Gen Sec. AA (UG) Manifesto Update. (Honest. Ma Kasam(x3 times))

The following are the updates on election promises. I think all of you already know that I also held the portfolio of the Gen. Sec of the Senate and had some additional responsibilities too. Nevertheless, it’s no excuse to judge me any less brutally. Feel free to criticize.

<Manifesto>

Language issues of students belonging to a rural background

It is observed that the major problem faced by students belonging to a rural background emerges from a lack of comfort with English. Due to this reason, their performance suffers in Academics. I wish to implement the following solutions for the same:

• Soft-skills workshops by senior students will be organized. Skills like public speaking, presentation-making and general interaction shall be the prime focus.
• Help sessions for 1st Year students especially in regional language will be conducted on a regular basis

<Update>

I pitched this idea to the Dean Acads. He informed me that a mentor-ship program regarding the same was already in place. In return he appointed me the Head Co-ordinator for the year-long series of Workshops.

The scale of organization was huge. But I think the program went better than expected, considering that 3rd party workshops have a bad history in our institute.

Gaur: 1, Life: 0

Note: The Academic Rehabilitation Program under the aegis of DoSW had NO involvement of any member of SAC.

</Update>

• The appointment of Undergraduate TAs: For courses opted at a departmental level, this will ensure proper help for the students facing academic probations and backlogs.
• The TAs shall be selected from the students of 3rd and 4th year.

<Update>

It was rejected whole-heartedly by Dean Acads, who believes that undergraduate students are not capable of being a TA, in their 3rd and 4th Year.

Yeah. Yeah. You can roll your eyes and murmur IITB, D etc. No. Didn’t work. Sorry.

Gaur: 1, Life: 1

Note: To the future UG Acads, the Dean Acads would probably change next sem. It’s a rather ambitious scheme but do give it a try.

</Update>

Introduction of ERP at all levels of academic processes

To reduce the efforts and time of students lost in bureaucratic procedures, I intend to do the following:

• Digitization at all the levels such as time-table modification, addressing student complaints and grievances and centralisation of all the paper-work.
• Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) in the areas of generation of No Objection Certificates (NOCs), Modification/Dropping of courses and Time-Table creation

<Update>

I added this point in my Manifesto when I didn’t know that the institute-wide ERP was already in progress. This institute level ERP would be providing digitization solution to the Academic and Accounts sections.

So, after getting the office, I urged the Dean Administration, for the nomination of two student representatives in the implementation committee. He agreed. As of now Jeet Patel and Pankaj Gudlani of IMG are part of it.

Gaur:1, Life: 1, Dean Administration: +100.

</Update>

Review of the 5.0 CGPA rule

As the student representative of IITR for Academics, I would urge the administration of IITR to review the controversial 5.0 CGPA rule and open the matter for a healthy debate among the students.

<Update>

The rule has been modified to relax the grading criterion for first year. The rule only applies to first year as of now. I was part of the committee where this idea was deliberated upon (Read: IAPC), but I won’t take any credit of it. Period.

Gaur: 1 (+0.5? Up to you.), Life: 1

</Update>

Undergraduate Research

• An online portal will be developed where the details of the new and existing departmental projects shall be uploaded by the respective professors.
• Undergraduate students who wish to collaborate with them can directly apply by filling their details and areas of interest.
• Increase in the number of Summer Undergraduate Research Awards (SURA) by the institute.

<Update>

I collaborated with the hard-working folks of SIC (Students’ Innovation Club) who have created the portal for the UG projects. The link will be live soon. Anshul Mittal (3rd Year Civil) is taking care of that. My role in this is to help with the ground-work and ensure that the portal gets sustained.

<Information> A Database of all the industrial collaborations has been compiled by the Industrial Collaboration Group (ICG) covering all the industrial consultancy projects that our institute has right now. Contact Aditya Jain, for further details. </Information>

If anyone can remember there was a small (very small) Panel Discussion on the promotion of UG research last sem. Another one is due in this semester and will take place in the next couple of weeks.

