Put the course first, not college, TOI seminar tells students

Updated on: Saturday, June 11, 2011

All set to enter college life, candidates lining up for DU undergraduate courses seem to be a confused lot a few days before the announcement of the first cutoff. To help them make the right choice at this crucial juncture, Times of India organized its annual Mission Admission Student Seminar 2011 on Thursday.

The queries poured in and covered new admission policy, choice of course versus college, options for further studies, placements, studying abroad, and sports and extracurricular activities quota etc.

The seminar witnessed professors of Delhi University, Manav Rachna International University (MRIU), foreign education experts as well as career counsellors sharing their experiences on one platform and interacting with students across nine live sessions.

Despite information overflow, students are still at a crossroad and the inaugural session by former dean of students' welfare, DU, S K Vij managed to calm their nerves as he dealt in details with entering college life, making the right choice on course and college, a glimpse of DU campus life and, most importantly, the new admission policies for 2011-12. "The university makes no distinction among its colleges and offers the same facilities and infrastructure. The degree you will get will be of DU. So which course you choose and how passionate you are about it will determine your success."

Speaking on the same dilemma, SGTB Khalsa College principal Jaswinder Singh urged the students not to sacrifice the choice of course for college. "Joining a college of choice by sacrificing the course of choice can make you go directionless in the long run. All colleges and faculty are good. The only difference is in the peer group and the intensity of academic activity in the college. Students can put pressure on the faculty to make the academic atmosphere intensive," said Singh.

He also briefed the packed auditorium on the semester system at the undergraduate level. The system, partially introduced last year, will be implemented across the streams this year. Underlining its benefits, Singh said: "Semester system is an international system and DU is in talks with foreign universities for credit transfer. So during vacations, our students can travel abroad, pursue a module in a foreign university and get the credit."

Gargi College principal Meera Ramachandran spoke on the topic 'arts or science' and stressed the need for inculcating soft skills like communication skills, problem-solving skills, and innovation and creativity. "My advice is that the best college for you is the college closest to you, where you can stay till 5pm and participate in all activities and imbibe all these soft skills."

Other speakers include Amit Chaturvedi of British Council who spoke on how to apply for studying in the UK while executive director and dean of MRIU V K Gaur talked about the prospects in private universities and their courses. An official from the Indian Air Force highlighted a rewarding career in the IAF while the executive director of School of Open Leaning, H C Pokhriyal, interacted with the participants on the benefits of open and distance learning.

The day was concluded by career counsellor Pervin Malhotra who spoke on emerging career options.

Times of India

Put the course first, not college, TOI seminar tells students

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