Adventure Sports
When vacation turns vocation
If you love the outdoors and the thrill of adventure, and are wondering which career to take up, it is time to make your hobby into a challenging career
Usha Albuquerque

It’s holiday time, and not just you, but many of the young people today want a different kind of a holiday — one that might include trekking and hiking, camping, white-water rafting or even para-sailing. No longer are holidays just spent with dada-dadi or nana-nani — these have become a time to taste some risk-taking thrills.

The varied topography of India — from snow-capped mountains and fast flowing rivers to deserts, thick forests and a long coastline — offers immense possibilities for all kinds of adventure sports.

A growing clientele

Moreover, with increasing urbanisation and higher disposable incomes, more and more people have the financial means to check out the exotic flora and fauna, test their endurance limits or laze around on long stretch of beautiful beaches not only in India but anywhere in the world.

Even corporate organisations and educational institutions use adventure sports as a training activity to broaden horizons, build team spirit, confidence, and interpersonal and leadership skills.

The increasing demand for these adventure sports has, therefore, taken it out of the realm of hobby activities, or an annual break, to something that has encouraged many adventurous young people to carve a career for themselves. Adventure tourism is becoming a booming new activity. With TV channels such as National Geographic, Discovery, AXN, Animal Planet etc. giving wide coverage it has given additional incentives to people to plan an adventure holiday rather than go in for a routine vacation.

This field offers an ideal career for those to whom a 9-5 job sitting in an office or in front of the computer seems like a boring idea. A career in adventure sports can bring excitement, fun and good income too.

Skill set

Whatever the activity, the work in this field would be as a trainer or organiser of such activities. A combination of sporting talent and managerial ability is required for this career. Much of the love for the outdoors comes from years of holiday experiences where you may have acquired some skills and a spirit of adventure. Trainers try and spread that love of adventure, and need to be able to handle any crisis that may arise.

So you would need to have good physical and mental health, courage, ability to stay calm under critical situations and leadership qualities. A knowledge and training in the sport one is pursuing is essential to instill confidence. Although a basic education is sufficient to get you into this field, a bachelor's degree in any subject is an advantage should you wish to move into managerial, or publicity areas of work.

Equally important is for you to have the right attitude for these kinds of careers, in addition to interest and aptitude. Since adventure sports include unusual, and sometimes risky activities, you must possess a high degree of risk-taking ability, ability to work in different terrains, a spirit of adventure, team spirit and leadership qualities, high levels of commitment and responsibility, environmental awareness and a love for conservation. Also useful is an awareness of first aid, camp management, map, compass reading and survival training and a hospitable and sociable nature in order to deal with the multiplicity of cultures and traditions you will inevitably encounter.

Getting in

There are several institutes that provide specific training in the different adventure sports. The Himalyan Mountaineering Institute in Darjeeling, the Nehru Institute of Mountaineering, Uttarkashi and the Western Himalayan Institute of Moutaineering and Allied Sports at Manali provide training at all the different levels of skill.

There are also institutes that provide training in other sports such as the National Institute of Water Sports in Goa, the Garhwal Mandal Vikas Nigam in Uttaranchal and others like the Indian Institute of Skiing and Moutaineering for skiing and para-gliding in Gulmarg and Auli.

Several institutes offer courses in adventure sports, both for beginners as well as experienced sports people. Many of the training programmes start with basic courses of 5 days to three-month duration, and you can follow that with higher level courses such as Intermediate, Advance to Master of Instructions (MOI) courses. Some may even be that of an instructor, which results in an internationally recognised instructor certificate, which enables you to work as a sports instructor anywhere in the world.

The Sports Authority of India conducts a variety of courses and training schemes for the promotion of a range of different sports. There are also degree and diploma courses in physical education and in different sports at the SAI institutes around the country. In addition there are professional sports associations, such as the Kayaking and Canoeing Association of India, the Yachting Association of India, the Cycling Federation of India and so on, that co-ordinate and promote training in various sports disciplines.

Job scape

The present scenario in the field of adventure sports requires a large number of trained people as adventure instructors, event co-ordinators, and marketing/management professionals. Opportunities for adventure sports professionals exist in excursion agencies, holiday resorts, leisure camps, commercial recreation centres, sports centres and athletic clubs. Those with enough experience in this field can also set up their own adventure sports centre where they can offer services and impart training in their area of specialisation. Trained professionals can also work as liaison officers in various travel and tourism agencies or they can work in training organisations specialising in outdoor training.

Adventure sports has also caught the attention of young kids, many of whom spend their summer holidays on adventure-oriented trips. There are today several organisations that specialise in catering to adventure travel needs for different age groups, combining camping out in the wilderness with some adventure sporting activities likes trekking, rock climbing, river rafting, star-gazing, bird watching and the like.

