2012 Retrospect
The more Human face in the forefront
The year that began in the shadow of a doomsday prophecy and is ending with the sunshine of new hope had its share of change and new trends in the education sector as well as in workplaces across the country. In this issue we take a look at some of the key trends of the year that are going to define the jobs and careers scenario in the next year.
Swati Rai

HR trends in 2012 were largely governed by the effects of the economic slowdown of 2008 which we are yet to get rid of. HR managers and leaders encountered many factors such as slow growth, cost-cutting and meagre budgets for areas not contributing to the company’s revenue this year. All this made the HR leaders’ task an uphill one.

Here is a lowdown on the key trends:

Training & development

The year saw a surge in training and development in organisations to groom the future leaders to spearhead innovation and growth. One of the major components of this exercise for the HR manager was also to identify the prospective leaders and potential heads. Devita Saraf, CEO Vu Technologies, Mumbai, says, “Training and grooming is especially important in our luxury technologies profile and has seen a rise in the importance given to it this year.”

Cross-functional roles

HR took many cross-functional roles, participating in marketing, operations, and business bids for a better market exposure and for enhancing one’s employment opportunities.

HR & academics

There existed more supply than demand for HR professionals from academic institutes. Moreover, more and more students opt for cross functional roles as soon as they graduate, they choose sales, marketing, operations etc.

Talent management

In the wake of a talent crunch, employee retention became the HR buzzword. A continuous engagement of your key talent with well-defined practices and impressive career graphs was expected by the business leaders. HR grew in its capabilities in talent management way beyond a singular appraisal in a year. Maximising the potential of your talent was imperative.

Talent retention

Losing one’s talented employee was committing professional hara-kiri. The players in consulting services in the field of staffing saw a surge in the offer declines. A large percentage of these so called offer declines were on account of being retained by the current employer through better role, salary or an onsite opportunity.

Tech-savvy

The coming of cutting-edge technology in communication enabled HR personnel to engage in conferences, telephonic and video discussions, and share knowledge swiftly and efficiently thus contributing in enhancing the overall efficiency and accountability of the employees.

Social technology

HR in 2012 saw a marked change in the way social technology made inroads in its functioning. Saraf adds, “Tapping latent talent on social networking websites comes handy as it helps one in zeroing down on the perfect fit while headhunting. This trend will continue in 2013 too.” Throughout this year and earlier too one has witnessed the requirement for HR to constantly innovate and adapt to the changing technological era especially in recruitment aids and techniques.

 

Aligning with business The year saw HR role getting more pronounced. As Shalini Dutta, Country Head HR and ConsultingVHIRE4U, Bengaluru, says, “2012 did see HR aligning itself much better with business in every way. HR strategy needed to be in total alignment with business. Talent acquisition, talent management, attrition management, employee retention — HR felt the pressure in doing much more than routine work in all.” Talent acquisition 2012 saw a growth in ‘unemployable’ youth as far as talent and skills are concerned. Shalini explains, “The talent market was besieged with non-availability of appropriate talent in many sectors. The function worked within strict budgets with little compromise on the fit of the candidate. Organisations largely depended on their own capabilities for their numbers, outsourcing a very little percentage to consulting companies. This did result in a huge percentage of these unemployed 2012 pass outs offering to pick up jobs outside their area of specialization, which is more of a stop-gap than a conscious career decision.” Rising women workforce The year saw an increased number of women leaders in the forefront. This meant HR mangers and people heads to look into bettering the existing structures of making the organisation women friendly with introduction of policies benefitting the target employees. Global uncertainty and cost cutting The pressure of cost cutting was felt by HR managers all across the board in areas such as training, employee engagement, travel expenses, organising and attending conferences, hiring and even in CSR. Attendant with the global uncertainty was the need to innovate and 'think out of the box'.

hiring trends — 2012
Caution remained the catchword
Arupjyoti Gogoi

With an economic growth rate of around 6 per cent, the Indian job market remained stable in 2012 with noticeable increase in recruitment volume in sectors like Healthcare, Retail, Infrastructure and IT/ITES.

The hiring trend this year in India was positive as compared to that last year. Prominent employers believe that hiring trends in India were relatively stronger than those in other markets around the world. However, the second half of the year witnessed a dip in volume as key sectors adopted a cautious hiring approach.

The beginning of 2012 had brought in lots of hope and optimism to the job market all over the country, but the constant global uncertainty, deteriorating GDP figures and the slowing of capital inflows has affected the overall domestic growth. A survey carried out by naukri.com had revealed that amid these tough conditions, sectors like ITES, Telecom and Insurance saw hiring activity grow within the range of 4 and 8 per cent, respectively in July, 2012 when compared to that in June, 2012. Similarly the demand for customer service, production and sales professionals also witnessed increase in demand in July, 2012 when compared to that in June. On the whole the job index (monthly survey on sector wise jobs) stabilised in the first six months of the year, indicating selective hiring across most industries. A similar sentiment was also revealed in Naukri.com Hiring Outlook Survey where only 62 per cent recruiters anticipated new jobs to be created in the second half of 2012, as compared to 72 per cent at the beginning of the year.

