation is bound to change; and, more so, is something that has to change. Also, if we do not pass the message from the top-most branches of the chain, the message that students can - and should - take up their innovations and ideas as tangible career choices, not a lot will happen. While working for Scandinavian countries, which are known for Innovation and Entrepreneurship, I saw some important traits. The difference, as I am very vividly witnessing, is that they embrace failures, rather than brush them under the carpet. This culture is missing in general in India and more so in Roorkee, I think. Coming back to your question of startups being a "taboo", I must admit that most of my interactions have been with people who said that they couldn’t get a job, and, thus, opted to start-up. This mindset is totally a put-down for me. Believe me, getting a job is far, far easier than doing a startup. We really need to appreciate people who are taking a plunge into entrepreneurships. This appreciation should come from both - the society and the management of the institute - who should promote entrepreneurship as a leading activity. We need to ensure that students understand, "if you fail early, you learn early".
+
+### Do you think that the entrepreneurial culture has changed since your time here as a student?
+
+To be very frank, in those days, there was no entrepreneurial culture. We used to think about jobs and companies' schedule, only. From day 1, we were acquainted with the fact that we, the Chemical and Metallurgy folks, are not going to get a job in core; of course, because of minimal "core" companies showing up for placements. So, everybody was programming in C, C++, Java.
+
+### So we have this thing happening since 20 years now?
+
+Yeah. Unfortunately, may be we haven’t changed this culture in 20 years now. Probably, even the books you are reading today would be the same as we had. I mean, the world has gone leaps and bounds. If we are not making you employment ready, we are not making you entrepreneurship ready. These go hand-in-hand.If we are not teaching you Machine Learning, AI, and all the latest technology - believe it or not - you are not ready for the world.
+
+So, we do have a long way to go. I still see students from circuital branches refraining from entrepreneurship as a career, for, probably, they are acquainted with the fact that they have a better chance at scoring a placement offer. It's the non-circuital branches' students who indulge in such ventures, mostly. These trends say lengths about how much needs to be done.
+The thing is, whenever you think there is a safe option, the urge to succeed dies out. The cultural mindset needs to change and we have the potential to do it. A new mentality of "learning from failures" needs to be promoted.
+
+### Talking about TIDES, where do you (or an incubation center, in general) receive your funding to support startups from?
+
+We get our funding from various government agencies, like Department of Science & Technology (DST), NSTEDB, DEITY, etc. IIT Roorkee has been gracious to support us in our ventures, too. They have provided us with infrastructure and access to all the labs and faculty for mentorship. Frankly, the only reason TIDES is working as an independent entity is because we want to make the process faster for our incubatees and deliver according to their needs. Time is viciously crucial for startups, for they are in a make or break situation. We are also in the process of undergoing tie-ups with a few corporates, so that we can jointly access startups via a co-investment model. Further, a few PSUs are being approached, so that we can have sector focused startups under TIDES.
+
+### Could you tell us about the startups budding at TIDES?
+
+We have 10 startups, as of now, which are incubated; around 6-7 are in the pre-incubation phase; and 10-12, which we still need to access. They are from a variety of sectors - from IoT to FinTech. Fintech is a sector which has been explored a lot over the years, and, thus, you have to come up with a really innovative product/service to be incubated anywhere. We are trying to come up with more sector specific startups, too. We have been in talks with a few PSUs for a startup on smart construction activities, for we have a strong civil department. Venturing into biotech is also on the cards.
+
+### How would you categorize the startups at TIDES - product based, service oriented, etc.?
+
+We have startups which are mainly product based, as of yet. We have been promoting B2B startups, recently. Students are easily swayed by B2C, app-based startups; however, that model has gotten quite obsolete in terms of innovation. Thus, we promote B2B startups, all the while welcoming B2C startups too. We have the tinkering lab now in the same premises and are coming up with an IoT lab.
+
+### A "junta wants to know" question - do you consider Roorkee’s location to be ideal, at all, for a startup?
+
+An ideal location is highly relative and people really need to understand this. A location might be ideal for one startup, whilst not at all ideal for another.
+
+For an agritech or pharmaceutical startup, Roorkee is a highly apt location; same goes for a biotech startup. However, if we talk about an FMCG startup, Roorkee might not be an ideal location. So, it sorta depends.
+
+I accept that we struggle a bit because of transportation and the unavailability of a nearby airport, though. Even the government agencies and corporates we approach, they have to travel from Delhi to Roorkee; the nearest airport is in Dehradun, which, again, is 2-3 hours from here.
+This is one of the reasons why we are planning to open an extension arm in Greater Noida. It will be a feed for this center at Roorkee and gives us a uniqueness amongst IITs too, for we will have presence in 3 cities after Roorkee and Saharanpur.
+
+### How do you think the current academic curriculum can be changed by the administration for getting students industry-ready?
+
+If you want to improve student employability, I believe we must make it easy for the industries so that they don’t  have to spend on training fresh recruits. I think summer and winter internships are helping to support this model well, but it has to be more interesting to the students and industries alike. Like, a crazy, yet sane, idea would be to rope in some well known corporates and teach their actual manuals to some specific machines. Industries, thereby, will recruit with a mindset that these students are already well acquainted with our products, machines, and designs, and, thus, almost good-to-go.
+
+![tides](/images/posts/tides.png)
+
+### How accessible and supportive has the administration been? How can they help further?
+
+Oh, they have been extremely accessible. I can talk to the Director whenever I want to; all the Deans respond on mail, too. Accessibility is not an issue, at all. We have a lot of support and resources.
+
+However, TIDES cannot function in a silo. Things need to work in tandem. It is the joint responsibility of TIDES and the institute management to create an ecosystem supporting entrepreneurial ventures for students. 
+
+I reckon a curriculum centered around entrepreneurship will help loads. Innovative thinking needs to be promoted, only then entrepreneurship will become sustainable. As per my knowledge, there is no dedicated place to guide the students about the design part of product development, etc. To run a company, an overall understanding needs to be inculcated. TIDES rests at the end of this pipeline; wherein, when a person is ready with an idea, we provide him/her the platform and mentorship for getting to the consumers. 
+
+I also believe that administration - especially, faculty - should look into the humongous communication gap amongst B.Tech, M.Tech., and Ph.D. students. Whilst B.Tech. students are full of energy and creativity, PhDs have actual experience with technology. Marry these two together, and you shall have fantastic startups in the campus. And only the faculty can do that, for they are the bridge. Alas, I reckon TIDES, indeed, is a synergistic initiative - both, for the management as well as the students.
+
+### Where do you see TIDES 3-4 years from now?
+
+We want to make TIDES one of the top 5 incubators in India, and, in this regard, we need to go very fast. We are looking for great startups from across the country, and are intent on providing a nurturing ground to the incubatees - where they can cultivate their ideas and think/target globally. Hopefully, in the time span of 3-4 years, we can have 10-15 good startups. One must understand that getting a couple of good startups from a bunch of 50-100 is an achievement of highest orders.

_posts/2018-02-22-unnat-bharat-abhiyan.md

@@ -0,0 +1,38 @@
+---
+layout: post
+title: "Unnat Bharat Abhiyan"
+category: verbatim
+image: unnatbharat.jpeg
+excerpt: "Unnat Bharat Abhiyan, a program running under the aegis of the Ministry of Human Resource Development, was launched in November 2014 with an aim to use the skills of the students of the premier"
+---
+
+*Unnat Bharat Abhiyan, a program running under the aegis of the Ministry of Human Resource Development, was launched in November 2014 with an aim to use the skills of the students of the premier colleges in the country for innovative ideas to tackle the problems at the grassroots and work towards other aspects of development in villages. Under the same, the student chapter of UBA IIT Roorkee has adopted 8 villages of Dehradun, and Haridwar district. We speak to Sagar Gupta, the Student Coordinator of UBA IIT Roorkee, to understand the mechanics behind this initiative.*
+
+### What is the major work that UBA targets?
+
+Over the course of three years that UBA has functioned, the work done has mostly contributed significantly to the socio-economic upliftment of the villages. Some of the other major initiatives have been the cleaning of a local pond, an attempt to tackle education problems and the reconstruction of a vital trade route bridge. 
+
+### How does your team structure look like currently?
+
+Our team structure has two levels, currently, a ‘village’ level and a central team.
+We have five teams working in eight villages, and each team has two village coordinators one documentation coordinator and a finance coordinator. In the central team, we have six members, one each for documentation and finance, and three theme leaders for ‘Technology Intervention’, ‘Education’, and ‘Outreach’, and one overall team leader.
+
+### Could you give us an example of any one of your important initiatives?
+
+An initiative that heavily changed the daily facets of the residents’ of village Meerpur was the Biogas initiative. To encourage the use of renewable energy amongst the villagers, an awareness and registration drive of Biogas plant was organised by UBA in the village Meerpur-Muwazarpur in October 2015. Almost every household here is involved in animal husbandry and farming, hence producing cow-dung and other wastes that rot in open. These then become breeding grounds for pathogens, and add to the waste disposal problem. With the help of the biogas plants, these wastes have now been turned into viable sources of renewable energy. I’m proud to mention that this event for registration witnessed amazing participation, resulting in the installation of 33 biogas plants over time.
+
+### What has been the overall impact of this initiative?
+
+The consumption of LPG has gone down to one-fourth of what was used earlier, and many houses have found a sustainable alternative to firewood. The slurry produced as a by-product is a nutritious manure for the farms. The money invested has been recovered, saving Rs. 4000 per month of each household, achieving the economic break-even point in less than 14 months. In addition to this, there have been many positive impacts on health and household economy.
+
+![pic2](/images/posts/unnatbharat2.jpeg){: style="width:90%;height:auto"}
+
+### Couple of years ago, you also initiated the ‘Polyhouse’ initiative that has garnered a lot of praise, including a feature in recent headlines. Could you tell us about that?
+
+A polyhouse is a structure providing a protective environment for the crops to grow. It incorporates the modern farming ideas and uses the concept of varying heat and moisture input to control the crop production. The protective environment helps specific types of plants to grow faster and increase the yield. The farms have seen multi-fold rise in production. The lower requirement of labour, electricity and fertilizers has been observed. This has been one of the first steps for modernising the farming industry. The Uttarakhand state government encourages the use of Polyhouses by providing a high amount of subsidy to farmers for installation of Polyhouses. 
+
+On observing the interest of the farmers in polyhouses, an awareness campaign was organised somewhere in April 2016, which resulted in the installation of 3 polyhouses with 6 more in the pipeline in Meerpur village. The turnover has been Rs. 4 Lacs per annum per 1000 sq. feet. The farmers will be able to break-even in just 4 years!
+
+### What do you have in mind for the immediate future?
+
+We are focusing on the technical interventions that our students can take up, to solve the basic problems and needs of the people of the village. We are putting in work towards building a water filter for iron removal, and we have started the ecological restoration of a nearby pond. We’re also helping the village’s Pradhan to make an effective Gram Panchayat Development Plan (GPDP).

_posts/2018-02-25-spoilt-with-choice.md

@@ -0,0 +1,39 @@
+---
+layout: post
+title: Spoilt with Choice
+category: editorial
+image: spoilt-choice.png
+author: "Sanjana Srivastava, Sanat Bhargava, Manan Jain, Utkarsh Mujumdar, Agrim Patodia"
+excerpt: "That classmate you have been crushing on for the longest of times has finally agreed to go out with you. You know you have one shot at this. You also know that they like Chinese food, but if you picked an Italian place, you wouldn’t have to risk embarrassing yourself by trying to use chopsticks. What would you do?"
+
+---
+
+While it might be impudent of us to declare that the control humans seem to hold over the ‘choices’ they face is more of a handicap than a power, our claim might not be completely unfounded. Our life is littered with choices, and while we don’t seem to mind some of them, a majority of these choices find a way to annoy us by creeping into our daily decision-making, just when they’re uncalled for. 
+
+Surely enough, all the choices you’re going to have to face won’t always be plagued by an inherent difficulty in judging the merits of the alternatives offered. For instance, it probably wouldn’t be a burden to choose between two not-so-equal alternatives, like if boiled eggs were pitted against a slice of pizza, or if you had to choose between an hour of reading your favourite book, or an hour of talking to one of your relatives about what you (don’t) have planned for your future. These choices don’t seem to demand a lot of attention from you, probably because they bring with them a more favourable and a more obvious selection. 
+
+However, consider these three cases.
+
+
+- It’s 8:00 a.m. You’ve pulled an all-nighter ~~studying for the big quiz you have in a couple of days~~ trying to finish that TV series everyone has been talking about so that you can fit in. Now that you’re done with the series finale, you can finally tend to your hunger, which you had been shrugging off as the plot thickened. Additionally, you’re too sleep-deprived to walk too far. Consequently, the only option you have left is to drag yourself to the mess and eat whatever is offered to you, or just go to bed hungry. _**What do you do?**_
+
+
+- That classmate you have been crushing on for the longest of times has finally agreed to go out with you. You know you have one shot at this. You also know that they like Chinese food, but if you picked an Italian place, you wouldn’t have to risk embarrassing yourself by trying to use chopsticks. _**What do you do?**_
+
+
+- You have to vote for one of the two students contesting for the college elections. One of them cut in front of you a month ago while you were obediently waiting in line for taking sweets in the mess. The other did not post a message on your timeline on your birthday. _**What do you do?**_
+
+
+While all three of the aforementioned hypotheticals represent a choice, they’re all not the same. The first is a classic case of what is referred to as a _Hobson’s Choice_. In this situation, you are in a ‘take it or leave it’ situation, where you either have to settle for the only alternative available, which, for all you know, is not worth taking a shot at; or just end up empty-handed. The latter two situations, on the other hand, are each an example of a _Morton’s Fork_. Often used interchangeably with the concept of a _dilemma_, a Morton’s Fork is a case where you have two or more equally appealing (or unappealing) choices to pick from, which is where it gets tricky. All of these situations highlight how perceived luxury of having choices becomes too rich for our blood. Weighing the pros and cons and delving into quick mental analyses for these choices in terms of the implications they may have is too tedious an exercise to consider, mostly because the circumstances are too trivial to demand your attention.
+
+But what if we raise the stakes here, just enough to make you worry? What if you were to choose between two college majors, or you were at the point in your life where you had to decide a career?
+
+Our brain tends to attach gravity to every choice it faces by ruminating on the possible repercussions of a bad choice. It plays out all the probable outcomes, considering them, and agonizing you enough to keep you up at night, maybe even frustrating you to a point where you resign yourself to a belief that you’d be better off constricted in an alternate dimension, devoid of choice. To add to our misery, our ever-so-sadistic brain appends some kind of responsibility with every choice it faces. It bestows upon us an authority to take a call, an authority that amplifies mutually with the perceived importance of a decision. 
+
+What is this authority, really? 
+
+Given that one doesn’t control the consequences in the aftermath of a decision, it would be safe to assume that the power we speak of is merely apparent, imminent to be rendered worthless in the grander scheme of things. You could never know what the other paths would have been like, because you didn’t get a chance to experience them. One of the physical models of the universe (or the multiverse, to be precise) makes an attempt at explaining this notion through the collapse of the wave function in quantum mechanics. It proposes that every possible alternate timeline for the universe is real and they all happen in an ever-larger, ever-branching way. To put it in simpler words, it means that at whichever point we have to make a choice among the possible options, our life splits into multiple universes, entailing the path we choose. So theoretically, all the possible stories do take place, but we happen to experience only one of them. Life is the best simulation video game there is, where your choices form your story. No matter what you choose, the other options quickly evanesce as you don't know what they had to offer. Hence, there is no right or wrong in choice, and that explains the power we talked about earlier. The fact that you _have a_ choice, therein lies this apparent power.
+ 
+This romanticised delineation, however, pokes fun at the human emotion of regret. If no one knows where the other path would have taken oneself, then why does one lament his decision? Sure, the other path might have suited someone else, but that does not really mean that it would have turned out to be the same way for you. Maybe the outcome isn't what we thought it would be, but that doesn't necessarily mean that we made the inapt decision. Maybe the outcome in the other situation might have been worse. Ultimately, it doesn't matter, since now, it’s something that you just can't change. Every choice, whether tiny or huge, is immensely important at the moment you face it, and it loses all of its importance the second you make it. 
+
+The feigned presence of meaning to our decisions is perplexing enough to lead us to a futile search for a scapegoat, which finds its distressing comfort in regret. The powerlessness over the circumstances we might face unsettles us. And this, unfortunately, is enough to send us into a cycle of self-reproach and ‘what-ifs’.

_posts/2018-03-06-iitr-at-nasa.md

@@ -0,0 +1,52 @@
+---
+layout: post
+title: "IITR's Exploits at NASA"
+category: bigstory
+image: nasa-cover.jpg
+excerpt: "The National Association of Students of Architecture (abbreviated as NASA) is a student organization with over 200 member colleges from India and neighbouring countries."
+---
+
+The **National Association of Students of Architecture** (abbreviated as **NASA**) is a student organization with over 200 member colleges from India and neighbouring countries. It was established in 1957 by seven colleges (one of which was IIT Roorkee), with the “common aim and objective to provide the students a platform for interaction, a platform where students from varied cultural backgrounds would learn and share their knowledge”. 
+
+To this effect, NASA India holds the Annual NASA Convention where the work of the students is displayed and evaluated, mostly through the medium of competitions. This year, IIT Roorkee (with a team of 46 students) took part in 7 competitions:
+
+<ol start="1">
+<li> <b>The Louis I Kahn Trophy</b> : The LIK trophy aims to “improve the quality of architectural education in the context of the historic environment, and the legacy of knowledge, skills and training required to better protect and conserve this heritage”.</li>
+</ol>
+
+This year, IIT Roorkee documented the **District Collectorate, Nainital** for the same. They stood amongst the **Top 10** colleges within the competition.
+
+<ol start="2">
+<li> <b>HUDCO Trophy</b> : This trophy aims at “designing for the informal sector and give design alternatives for the issues pertaining to the solutions to Sustainable Urban Development”.</li>
+</ol>
+
+The brief called for “affordable housing using green and emerging technology” into an otherwise standard housing project (with a specified ratio of EWS/LIG/MIG). The IIT Roorkee team chose a site in Chanakyapuri, New Delhi, and proposed a design within the specified parameters. They finished in the **Top 4** colleges within the competition.
+
+![IITR's Showcase](/images/posts/nasa-showcase.jpg)
+
+<ol start="3">
+ <li> <b>Laurie Baker Trophy</b> : The trophy “gives attention towards the cost effective building techniques, materials and execution of the same”.</li>
+</ol>
+
+The problem posed in this years’ brief was to devise a Master Plan for a Government Primary School (meeting a list of certain specified criteria). The IIT Roorkee team chose a school in the nearby village of Safarpur, and – through a participatory process – synthesized a plan for a period of 10 years. The team finished in the **Top 11** out of 56 colleges.
+
+<ol start="4">
+<li> <b>Writing Architecture Trophy</b> : The aim of the trophy is to “inculcate the intrinsic observation capabilities of students to be aware of the real World around them, and make propositions and express their thoughts in the form of written matter in line with a particular theme”.</li>
+</ol>
+
+This year’s brief called for a revaluation of “heritage” (in light of the demolition of The Hall of Nations), and posed a few other pertinent questions regarding India’s “modern heritage”. The IIT Roorkee team finished **1<sup>st</sup>** in a pool of about 150 entries.
+
+<ol start="5">
+<li> <b>GRIHA Trophy</b> : The trophy is a collaborative initiative between NASA India and GRIHA, aiming “to expose students to Green and Sustainable Architecture.”</li>
+</ol>
+
+This year’s problem was to propose a design for the “Milestone Experion Centre” in Gurgaon, comprising an office complex, a banquet hall, and multi-cuisine restaurants, in line with the GRIHA rating system. The IIT Roorkee team could not, unfortunately, make the shortlist.
+
+<ol start="6">
+<li> <b>DesTech Challenge</b> : The trophy aims to be “a unique design competition that brings together creative thinking and digital advancements in the built environment sector. It challenges creative thinkers to explore opportunities within ‘Smart City’ systems, processes and engagement strategies.”</li>
+</ol>
+
+The brief encouraged the participants to envision a smart city which satisfied a set of “scenarios”, asking them, also, to explain their thought process behind this envisioned future. The team stood 1st in the competition.
+
+
+The team was also shortlisted **(Top 10)** for the **Le Corbusier Trophy**, awarded for overall performance across all trophies held by NASA India. This marks IIT Roorkee’s best ever performance in the Annual NASA Convention thus far, and is – in good hope – indicative of better things to come.

_posts/2018-03-08-entrepreneurship-at-r.md

@@ -0,0 +1,57 @@
+---
+layout: post
+title: "Entrepreneurship at R: In conversation with EDC and Enactus"
+category: verbatim
+image: enactus.jpg
+excerpt: "Following up on our conversation with Azam Ali Khan, the CEO of TIDES business Incubator, we caught up with Ankit Bagaria, the head of Enactus, and Aayush Gupta, a member of the Entrepreneurship Development Cell of IIT Roorkee to chat about the role of student bodies in fostering and encouraging the entrepreneurial culture at R. Here are some excerpts from our conversation."
+---
+
+_Following up on our conversation with Mr. Azam Ali Khan, the CEO of TIDES business Incubator, we caught up with Ankit Bagaria, the head of Enactus, and Aayush Gupta, a member of the Entrepreneurship Development Cell of IIT Roorkee to chat about the role of student bodies in fostering and encouraging the entrepreneurial culture at R. Here are some excerpts from our conversation._
+
+### As students, what do you think the importance of a culture of entrepreneurship is at IIT Roorkee? 
+
+_**Aayush:**_ When it comes to students of an IIT, I have a belief that we are expected to generate jobs instead of following other people or joining other companies. We want to use this opportunity of studying at a premier institute to make lives easier by coming up with new and better products and services, and entrepreneurship is an exciting way of doing just that. The role of EDC, in any campus, is to generally promote entrepreneurship  and to make people aware of what entrepreneurship exactly is. In essence, we want to develop an environment where innovation and new ideas are celebrated.  
+
+### How exactly does EDC promote the ‘spirit of entrepreneurship’ as you say?
+
+_**Aayush:**_ So basically, we organise a couple of major events in the campus, like TEDx, or the upcoming eSummit; apart from which we have initiatives like the Startup Internship Program. I believe that bringing in more and more people working in startups to our campus to tell us how a startup actually works will encourage students here to start their own thing in the future. Apart from the events we are also working on a portal through which we want people to engage in fruitful networking. Through these events and initiatives we create a huge amount of resources for people to rely on. We have a huge network of experts, too, so that whenever a student needs any kind of help, you know, if he wants to connect to some alumni or someone else, to talk about his questions related to entrepreneurship, he can openly come to EDC, and we'll get him connected! 
+
+### So how does Enactus come into the picture?
+
+_**Ankit:**_ So basically when you talk about entrepreneurship in general, there is no set way of learning the concepts, you know? There has to be a certain practice, in a way, of dealing with and actually ‘doing’ what entrepreneurship entails. Enactus, which is short for ‘Entrepreneurial Action for Us’, is a global organization that promotes social entrepreneurship among students all over the world, by giving the students the opportunity to perform in live projects.  That, I believe, is where Enactus has a huge role to play. 
+
+### About that, how would you define social entrepreneurship?
+
+_**Ankit:**_ Social entrepreneurship, in a general sense, includes the business-oriented or entrepreneurial activities that focus on the impact on the sustainability of the commercial ecosystem, before revenues or profits. 
+
+_**Aayush:**_ One important example that comes to my mind is of Tesla. Tesla made its first car- an electric car- and they had this vision that they wanted more and electric cars in the world. Now they could've easily made a lot more money out of being a monopoly, but they openly shared their design so that they could have this ‘movement’ on a big scale so that people from other companies can also start building electric cars!
+
+_**Ankit:**_ Exactly! We don't want to compromise the chance of having a healthy competition for our own profits.
+
+### We recently had an interview with the CEO of TIDES and I understand that TIDES, EDC, Enactus and all of these similar campus organisations have to maintain a certain synergy for entrepreneurship to thrive in a campus like ours. As a student, how exactly do you think TIDES can help in this dynamic?
+
+_**Aayush:**_ Entrepreneurship, to be frank, is basically a journey. I think the role of EDC is to get a person from zero to one, and that of TIDES is to get him from one to a hundred! For example, if a person is interested in starting up but is, for the lack of a better word, clueless, EDC's role is to tell him about entrepreneurship, to help him realise his ideas, to connect him to potential mentors, and to help him build a team. Once he has an idea and wants to legitimately materialize it, he can then go to TIDES, because TIDES has a tremendous amount of resources. They can get funds, a great office space, and subsequent mentorship from TIDES, while we supplement their role by making the initial rudimentary steps a little easier. 
+
+_**Ankit:**_ In addition to what Aayush says, campus groups like ours are catering to a different idea altogether. Say I have an idea but I don't know how that idea needs to be developed, EDC needs to come into the picture when someone is trying to develop on that idea. In addition to this, even if students don’t have ideas, groups like Enactus, or even ShARE, for that matter, can help them by giving them live projects and case studies to try their hand at real life problems.
+
+### What kind of real-life problems?
+
+_**Ankit:**_ Currently, we at Enactus have a few live projects, one of which is to empower the farmers, another deals with waste paper management and creating employment out of it, yet another deals with the social inclusion of the specially-abled, and so on. So as you can see the horizon for a social entrepreneurship venture is huge and Enactus gives the students that horizon to explore, along with a chance to actually see how actual problems can be solved. Enactus also hosts a national and an international competition each year for its University chapters, giving students a chance to showcase their projects to business leaders and investors.
+
+### And about the working spaces, how big of an issue is it?
+
+_**Ankit:**_ Actually, very recently, while we were working for one of our flagship projects: ‘Kaagaz’, we faced the same issue. In the ideation phase and the prototyping phase, we had to do everything from our rooms and that creates a lot of mess because you cannot work with a huge team in small rooms. A coworking space definitely helps.
+
+_**Aayush:**_ Yeah, in the absence of good facilities, people generally work from their rooms or other random places they find, which is a huge reason why I really believe we need coworking spaces. We have a lot of spaces in terms of TV Rooms or Common Rooms in hostels which are heavily underutilised. Converting them to coworking spaces would certainly help our cause. Additionally, the highly diminished female involvement due to this dorm-room work culture is an issue that we really should be considering!
+
+### In order for you to thrive as a student body, how do you think EDC or Enactus needs to evolve, and where do you see yourselves fitting into the campus setups?
+
+_**Aayush:**_ We envision EDC turning into something like the eCells in our sister IITs. As an eCell, we could ensure our promotion among the faculty, too, since the name is actually very well known. We are merely a student group right now, and we are trying to be a ‘program’ or an ‘organisation’.
+
+_**Ankit:**_ On similar lines, Enactus is based on social entrepreneurship. We are not doing things for profit, and being a campus group and under the given organization guidelines, we have regulations that we need to follow. We cannot be a profitable venture inside the campus so we believe that the CSR funds that our institute and the alumni funds might have could help us in tremendous ways. Also, speaking of our global guidelines, we cannot be a part of any other group. Hence, wherever we come in, we must function independently and effectively.
+
+### Closing notes, then. I’m pretty sure that as parts of EDC and Enactus, you must have compared and contrasted the similar organizations in various other institutes. Where do you see a chance for us to grow?
+
+_**Aayush:**_ I have been talking to a couple of people on IIT Bombay, IIT Madras and IIT Kharagpur, and the one thing I observed was that they have a more open culture for working on their initiatives. They have fifty-odd people from different years, and even from the M. Tech and PhD community, volunteering for their projects and initiatives. I really want IIT Roorkee to focus on this as well. We have this big event, eSummit, coming up, and organising eSummit only with a bunch of core team members from EDC is not possible. Apart from that IITs hold a responsibility of fostering entrepreneurship not only inside our own institutes but also in the state, and I look forward to taking up such mentoring initiatives as a part of IIT Roorkee!
+
+_**Ankit:**_ Enactus has got 1800 chapters around the world, and out of those 160 are in India. However, most of these chapters are in commerce colleges. One thing that we as a technical institute can bring in to Enactus is the technical penetration into a social venture. Until now, I believe that we’re on the right track, and we’re trying to go as deep as we can here. Another thing about which my views resonate with Aayush’s is that the number of students volunteering for such activities and ventures is quite high in other colleges and in other Enactus chapters. That, I guess, would be my appeal to the students at IIT Roorkee. We’re sure that through this, it’ll be easier for entrepreneurial culture to develop in our institute!