With corporates, too, adventure sports offers tremendous potential for building team work and motivational skills and is used widely in corporate training activities.

India has immense potential for developing adventure sporting activities of all kinds and with the fillip being given to such sports, this is probably the best time to make this a career. So if you love the outdoors and the thrill of adventure, and are wondering which career to take up, this is the time to make your hobby into a challenging career.

— The writer is Director, Careers Smart Pvt Ltd., New Delhi

Institute watch

Tenzing Norgay Himalayan Mountaineering Institute, Darjeeling

Nehru Institute of Mountaineering, Uttarkashi, UP

Western Himalayan Institute of Mountaineering & Allied Sports, Manali, HP

Indian Institute of Skiing and Mountaineering, Gulmarg, J & K.

Regional Mountaineering Centre, McLeodganj,

Winter Sports Skiing Centre, Kulu,

High Altitude Trekking & Skiing Centre, Narkanda,

Garhwal Mandal Vikas Nigam - www.gmvm.com

Indian Mountaineering Foundation, Benito Juarz Marg, New Delhi

National Institute of Water Sports, Goa

Lakshmibai National Institute of Physical Education, Gwalior

Balloon Club of India, Bahadurshah Zafar Marg, New Delhi,

Laccadives Diving Centre, Mumbai'

India’s Adventure inventory

There are a range of exciting activities — trekking and skiing in the Himalayas, scuba diving in Lakshadweep, rock climbing in the Aravalis, white-water rafting on the Ganga and paragliding in Himachal and much more. Mountain sports include mountaineering, trekking and hiking, camping and rock climbing.

Depending on the terrain, height and altitude, it is also possible to do skiing, sledging, heli-skiing and tobogganing on snow and ice, or para-sailing, parachuting, or gliding off the top of high mountains.

In several parts of the country, a variety of water sports are also being developed. In the mountain areas where there are fast flowing rivers, water sports like river rafting, kayaking and canoeing are popular.

Along the coastline, sea sports such as water skiing, surfing, sailing, wind surfing, yatching and scuba diving can be taken up. The western coast offers many possibilities for such activities, particularly off the beaches of Goa, Gujarat and Kerala.

There are jungle and tropical forest related adventures too. Camping and wildlife safaris, bird watching are other pursuits that are gaining popularity.Wildlife parks such as Corbett along the foothills of the Himalayas, Kanha and Ranthambore in Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan and others in the south offer a variety of wildlife and birds.

The desert safaris have also attracted a number of foreign tourists and adventurers.

Playing with lines and shapes
Gauri Chhabra

If you want a job that will allow you to walk the line between art and technology, with a little bit of drama thrown in, a career in animation could be a great choice for you. A creative bent of mind and an artistic inclination measure the unrestricted boundaries of the world of animation. Animation multimedia is an amalgam of text, sound effects, graphics and visual skills.

Getting in

There is hardly any field nowadays where some form of animation is not used. From cartoons to movies, advertisements, product designing, websites and research, animation has a hold everywhere. Now the question arises What spectrum of talent and elements of training are needed to produce these wonder-working “actors with pencils” called animators?

Degree and diploma courses in animation are available in abundance apart from online services. The minimum educational qualification for a degree and diploma course in animation is Plus II or equivalent.

After graduation in any discipline, preferably arts, you can apply for postgraduation in animation. However, some institutions such as Industrial Design Center (IDC), Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) and Indian Institute of Design (NID) follow eligibility criterion that only graduate of architecture, technology and engineering, and fine arts can apply for the PG course in these institutes.

Besides these graduate and postgraduate courses, there are several professional courses that focus on various styles and techniques. These courses are in traditional animation, stop-motion animation, rot scoping, computer-generated 3D and 2D animation.

Besides, educational qualifications, you need to have a very fancy electronic pencil. If you can draw traditionally, then you are that much ahead of the game. However, if you want to do animation and can't draw, there are ways to do that — stop-action, pixilation (which is stop-action using people instead of objects) can be of help. And there’s another one, the computer. You don’t have to learn to draw to learn how to animate on a computer. If you have knowledge of programming languages like C++ and Java, it will be an added benefit. It is advantageous to understand photography, lighting and movement for those planning to work in computer animation.

Creativity and innovativeness is key to success in this field. Creativity is the visualisation of illustrations and imagery, story-telling techniques and the ability to transfer ideas into form. Besides being creative, you need to be full of ideas and be willing to implement them. For a beginner, a preliminary course in 2D and 3D animation is a must. You must be able to visualise how an object will look in 3D and have the know-how to make an animated object look real. Half of animation is the ability to draw, paint, run a computer, but the other half is the communication skill. You need to beef up your finesse with fluid communication skills.