According to Kamal Karanth, MD, Kelly Services India, “Cautious hiring was definitely the flavour of the season with most of the companies insisting on finding a 90 per cent + match in potential employees who also possess qualification and most importantly skills that would enable them to wear multiple hats at work if required. Headhunting good talent gained even more importance in such a scenario especially at the senior level when specification became the key factor in hiring. The focus was also on hiring specialised manpower that could improve the quality of work in turn enhancing the services of the company that hired them.”

Entry and mid-level hiring soars in IT/ITES, Retail

Sectors like IT/ITES, Retail, BFSI and Healthcare saw maximum number of recruitments at the entry and mid levels as compared to senior level this year. The overall compensation packages also saw a hike of about 8 to 10 per cent as compared to the last year.

For example, Pune-based Synechron, which provides technology solutions for insurance and financial services industries, has been hiring more than 350 persons per quarter on an average.

“Since inception, Synechron has been evaluating talent with market value of the resource and it continues on the same path, powered by its double-digit growth. Our compensation packages are among the best in the industry and currently we offer packages that are 10-15 per cent above the industry average,” says Mulind Muralik, Senior Director, HR, Synechron.

“Highest number of recruitment by sheer volume was at the junior level as always. Mid to senior level was down to 15-20 per cent from 2011. Approximate hike of salary is 10-12 per cent,” added Karanth.

Talent crunch remains major challenge for employers

Even though there are growing number of professionals and job seekers in every sector, hiring the right talent was not an easy task this year as well. According to V. Suresh, Executive VP and National Head, Sales, Naukri.com, “In my view, lack of quality talent at mid/senior levels has been the major concern for recruiters. At the entry level as well, there has been a consistent deterioration in the quality of engineering and management graduates and hence hiring quality talent is becoming extremely difficult.”

“Our accelerated growth brings about significant challenges in sourcing the right candidates. Even though we have been successful in this area, we have had to deal with various challenges such as talent pool unavailability in the respective regions, domain & technology combination unavailability etc.,” says Mulind Muralik.

 

Projection for next year The job market is expected to remain upbeat in the next year as well. IT/ITES sector which is the biggest job creator in the economy is expected to create more jobs. The recent clearance to FDI in retail is expected to create more job opportunities in retail, manufacturing, agriculture and other allied sectors in the coming years. Emerging e-commerce industry will gain huge attention next year as it has emerged as one of the emerging sectors.  E-Commerce is booming in India and so are the available opportunities. “This industry has emerged as a sunrise sector this year and will gather momentum over the next year with more and more retail/household commodities/physical goods/digital goods/ services etc. expanding aggressively,” says Karanth. However, as the going remains tough on the economic front for businesses in general the hiring trends are not going to be in top gear sometime soon. “We can expect the macro economic volatility to continue for a few more quarters before seeing light at the end of the tunnel. We still don’t know if the worst is behind us or not. Having said that, if we see a revival in the markets and if the confidence level improves, we can expect hiring to pick up and the sectors to watch for would be Pharmaceutical, Biotech, Healthcare, Retail, Infrastructure and IT. We can expect renewed demand for core engineering courses viz. civil, mechanical, electrical and instrumentation apart from IT,” says V. Suresh, Executive VP and National Head, Sales, Naukri.com. Overall the scenario in the job market is very challenging and most recruiters are employing cautiously and are not going overboard. Emerging patterns Online hiring What is fascinating is how employers have evolved to ensure that talent is being tapped and this is where the real shift is occurring. Employers are moving towards online social and professional networks to not only look for talent but also to build their employer brand among passive candidates. Employers want a presence on these networks to build and maintain a more robust brand so that the right talent is attracted. Also according to the recent report of Monster index, the online activity grew 10 per cent in November. Overall, we can expect to see employers continue to recruit as strongly but their decision-making will be further influenced by what talent they see online. Hiring through social media is in vogue. The depth of employer brand activity online will get deeper and we can expect to see more employees recruited via social networks comprising Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc in 2013. Companies Head out to Tier-2 & Tier-3 cities A positive trend in recruitment is expected in smaller towns and mini-metros during the second half of 2012 on the back of increased hiring activities across sector IT, BFSI and Education. Such as Axis Bank, Viom NETWORKS Limited, Educomp) prefer candidates from Tier2&3 cites compared to metro-bred candidates stating they have more zeal to learn and flexibility. Survey conducted by Common Job Test showed that 80 per cent of respondents wanted to hire more Tier-2 city candidates, even if they did not have operations in those cities. Functional and experience trends Most industries which had forecasted a steady hiring scenario for experienced candidates in the beginning of the year, have now started witnessing a steady demand for hiring freshers. Recent surveys have shown that sales/marketing has highest number of positions, but is number four in terms of willingness to hire freshers. HR is the other extreme. Only 8 per cent of all jobs coming in are for HR, but they are the most willing to hire freshers for these roles. Operations jobs are very high (24 per cent) in market, and 79 per cent of them are willing to hire freshers, since most of these skills are learnt on the job. Research jobs are also high (22 per cent) in market, and 81 per cent of them are willing to hire freshers, since most of these jobs need analytical skills, not contacts or domain knowledge. Overall 65 per cent of companies hiring early-stage talent (Less than 4 years) are willing to hire freshers for their open positions. — With inputs from Govind Walkhu, Co-Founder, CJT