_posts/2018-03-09-funding-extracurriculars.md

@@ -0,0 +1,635 @@
+---
+layout: post
+title: Funding Your Extracurriculars
+category: bigstory
+image: funding.jpg
+author: "Uday Shinghal, Yash Singh, Muskaan Bhambri"
+excerpt: "Every semester, every student of IIT Roorkee each pays a certain amount towards the ‘Gymkhana Activities’ of the institute. This amount, which sums up to Rs. 6000 every academic year (Rs. 3000 every semester), is meant to cover the expenditure of all the extracurricular activities in the campus. With an approximate strength of students at IIT Roorkee being close to seven thousand, an amount of Rs. 6000 per student translates to an annual budget of over Rs. 4 crores."
+
+---
+Every semester, every student of IIT Roorkee each pays a certain amount towards the ‘Gymkhana Activities’ of the institute. This amount, which sums up to Rs. 6000 every academic year (Rs. 3000 every semester), is meant to cover the expenditure of all the extracurricular activities in the campus. With an approximate strength of students at IIT Roorkee being close to seven thousand, an amount of Rs. 6000 per student translates to an annual budget of over Rs. 4 crores. 
+
+As substantial as the amount might seem, a perfect testimony to the importance of such an extensive budget was given by the former Director of IIT Roorkee, Dr. Pradipta Banerjee. During the orientation ceremony of the batch of 2016-17, he said, “Students, when you go out in public, you wear a suit to create an impression. Similarly, your academics might be your trousers and your shirt, but your extracurriculars play the role of your blazer and your tie.” 
+
+With the dissolution of the Hobbies Club in the previous academic year, a Students’ Technical Council (organized along the lines of the Cultural Council and the Sports Council) emerged to cater to the demands of students involved in multiple technical clubs and groups. The Gymkhana fees, apart from the needs of the cultural, sports, and technical councils, also fulfils the requirements of various other campus activities that are pivotal to students’ everyday lives. For the very first time, a well-structured breakdown of the Gymkhana fees was released publicly last year by the former Convenor of SAC, Mr. Apurwa Sarwajit. While there have been some changes to the erstwhile allocation, the breakdown, in our belief, is still immensely convoluted and volatile in nature.
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+
+![pic1](/images/posts/gymkhana1.png){: style="width:45%;height:auto"}
+<br>
+
+###  Bhawans
+
+**Bhawan Replacement & Purchase (BRP): ₹1700/- per student per year**
+
+**All Bachelors’ Bhawans: ₹400/- per student per year**
+
+_Note: A majority of our gymkhana fees (28%) goes to the DOSW for Bhawan Replacement & Purchase (BRP) Fund. In addition to the BRP fund, an amount of ₹400/- is also paid to the respective bhawans for promoting cultural activities, paying salaries to temporary employees, and taking care of all miscellaneous activities in the bhawans._
+
+A conversation with Mr. Aniket Jaiswal, the Cultural Secretary of Rajiv Bhawan, brought to the forefront that a major chunk of the allocated fund is consistently spent on the salaries of the temporary staff, and hence, little is left for bhawan activities. In addition to this, exorbitant expenses were incurred for Rajiv Bhawan’s last bhawan day, with food costing ₹650/- per plate (paid through the CCB account) and approximately ₹1,00,000 spent on decorations, tents, etc. Apart from bhawan inmates, only deans, institute guests, and the student senators are invited to such days.
+
+Upon being asked about the significance of bhawan days, which usually prove to be quite an expense to the institute, Ms. Pragya Choudhary, the current Technical Secretary of Kasturba Bhawan, said, _“It is a way to make unresponsive people responsive and imbibe a sense of belongingness in the bhawan inmates.” She further termed the usage of the bhawan funds as “confidential”._
+
+When asked about the usage of the BRP fund, Mr. Sambhav Jain (GS: Hostel Affairs), responded, _“The BRP funds are being used judiciously—but not uniformly—by the various bhawans, because the funds are controlled centrally and are allocated to a particular bhawan only on the request of the concerned council. This, in a sense, means that if a bhawan council is sufficiently proactive, they can access a huge portion of the funds and use it as per the bhawan’s needs.”_
+
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+
+![pic1](/images/posts/gymkhana2.png){: style="width:45%;height:auto"}
+
+
+On the condition of anonymity, one of the current senators clearly vouched for the need of an alternate channel for the distribution of BRP funds since the current mode (through the DOSW office) usually ‘causes delays’.
+<br>
+
+
+###  Students’ Activities
+
+**Misc. Students’ Activities (DOSW): ₹1200/- per student per year<br>
+Students’ Activities (ADOSW): ₹50/-  per student per year** 
+
+The funds act as buffer in cases where unanticipated disbursement has to be made. The activities falling under this section remain very motley and unpredictable. For instance, the fee for YourDost, the online counselling and emotional wellness platform, was paid from these funds. Also, in case a student seeks monetary help from college, if deemed worthy, these funds are used. If RFID-enabled cards, for example, are ever issued to the students, they shall be paid for through this channel.  
+<br>
+
+
+###  Sports Council
+
+**Sports Council: ₹850/- per student per year**
+
+While IITR boasts of one of the best sports facilities in the country, that there is a ‘preference’ for the NSO-registered students and those selected for institute teams is the complaint of a majority of the students. To counter this, Mr. Shubham Vij (GS: Sports Affairs) has promised the establishment of ‘beginners’ camps’ for every student, as each student pays the sports fee. He also urges students to participate in the intra-bhawan and inter-bhawan sports competitions and contribute to developing a healthy sporting culture at IITR. However, for students who want to try their hands at a new sport, lack of adequate equipment and support infrastructure still remain a major concern.
+
+
+_Note: The breakdown varies with time and from sport to sport; therefore, we were unable to get a more detailed deconstruction of the funds. This will be covered in greater detail in a Watch Out article in the works, which will assess the intricacies of the sports culture at IITR._
+<br>
+
+
+###  Students’ Club
+
+**Students’ Club: ₹450/- per student per year**
+
+The Students’ Club accounts for 7.5% of the gymkhana fees. This is used in its entirety for the functioning and maintenance of the three units of the Students’ Club, namely, the Main Unit, the Alaknanda Unit and the Jawahar Unit, (which is soon to be transferred under Jawahar Bhawan Council’s jurisdiction as per Mr. Arpit Agrawal, the current Technical Secretary of Jawahar Bhawan). It has ample infrastructure in all its units, with the maximum obviously being in the Main Unit.
+
+The Students’ Club has a total of 5 permanent employees, 6 temporary employees, and 1 part-time accountant. The permanent employees, of which 2 will be retiring soon, have _‘pretty high salaries’_, as stated by Mr. Suyash Vishnoi (Secretary: Students’ Club). The data obtained from the Annual Account Statement seems to support his claims, revealing that nearly 72% of the allocated funds go into paying salaries to the employees. Even after said retirement of personnel, this will remain the single largest guzzler of Students’ Club’s funds.
+                   
+The second largest chunk of the expenditure is on billiard games, comprising maintenance of the pool and snooker tables, and all other related equipment. It accounts for a mere 7.5%, however, in monetary terms, this translates to Rs. 3,17,000. At the same time, these games contribute to the income of the Students’ Club through the _‘coupons and bookings’_ which bring in about Rs. 3,75,000, and hence, they comfortably compensate for their expenditures.
+
+The previous year saw the first time that the Students’ Club ran in deficit. Therefore, corpus funds from the last ten years were used to compensate for the same. This put pressure on these coffers and in the words of the Secretary, they will soon be exhausted. Mr. Vishnoi adds that the Club has been advised by the SAC to exhaust these before an increase in the share of Students’ Club in the Gymkhana fees can be considered. Additionally, there has been a consistent decrease in the said share from Rs. 550 to Rs. 500, and finally to Rs. 450 in the past 3 years. With the Chess team now regularly representing (and bringing in laurels) in various competitions like the Inter-IIT Sports Meet, we believe that the reconsideration of this fund is imminent. 
+
+
+The Students’ Club has been proactive in increasing the usage of its paraphernalia by the student community. It has organised snooker workshops to increase participation by non-players as well as hired a chess coach to help the teams with their Inter-IIT sports meet preparations. The club also spends approximately Rs. 4,50,000 on the Annual Club Day and other activities, including the tournaments it holds round the year.
+
+<!--- graph 3-->
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+                        	return '₹' + value;
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+        }
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+</script>
+
+<br>
+
+
+
+<canvas id="myChart3b" width="400" height="150"></canvas>
+<script>
+var ctx3b = document.getElementById("myChart3b").getContext('2d');
+var myChart3b = new Chart(ctx3b, {
+   	
+   		type: 'horizontalBar',
+    
+    	data: {
+        	
+        	labels: ["Establishment (Salaries etc.)", "Furniture & Electrical Items", "Indoor Game Items", "Billiard Game Items", "News Paper & Magazine", "Music & Gardening","Computer Peripherals","Club Day & Any other"],
+        	
+        	datasets: [{
+                label: '₹',
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+               	hoverBackgroundColor:'#00CF21',
+            	borderWidth: 2,
+            	barThickness: .2
+        	}]
+    	},
+        options: {
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+        		    padding: {
+                		left: 145,
+                		right: 0,
+                		top: 0,
+                		bottom: 0
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+            },
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+                        display: true,
+                        text: 'EXPENDITURES',
+            },
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+                		
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+                        	return '₹' + value;
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+});
+</script>
+<br>
+![pic3](/images/posts/gymkhana3.png){: style="width:70%;height:auto"}
+
+<br>
+
+###  Students’ Technical Council
+
+**Students’ Technical Council**: ₹400/- per student per year
+
+<!--- graph 4-->
+<canvas id="myChart4" width="400" height="150"></canvas>
+<script>
+var ctx4 = document.getElementById("myChart4").getContext('2d');
+var myChart4	 = new Chart(ctx4, {
+   	
+   		type: 'horizontalBar',   
+    	data: {
+        	labels: ["Software Development Section", "Models and Robotics Section", "Inter IIT Tech Meet", "Artificial Intelligence and Electronics Section", "Entrepreneurship Development Cell", "SAE","Astronomy and Physics Club","Design Studio","ShARE"],
+        	
+        	datasets: [{
+                label: '₹',
+            	data: [500000,417000,400000,355000,290000,220000,200000,125000,100000],
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+</script>
+
+![pic4](/images/posts/gymkhana4.png){: style="width:70%;height:auto"}
+
+
+_“STC currently gets Rs. 400 per student of the total gymkhana fees. In the past years, the Council has had a splendid record, winning national and international competitions, and organizing workshops/lectures which have been a great source of technical knowledge in the campus. Given the promising potential of the Council, there is still scope for more efficient usage of increased funds, if provided. Also, in an effort to make groups more open, and for students to be able to bear the fruits of their gymkhana fees, the STC [had] launched an initiative that [sic] all STC groups will be listing all the resources/equipment purchased by them through STC Funds publicly. Any student can issue that resource/equipment just by writing an application to the respective group's secretary [sic]. If available, that resource or equipment can be issued to her/him.”_
+
+**_-Mr. Punit Dhoot, (GS: Technical Affairs)_**
+
+(Footnote: <span style="color:#0645AD">[Resources of STC](https://www.facebook.com/stciitr/posts/1580009178747703)</span>)
+
+<br>
+While Tinkering Lab and TIDES do not receive finances from the Gymkhana fees, SAE—in addition to the funds allocated from the gymkhana fees—receives monetary help from the Director’s Endowment Funds. The funds (shown in the graph above) were allocated at the request of the respective groups based on their judgements and needs. The breakdown, clearly, does not represent the institute’s or SAC’s perspective on the requirement of council groups.
+<br><br><br>
+
+
+###  Cultural Council 
+
+**Cultural Council**: ₹350/- per student per year
+
+<br>
+
+<!--- graph 5-->
+<canvas id="myChart5" width="500" height="300"></canvas>
+
+
+<script>     
+var barChartData = {
+            labels: ['Music', 'Salary', 'Choreo', 'Audio', 'Office', 'Dramatics', 'Kshitij','Photog','CineSec','Promotions + Booking Venues','Last Semester Pending','Know-the-Cult Workshop','DebSoc','Fine Arts','Quizzing','Lights'],
+            datasets: [{
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+                label: 'Open House',
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+                barThickness: .5,
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+                }, {
+                label: 'Others',
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+                barThickness: .5,
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+
+                ]
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+    
+var ctx5 = document.getElementById('myChart5').getContext('2d');
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+                                fontFamily: "Open Sans",
+                                fontStyle:"SemiBold",
+                                fontcolor:"#BDBDBD",
+                        
+                                callback: function(value, index, values) {
+                                return '₹' + value;
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+                        }],
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+                                display: true,
+                                fontFamily: "Open Sans",
+                                fontStyle:"SemiBold",
+                                fontcolor:"#BDBDBD",
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+                            stacked: true
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+                }
+});
+</script>
+<br>
+![pic5](/images/posts/gymkhana5.png){: style="width:65%;height:auto"}
+
+
+_Note: Inter-IIT funds (₹8,50,000) have been removed from the complete budget to get a better visualisation of the graph._ 
+
+
+The debate of making groups under the Cultural Council open to the entire campus populace has gained much momentum since its initiation; and has been able to garner the SAC’s attention as well. This is meant to make the resources purchased by the Cultural Council available to every campus resident fair and square.
+
+This year, the SAC took multiple initiatives to increase the participation of the student community in cultural activities. All the groups came together to recruit again in the spring semester to provide another chance to students who might have missed it. The participation for the Inter-IIT Cultural Meet too was made open and transparent, and not limited to the respective groups. 
+
+Despite all the steps taken, the analysis made by Watch Out clearly shows that the money spent on open house activities remains a mere fraction (< 4%) of the total expenditure till date. Also, with over 30% of the fund being outlaid through disbursements for the Inter-IIT Cultural Meet, little is left for professional workshops and in-house events, says Mr. Prajwal Bhatt, (GS: Cultural Affairs). He added that in the autumn semester, a large share of the funds spent were spent on repairs and purchases as a lot of the requirements of the Music Section, in terms of instruments and others, had been pending for quite some time and were promptly approved in the previous semester. All leftover funds, for the spring semester, will be used on 50-50 basis for purchases/repairs and open house events.
+
+<br>
+_“Budget is not really the constraint behind organising workshops for helping people perform better in FoS; building a personal bond is something which is extremely important. Like, people who performed in FoS brought gifts for the people in choreo section who helped them. That was a beautiful gesture, and moreover, building a personal bond helps pull off a better performance.”_ <br>
+**_–Mr. Siddhant Bharadwaj, Dramatics Society_**  
+<br><br>
+
+Traditionally, the clubs/groups tend to spend a disproportionately large amount on in-house events but are reluctant to spend on open house events, such as the FoS, and this has continued into the current academic year. However, opening up of the sections’ resources to the campus junta was a bold move. Now, any student can use any resource of the Cultural Council by following the official channel and writing an application to the Faculty Advisor.
+
+
+<br>
+_“Music Section organised JAM-DAY a couple of weeks ago to see how many people actually show up; participation was approximately null. The issue being [that] on providing help and support, not everyone comes forward. When it comes to making instruments available to 8000 students, it’s a matter of concern when a student is a newbie. For example, repairing of a synthesizer key costs ₹3,000 approximately, so, at least some prior knowledge is extremely necessary. Maybe, the classes arranged by SAC will be useful. Also, IIT Bombay has got its own music room in every hostel—this is a great initiative which the bhawan councils should look forward to implementing.”_ <br>
+**_–Mr. Rutuj Bhayani, Ad. Secretary, Music Section_** 
+<br><br>
+
+The efforts of the current council should not go unrecognised as it has taken a number of initiatives to promote the “cult” in the campus, including initiation of music and dance classes; and due to significant participation, it seems that there is a requirement of additional instructors with the monthly salary of each being Rs. 15,000 and Rs. 20,000 respectively. The groups have opened recruitments in both the semesters and resources have been made available to the masses. The open selections for the Inter-IIT Cultural Meet, we believe, was another bold move that was appreciated by the IITR community.
+<br><br>
+
+
+###  SAC
+
+**SAC: ₹90/- per student per year**
+
+The SAC fund is meant to pay for the celebrations of various festivals (Diwali, Holi, to name a few), as well as other activities under its prerogative—such as the organisation of the Freshers’ Week (and ensuing activities)—and the organisation of certain lectures by the SAC. Any added cost such as the publicity of the aforementioned activities through posters and flex printing is also included in this. Miscellaneous expenses under this comprise setting up water pots for the dogs in the campus to, in a way, avert them from drinking from water coolers meant for students. In simpler terms, it is upto the SAC to judiciously use the allocated funds as per their discretion.
+<br><br>
+
+
+###  Students’ Wellness
+
+**Students’ Wellness: ₹80/- per student per year**
+
+To ensure that the stay at IITR be a pleasant one, a specific office for issues related to the ‘wellness’ of students was established at the end of the last academic year. This, in essence, was a huge step taken to address issues of mental health at an institute like ours. SMP, SSP, and the Counselling Cell fall under the jurisdiction of this office, the one of ADOSW: Students’ Wellness. The office also takes care of the orientation ceremony of the freshman batch every year; and a separate budget for the ceremony is to be approved by an ‘adequate’ authority. With the establishment of this new office, we certainly expect some bold renovation and refinement of the existing system. 
+<br><br>
+
+
+###  Others
+
+**Cinema Club:** ₹150/- per student per year<br>
+**HEC:** ₹150/- per student per year<br>
+**SPIC MACAY:** ₹100/- per student per year<br>
+**NSS:** ₹30/- per student per year<br>
+
+Individual initiatives like these take up the leftover fraction of the gymkhana fund for their own activities. Cinema Club, for example, uses its fund to showcase movies in the convocation hall for the students, while SPIC MACAY uses the money to organise events like Virasat to promote classical performing arts. Mr. Adarsh Goyal, a member of SPIC MACAY, says that these funds help them invite with a minimum recognition of Sangeet Natak Academy Award, preferably recipients of Padma Awards, and various international awards, for periodic events and workshops in IIT Campus and nearby education centres. He adds, _“Most of our money goes in the arrangement of these events and workshops, like artist payments, travel, accommodation, logistics, venue setup and audience outreach. All this is done to make students more aware about Indian and world heritage. This initiative is making education more holistic and meaningful as it is highlighting all that is abstract, subtle, inspiring and mystical in the world teaching one to look within oneself.”_
+
+Speaking for the Himalayan Explorers’ Club, Mr. Manish Gupta, the secretary, says, _“HEC organises close to 30 short and long treks throughout the year with an average participation of 40 students. Registration of these treks is open-to-all, and a subsidy of around 500/- is given to each of the participants. Some expeditions are more extensive than the others, the recent one to Kalindikhal (at a height of 6000 metres) being an example, and take up more funds than the others. HEC also organises two skating camps in a year, along with a cycle-race, CAT (Confidence Assault Training) course, certain guest lectures and an annual Plantation Day. Winners of the cycle-race, the CAT course and for different adventurous categories are awarded during the Annual Club Day of the group. Funds are also used in buying and repairing the trekking equipments like tents, sleeping bags, mats, torches, cooking equipments, and skates. Other expenditures include refreshments for on-campus events, hospitality costs for the guests, and the printing costs of an annual magazine of the group. HEC also has three salaried-employees to look after the funds, the park, and the store of the club, and they are also being paid from the same funds.”_ He also cited the need for additional money, mentioning that HEC has taken a social initiative under rural development cell of ‘Mountain Cleaning Drive’, and it is looking for more funds to make this initiative successful.
+
+ As far as NSS is concerned, Mr. Tejas Khadilkar, the current Secretary, mentions that most of their budget goes into the organisation of events like National Social Summit and Blood Donation Camps. In addition to these, he says that initiatives like cloth distribution drives, cleanliness drives, teaching classes, and various guest lectures take up a major chunk of their budget. He further adds, _“The constraint of budget keeps us from inviting high profile guests as we are barely able to fund their correspondingly high travel and hospitality expenses.”_
+<br><br>
+
+
+###  Our Two Cents
+
+The gymkhana funds shape the direction in which our institute performs in the extracurricular vertical, and is a central piece in determining the overall character development and the completeness that the students graduating from here possess. With a few much-needed changes to the allocation of these funds, the gymkhana funds can adequately and appropriately address the needs of the upcoming batches of students. After careful consideration and elaborate conversations with a lot of people involved in the process, we’d humbly like to suggest the following improvements to the allocation.
+
+First things first, we all are living in an era where justifying a virtual platform would be nothing but naive, and the Institute Gymkhana should definitely have a website of its own where all the activities centric to campus should be updated. Also, to ensure accountability and credibility, a more ‘human friendly’ annual report should be published by the SAC every academic year. 
+
+Using the extracurricular fee to promote new technological advancements and a thriving culture of performing arts and fine arts should be the foremost priority of the institute. The current breakdown, however, does not reflect this notion. With 35% of the gymkhana fees being contributed to the repairs, purchases and operational activities of bhawan, aspiring for major reforms seems justified. Though a provision of making use of the cultural sections' resources is put into effect, the process seems latent because of the protocol involved. Also, with only handful students being the members of the performing sections, a large fraction of students who are willing to get involved in cultural activities is neglected; and to cater to their aspirations and interests, facilities shall (and need to) be setup in individual bhawans under the jurisdiction of the Cultural Secretary of that bhawan (Cautley Bhawan, for example, has set up their own Music Room recently).
+
+Another major issue was that 35% of the Cultural Council Budget and 14% of the Technical Council Budget went into reimbursements of respective Inter IIT Meets. While expenditures of this nature are extremely necessary, whether these be done at the expense of the gymkhana funds allocated to these societies is a question worth considering. The Inter IIT Sports Meet, in contrast, is funded by the MHRD completely. While it is still early days to expect the same for the former two, steps in this direction shall certainly free up funds for promotion of better facilities in-house for these councils.
+
+As a closing note, we also firmly believe that hiring an expert who could analyse the needs of the various sections and societies in the campus would help us allocate the extracurricular fees more effectively. Unarguably, this breakdown is extremely important to the student community, and a judicious use of this amount shall certainly help our cause.
+
+<br>
+_Notes:_ <br>
+1. _Watch Out gathered all the data and statements after meeting the respective secretaries of various bhawans or the councils involved. In case of any discrepancies, please reach out to us so that we can rectify the same._ <br>
+2. _The official notice for the gymkhana fee breakdown can be found <span style="color:#0645AD">[here](https://drive.google.com/file/d/1D3VWG2uFI7B6GwqIR9GCRukuFenuQxOY/view)</span>._
+
+

_posts/2018-03-12-span-meet-2.md

@@ -0,0 +1,27 @@
+---
+layout: post
+title: The 2nd IIT SPAN Meeting
+category: sac
+image: span-meet-2.jpg
+author: "Agrim Patodia, Uday Shinghal, Nikhil Arora"
+excerpt: "The second IIT SPAN meet of 2017-18 session was held at IIT Roorkee on 2nd-3rd March 2018 which was attended by the student senate representatives of IIT Roorkee, Bilai, BHU, Delhi, Indore, Jodhpur, Kanpur, Kharagpur, Madras, Palakkad, Patna, and Ropar. Watch Out covered the events that unfolded at the same."
+
+---
+
+The IIT SPAN, or Indian Institutes of Technology Students’ Presence Across Nation, is a self governed body composed of the elected student representatives of the respective IITs, with the intent to serve as an advisory body and as a platform to hear and address the various grievances of its members. The IIT SPAN constitution was adopted in April 2016, citing its various responsibilities, sub-committees and bylaws. The second IIT SPAN meet of 2017-18 session was held at IIT Roorkee on 2nd-3rd March 2018 which was attended by the student senate representatives of IIT Roorkee, Bilai, BHU, Delhi, Indore, Jodhpur, Kanpur, Kharagpur, Madras, Palakkad, Patna, and Ropar. Watch Out covered the events that unfolded at the same.
+<br><br>
+
+The agendas for the second IIT SPAN meet were decided beforehand and submitted by the member IITs’ representatives. The first few agendas looked at confirming and ratifying the resolutions passed in the first meet held at IIT Kanpur. These included resolutions passed for IIT BHU and IIT Indore after the IIT Kanpur SPAN meet vide proper channels. In IIT Indore, the Student Gymkhana was dissolved and disciplinary action taken against protesting students. In IIT BHU, several students faced harassment and threats. It was suggested that the IIT SPAN would forward a letter to the MHRD through the directors of the respective institutes, to address the issues.
+
+Another decision was made regarding the Inter IIT Cultural Meet. IIT Kanpur, the host of the 2017 Cultural Meet briefly summarised the happenings, the expenses incurred and suggestions for the future. This was followed by the house initiating a bid for deciding the next host. IIT Roorkee proposed holding the next Cultural Meet. According to Prajwal Bhatt (General Secretary: Cultural Affairs), since IIT Roorkee is trying to reduce its closed group culture, this will be a wonderful opportunity to encourage the students to participate in cultural activities. Moreover, with the construction of the new Students’ Activity Center, IITR has the required venues for hosting the events. 
+
+The penultimate agenda of the meet aimed at getting official recognition for the IIT SPAN organisation. Currently, it is not officially recognised by the MHRD or the IIT Council. Thus, it was suggested that the they send a letter to the MHRD and a short document on the functioning and scope of IIT SPAN through the directors of the respective institutes. It is important that the organisation receives formal recognition if its decisions are to be recognised across the pan IIT community.
+<br><br>
+
+In conclusion, it was decided that IIT Delhi will host the next IIT SPAN meet, with an overall consensus to increase the frequency of meetings to at least twice a year. 
+
+As we go forward, an increased interaction between the student communities of various IITs shall certainly go a long way. The IIT SPAN serves as an important platform to bring the issues of the student community forwards in a formal, democratically elected way.
+<br><br>
+
+_The detailed minutes of the meeting, as compiled by Watch Out, can be found on this <span style="color:#0645AD">[link](https://drive.google.com/file/d/1dQks8HCgGtiigDm1rYO6eVmkluzF-_04/view)</span>. You can also find the constitution of IIT SPAN <span style="color:#0645AD">[here](https://drive.google.com/file/d/1TCU_ncbKKBQE83cY03aMtB3dvETWfgcO/view)</span>._
+

_posts/2018-03-26-students-senate-meet.md

@@ -0,0 +1,47 @@
+---
+layout: post
+title: Highlights of the Students’ Senate Meeting (held on 17/3/18)
+category: sac
+image: students_senate_meet.jpg
+author: 
+excerpt: "The Students’ Senate is the most important instrument for the dissemination of students’ opinion to the administration and to allow the senators to collectively reach a consensus on essential developments affecting students’ campus experience. However, on March 17th 2018, a mockery of this entire system could be witnessed in the Senate Hall with ruckus and confusion ruling the hall."
+---
+
+The Students’ Senate is the most important instrument for the dissemination of students’ opinion to the administration and to allow the senators to collectively reach a consensus on essential developments affecting students’ campus experience. However, on March 17th 2018, a mockery of this entire system could be witnessed in the Senate Hall with ruckus and confusion ruling the hall. In the words of the DOSW himself, the senators were unable to maintain ‘decorum’, while the senators claimed that the SAC was trying to impose its agendas on the Senate, by resorting to ‘yelling into the mic’. The fact that things even got to this point explains the sheer absurdity with which the discussions were being conducted. 
+
+This particular Senate Meeting was conducted with the express purpose of discussing the regulations for the annual student elections for the 2018-19 session. The electoral procedure involved in the selection of the Students’ Affairs Council (SAC) is an extremely integral decision that the student community takes, and the state of the student-administration relations, along with the progress made by the institute depends heavily on this process. As you might have correctly inferred, all the agendas are potentially crucial changes to the election setup, and hence, invited a healthy discussion before being passed in the Students’ Senate. While there was a discussion alright, we would not, however, in any sense of the word, term it as ‘healthy’. 
+
+Prof. Joshi (the Dean of Students’ Welfare) emphasized multiple times in the Senate that as students, our main motive is to study here in college and not mimic the Indian democracy. Although Prof. Joshi is extremely right in his concerns and we respect his opinion, but if the changes that are going to impact the entire student community and their progress are being discussed, we expect at least a quorum to be present in the senate. Additionally, it was disheartening to witness arguments by the senators which were heavily injected with personal bias, and had no substantial arguments to back their stance in most cases.
+
+
+As attendees of the Senate Meeting, we made some observations and had some views on the agendas that we’d be remiss not to share with our audience. 
+
+_Note:_
+
+1. _The ‘SAC’ here means the General Secretaries._
+
+2. _The ‘Bench’ refers to the representatives of the Main Building, i.e. DOSW, ADOSW (B&M), ADOSW (SA) and ADOSW (International Relations)_
+
+3. _The Students’ Senate is attended by the elected representatives of every bhawan (referred henceforth as ‘senators’), along with the elected representatives of the SAC, among other people (as relevant)._
+
+4. _All the decisions have been passed by the Students’ Senate in the presence of the bench. However, final decisions will be incorporated in the regulations which shall be released soon, prior to the elections, post some more due diligence by relevant authorities._
+
+| Agenda                                                                                                                                                                    | Highlights                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                | Our Two Cents                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    |
+|---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
+| A General Secretary shall resign from all other positions of responsibility once elected.                                                                                 | Questions raised regarding the vacuum that would be created by such resignation. GS Technical Affairs suggested that reappointments to those posts would be done post resignation.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        | Watch Out suggests it be left at the discretion of the group/sections/clubs involved to decide judiciously and also, at the discretion of person who takes charge of the office. If, at all, there are any concerns with his performance in either of his capacities, decisions with respect to his leftover tenure can be taken up as the case may be.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          |
+| In case of a single candidate contesting for an institute level position, the candidate shall be voted for ‘Yes’ or ‘No’.                                                 | This was suggested as a validation by public vote so that in case of an undeserving candidate, an alternative could be chosen by nomination. On nominations being opposed by the senators, the SAC agreed to discuss re-elections. However, it was pointed out that this could be tedious and taxing. A ‘neutral’ option was suggested which could be used to demand more option for the post. Prof. Barua stated that they weren’t the election committee and shouldn’t overcomplicate procedures.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       | Watch Out agrees to the point, but doesn’t support re-elections over nominations, as conducting elections again would be tedious and taxing as mentioned in the highlights. If, however, there is a possibility of conducting elections for the unelected posts along with the bhawan level elections in the Autumn Semester (as discussed over Agenda 6), this can be thought of as an alternative.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             |
+| Any candidate for the position of General Secretary Cultural Affairs should be a part of Cultural Council.                                                                | The SAC wanted to institute this agenda so as to ensure a smoother transition to an open group culture which would be made possible by a representative who understands the ins and outs of the council. The senators were not in agreement as this would mean a loss of opportunity for a large number of students and they pointed out that managerial proficiency should not be confused with the possession of a particular skill set. The bench advised the senators to not to look at a post as an opportunity but a responsibility and a compromise was finally reached wherein the rule is applicable only for a certain period of time. There was also a parallel discussion initiated by the SAC about how the decision to have an elected GS Cultural Affairs was ‘unconstitutional’, as it wasn’t discussed in the appropriate channels last year. Hence, to actually make the prior decision, it would be necessary to first resolve this matter. No conclusion, however, was made about this particular point. Additionally, certain students vouched for the inclusion of the members of the team behind Thomso in the eligibility criteria, which was opposed by the SAC. | With over seven thousand students paying the Gymkhana Fees, out of which, only a fraction of students make into the Cultural Council including only a handful of PG students, limiting candidature to Council Members seems unjust to an extremely large section of the student community. Competency in a particular cultural section isn’t necessarily a proof of someone’s leadership and management skills which are the key requirements to represent the entire student populace. Watch Out suggests that the position of the GS be contested by anyone irrespective of his/her membership in the Cultural Council, and to facilitate the smooth functioning of the Cultural Council’s activities, the Deputy GS shall be nominated/elected from the council. Also, to cater the larger section of the student community, Bhawan Secy shall be given responsibility to promote cultural activities at Bhawan Level (as advocated by us in the earlier article, ‘Funding Your Extracurriculars’). GS Cultural Affairs shall have a council comprising of Bhawan Secy (Cultural Affairs) to ensure the same. |
+| Any candidate for the position of General Secretary Technical Affairs should be a part of Students’ Technical Council.                                                    | No discussion took place in this particular regard, since the debate was similar to that of the previous point.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           | Same as above.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   |
+| The post ‘General Secretary Alumni Affairs’ shall be changed to ‘General Secretary Professional Development’, with modified roles and responsibilities for this position. | The point was put forward to ensure that the synergies of the TPO and the newly allotted post would match. The main responsibility of the elected representative would be to make sure that the students become technically competent to sit for placements, in a way helping in terms of career development. A large number of concerns regarding the minute details were raised, which the convenor assured would be raised and cleared in a later discussion after the establishment of the CDC. The CGPA criteria for this post is still unclear. The administration has, however, made it clear that they would vouch for a higher bar for this particular post, with Prof. Barua suggesting a CGPA cutoff of 8.5 for this post.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     | This agenda envisions a Career Development Cell, which shall act as an umbrella organisation for sections like a finance club, a consulting club, etc, and shall have a student representative at the helm. This, ideally, should give our campus a huge boost in terms of our placements. This idea is in an incredibly nascent stage, and invites lot of questions. For example: “Who is eligible to run for this post?”. Or: “What roles and responsibilities should be given to the person in this office?”. Or, most importantly: “Isn’t it very hasty to have such an office without a legitimate finance club or a consulting club even present in the campus?” The suggestions for this agenda from the senators were extremely sarcastic and borderline insincere. The stance of some of the senators compelled one of the members of the SAC to claim that an attempt was being made to make a mockery of the proceedings.                                                                                                                                                                             |
+| To report the senate that institute-level elections and bhawan-level election shall be conducted on different timelines this year.                                        | No discussion took place.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 | Conducting bhawan-level elections (start of the autumn semester) and institute-level elections (end of the spring semester) at two different times seems like the only way to address the fact that students in their first year, for example, find it difficult to contest the elections currently. Additionally, there still is a certain level of obscurity with the bhawan allotment policies, which shall only be resolved later in the semester. While we understand that elections at two different timelines are extremely necessary, we hope that IITR doesn’t get stuck in a vicious cycle of elections, which can prove to be extremely time-consuming.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               |
+| Only one position of Maintenance Secretary shall be elected, and the Bhawan Secretary shall now be a (separately) elected position.                                       | The discussion deviated entirely from the agenda and unrelated (albeit important) points such as the responsibilities of technical and cultural secretary (at the bhawan-level) were deliberated upon.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    | There has been a question about the relevance of two maintenance secretaries for a bhawan, which, we believe, would be addressed to a great extent now that this decision has been taken. Additionally, nominating a Bhawan Secretary out of the elected 7 students merely meant that additional tasks were given on the nominated student. A separate Bhawan Secretary can now deal with administrative functions, while one Maintenance Secretary is more than sufficient to handle the tasks for one bhawan.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  |
+| The three Deputy General Secretaries under GS Hostel Affairs shall now be elected instead of being nominated.                                                             | The SAC suggested that the three secretaries be divided as follows: UG Boys, PG Boys and Girls. This would ensure more PG representation and elimination of the communication discomfort between the General Secretary and the girl-community. The post for UG: Boys would be elected among UG students and similar eligibilities would be applicable for the other two posts. No prior experience would be required for this post. Upon being asked as to why the Deputy GSs were not being nominated from amongst the senators, it was clearly stated that multiple responsibilities would not be suitable for a single senator and elected representatives are more approachable than nominated ones. Mr. Karan Desai requested that it be ensured by the SAC that the position of the General Secretary is not diluted to which assurance of proper allocation of responsibilities was given.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         | The very idea of having Deputy General Secretary under any domain, is to offload the unmountable work from the shoulders of the General Secretary and to increase efficiency of outputs. To ensure the same, General Secretary, chooses people with whom he/she is compatible with and he relies on for getting the work done. Because of the aforementioned reason, Watch Out, with its unfortunate and humble lack of knowledge in this domain, believes that the mentioned posts should be nominated by the General Secretary himself.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        |
+| To relax the CGPA criteria to 6.5 for institute level position except General Secretary Academics (UG/PG both).                                                           | The senators as well as some members of SAC were in agreement that the CG criteria be relaxed to 6.5. Senators put up the reason that students are involved in multiple activities and CG isn’t an exhaustive measure to decide the calibre of a representative. This was further supported by the SAC which stated that in the transition phase, the criteria should be relaxed. While the bench agreed that imposing such a restriction on GS Tech, GS Cult and GS Sports was unnecessary, considering the pre-existing restrictions on eligible candidates, it found itself in a difficult position for GSHA. The amount of workload for this particular post was, in the view of the DOSW, too high to not affect a student’s grade adversely, which is a problem if they have someone with a low CGPA to begin with. Finally a compromise was reached wherein the criteria is applicable only for a period of 1 year. The bench strictly mentioned that if there is a further drop in the elected GSHA’s CGPA, this rule shall be reconsidered next year.                                                                                                                            | In an institute where CGPA is (fortunately or unfortunately) a measure of excellence, we firmly believe that the students who represent the institute and its students should have at least the grades offered at average scores (i.e. 7). Also, reiterating what the bench said in this matter, the workload shall certainly adversely affect the students’ grades, which is a concern of the administration. Additionally, the final conclusion, we believe, is in no way sustainable. We must mention here that there was an extremely indecent uproar when the rule to allow the students with a grade of more than 6.5 (and not only more than 7) to run for office. Students who wanted this agenda to be passed got up from the seats as soon as they had their way, and did not even wait for the Senate to be officially dispersed.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     |
+{:.mbtablestyle}
+
+### Closing Notes 
+
+Please vote sincerely and seriously. The representatives you send, even through your bhawans, have a huge role to play in the Senate. Look at their credentials. Look at their manifestos. Look at how credible they seem. Take an informed decision. 
+
+Also, ‘hope’ is best of all the things. Imposing restrictions on candidatures is a mere proof of lack of hope among the senate that neither the voters, nor the contestants are wise enough to make an informed choice. Progress is gradual but it only happens when people trust in the system and try to change it by taking wise choices. These closing notes might seem utopian and extremely idealistic, but we believe moving in the right direction is extremely crucial for an institute like ours.
+