Job scape

Today animation touches us at all corners of life — gaming, movies and even education. A significant section that has come in the gamut of animation is Gaming, which is growing at an exponential rate. Game modelers, rigging artists, game animators, level designers, environment modelers and mobile game designers are some of the latest career options. We have a much bigger market than Hollywood as the cost of animation related projects is 10 times cheaper in India than in the US. Some institutes like Academy of Animation and Gaming (AAG) are offering a BSc and MSc degree in gaming accredited by Karnataka State Open University. Feature films also dovetail animation to a large extent.

An animated feature film employs the talents of a wide variety of artists. Animators make up a fairly small population of the people that create an animated film. There are also assistant animators; in-betweeners; breakdown, background and layout artists; effects animators; storyboard artists; visual development or inspirational artists; computer animators; and graphic designers.

With the recent thrust of Integrated Communications Technology in education, animation has found its way in the history and geography classes as well. To produce content in written form on the Internet will not make learning interactive. The content has to be delivered with the help of animation.

Remuneration

A fresher can expect a start of Rs 15,000-20,000 per month depending on skill and creativity. With time and experience, and depending on skill sets, sky is the limit.

— The writer is a Ludhiana-based career consultant

Institute watch

FrameBoxx, New Delhi

Academy of Animation and Gaming (AAG), New Delhi

Arena Animation, (centres all over India)

Animaster, (centres all over India)

Industrial Design Centre (IDC), Mumbai

National Institute of Design (NlD),Ahmedabad

Maya Academy Of Advanced Cinematics (MAAC), New Delhi, Kolkata and Mumbai

Zee Institute of Creative Arts (2ICA), Secunderabad

The Heart Animation Academy, Hyderabad

The JJ School Of Arts, Mumbai

Organic Leadership Course 

In order to support organic leadership, the International Federation for Organic Agriculture Movements (IFOAM) is offering a course for those who will be assuming responsibilities in the organic world in the near future.

Through the Organic Leadership Course, IFOAM will offer a space for learning and experience, and for developing innovative strategies and strong networks.

The course is targeted at present and future leaders of the organic movement. During the course of one year, it will provide an intensive, on-the-job learning process that will empower them to actively assume greater responsibility in pushing the world towards increased sustainability.

Eligibility: Women and men, committed to the principles of Organic Agriculture, who wish to achieve personal development and leadership within the Organic Agriculture movement. Typical participants may have their background in:

Farmers’ organisations or national organic movements;

Organic companies;

Organic producers, processors, traders or retailers;

Organic certification bodies;

Consumers’ organisations;

Organisations campaigning for sustainable rural development;

Research, extension, education or rural development institutions;

Government institutions (e.g. ministries of agriculture, development or environment);

Development agencies.

Duration: The course includes webinars from distance (online, internet etc) and two sessions of classroom teachings. In total it is spread across 8-10 months (year-to-year)

In total, the course offers 150 hours of intensive training, 16 days in person in a class of 20-25 participants and 10 half day webinars in the same group.

Fees: The tuition fee includes training; teaching materials; excursions; board, lodging and internet access (during the residential training); access to the e-learning software; certification and access to the alumni network. It excludes travels to the residential training, participants' equipment and pocket money.

How to apply: Submit a statement of motivation, a letter of support from the participant's employer and the completed application form, available at www.ifoam.org/academy, to academy@ifoam.org no later than October 31, 2013.

Skype interviews with shortlisted applicants will be conducted in November 2013 and applicants will be notified by November 30. Note that the maximum number of participants is 25.

Number of seats: 25

Website: http://www.ifoam.org/growing_organic/academy.php

New institute for realty, construction courses

The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) has entered into an agreement with Amity University to open a school for specialised degree courses in real estate, construction and infrastructure.

Amity has provided the infrastructure facility at its Noida campus for the new institution ‘RICS School of Built Environment’, while RICS has developed the curriculum.

RICS, the world’s leading professional qualification and standard setting body in land, property and construction sector, claimed that it is the country’s first such school.

The institute would start the first batch from July with 135 students. It will offer a range of academic degree programmes, including BBA/MBA in Real Estate and Urban Infrastructure and MBA in construction project management.

“This is a specialised school which will address the skill gap in real estate, construction and infrastructure sectors. “This is industry-led academic institution and will address the crying need of industry for skilled professionals,” RICS South Asia Managing Director Sachin Sandhir said. Sandhir said the industry was involved in finalising practice-based curriculum. “In the first year we will have 135 students, but we plan to increase the capacity to 700-800 in the next five years excluding distance learning and executive programmes,” he said. The fees for BBA is Rs 1.5 lakh per annum and Rs 2.5 lakh annually for MBA.

Sandhir said 5 million core professional are required annually in these sectors, while the supply is only 1 million.