New lines in learning
Zubin Malhotra takes stock of major trends in the education sector

Foreign universities come calling

The dream to get an Ivey-league education without boarding an international flight may require you to go back to sleep for a bit longer! The Bill was tripped up by protests from Indian (private) education providers, regulatory bodies and the predictable cries of “selling the country down the river”. The initial keenness shown by foreign universities was tempered down owing to concerns over bureaucratic procedures and regulations around eligibility of universities, twinning & partnering norms, independent functioning, funding, and profit repatriation.

Foreign varsities’ enthusiasm for a slice of India’s higher education market though remains despite the Bill being put in the deep freezer. While they wait (im)patiently (and for the Bill’s passage (with frantic lobbying), several universities are using the time to test the waters and get to understand the Indian market. How? Through collaborations, tie-ups and partnerships in various modes with Indian universities and institutions. Several offer online courses (some especially catered to Indian students) and short-term courses and training by academics being flown into the country. It is a win-win situation for all concerned, though it does come with a hefty price tag for the student!

The Year of Single Common Entrance Tests

Despite protests from students, parents, academic institutions and educationists, and even several state governments, the HRD ministry went ahead with notifying dramatic changes to the entrance tests for admission to Medicine and Dentistry (NEET — for both UG and PG level) and Engineering (JEE – only for UG level). The move is aimed to have a single, standardised, pan-India selection test instead of the plethora of tests a students needed to appear for earlier. Whether this results in streamlining admissions, root out malpractice in admissions and ease the overall burden on students is something that only time will tell.

For entrance to undergraduate medical (MBBS) and dental (BDS) courses, the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) will replace nearly 18 different tests including the All India Pre-Medical Test (AIPMT) along with those conducted separately each state. The NEET-UG will cater to admissions for both government and private medical (approx 355) and dental (approx 300) colleges. Admissions to AIIMS and PGIMER Chandigarh will, however, not be based on the NEET-UG and instead will use continue to be based on their separately conducted entrance exams. The first NEET-UG was slated for 2012 but had to be pushed back by a year due to opposition from several states (Education being a State Subject). NEET-UG 2013 will now be held on 5th May 2013.

The Supreme Court has ruled that NEET-PG is not mandatory for admission to private universities and state-run medical colleges. NEET-PG was conducted as an online exam in November-December 2012.

Changes rung in for engineering entrances are limited only to undergraduate admissions, while allowing private universities to continue conducting their own entrance tests. The earlier IIT-JEE and AIEEE exams have been merged into a two-stage selection process which unlike in the past, will also take into account normalised Class XII scores. JEE-Main (the earlier known as AIEEE) will be used for admissions to NITs, IIITs, state engineering colleges, government-funded technical institutions (IIST, NIFFT, BIT Mesra, etc) and an assortment of self-financed private and deemed universities. Admission to Bachelor of Architecture and Planning courses at these institutions will be on the basis of the JEE-Main Architecture Aptitude Test.

Admissions to IITs, IT-BHU, ISM Dhanbad, and IISERs will now be based on JEE-Advanced scores instead of the IIT-JEE. The top 1.5 lakh scorers in the JEE-Main will qualify for JEE-Advanced. However, in order to be selected for admission, a student must in addition also be placed among the top 20% of his/her respective education board. The JEE-Main will be held in both offline and online modes in April 2013, while the JEE-Advanced will be conducted on 2nd June 2013.

Online (open) learning graduates to virtual universities

While computer and Internet-based courses have been around for several years, 2012 was the year that online education and virtual universities took the higher education sector by storm. It moved from being a topic of discussion (“nice to have”, “noble initiative”) into becoming the “next-BIG-thing” in the higher education space.

The OpenCourseWare (OCW) movement started it all at the turn of the millennia. Funded by the Hewlett Foundation and backed by leading universities such as Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Stanford, Princeton, Carnegie Mellon and UC-Berkeley (among others in the US), Tokyo Institute of Technology and University of Tokyo (Japan), and Oxford and Cambridge (UK). In 2012 the OCW Consortium offered 21,000 courses from nearly 300 higher education institutions from across the world. In India too, seven IITs and IISc got together to form NPTEL (National Programme for Technology Enhanced Learning) to create course content in science and engineering.

While this democratised learning and knowledge resources, providing access to teachings (videos, course notes) of top-notch faculty, no credits or certifications were available to those completing the free courses.