_posts/2018-03-28-phalbee.md

@@ -0,0 +1,53 @@
+---
+layout: post
+title: The Story of Phalbee
+category: career
+image: phalbee2.jpg
+author: "Dhawal Pagay"
+excerpt: "At Phalbee, we lay emphasis on the taste, cleanliness and the quality of smoothies and juices we put forward to our customers. We are trying to create a brand that specifically caters to providing smoothies and juices, effectively becoming household names in the market. We are not categorically seeking out to gain customers, rather, we are trying to introduce the culture of smoothies and juices into our society, thereby revolutionizing it"
+---
+
+### Before any further questions, can you tell us more about Phalbee and what drove you to its conceptualisation? 
+**Yashwant Singh**: At Phalbee, we are essentially trying to capture the culture of smoothies and juices that is already prevalent in the West, by adapting it to the Indian context. The shift in the mindsets of the society to adopt a healthier lifestyle is trying to be harnessed by the whole concept of Phalbee. <br>
+**Ashish Kaushik**: As a first yearite at college, I used to miss various meals which had repercussions like ill-health, fatigue and a drastic loss in weight. Since the canteens weren’t up to the mark, the only option I was left with was to head outside campus and eat at the roadside vendors. During this process, I realised that not only was it unhealthy, it was unhygienic as well, and that was the driving force behind Phalbee- to create a brand that catered healthy alternatives, particularly fruit smoothies and juices to the public.
+
+<br>
+
+###  Having measured the initial responses, what is going to be Phalbee’s further methodology of working? Is this venture going to be localised to Roorkee or will we see Phalbee branching out in the coming months?
+
+**Yashwant Singh**: The initial responses have been tremendous, surpassing everyone’s expectations. Initially, we will try to cater the students at IITR, and if everything pans out as per schedule, the first Phalbee outlet will be set up here in the campus itself in the following weeks and in the longer run, we hope to establish a chain of outlets pan-India. <br>
+**Ashish Kaushik**: Our major focus is to build the brand of Phalbee initially, so that it becomes a part of people’s daily life. Another aspect that we’re focusing on is that we want to ensure that quality is not compromised for quantity, which we lay emphasis on. Acting on this philosophy, we procure fruits from various fruit capitals of the country, so as to provide a wider array of the best products that are available from the different parts of the country. 
+
+![Phalbee2](/images/posts/phalbee1.png)
+
+<br>
+
+### What is the USP that sets Phalbee apart from its competitors?
+
+**Rajat Jain**: We are building the Café Coffee Day of fruit juices and smoothies, a brand which people can trust. Our USPs are freshly made juices and smoothies, sourcing fruits from fruit capitals of the country, and building the culture of juices and smoothies through hundreds of varieties. We are not categorically seeking out to gain customers, rather, we are trying to introduce the culture of smoothies and juices into our society, thereby revolutionizing it.   
+
+<br>
+
+### In this field, there are already various companies that have gained a lot of name and reputation. How do you plan to hold fort against these giants? 
+
+**Bibhudatta Sa**: Actually, there are only 3-4 startups in this fresh juices and smoothies industry. This industry is 75% unorganized and there lies huge potential of growth. India is a developing country and more and more people are becoming health conscious. So, there is need of a brand which can cater to the demand of these people, who would enjoy such smoothies and juices. 
+
+**Rajat Jain**: I personally think that the diversity and flexibility in the menu that we have to offer shall eventually be positively received by the customer, which in turn would stimulate the ingress of others into our doors. 
+
+![Phalbee3](/images/posts/phalbee3.jpg)
+
+<br>
+
+### What advice would you like to give other aspiring entrepreneurs on campus? 
+
+**Yashwant Singh**: I feel that as a student one should try and question everything, not only that, one should constantly try and come up with both rational and innovative solutions. Once this habit is developed, the student will naturally incline towards an analytical solution, ultimately reaching the ‘sweet spot’. <br>
+**Rajat Jain**: One misconception that I would like to clear is that the chances of the occurrence of an ‘Eureka’ moment are slim and as aspiring entrepreneurs, we should definitely refrain from indulging in such follies. The development of the idea is gradual, building upon continual trial and errors and input from real life scenarios. 
+Bibhudatta Sa: So to sum up, the student must not be disheartened by the initial failure of his idea and should keep in mind that the best startups arise from the most number of interventions and refining measures.
+
+<br>
+
+### How do you think that the administration can help promote entrepreneurship on campus?
+
+**Ashish Kaushik**: The major problem that we faced was to receive funding from the various business incubators on campus, particularly Tides, since it majorly supports startups that have their roots in the technological or software industry. However, student based communities like EDC helped us a lot in connecting to various people. We are now operational at Sattviko Idea Cafe only with the help of our alumni, Mr. Prasoon Gupta. <br>
+**Yashwant Singh**: A suggestion which I would like to pitch in is that there should be a central fund allocated towards startups of all kinds. The funds which are now reserved towards the development of technologies like the ‘Tinkering Lab’ or the 3-D printers, which aren’t excessively used by the students on campus, those can be redirected towards this cause and in the future I feel that this could benefit students who are aspiring entrepreneurs. 
+

_posts/2018-04-17-alumni-effect.md

@@ -0,0 +1,68 @@
+---
+layout: post
+title: "The Alumni Effect"
+tags: [wona, column]
+author: "Agrim Patodia, Manya Singh, Muskaan Bhambri, Jeyashree Venkatesan"
+image: alumni-effect-1.png 
+category: coverstory
+excerpt: " An institute’s alumni help shape the current students of an institute, nurturing their juniors towards even bigger dreams, and guiding them to reach greater heights. This is done via career counseling sessions, or via funds that they donate to the institute for the setting up of new labs and facilities."
+---
+
+It is no secret that an institute’s alumni are the key to its growth. They represent the guiding philosophies and mindset with which the institute’s founders intended their protegees to flourish. They raise the bar of the achievement with their extraordinary accomplishments, and with it the prestige of the institute. An institute’s alumni also help shape the current students of an institute, nurturing their juniors towards even bigger dreams, and guiding them to reach greater heights. This is done via career counseling sessions, or via funds that they donate to the institute for the setting up of new labs and facilities.
+
+The current state of the alumni relations at IIT Roorkee shows great scope for improvement.  A few of the issues that we will deliberate on in the following paragraphs are the limited transparency in the usage of the donations that various alumni have donated to our institute, and the arduous process one has to go through in order to connect with an alumnus. We will also cover recent developments, like the initiation of the student alumni mentorship program (SAMP) and the creation of an online portal, geared towards solving these problems.
+
+
+### MoUs
+
+Universities and educational institutions sign Memorandums of Understanding (or MoUs) with other universities in order to exchange students, ensure mutual curriculum development, as well as provide research grants. Having MoUs with reputed universities around the globe exposes students to a plethora of exclusive opportunities. In terms of quality and quantity of formalised MoUs, however, IIT Roorkee lags behind many other IITs.
+
+![Alumni-effect](/images/posts/alumni-effect-2.jpg){: style="width:70%;height:auto"}
+
+Most of IIT Roorkee’s MoUs are relatively new, since the earlier administrative setups did not prioritise maintaining university connects using alumni relations. The official procedure of establishing an MoU involves the presence of at least two nodal officers, one in each university. Any professor, dean, or even the director can act as a nodal officer. While it is easier to identify a nodal officer here, it is much more difficult to contact a professor who would be interested in being a nodal officer at the institute with which the MoU is to be signed. To overcome this problem, the Institute Alumni Relations Cell (IARC) is assimilating information from students who have gone for foreign internships under a professor as well as contacting Roorkee alumni currently studying in foreign universities. This will enable the DoRA office to establish contact with university professors who would be familiar with IITR and willing to become a nodal officer for that university. In this manner, IARC aims to become the missing channel between students and the administration. 
+
+Our current administration recognises these issues and is continuously working to improve IITR’s international image. According to the Dean of Resources and Alumni Affairs, Dr. B.R. Gurjar,  IIT Roorkee has many informal MoUs with international universities with an active exchange of students taking place, but these are not formalised yet. The documentation of these MoUs is in process. 
+
+### Alumni Donations
+
+Hitherto, there was an incomplete transparency in the usage and channelising of funds that were being donated by the alumni, due to improper documentation. In the view of dealing with this, initiatives such as an online payment gateway and crowdfunding platforms are in progress. Once the donations are made online, displaying the amount of money, mode of donations and utilization of the donated funds would be plain sailing. There also are plans to set up a committee in order to monitor the donations, and to ensure proper utilization. These initiatives also have the potential of resolving the difficulties faced by campus groups such as MARS/Robocon, etc., in obtaining these donations to represent IITR at competitions held worldwide. It seems that IITR is  witnessing burgeoning donations this year, including, Rs. 1.1 crore donated by the 1982 pass out batch in their recent silver jubilee meet. “Within the last six months, one huge individual donation came from an alumnus who donated USD 92,000. He would also be donating USD 8,000 this January. So, a sum total of USD 100,000 will have been donated by him alone,” quoted the Dean of Resources and Alumni Affairs.
+
+![Alumni-effect](/images/posts/alumni-effect-3.jpg){: style="width:70%;height:auto"}
+
+### External Alumni Bodies and Chapters
+
+IITR has many active national as well as international alumni chapters. These, in the past, have tended to perform activities only within themselves, and now have been trying contact with the current students in campus. They make donations to the institution, but do not have much knowledge about the happenings back at their alma mater. IARC, being a fairly recent student initiative, suffers from a different problem: the fact that it does not have sufficient data of the older alumni. On the other hand, IARC’s alumni counterpart, the IIT Roorkee Alumni Association, is an established body that includes many older alumni as its members, but have little or no active student involvement. The IIT Roorkee Alumni Association, in collaboration with the Dean of Resources and Alumni Affairs (DoRA), organises commemorative jubilee meets of batches and chapters. Apart from these bodies, an umbrella organisation called the Students’ Pan-IIT Alumni Relations Cell (SPARC) exists to keep track of the initiatives and accomplishments of the alumni relations bodies in different IITs. This body has a limited role, and it organises an annual meet for alumni as well as student representatives of the IITs. SPARC includes representatives from IIT Madras, Bombay, Kharagpur, and Guwahati, with IIT Roorkee and IIT BHU joining the cell in 2017.
+
+![Alumni-effect](/images/posts/alumni-effect-4.jpg){: style="width:60%;height:auto"}
+<br>
+
+### IARC's Structure
+
+![Alumni-effect](/images/posts/alumni-effect-5.jpg){: style="width:60%;height:auto"}
+
+IARC, a student body under the Dean Of Resources and Alumni Affairs, has around thirty student members, with Manik Verma, (General Secretary, Alumni Affairs) as its student representative. The body is headed by its Secretary, Arpit Mishra. However, the role of both these positions seems consubstantial without any substratal difference. Owing to an inchoate IARC, the post of student secretary had to be appended to preside over the group activities alongside alumni activities and administration. Eventually, as IARC becomes entrenched, the post of GS Alumni Affairs would become superfluous. Manik, when asked for, regarding the same, remarked, _“In future it (the existence of both posts) is redundant. Only a person who has worked in IARC and who shares such a vision with all other members should lead IARC. GS Alumni Affairs serves as a point of contact for Alumni and the institute and therefore a new person can’t come and simply take over.” “However, in case the GS Alumni Affairs does not get removed, then whosoever gets nominated for GS Alumni Affairs should be a member of IARC or should have worked in coordination with IARC so as to have some prior experience,”_ added Arpit.
+
+### Our Two Cents
+
+IIT Roorkee has an honorable heritage, spanning almost 200 years, and we have come a long way since our establishment. Ranging from the times of Shri Ganga Ram, the founder of modern Lahore, to the more recent Amit Singhal, Jaiprakash Gaur, and Sanjiv Singh, our alumni have played a very important role in shaping our reputation. Having a strong alumni network does not only lead to the development of an institute in terms of donations and grants, but it also leads to the advancement of the students studying there. IIT Roorkee alumni are everywhere- managing senior roles of multinational companies, building successful startups, and even occupying the most exclusive positions in the Indian Government. 
+
+We have, however, realised how a strong and a positive relationship with alumni can benefit us socially, academically and professionally. Now, a cooperative administration, along with a hard-working student body are actively reaching out to alumni, contacting them for support as well as helping them with all their campus-related issues. Despite a few organisational flaws, failures, and setbacks, the overall impact is positive. We are seeing an unprecedented growth in alumni involvement. In the words of Dr. B.R. Gurjar, “Our condition is improving by leaps and bounds, and in the time to come, we will have more alumni involvement in campus activities, higher donations, and most importantly, better networking among all the IIT-R alumni in the world.”
+
+<hr>
+### In conversation with Dr. B.R. Gurjar
+
+Dr. Gurjar, Dean of Resources and Alumni Affairs, took out some time to talk to us about the state of alumni relations at our institute. Here is an excerpt of our interview with Dr. Gurjar.
+
+
+__Watch Out:__ Why is the number of MoUs that IIT Roorkee has much less in comparison to the other IITs?<br>
+__DoRA:__ There are many informal MoUs which aren’t signed yet. They are collaborations of the faculty members for supervision of PhD students, thesis studies, exchange of faculty and students. The only problem is that they haven’t been documented yet like the other IITs have.  The documentation is still in process, and it is being done with the help of IARC members and the other staff members hired for the same.  So, collaborations of IITR are no less than the other IITs. There is just a lack of proper documentation, which is under process.
+
+__Watch Out:__ Do you think there is a lack of transparency in alumni donations? Why is it difficult to get donations from the alumni?<br>
+__DoRA:__ The Online donation portal wasn’t present earlier but now it has been established. The alumni connections exist and they are coming forward to donate more and more. We are now accelerating the donation process, so more donations are coming up. Another issue is that the older Roorkee alumni are usually doing administrative jobs in the public or the private sectors and are not well-established industrialists. However, the recent graduates are more into entrepreneurship. So when they are financially strong themselves, only then they can afford to donate. Organisations like the IIT Roorkee Heritage foundation, situated in the USA, help us receive donations from international donors.
+
+__Watch Out:__ What are the connections we have established with the different alumni chapters? Also, what responsibilities and activities does the alumni association have that differentiates it from the IARC?<br>
+__DoRA:__ Basically, the IARC is not that well established as of now and they are trying to connect with the recent alumni, whereas, the IITR Alumni Association is very old and hence has a larger database of the older alumni. They keep on organizing various activities and jubilee meets for our older alumni. 
+
+__Watch Out:__ What are your views on the apparent redundancy of two separate posts, i.e. GS Alumni Affairs, and the head of the IARC? Aren’t their functions the same?<br>
+__DoRA:__ It is better if a member of the group itself takes the post of secretary. Having a nominated, competent final-year member of the IARC handling all the responsibilities of alumni relations will be much more conducive than having someone from open elections, since alumni connections is a specialized activity that needs years of experience. Doing justice to these responsibilities is not everyone’s cup of tea.
+<hr>

_posts/2018-04-20-Why-are-you?.md

@@ -0,0 +1,43 @@
+---
+layout: post
+title: "Why are you?"
+image: whyareyou.jpg 
+category: editorial
+excerpt: "“Man is the only creature that refuses to be what he is”. The predominant intention behind writing this editorial was its being read; to gain appreciation from as many people as possible. Because that is what defines the success of an article."
+author: "Komal Maheshwari, Vishal Goddu"
+---
+
+#### **_“Man is the only creature that refuses to be what he is.”_** - Albert Camus
+
+
+The predominant intention behind writing this editorial was its being read; to gain appreciation from as many people as possible. Because that is what defines the *“success”* of an article.
+
+Success: A rather familiar concept, isn’t it?
+
+But consider this: The average human being is a 1.75 m tall living organism with an expected life span of about 80 years, probably sitting on a chair somewhere on a planet that is over 4.6 billion years old and has a radius of approximately 6371 km in a “solar system”. This solar system is organized around the “sun” – an entity 1.3 million times larger than our planet – which is basically just an average sized star among more than a 100 billion stars in a galaxy that’s just one among 2 trillion galaxies in the observable universe.
+
+Just the *observable* universe.
+
+In the (literally) larger picture, anyone – including you, dear reader – is just like a speck of dust that crosses one's path in life for but a fraction of  a second and doesn’t alter anything.
+
+*“How does this even matter?”* you may ask. It is here on earth that there is life. All life is tiny. All life is short-lived. Should being able to make a difference in the cosmic scheme of things really be our concern? Should we not aspire to create a more immediate, localized difference, which is far more plausible?
+
+Thousands of species have walked our planet through time; they have come and gone, in a manner similar to the passing of each day. We scarcely remember the people responsible for the progress of our civilization; fire is an indispensable phenomenon that sustains our civilization – electricity, a majority of chemical processes and vehicles, all involve the use of fire. But do we really care enough to enquire who discovered it?
+
+After – or perhaps even before – the human race is wiped out, no one will know about what you did, or how exceptionally talented you were. The chronicle of your life – however magnificent – will be lost in the sands of time.
+
+A billion years from now, the Earth may stay where it is, governed by another species, circling the sun in a galaxy among a lot of galaxies, and no one would care about how many Jews Hitler had killed.
+
+*Change is permanent*, they say; *transience, the unwritten law of the universe.* Why then, should we bother at all? Why should we even care to make a difference sitting on this tiny little rock in the universe? What does success come to mean, given that we know the entire logistics of how the world works may change a few hundred thousand years down the line?
+
+There are a lot of erroneous assumptions underlying these quiet musings, primarily that the question of life can be condensed and objectified into a given combination of words: It cannot be.
+
+What if one doesn’t mind the transience at all? What if they simply want to live in the now? And what if they don't?
+
+The answers to this eternal question of life can be many. They can all be correct and they can all be wrong. The relevance of the answers – and of the question itself – depends solely on your perspective. There can be as many perspectives as there have been humans; perhaps more.
+
+Figuring out yours is a battle that you have to fight alone.
+
+
+
+

_posts/2018-04-23-whither-do-we-go.md

@@ -0,0 +1,42 @@
+---
+layout: post
+title: "Whither Do We Go?"
+tags: [wona, column]
+author: "Surya Raman, Sudhang Varshney"
+image: dowego.png 
+category: editorial
+excerpt: " In the dystopian world of George Orwell’s classic 1984, the readers are introduced to a fictitious language christened ‘Newspeak’, an ingenious mechanism to curb the proliferation of rebellious thought by meticulously eliminating the essence of language: words"
+---
+
+In the dystopian world of George Orwell’s classic 1984, the readers are introduced to a fictitious language christened ‘Newspeak’, an ingenious mechanism to curb the proliferation of rebellious thought by meticulously eliminating the essence of language: words; words that could potentially serve as petri dishes to culture and transmit/communicate mutinous thoughts.
+
+If thought about for a bit longer than usual, the effects of imposing such a curb on words are far-reaching and enormous; a world without words like “love” and “joy” would be incredibly sullen and morbid. Like the drowning man - hastily beating about, looking for a straw to clutch at - humans would flutter in vain. This gives birth to a bigger, more disturbing question: would people even be able to perceive a particular feeling as _jubilation_ or _grief_?
+
+Similarly, the people of Oceania couldn’t _feel_ mutinous, thus illustrating that limited resources lead to limited scope of thought. Aren’t we being exceedingly ambitious, then, when we attempt to comprehend the biggest infinities of all – the universe - with our limited scope of rational thought?
+ 
+In his short work on melancholia and philosophy -  A Confession - Tolstoy comes to the very same conclusion. Stricken by a deep existential crisis, he sought to answer the same question that this editorial poses: what do we do once we’ve discovered that there is no profound meaning to life? Why should we continue to live?  He found that people within his social circle dealt with this in one out of these four ways : 
+
+1. Choosing not to think about the question (ignorance)
+2. Choosing to enjoy the small things in life whilst acknowledging the absurdity of it all (epicureanism)
+3. Choosing to kill oneself (“strength”) - and 
+4. Choosing to labour on, petrified by the thought of death (“weakness”).
+
+After pacing up and down for a while (in a figurative sense), he realizes that he had unwittingly excluded another category of people: the ones who had faith. Despite being a staunch advocate of rational thought, Tolstoy realizes its confining nature.
+
+The question we have been dealing with is : what is the purpose of our finite existence in this ever expanding, infinite universe? Therein lies our mistake, Tolstoy says.
+
+To answer a question that deals with the infinite, one must have an answer armed with reasoning that encompasses the infinite. Rational thought is largely limited by factors like starvation and death; they are characteristics of the finite, mortal world we live in. Tolstoy admits that while faith is irrational, the answers it gives always possess the ability to connect the finite with the infinite - which is the essence of what we are looking for. No one captures this better than Tolstoy : _“For man to be able to live he must either not see the infinite, or have such an explanation of the meaning of life as will connect the finite with the infinite.”_
+
+The pioneer of Absurdism, Albert Camus, was Epicurean at heart. In his masterpiece, The Myth of Sisyphus, Camus discusses at length the underlying concepts of absurdism. Like Tolstoy, he acknowledges the insignificance of human life in the grander scheme of things, but unlike Tolstoy, doesn’t find solace in faith. He calls the act of giving into faith (i.e. ceasing to be skeptical) “philosophical suicide”. However, he does not disregard human life completely and submit to Nihilism; Camus presents us with a third option rooted in reality, which is largely Epicurean at heart. To illustrate his outlook on life, he mentions the mythological story of Sisyphus.
+
+Sisyphus was a king cursed by the Gods to roll a boulder on to the top of a mountain, only to watch it roll down again - in perpetuity. Camus draws a parallel between our finite, inconsequential existence and Sisyphus’ curse and asks us to “think of Sisyphus as happy”. Camus writes _“If there is a sin against this life, it consists perhaps not so much into sparing of life, as in hoping for another life and eluding the quiet grandeurs of this one”._
+
+Camus, as is clear, was an emphatic advocate of living in the moment and enjoying the everyday pleasures of life. It is these pleasures that Camus cites as reasons for enduring life.
+
+Over the years, countless philosophers have put forth innumerable theories trying to answer the same question that this editorial has been dealing with. It seems logical, then, to believe in the subjectivity of the meaning of life. A preordained meaning will perhaps never be found, but all of us may (or may not) have our own reasons for enduring life. Perhaps ignorance truly is bliss. Perhaps it is best to believe in these supposedly “inconsequential” perceptions of the meaning of human life.
+
+Or - perhaps - all life is inconsequential, much like this editorial.
+<br>
+
+Illustration Credits: <span style="color:#0645AD">[Kiril Gornishki](https://dribbble.com/KirilGornishki)</span>
+