Note to future reps: What we learnt from the previous discussion was that promotions are always the key for the success of any event. Even if that means relentless spamming on the group.

Gaur: 1, Life: 1, SIC: +100

</Update>

Improved Notification System for better reach and connectivity of SAC and other institute bodies

• Inaccessibility of Notice Board outside IITR campus: I will make sure that Channel-i’s Notice Board application is made accessible to all the students, who wish to use it outside IITR.
• Instant uploading of minutes of the SAC, IAPC and Senate meetings online: The decisions made, reforms suggested and laws passed by the aforementioned committees shall be made online and open for all the students immediately after the meetings on the institute website.

<Update>

IMG took care of the first one. (VPN, Notice Board App etc.)

Watch Out volunteered for writing the minutes of the last meeting. You can find them on their website at www.wona.co.in. I am sure that they’ll continue this in the coming years.

The prospect of publishing of the minutes of IAPC and Senate Meetings is under deliberation. I have given a proposal that’ll be discussed in the next IAPC meeting.

Gaur: 1, Life: 1, Wona, IMG++;

</Update>

Exchange Programmes, Foreign Internships and Memorandum of Understandings (MoUs)

A semester exchange programme has a lot of benefits when it comes to the holistic development of a person’s academic, social and intellectual abilities. If elected, I will accomplish the following:

• New collaboration and MoUs with other internationally recognized universities for
• Summer Internships
• Semester Exchange
• Inter-IIT Semester Exchange: Student Exchange programme at an inter-IIT level.

<Update>

Inter IIT Sem Exchange is in the implementation stage with IIT Bombay (this is the point where you cheer). I am personally seeing over this.

Life:1, Gaur: 2, IITB ka UG Acads: +1

Note to future rep.: Just in case you are interested in knowing what went behind the scenes over this one, I can give you the detailed account of the nitty-gritty of the internal politics of IITR administration. :P

</Update>

Formation of a Student Academic Committee

One student representative from each department will be nominated to constitute an advisory committee at the institute level. The role of this committee would be:

• To suggest and discuss the introduction of new courses
• To deal with matters pertaining to undergraduate research and development activities in their respective departments and address internal issues.

<Update>

This has taken lot of time and energy, but sadly the efforts have been in vain. I’ll be very blunt with you: Departmental autonomy cannot be replaced by any order from the Center. An HoD holds a lot of power in the affairs of the department and student involvement in departmental affairs is highly subjective to his/her decision. I met the HoDs of almost all the departments (except leaving one or two), and the coherent reply regarding the same was: Unless it’s a direct order from Dean Acads, nothing can be done.

Dean Acads on the other hand, had left it to the departments citing that if at all such order was issued, in his experience, he would be blamed for interfering in the work of the department.

It was a depressing deadlock. I’ll keep fighting for this one till the end of my tenure.

Note to rep: Make an informal team as soon as you get done with your appointment. Ensure that there are UG members from each and every department. If you’ll delay it so as to get it officialised or wait for individual department to oblige, you’ll waste your entire tenure.

Gaur:2, Life: 2.

</Update>

To revive Students and Teachers’ Interaction Forum for Knowledge and Innovation (STIFKI): A group meant for promoting inter-disciplinary and inter-departmental research in IITR

<Update>

DoSW has promised to provide monetary support for STIC, provided that I make a budget by the end of this semester. That’s Student Teacher Interactive Council, so as to facilitate the interaction among the students and teachers. It’s an informal version of STIFKI. I have found the major reason that leads to the death of initiatives like STIFKI is lack of trust between faculty and students. Hopefully, this will prove to be a foundation for future activities to come.

Gaur: 3, Life: 2

</Update>

Reduction in the fees charged by institute for repeating a course

• The institute fines a student with an extra Rs. 45,000, in case a student fails a particular course and wishes to avoid a year back.
• I shall question the rationale behind this and reduce the fees to a justifiable amount so that it doesn’t become a burden for people with an economically weak background.