This need was addressed by the MOOC (Massive Open Online Course) platform. The launch and rapid take-off of initiatives such as Coursera, Udacity and edX received massive media, academic and public attention in 2012. These MOOCs not only obliterate barriers of time and distance in providing quality education, but also offer learning assessment and certifications. iTunesU, an Apple initiative in a similar vein, could well do to online learning what it has done to the music and mobile application industry.

MOOCs have been built on the more than decade-long learning and experience of OCW in creating and delivering content suited for self-paced, online learning. It has taken what OCW offered (a “library” of resources / information shared) and transformed it into courses/modules with difficulty levels and measurable learning outcomes comparable to traditional “chalk-and-talk” programs along with quantifiable assessment and academic certifications. MOOCs differ from OCW in that they are typically fee-based courses, offered mostly by private, for-profit bodies, and most critically, offer a qualification or certification upon successful completion.

Just recently Carnegie Mellon launched courses targeted specifically to Indian B-school students and management executives. Online and virtual learning isn’t limited to foreign universities alone. Closer home several private universities and distance universities (including IGNOU) offer online courses and programmes. Several IIMs offer executive education programs using satellite-based video conferencing. Self-paced online learning and certifications can’t be far away.

MOOC programmes and virtual universities are here to stay. These aren’t going to replace the traditional university system. What it will do is dramatically extend the audience who can access and benefit from the knowledge concentrated in the campuses of universities around the world.

Professional Education Slowdown

In 2012 150-odd professional education institutions stopped functioning. Since 2011, this tally goes up to 300! These were primarily institutes offering courses engineering, management and computer applications (MCA). Amongst engineering colleges, the IT branch is the worst hit. According to AICTE reports nearly 30% of engineering colleges have either reduced the number of seats in the IT branch or closed it altogether.

Is this an indicator of the unthinkable – that engineering and management education is falling out of favour? Far from it! Student numbers (thus demand) in the university age group in India is projected to continue to rise till 2020 and beyond. In fact, in several states the number of new colleges/institutions comfortably outnumbered those that shut down. Industry demand for skilled personnel in these areas continues to remain strong.

This correction is due to a combination of over supply of technical educations eats, a more aware and discerning customer (students) and most due to the inability of institutions to deliver on their promise of providing “good” technical education that makes a student job-ready.

— The writer is Career Coach Caring

Career Hotline
Route to managing disasters
Pervin Malhotra

Q. I am student of Class XI. Please tell me about Disaster Management courses and institutes. — Anand Pawar

A. As many as 22 Indian states are prone to multiple natural disasters.

• Sixty per cent of the Indian subcontinent falls under the earthquake zone.
• 40 million hectares of land is susceptible to floods, while 8040 km of the Indian coastline is vulnerable to cyclones.
• Over 4300 persons are killed and 30 million affected by natural disasters annually.
• Natural calamites account for 2% GDP losses annually.
• Devastating hurricanes, earthquakes, floods and plagues have demonstrated that no country not even the world superpower can afford to be caught napping on the need to streamline disaster management facilities.

I suggest you do your Class XII and graduation in the stream of your choice first before opting for a specific course in disaster management. Being a multi-disciplinary field, it requires people from various fields and backgrounds.

Where is chiropracty taught in India?

Q. I’m doing BSc in biology. Can you please tell me something about chiropracty? Where is it taught in India? — Avni Mehra

A. Chiropractic therapy is part of the alternative systems of treatment. This 5000-year-old non-invasive, non-surgical approach for managing ortho-neuro-skeletal disorders, problems of the spine and other chronic disorders by restoring normal body function is quite popular in some western countries like the US (where it’s taught in 30+ medical colleges), UK, Australia and Germany.

Chiropractic therapy is remarkably successful in conditions such as slip disc, cervical/lumbar spondilytis etc where normally surgery is recommended

Circumventing surgery (in most cases) cuts down recovery time and costs by as much as half. Chiropractic therapy is remarkably successful in conditions such as slip disc, cervical/lumbar spondilytis, golfer’s elbow, tennis elbow, carpal tunnel syndrome, whiplash, sciatica, frozen shoulder, knee, ankle and hip joint problems etc where normally surgery (entailing fair amount of hospitalisation) is recommended.

Ancient Chinese texts on Kung Fu and our own Vedas and Puranas contain references to this form of treatment (merudand or marmabindu chikitsa).

There are just a handful of qualified practitioners in India and even fewer institutions offering education and training in chiropracty. If an Indian student is keen to study this science and acquire a degree, then s/he will have to go abroad. Make sure you choose a good college where theory is complemented with the actual application; one that is accredited and well-known in the field of chiropractic studies.

To become a qualified practitioner, you can either complete a Bachelor of Chiropractic Science and then go in for a Master of Chiropractic, or do BSc at the undergraduate level, then take up a master’s degree in chiropractic.