“There is 80 per cent shortage currently,” he said, adding that the cumulative shortage would reach to 44 million by 2020 if the supply of professionals is not augmented.

MBA curriculum should focus more on practical skills

Management education is essential for a growing economy, but it needs a global approach as well as a strong interface with the Industry to be an effective learning platform for students. A strong proponent of hands-on consultancy experience for students, Dr John Kawalek, Director of the MBA, Sheffield University Management School (UK)), during his recent visit to India shares his views on a “productive” management course. Dr Kawalek’s work in Innovation Systems has been used to challenge traditional approaches and methods in management. Excerpts from an interview:

What are the career prospects for students taking up a management course?

A management course opens up new horizons of work and businesses. For example, I have an ex-MBA student who is simultaneously (i) doing a PhD, (ii) working in a university in the UK, (iii) working on an international research project worth over 2 million euros. Those who do not wish to work under somebody, however big the company might be, can go ahead to become successful entrepreneurs. I have another Indian MBA graduate who has set up two new businesses in UK, and is now supplying high-tech surveillance equipment across the world. Another has been working with me on the International Business Growth Catalyst — with 11 business clients growing their own businesses. These are just examples, and there are many more. None of these things would have been available had they not gone in for a management course. Nowadays, most graduates open up new opportunites, and have a portfolio of activities. It is not about getting a job in a corporate. It is much bigger than that.

What are the lacunae in management education industry and how can these be removed?

In business and in organisations, we need great problem-solvers, great entrepreneurs and great leaders. MBA education needs to become more practical, but not at the expense of being academically rigorous.

My view is that we need to continue to work towards linking theory and practice together, whereby the learner applies principles into practice, and abstracts lessons for both theory and practice.

Lots of MBA programmes are over theoretical — good at classroom teaching but not useful for practical client work. We need to reverse that trend. I believe that the destination of good academic work lies in analysing complex situations and making these simpler. In the past few years, there has been a drop in the recruitment as course fee has become higher. So, universities should offer more scholarships to make education more accessible, so that the course is not just limited to the students from rich households but can also cater to students from middle class families.

How can the students looking for an international university make the right choice?

World has become a funny place in many ways. You can have the same knowledge but there is a certain ‘snob value’ attached to certain institutions in certain countries. The rankings and structures are such that the institutions that have better history and grandeur seem better. Thirty years ago that wasn’t the case. People went to university that delivered knowledge and that was enough. Today, I would advise choosing a university with credibility, and international standing, but do not get too sucked into simply choosing it on ‘snob value’ grounds. You want a solid start, and choosing a university which has proven stature is important.

What makes your University a leader in this field? What is the USP of your course?

We have some unique characteristics. We have triple accreditations by AMBAs-the British Accreditation, AACSB-the American and EQUIS- the European accreditation. There are not many schools with all three of these accreditations. We are one out of the 58 in the world.

All our MBA students get to work with the client and companies and we guarantee them the same. They often get jobs as a result of our client work. We also have relationships with professional institutes like chartered management institutes and the institute of consultants. This means that immediately after the MBA, students can become ‘Chartered’. A Charter in UK is given by the Queen to professionals who have proven themselves in practice. The USP of MBA at our university is the combination of three components consultancy, entrepreneurship and leadership.

Who all can go for these courses?

We particularly take students with minimum three years of work experience. They have to have a good first degree in any subject. If it’s a four-year degree programme, then we typically ask for 55 per cent in average. If it’s a three-year degree programme, then we ask for 60 per cent in average and also need the student to clear an English language exam called IELTS 7.

—As told to Geetu Vaid

course cruising
Diploma in mass communication

IMCS Media School, affiliated to Makhanlal Chaturvedi National University of Journalism and Communication invites applications for bachelor’s, master’s and PG Diploma in Journalism and Mass Communication courses.

Eligibility: Bachelor’s degree in any stream for the master's and PG diploma courses and Plus II for the bachelor's course.

How to apply: Prospectus and form can be obtained from the institute or from the website on payment of Rs 250 or by sending a DD in favour of IMCS payable at New Delhi

Deadline: April 30, 2013

Checkout: www.imcsindia.com

Dual-degree programme

Macquarie University, Australia is inviting applications for its five-year dual degree programmes offered with Bachelors of Business Administration.

The course: The bachelor’s of Business Administration along with degree of law, psychology and commerce helps the students to study important business areas, including marketing, management, accounting, statistics, computing, human resource management and finance.

How to apply: Interested students can apply through the University Admission Centre (UAC).

Deadline: June, 2013,

Check out: www.mq.edu.au

Law degree

The ITM University, Gurgaon is inviting applications for admission to its five-year BBA LLB (Hons) course.