_posts/2018-04-25-feedback-for-feedback-forms.md

@@ -0,0 +1,84 @@
+---
+layout: post
+title: "Feedback For Feedback Forms"
+tags: [wona]
+category: academics
+author: "Aman Nayak, Nikhil Arora, Sudhang Varshney"
+image: feedback.jpg
+excerpt: "For the average student, the course feedback form is something that connotes rapid, indiscriminate clicking of arbitrarily chosen checkboxes, arising out of the impending deadline that looms over a his/her head."
+---
+
+For the average student, the course feedback form is something that connotes rapid, indiscriminate clicking of arbitrarily chosen checkboxes, arising out of the impending deadline that looms over a his/her head. It gives rise to some creative patterns of filling in the MCQ reminiscent of an academically-broke student randomly attempting a subject he doesn’t know anything about. This casual attitude exhibited by a majority of the Roorkee populus is indicative of the ineffectiveness of the feedback system, and how it doesn’t have the required impact.
+ 
+Given how the system isn’t high on transparency and has a lot of uncertainties associated with it, we spoke to Professor B. K. Mishra, Dean of Faculty Affairs, to gain insight on how it functions and how its inadequacies can be rectified.
+
+### The current picture
+
+Before the existence of the college intranet, the feedback exercise was carried out by the professors in the class itself, at the end of the semester. Several years ago, the form moved online with a revised set of questions and categories. From the vantage point of a student, the feedback form consists of two parts: a course evaluation form and a professor/instructor evaluation form. The two sections contain a set of related statements with the student having to align with them, along various degrees, via selecting the appropriate response. An optional text box is provided for additional comments for the same. The format remains consistent across all courses and the respective professors. Submission of the form is mandatory as the subject registration portal becomes available only after its completion. While being an important mechanism for the professor to get the occasional, valuable feedback and ways in which he can improve, a cross sectional analysis of the system reveals several inadequacies and areas in which the process can improve in. 
+
+### Situation in other institutes
+
+From the information we could gather, the tedious nature of the feedback form in common in several other IITs. However, significant professor accountability is associated with the feedback. In IIT Delhi, the feedback form is very comprehensive and can take upto two hours to fill, for all courses. Some professors use a mid semester evaluation too. There have been cases in the past where a professor has been forced to drop a course as a result of negative feedback. This results in both the students and the professor taking the entire mechanism extremely seriously. In IIT Bombay too, the form is lengthy and time consuming. 
+
+_(Insight IITB, the student media body of IIT Bombay, wrote an article on the same issue, which can be found on this <span style="color:#72C5EB">[link](http://www.insightiitb.org/some-feedback-on-course-feedback/)</span>.)_
+
+### Where does the feedback go?
+
+Due to the absence of any information regarding the fate of these forms, the hazy situation poses a lot of questions. Where does the data end up? Who scrutinizes it? Are our feedbacks incognito? The answer to the question “What impact does my feedback have?” is the paramount metric governing the attitude of a student during the process. 
+
+Once the form is filled in by the students, it is sent to the professor teaching the course. The forms and reviews are also accessible by the HoD and the Dean of Academics, but the system is currently only intended as a means for the professor to assess themselves, which means that there is no carrot or stick involved in the process. Until last year, The Institute Best Teacher Award was given to the professor with the highest rating on these forms, but this practice has now been discontinued.
+
+Suggestions such as making the form responses public or having a minimum rating requirement to teach courses are unlikely to be accepted.
+
+> **It is worth emphasising that the anonymity of the forms is maintained throughout; no authority can find out who has filled any particular form.**
+
+After our conversation with Prof. Mishra, it was evident that without any ramifications of a positive or negative response of the process, the utility of the current structure is debatable. A concrete process to measure a professor’s teaching performance in some quantifiable way is non-existent, preventing them for being held accountable for their teaching. Any instructor is not accountable for overwhelmingly negative responses in the absence of any negative ramifications put in place by the administration. It is a common observance that many professors who are rated poorly year after year, continue teaching the course. This lack of incentivisation to improve performance anulls any significance of a student’s submission and practically renders the feedback system obsolete. 
+
+However, another aspect that needs to be addressed is the fact that students who don’t attend the classes are also compulsorily asked to fill the feedback forms. These responses, in all probability, do not hold the same merit as the ones which come from students who are fairly regular in their attendance, and might skew the results in an unfair manner. 
+
+### Ambit of the questions is questionable-
+
+The questionnaire itself has some inherent weaknesses and flaws, the most glaring of which is the complete omission of the evaluation of the practical labs and the lab instructors associated with a course. Practical aspects of a course are where a student exercises the knowledge they gain from it, and hence should be incorporated in the feedback mechanism. For example, in a course like Engineering Drawing, which is a compulsory course for most students, a majority of the contact hours are spent in the Drawing Hall. These omissions result in the stagnation of the course components which go unevaluated by the students in the feedback form. 
+
+The courses a student undertakes vary a lot, from the Communication Skills and department-specific Introductory courses in the first year to core departmental courses in later years. Yet the feedback form does not reflect this, instead barraging the student with the same questions for all courses. While it is necessary to keep some questions the same for the purpose of assessing different courses, and statistical analysis of all student responses; the current format induces a sense of monotony in a student who has to fill several such forms all at once.
+
+### Authenticity of data
+
+A major chunk of students delay the submission until the very last days of the deadline. In a majority of the cases, the response is a set of rapid clicks on a computer without any real thought on their part. This dwindles the credibility of their input and greatly decreases the overall validity of the data so collected. The anonymity of responses grant the student free will to approach the form without the trepidation of any backlash. Although this sounds reasonable, in principle, a sizeable number of responders take advantage of it to vent frustrations which pollute the database. The unreliable responses somewhat invalidate the entire dataset and it is difficult to evaluate the course or the professor on the basis of these responses. In view of this, professors not taking these comments seriously is not surprising.
+
+### Our two cents
+
+While the feedback form is certainly facing some issues, it is an irreplaceable asset to both the student community as well as the professors. With a few improvements to the form and the procedure, we are optimistic about the results this improved procedure brings about. 
+
+We hereby suggest the following changes towards helping these forms actualize their potential : 
+
+*	**Overhauling the form**
+
+	The first line of reform should be of the form itself. Omission of vague questions and admission of specific and clear questions would not only enhance the readability of the form, it would also be conducive to genuine responses. A collection of questions in different formats-some eliciting a score, some MCQ’s and some demanding subjective responses can contribute to the same. Analysis of these forms can unearth revealing data about the cause of negative feedback(if any): an ineffective teaching mechanism or a flawed course structure. 
+
+	While some common questions are required to grade the professor statistically, perhaps some personalised questions, specific to the course, need to be included. Not only will this elicit greater engagement from the student, it will also provide more effective feedback.
+
+*	**Statistically differentiating individual feedback** 
+
+	In our discussion we came up with a way to validate the authenticity of the feedback from different students, based on their GPA or attendance in the particular course. Although the formula for the same might involve whimsical approaches, this method or other statistical models could be used to weed out the extreme responses, both positive and negative.
+
+*	**Introducing a mid-semester feedback**
+
+	Apart from an End-Term feedback, a post mid-term feedback should also be introduced. Slightly less comprehensive than the final questionnaire, it can contain suggestions and criticisms of the flow of the course without any impact on the final score an instructor gets. What this would do is provide wiggle room to the professor to make amends if required and get critical information about how their delivery is perceived. Students would also be able to see tangible impacts of their submissions during the span of the course, indicating that their responses did indeed carry weight. Consequential increase in the authenticity of their replies and decrease in the volume of retorts would follow.
+
+*	**Making some feedback for elective courses public**
+
+	While making course feedback public is not considered appropriate, the institute may find it more palatable to make elective course feedback public. If this feedback is taken over several years, so that course feedback cannot be inferred from it. This will prove helpful to students making deciding which course to pick.
+
+
+### Epilogue
+
+There shall be a committee meeting in the Main Building soon to discuss the future of the response form and the appropriate way to select the ‘Best Teacher’ award. However, from our talk with Prof. B. K. Mishra, we realised that the best suggestions could only come from the student populace. We encourage the reader to send us their suggestions to <span style="color:#72C5EB">_watchout.iitr@gmail.com_</span> so we could forward the same to the concerned authorities. 
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+

_posts/2018-05-31-guide-to-branches.md

@@ -0,0 +1,11 @@
+---
+layout: post
+title: "Watch Out's Guide to the Branches at IIT Roorkee"
+tags: [wona]
+category: academics
+image: branch-guide.jpg
+---
+
+It is pretty difficult to choose a field of study that you might have to stick with for four (or five) years. We know because we've all been there. Hence, to make the process a little bit easier, we came up with this rather elaborate and painstakingly devised guide to the various branches at IIT Roorkee. With an analysis of the various specialisations available, including an overview of the syllabus, future prospects, and some inside information from IIT Roorkee, we hope to give you a perspective of what you might be getting into!
+
+<a href="/WatchOutsGuidetoBranches-IITR-18.pdf" style="text-align: center"><button type="button" class="btn btn-primary btn-block btn-lg">Download the Guide Here!</button></a>

_posts/2018-06-06-architecture-at-iit-roorkee.md

@@ -0,0 +1,127 @@
+---
+layout: post
+title: "Architecture at IIT Roorkee"
+tags: [wona]
+category: academics
+image: archi-q2_p2.jpg
+excerpt: "What is architecture? This question shall haunt you like a stubborn ghost for the initial 3 semesters of study – asked by professors to gauge your understanding of it – so it pays to know."
+height: 540px
+---
+
+# ARCHITECTURE @ IITR
+
+### THE OBJECTIVE
+<br>
+When each of us chose to pursue architecture at IITR, we lacked adequate information about all that the course would entail. This article is an attempt to consolidate and present relevant information in the interest of the incoming freshmen.
+
+This piece shall answer two important questions:
+
+How to get into the Bachelor of Architecture (B. Arch) program? <br>
+What to expect once you’re here?
+
+### GETTING IN
+<br>
+In order to be eligible for the B. Arch program, one has to <br>
+
+(i) Have obtained a rank in the JEE Advanced (no other rank is considered for admission).<br>
+(ii) Appear for the Architectural Aptitude Test (AAT).
+
+One may appear for the AAT at any of the 7 “zonal” IITs (Delhi, Kanpur, Bombay, Roorkee, Kharagpur, Madras or Guwahati). The test will be held on 14th June 2018. The syllabus can be found <span style="color:#0645AD">[here](https://drive.google.com/open?id=1Z09E3uiEIVi6Ilt8ImqIbT_hMyTP6uTU)</span>.
+
+**Things you need**: JEE Advanced Admit card, Pencils (2H, HB, 2B), Eraser, Pen, Colours (crayons, colour pencils).
+
+**Disclaimer**: Allotment of seats is done purely on the basis of one's AIR in the JEE Advanced; one is only required to “pass” the AAT. Your score in the AAT has no bearing whatsoever.
+<br>
+
+### WHAT IS ARCHITECTURE?
+<br>
+The standard definition – offered by a number of dictionaries – proclaims architecture as “the art and science of designing buildings, open spaces and physical structures”; however, to fully appreciate the definition, one needs to understand the keywords better.
+
+**Art**: Space is the central aesthetic consideration in architecture. Although an abstract concept, it can be understood as the enclosure within which one is positioned. The architect’s duty is to design this void to make it beautiful (the best he/she can), for external beauty is the surest way of establishing a connect with the layman. 
+
+**Science**: The scientific component of architecture comprises a combination of principles and quantitative problems (numericals), with the former predominating. Architecture has several logical considerations, some of which are climate, cost (of construction, of running), making sure the structure/ building does not collapse and constructing whatever has been designed.
+ 
+**Design**: Design consists of juggling aesthetic, practical and several other parallel considerations to arrive at the best possible solution. To design is to solve a problem by reaching an optimum trade-off between conflicting factors.
+For example, in architecture, one has to consider the sequence of spaces/rooms (their connectivity with each other), the climate, the cost, the materials that ought to be employed, the quality of spaces, etc. and produce a design that pacifies each need sufficiently.
+
+Note: The question itself is subjective. Perhaps when you are further along in your journey of becoming an architect, you shall have formed your own unique opinions about it; the definition offered above is (intended to be) a very crude one.
+
+**MYTHBUSTER**
+<br>
+Contrary to popular belief, architecture is not all about drawing, painting, and the like; although these are helpful skills during the course, they play a very preliminary role in design, and can nevertheless be picked up after joining the course. One does not need to be creative in the visual sense to take up architecture as a profession.
+
+![archi 0](/images/posts/archi-q1.jpg){: style="width:60%;height:auto"}
+ 
+### ARCHITECTURE AS A COURSE
+<br>
+The study of architecture requires one to be a skilled generalist; a jack of all trades, who can combine knowledge from diverse fields and translate it into thoughtful spaces which speak to the people. The course is therefore designed in a manner to expose us to a vast variety of topics.
+ 
+The constituent courses of the bachelor degree (as ascribed by the Council of Architecture) are centred around “Architectural Design”, which will be found in all semesters except 1.1, 4.2 and 5.2. In the fifth year, one works on their Thesis, a culmination of all skills acquired during the last four years, where he/she designs a building from start to finish, just as one would for an actual project. Other courses impart necessary skills and information required in order to design and actually construct a building. A full list of courses – and details about them – can be found <span style="color:#0645AD">[here](https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/0BwI7Ki_XnyhmcURVd3FULW10azg)</span>.
+
+Architectural Design has the highest number of credits in any given semester. Designing - in general - involves solving the biggest of problems while paying attention to the minutest of details. A design needs to work and serve its purpose, preferably having an edge over conventional designs. An attempt to arrive at such a solution entails a great deal of thought. While thinking, brainstorming and conceptualising are extremely pleasurable, there will often be problems in each design, resulting in patches of frustration; in architecture, passion and frustration are inseparable.
+
+Designs are evaluated through/by a jury, where professors – and sometimes peers – criticize each design while the designer attempts to justify his decisions. Juries may severely damage egos or ignorance, depending on how one takes the criticism. Juries are the primary means of progress for any architectural design course.
+ 
+The course as a whole is rather challenging. It involves the longest contact hours of all courses and a great load of assignments (resulting in a number of late nights), both of which eventually decrease. Good grades call for a great deal of consistency in submissions above anything else.
+
+For people who have studied the sciences all their lives – presumably with much interest and love – this shall be a very different ball game. While this transition may make for a refreshing change, it does pose its fair share of challenges in its initial stages.
+
+
+![archi 2](/images/posts/archi-q2_p5.jpg){: style="width:60%;height:auto"}
+
+### TRIVIA
+
+1. 	**The “Family” system:** All first years are inducted into one or more families within the initial two weeks of joining IITR. A family consists (mostly) of one student from each year. One can be adopted on any number of criteria, or even at random (by chit-picking). Your family is your first point of contact should you fall into any kind of trouble. It is a “baap’s” duty to give chaapos and advice on things from career options and dating tips to surviving architecture and life in general .
+ 
+2. 	**The Studio:** Each year has its own studio which is essentially a large room where they do their drafting and other classwork. This room (and the Department of Architecture and Planning) is open 24x7, and it steadily becomes a second home for the class. This where we host midnight birthday parties and work for hours at an end.
+ 
+3. 	**Curious Columns:** The spring semester of 2018 saw the birth of “Curious Columns”, a department group that aims to bring passionate students together for discussions and workshops, and aims to provide a platform to share knowledge, ideas and opportunities to work with each other. A detailed manifesto can be found <span style="color:#0645AD">[here](https://drive.google.com/open?id=1ika5se3POBtjh1uJgI57GetLqxOyLiVr)</span>.
+
+4.  **Togetherness:** Each batch is a closely knit unit. This can be attributed to their small size, as well as numerous, recurring group assignments. Archi waale are almost always seen together at different spots on the campus; by the end of the second year or so, one establishes a deep familiarity with the rest of the batch, something that is peculiar only to Architecture.
+
+### PROS: REASONS TO BE PROUD
+<br>
+Architecture at IITR has many unique advantages. These are:
+ 
+1. 	**A chance to make another field/skill your profession**: Even if one discovers that architecture isn’t their cup of tea, many alternate options present themselves. Related fields include product design, graphic design and industrial design exist; those bearing little resemblance to architecture include coding, finance, consultancy and start-ups, to name a few. Self-interest and effort are primary requirements in such an undertaking, but campus groups and seniors help greatly. One can build his CV by interning in capacities closely related to the profession he/she wishes to pursue. Interns are much easier to come by with the help of the IIT tag. This is a good point in time to reiterate that very few people in any given batch choose architecture as their profession; the rest go into non-core jobs (we even happen to know people who want to pursue filmmaking after they graduate).
+ 
+2. 	**Societies, groups and sports**: Although architecture constitutes a very small number of the total intake, archi waale log can be found in most groups on campus. The reasons behind joining societies and groups stand as two polar opposites: some see them as opportunities to counter frustration, while others see them as opportunities to learn relevant skills, having discovered their disinterest in architecture. Either way, the number of groups and societies on campus is astronomical, with new ones cropping up every year. Chances are there is a group for each interest or intrigue you possess (an exhaustive list with brief information can be found <span style="color:#0645AD">[here](http://guide.wona.co.in/section/campus-groups)</span>). Similarly, facilities for all major sports are available, along with exceptional coaching staff that bring out the best in you. More information can be found <span style="color:#0645AD">[here](http://guide.wona.co.in/section/sports)</span>.
+ 
+3.  **A diverse friend circle and chances to collaborate**: By virtue of having a wide array of departments, IITR will bestow upon you a phenomenally diverse set of friends and acquaintances over the course of five years, resulting in interesting, insightful conversations. One has the opportunity to meet and interact with people involved in pursuits ranging from artificial intelligence to music to research to finance to consultancy. There is, therefore, a chance to collaborate with any of the above people for interdisciplinary projects.
+ 
+4.  **Tinkering Lab**: The tinkering lab, as the name suggests, is a lab where students can work on projects. it is equipped with state of the art tools, for example, industrial 3d printers. More information is available <span style="color:#0645AD">[here](https://www.iitr.ac.in/tinkeringlab/#home)</span>.
+ 
+5.  **The TIDES Business Incubator**:  The tides business incubator aims to help young start-ups grow. If you have a business idea,  you can go to these guys and they’ll provide you with a workspace, mentorship and even help you get funds. More information is available <span style="color:#0645AD">[here](http://tides.iitr.ac.in/)</span>.
+ 
+6. 	**Semester Exchange**:  A semester exchange is available for students having a decent CGPA (>7.5) with Hochschule Luzern (Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts), Switzerland, in their 7th semester (4.1). This is an opportunity to learn how our western counterparts perceive and approach architecture, as well as to travel Europe and experiencing what it has to offer. <span style="color:#0645AD">[Here](http://wona.co.in/2017/03/exchange-diaries-switzerland)</span> is an account of the experience, as recalled by a senior who visited Hochschule Luzern the year before last.
+ 
+7. 	**Research opportunities**: Perhaps one characteristic that sets IITR apart from all other colleges is the emphasis it lays on research. Any student interested in research may approach a professor, consult him/her about the area/matter he wishes to investigate (not necessarily architecture) – and once he/she has the blessing of the professor – pursue it. A program called SURA (Summer Undergraduate Research Awards) is also in place (which has a somewhat drawn-out application process). For students of architecture, an additional opportunity lies in the form of the CBRI (Central Building Research Institute), which, although an autonomous body, abuts our campus, and is very welcoming of IITR students wishing to undertake research; three seniors to our knowledge have written research papers under the CBRI.
+ 
+8. 	**On-campus placements**: Reportedly (that is, with questionable certainty), other architectural colleges do not have placements, or any sort of arrangements wherein graduates can find firms to employ them. At IITR, such a system does exist, but the number of firms and companies that recruit architects are just sufficient. However, when it comes to other fields such as the ones mentioned earlier, it is a level playing field, and architecture graduates can get non-core jobs provided they are meritorious. More information can be found <span style="color:#0645AD">[here](http://guide.wona.co.in/section/placements)</span>.
+
+![archi 3](/images/posts/archi-q4.jpg){: style="width:60%;height:auto"}
+ 
+### CONS: WHY WE AREN’T ALL THAT PROUD
+<br>
+If pure, unadulterated architecture is what you are interested in, IITR is perhaps not the best place to pursue it. A list of reasons are given below:
+ 
+1. 	**Lack of competition**: Out of the thirty-something classmates that will constitute your class (most colleges have at least 70), very few will actually be interested in architecture. A great number of them shall turn in a very poor quality of assignments – if they do – aiming at just keeping their heads above the water. There is a tendency for the “good students” to become too self-sure and become mediocre.
+ 
+2. 	**Focus of the professors**: Unlike other colleges of architecture, the primary focus of professors in IITR is their body of research. All professors are highly qualified (holding at least a M. Arch degree; most have a PhD), albeit in their specific fields of interest. Only a handful of professors actually put in effort to keep the class interesting and impart relevant and sufficient knowledge. At present, there are only two visiting professors (practicing architects), who are infrequent with their visits. At top architecture schools such as SPA Delhi, this ratio is almost reversed; the design studio and juries are held and evaluated by practicing architects, who have an idea of the real world, of what really works and what doesn’t.
+  
+3. 	**Not enough emphasis on design**: Architectural design, as stated earlier, is central to the entire curriculum. However, there are only 9 hours allotted to it per week (less than any top architecture school in the country). Such a setup requires that the designing be done after class-hours, keeping the 9 hours only for discussions (on ongoing design iterations). This is hardly the case; most students procrastinate, resulting in collective underachievement.
+
+![archi 3](/images/posts/archi-q3.jpg){: style="width:60%;height:auto"}
+
+ 
+### CONTACT DETAILS
+<br>
+In case you have any doubts regarding the course that you wish to get clarified, feel free to call any of the people listed below:
+ 
+**Komal Maheshwari (2nd year)**: +91 9330949212<br>
+**Divyang Purrkayastha (3rd year)**: +91 9560588732<br>
+**Ramachandra Reddy (4th year)**: +91 9557902784<br>
+**Lanka Adarsh (4th year)**: +91 9410577752<br>
+**Anshul Rathore (5th year)**: +91 9917026076<br>
+
+Illustration Credits: Leewardists

_posts/2018-07-07-summer-diaries-technical-university-of-munich.md

@@ -0,0 +1,79 @@
+---
+layout: post
+title: "Summer Diaries: Technical University of Munich"
+image: arpitSummerDiaries1.jpg
+tags: [wona]
+author: "Arpit Agrawal"
+excerpt: "The Technical University of Munich (TUM) combines top-class facilities for cutting-edge research with unique learning opportunities for students."
+category: summer2018
+---
+
+### Making it there
+
+To be frank, I was not sure about my area of interest until the start of the internship season, which typically happens at the start of the third year. Having secured a decent CGPA and gained some lab experience in my department, I planned to apply for a research internship. Although there are many programs for research internships and scholarships like DAAD, Mitacs, NTU-India Connect et cetera, I restricted myself to DAAD and Mitacs Program. However, the two scholarship/internship programs have a completely different application process. 
+
+In Mitacs, you are asked to select projects that are offered by different universities of Canada and assign them a priority number. You are also asked to submit transcripts, Curriculum Vitae and the Statement of Purpose. While there is ambiguity in the selection criteria, to the best of my understanding it all depends on the Professor who offered the project. Interviews are held in December and the final list of selected candidates is announced in January.
+
+DAAD chiefly is a scholarship program funded by the German government. Therefore you’ll need to get an offer letter from a German institute. The application requires you to upload your offer letter, the Statement of Purpose, transcripts, NOC from your parent institute along with general personal information. Selection is mostly on the basis of CGPA and your past projects. The most difficult part of DAAD application is to get an offer letter from a German institute. The result of this program is also announced in the month of January.
+
+With luck on my side, I got selected in both the programs. This, however, tossed me into a dilemma. It was tough, but I chose the German university, the Technical University of Munich, as it’s ranked among the best in the world. Moreover, the offered project suited me more.
+
+ 
+Few tips and tricks that I would like to share:
+
+
+1. The new semester usually starts from September in Germany so that’s when the professors are looking for kick-starting new and interesting research projects. Start mailing immediately so that you get time for replies and follow-ups.
+
+
+2. Avoid mailing more than two professors who are from the same chair or department as there are chair meetings fortnightly and they often discuss these things. 
+
+
+3. SOP (Statement of Purpose) is the most important part of the application. Make your SOP short and to the point i.e. related to your research area. Make it interesting but not dramatic.
+
+4. Cover letter (in case of DAAD) plays a crucial role in your selection process. Avoid spamming and always edit to be more professor interest specific while writing it. Mention your past projects and lab experience, preferably in one or two short paragraphs.
+
+5. Collect a few good SOPs and cover letters from your seniors for reference.
+
+6. Be careful while writing a CV, it is not a resume. Avoid mentioning extra-curricular activities and awards unrelated to academics.
+
+7. Prepare a few frequently asked HR questions (about your motivation for research, etc.) for your confidence.
+
+8. When applying for a foreign internship, always keep your passport ready. You need to apply for VISA after getting selected, which takes time.
+
+
+### Exploring the country(s)
+![pic3](/images/posts/arpitSummerDiaries3.jpg){: style="width:70%;height:auto"}
+
+**Life in Munich**
+<br>
+Obviously, this is the most interesting part of a foreign internship. Talking particularly about Munich, it is the most expensive city in Germany and finding an affordable accommodation is almost impossible. There are some websites like WG.de, where you can search but you need to be cautious: frauds and scams are pretty common. A good way to stay away from such scams is to never pay anything in advance. The best accommodation there is studentenwerk hostels. Many students go on vacations during this period, so they sublet their rooms and luckily I found one. It was similar to a hostel and students from almost every part of the globe resided there. The initial days were troublesome as getting vegetarian food at cheap rates was a herculean task. So I resorted to cooking myself. There were a few Indian students who helped me with it. A piece of advice for all: carry Indian spices from home, it’s very expensive in Germany for obvious reasons. We used to have parties on weekends and looking at Chinese people dancing to Bollywood songs was so much fun. When you are in Europe, you can’t be untouched by football and especially when the World Cup is going on. I stayed at Olympiapark and it is considered the party destination of Munich. Unfortunately, Germany was eliminated at the first round of World Cup and the excitement ended in a few days and so did the parties.
+
+**Travelling around**
+<br>
+The best part of living in Europe is its free borders and you can visit most of the countries on a single visa. There was no work on weekends so it was the best time to explore a new world. Connectivity and public transport in Europe are second to none and you can easily move from one country to another by bus/train. Trekking in the Alps, drinking wine at the top of the Eiffel Tower and roaming in the streets of Amsterdam made some lifetime memories for me. You will see the effect of war if you visit Germany or Vienna whereas you will see an entirely different world in Prague. When you are in Europe, always try the local dishes, especially waffles in Brussels and chocolates in Switzerland. The only problem you will face there is drinking water. You need to fill bottles from bathrooms. Though the water is clean and potable but at times it’s weird to do so, yet way better than spend two euros for a half litre bottle of water. 
+![pic3](/images/posts/arpitSummerDiaries4.jpg){: style="width:70%;height:auto"}
+
+**About the people**
+<br>
+People there are very polite and helpful. You will always find someone to help you to find ways or addresses. Walking through the streets of Paris (considered one of the least safe cities in western Europe) felt safer than walking in Delhi. Most of the time, you won’t face any language problem as people living in the cities can speak or understand English but if you are living far from the city center, where you’d find cheaper apartments, communication becomes difficult. However, Google translate will help you a lot there. Always keep an offline version of a German and French dictionary in your phones and buy a local sim as soon as you settle there. 
+Another common problem for interns is about bank accounts. You will need a German account to get your stipend and most of the banks there don’t open accounts for such a short period. Around 5-6 banks refused to open an account for me. Eventually, I had to lie to open an account: I told the bank that I was considering pursuing a masters there. Overall, it was a great experience for me and I would definitely like to revisit.
+
+
+ 
+### Work
+
+![pic2](/images/posts/arpitSummerDiaries2.jpg){: style="width:70%;height:auto"}
+
+The work culture in Germany is remarkably different from that in India. 
+People there take research professionally, and readily detest any childish behaviour during the working hours. The attitude is quite the opposite on weekends when they have parties and night outs. Since I was in a university as an intern, there were no fixed work hours. I worked variably, ranging from 6 to 10 hours. TUM is one of the best universities for research because of the fantastic work culture there. There was no work pressure, and I was primarily observed and graded on the level of dedication and enthusiasm for the work I did. One thing that I liked the most about the place was the interaction between students and professors. I used to have lunch with my guide who also took me to bars and restaurants. These type of informal meetings ultimately helped me in getting familiar with the system, and had a good impact on my work. They also organise biweekly chair meetings, where every professor, lecturer, and research scholar meet and discuss their ongoing work. In short, it was a pleasant and comfortable environment to work in.
+My project was a part of the HiOS project of TUM, which is related to the flood modeling of southern Germany. I was asked to prepare a model to correlate the surface run-off with different factors like roughness, slope, elevation etc. First, I had to collect all the data and prepare maps and land use charts for the cities involved and then use python programming in ArcGIS to automate the entire process and run it for 2-D Dynamic wave model. Although I was not expected to run the model but seeing my progress at work, they upgraded my work. Collectively it was a great learning experience. I had to give a presentation at the end which got approved by the chair of TUM. 
+
+
+
+
+ 
+### Summing up and Key Takeaways
+
+![pic3](/images/posts/arpitSummerDiaries5.jpeg){: style="width:70%;height:auto"}
+
+So if you are interested in research and want to go for a fully paid foreign internship, start mailing right after mid-term examinations of the autumn semester and be ready with all documents like NOC, SOP etc. Put maximum effort into writing the SOP and cover letter. Refrain from mass mailing and always send edited and personalised cover letters to different professors. It is a great experience to improve yourself academically and develop a better personality. You will witness a new culture, meet new people and learn a lot. These programs also help you obtain scholarships for masters or Ph.D. in future, so don’t miss the chance. The last piece of advice, if you are selected, remember that when you visit a foreign land, you are not only representing your institute but also your country. Always keep a balance between amusement and work, and while you are there get praise for yourself and for India.