How can I apply for training at DRDO

Q. I am persuing MSc microbiology. I want to do my summer training at DRDO, if possible. Please tell me how to apply for this. — Apurv Soni

A.DRDO (Defence Research & Development Organization) receives numerous requests for summer internship / industrial training / project work in the organisation. DRDO comprises a large number of laboratories spread across the country, each specialising in a specific field of research, development and core competence i.e. armaments, materials, electronics, heavy vehicles, missiles, life sciences etc. These lab clusters operate under the aegis of M/o Defence, with each having different training policies based on their security restrictions.

As the Director of the lab concerned is the only approving authority for industrial training, I would suggest you directly contact him for summer training through the HoD of your college. Check out the cluster of institutions listed under ‘Life Science’: http://drdo.gov.in/drdo/English/index.jsp?pg=techclus.jsp. Then send in your CV along with a formal request letter through the training and placement cell of your college with an NOC, signed by the principal. Do also log onto DRDO’s official website www.drdo.org

email your queries to careers@tribunemail.com

skill development
On road to utilising demographic dividend

2012 was a kind of a warming up session as far as the skill development landscape of the country was concerned. Highlighting the need for employable and skilled workforce, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had said at a meeting of GoM, “We can’t achieve our goal (of skill development) with a business as usual approach” asking ministries to aggressively prepare plans to roll out skill development initiatives. This was followed by an increase in budgetary allocation to Rs 2,500 crore under the National Skill Development Fund and establishment of credit guarantee scheme for skill development.

The National Vocational Educational Qualification Framework initiative (NVEQF) launched in February 2012, to be implemented in polytechnics, engineering colleges and other colleges in the university system by 2012-13 is likely to cater to 5 million students every year and is likely to increase the GER by 30 per cent by the end of 2020.

NSDC is playing a pivotal role in steering the skill development agenda forward. As on October 31, 2012 NSDC has approved over 62 training projects, 18 sector skill councils and has skilled over 2.8 lakh people through various projects. Various private players are partnering with NSDC to skill millions of people.

Outlook 2013

• From the government and regulatory perspective there is a need to further incentivise skill development initiatives so that the cost of training development and delivery can be shared and maximum benefit can be passed on to the beneficiaries. Likewise, the recent amendment in the Companies Act (passed in Lok Sabha, yet to be cleared in Rajya Sabha), whereby all profit making companies have to make a mandatory earmarking of funds for the CSR initiatives (like employability linked programmes) is a welcome step since this will open far more avenues, where companies can bear the cost of training, thus passing on the benefit to the beneficiaries
• From the industry perspective there is a need to welcome vocationally skilled workforce into the talent management system. Industry cannot continue to talk about skill deficit workforce and at the same time do not provide ample opportunities to the vocationally skilled workforce
• From the skill provider’s perspective it is important that training programmes are delivered in vernacular languages and are tuned to the needs of the industry so that post training employment is facilitated and students who have earned certification are able to find suitable employment
• From the learner perspective it is important that learners, the intended beneficiaries of the skill development programmes, join these training programmes with an open mind and as an opportunity that will open doors of potential future opportunities. An attitude of indifference and skepticism will only be detrimental to the opportunities that can change their life for better

writing a research proposal
A decent proposal
Natasha Chopra

The importance of investment in research at universities is critical as this is the key to innovation and development of the knowledge pool, which further enables long-term economic growth with the creation of jobs and with an impact on society. Research at universities has often been the key driver of innovation and inventions that have driven progress, material, psychological, philosophical, indeed in all fields of human endeavor

Universities and professors play a fundamental role in raising funds from various sources both public and private for research and development of this knowledge pool that is subsequently passed on. Hence while a substantial amount of funding is available from the various sources, each institution will invest in those students who are likely to give them the best return on sums being invested in R&D.

The idea of writing a research proposal can be daunting but hopefully by the end of this article, you will be off to a good start. Depending on the university, the proposal can be anything from 800 - 2000 words. If you are seeking funding of say $30,000, think of each word as valued at $200 each. Hence each word needs to be carefully thought through.

There is a lot of help available from the universities and on the websites. As a potential research student, you are going to be investing at least three years of your life in this field and hence this must be an area that you are passionate about, and that will have relevance and usefulness for society.

Before even commencing the proposal, a self-assessment of following criteria, are essential to have any chance of having funds allocated:

• This must be original and innovative with the potential of introducing cutting edge ideas and form.
• Ensure that the institutions you are applying have the supervisors in your proposed area of research and meets their area of expertise
• Familiarity and compliance with their guidelines. Each university will have its own guidelines and these must be followed to a T. Many proposals are at times abandoned because the proposal has not followed the guidelines whether it is in terms of words or other criteria including deadlines. Instructions must be followed in terms of the words, design and deadlines for funding. You need to plan ahead because acceptance of proposals can take time.

Focus on question

The first aspect of writing the proposal is to concentrate on the question. The framing of your question will help you to frame clarity in your own mind as to what you hope to achieve.