Eligibility: Plus II by CBSE or equivalent with minimum aggregate of 55 and 50 per cent marks in English. Additionally candidate should have appeared for (CLAT/LSAT/AILET 2013).

How to apply: Students can collect application form ITM University, HUDA Sector 23-A Gurgaon - 122017.

Deadline: June 14, 2013

Check out: 
http://www.itmindia.edu/

Management courses

NIIT University, Neemrana, invites applications for full-time two-year MBA programmes in Strategy and Leadership, Marketing, Finance, Operations Management, Human Resources and Information Systems.

Eligibility: The applicant:

Must be a graduate from a recognised Board / University in India or abroad with minimum 50 per cent. Students appearing for final year examination are also eligible to apply.

Appear for the NIIT University Management Aptitude Test (NUMAT). Candidates who have appeared for the CAT/MAT/XAT/GMAT/AIT and those who have valid scores are exempted from appearing from the NUMAT but must enclose a photocopy of their score transcript along with their application

Applicants with work experience are preferred

Selection Process: Candidates are required to fill an application form and need to appear for NUMAT, an online test conducted by NIIT at its Admission Centres. Following this an assessment will test his/her communication skills. Management Aptitude test followed by a personal Interview will complete the Admission Procedure.

How to apply: Online or by post

Deadline: May 30, 2013

Check out: www.niituniversity.in

BTech courses

KIIT College of Enginereing, Gurgaon, invites applications for B.Tech in (CSE, ECE, EEE, civil, mechanical) for the session 2013-14. The college is approved by AICTE and affiliated to MD University, Rohtak.

Eligibility: Should be a pass in Plus II examination from recognised board/university with physics and mathematics as compulsory subjects along with one of the following subjects:

Chemistry

Bio-Technology

Computer Science

Biology

How to apply: Applications forms can be purchased from the Institute office or campus by paying Rs 1000 in cash or can by sending a DD drawn in favour of “KIIT” payable at Gurgaon/New Delhi. For more detail please visit www.kiit.in

Selection Procedure: On the basis of merit of JEE (Main) to be conducted by CBSE. Seats will be filled by Haryana State Technical Education Society (HSTES) through online Counseling. The vacant seats will be filled directly by the college.

Deadline: July 31, 2013

Check out: www.kiit.in

smart strategy: getting along with work
Let go of ego
Swati Rai

A random poll of employees will tell you that the major problems at work arise out of ego issues. There is a fine line separating ego and self-respect; and between taking pride in oneself and being too proud.

Ego at work can break down all communication, generate misunderstanding thereby affecting productivity. Ego is a negative force that comes in the way of creativity and initiative at work. Keep the following tips in mind to steer clear of ego clashes at work.

Watch how you speak

What one says is as important as how one says it. Meaning well is not enough; articulating it in the right way also helps carry the right meaning to the listener. Speaking in a high-handed manner, even if it is with a subordinate, is unwarranted. Keep the goal of the task in mind and the tone and the tenor of your language in check. Speaking politely, however, shouldn’t be equated with being submissive.

Be the boss but don’t be bossy

Know that you are in control and never lose focus of the larger purpose of a cohesive, co-operative team. At the same time do not give in to people pandering to your ego. Let it be known that work will be considered as a benchmark for scoring points.

The culture of the workplace should be transparent and encourage open communication. Ego clashes abound in situations when the communication from the top sends mixed signals and is unclear.

Clear communication

Ego clashes are the maximum in situations when channels of communication in the organisation aren’t given primary importance. The channels of communication from top down and bottom up should be clear and there should be laid down norms of conduct and interaction.

Listening to each other, working without prejudices and pre-conceived notions about others and giving the benefit of the doubt to a person, are all a part of a healthy communication. This way one can avoid personality clashes that can turn ugly and thereby detrimental to the larger cause of the organisation. Encouragement should be given to employees to come and interact with the boss or the chair which is in charge of employee welfare.

Complaining is not a solution

Go to work with a positive attitude even when in some cases, many others at work are already working to pull you down.

When tackling people with ego problems rather than complaining constantly, identify the cause of the difficult behaviour. Take help of the official counselor or during personality conflict based employee workshops. Meet-ups and healthy discussions on each others’ behaviour can also serve the purpose of a peaceful organisation. Look at your own behaviour and language objectively to help identify trouble areas as the case may be.

Each one can do a self-analysis as sometime the signals one sends can be contrary to what one meant!

Goodwill and integrity

Conflicts are a part and parcel of life and most importantly at work. Support goodwill and integrity and value everyone’s opinion. Sound Appraisal and checks in the company speak volumes about the organisational ethos that trickles down to each member of the workforce. Have fortnightly meetings to discuss any conflicts arising out of ego. Transparency at work will foster harmony amongst employees and make them motivated enough to work towards a common aim!