_posts/2018-07-10-summer-diaries-schlumberger.md

@@ -0,0 +1,55 @@
+---
+layout: post
+title: "Summer Diaries: Schlumberger Asia Services Ltd."
+image: PrateekJha1.jpg
+tags: [wona]
+author: "Prateek Jha"
+excerpt: "Schlumberger is the world’s largest oilfield service company. It is spread all over the world, with employees representing more than 140 nationalities working in more than 85 countries. Today Schlumberger provides services to the petroleum industry, such as seismic acquisition and processing, formation evaluation, drilling, cementing, well completions, and software and information management."
+category: summer2018
+---
+
+### Making it there
+
+Schlumberger selects interns annually through on-campus recruitments. The recruitment process for my batch ended up getting delayed due to some technical difficulties, following which the process was reduced to only two rounds. The first round was that of resume shortlisting. Students from the Earth Science department (Geophysical Technology and Geological Technology) are eligible for the Petro-Technical Engineer (PTE) profile and are shortlisted based on their resume. The second round was that of Personal Interview which was held later in the month of January. 
+
+The interview is quite rigorous and tests your subject knowledge as well as who you are as an individual. The questions asked are very specific so one should not beat around the bush with the answers. I was asked numerous questions to test my understanding of the subject and each of these questions, although simple, was extremely concept based and required in-depth knowledge of the subject. 
+If your previous internships are relevant to the profile you are applying for, you must be completely thorough with the entire work which you had done over there otherwise it could reflect poorly on you.
+
+A lot of questions were also asked about my activities around the campus, my roles of responsibility and my general daily lifestyle. Apart from these, one should be prepared with the classic interview questions (‘about yourself’, ‘strengths and weaknesses’, ‘why should we choose you?’, ‘why Schlumberger?’).
+
+
+
+ 
+### Workplace
+
+![pic2](/images/posts/PrateekJha3.jpg){: style="width:70%;height:auto"}
+
+All interns are introduced to the company, its policies and safety measures through a 3-days induction program after which each intern is sent to their allotted locations and segments. I was allotted segment Data Services (DS) Hub at Schlumberger’s Nerul base in Navi Mumbai. DS Hub is further divided into teams such as Geophysics, Petrophysics, Geology, Production and Reservoir. I was introduced to my team which was Petrophysics, met with my mentor and was briefed about my project.
+
+DS Hub Navi Mumbai serves as the headquarters of data servicing for Schlumberger and hence receives data from all across the globe. For Earth Science enthusiasts, my project was focused around NMR Logging data. To interpret NMR data, an accurate T2 cutoff is required to be obtained from core but in my case, core was not present and I was to devise a method and verify whether an accurate T2 cutoff could be obtained through it, without core. 
+
+My project was planned very efficiently through discussions with my mentor as we decided on short goals for each day of the entire internship period, in the beginning itself. This allowed me to keep a good pace and complete my project on time in a period of 3 weeks. In the final week, I was to present my work through a presentation in front of all of the managers and my colleagues, where I was assessed on my presentation skills as well as my work. 
+
+### Work culture
+
+
+Schlumberger functions like a relentless well-oiled machine. The job is not restricted to a traditional 9 to 5 scenario and employees work around the clock as and when a task is assigned. There is little room for slack and error. However, the entire segment working as a whole gives a very positive vibe to the workplace. The atmosphere is very collaborative where everyone takes care and guides each fellow employee. The teams also go out regularly for meals and parties which is always a fun experience!
+
+Apart from work, there are ample facilities for leisure activities such as table tennis, gym, video games or just bean bags for those like me who are willing to relax! Accommodation, meals and travel are all taken care of very efficiently and as per requirements. Navi Mumbai has a pleasant weather at all times and makes for a good stay.
+
+
+
+
+
+ 
+### Key Takeaways
+
+![pic3](/images/posts/PrateekJha2.jpg){: style="width:70%;height:auto"}
+
+My experience remained amazing throughout. I was especially excited to be surrounded by people who were actually working on techniques and concepts I had only studied on paper in classrooms. As an intern, I was guided at each step and I gained further confidence when I realized that my project was not going to be restricted to my internship but would be beneficial to the company in the future.
+
+Despite the seemingly short duration of a one-month internship, it is an intensive learning process. It gives interns a lot of scope for professional and personal growth as it demands work at a regular pace along with excellent communication skills. Getting here is tough and persisting here is tougher but making the ride fun is all up to you. 
+
+For interviews, my only advice is that you be thorough with the subject matter and your resume. Be calm and confident and always remember that it is you who drives the interview and not the interviewer. 
+Feel free to contact me for any further questions!
+

_posts/2018-07-11-summer-diaries-sorbonne-university-paris.md

@@ -0,0 +1,51 @@
+---
+layout: post
+title: "Summer Diaries: Sorbonne University, Paris"
+image: yash1.jpg
+tags: [wona]
+author: "Yash Trivedi"
+excerpt: "The intern season is definitely not something to be scared of. In fact, it is a rather enjoyable experience and a good precursor to the placement season. I’ll try to share my experience in the best way I can and I hope that you take something away from this."
+category: summer2018
+---
+
+The intern season is definitely not something to be scared of. In fact, it is a rather enjoyable experience and a good precursor to the placement season. I’ll try to share my experience in the best way I can and I hope that you take something away from this.
+
+### Making it there
+
+Like many others, I too didn’t have any specific job profile in mind. I was sure of one thing though - not wanting a coding-related intern, in part because I didn’t like it but also because the scope of my coding knowledge was restricted to a “Hello World” only. Hence, I was looking for an intern related to a core subject - either in an industry or a research intern. 
+
+I applied for almost all the core companies for my branch (Mechanical) that visited our campus - ITC, Bajaj, Tata Steel, Jindal. Most companies have a test, followed by GDs and interviews. I reached the interview stage of ITC and Tata but didn’t get selected. And all this while, I had also been trying to land a research intern abroad. I didn’t try for DAAD (my CG didn’t allow me to). I tried for other research programs - MITACS (Canada), NTU India-Connect (Singapore), CHARPAK (France) and NUS. I even had the audacity to apply for an internship in the R&D cell of Boeing and Airbus, only to be rejected later. I didn’t have any luck here either - I got only 4 replies from professors out of the 35-odd mails I sent - all in the negative. The perfect time to start mailing depends on the deadlines of the respective programs. If you are aiming for DAAD, you will have to start pretty soon - I think around August-September should be good. For Charpak, you can start mailing professors by November-December. There is no limit to the number of mails you can send. I have known friends who have sent more than a hundred before getting a positive response.Care must be taken to not spam each and every professor you find out about with the same mail. Take some time to select a professor and write him a personalised mail.
+
+The generally accepted format for your mails is something like this - your cover letter (the mail you write), and with it attached your resume (with a detailed description of your projects), a report on the project(s) you have done (this really increases your chances), and a letter of recommendation (optional). No need to use your IITR resume. You can easily create one on LaTeX. 
+
+I finally had my breakthrough when Reliance visited our campus in March. It recruited solely on the basis of my test performance (core + aptitude). I was happy. I gave chapos. And exactly 9 days later, one of the professors I had mailed, replied - offering me an internship at Sorbonne University, Paris. This was my 37th mail. Although I had missed the deadline for Charpak (hence, start mailing early!), the professor agreed to fund my intern almost completely (thanks to the labour laws in France). I spent the next three weeks deciding whether or not to leave Reliance. Eventually, I did leave Reliance and decided to go to Paris. (and thank God I did!)
+
+### WORK
+
+![pic2](/images/posts/yash3.jpg){: style="width:70%;height:auto"}
+
+#### What I had to do
+My internship lasted for about two and a half months. I was to work on the experimental (and subsequent analysis) part of a project related to fracture mechanics. After the first day, they gave me complete freedom to carry out the work in whichever way I deemed fit. I didn’t have any fixed work hours as such. But usually, I used to come at 10 in the morning and leave at 6:30-7 in the evening. I was expected to report to my professor and his PhD student with the summaries of my experiments. There was lots of work to be done, and lots for me to learn. Thankfully, the work was interesting and it felt good to collaborate with someone on a thesis. 
+
+#### What I learned there
+
+Over the course of the internship, I realized the importance of coding in research. I ended up learning a lot of Python (the kind that is useful in research). Now, after the internship, I know exactly how the field of  research functions, what it takes to complete a thesis, how professors collaborate with other professors and why experiments are so tough to perform, amongst other things. It is a daunting task! I have realized that 3D printers are so much more than the toy-printing machines we know them to be, and I saw (first hand) what sort of problems they pose when used for scientific research. I also had to read a lot of literature related to fracture mechanics & fractography, since it was not a part of my curriculum. I learnt to use fancy machines like the 3D printer, UTM and profilometer. My professor and his PhD students were very cooperative and helpful throughout. I also got lots of guidance with regards to pursuing a Masters degree abroad. All-in-all, I would say I have come back with a significant enhancement of my knowledge. Not to mention I got the chance to live in Paris and see Europe for 2.5 months (Oh! I will miss the greenery).
+
+![pic3](/images/posts/yash4.jpg){: style="width:70%;height:auto"}
+
+#### Culture
+
+In France, a so-called “lab” culture  exists. So I was not part of the university as such, but the laboratory where I was working. Hence, I couldn't interact  with many undergrad students but only the PhDs working in the same lab. I was really inspired by the research culture there - which I found very different from ours. People seemed to take research much more seriously. The topics people there were working on were also extremely interesting. At least in the lab I worked in, the topics were all related to pure science, as opposed to industrial applications of research - another aspect where IITR differs from them, I think.
+
+Coming to the location - no words are enough to describe the beauty! Paris is definitely one of those cities that is always on the run, and summers is the perfect time to enjoy Paris. There is lots to do and see in Paris. But, it is an expensive city to live in. So be prepared to shell out some money from your pocket too. Since we(two others from Roorkee) were here for two and a half months, we could explore Paris thoroughly, perhaps in a way no other tourist can. France gives amazing benefits to students - reduced fares for every attraction, free entry at museums, a part of your travel expenses are covered, and much more. It is very easy to visit nearby countries (one Visa works for almost all countries in the EU) and there are plenty of deals you get for Bus/Train journeys. Apart from the usual things/places one visits in and around France, I went to see Roland Garros, attended a concert, visited the winery of the world's most famous champagne and of course, tasted it. Like any other European nation, the French are really passionate about football and living in Paris during the World Cup, with France now in the finals - you can only imagine what it would have been like. French people are quite lazy and they love partying, so weekends in Paris are literally lit, with plenty of party places around. The city of lights, love, art - Paris is definitely a dream destination.
+
+![pic4](/images/posts/yash2.jpg){: style="width:70%;height:auto"}
+
+### TAKEAWAYS
+
+As I end this, I would like to say that if you ever have to choose between a core intern like Reliance and a research intern in Paris - don’t hesitate for a second. Just choose the latter. This is a once-in-a-lifetime kind of opportunity. You will definitely learn a lot and also get good recommendations if you wish to apply for Masters. Keeping aside the immense amount of knowledge you will gain from the experience, how often does one get to live for 2 months in Europe, that too off of someone else’s money?
+
+For any queries or additional information regarding how to apply, feel free to contact me! All the Best!!!
+
+P.S : Your CGPA does matter, so take care of it.
+

_posts/2018-07-13-summer-diaries-JP-morgan-chase.md

@@ -0,0 +1,46 @@
+---
+layout: post
+title: "Summer Diaries: J.P Morgan Chase"
+image: rajendra1.jpg
+tags: [wona]
+author: "Rajendra Thottempudi"
+excerpt: "J.P. Morgan Chase and Co. is a leading global financial services firm and one of the largest banking institutions in the United States with operations spread over 60 countries."
+category: summer2018
+---
+
+J.P. Morgan Chase and Co. is a leading global financial services firm and one of the largest banking institutions in the United States with operations spread over 60 countries.
+
+### Making it There :
+
+![pic2](/images/posts/rajendra2.png){: style="width:70%;height:auto"}
+
+<br>
+
+This was the first time JPMC visited our campus for recruitment. Their recruitment process is pretty similar to that of other tech firms.The first step is the shortlisting of resumes, for which a minimum CG criterion is specified. It then consists of a preliminary round followed by two interviews.
+<br>
+
+1. The preliminary test consists of two sections, aptitude and programming. Make sure you give importance to aptitude as well.
+2. __Interviews:__ There are two rounds of technical interviews, followed by an HR round. Standard questions of Data Structures and Algorithms are asked in the technical round so go through them, preferably from geeksforgeeks. Apart from DS, JPMC is keen on various concepts of Object Oriented Programming, so you can expect a few questions based on OOP in interviews. Finally, they ask specifics of some of the projects from your resume. 
+The HR interview is pretty easy as they just try to know you better. Communication skills play a key role in this round. Express yourself clearly and that’s pretty much all it takes to get into JPMC.
+
+<br>
+
+### Life At JPMC :
+
+The initial days consisted of an induction programme, where they give you a brief introduction of the organisation, which frankly gets a bit boring after a while. At the end of the induction, every intern is assigned a Manager and a Buddy, who helps you with most of the things in the beginning. 
+
+Speaking of myself, I was a part of the Performance and Monitoring team, which monitors various services and continuously strives to improve the performance of the applications so as to make them easier for the end customer to use. The best thing about the culture here is that once you are in a team, there is no difference between an intern and an employee. In fact my team members (other than my manager) didn’t know that I was an intern until I mentioned it to them. I was given two projects primarily, one of which was related to research wherein I had to understand several concepts of machine learning and their use cases for the organisation through a tool named Splunk, which is basically used for log monitoring. The second project comprised of creating an interactive chatbot for a specific purpose (now this is confidential :) ).
+
+Coming to the culture at the organisation, the people around are extremely friendly, and there are several activities which the employees can be a part of. These include sports, representing the organisation at an NGO etc. Regular hackathons are also conducted to harvest new ideas, and the project can be related to any area of your interest. The work hours vary from team to team, but from what I observed they are very flexible and all that matters is getting the job done on time. The manager guides us a lot throughout the tenure, not just technically but in a career perspective as well. My stay was in Hyderabad and it’s a beautiful city to live in. 
+
+<br>
+![pic3](/images/posts/rajendra3.jpg){: style="width:70%;height:auto"}
+<br>
+
+### Summing it Up! 
+
+The two month experience in JPMC has taught me a ton of things. I used to think that life at a corporate organisation would get monotonous with time, but now after interacting with a lot of people I believe that it gets monotonous only if we stop taking the impetus to make things interesting. So, if you keep yourselves motivated and enthusiastic, it’s fun to be at JPMC!
+
+Your summer internship has the potential to give you a lot of exposure related to various things in the industry, so interact with as many people as possible, know the way they have structured their careers and ensure that you have a vivid path in front of you.
+
+Finally, I believe that every one of us has got the skills that are required to get an internship in the fields of our interest, we just have to work to hone our skills and make them better. All the best!

_posts/2018-07-16-summer-diaries-Pepsico.md

@@ -0,0 +1,39 @@
+---
+layout: post
+title: "Summer Diaries: Global Value Innovation Centre, PepsiCo"
+image: anant1.jpg
+tags: [wona]
+author: "Anant Vashistha"
+excerpt: "PepsiCo is one of the leading American multinational fast moving consumer goods companies which has interests in the manufacturing, marketing, and distribution of snacks and beverages"
+category: summer2018
+---
+
+PepsiCo is one of the leading American multinational fast moving consumer goods companies which has interests in the manufacturing, marketing, and distribution of snacks and beverages
+
+### Making It There:
+I began searching for a summer internship around mid-July. Initially, I was more inclined towards research internships at some esteemed foreign university. I started by preparing a cover letter, CV/Resume, Statement of Purpose and an excel sheet tabulating all the details of the professors related to my field of research. I finally received a confirmation letter from a professor by August end after sending over 50 mails. Unfortunately, my application didn’t get financial support through the DAAD-WISE scholarship.
+
+In between this internship search process, I decided to apply to companies in the fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) sector to get a feel of what a  corporate internship would be like. 
+
+I chalked out a list of companies, prepared an excel sheet and sent over 40 mails. I started applying for the corporate internship from early October through the career portal on the website for any internship program, through LinkedIn connections and through mailing. Most of the companies also release a problem statement to offer an internship to the pre-final year students. After the completion of all the formalities including resume shortlisting, telephonic discussion and the in-person meeting, my dream came true and I ended up getting an internship confirmation mail from PepsiCo by march end. My grade point average along with an experience as an intern in Defence Research and Development Organization, Ashok Leyland, Indian Institute of Management Lucknow and the Robotics Tech startup gave a huge boost to my application.
+
+Meanwhile, I also got selected to the Summer Research Fellowship Program (SRFP) and got an opportunity to work as a research assistant at Indian Institute of Science Bangalore.
+
+![pic2](/images/posts/anant2.jpg){: style="width:70%;height:auto"}
+
+### Life at Pepsico:
+In PepsiCo, I worked in the Global Value Innovation Centre which works on disruptive innovations and carries out research studies on recent technological advancements. My project work was focussed on developing a solution for the consumers based on IoT concepts. It included the patents study, research on filtration and network technologies, conduction of failure mode and effect analysis. I also designed a process flow and suggested solutions to meet challenges that we faced. Competitor analysis, market study, deducing inferences from the data, consumer behavior, and the suppliers shortlisting was a small segment of my project.  Discussions with the suppliers and stakeholders, presentations and internal meetings became a part of my 8 weeks internship.
+
+Interestingly, I was not only limited to the Global Value Innovation Centre. PepsiCo provided me with a number of opportunities and organized induction programs with the operations team, supply chain team, R&D team, digital marketing team and many more. Moreover, I also got an opportunity to visit two manufacturing locations including the bottling plant and the snacks plant. This internship also enabled me to meet Arjun Vajpai, the third youngest Indian to scale Mount Everest, for having a discussion on one of my ongoing projects. Along with sharp mentoring from higher management authorities, PepsiCo also enabled me to visit to two to three product design shows and exhibitions.
+
+![pic3](/images/posts/anant3.jpg){: style="width:70%;height:auto"}
+
+I had a number of light moments, fun parties and get togethers with people at high positions in PepsiCo, which made my internship a cake walk. 
+
+### Summing It Up
+
+There is a lot you gain working in the FMCG sector, namely: the scope to make and broaden your networks, an understanding of market behavior, and exposure to management internships.
+
+PS: The art of writing a cover letter, presentation of resume, projects done and the CGPA plays a vital role in shortlisting procedure. Skills, company related information, and communication skills are the deciding parameter in an interview round. While preparing a cover letter for mailing, one must be precise and mention the achievements of the person/company for whom you apply. Rather than writing too much about yourself, one paragraph must be dedicated to the work/study carried out by the professor/company. Resume is enough to showcase your skills and the capability. Timely follow ups are an integral part of the mailing. 
+
+Wish you all the very best!

_posts/2018-07-17-summer-diaries-ntu-singapore.md

@@ -0,0 +1,59 @@
+---
+layout: post
+title: "Summer Diaries: NTU Singapore"
+image: kalp1.jpg
+tags: [wona]
+author: "Kalp Garg"
+excerpt: "At the start of internship season, which generally kicks off as soon as summer vacation ends, I was pretty sure that I will not be going to any coding companies and was unsure about spending my next summers in some core company or in some university"
+category: summer2018
+---
+
+### Making it there
+At the start of internship season, which generally kicks off as soon as summer vacation ends, I was pretty sure that I will not be going to any coding companies and was unsure about spending my next summers in some core company or in some university.  Keeping that in mind, I start preparing for two main core companies which came to our college i.e Texas Instruments and Qualcomm. I got selected for interview round for both companies but finally didn't make it up to any of them either. I can write a separate blog post regarding that context but it is better if you heard/read from the guy who got selected because I am here to tell an altogether different story of a 'research internship'.
+
+There are many different foreign internship programs that provide funding and research opportunities in different universities across the world. Some of them are Mitacs, DAAD, SN Bose, Viterbi, NTU India Connect, RISS, Charpak, SURF, etc. Discussion with seniors and friends let me acquaint with their procedure and selection criteria. This is a list of only common and usually known programs. Many universities have their own programs for summer research internships. Generally, there are two ways of getting an internship, one to apply through the program and other to directly mail professor. Latter one is tedious and becomes more time consuming if you want funds from the professor for your internship. How to decide whether you directly mail professor or apply through the program? Some program like DAAD have minimum CGPA criteria of 8.5, so they gave you the direct answer but almost in every program selection, 'CGPA' is an important criterion for selection. So if you have an average or low CGPA, start working on your SOP, CV, cover email right from the start of August or even start of your 3-1 semester. It will give you a head start and obviously more time. Also, there are great chances of a professor of reading and accepting your proposal as the year progresses, their inbox is filled with such emails and they fed up with them.
+
+The procedure of NTU India Connect is pretty simple and straight-forward. You will require Recommendation Letter from two professors of the home university, passport scanned copy, Curriculum Vitae, NOC from home university, transcripts. There are no minimum CGPA criteria in this program. Your selection in the program mainly depends upon your previous project/experience and its relevance in your applied project. After getting selected, you don't need to go anywhere for your VISA. Instead for the 3-month stay in Singapore, you can apply for the TEP (Training Employment Pass). You need to submit an application for TEP to NTU office which they will forward to the Ministry of Manpower (MoM). After visiting at NTU, however, you need to visit Employment Pass Service centre to complete the process.
+
+Everyone who applied through program receive accommodation in the same hostel/hall. Moreover, you will easily find Indian food and Indian people everywhere inside or outside the campus.  I have many pure vegetarian friends there who ate outside almost every day. Since there is no mess system inside NTU, but there is pantry room with Induction and Microwaves in every block of Hall, so you can cook your own food. I did carry frying pan and some other utensils, along with pulses, rice, and some ready to eat packaged food.
+Also, it is better if you take some cash currency and rest currency in your forex card as some online private forex companies like buyforex, bookmyforex etc. give better options and services as well as competitive exchange rates. You don't need bank account there as all reimbursements and stipend are given into cheque can be directly converted to cash through "FRANK by OCBC" located into North Spine, NTU. The language here isn't a barrier, as every people here talks and understand English. Since Singapore has 4-5 official languages so if you're Tamil speaker, even then you will be able to perform your official tasks since it is also one of the official languages, that's how secular 
+this country is.
+
+### Work
+
+![pic2](/images/posts/kalp2.jpg){: style="width:70%;height:auto"}
+
+My research work is in the field of robotics and vision. A USV (unmanned surface vehicle) is being developed by the team led by my Prof for the Maritime RobotX Challenge which held after every 2 years and is a joint project by NTU and Rolls Royce Lab. Initially, I was told by my Prof to study and analyze the work that has been done in the vessel.  My work is related to its vision and I have assigned the task of developing vision modules in ROS (Robot Operating System) according to the need of competition. During that time, an enhanced visual sense for colour learning and recognition is being developed by me and Prof and I implemented this algorithm as a separate ROS node so that it is modular and others can also easily use this to develop their own robotics project.  To properly analyze its functionality, an interactive GUI is also being made in ROS itself. As per the number of interns under prof is concerned, two is from NTU India connect program (including me) and two are from GRI (Global Research Internship) program. All of us are working on the same vehicle with different work assigned to each of us.
+<br>
+The work culture here is completely different from India. Students and professors are dedicated to work and research, self-study is the main focus of students. The study and research go side by side and there are many places to go and do your work quietly and peacefully. Apart from work, NTU has a very beautiful, dynamic and evergreen campus as its also among the 10 most photogenic universities in the world according to QS (Quacquarelli Symonds). 
+
+![pic3](/images/posts/kalp3.jpg){: style="width:70%;height:auto"}
+
+Apart from hostel room, there are many places to work and sit quietly at NTU, one such was iconic building “The Hive” as shown in above figure.
+
+### Exploring Country
+
+![pic4](/images/posts/kalp4.jpg){: style="width:70%;height:auto"}
+
+To travel and explore new things, these are perks that a foreign intern gets and usually, it becomes the most interesting part during his/her tenure. When I landed on the first time in Singapore, my first stop is Changi Airport and I'm awestruck after seeing the interior of the airport. It is so beautiful and well maintained as per its reputation as the best airport in the world. The country is impressively clean, the environment is fresh and information boards are placed everywhere so you don't require to ask for small things. Even if you ask directions from someone, the people here are so friendly and humble that you will feel good after talking to them for sometime. Every service counter has a candy box before them and person sitting there greets you with “Hey!! Good morning/afternoon” and then they converse politely and are avidly ready to help you out. Saying "thanks" after getting help/service from someone is in their culture that can lift a melancholic person’s spirits. Male Singaporean/Permanent Residents (second generation) here have to do 2 years of compulsory service in the army/police after the age of 18. So this makes them disciplined and at the same time fit. In my two months, I could barely see an obese Singaporean. Office hours here are from 8:30 am to 5:30 pm, which they follow diligently and they used to eat dinner early and sleep early, which is the thing that I don't like personally as you will not be able to find any late night food court inside the campus. Also, they don't work on weekends and spend quality time with the families and friends in the garden/beach, do shopping, and other recreational activities. I got to learn so much from them.
+
+![pic5](/images/posts/kalp5.jpg){: style="width:70%;height:auto"}
+
+Since Singapore is an island state, there are many things to watch and explore there. Some of them like Gardens by the Bay, Marina Bay Sands, Sentosa Island, Pulau Ubin, Macritchie trail walk are must-see places in Singapore. Universal Studios is also present at Sentosa which is the most attractive place to visit. Since it is not able to completely explore it in a single day, we take 6-month student pass and visited Universal Studios for 4 different days. Since Singapore has a very well connected network of metros and buses, you can reach anywhere using them and the good part is that total travelling cost from one place to another remains same irrespective of you taking the bus or the metro or a combination of both. Talking about buses and trains, they are as good as one thought it could be. They are completely clean, fully air-conditioned. In fact, many buses are double-decker so it feels different sitting on the second deck at front of the bus. Generally, public transport isn't filled with people talking to loudly, creating a conducive environment to work to take a nap.
+
+If you're done up with travel in Singapore then you can go to nearby countries like Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Philippines etc. Since most near is Malaysia and Indonesia, you can travel without having to spend too much.
+<br>
+We used to travel during weekends as you don't have to worry about work.
+<br>
+Although you will find Indian food there, it's  taste is not up to the mark as in India. I did really miss this very much from back home. And you can't eat their food as it is tasteless. Only thing I like about their food is fruits, juices and milo. Since agriculture in Singapore is completely absent, all fruits and vegetables are imported. You get to taste fruit from different countries. I ate Egypt's honey mangoes, blueberries, red grapes of Australia, New Zealand's kiwis, Philippines's and Thailand's Bananas, USA's strawberries, cherries etc. Also "Durian" which is south-east Asia grown fruit also known as "king of fruits" and has a very potent smell.
+<br>
+Usually, rain occurs almost after 2-3 days, so the weather is very pleasant. The frightening part of rain is lightning which sounds very harsh and strong. The average temperature is around 25-30 degree Celsius. There is no need to carry warm wear.
+
+![pic6](/images/posts/kalp6.jpg){: style="width:70%;height:auto"}
+
+### Summing Up
+If you're interested in a research internship, strike first and strike hard. Start preparing your CVs, LORs, SOPs, etc. and start mailing professors at mid or end of August. Put effort into writing your SOP and cover email. Keep your passport ready.
+This was my first-hand experience of foreign travel and research internship. You will learn a completely different perspective on the level of research going on across the world. As a foreign intern, you will see the culture of different people, see their working environment. Their facility and infrastructure are that you have never seen before.
+ 
+
+

_posts/2018-07-19-summer-diaries-accenture.md

@@ -0,0 +1,39 @@
+---
+layout: post
+title: "Summer Diaries: Accenture"
+image: archie1.jpg
+tags: [wona]
+author: "Archie Mehta"
+excerpt: "Accenture is a global management consulting and professional services firm started in 1989. It provides strategy, consulting, digital, technology and operations services."
+category: summer2018
+---
+
+Accenture is a global management consulting and professional services firm started in 1989. It provides strategy, consulting, digital, technology and operations services. Accenture derived from “Accent to the future”, today, employs more than 425,000 employees from all across the globe generating a net revenue greater than $34.9 billion.
+
+### Making it there:
+
+Accenture generally comes in the month of August fairly early during the internship season for their presentation, where they elaborate on their selection process. The company invites applications only from Integrated MSc. Applied Mathematics and Msc. Economics/Mathematics. There are 2 rounds an aspirant has to go through before he/she can grab an accenture intern.
+
+
+* **Resume shortlisting:** The first round is basically resume based shortlisting. The chances of making it to the list increase for people ofcourse who have high C.G.P.A but also for the people who have done projects or interned in machine learning/Data science.
+
+* **Interview:** Next in line are three rounds of interview, the first two are technical with the other being HR. The technical interview is to check your conceptual understanding of the subject and how strong you are with your basics(Machine learning/ Data science).  Prepare your resume thoroughly and it is advisable to only mention projects about which you are confident. Be prepared to answer questions about your most recent internship/ project.
+
+
+### Life at Accenture:
+
+All interns are introduced to the company, its policies and safety measures through induction program after which each intern is sent to their allotted team. I was allotted Marketing team which is one of the largest team at Accenture comprising of 100 people, then met with my mentor and buddies and was briefed about my project.
+
+![pic2](/images/posts/archie2.jpg){: style="width:70%;height:auto"}
+
+The Projects assigned are from different disciplines ranging from Video analytics, sentiment analysis, Autoencoders, Image Processing and Optimization but almost always have machine learning linked to them. I was given a project on optimization i.e Cannibalization Analytics. The overall objective was to create the integer solution based optimization model that can be used in optimization situations where, creating all possible solution scenarios is computationally difficult and time inefficient. My project was planned very efficiently through discussions with my mentor and buddies in the beginning itself. This allowed me to complete my project within the time period. Reviews were held after every 20 days with the manager and mentors.  On the whole, Internship is divided into three stages. Understanding the problem, finding a solution and the final presentation.  Even if you know stuff, there is a lot more to learn out there, so keep gaining!
+
+As far as the workload is concerned, it is not really taxing. The work hours usually depend on the team you have been assigned to. For me, I worked from 9-6 on regular days. The company requires you to wear formals at work except on fridays. Apart from work, the company has a cafeteria and breakout area on each floor where we used to chill out and a CCD coffee/tea vending machine and a TT table was also available  there. 
+
+![pic3](/images/posts/archie3.jpg){: style="width:70%;height:auto"}
+
+### Summing up:
+
+It was a wonderful experience! Internships are a great opportunity for networking and getting to know people who will inspire you throughout your life. My previous two being research interns, I always wanted to do an Industry intern. To conclude, I would like to say that my internship has definitely given me a better understanding of my skill set . I learnt much about how the corporate world works.  Don’t just sit at one place and work, talk to your team mates, try to know their perspective, these things matter a lot. Accenture is a pretty good company to do an intern. A balanced resume with a decent C.G.P.A, past experiences(projects/internships) and good communication skills will surely help you in bagging the internship.
+
+The overall experience of the internship was very rewarding and one that I will always remember.