The question itself is very important because this will hypothesise the next steps that will further assist you in detailing your plan for implementing your research. The questions must be framed in a manner that evokes interest. These should be very clear, concise and coherent.

Clarity of mind

Secondly, you need to have a clear state of mind of your reasons of why you would wish to conduct research in this area, which should be relevant; and then you will have to ensure that this is going to be completed in the same time frame that you would have set for yourself. Hence the aims must be clearly defined. Remember your research has to add value and the university must be benefit from the research that is being proposed.

The proposal needs to state the current levels of research that have already been conducted and the details presented must reflect the background research that has taken place.

Mention methodology

Further, you need to think of the methodology that you are going to use for your research. You need to in fact layout the design of the methodology moving forward with the experiments and strategies. You need to pen down the key steps and it is very important here to define the timeline for each stage of your proposal.

Intellectual context

The proposal must have the intellectual context to enable the supervisors to see that you are very clear about the concepts and you also need to be able to anticipate the potential problems that are likely to occur and these need to be thought through. Your supervisor should be impressed with the proposal in all aspects and should demonstrate that you have both depth and keen mind.

It is always a good idea to present a flow chart which clearly exhibits the details and the time frames.

Remember no one expects you to know all the answers, but what is expected that you will draft this in a manner that this takes account of the problems that your hypothesis may encounter and how these will be managed with alternative options.

Strong reference bank

The academic references you provide must be very strong and not generic. They must be able to comment effectively on your ability to research and to understand to your subject. They also need to comment on your personal qualities and skills and your written communications skills really have to be of high standards even though these will be visible from your proposal.

The professor who will be your supervisor needs to have the confidence after reading your proposal that this is perfect alignment with the research being done under their supervision and is worthy of allocation of their funding.

Good Luck!

— The writer is MD, The Chopras, an education consultancy company

Ring in the seven Cs, Boss!
DC Sharma

It is time to ring in the seven Cs to revolutionise your career whether you are a subodinate or a boss. These seven Cs are an antidote to any negative thought. So celebrate the new year with these seven aspirations that will usher in progress and prosperity in the career of every boss, employees, and even the one aspiring to be a boss in the new year.

1. Confidence The first C you need is to be firmly confident. If you are confident then you hold the master key to control your subordinates and to create a positive impression on your superiors. However, be ready to cut arrogance out of your confidence and be compassionate, caring and helpful. Be courteous to your juniors Perhaps you have been controlling them by creating an awesome picture of you in their minds. Now just become a different boss. Give them love, affection, even a kind pat on their back whenever suitable. You will see how wonderfully these gestures click!
2. Communicate Learn to communicate effectively. Communication, when ineffective, fails to get things done. So many bosses fail to communicate effectively. They realise that something has gone wrong only when they analyse why they could cut no ice. In their case, even the time, money, and energy they spend often goes astray, bearing no substantial fruit. Effective communication alone is the key to success for being a competent boss.
3. Competence A boss’s competence comes to the fore only when he gets things done. Actually no boss is incompetent, otherwise how can he/she be a boss. But all the bosses don’t know how to get things done well. A competent boss is he who knows how, when, why, what and to whom, a job should be assigned. For that he needs to feel the pulse of each and every employee. It is there that his competence lies.
4. Coordination Coordinating his staff well, highly speaks of the value and worth of being boss. Mostly the organisations which go towards their downfall lack coordination among their staff. A successful boss alone knows the significance of proper and timely coordination. It is only with coordination that employees can strike the iron when it is at the right temperature, and be constructive and productive.
5. Cooperation To be a successful boss, one needs to be pretty clear about the fact that Cooperation is something different from coordination. While in coordination, the iron is struck at one and the same time, in matters of cooperation the staff members stand by each other in respect of help, guidance, and support, whenever needed.
6. Correct It doesn’t harm even if the boss finds faults with his subordinates provided he knows how to correct a particular employee who is going astray. To correct his employee while the latter is not doing well, is the rightful privilege of a boss. For that, the boss needs to know how and when to point out their respective flaws. A competent boss knows that he should praise his subordinates in public but should condemn them only in private.
7. Competition A competent boss knows before hand, that competition among his staff can prove harmful, even dangerous, if it goes on unchecked. He knows pretty well that competition is not bad but of tremendous use provided it is applied in an organisation in a healthy way. So the boss needs to look into the matter well in time, lest the competition spirit turns into doing or killing-rival spirit, instead of do or die spirit. In do or die spirit, there is achievement, but in the former there is jealousy and rivalry, both of which act like harmful poisons.

Good news for job-seekers

Job seekers can look forward to a prosperous new year with more than 10 lakh new jobs expected across various sectors including FMCG and retail, says a survey.

Coming against the backdrop of uncertain economic conditions, the projected number of new jobs in 2013 is way higher than the estimated 7 lakh employment opportunities created this year, according to the MyHiringClub.com survey conducted on over 4,450 firms across 12 industry sectors.