Reward system

A delicate balance between keeping all employees motivated and charged and at the same time in a healthy competition with each other, requires a system of rewards and acknowledgements. This can be done without generating ego clashes and bad blood among colleagues. Ensure that there is transparent criteria of judgment and recognition of employee contribution. Awareness regarding judgment parameters and a healthy open discussion on the same will pave the future for a more cohesive happy workforce.

— The writer is an English language skills trainer

work station
Take note
Khushwant S. Gill

Be it an office meeting, a speech, a one-on-one interaction, a class lecture, or a summary of written material or online research, effective note taking allows you to store and use the information for future use. To our memories, that usually don't seem to get better with age, these jottings and scribblings are like a large breath of pure oxygen.

The majority of workplace conflicts take place due to lack of proper communication, misunderstandings, work overload and just plain forgetfulness. Taking regular notes smooths away many of these irritants and helps you keep a record of what went on. Tension with the boss? No problem:

Boss: “I had asked you to have the completed report on my desk by Monday morning?”

You (flipping open your little notebook): “Yes Sir, you had asked me last Wednesday to prepare the report and have the summary on your desk by Monday morning. We were to discuss it and then I was to have the completed report on your desk by Tuesday morning.”

Tension gone, everyone happy!

But most of us perform horrendously when it comes to taking notes. It’s probably a throwback to our early school years when we dreaded having to take out our pens and start taking notes as the teacher droned on and on about wool production in Australia or the intricate sewer system of Mohenjodaro in Sindh. Having never outgrown that dread, we’re now unable to make the best use of this wonderful tool. So, if you want to break this phobia and join the ranks of “the organised”, here are some tips to refresh and improve your note taking skills.

Rule 1 Stay involved

The first rule of note taking, seemingly obvious but not always so, is that you have to show up and you have to listen. I came across a great pic on the net where a group of students were clustered around a projection screen and clicking photos with their cellphones of the teacher's projected notes! A great advancement over traditional note taking? Probably not so. Because it misses the first rule — staying involved. Research has shown that paying attention during a presentation and making notes promotes internalisation, understanding and recall. It helps you to impose structure on information and connect the main threads of the content.

Further, jotting down your own notes enables you to include your own comments and ideas in a sidebar. It becomes an interactive experience, rather than just a one way speech. That's why it's not the best of ideas to copy someone else's notes. You're getting the information second-hand and more likely than not from an amateur note taker.

Rule 2 Brevity pays

Moving on, your notes have to be brief. There's nothing worse than having to plough through pages and pages of jottings. Not only is that confusing, it's terribly time consuming. Note taking is not legal transcription — you don’t have to include everything that has been said or written. Include the main ideas, the threads connecting the arguments and as many relevant details as possible such as those mentioning dates and time.

Rule 3 Maintain clarity

Write clearly. Many a time I scribble notes which even I cannot make head or tail of later on. The term 'having a doctor's handwriting' is not a compliment for people who're not doctors! Snap out of the daydream of striding around the ER with a stethoscope around your neck, saving lives and basking in the wild applause of the patients and the staff.

Rule 4 Revisit your notes

Re-read your notes. Sometimes it’s not bad notes but a lack of revision which creates the problem. At some point immediately after your note taking session take the time to look over the notes and make things clearer. Highlight, underline, draw some arrows connecting the main points. Visual elements are great for understanding and memory recall.

Rule 5 Traditional tool

In today’s wired world, digital note taking may not be a bad idea. But unless you are seriously fast and accomplished with the tiny keypad of your mobile device, your output will suffer from a lack of detail. A small paper notebook might still be the most convenient 'tool'. It gives you the added benefit of being able to pen in arrows, sidebars and other visual clues quickly and effortlessly.

And one last note

Try and keep only one medium and one main note storage device. Having notes scattered all over - on pieces of paper, notebooks, laptop, I pad, cellphone and online - will defeat the very purpose of note taking. Because then you’ll be making notes of where you've kept all your notes!

— The writer is a consultant for organisational performance and life skills development and a speaker

40,000 dream of landing a ‘dream job’

Tourism Australia’s ‘Best Jobs in the World’ competition has attracted interest from more than 330,000 people in 196 countries, with 40,000 entries to win one of the six dream jobs.

The largest number of applications came from the US, followed by Britain, Italy, France, South Korea and Australia.

The six positions include New South Wales’ Chief Funster, South Australia’s Wildlife Caretaker, Queensland’s Park Ranger, Western Australia’s Taste Master, Northern Territory’s Outback Adventurer and Victoria’s Lifestyle Photographer, reported Xinhua.

Tourism Australia Managing Director Andrew McEvoy says the competition has caught the world’s attention.

