Proposal Critique — Ayush Banerjee — Vice President
Link to the complete proposals:
https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B6l-0n0wTIWjTFEtQnIyMkNocmM
Proposal 1: Improving the current scenario of Bidhan Chandra Roy Technology Hospital by implementing certain measures that will not only improve the quality of medical treatment provided by the Hospital but also make it convenient for the entire KGP community.
Need — This proposal has 3 parts to it. An increase in the number of visiting specialists and online slot booking system through ERP will definitely ease out situations where students are unable to see a doctor in need. It’s a pressing concern when the current system allows only limited people to consult a specialist and there’s a lack of options to access outside campus. The idea to implement a full body check up is new and beneficial for a majorly negligent (medically) student body. However, we feel there’s more to medical negligence that needs to be addressed to improve the quality of the medical treatment. The third idea to introduce 911 as a toll free hotline seems redundant when the response time/availability of an ambulance hasn’t been an issue.
Implementation— It is obvious that Kharagpur lacks incentives (monetary or otherwise) to attract and keep specialists working in B.C Roy Hospital. A significant change in existing incentive structure is required to get this in motion. The candidate could’ve included some groundwork to substantiate this plan. Introducing an entirely new system and integrating it with ERP has never been a smooth process in the past either. Introducing an entirely new hotline number as the VP of TSG seems ambitious. An easier solution would be to make the current number toll free and more visible. Assuming the institute runs for 35 weeks a year and a student strength of 10,000, the number boils down to 285 full body check ups each time. This will require extensive resources on the part of the hospital w.r.t man power or lab equipment and will probably also require an overhaul of the hospital to be able to accommodate this.
Impact — The proposal is unclear about people without access to ERP visiting the hospital, and how they’ll get slots to consult specialists. It is also unclear how emergency situations will be handled.With an improvement in the medical facilities available on campus being long overdue, we hope the candidate is able to deliver despite the difficulties.
Proposal 2: Introducing counselling sessions, seminars and activities scheduled throughout the year, to be carried out by the Counselling Centre. These will be aimed at solving the problems faced by students who are academically weak, have very low attendance or are involved in any disciplinary actions in addition to problems related to stress, anxiety, depression, etc. I also propose to start a Student Counselling Committee that will work under the Counselling Centre.
Need — Given the recent happenings on campus, It is almost essential to introduce a system to identify and provide assistance to students dealing with stress and depression. It’s also a welcome idea to provide assistance through the means of the Counselling Center to students dealing with Academic and attendance issues. Coping up with the continuous academic strain often becomes a challenge, and having sessions with the counseling centre can provide the necessary guidance.
Implementation — The big question this proposal would faces is whether the current counselling centre set-up can handle all the academically weak students. The proposal talks about recommending all students who have failed, been de-registered and have low attendance to the Counselling center. With no ground work on this proposal, we find it hard to believe that a 4 Counselors can handle all these students.
The proposal has no information how to deal with students who miss their ‘mandatory’ Counselling session.
Impact — Based on the past initiatives of the Institute including the ‘Are you okay’ campaign, conducting seminars and fun activities fail to have any major impact on Student life. By limiting the criteria to identify depression to academic performance, we feel that many vulnerable students will not be included.
Proposal 3: Starting a “Student Buddy Program” for the post-graduate students, a program through which fourth year dual degree undergraduate students and senior postgraduates (2nd years) will act as guides for junior post-graduate students and will help them in their placement preparations and involvements in the extracurricular activities which are run by Technology Students Gymkhana.
Need — Junior PG students often find it difficult to gather information about campus and access available opportunities in the most optimum manner. This translates into lack of participation from their side in activities that are generally touted to encourage bonding. A better integrated student community is desirable. It is easier for UG students to get accustomed to KGP because of society and hall culture — something absent for PG students. And this is what this proposal seeks to address. We are doubtful about the lack of awareness among PG students in regard to placement/internship opportunities as they’re generally more aware of the specifics of their department and clear on where they want to be.
Implementation — The functioning of this proposal appears to be very similar to the Mentorship Program undertaken by SWG for first year UG students. Considering it will be managed by a group of people who’re already doing something similar, we don’t think execution will be an issue. A concern is the amount of time the ‘buddies’ will be able to commit for 2 PG students considering the autumn semester is generally the time senior PG students prepare for placements and 4th year dual degree students prepare for their compulsory internships.
Impact — It provides a formalized platform to facilitate the interaction between UG and PG students and will achieve its purpose of efficient information dissemination and might lead to a better integrated student community. It will be imperative to ensure that this does not become burdensome for the buddies and absenteeism doesn’t become a norm, especially in the autumn semester.
Proposal 4: Helping the students of IIT Kharagpur by introducing videos of the laboratory in the academic curriculum which the students can get access to through the Moodle. This will be issued to all the laboratory in the institute where the professor in charge would coordinate with the Moodle team.
Need — Students put in groups often find it difficult to learn by performing lab experiments and fail to perform well in subsequent lab tests. They also find themselves lacking depth in the related theory. This proposal aims to help them in this aspect.
Implementation — Moodle has been used to upload coursework by many professors, it is definitely implementable. Applicability is contingent on nature of labs, for example we don’t see how this will be beneficial in the CSE department.
Impact — People might now get less inclined to perform experiments in labs knowing that they can back on such videos to understand how to perform them in lab tests. It might help in them getting better grades but might not lead to better learning. It is difficult to buy that students will watch videos before coming to the lab when most don’t even bother to read manuals. Improving lab facilities and equipments along with promoting individuals to explore with experiments might help with their incentives to take labs seriously. This proposal undermines the purpose of lab courses.
Proposal 5: Starting an overnight “Staff Canteen” and “Stationery & Xerox Shop” in the strategic locations of the campus. The staff canteen, as well as the Stationery shop, will be strategically located on the campus and will remain open 24x7 and accessible easily to the community of the institute.
Need — Student activities go round the clock but facilities for food and stationary requirements become extremely limited beyond a certain time in the day. The proposal seeks to add convenience to students’ lives through a 24x7 open shop providing these essentials.
Implementation — Setting up a staff canteen and xerox centre in the academic complex seems very feasible.
Impact — The impact is marginal. Overnight staff canteen will provide a cheaper option for a lot of students to eat which gains importance among students with a tight budget in a campus where most work gets done at night. However, there are operational night canteens in halls and popular food outlets like Cheddis already serving the purpose. An extra outlet will probably not change a lot. An overnight stationary/xerox shop will prove to be useful in the rare cases you find yourself in emergencies. But, with people empowered with camera phones, printers in halls, and wing mates with stationary, riding it out for a night isn’t that big a deal. Efforts can be put to extend the working hours of existing canteens as well