All these employment opportunities have been projected only for the organised sector, it added.

Besides FMCG and retail, more job opportunities are expected in healthcare, IT and hospitality sectors.

“The new year would be good for job seekers with expected 1 million plus jobs in the country. 2012 was not good either for job seekers or for employers due to several issues, including economic conditions,” MyHiringClub.com CEO Rajesh Kumar said.

Additionally, banking space could also see a fair amount of recruitment activities, especially with the Parliament giving its go-ahead for a legislation that allows for opening of new banks by private players. — PTI 

Happiness@work
Gems of ancient wisdom
Quit if it gets mindless

Agreed that life is a race where each one of us is running just to stay ahead of competition. But as a thinking human being, don’t follow the other sheep if they have queued up to jump into the well.

On finding that the yarn produced by Jamsetji Tata’s Svadeshi Mill in Kurla was doing well, the British decided to create hurdles. P&O Shipping began charging more from Tata than the British. When Tata bypassed P&O, three European shipping lines formed a combine.

So Jamsetji decided to start his own Tata Line. Against P&O’s Rs 19 per ton, Tata charged Rs 12. Then, P&O “hit below the belt” and reduced the price to a ridiculous Rs 1.50 and began shipping cotton free to Japan. Having had enough, Jamsetji shut down his shipping line.

After the death of King Prabhakar Vardhan of Thaneshwar in 7th century AD, King Devgupta of Malwa and King Shashank of Gaud ganged up against King Rajyavardhan of Thaneshwar and his brother-in-law King Grahavarman of Kannauj. In the ensuing tussle, Grahavarman, Rajyavardhan and Devgupta died while Shashank ran away. Then, Harsha, Rajyavardhan’s younger brother, assumed the throne and conquered many small kingdoms in north India.

On seeing Harsha’s success, the great south Indian King Pulakeshin attacked Harsha. Tired of this senseless bloodshed, Harsha decided not to fight any more wars. In the remaining part of his reign, he served the poor and promoted learning and trade.

When young Nanak tended cattle, the animals were charged with destroying a farmer’s crop. But on verification, the charge didn’t stick. When his father Mehta Kalu involved Nanak into business, he earned his father’s ire for “frittering” away the principal. Then, his sister Nanki and brother-in-law Jai Ram got Nanak the storekeeper’s job in the state granary under Daulat Khan Lodi. After working there for 12 years, Nanak was charged with squandering the state’s stores. On checking, Nanak again came clean. Finally, Nanak declared, “I have had enough of worldly jobs.” He plunged into the Bain river and stayed there for three days. When he resurfaced, he had become Guru Nanak.

To pick up a fight with Parashurama, the 1000-armed King Kartavirya Arjuna of the Haihaya tribe stole his calf. When Parashurama killed him and rescued his calf, Kartavirya’s sons killed Parashurama’s father Jamadagni. Taking a vow to wipe out the Kshtriyas, Parashurama went on a killing spree. The Earth was rendered sans warriors 21 times. Even the good ones didn’t escape the slaughter. Mother Earth had to intervene. She told sage Kashyapa to evoke his grandfather Richika’s spirit. “Tell your grandson to desist from further killing,” Kashyapa told Richika. Only then did Parashurama cool down.

Winning is important but it isn’t everything.

— Sai R. Vaidyanathan

The writer can be contacted at svaidyanathan@tribunemail.com

Course cruising

MEDICAL

Postgraduate courses at CMC

Christian Medical College, Ludhiana has invited applications for admission to PG courses of academic year 2013 from candidates of following categories:

• MD/MS/PG Diploma 2013
• MDS 2012

Check out: http://cmcludhiana.in

MANAGEMENT

MBA in Petroleum and Energy Management

The Department of Management Studies at Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Petroleum Technology, NOIDA, is offering admission to two-year MBA in Petroleum and Energy Management – 2013. This MBA course is designed as a career-oriented programme aimed at the Petroleum and Energy sector. The programme is designed to facilitate students in understanding, developing, integrating and applying knowledge of both core and specialised areas of management and their concepts and practices in the domain of the Petroleum and Energy sector.

The focus of the MBA programme is to impart extensive training in the various areas of specialisation through electives, thereby providing a wide array of career opportunities in energy domain and consulting.

Eligibility: The candidates must have:

• Minimum 60% in aggregate (55% for SC/ST) in Class X and XII.
• Bachelor’s degree in any branch of Engineering / Technology,
• Master’s degree in Physics, Chemistry, Mathematics/Geology or Geoscience with 60% marks or C.P.I. of 6.0. Mathematics must be one of the subjects in PlusII.