_posts/2018-07-19-summer-diaries-nthu-taiwan.md

@@ -0,0 +1,40 @@
+---
+layout: post
+title: "Summer Diaries: NTHU, Taiwan"
+image: abhishek1.jpg
+tags: [wona]
+author: "Abhishek Gupta"
+excerpt: "One of the most hospitable countries in the world, Taiwan is a place everyone should visit at least once in their lifetime.   "
+category: summer2018
+---
+
+### Making it there
+
+One of the most hospitable countries in the world, Taiwan is a place everyone should visit at least once in their lifetime. Being determined to get a PhD and pursue a career in research, I didn’t apply for internships on-campus. With a CGPA of 9.01, I was quite confident of being able to bag internship offers from some good universities as long as I kept faith in my abilities and kept applying. I applied extensively for various programs in different universities across the globe and sent nearly 400 emails to various professors of reputed universities and research scientists of different research labs and organisations. 
+
+I had prepared my CV in a google doc format in my second year and I used to update it regularly. You should not use IITR format resume for research Internship application purposes. Instead, you can take a look at the resume of the professors in your department (available on their corresponding webpages) and prepare yours in a similar way. As for emails, write a personalized email to every professor you contact and make sure that you've been through his most cited papers as well as his recent papers to understand about his research before you send an email and then write your email accordingly. Do not restrict yourself to only one research field instead consider applying in other fields as well. Your interest will be generated as you proceed to work in that field. Do not use email IDs like smartyabhishek@, luckygupta@ etc to send emails. Instead, use IITR webmail to send emails. I used to attach the reports of my previously done work with the emails, which is helpful or you can  hyperlink the documents within your CV as well. Do not attach any recommendation letter with your email as recommendation letters are confidential and should be sent directly from your professor to the professor with whom you are applying for an internship.
+
+There are various other research internship programs in India as well like (IAS) Indian academy of science, TIFR, IISER, BARC, AIR-India etc which allow you to do high quality research work while keeping you within the  geographical boundaries of India. However, I recommend going to a foreign country. You will learn that small countries like Taiwan  have people with big hearts.
+
+I got rejected from various programs like DAAD-WISE, Mitacs globalink, SN bose scholars program, LIGO, CERN etc. I really faced a very tough time when I had to deal with so many rejections and funding related issues. Rejections are inevitable hurdles in your path of getting an internship. These rejections test your determination. Every rejection indicates that some big opportunity is waiting for you. I too kept applying and finally hard work paid off. I got an offer from university of Paris in the laboratory of processes and materials science (LSPM) and an offer for summer Internship in microtechnology laboratory in National Tsing hua university Taiwan through their COEIA summer Internship program. Apart from this I also got an offer to work in ISRO and an internship offer from IIT Kanpur through their SURGE program. Considering the future opportunities for masters and PhD and reputation of laboratory, I chose NTHU taiwan for my summers. Having high CGPA is not a mandatory criteria for getting summer internship in NTHU but you must have a decent CGPA and some previous research work experience.
+
+### Work
+
+![pic2](/images/posts/abhishek2.jpg){: style="width:70%;height:auto"}
+
+Doing summer Internship in NTHU has been a memorable experience for me. While working on a research project I have learned a lot which, I'm sure, will definitely help me in my future endeavours. With  great research facilities and highly advanced lab equipped with a lot of scientific instruments,  working in the micro-technology laboratory was a really enjoyable experience. While working day and night on my project, I also learnt a lot of things from my Lab co-members. With the great support of my guide, I was able to successfully complete an appreciable and unique work which got publishable as well. The campus life was also truly amazing, with the presence of 7-11 (24 hours convenience store) nearby you don't need to roam outside the campus in search of food when hunger pangs strike you while working late into the night . The weather at Taiwan used to be moderate generally, the place where I interned is quite a windy place with mild showers occasionally . I also visited some nearby places and tasted different taiwanese delicacies.
+
+![pic3](/images/posts/abhishek3.jpg){: style="width:70%;height:auto"}
+
+While working in the microtechnology laboratory, I learned using thermal electrical module of Ansys workbench and fortran programming. I also got used to various laboratory instruments including various multimeters, lasers and other optical devices. I used to work on weekends as well to deliver as much as output as I could within these two months. There were no restrictions on the timings, so I used to wake up a little late and then spend the whole night working in the lab. Since I had the key to access the lab anytime so I used to spent most of time in the laboratory. My guide was very generous and helpful in nature but was also very strict with deadlines. However, I never gave him a chance to complain, he was so impressed with my work that he invited me to pursue my masters under his guidance.
+
+“ **अतिथिदेवो भव:** (Atithi devo bhava)"  is a famous verse in Sanskrit, which means that a guest is equivalent to god. While living in Taiwan I felt that Taiwanese people also have similar values. Taiwanese people are very kind, generous and helpful with a very sweet nature. They are also very sensible people and a combination of these qualities truly makes them great. 
+
+Now talking about my research project, Terahertz radiations has been used in various applications including communications, space applications, Infrared imaging etc. due to its non ionizing properties and the fact that it cannot penetrate the human skin. Uncooled microbolometers have been a topic of immense research to develop lightweight and portable imaging devices for various purposes. My work was related to the development of infrared thermal imaging focal plane array employing various metamaterial structures to enhance the responsivity of thermoresistive sensor. I performed thermal electric simulations of various geometries to find out the best responsivity in terms of geometrical shape and created a mathematical model to find out the optimum dimensions of sensing element geometry with respect to applied constraints of fabrication capabilities and thermal boundary conditions. I  also designed a read out multiplexing circuit based on monolithic structures to create the thermal image and  to detect the direction of motion of the heat source.
+
+### Summing up
+
+![pic4](/images/posts/abhishek4.jpg){: style="width:70%;height:auto"}
+
+Unlike corporate internship,  a research internship offers more flexibility because you are not confined to a schedule. The  only thing is that you have to work with passion and good results are obvious. You are also allowed to think openly without any domination of what others think. The level of knowledge along with new life experiences that you will gain from a research internship is undoubtedly incomparable.
+

_posts/2018-07-21-summer-diaries-kanvic-consulting.md

@@ -0,0 +1,54 @@
+---
+layout: post
+title: "Summer Diaries: Kanvic Consulting Ltd"
+image: kanvic3.jpg
+tags: [wona]
+author: "Benison Joseph"
+excerpt: "Kanvic Consulting Ltd is a boutique firm in the field of management and strategy consulting. A boutique is a classification of the firms based on their scale of operations, as they focus on a limited number of services and have a strength of less than 100 and minimum administrative staff."
+category: summer2018
+---
+
+Kanvic Consulting Ltd is a boutique firm in the field of management and strategy consulting. A boutique is a classification of the firms based on their scale of operations, as they focus on a limited number of services and have a strength of less than 100 and minimum administrative staff. A consulting firm typically advises C-level executives (CEO, COO etc) on how to tackle their strategic issues, be it improving profitability, entering a new market or accelerating growth or dealing with digital disruption.
+
+### Making it There 
+
+It was clear to me from the start of the year that I didn’t want an internship in coding nor data science. My priorities were consultancy, followed by product management and I was also aware of the need to apply off campus for the same, as a majority of the companies visiting campus for internship don’t offer roles in these profiles. Being a part of campus groups which deal with consulting, and plenty of networking and interaction with alumni over the years, did help me to get a fair idea of the challenges and opportunities the field offers, and hence consulting was easily the top priority for me. Based on some extensive search online I had around 15 consulting firms which I shortlisted for applying via their portal or mailing and requesting referrals through LinkedIn.
+
+
+For Kanvic I applied in the month of March on the careers  portal on their website. This round was basically uploading the resume and filling out a basic questionnaire. Following the shortlisting of resumes was the telephonic interview round which went over half an hour in my case. This was followed by the final round of Skype-Interview with the director of the firm. There’s high competition for the limited number of positions in the firm and hence having highly relevant things on your resume or at least ones that can be leveraged for similarities with the kind of work expected at the firm are a big positive. For the same role, a fellow Italian intern at Kanvic, who is an MBA student from ESCP Paris had a previous internship in consulting, while I had done a research analysis project for EY (Ernst & Young), have a POR (Chapter Head, CRY), and also I’m part of the consulting club in campus (ShARE). The telephonic interview was about getting into depth about things on my resume, my rationale behind my choice for consulting, convincing about my interest and why I would be a good fit, them clearly discussing what my role would be like and answering some HR questions. The third and final round was more technical with a case interview and a guesstimate involved, where they look for how you think and develop a structured approach to solving the problem.
+
+<br>
+![pic1](/images/posts/kanvic1.jpg){: style="width:70%;height:auto"}
+<br>
+
+### Workplace 
+
+The office is based out in Gurgaon. Unlike typical corporate firms, Kanvic has a flat organizational structure and works with a startup-like ambience with a small team of diverse and well-skilled professionals who work to deliver top quality output. The major industries in which Kanvic specialises are Industrial goods, consumer goods, retail, and healthcare. The cultural mix was a standout as the firm has a presence in top cities in Europe and also my office in Gurgaon had an intern who is Italian, while one of the firm’s partner is British. Working hours are from 9:30 am to 6:30 pm, 5 days a week and due to the demanding nature of consulting, work usually goes beyond the working hours and sometimes working on the weekends becomes inevitable.
+
+<br>
+![pic2](/images/posts/kanvic2.jpg){: style="width:70%;height:auto"}
+<br>
+
+### Work
+
+My internship profile was that of a “Summer Associate”, wherein I worked directly under the senior consultants and the director of the firm, spending most of my time on primary and secondary research, conducting industry and company-specific analysis, making reports etc. The fundamental approach to work was to build a hypothesis for the specific task and then do the research to validate it. Many a time, finding data becomes difficult due to partial unavailability, or it may not be anywhere close to the desired form, so that’s where a consultant has to make judgement calls, use guesstimates for validations etc. and hence there is a need for all those skills from the candidate. There were reviews and discussion on my outputs on a daily basis, while I was mentored and provided valuable exposure to more challenging and intricate aspects of consulting and working on client projects.
+
+The primary task assigned for my tenure at Kanvic, was to take lead and drive forward the in-house analysis on the Indian cement industry, with certain targets and timelines laid out. A lot of consulting frameworks which I have only read about previously were used along with issue trees and MECE approach as I did various types of analysis like PESTEL (Macro-environment), Porter’s five forces(Industry level analyses), strategic positioning, production forecasting, market competitive dynamics, pricing analysis, company wise financial analysis etc. All the analyses and industry research culminated in me co-authoring an article with other senior members in our team on the Indian cement industry, where we identified the changing dynamics happening in the industry and also the areas that should be targeted to drive up profits. The article was published on the firm’s website and also got media coverage in The Economic Times.
+
+### Key Takeaways
+
+The flat organizational structure in Kanvic made working at the firm enjoyable, as you could easily approach anyone for discussions or help. We had weekly training sessions where one of us from the strategy, analytics or marketing team comes forward to present their work that gave us some useful basic exposure to the kind of industry and work challenges that they are dealing with. Having European colleagues meant a lot of cultural exchanges happened over interactions on life and work cultures, companies and business environments etc. and of course, football. We did have some fun team outings, and the Italian friend even cooked some Italian food for us.
+
+Over the two months, I worked at Kanvic, the amount of learning and experience I gained was tremendous. This definitely had to do with the unique organizational structure and entrepreneurial work environment at Kanvic. Just as how internships are meant to be, I could find where I fit in the field of consultancy and what future growth prospects lie ahead, if I choose to continue within this field.
+
+<br>
+![pic3](/images/posts/kanvic4.jpg){: style="width:40%;height:auto"}
+<br>
+
+### Advice for those gunning an internship
+
+Although consulting is one of the most challenging and rewarding job profiles that need problem-solving, analytical skills, coachability, great communication and teamwork (where IITians can definitely fill in), the opportunities for an internship in this field for an engineering graduate is relatively low due to abundance in the supply of MBA candidates. Thinking from the firm’s perspective it becomes easier for them to hire a current MBA student than invest time training a graduate for business awareness, understanding of basic micro and macroeconomics etc. This makes getting selected for an internship highly competitive. The key to overcome this is to start early in improving your business understanding on how companies and industries run, some basic understanding of economics and most importantly having a basic understanding of the importance and contributions of consulting firms in the broad domain of business.
+
+Guesstimates and case interviews will become necessary in the further rounds of application and can be practiced with resources and help that can easily be found online. The most valuable form of help I got was from interacting with people working in consulting (Mostly alumni), as I could build a fairly decent idea about the field, how the work typically goes by, and qualities the firms look for in a consultant etc. All this not only helps in having clarity while applying but also helped me to mentally align my expectation and then incorporate all the learning and experience to make the best of the internship. Networking is very important just like in any professional field. One can easily search for alumni on LinkedIn who are working in various consulting firms and then approach them for guidance and even referrals while applying and they will be there to help.
+
+For those of you gunning for an internship in consulting, feel free to contact me for any additional queries or guidance

_posts/2018-07-23-summer-diaries-arctic-norway.md

@@ -0,0 +1,38 @@
+---
+layout: post
+title: "Summer Diaries: University of Arctic Norway (UiT)"
+image: ritvik1.jpg
+tags: [wona]
+author: "Ritvik Raj"
+excerpt: "Having a low cgpa, you would not expect anyone to get (even apply for) a foreign research internship but this didn’t deter me down."
+category: summer2018
+---
+
+### Making it there
+
+Having a low cgpa, you would not expect anyone to get (even apply for) a foreign research internship but this didn’t deter me down. After receiving decent responses based on my profile from the professors, my confidence kept on rising. However, most of them turned out to be unpaid internship responses. Still, I kept on applying for like ten days. I started applying on 22nd March (which is too late to even think of applying for research internships but I knew that I had a decent resume which boosted my confidence in doing so) and got few responses which were positive and had funding opportunities. I finally settled for the internship at UiT Norway amongst the three interviews which I had with different university professors. I researched about it online that the Norwegian universities pay a good amount of money to their employees and interns. Also, the topic which I would get as an intern was a very fundamental topic in visual attention and symmetry (computer vision). I saw this as a very good opportunity to learn new things and experience new culture and hence grabbed this opportunity. Finally, I got the acceptance from the professor on 2nd April (took me ten days to get the internship) but I advise you to apply from September to November (professor don’t have holidays in this period) and January to March.
+<br>
+I took help from my senior to make a cover letter which was short but at the same time had all the important information. I’d suggest you to read some recent project of the professor under whom you have your internship and mention it in the mail because that helped me in pursuing this. Make a one-page resume and keep only the important information which makes it easier for anyone to read at one glance.
+<br>
+After getting the acceptance letter, I took my visa appointment on 22nd April which is a bit late. It took me one week to collect all the documents. I got my visa on 10th May and flew to Tromso, Norway on 15th May. Travel was well covered in the stipend. I recommend you to take layover between flights so that you can see around. Some countries have visa on arrival for Indians. The accommodation provided by the college was a single room along with kitchen shared amongst 6 people (co-ed hostel :P Seems pretty fun for IIT student, huh?)  
+
+![pic2](/images/posts/ritvik2.jpg){: style="width:70%;height:auto"}
+
+### Life at UiT
+My area of the internship was in visual attention and symmetry. My work, initially, was mostly to code the research paper from scratch in python. Then, I had to investigate whether Symmetry or Asymmetry is important for visual saliency in an image based on MIT and several other freely available datasets. The work timing was from 8 AM to 2 PM which gave me a lot of time in the evening to study on my own. The best part was when I used to meet my supervisor. Try to have several meetings with your supervisor even if you have not completed the work. This would make you learn more and complete the work faster.
+
+![pic3](/images/posts/ritvik3.jpg){: style="width:70%;height:auto"}
+
+### Culture
+Everything about the place was quite new since this was my first time in Europe. I liked the social and gender equality in Norway which is one of the best takeaways. I loved the mountains (obvious, if you know me), fjords, islands, oceans and the beaches. I was actually living on an island named Trosmø . You get to see the Midnight sun (summer) and Northern lights (winter) which are great natural wonders.I even managed to save some money and travelled around Norway and some nearby places in Finland, Sweden, Paris and Amsterdam. I took car trips and tried kayaking, skiing and even hiking to some mountain peaks. I’d suggest you to plan the days intelligently!
+<br>
+I took a week off and travelled to Paris and Amsterdam. Try to go to Paris on their National (Bastille) day which is on 14th July. I was there that night and had an amazing chance to see the Eiffel tower lit up by fireworks. These great megacities are famous for its art, culture and history. Overall, it was a great experience visiting several countries in just three months.
+<br>
+Weather in Europe is the best in summers. The temperature in most of the places is between 10 to 30 degree Celsius. Walking on the streets is the best thing you can do in this temperature. I even learned to cook food during my stay there. I tried some different cuisines but Indian food still stands my favorite.
+
+	
+### Summing it up
+
+Try to be brave in taking chances and risks. While it might seem tempting to just shy away from challenges, don’t! If you are working with someone in your lab or travelling somewhere, try to make new friends and contacts. You can get some help from your fellow interns to find something that will meet your needs for a future internship. Internships are all about learning. So, if you really want to have an experience which is a mixture of travel and work, I’d suggest you to go for a foreign internship.
+
+![pic4](/images/posts/ritvik4.jpg){: style="width:70%;height:auto"}

_posts/2018-07-24-summer-diaries-nutanix.md

@@ -0,0 +1,47 @@
+---
+layout: post
+title: "Summer Diaries: Nutanix"
+image: ajayRahul1.jpg
+tags: [wona]
+author: "Ajay Rahul"
+excerpt: "Nutanix solutions are built on Hyperconverged Infrastructure (HCI) technology, delivering a full infrastructure stack that integrates compute, virtualization, storage, networking and security to power any application, at any scale. The company was founded in 2009 by Mr. Dheeraj Pandey of IIT-Kanpur. It grew as a startup and now is a full-fledged company with just more than billion dollar valuation. 
+"
+category: summer2018
+---
+
+### Making it there
+
+Nutanix comes early during the internship season, usually the first day or second.
+The selection process involved 3 stages:
+	1. Technical round : Nutanix conducted an online coding test. We were given two questions and about an hour to solve them. The advice here is pretty much the usual - Geeksforgeeks, InterviewBit, Hackerrank etc, and your fundamentals.
+	2. Debugging round : Students who got through the technical round, are called for the 2nd round. In this round, you will be handed a piece of paper with a snippet of code, mostly in either C or C++, and you will have to find all kinds of errors and correct them. Your fundamentals and ability to analyse information quickly are going to help you get through this round.
+	3. Interview : This round can’t be generalized, depends from person to person, and their interests. Of course, they will ask you a few questions related to data structures and algorithms. Nutanix doesn’t conduct a separate HR round. The general advice is to be curious, have a decent interaction with the panel, and make a good impression. 
+	4. If you make it past this round, hurray! You are officially a Nutant !
+
+![pic2](/images/posts/ajayRahul2.jpg){: style="width:70%;height:auto"}
+
+
+### Work and Culture
+The primary motto of Nutanix is “Hungry. Humble. Honest”, a motto that is reflected in the kind of output generated by the firm. Nutanix ,I believe is somewhere between a startup and a corporate, i.e although it is a corporate in formal terms, but the work-environment is undoubtedly more like a startup. During my internship period, I for once did not feel the corporate vibe at Nutanix. 
+![pic3](/images/posts/ajayRahul3.jpg){: style="width:70%;height:auto"}
+
+<br>
+The interns are randomly placed in different teams, (Yes, I know it’s a tiny drawback, but the point is that the interns might not be mature enough at such an early stage to choose their own team.) I was placed in Nutanix Calm. Calm stands for Cloud Application Lifecycle Management, and was a startup acquired by Nutanix two years ago. My work was to develop a task for a cloud microservice running on Calm. I spent my first two weeks setting up my Dev VMs, working environment, and understanding how the product functions. I primarily worked on Go and Python, but at a later stage I had to work on the UI as well using ReactJS. So basically I had a full stack experience. The work assigned will not be some sort of training for interns, i.e the interns directly contribute to the ongoing projects of the team. I should mention that there were certain R&D projects based on Blockchain and Machine Learning as well in other teams. Interns have a boot camp during the first or second week, where all Nutanix products are explained, and I bet you’ll doze off just like you do in our campus lectures :P (just kidding, try not to: some of them are really interesting)
+<br>
+Since my team was earlier a startup, our work environment was really relaxed, and I believe that other teams at Nutanix also resonate the same work culture vibe. I did not have any fixed work hours. I used to arrive at 10 am, and leave by sometime around 12 a.m in the night. No, no, I did not work for the entire duration. We spent the evening playing TT, foosball, pool, FIFA 18 (PS4 basically), hit the gym, watched IPL and FIFA etc. Nutanix provided us with all three meals and a pantry in the office with “infinite” stock of beverages, snacks, juice and chocolates. The best part of the internship was working on a Macbook Pro. I still miss it, and it has made typing on my own laptop very tedious. At Nutanix we have a “Interns day out” with outdoor and fun activities at a place called Area83 in Bangalore. Other than that there are frequent team outings, be it a movie or a restaurant or (most often) a pub.
+<br>
+
+![pic4](/images/posts/ajayRahul4.jpg){: style="width:70%;height:auto"}
+
+Although I was assigned a mentor, he was not the only one who solved my problems. When you face a bug, try to debug it yourself for sometime, and then go bug other people to help you debug. Since most of the members were in the age group of 23-40, the nineties’ kids aura was maintained throughout the office. The work environment was non-stressful even though the coding standards were high.
+<br>
+Other than that you will have a jolly good time in Bangalore. It is a wonderful city, (obviously barring the traffic), with good weather, and a lot of tourist spots nearby. I personally love Church Street (M.G road) in Bangalore : It has got a bunch of good restaurants, shopping complexes, two bookstores and an entertainment/comic store. (What a nerd, eh!). We were lucky to have the FIFA world cup this year, we spent the weekends watching matches in restaurants in Koramangala. 
+<br>
+Given all these perks, it definitely doesn’t mean “life chill hai”. Work with fervour, be curious, show a lot of enthusiasm and finish your tasks time to time for a (any) successful internship.
+
+	
+### Summing it up
+
+A significant portion of our IITR junta is involved in ML,DL,Data science these days, if you too are a person who is *really* into Machine Learning or Data Science and wants to pursue it in the future, Nutanix might not be your best option. Although there are a few projects related to forecasting and machine learning, they are not the conventional stuff that one expects. Whereas, if you are interested in Cloud computing, OS, Networks and related areas, you should definitely give Nutanix a shot. I had a steep learning curve at Nutanix and fruitful work experience. Working in a city like Bangalore was a huge add-on. If you really like the company’s profile, and given that you have a strong resume, you can try for an off-campus internship as well (via Linkedin or any other connections). I believe more people will be familiar with the name Nutanix in the coming years. If you need more details, please feel free to ping me.
+
+![pic4](/images/posts/ajayRahul5.jpg){: style="width:70%;height:auto"}

_posts/2018-07-26-summer-diaries-bnp-paribas.md

@@ -0,0 +1,63 @@
+---
+layout: post
+title: "Summer Diaries: BNP Paribas"
+image: ram1.jpg
+tags: [wona]
+author: "Ram Bansal"
+excerpt: "BNP Paribas is a French international banking group which currently stands as the world's 8th largest bank by total assets and operates in 75 countries"
+category: summer2018
+---
+
+BNP Paribas is a French international banking group which currently stands as the world's 8th largest bank by total assets and operates in 75 countries. In India, it offers sophisticated solutions in three of its core businesses: Corporate and Institutional Banking, Investment Solutions and Retail Banking. The BNP PARIBAS GROUP has been named as the “World's best bank for sustainable finance 2018.”
+
+### Making it there
+Having gained experience in a startup for eight months in my second year, I made up my mind to pursue a summer internship in the field which would intrigue me the most. And it was during the last two weeks of the subsequent summer internship when I found myself deep into financial markets. 
+
+Everyone talks about following your passion, but very few people are actually able to see the view on the other side, and the internship season is a live spectacle of the same. You’ll spot knots of students who won’t be putting in any efforts to know their area of interest, and who will get indulged in coding, data analytics etc and join the race of bagging a tag, irrespective of what they really want to learn. Seldom did I see anyone following their interests in unconventional fields like finance, design or digital marketing etc. I, not bothering about what others were targeting, learned the basic concepts of the stock market by joining a remote internship offered by ‘Trader for Tomorrow’ in the campus. 
+
+I continued following my ever growing interest in financial markets and shortly came across a senior who was studying finance religiously.  He showed an immense interest in guiding me through my journey of exploring the very field that had now made me enjoy the work I do. The semester was nearly ending, and I had no idea if I was ready to start applying for a finance-oriented internship as I was still ambiguous about spending my summers at a financial firm. 
+ 
+Finally, the internship deciding semester came up and I was supposed to make the inflexible decision of finalising an internship profile of my choice. I decided to take the road less travelled and kept studying finance further until I was able to make an irrevocable decision. It’s said that the best of the decisions are the most difficult to make, and honestly, I am really satisfied with mine. 
+
+In the first week of January, I made up my mind to follow finance with full determination and dedication, giving up on everything else. One of the best possible ways to develop a good understanding of Finance is to devote your time to gaining knowledge of the CFA Level 1 syllabus. The CFA® Program is a globally-recognized graduate-level curriculum that provides a strong foundation for real-world investment analysis and portfolio management skills combined with the practical knowledge that you will need in today’s investment industry.
+   
+After the first eight months of the junior year, I realized that I didn't even get my resume verified as I was busy seeking my passion. I was too full of myself to bother what others were striving for and quite obviously, experienced a downfall in my social life. All said, I really don’t have any regrets about the way I used my time as the rigorous and fixed schedule turned out to be very fruitful, I’d finally developed a keen interest in ‘Valuation and Equity Research’. 
+
+It was the first week of March when I started looking out for an internship in Qualitative Finance with full focus and devotion. And right before the end semester examination, I had the following internship offers, and I got all of these via Linkedin. 
+
+1. BNP Paribas, Mumbai - Investment Banking Analyst
+2. Kotak Securities, Mumbai - Client Relationship Associate 
+3. Wealthmills Securities Private Ltd., Navi Mumbai - Research Analyst
+4. Sharekhan, Mumbai - Product Manager
+You can bag any internship via Linkedin, provided you follow a set of guidelines for its optimal use.  In the next section, I am writing the steps to get an internship aligning with your area of interest using Linkedin.
+
+**Tips for applying off-campus via LinkedIn**
+ 
+1. Attractive Linkedin Profile - The primary focus should be on building an attractive Linkedin profile. A good profile includes a short and crispy introduction about oneself, and the past experiences with detailed explained of the role a person was engaged in. I would recommend taking a reference of the profile of Shubham Vij, a 2018 batch pass out. Refer to this link to redirect to his profile - (https://www.linkedin.com/in/shubham-vij-317322b4/ )
+2. Neat CV/Resume - The second step which is the most crucial requires you to making a good-looking Curriculum Vitae/ one-page Resume including as much content as it could contain. I would suggest against using the IITR resume template, especially when applying off campus. I referred to the CV layout formats used by business school students. 
+3. Appealing Cover Letter - A lot of creativity is required while drafting an impressive cover letter. A convincing cover letter comprises of three segments, the first part briefing about yourself and the role you are applying for, the middle portion describing the skills you developed through explaining your past experiences, and the last section emphasizing on how your experiences and skills make you suitable for the asked role. 
+4. You are all set to sail once you have prepared a CV, a cover letter and a Linkedin profile. Next step is to make an excel sheet containing the name of the companies you want to work at during your internship period. 
+5. Now, take up any company from the excel sheet, and search it on Linkedin. Open the page holding the profiles of all the employees working there. Beginning with the top of the hierarchy of their designations, start sending requests to HRs, Presidents, Vice Presidents and others through putting a crisp and an impressive content in the 'add note' option. And you have to send the same to at least 25 profiles per company. The conversion rate of getting your request accepted is 40%, only if you have a pretty good profile. And the chances of getting a reply back from a new connection is 30%. In a nutshell, approximately twelve professionals will respond out of a hundred persons approached. This route is not as simple as it may look initially, but I guarantee if you do it honestly the chances of getting a favourable outcome would increase much fold. I have mentioned below what I used to write in 'add note' button, <br>
+ *Hello Sir,
+I'm currently a 3rd-year undergrad at IIT Roorkee. I have a deep interest in Equity research and valuations. I am looking for a summer internship in the same. Could you please guide me in the right direction?*
+6. Once you get a reply, try not to miss the opportunity and keep him/her engaged in the conversation smartly. You need to get their business mail id so that you can send the cover letter you have prepared, and don't forget to attach your resume in .pdf format. 
+You will be informed of an interview if that person considers your resume for the internship. The number of interview rounds you face would depend upon the company you apply in.
+7. A tip on increasing the chances of getting a positive reply - I used to get very disappointed by a low rate of getting a response. So, I tried putting another convincing text trying to persuade them to reply, and I turned out to be lucky as I witnessed an exponential growth in the number of replies. So you can always shoot them one more text. You can write it in the way you want, but for your reference, I am writing down my original message here. <br>
+ *I am searching for the right opportunity, and I know your mentorship can provide me with what I am seeking. Could you please tell me how I should proceed further? I have developed a deep interest in the financial markets, valuations, and equity research and I have decided to pursue a career in the same. I am also looking for a summer internship in the same. May I please know if there is any suitable opportunity for me?*
+
+![pic2](/images/posts/ram2.jpg){: style="width:70%;height:auto"}
+
+### Work
+Unlike my friends, I didn't get my internship through a well-carved process, so I had an entirely different internship experience in the investment banking field. I didn’t even have to complete the training webinar sessions unlike most of the on-campus recruited interns. 
+
+It took me by surprise when I realised that I was the only intern to be hired in their headquarters, i.e., BNP Paribas, Mumbai, where I got the project falling under "Sustainable Finance." Officially I was assigned to do the credit analysis of a project which had been seeking to raise funds to carry forward their program through innovative financial instruments like sustainability bonds (Green Bonds and Social Bonds) and Social Impact Bond. As the deal between the bank and its client took more time than was expected, my project pivoted more towards the research side. The revamped project was to design the bond framework, a technical guide to be followed while issuing the Social Impact Bond (SIB), and also perform extensive research on the scope of raising funds through SIB with the bank acting as the middleman between a social investor and the client. 
+
+I chanced upon working on a couple of real ongoing pitches where I got the opportunity to study various sectors like Online Travel, Irrigation, Airline, Cement Industry, etc. The culture was pretty smooth, and my mentor was very friendly and supportive. It's right what we have heard about the working hours of an Investment Banker. Their work schedules are always tight. Their number of working hours fall somewhere between 11 to 14. The people I met, perhaps were the smartest ones I have ever seen in my life. Having impressive interpersonal skills, Ivy League and IIM A/B/C MBA degrees and financial consultancy skills just put them in a completely different league. 
+
+
+### Summing it up
+In a nutshell, you can get an internship of your choice, but you need to keep yourself motivated throughout the whole process. No doubt you will be facing some obstacles, but that will make you stronger and different from the ones following the crowd. You will feel a sense of satisfaction which is the hardest thing to achieve.   
+
+
+
+

