Innovative ideas take shape

Exciting Projects

With the final-semester having begun, students from various streams are busy working on their dissertations or final-year projects. Some colleges don’t include it in their curriculum though most view it as a separate module. But writing a research paper isn’t an easy task — from initial research to the final presentation, there are many challenges to face.

Arpit Kumar of Indus Business Academy feels that deciding the topic is the most difficult part.  “If we choose the company we are interning in as our topic, we have to do a case study on the organisation structure, consumer behaviour patterns, distribution and advertising methods and finances. If we pick a topic of our own interest, the format is the same and includes the review of literature, justification of topic, methodology, findings and conclusion. We have mentors who help us but data collection and analysis is done individually.

 Since it’s a full 100 marks subject, it’s quite a scary prospect,” he says. Some engineering colleges ask final-year students to make working models. “We have to submit group projects, which is divided into three parts — the literature paper, presentation and working model, followed by a jury examination,” explains Nithya Shanker, a final-year student of BMS College of Engineering, whose group made a ‘Maximum Power Point Tracker’ for a solar panel. 
However, she did not encounter many difficulties. “I didn’t face any problem because my guide, a teacher from the department, was really helpful and supported us at every step,” adds Nithya.

At the Vogue Institute of Fashion Technology, each student is allotted a mentor to help pick the topic and teachers, who help kickstart the research, case study or product development. 

“The most challenging part is meeting deadlines. Also, if the research isn’t up to the mark, you have to backtrack and improve it. If one stage is delayed, it’s like a chain reaction and everything becomes stressful because of subsequent delays,” shares Akanksha Ragesh, a BSc FAD student. Some colleges also reject submissions, leading to the student not graduating with their batch. A source from Srishti School of Art, Design and Technology reveals that this a regular feature with every graduating batch.

 “The way other colleges have marks, it’s the validity of your idea that counts at Srishti because it has to reflect four years of training. As an artist, it’s very difficult to know your mark. An idea can take any shape and people can perceive it in different ways. So the jury process is designed in a way that doesn’t expect one kind of result — we have an internal jury that checks the implementation and finish of your idea and an external jury that judges from a viewer’s eye. The process ensures that the most professional outcome comes out of the student. It’s not a bad approach because the student gets time and aid to expand his or her idea,” shares the source. 

He adds, “The only negative aspect is that the diploma period is six months and some people just need more time with their ideas. Since the external happens at the end, if the jury scraps your idea, it’s a nightmare to start over. Also, the documentation and submission process is too strict and involves too many deadlines.”