JOIN USFountain of inspiration for aspiring students
Eminent resource persons from different fields guided the students on their future studies. The dynamics and the functioning of entrance examinations conducted by the Karnataka Examination Authority (KEA) and the Consortium of Medical Engineering and Dental Colleges (COMED-K) were explained in detail by Dr Nandakishore Alva of Comed-K in the first talk of the day.
Dr Alva wasn’t just straight-to-the-point but also displayed great wit when he said: “It is good to be slow and steady but it is always better to be fast and consistent.” He encouraged the aspiring professionals to work consistently to achieve their goals.
Scope for management
Apart from lectures on engineering, medical, and dental streams, students were also enlightened on the world of opportunities in various disciplines of management.
According to resource persons, the scope for management courses was increasing by the day. India will need around three lakh management graduates in the next few years.
Dr Madhukar G Angur, Chancellor of Alliance University, stressed the need for grooming energetic leaders in all fields of knowledge. In his view, aspiring managers would do well to cultivate the qualities of leadership. But he sought to clear the air about the so-called “good business schools”.
“To acquire leadership skills, one need not study at a good business school. For, 60 per cent chief executive officers of Fortune 500 companies never studied at the best business schools,” Angur said.
Dr M I M Nehruzii, Chairman of GEMS Business School, warned the students against “too much specialisation” in any stream. “Too much specialisation sometimes makes it difficult to acquire a job in the relevant field,” Dr Nehruzii said.
In his view, instead of specialising in any sub-discipline of a stream, one should pursue regular value-added courses in the field of his/her choice. This, he said, would expand students’ horizons and give them a better shot.
He exhorted the students to learn the principles as they stand unchanged whereas the policies keep changing. “Policies are many and the principles are few. Policies often change but principles are left untouched,” Dr Nehruzii noted. He encouraged the parents to support their wards and help them in selecting the subjects of their choice.
Prof Rajendra Desai, Associate Professor at the Xavier Institute of Management, explained the mantra of successful entrepreneurship and said that good value system, passion and personal vision were the three essential elements of a successful entrepreneur.
Each lecture was followed by queries from inquisitive students as they flooded the speaker with their lists of doubts that ranged from the criterion for choosing the correct college to the pros and cons of a programme of study.
A student wanted to know the cut-off rank in Comed-K to secure a medical seat. Dr Alva said that a student with a rank of 1,400 was likely to get admission into a medical course. The situation had improved compared to 2010 when a student ranked 1,200 was able to grab a medical seat.
This year, 200 more seats were added to the matrix. Hence, a student with a rank of 1,400 stands a chance, Alva explained. A parent was unsure if a separate examination existed for architecture courses apart from the CET. Dr Alva explained the National Aptitude Test in Architecture and the procedures involved.