_posts/2018-07-26-summer-diaries-uber.md

@@ -0,0 +1,31 @@
+---
+layout: post
+title: "Summer Diaries: Uber Technologies"
+image: sajal1.jpg
+tags: [wona]
+author: "Sajal Sourav"
+excerpt: "Uber Technologies Inc  is a peer-to-peer ridesharing, taxi cab, food delivery, and transportation network company headquartered in San Francisco, California, with operations in 633 cities worldwide."
+category: summer2018
+---
+
+**Uber Technologies Inc** is a peer-to-peer ridesharing, taxi cab, food delivery, and transportation network company headquartered in San Francisco, California, with operations in 633 cities worldwide. 
+
+### Making it there:
+
+Uber visited our campus for recruiting interns. The process commenced with the company presentation and was followed by the display of the list of shortlisted candidates. An online coding round was held on the platform HackerRank similar to the monthly contests on codechef ,codeforces , hackerearth , etc . To prepare for this round, I would suggest practicing questions and participating in such monthly contests. 
+This coding round had three questions based on algorithms and data structure . Only those candidates who were able to solve all three questions were shortlisted for the interview round . Three rounds of interviews were held, two of which were technical and one was the HR round. In the first technical round, questions asked were mainly from the topic algorithms , data structure ,operating system and networking . In the second round questions were asked from the projects mentioned in the resume.
+
+![pic2](/images/posts/sajal2.jpg){: style="width:70%;height:auto"}
+
+### Work:
+
+In Uber,  interns are treated at the same level as the employees and granted all the privileges . 
+The work environment is good and all the employees and staff are very friendly and always ready to help. The working hours are very flexible and we worked according to our convenience. A mentor was assigned to every intern who supervised all the work done by the intern . The projects assigned were interesting, challenging and impactful. I was in the Risk team and my project was to build a service that would help agents in the investigation of fraudulent trips. Inspite of being an intern, I was given full freedom to take design decisions of the service. Reviews were held at regular interval to track an intern’s progress and useful feedbacks were given after the review by the team members.Towards the end of internship a final presentation and demo was held in which all teams were invited.
+
+### Location:
+I was assigned to Uber Hyderabad Office. In Hyderabad accommodation is easily available at very cheap rates. I chose  to live in the vicinity of my office. Food in hyderabad was also quite good. 
+
+### Summary:
+
+The internship offered me a good opportunity to expand my technical knowledge. I got to learn how an industry works and how employees manage their jobs in the corporate world. I realized that building something really useful in life is the real challenge. Internship gives you a great opportunity to figure out what you really want to do for the rest of your life. 
+

_posts/2018-08-01-summer-diaries-cmu.md

@@ -0,0 +1,31 @@
+---
+layout: post
+title: "Summer Diaries: CMU, Pittsburgh"
+image: sumit1.jpg
+tags: [wona]
+author: "Sumit Kumar Yadav"
+excerpt: "I didn’t sit for campus internships so there’s that. Starting by improving on the resume and cover letter from my previous intern at IIT Bombay, I mailed a few professors in Germany for DAAD."
+category: summer2018
+---
+
+### Making It There
+
+I didn’t sit for campus internships so there’s that. Starting by improving on the resume and cover letter from my previous intern at IIT Bombay, I mailed a few professors in Germany for DAAD. Two professors in Germany consented. I was in a dilemma because the choice was between professor’s citations and how interesting the problem statement sounded. So, I mailed a few (around 5) professors in the US with aligned interests. Two of them replied with one of them from Carnegie Mellon University saying YES. In the meantime, out of the two Germany offers, I chose the one with interesting work and applied to DAAD for funding. I got DAAD funding. But Carnegie Mellon University is among the top 5 in ECE and the group I was going to work with was very reputed. So I didn’t accept DAAD and went along with CMU. I made sure that the professors I email had aligned interests and discussed about my previous internships at IITB, IITG and IITR. I emphasized on skills I have from my experiences and the part of their recent work which I liked (this is quite important I guess to show your seriousness and get the conversation started). Feel free to contact me for help with this. I exchanged a few mails with the professor at CMU clearly mentioning that I would need funding before a call on Skype. This was not like an interview and was more of me telling about my experiences and skills and he talking about the current projects in his group to reach a befitting problem statement. I was forwarded by the professor to ECE Summer Undergraduate Internship Program at CMU which actually straightened out logistics. He agreed to pay me a handsome hourly stipend for my stay at CMU and so, I went on to plan my travel and stay.
+
+![pic2](/images/posts/sumit2.jpg){: style="width:70%;height:auto"}
+
+### Work
+
+Carnegie Mellon University located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania is among the best universities all over the world with a beautiful campus and state-of-the-art infrastructure. I subleased an apartment near CMU and the CMU ID-card is(I’m still in Pittsburgh!) a free travel pass for buses, trains, trams and inclines(yes, and they are beautiful!). The working hours are 37.5 per week on paper but are flexible and are never actually counted! I am working on investigating new DRAM memory access scheduling policies for reducing power consumption in modern DDRx memories. DRAM(or main memory) accounts for 40-50% of the total power consumption of modern systems and thus the project is going to have a wide impact. The work consists of reading research papers(about 20 of 'em already), writing C++ code, python and shell scripts, using FPGA board, current probes etc. The work culture is quite open with my professor’s cubicle next to mine. I usually stop by his cubicle once a day and we have 2 weekly meeting of the whole group. The post doc and PhDs of the professor are also involved in the project and contribute in many ways to the project. The group is deeply bonded by chit-chats, meetings and group dinners. 
+
+![pic3](/images/posts/sumit3.jpg){: style="width:70%;height:auto"}
+
+### Location
+
+Talking of Pittsburgh, it's one of the most livable cities in the United States. Another fact worth mentioning is that it’s the most bike-able city in the US and luckily my landlord let me use his bike for my stay. Situated on the conflux of Monongahela and Allegheny rivers, Pittsburgh has a rich history including revolutions, steel-making, historical bike trails and the famous man Andrew Carnegie himself. The Carnegie Museum of Art and Natural History in Pittsburgh is a block down the road from my office and has one of the biggest collection of dinosaur fossils which made my day. The Phipps Conservatory houses local flora and the Zoo houses fauna, both being amazing places to visit. The Point State Park at the conflux is a delight to spend evenings. CMU recently organized our trip to PNC Park for a game of baseball which is another craze of Pittsburgh. The Inclines on Mt. Washington provide a great view of the city's skyline and the conflux and was an amazing place to be on the 4th of July to watch Independence Day fireworks. We(a group of interns) visited Washington D.C. over a weekend recently and it was a delight. The White House, Lincoln Memorial, National Air and Space Museum, National Museum of Natural History, National Museum of American History, World War II memorial, blah blah blah! I'm planning to visit New York before coming back. 
+
+![pic4](/images/posts/sumit4.JPG){: style="width:70%;height:auto"}
+
+### Summary
+
+So the thing is, if you like to work things out in your own way, want your work to be a mix of all rather than monotonous, want to be paid handsomely, like research, like travelling around the world - a foreign research intern is just the thing for you. Contact your seniors for help, don't get demotivated when not getting e-mail replies, don't get demotivated when all your friends scored an internship already because boy you are going to have a lot more fun than your friend X interning in Bangalore.

_posts/2018-08-03-summer-diaries-edelweiss.md

@@ -0,0 +1,89 @@
+---
+layout: post
+title: "Summer Diaries: Edelweiss Group"
+image: aditya1.jpg
+tags: [wona]
+author: "Aditya Chaturvedi"
+excerpt: "At the end of 3rd semester, I didn’t really know where I was heading in life as my grades were messed up and my self-confidence was at an all-time low. Deep down I knew I had potential and with the support of a friend, I decided to bring a change in my life."
+category: summer2018
+---
+
+### Making it there
+
+At the end of 3rd semester, I didn’t really know where I was heading in life as my grades were messed up and my self-confidence was at an all-time low. Deep down I knew I had potential and with the support of a friend, I decided to bring a change in my life.
+
+Sometime around January 2017, I came across a competition organized by a hedge fund called WorldQuant LLC on Channel-I where the task was to make quantitative trading models and they were offering summer internships for the very first time in India in their Mumbai office through it. I knew that this was my opportunity. I left a couple of groups on campus and dedicated my entire time in learning finance and statistics. I aced this competition in March and finished 2nd in India. All this happened in less than 4 months. I was really mesmerized by the dependency of mathematics in finance, and by then, I realised where my interest was. This was how I stepped into quantitative finance.
+At the end of the internship at WorldQuant, I was offered the research consultant contract to work part-time with the firm. I have now completed more than a year working with the firm and ended up becoming one of their top consultants in India.
+
+The 5th semester end-terms were over and I started to wonder where I should apply for the pre-final year summer internship. I didn’t apply at a well known trading firm which hired interns from our campus because I was sure I didn’t want to work as a day-trader/technical analyst but rather wanted to contribute somewhere in quantitative finance.
+I spent the December winter vacations strengthening my concepts in statistics and finance.
+
+On coming back to campus, I was pretty chilled out and was quite confident that I would get an offer sometime soon. I focused entirely on my part-time work with WorldQaunt, made some money and just applied at 2-3 companies in Jan-Feb via LinkedIn where I got the response at the end of Feb stating they have already hired interns during December. This proved to be a big blunder from my end. Thus, if you are targeting a big hedge fund or one of the prestigious banks, start messaging their employees on LinkedIn during mid-October.
+
+Now March was here and I started sending messages on LinkedIn to anyone working in quant finance. I knew that my chances of getting into a top-tier firm were low but even then I was confident of converting if I got an interview because I knew my stuff and had devoted an entire month of December working on it.
+
+Thus I would advise those interested in quant finance to spend the winter vacations wisely learning new things and applying for internships instead of filling your resume doing random internships. Trust me, those internships never help.
+
+After applying for the entire month of March, I got responses from a lot of places to reach out to them next year for a job but only a couple of them were hiring interns. One of them was Edelweiss Group and I knew that this could be my best shot. My interview was scheduled 2 weeks after I got the response and during this time I interviewed for the other hedge fund B&B Analytics whose CEO is an IITR alum. I converted this one and took a sigh of relief that I finally have an internship in hand. But I still kept preparing for the Edelweiss interview. To my surprise, they called me before the scheduled date and told me that the interview was being conducted then.
+
+The interview lasted a little longer than an hour and was taken by 4 people asking questions from different domains: Finance, Statistics (Mainly Time-Series Analysis and some basic concepts), Puzzles, 2 Questions on Expected values and some resume based questions mainly quant trading strategies. I received the final offer a week later.
+
+My internship period was from 10th May to 30th July. 2 weeks after the start of my internship at Edelweiss, I received a call from a major hedge fund based in Gurgaon completely out of the blue. I didn’t even remember applying there and they took my interview and offered me the internship. But by then, I had built a great rapport with my mentor and senior colleagues at Edelweiss and was enjoying learning new things in Fixed Income Products under their guidance. Hence, I refused that offer.
+
+This interview too was on similar lines as Edelweiss but they asked the logic behind atleast 5 completely different strategies I had made.
+
+- Some tips and suggestions if applying for a quant role:
+
+  1.  Start applying to those big banks and hedge funds during mid-October.
+  2.  Learn advanced statistics especially time-series analysis and develop an intuition on how market works. Try to make some innovative trading strategies which are unique using OHLC data (Open-High-Low-Close), volume, fundamental and sentimental datasets and explain this in the interview. Talk all numbers during the interview mentioning how the strategy outperformed the indexes with lesser risks. Be ready with the numbers for Sharpe Ratio, Returns and Drawdowns. If you do this well, trust me you’ll be hired!
+  3.  Participate in competitions from quant firms like WorldQuant, TrexQuant, Auquan or make strategies on Quantopian, this gives a big boost to your profile and increases your chance for getting an interview. The research consultant opportunity with WorldQuant is now pretty easy to get into if you understand markets and know 2-3 basic trading strategies which work well in Stat-Arb eg. mean reversion, asset efficiency ratios, capturing Earnings Announcements Trends etc.
+  4.  For Stats, Schweser’s FRM L-1 Book 2(Quantitative Analysis) is good way to learn and ace the interview and then you can take it forward on your end doing some advance courses on Coursera like MITOpenCourseware.
Note: Basics of Statistics are very important and are always asked in the interview. Eg. Assumptions of Linear Regression
+  5.  For Finance, you should know the basics of all asset classes: Equity, Fixed Income, Currencies and Commodities. Derivative products of these asset classes are very important.
+
+      You should know the pricing of Options, Forwards and other derivatives. For this, Schweser’s FRM L-1 Book 3(Financial Markets & Products) is more than enough.
+
+      Black-Scholes Equation is always asked in any quant finance interview. I gave 3 interviews and it was asked in all of them. You should be able to derive the equation and know its assumptions.
+
+  6.  Be ready for puzzles during the interview. I was asked in 2 out of the 3 interviews.
+  7.  Know either Python or R. They mostly don’t ask questions on these, but better safe than sorry.
+  8.  Make a different resume for different quant roles: For hedge funds, mention the numbers (profits you made from your strategy) in the work description and the datasets you used. For trading desk quant roles, mention how you made your own features using stock data and how it correctly predicts the price movements. Make use of commonly used financial jargons a lot along with the names of the models you used.
+  9.  Start reading The Economic Times, The Economist and stay up-to-date with the recent macroeconomic news. This will definitely help if you go and work in Fixed Income Quant Funds or Trading Desks.
+  10. Look at how to apply via LinkedIn on Ram Bansal’s Internship Diaries post.
+
+### Work
+
+Edelweiss is a traditional Indian company and the work environment was completely different from my previous summer internship at WorldQuant. Only after working here, I realized the difference between working for a FinTech company and a core finance company. The work culture at Edelweiss is very demanding and the capacity to work hard is the most important trait acknowledged by the company and its employees. The place is full of IITians and they are very friendly to work with. I was one amongst 3 Interns in Treasury Management. The other 2 were from IIT Kharagpur.
+
+Edelweiss hires on-campus interns only from IIT Bombay in Global Markets Division and MBA students for Wealth Management. So you can apply in other divisions like Treasury Management off-campus
+
+I worked on 3 projects during my internship.
+
+The first two were in Fixed Income and the 3rd in FX Options. I was given a 60 page research paper covering everything about Credit Default Swaps(CDS) on Day 1 to know about it in depth.
+
+In my 1st project, my responsibility was to get daily and weekly bond axes cover and send my analysis of the daily market movement to the Fixed Income traders in India and Singapore. In this project, I got the opportunity to work extensively on the Bloomberg Terminal which is a dream come true for any Market Data Analyst.
+
+![pic4](/images/posts/aditya2.jpg){: style="width:70%;height:auto"}
+
+> The Bloomberg Terminal
+
+In the 2nd project, I made trading strategies on CDX IG, HY, EM and iTraxx Asia ex-JP CDS Indexes and for Sovereign bonds, CDS of 5 countries using Open Interest(OI) and historical spread. The previous quant experience helped a lot.
+
+In the 3rd project, I had to make mean reverting strategies on G20 currencies in the FX Spot market. This was very interesting and I would be continuing this even after the end of my internship, collaborating with one of my senior colleague at Edelweiss.
+
+![pic3](/images/posts/aditya3.jpg){: style="width:70%;height:auto"}
+
+Working till late and on weekends was very common during the first half of my internship but I finished most of the work because of it. Dominos, McDonald’s and live screening of FIFA WC matches in amazing restaurants was very common and fully sponsored by the employees.
+
+### Summing up and key takeaways:
+
+The best aspect of the internship was working and interacting with amazing people who knew their stuff. I was given many research papers to study and had a lot of discussions on macro-economics, markets and statistics with the employees.
+
+During one of these discussions, I came to know the harsh realities of trading and how difficult it is to sustain a long term career in it. Most of the people working in trading are trying to shift to quant finance. Therefore, this experience gave me a good understanding of what I want to do ahead.
+
+![pic4](/images/posts/aditya4.jpg){: style="width:70%;height:auto"}
+
+> (The research papers I had with me during the end of the internship. They are the best out there. If anyone wishes to read them, reach out to me I can share them with you guys.)
+
+In a nutshell, there are hardly any companies hiring on campus interns for quant finance. You need to keep applying as much as possible and keep learning on the way.
+
+As said by someone,“You don’t do incredible things by just having passion, you need obsession”.You need to have faith that hard work would be eventually rewarded and one should keep doing what he/she is good at irrespective of what others are doing. Sending innumerable LinkedIn messages and not getting a response is definitely painful but you never know when you’d strike gold!

_posts/2018-08-04-summer-diaries-hci.md

@@ -0,0 +1,41 @@
+---
+layout: post
+title: "Summer Diaries: Srishti Institute of Design"
+image: anchit1.jpeg
+tags: [wona]
+author: "Anchit Shukla"
+excerpt: "As soon as a second-year student is back to college after summer vacations, he/she gets exposed to an enormous amount of heat that surrounds the phenomenon of getting an on-campus internship."
+category: summer2018
+---
+
+### Making it there
+As soon as a second-year student is back to college after summer vacations, he/she gets exposed to an enormous amount of heat that surrounds the phenomenon of getting an on-campus internship. Some amongst them already have an internship experience and some have just heard about the great GS and Schlumberger stories from their seniors. I also felt the same heat when I was back after completing my 2 months internship in a fintech startup and gaining some corporate world experience as a UI/UX Designer. In spite of so many people giving gyan about following one's passion, there are,in reality, very few who actually follow their passion. You can easily observe students doing their research on some fat-cash paying companies and blindly learning what is necessary to crack their tests. This is mainly because most students are confused about their area of interest and this is very natural. 
+
+Being actively involved in the design teams of some campus groups for 2 years helped me in figuring out that Design was the field that I wanted to be in but since design was such a vast field, I was really confused about what I actually wanted to do and on top of that having a decent CGPA tempted me to apply for some companies which were offering internships in management profiles but I failed and thanks to that failure, I realised the fact that it was time I started eliminating things that I didn't want to do. When I started doing this, I went through various design profiles that people had and discussed them with my seniors and finally I was able to decide 2–3 profiles that I should try getting an internship in. Unfortunately, there are not many companies which offer on-campus internships for designers (last year it was only one). So, the way out was to apply off-campus and I started doing that. I was more keen on doing a research internship in a field called Human-Computer Interaction (HCI), which is very less explored in India and has a very small community of professionals practicing it. One of my senior who has an experience in HCI research suggested that I apply to the design institutes in India, so I started mailing in January after failing to get through Mitacs to which I had applied earlier for some HCI related projects that were available. 
+
+When you are mailing for research internships, one thing that you should always do is keeping a track of your emails. Set reminders for one week, two weeks and a month after the mailing date for follow-ups according to your order of preference for the project type. I used Google calendar for this. Use your resume wisely and the cover letter should be according to the project and the professor you are mailing to. Do proper 'stalking' and use relevant information from professors' profiles in the cover letters that you send in your emails. I was also applying simultaneously for UX Designer and Product Manager profiles in renowned startups which had a good product team and were reviewed well based on the work environment and culture. After one month of serious mailing and follow-ups, I was able to bag interviews with three startups and managed to get through two of them. But I waited for a response from the professors whom I had mailed, especially the ones from Srishti and IIT Guwahati because these institutes had good projects in HCI and bagging an internship opportunity there would help me, especially with respect to my future prospects in research. Then on April 26th, during my end-semester exams, I received an email from one of the professor who turned out to be the course leader of Human Centred Design (HCD) department at Srishti Institute of Art, Design and Technology, Bangalore but I was surprised as I had not mailed him for an internship opportunity. In fact, I had written an email to another professor in the same institute for internship and luckily the professor to whom I wrote the email forwarded it directly to him and he was working on a project which was relevant to my skill set and experience. This was a great opportunity for me, so I declined the two startup offers that I had and confirmed the internship offer from Srishti and it turned out to be a great decision for me.
+
+### Work
+Srishti Institute of Art, Design & Technology (Srishti) is one of the top-notch design institutes in India amongst NID, IDC-IIT Bombay and IIT Guwahati Design Department to name a few. The institute has been working closely in collaboration with organizations, both industrial and academical on some very interesting projects and that gives you a great exposure to understand the actual life cycle of a product designed and developed, right from the ideation stage to go into the hands of users.
+
+My area of research was HCI integrated with Healthcare and Personal Informatics. The project is called ReRide. ReRide is a platform to explore the interaction of a bike rider with the bike. The platform does real-time posture estimation and gives the rider a feedback for preventive self-care during the bike commute. When I joined, the team who was working on ReRide before had developed an early prototype for demonstrating it in a conference and had done a feedback analysis by consulting a physiotherapist. Based on the prototype testing and extensive design research done to solve the problems faced with the earlier prototype, the new objectives were set and we had to come up with an improved and stable prototype which would be easily mountable on most bikes and would be more modular. It was an exploratory research project which means that we were trying to solve a problem starting with specific use cases and not working on all of them. It was more of an open-ended research problem. The motive was to build a prototype which can be used for extensive user testing and ultimately feed that data into certain ML (Machine Learning) models which eventually would help us in building a prototype that would suggest the posture of the rider to a maximum precision.
+
+![pic2](/images/posts/anchit2.jpeg){: style="width:70%;height:auto"}
+
+I got to learn many new concepts and tools which I had never worked with before and because I was the only student in the project team with the other three members being faculty cum researches, I got involved in a lot of conversations with them on a plethora of topics and it gave me a better insight into the world of engineering and design. There was no such obligation of specific work hours and I usually worked from 10 in the morning and often worked till late in the evening and tried to be on course with the weekly plan that we had prepared.
+Faculty at Srishti are from so many diverse fields that you can’t refrain yourself from talking to them and discussing the kind of projects they were working on and the way they teach is totally different from the traditional methods used in engineering colleges. They believe in getting their hands dirty and building, and not just spending their time in speculating about a theory on a whiteboard. The faculty is extremely approachable and helpful. The conversations with all the HCD faculty on the lunch table ranging from Asimov’s writings to cracking a lame and ‘punny’ joke makes you feel good about the place. Sitting with creative people around you forces your creative juices to flow and get struck by ideas that you couldn't even think of getting stuck by otherwise and the Bangalore weather adds to it by being the catalyst in making your mind feel more rejuvenated than ever. 
+
+![pic3](/images/posts/anchit3.jpeg){: style="width:70%;height:auto"}
+
+The city is beautiful (barring the traffic, of course) and there are so many places to visit in and around Bangalore which you could easily find on the internet.
+
+
+### Key Takeaways
+I got to learn a lot in these two months which were very overwhelming for me. I have also learned about the gap that is present between engineering and design which we need to bridge in the coming future. The experience has been amazing and satisfying. I also got a chance to be at the annual grad show- The Srishti Collective 2018 in which the graduating students exhibit their final projects and I would recommend everyone present in Bangalore at this time(mostly around mid-June) to visit this grand exhibition which had around three hundred unique ideas this year from all the design disciplines and going through those projects took me an entire day and even then I was not able to see all of them.  
+
+![pic4](/images/posts/anchit4.jpeg){: style="width:70%;height:auto"}
+
+Since there are not many people in our college who have some kind of experience in HCI research projects, the important part is to contact the right person and take their opinion and suggestion while applying for these internships. Design research is surely a thing for you if you are a person who loves to identify and solve problems around you. An internship at a design institute would surely give you a perspective that you always wanted to have.
+
+The only thing that I would suggest to the present third-year students is to try to come out of your comfort zone and not follow a defined path. Instead work on your interests and talk about them to as many creative people around you as you can.
+PS: Feel free to contact me if you have any query related to design research fields or anything that is bothering you.

_posts/2018-08-08-summer-diaries-paytm.md

@@ -0,0 +1,63 @@
+---
+layout: post
+title: "Summer Diaries: Paytm"
+image: paytm1.jpeg
+tags: [wona]
+author: "Vivek Anand"
+excerpt: "Pursuing a design internship is not the same as pursuing an internship in your core subject. I'm a civil engineering student, so no companies are going to hire me as a design intern just on the basis of a test. So, for a design intern there's no test but it's all about your portfolio and the amount of work you have done previously to make that portfolio worth it."
+category: summer2018
+---
+
+### Making it there
+
+Step 1: Maintained a low CGPA by choice. <br>
+Step 2: Got frustrated seeing others’ summer sorted posts. <br>
+Step 3: Mailed, mailed and mailed my portfolio to almost a ton of companies <br>
+Step 4: An interview call from paytm and boom! Here I am. <br>
+Seems easy ?
+
+Here's the elaborate version. 
+
+Pursuing a design internship is not the same as pursuing an internship in your core subject. I'm a civil engineering student, so no companies are going to hire me as a design intern just on the basis of a test. So, for a design intern there's no test but it's all about your portfolio and the amount of work you have done previously to make that portfolio worth it. Mailing to right companies is another important thing, once you have made your portfolio. It's like fishing, you have to wait patiently to get into a good company. There might be a lot of fishes in the pond, but your patience and hardwork drive the right fish to you. 
+It was by April when I was prepared with my online portfolio and then  I started mailing to the right companies. Using LinkedIn I first found out the right person's email address and then mailed my portfolio. Sometimes people reverted, sometimes they didn't. When they did, it was all about how they don't require a design intern. Later, I somehow managed to get mail Ids of different startups and their product manager and HR. Friends are always a saviour and started rigorous mailing. Here the response was better than before. Yes, there were still some disappointing emails but it was a better scenario than before. I was happy as they were actually reverting back now.  
+
+There were some companies where my portfolio was selected and I was called for an interview but couldn't make it. 
+Amidst all this I remember it was by the end of this month that I got selected in 17seven, a design studio in Mumbai. I was happy that I finally made it. I was so content, that I forgot to confirm from my side and send the required signed documents. They sent another mail stating that they have cancelled my intern. Oh, I was moved. By this time, almost all of my batchmates were celebrating their intern offers and all those summer sorted things. Nevertheless, I started mailing again and made it in Crowdfire, a social media management company in Mumbai. This time I confirmed everything with no delay, got my tickets and departed for Mumbai. I was waiting for my train, which was late at Delhi station when I got a mail from Paytm. Paytm was always my dream. Putting my senses to work, I opened the mail which stated that my portfolio was selected and I was selected for an on-call interview.  
+
+I was in a dilemma. I was always told that a bird in hand is better than two in the bush. So the train was there and I departed for Mumbai and joined Crowdfire. The interview for paytm was the next day. I decided not to go to the office and stay at my place and prepare. The interview went fine and I was selected. Oh damn. Like all my hardwork, all those sleepless nights paid off. I resigned from Crowdfire and departed for the two months long journey at paytm in Noida.
+
+
+### Life at Paytm
+
+Now  Paytm is India's  well known e-commerce payment platform and digital wallet company  that offers comprehensive payment services for customer and merchants.
+
+![pic2](/images/posts/paytm2.jpeg){: style="width:40%;height:auto"}
+
+I was appointed as a UX design intern. Here interns were normally given projects that could have been given to other employees. I was assigned a mentor to whom I had to submit the daily work progress at the end of the day.  The mentors were quite friendly and eager to help and made sure I didn't feel like a fish out of water. I was assigned a project  for Paytm bank section in which I had to work on the problem statement which was to understand the user expectation with Bank App and find out if landing page of bank section of Paytm App met these expectations or not.
+
+Under the guidance of my mentor, first I started my work with analysis of the current product. Later, I discussed the product with the seniors responsible and my mentor regarding the technical issues and business goals of the current product. After analysing all data, I decided to conduct user research to understand the target user in a better way. For this, I decided the goals of my user research. At last I analysed all my research data and suggested a new layout of Paytm Payment Bank. After approval of new layout of Paytm Payment Bank by my mentor, I also worked on UI Design and Interaction design of new layout.
+
+The working hours were 10 am to 6.00 pm, but I generally went before time to interact better with my seniors and build better corporate relations. The work began at 10am with a break at 1pm and generally some or the other senior gave treats which was another perk. 
+
+<br>
+
+![pic3](/images/posts/paytm3.jpeg){: style="width:70%;height:auto"}
+
+The seniors there were quite friendly and were always ready to lend a helping hand in whatever I needed. Be it from home cooked food, to design problems they were always there and made my journey so memorable. The frequent discussions with higher management and the regular inspiration was another boon. Overall, the work culture was quite friendly and motivating. I could have not asked for anything better. Paytm gave me the best experience.
+
+Moving to the description about the place. Noida. Probably you know better than I do. We are all familiar with the place the weather or the scorching heat the north faces.
+
+
+### Summing it up
+
+The experience given by paytm was worth all the wait.  My journey was full of failure but it's all about luck and hard work. Hard work never goes waste. Paytm is a brilliant company to work for. From the money, to the work, and the people, everything was perfect. The corporate experience I gained truly brushed me up and will of course help me in making future choices. There was a lot to learn in these two months. 
+
+Some key advices to make your internship worth it. 
+
+• Make as many connections as possible. 
+
+• Interact as much as you can. Discuss your project with seniors and take their valuable input form them.
+
+• Hard work is always irreplaceable. 
+
+So never give up till you get what you aspire for. The process might be slow, but if you are on the correct path accompanied with enough hard work, one day you'll get there and everything will be worth it.