“In a few months there’s going to be six very, very happy people getting a dream job offer and a life-changing opportunity to work and play in our great country,” he said.

The 25 best applications for each of the six jobs will be announced on April 24. A final shortlist of 18 candidates will be flown to Australia for selection in June. Winners will be officially announced on June 21. —IANS

hiring scene
Infy to trim hiring

Reeling under flat revenue growth and bleak outlook, Indian IT giant Infosys will go slow on hiring this fiscal (2013-14) to cut down operational cost and minimise bench strength, an official said recently.

“We will go to campuses for hiring as and when required. Though freshers account for about 70 per cent of our hiring, we will look for lateral hiring for the remaining 30 per cent internally through promotions as well as from the industry in new areas such as infrastructure, cloud, mobility and consultancy,” Infosys chief executive S.D. Shibulal told reporters.

Unlike in previous years when the global software major was on a hiring spree every quarter, lower utilisation rates, increasing bench strength and modest revenue growth of 6-10 per cent for this fiscal (FY 2014) have forced it to defer giving appointment letters or joining dates to many of those offered jobs in 2012.

“Around 10,000 engineers will join the company this fiscal, including 5,000 who were given offer letters last fiscal. We will also consider doing just-in-time hiring during the year depending on the number of projects and their size. We will, however, maintain the 70:30 ratio of fresh and lateral hiring this year too,” Shibulal asserted.

Though the company hired 8,990 in fourth quarter (January-March) of last fiscal (FY 2013), net addition was only 1,059, as 7,931 employees left in the same period, taking the total number of employees to 156,688 by March 31.

On annualised basis, the company hired 37,036 people last fiscal as against 45,605 in previous fiscal (2011-12). 

Career Hotline
Pervin Malhotra email your queries to careers@tribunemail.com
What are the career options in radio?

Q. Can you please tell me something about career opportunities available in radio in the coming years? 
— Harshita Verma

A. With FM Radio entering 294 more cities and over 839 new FM channels coming up for auctioning this financial year, radio offers great career prospects. A typical radio station is divided into four parts — creative, activation, marketing and sales.

The creative side, dealing with the programme content of the radio station, is provided by the radio jockey (RJ), the producer and the scriptwriter. Radio jockeys interact directly with the audience. They must be adept at handling the console with its numerous buttons, the inflow of phone calls and messages, and make the programme engaging or “sticky”.

An RJ should be articulate, engaging, spontaneous and alert.

Behind the RJ is the producer who comes out with the ideas for the programmes. The producer often works along with the scriptwriter who writes copy for different promotions, advertisements and mini-plays. Both producers and scriptwriters should have a strong creative bent.

Music is a very important element in radio. Those with a keen ear for music and melody become music managers or sound engineers.

In addition, as in any other media organisation, there are jobs for those who market the radio station as a brand as well as those who procure ads and jingles for the radio.

Besides a plethora of private institutes, the Indian Institute of Mass Communication, Delhi also offers a short-term programme in Radio Jockeying.

For details log onto the website or e-mail: radiojockey.iimc@gmail.com

Post retirement employment

Q. My father, who is working as a senior IAS officer, will be retiring after two years. Can you tell me what kind of jobs he can do after retirement? My mother is quite worried but is afraid to ask him. — Manu Sambyal

A. Your concern is so touching. Senior IAS officers, like your father, no longer need to look for part-time government assignments post-retirement. Nor do they have to hunt for publishing houses to turn authors. Many former IAS officers have landed up with remarkable jobs post retirement. Such officers are joining large companies and multinational organisations, etc.

According to government rules, retired bureaucrats can take up a private sector job within one year of their retirement only after the government investigates various aspects, including whether the officers in the past three years of their career had any dealing with the company concerned. These officers get involved in assignments like urban development, transport, capacity building for infrastructure projects etc. They are hired as President, senior advisers and earn hefty compensation as high as Rs 2-3 crore p.a. So your mother and you need not worry, your father will have excellent prospects even post-retirement.

How can I get into GSI?

Q. I am doing my master’s in geology and would like to join the Geological Survey of India. Can you please tell me how I can get into this field? — Avni Mehra

A. You can get into the Geological Survey of India by clearing an exam followed by a personality test. The subjects for the exam are General English, Geology Paper I, Geology Paper II, Geology Paper III and Hydrogeology.

As a postgraduate in geology you’re eligible for this exam if you’re below 30 years of age.

Upon selection, you’ll be kept on probation for two years. Incidentally, GSI, which is currently running on reduced strength, is finding it difficult to locate new metal and mineral deposits due to lack of trained manpower. As a result, GSI plans to step up its recruitment for the next couple of years.

Though exploration has invited private investment, it remains limited to high-value minerals such as iron ore and bauxite. GSI’s, thrust rests on exploring over 50 low-value minerals such as tin and tungsten.