<Update>

It’s under process. I am not very optimistic about this since the philosophy of the institute goes something like this: Subsidy for doing a course is provided only once. The next time it has to be borne by the student.

Life++;

</Update>

Relaxation of CGPA criterion for choosing minors and switching to a dual degree:

Right now the minimum CGPA required for a student to avail minor courses from his/her third year stands at 7.5. I intend to:

• Reduce this so that more people can take advantage of choosing a discipline beyond their existing courses and strengthen their careers.
• Bring down the CGPA requirement for availing a dual degree by the end of a student’s 5th semester.

<Update>

So, minors.

• Seeing the fiasco that happened during the allotment last sem, Dean Acads has agreed to invite one or two students to be a part of Time-table setting committee for this.
• The issue of CG relaxation is also being considered because there were certain minors that had certain empty seats.

Bonus:

I won’t claim credit for it, but 3 new open electives in the domain of Business Management are being introduced (Data Mining in Business Intelligence, and a couple on Finance). It was discussed in IAPC. I reviewed the syllabus and voted in favour of it. Thank me later.

</Update>

Summers in IITR

• Students who wish to spend their summer holidays in IITR will get decent accommodation and food in the campus
• A channel shall be introduced through which the institute can identify the students who need to stay back and ensure that they get proper facilities to carry out their project work.

<Update>

Under deliberation. Thoda mushkil hai par dekhte hain.

</Update>

Availability of books and time extension of MGCL

Being one of the most vital resources of the institute, the Library is often found falling short of obtaining books and many students fail to avail the benefits of TBLS. In this regard, I will

• Ensure that an appropriate amount of funds are allocated to the library so that students don’t get to face a crisis for their necessary textbooks
• Oversee that relevant books in demand are ordered on time
• Push for the extension for the number of hours for which the library and the reading room remain open, on both weekdays and weekends.

<Update>

I and PG Acads, Ankit Saxena sir, are part of the Library Advisory Committee. In our tenure, it was agreed to provide one AC for the Reading room for the summers. Timing of Library is related to the manpower needed by the Librarian to open it. The authorities haven’t budged, stating low attendance of students post exam-time. And during exams they allow till 12.

So it’s stuck here as of now. The only thing that we can do is keep pushing

Gaur: 4, Life: Ja g*nd mara.

</Update>

<Additional Work done/underway>

Departmental Trip: As of now (till my year at least), the organization of the Industrial trip was quite lethargic when it came to some departments (read ECE, CS etc.) where students didn’t volunteer. Now, it’s compulsory for the department to organize this tour from 2nd Year onwards, with/without student participation in the organization. If they don’t, they’ll have to answer to the central administration.

New ID Cards: Cheer up. The printing process is underway! For this, a major credit goes to Yash. It’s the combined result of relentless pushing on our part.

Depression and Mental Health Awareness: This is a joint initiative of Counselling Cell, SAC and students who have very closely faced this problem. A two/three day awareness drive plus an event is being planned as you’re reading this. Your collaboration is needed.

Hospital:

A committee of student is working on the reforms associated with the hospital that can be accomplished in near future. We are also pushing for a major overhaul of the facilities. Work’s underway in this direction.

After some pushing on our behalf, appointment of 4 General Duty Medical Officers (who’ll stay 24x7 to provide emergency care in night) has been approved. Took some sweat but that’s positive step ahead.

Note: Volunteers are invited to both of the aforementioned activities.

</Additional Issues>

Apart from all of this, there are lessons that I have learnt (after making a lot of mistakes) about the system. I am simultaneously compiling all of that in one place so that the coming generation of students can learn from it and avoid the pitfalls.

In addition to all of this, I have tried the resolution of certain issues that emerged in between, including the settlement of MCM scholarship (the thought of it still gives me nightmares, btw), peripheral security and some (read: a lot of) individual cases of academic/attendance redressal.

</Manifesto>