_posts/2018-08-23-summer-diaries-paris-observatory.md

@@ -0,0 +1,116 @@
+---
+layout: post
+title: "Summer Diaries: Paris Observatory"
+image: mohan_paris.png
+tags: [wona]
+author: "Mohan Agrawal"
+excerpt: "I spent 10 weeks with the Cosmology group at the Paris Observatory, सौजन्य Charpak (pronounced IPA: [ʃaʁpak] or शाह्पाक) Research Scholarship, and, I was there, right at the centre of Champs Elysees, when France won the World Cup."
+category: summer2018
+---
+
+Quick context -- I spent 10 weeks with the Cosmology group at the Paris Observatory, सौजन्य Charpak (pronounced IPA: [ʃaʁpak] or शाह्पाक) Research Scholarship, and, I was there, right at the centre of Champs Elysees, when France won the World Cup.
+
+I will stick to the guidelines on this.
+
+
+## Making it there
+
+My research intern tale is mostly similar to what have already been told, except for the fact that I was (and still am) inclined to work in a niche area of theoretical physics which is Cosmology. Cosmology is a fairly recent field, gaining popularity only in the ‘60s , and seeing a burst of research only 28 years ago.. Further, it is also a predominantly  post-graduate field of study. That is to say, you spend a year learning it, before you can actually get down to working on small, but independent projects. To give you a scale, there is no undergraduate elective course on Cosmology in any of the IITs, except IIT KGP (that too in 5th year, for Integrated MSc. Physics students), because they have Dr. Somnath Bhardwaj, who has worked extensively in the field. Over the past one and a half-year, working on small projects in Astronomy, Nuclear Astrophysics (in the campus, under Dr. Rajdeep Chatterjee), and now Cosmology, I have formed some opinions for the uninitiated in the field of scientific research,  that I cannot help but share. I will state them matter of factly, as a prelude. First, you don’t need to be a gifted genius in order to get into pure science research. Excelling at the scientific method requires, what I call, “The Three Ps” -- Practice, Perseverance, Patience. Second, a good academic background is a prerequisite. There is no substitute for that. Watching popular science videos on YouTube might be a good hobby, but do not mistake that for a proper training in the field. Third, and foremost, Physics is not Philosophy. There is nothing wrong in wondering about the grand truths and nature of the Universe, and contemplating about fancy propositions and spirituality on a late Saturday evening, but that is not what the modern day Science is all about. It is a quantitative field where everything has a definite, and (almost always) a rigorous mathematical basis. Basically, if you want to learn Quantum Mechanics, go, pick up J.J. Sakurai. If that is too much at once, fall back to more introductory texts, and so on.
+
+I was focused on getting an internship in Europe, because recently, it has become a hub for Cosmological research with big money missions like Planck and Euclid based there. I started the groundwork and e-mailing in late July. Also, I wanted to get for myself one of the 4 flagship scholarships for financial support. Theoretical research groups are generally very small, and more often than not,  part of a research institute (not a University). Thus, the scientists heading these groups are short on both -- time and money, most of which is spent on supporting the PhDs and postdoctoral researchers. It is extremely difficult to shell out cash for an undergraduate with minuscule experience in the field; a hard truth I learnt later on. Yes, I had a decent background in Astronomy and Physics, but that does not make me good at Astrophysics. So, broadly speaking, I concentrated on getting an offer letter for DAAD-WISE in the Autumn Semester, and for Charpak in the Spring. In between, I applied to several University specific scholarships, and Undergraduate Research programs. For what the efforts in the Autumn were worth, I did get an offer letter from Germany, from Max Planck Institute for Astrophysics (which, for me, is the best out there). Hence, I was bordering all my hopes on DAAD, because I figured: I had a detailed research plan, good SOP, past IAS fellowship in Astronomy, and good recommendations. Why wouldn’t I get it? But as fate would have it, I did not get the scholarship. Therefore, something was definitely not as “good” as I had assumed it to be. Similar was the result for Globalink (where, again, I was already in contact with the professor), S.N. Bose scholarship, CERN, and at least 5 more program rejections. I believe that with every failure I learnt something. Few made me realize that I could have done better with the SOP, for a few others my CGPA at the time was not enough to survive the competition, and for some I was simply not knowledgeable enough in the field I was applying in. A lot of the times it was also just pure, dumb luck.
+
+With the beginning of the Spring semester, I started scouting France, in order to get an offer letter for the Charpak Scholarship. My preliminary targets were LUTH (at Paris Observatory) and IAP (Institut d’Astrophysique de Paris). My inclination was more towards LUTH as it dealt with computational cosmology, my primary interest. This time, I was fortunate enough to get both, the offer letter and the scholarship. The wording of this article here does not reflect the state of mind I was in at the time, after innumerable failures over 8 months, despite seemingly having everything good on paper; unable to figure out where I was going wrong. That was absolutely nerve-wrecking. But again, that is not the point. The point is, I did not give up, and I had backup in case I had to face the worst-case scenario. (I kept applying in India too, and was accepted in the Summer Research Program of IIA, Bangalore, and had an offer from IUCAA, Pune).
+
+My mailing advice would be: do not send generic emails. Invest a lot of time in exploring the field that you want to work in, and what the target professor’s/scientist’s work is all about. Specificity should be the aim, and it takes time to draft a professor-specific email. Also, first get a conversation going about the probable project, before bringing up stipend etc. in the discussion. Depending on what field you’re working in; where you’re working; and what you’ll be working on; a professor might agree to give you a stipend; or a travel stipend; or provide accommodation; or any combination of these.
+
+Even though I missed out on an opportunity to be at MPA (which does not support undergraduates), I stayed in contact with my guide there, till the very end, till the time I got accepted for Charpak . He was kind enough to advise me about the field of work throughout this time, and invited me to work next year. This is what building good conversations can do.
+
+It is only human to (subconsciously) try to project ourselves in the positive light, justify the mistakes, and overlook our own shortcomings by finding something to blame. Hence, whatever it is that you do, make sure that it is you, who has made that decision, and that you stick to it. In this way,  however that decision turns out, it is you, who will be responsible for the consequences. That is to say, if it does not go as planned, the only way to move on would be to learn from the experience. I did not always know that I would end up doing Physical research. For a few months in 2016, when I was working with ZeroMQ at SDSLabs, I thought that Distributed Computing was ‘it’ for me. Couple of months later, I too made a decision; and at least for now, I am sticking to it.
+
+Look, if you can summarize the evolution of the Universe in a couple of equations on one sheet of paper, I would say that’s pretty darn cool.
+
+
+## Charpak Research Internship
+
+France has, historically, been a heavyweight in the fields of Science and Mathematics; at the very core of the scientific revolution in the 17th and 18th century. These were the times when the science arena had names like Descartes, Curie, Fourier, Laplace, Poisson, Coulomb, Fresnel, Poincaré, Mandelbrot, Cassini, and Becquerel, just to mention a few. I mention this to show that the research culture and support system in the country is very well nurtured, and is what draws people to carry out their research in France. The Charpak Scholarship is funded by the French Embassy in India, in association with Campus France (under French Ministry of External Affairs). The application process is similar to DAAD, except for the fact that there is no CGPA criteria. The selection relies heavily on your past experience, your ability to demonstrate its worth in the SOP, the academic background (maybe you had a slightly low CGPA, but you performed brilliantly in the courses that matter), and the recommendation. However, from what I have read, and heard from fellow Charpak interns, the unofficial cut-off generally fluctuates around 8.5. The selection process itself is extremely competitive, like any other program. This year only 13 students were selected from all over India. 
+
+The perks of the scholarship include a visa fee waiver, medical insurance, assistance to find a cheap accommodation (extremely necessary if you’re in Paris, the second costliest city in the world), and of course, a stipend (of EUR 795). The stipend was revised this year, effectuating a raise of more than 2.5 times. Further, given that France is one of the most productive economies in the world, it has workforce friendly labor laws. It is illegal to not pay any intern working for 8 weeks or more. Hence, apart from the scholarship stipend, anyone interning in France also receives a salary from the respective institute of about EUR 560. And like most countries in the EU, students receive benefits like food and public transport subsidies. All of this was enough to cover all my living and travel expenses, and leave quite a bit for leisure.
+
+## WORK
+
+### The Institute
+
+Observatoire de Paris happens to be one of the oldest astronomical research institute (older than the Greenwich Observatory). Although, it has retained the historical name of ‘Observatory’, not much observational work goes on there. Stargazing is a little troublesome when you’re literally in the ‘City of Lights’. The modern day institute is at the centre of the astrophysics scene in France, and is a collaborator in all major multinational Astronomy projects. It has several labs covering fields like Space Physics, Planetary Physics, Cosmology, Plasma physics, Galactic, Stellar and ISM physics, Astronomical instrumentation etc. Further, it is also a founding member of the PSL Research University, which comprises of the top French institutes in the fields of Arts, Engineering, and Science.
+<br>
+
+### The Domain of work
+
+I had been wanting to explore Cosmology for a long time, and this internship gave me the chance. As I mentioned, I was working in a lab called LUTH (Laboratoire Univers et Theories), under the guidance of Dr. Pier Stefano Corasaniti. Cosmology has a fairly simple sounding objective: to study the evolution of the Universe. However, in practice, it is a very diverse field. Major portion of the ongoing research is focused on studying several competing models for Dark Energy (called Quintessence models), and trying to incorporate them in the standard model of cosmology, called the Lambda-CDM model. In order to test any physical theory, one needs to apply it to the observables. The two major observables used by Cosmologists, which lead to two major pathways of study are: (1) mapping the distribution and properties of galaxies across the sky, which leads to the field of studying cosmic structure formation, and (2) analysing the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) radiation which leads to the field of CMB Physics. For 10 weeks, I studied the latter. One of the reasons that attract me towards this field is that it demands a good command over several subjects. You’ll need to know some Classical Physics, Statistical Physics, Quantum Mechanics, and General Relativity, in order to understand how the primordial plasma gave rise to the large scale structure we observe today. 
+
+![pic2](/images/posts/mohan_paris1.png){: style="width:90%;height:auto"}
+<div style="text-align: center;"> The project was, in principle, related to this “map of the early Universe”, that one must have come across. </div>
+<br>
+
+For almost a month I learnt the basics of Cosmology, as this was my first introduction to the field. Then I ventured into more advanced topics like Cosmological Perturbation Theory, that are required to work on the problem I was given. My work started off by completing simple tasks like doing consistency checks on theoretical formulas that predict the location of the peaks of the Angular CMB Power Spectrum. Then it slowly got more involved. I had to implement a general Markov Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) engine that would estimate the constraints on the cosmological parameters for the LCDM model using the locations of the above mentioned peaks (obtained from Planck satellite data); also incorporating priors for these parameters obtained from Big Bang Nucleosynthesis (BBN) estimates and Baryon Acoustic Oscillations (BAO) observations. Then, I had to use the obtained results to quantify what is called, ‘The Early ISW effect’, an important effect that occurred about 380,000 years after the Big Bang, when the photons decoupled from the matter. Yet another part of my project involved studying about what is called the Distance-Duality violation, and how that is implemented numerically, through the perturbation theory. These problems were pedagogical in nature, and small enough to be completed in about 6 weeks (after 4 weeks of study). Thus, I got a good flavor of the ongoing research in the field.
+<br>
+<br>
+
+### Work Culture 
+
+![pic3](/images/posts/mohan_paris2.png){: style="width:70%;height:auto"}
+
+The work environment in the lab was very accommodating. The offices were open for 24 hours during the working days, and there were no fixed working hours. Researchers could work as they found suitable. My team was quite multicultural, having a French-Colombian, a French-Italian, Italian, Portuguese, and Spanish researchers. This made the lunch conversations rather interesting. Not only this, but the physical working environment was serene too. Paris Observatory, being as old as it is, owns a large estate in the suburbs. The campus in Meudon, where the offices are situated, is located in a forested park known as Parc de l’Observatoire -- part of a large 340 acre forested, hilly land maintained by the Observatory. The campus even had a lake that often made for an ideal post-lunch fish-feeding relaxation break. One other thing that stoked me was the Institute’s library. It is definitely one of the most beautiful astronomy-astrophysics libraries in the world, having a 350 year old heritage. The collection is stupendous, more comprehensive than I had thought, and fully dedicated to research. Their archives have preserved the original works of, and correspondence between French luminaries of the time, including famous astronomers like Messier, Cassini, and Delaunay.
+
+![pic4](/images/posts/mohan_paris3.png){: style="width:70%;height:auto"}
+<div style="text-align: center;"> What do you say about lakeside lunch, huh? </div>
+<br>
+
+## What's to love about the place
+
+Paris is a beautiful city, and my limited vocabulary cannot do justice to its grandeur. I used to live in a suburb of Paris called Meudon (also where the Observatory campus is), right near the 15th arrondissement, with the bustling metropolis only 10 minutes away. Paris is perhaps the most culturally significant city in the western Europe. No single place has had as much impact in shaping modern culture, and in fostering art and science, as Paris. From Voltaire and Rousseau, to Sartre and Camus; and from Renoir and Monet, to Matisse and Picasso; the city houses treasures of generations of philosophers and artists who spent their lives there, creating masterpieces, and shaping the legacy of the city as we know it. I have a thing for art, not just paintings, but art. It is not quantitative. It relies heavily on your experiences, is fueled by imagination, driven by emotions, and perfected by practice. Nothing expresses the ‘human element’ better. Going from knowing hardly anything about Western Art History to gazing at Vermeer and Rembrandt is a big deal, at least for my tiny brain. Learning some Art Appreciation, History, and Evolution, has been a very satisfactory addition to my knowledge base. I also picked up a thing or two about Champagne manufacturing whilst touring the cellars of the House of Moet & Chandon in Champagne. One other fine Sunday morning, I treated myself to a concerto by the Paris Opera Orchestra in the Palais Garnier, arguably the most beautiful opera house in the world. Every wall of the gigantic facade, every flight of stairs, every corridor, a treat for the eyes. I was often accompanied by two of my friends from Roorkee, Yash and Mihir, who were also on an intern there. And for the latter part of my intern, I was also joined by WatchOut’s own Shirsendu Halder, who is on a Research Assistantship at INRIA.
+
+
+When I think about “What’s to love about the place”, the one fact I cannot comprehend is how, for decades, the city has managed to be such a perfect blend of glamour, heritage, and progressiveness. This is easily discernible in the architecture of the city. The city core is deeply reminiscent of the middle ages, and is comprised mostly of Renaissance era gothic architecture. Every other building, even if it’s a two floor McDonald’s today, is embellished with a variety of Christian sculptures, rich in details. When going around the city it is also fairly easy to spot Baroque -- monumental exhibition palaces (Grand Palais), museums, hotels, and other buildings that are now used for regular city purposes. In the more commercial places that developed in the mid 20th century, around the river, there is the art-deco style on display, prime example of which is The Grand Rex. As one moves farther from the Seine, modern parisian housings (where even the windows have wooden facades) become apparent. Interestingly, the authorities there maintain a count of two places that are essential requirements of a Parisian’s life -- Boulangeries (bakeries) and Cafes. They are in such abundance that your favourite baguette and cocktail is never more than a couple of hundred meters away. So, if you ever happen to visit Paris, better hike your ‘Food and Drinks’ budget; because ‘chic’ doesn’t even begin to describe it.
+
+“You can never be done with Paris”, were the words of a good friend (who probably said that while sipping Diet Coke at Times Square). And true he was. On weekday evenings, when the work has drained you, just catch a metro to St. Michel. Once there, buy a bottle a wine from Monoprix and ham sandwich from a local shop; walk down the steps to the banks of Seine, find a place to sit, and let the City do its job. As the sun sets behind the Eiffel, giving Notre Dame a golden red hue, you will start hearing a street performer somewhere, violin, or probably an accordion. Around this time the iconic bridges, Pont Neuf and Pont des Arts will light up, and so will the entire St. Michel; bright orange at first, but slowly dwindling. It is then that you pull the cork. 
+
+The premise of the following day will be exactly what is was today, but you will feel rejuvenated, and more importantly, you will be happy. I was. 
+
+![pic5](/images/posts/mohan_paris4.jpg){: style="width:100%;height:auto"}
+
+Describing the Bastille Day, or the World Cup moments in this article itself might require the use of a few fleeting expletives, which I think is against the guidelines. Besides, I was given a word limit of 700-infinity, which I have already exceeded. I will be more than happy to talk all about it, in person.
+
+My experience with the French (and Parisians) can be summed up nicely by the following pieces conversation between Dave Chappelle and Jerry Seinfeld (on the latter’s show Comedians In Cars Getting Coffee), who also happen to be some of my favorite comedians.
+
+**Jerry**: You know the French. They don’t care about anybody else.
+
+**Dave** (laughing): Right!
+
+**Dave**: Notoriously selfish people, the French.
+
+**Jerry** (referring to the ‘73 Citroen Maserati SM): Yes, right. But sometimes that leads to interesting work.
+
+(Later in a Coffee bar)
+
+**Dave**: Paris, I don’t know if I can live there.
+
+**Jerry**: Why?
+
+**Dave**: Something about the culture of the city makes me feel foreign.
+
+**Jerry**: Well, you are.
+
+**Jerry**: They are not welcoming you.
+
+**Dave**: Yeah, there’s no welcome mat.
+
+**Jerry**: That doesn’t bother me.
+
+**Jerry**: If I had what they have, I’d be the same way.
+
+**Jerry**: If I could bake bread like that, have women like that, I would look down on everybody. Their condescension to me, is earned.
+
+**Dave** (laughing): Fair enough!
+
+There were times when Dave would be too relatable, but as always, Jerry has a point!
+

_posts/2018-08-25-summer-diaries-michigan.md

@@ -0,0 +1,40 @@
+---
+layout: post
+title: "Summer Diaries: University of Michigan"
+image: lubana1.jpg
+tags: [wona]
+author: "Ekdeep Singh Lubana"
+excerpt: "I spent my summers working as a visiting scholar (the appropriate term that should be preferred over the standard lingo—Research intern) in the Embedded Systems group at University of Michigan."
+category: summer2018
+---
+
+I spent my summers working as a visiting scholar (the appropriate term that should be preferred over the standard lingo—Research intern) in the Embedded Systems group at University of Michigan. My project encompassed working on the brink of software- and hardware-design in order to reduce energy consumption of a camera. 
+
+With a GPA of 7.05, I certainly did not have high expectations with any of the conventional means of bagging an intern. However, a decent research background that had resulted in significant output kept me hopeful. Thus, I started mailing professors around the last week of August. 
+
+Luckily, I did not have to squander a lot of time mailing and faculty-hunting. While my first two applications went dark (I still haven’t received a reply from them *quietly sobs in denial*), the third application got converted into a teleconferencing interview. As I mentioned before, I believe, and my advisor has affirmed this multiple times, that relevant research experience in the field of imaging systems is what bagged me the interview. After that, I spent a week brushing up my computer architecture and digital design basics. The interview went fine and my advisor, based on my previous experience, told me to come up with ideas on a biological principle named “fovea”. 
+
+Off I went and figured how energy consumption in machine vision systems can be significantly optimized if a fovea-like sampling routine—i.e., multi-resolution sampling of analog image signal—is used. Essentially, this results in tight integration of the software algorithms with hardware routines that exist, but are not exploited. This proposition was well received and I started working in remote capacity. Here, I would like to emphasize that most faculties are apprehensive of research interns because of limited time windows. My explorations in remote capacity helped me convince my advisor to have me at U. Mich. as a winter-cum-summer intern. The “wintern” work resulted in 75% energy reduction of conventional machine vision systems and a publication on the same was accepted to IEEE Transactions on Computer-Aided Design. The paper will be presented at CODES+ISSS (International conference on co-design of hardware/software and system synthesis), 2018—a part of Embedded Systems Week, that is set to be held in Italy (Yay!).
+
+![pic2](/images/posts/lubana2.jpg){: style="width:90%;height:auto"}
+
+## Work Culture
+Located in Ann Arbor, University of Michigan is in a relatively remote region that has more folk-culture vibe than a trendy city like New York. That suited me really well. Further, there were no time restrictions and we weren’t even expected to show up—at all. Thus, I reckon I spent my entire time meandering in the library, that had amazing rooms for private study, or CS lounge (or as it is called—the ”foo bar”) which had an amazing ambience. I love this minimalist nature of computer science that renders extravagant resources unneeded. Departments and library were open 24x7 and were connected to my home via the Michigan M-bus route. Thus, I would reach campus by 8 AM and wander around till 12-2 AM, mostly. 
+
+We had research group meetings every fourth Monday and reading group discussions every Thursday, wherein the leading participant would propose a paper on the field of Embedded Machine Learning and the same would be discussed in the meeting. I met my advisor twice a week. While meeting your advisor twice a week is horrendously exhausting, it helps accelerate the overall project. I expected myself to show some progress every meeting and that helped produce significant output. I completed a project in the winter, had a paper accepted, and spent my summers working on really interesting aspects of Embedded Machine Learning and Neuroscience, wherein the focus was to come up with ideas inspired by the latter and make the former efficient. This has led to a novel data compression algorithm based on compressive sensing.
+
+![pic3](/images/posts/lubana4.jpg){: style="width:90%;height:auto"}
+
+## Ann Arbor
+Not a lot happens in Ann Arbor. Alas, being a foodie, I loved the minuscule vegetarian serving places in Downtown. Being a vegetarian is a bummer, take my word for it. I would recommend trying the Indian eateries like Madras Masala to satiate your desires for Indian food. 
+
+The Ann Arbor summer festival and art festival were fun and a must visit. There’s a record store that sells vinyl records and CDs of the oldest artists you can think of. I visited the place quite often. Bookstores in Ann Arbor are really interesting, for if you visit on first or third Saturdays, you can find Bruce Conforth playing folk music (Heads up—Bruce Conforth is the first curator of rock and roll hall of fame and has worked with the likes of B. B. King, U2, The Kinks, etc.).
+
+![pic4](/images/posts/lubana3.jpg){: style="width:90%;height:auto"}
+
+## Takeaways
+In a nutshell, I would recommend to try your hands at research internships if you either have relevant experience or high GPA to bag one via conventional programs. I believe the former is more sensible, though. That said, avoid spamming professors. 
+
+I could recommend two methodologies for mailing:
+(a) Pick a university using QS or some other organization’s ranking system. Narrow down on faculties with relevant interests. Visit their Google Scholar or dblp profiles and go through the recent research work. If the interests align, draft a mail explaining how your interests match their research directions. Herein, boast.
+(b) If you are deep into your field, reading papers is a routine habit. Off of the recent year conferences, if you find interesting research papers, you can explore the authors’ previous work and draft a mail, thereafter. This methodology helped me bag another internship for Winter, 2019. 

_posts/2018-08-28-summer-diaries-schlumberger-software.md

@@ -0,0 +1,53 @@
+---
+layout: post
+title: "Summer Diaries: Schlumberger Software"
+image: kshitija1.png
+tags: [wona]
+author: "Kshitija Saharan"
+excerpt: "Pune Technology Center (PuTC) of Schlumberger hires interns through on-campus recruitments. The profile offered is of a Software Technical Engineer(STE). Students from CSE, ECE, EE , Geological Technology, Geophysical Technology were eligible to apply for this internship. This was the first time a software profile was opened for earth science students."
+category: summer2018
+---
+
+> Schlumberger is leading a digital transformation in the oil and gas industry to enhance real-time global collaboration, operational efficiency, and the integration of data, expertise, and technology information. Their refreshing approach to information technology offers enormous opportunities to enhance efficiency and productivity in our industry.
+>
+> Currently, Schlumberger has the fifth largest supercomputer infrastructure in the world, comprising of more than 65 petaflops of processing power. Keeping pace with and applying the latest digital technology trends in the oil and gas industry is the main focus of PuTC (Pune Technology Center).
+
+## Making it there
+
+Pune Technology Center (PuTC) of Schlumberger hires interns through on-campus recruitments. The profile offered is of a Software Technical Engineer(STE). Students from CSE, ECE, EE , Geological Technology, Geophysical Technology were eligible to apply for this internship. This was the first time a software profile was opened for earth science students. The recruitment procedure consisted of 3 rounds. First was the resume shortlisting (C.G.P.A. > 7.5) followed by a group discussion round and a personal interview.
+
+All these processes ended in one day. Around 45 students were shortlisted for the GD round from all branches. The topics of GD round revolved around the greater trends in technologies (majorly software). It is very important in the group discussion to listen and respect everyone’s views. Fighting over a topic incessantly in a group discussion often ends in loss of points.
+
+9 students were able to make it to the last round which was a personal interview round that combined Technical+HR. The interview revolved majorly around my resume and the projects I did in the past. Also, being a software profile, basic questions on data structures and algorithms were asked. Moreover, my projects were on robotics and control, which is what I focused on. As I was from a geophysics background, they asked me basic questions about seismics.
+
+A lot of questions were asked about my extracurriculars and responsibilities on-campus. They look for genuine people who can fit in their company, so it’s advisable to be honest in your interview. This was my mantra. If you don’t know anything, just deny politely and don’t argue.
+
+## Work
+
+![pic2](/images/posts/kshitija2.png){: style="width:70%;height:auto"}
+
+> Schlumberger is leading a digital transformation in the oil and gas industry to enhance real-time global collaboration, operational efficiency, and the integration of data, expertise, and technology information. Their refreshing approach to information technology offers enormous opportunities to enhance efficiency and productivity in our industry.
+
+The center (PuTC) is focussed on key services like cloud platforms, analytics and digital solutions, mobility solution and user experience.
+
+Projects were given in teams of two. My project was on computer vision (on seismic images) where we used Convolutional Neural Networks(CNN) and Capsule networks (a new research in Deep Learning by Hinton in Oct 2017). Although I had no experience in Deep learning, it was a great opportunity for me to learn and explore this field.
+
+We were allocated a mentor from the data science team, without whom this project would not have been possible. The data science team was helpful and their support made it easy for me to learn data analytics.
+
+![pic3](/images/posts/kshitija3.png){: style="width:70%;height:auto"}
+
+### Data Science Team - Big Supporters
+
+My project was on google cloud platform which was an added skillet to access the Google Virtual machines.The first week was all about setting up our virtual machines. Then we studied CNNs and some visualisation utilities for the team to improve the existing networks. In week 4 to 7 we studied and implemented capsule networks. The last week was focused on documentation and deliverables.
+
+The best part was the people I met during my internship. The accomodation and travel was provided by Schlumberger for 2 months so all of us (interns) stayed together and had a great bonding. We learnt a lot from each other and also partied a lot. As everyone says, work hard but party harder.
+
+Work-life balance at schlumberger is perfect as they value their people the most. We used to come to office around 9 a.m. and leave by 6:30 p.m. This was never strict from schlumberger’s side but it depended on the deadlines and assigned work. Another takeaway for me was the Table Tennis that we played for almost 1-2 hrs daily. This kept me going as sitting for long hours is simply not for me.
+
+Talking of Pune, the weather was awesome and also there were so many places around for trekking (Vetal Tekdi, Devkund waterfalls), imagica and the nightlife of Pune. No weekend went boring for us as their was always something on our list.
+
+My overall experience was full of learning and meeting new people. For any internship, just expect to learn something new and challenging as this would always broaden your horizon.
+
+Anyone aiming for Schlumberger should be definitely be good with basics of coding and the technical skills you have. Because at the end it’s all about your desire to learn something.
+
+![pic4](/images/posts/kshitija4.png){: style="width:70%;height:auto"}

_posts/2018-09-23-inaugration-of-DIC.md

@@ -0,0 +1,24 @@
+---
+layout: post
+title: "Inauguration of the Design Innovation Center at IITR"
+tags: [wona, tech]
+image: dic.jpg
+category: tech
+excerpt: "The Design Innovation Centre (DIC) at IIT Roorkee was inaugurated on Monday by Prof. Ajit Chaturvedi"
+---
+
+The Design Innovation Centre (DIC) at IIT Roorkee was inaugurated on Monday by Prof. Ajit Chaturvedi, Director IITR, along with Prof. M Parida, Dean SRIC IITR, Prof. PVM Rao from IIT Delhi and Prof. Praduman Vyas, Director NID Ahmedabad (connecting to the event via skype) as Chief Guests. The DIC, or Navonmesh, was recently been approved by the MHRD with a budget outlay of Rs. 10 crore.
+<br>
+The DIC will function under a “hub and spoke” model, wherein IIT Roorkee will act as the “hub”, and the “spokes” i.e. IIM Kashipur, NIT Uttarakhand and CoT, GBPUAT, Pantnagar will be having their own proposals mostly to address local problems. The DIC basically would be inviting proposals for innovative solutions that address issues of the Himalayan region, followed by awarding financial support to the most promising designs to help them yield marketable products or technologies. These proposals will then be considered for registration under Intellectual Property Rights and for commercialization. Some examples of projects might include optimizing agricultural tools such as crop harvester for hilly terrain, and developing assistive devices for those with mobility impairment.
+<br>
+According to Prof. Apurbba Kumar Sharma, Coordinator & Principal Investigator(PI), the activities of DIC will be carried out under 3 major categories:
+<br>
+i) Supporting innovative prospects and projects of faculty members and students of the institute through financial support,
+<br>
+ii) Academic activities under which there are plans to introduce 2 academic courses of Masters of industrial design (MDes.) and Masters of Innovation Management (MIM) and organisation of workshops and crash courses for modular designs and innovations. Some laboratory facilities will be developed to compliment the facilities in the institute. Apart from this internships to students from IIT roorkee as well as from outside the institute will be awarded for short terms.
+<br> 
+iii) Outreach Programs like P2P (Prayogshala to Prayogshetra), U2U (Udbhavan to Utpadan) and COMAL (COmmon MAn to Laboratory), under which innovations at the laboratory scale will be taken to the common man. Apart from these, any members of the public who have innovative ideas can get mentorships and follow ups at the DIC.
+<br>
+The Design Innovations Center’s scheme was rolled out in 2014 by the MHRD along with open design school and National Design Innovation network. It started with setting up of 4 DICs across india of which IIT Delhi and IIT BHU were a member. Prof. PVM Rao and Prof. Praduman Vyas who contributed very significantly in formulating these schemes were present in the event. 
+<br>
+A core team of 5 faculty members of IITR was formed under the leadership of Prof. Manoranjan Parida, Dean SRIC when they received a letter regarding MHRD’s plans for setting up a DIC here in 2017. The three associated institutes joined subsequently.

_sass/bootstrap/_navbar.scss

@@ -380,7 +380,7 @@
     float: left !important;
   }
   .navbar-right {
-    float: right !important;
+  float: right !important;
   margin-right: -$navbar-padding-horizontal;
 
     ~ .navbar-right {
@@ -660,3 +660,7 @@
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+
+.hacky-css{
+  width: 100% !important;
+}

about/index.html

@@ -7,7 +7,7 @@ layout: layout
 </div>
 
 <div class="category-posts container about">
-<div>Watch Out! is the official campus news body of the Indian Institute of Technology, Roorkee run by students under the aegis of the Dean of Sponsored Research and Industrial Consultancy (SRIC), IIT Roorkee. 24 years after its conception, Watch Out! has grown to offer news and commentary from around the campus on its website in conjunction with a semesterly print issue.</div>
+<div>Watch Out! is the official campus media body of the Indian Institute of Technology, Roorkee run by students under the aegis of the Dean of Sponsored Research and Industrial Consultancy (SRIC), IIT Roorkee. 24 years after its conception, Watch Out! has grown to offer news and commentary from around the campus on its website in conjunction with a semesterly print issue.</div>
 
 <h2>History</h2>
 

category/summer2018/index.html

@@ -0,0 +1,3 @@
+---
+category: summer2018
+---

css/base.scss

@@ -794,7 +794,7 @@ footer {
 	}
 }
 
-// ============== /TEAM ============== //
+// ============== TEAM ============== //
 
 .img {
 	padding: 10px 0px 10px 10px;

css/table.css

@@ -0,0 +1,12 @@
+.mbtablestyle {
+  border-collapse: collapse;
+  margin-top: 5rem;
+
+}
+
+.mbtablestyle td, .mbtablestyle th{
+	border: 1px solid black;
+    padding: 0.5rem 1.5rem;
+    padding-bottom: 2rem;
+    vertical-align: top;
+}

guide/index.html

@@ -13,4 +13,4 @@ Watch Out brings to you the painful yet insanely awesome realities of college li
 <br/><br/>
 We have all the answers, so dive in!
 <br/><br/>
-<a href="/FreshmanGuidetoIITR.pdf" style="text-align: center"><button type="button" class="btn btn-primary btn-block btn-lg">Download the guide here!</button></a>
+<a href="/Freshman_Guide_To_IITR.pdf" style="text-align: center"><button type="button" class="btn btn-primary btn-block btn-lg">Download the guide here!</button></a>