How to apply: Admission forms can be filled up online on www.rgipt.ac.in. Print out of Application Receipt duly signed by the candidate, along with application fee of Rs 1000 (non-refundable) and all other necessary documents must be sent by speed post/registered post/courier to the following address:

MBA Admission Office

Department of Management Studies

Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Petroleum Technology

2nd Floor, Tower C, OIDB Bhawan, Sector 73

NOIDA (Pin: 201301)

Tele fax 0120-2474919

Deadline: March 22, 2013

Check out: www.rgipt.ac.in

E-mail: mba_admissions@rgipt.ac.in

BIMTECH admissions

Candidates can apply for different PGDM programmes offered by Birla Institute of Management Technology (BIMTECH) at its campus in Greater Noida. The two-Year Full-Time PGDM Programmes include:

• PGDM (International Business)
• PGDM (Insurance Business Management)
• PGDM (Retail Management)
• PGDM (Sustainable Development Practices)

Scholarship roundup

Bradman Foundation Scholarship

The University of Wollongong and Bradman Foundation Scholarship is open for Indian undergraduate students in Australia. The university in partnership with the Bradman Foundation offers one undergraduate scholarship to an Indian student each year. The Scholarship is granted for duration of their undergraduate program and at the end of each year, another scholar is chosen. The UOW Bradman Scholarship is tenable at the University of Wollongong. The Award is conditional upon the acceptance of the Scholar by UOW. The UOW Bradman Scholar is expected to be a full-time student.

Eligibility: The candidates should be 17 years old and Indian citizens

They should have completed their secondary education at an Indian school to a level which will satisfy entrance conditions to the course their choice at UOW; They should have a club to high level of participation in the sport of cricket

Details: The UOW Bradman Scholar will receive a 50% tuition fee waiver per standard academic year.

Selection criteria: The written application and supporting documents are important and will determine whether the applicant will be considered by the Selection Committee.

How to apply: By post.

Deadline: February 1, 2013.

Check out: www.bradman.com.au/uow-and-bradman -foundation-scholarship-for-indian-students-honours-the-don

Training ground

Hitachi Ltd., Japan and The Hindu offer Technical Training Scholarships for Indian students in Japan. The study subjects include IT Solutions and Services, Thermal Power, Power Generation Plant & Power Grid Control Systems Engineering, Rail Systems and Transportation Control.

Eligibility:

• Candidates who must be Indian citizens, should not have completed 30 years of age on 31-03-2013 and should be in possession of the minimum Degree of BE, or BSc. (Engg.) or its equivalent from any recognised university.
• The scholarships are tenable in Japan for principally six months commencing about July 2013. Trainees may have general training in one of the following product fields of Hitachi Ltd., (Hitachi) for example (1) IT Solutions and Services (2) Thermal Power (3) Power Generation Plant & Power Grid Control Systems Engineering 4) Rail Systems and 5) Transportation Control System Engineering, being subject to the convenience of each of Hitachi’s establishments. During the training, there will be special emphasis on environment-related and energy-saving technologies.

Check out: http://www.thehindu.com

MBA Scholarship

Rajiv Gandhi Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship funded MBA scholarships are up for grabs for Indian students at Imperial College Business School in the UK. The centre has been established to help Indian and British companies improve performance in innovation management. The centre provides channels of knowledge exchange between India and its global partners by effective integration of research, education, and practice..

Study Subject(s): Business management.

Eligibility: To apply for a scholarship you must have an offer of a place on the Imperial MBA and a minimum GMAT score of 650. GMAT is one criterion among others, including interest, experience and capabilities in the designated research areas.

You should also be an Indian citizen (non-UK resident) intending to return to India post study.

Details: Scholarships up to the amount of £20,000 will be awarded.

How to apply: Online.

Deadline: June 30, 2013.

Check out: http://www3.imperial.ac.uk

News board

Yale Young Global Scholars programme

Yale University is accepting applications for the Yale Young Global Scholars Programme for outstanding high school students. The summer programme is open to rising high school juniors and seniors from across the United States and around the world, who will live and study at Yale for two weeks in the summer of 2013.

The Yale Young Global Scholars programme features intensive interaction with renowned Yale faculty in the fields of history, political science, law, economics, and international affairs. Students may apply to either one or both of the two-week summer sessions offered:

(1) “Studies in Grand Strategy”, which focuses on strategic lessons from history and their application to contemporary international affairs; and

(2) “Politics, Law, and Economics”, which focuses on great ideas and thinkers in the American intellectual tradition.

The interested students can visit http://summer.yale.edu/application/application-procedures for online> application forms and more details. Last date to apply is March 1, 2013

MoU with Jindal university

O.P. Jindal Global University (JGU) has signed an MoU with Yale University for collaboration in leadership education and public service.

The MoU seeks to foster the development and delivery of educational programmes for civil servants, military personnel, career diplomats, non-government employees, and other senior and mid-career professionals in public service by means of a strategic partnership between the two universities.

The main focus of the agreement is the development and the delivery of educational programmes for various governmental and non-governmental institutions contracted by the Government of India, the United Nations system, the World Bank and International Monetary Fund systems and their affiliated entities, and other non-governmental and inter-governmental institutions in India.

As a part of MoU, the two universities have agreed to pursue other opportunities for joint educational or practicums outside India that may arise.