Log onto the UPSC website for details for further details.

Psychology course in Canada

Q. I am a student of BA psychology (Hons). I am keenly interested in child psychology. Is this course offered in any of the good universities in Canada and what is the approximate fee structure? — Yamini Sudarshan

A. Child psychology is offered as a specialisation both at the bachelor’s as well as master’s level at most Canadian universities.

Since you are already in the first year, you may look at transfer of credits to the second year at a Canadian university and complete your undergrad course there.

Or else, you could apply afresh to the first year of the four-year degree programme.

Concordia University, York University, University of Toronto, Queen’s University, McMasterUniversity etc offer courses in psychology.

The tuition fee may vary from university to university. Do visit the individual websites for programme details.

News board

Rural job portal launched

Vocational education, services and e-governance network, AISECT has launched a portal ‘RojgarMantra.com’ in order to offer job opportunities in the organised and unorganised sectors to people in semi-urban and rural India. With 2 lakh applicants already registered with the website, Rojgar Mantra is poised to be India’s biggest rural job placement initiative.

Rojgar Mantra is an attempt to place trained youth in a job in his/her local community which could also be a district or block level location. As AISECT is an NSDC project partner, the portal will first focus on the project states of Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand, Bihar, Rajasthan, Orissa, Gujarat and Punjab.

The portal will offer recruitment opportunities in sectors like Organised Retail, Textile, IT & ITES, Finance & Banking, Administration, Education & Training, Agriculture and Allied Sectors as well as Hardware & Networking. Apart from providing placement assistance, miscellaneous services like resume creation, interview preparation and tips for a successful conversion will also be a part of the portal.

International environment programme

Environment enthusiasts can apply for the BYEEP (Bayer Young Environmental Envoy Programme). This is a global environment education programme organised by Bayer and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) to help young people learn about trends and perspectives in the field of environmental protection and sustainability.

The programme includes an opportunity to win an all-expenses-paid week-long field trip to Germany.

Entries from students with active participation in an ongoing or completed environment project will be shortlisted based on various criteria such as sustainability, inventiveness and project management. From the shortlisted entries two students will be chosen to represent India as a Bayer Youth Environmental Envoy 2013 to Germany.

The programme is open to all Indian students within the age group of 18 – 24 years, holding a valid passport and actively involved in a current or completed environmental project.

Further details on the criteria, joining procedures and application forms are available on the India section of www.byee.bayer.com.

The last date for submission of entries is July 31, 2013.

Free online classroom from Finland

CBTec is launching in India a free online classroom Eliademy that will support educators and students, enabling them to create, share and manage courses.

It is available for anybody to teach and learn any subject, for free. Eliademy mission is to democratise education with technology. “We want to change the global educational system”, commented Sotiris Makrygiannis, co-founder and CEO.

It is a dynamic platform that can be used by both universities and corporate organisations as virtual learning environment. Furthermore, it can also be used as a MOOC (Massive Open Online Course) platform where anyone can teach anyone online. It supports all basic learning system features such as course content, file attachments, tasks and forum discussion, but also goes beyond it.

For more information: www.eliademy.com

Scholarship roundup

The Endeavour Research Fellowship

The Endeavour Research FellowshipProvides financial support for postgraduate students and postdoctoral fellows to undertake short-term research (4-6 months) towards a master's or PhD or postdoctoral research in any field of study in Australia. All eligible Endeavour Research Fellowship applicants will automatically be considered for Cheung Kong and Australia India Education Council (AIEC) Research Fellowship. The Cheung Kong fellowship is available for the citizens from participating Asian countries in Australia and Australia India Education Council (AIEC) Research Fellowship is available for Australians and Indians in each other’s universities.

Eligibility:

International applicants must be citizens and/or permanent residents of a participating country and must not hold dual citizenship.

International applicants must be currently enrolled in a master's or PhD course in a participating country for their Endeavour Scholarships and Fellowships Category or have had their PhD conferred and received their final results prior to the commencement of their Award programme.

International applicants must have completed an undergraduate degree (minimum) at the time of application, demonstrating high academic achievement. Postdoctoral applicants must have had their PhD conferred and obtained their final results prior to the commencement of their Award.

International and Australian applicants must be nominated by their host organisation and include a completed nomination form for commencement in 2014 with their application.

Number of award(s): The top five incoming (International) and the top five outgoing (Australian) Endeavour Research Fellowship recipients coming from and/or going to a participating Cheung Kong participating country will be offered the Endeavour Australia Cheung Kong Research Fellowship. One (1) incoming (Indian) researcher and one (1) outgoing (Australian) researcher will be offered an Endeavour Australia India Education Council (AIEC) fellowship.

Details:

Travel Allowance: $4,500

Establishment Allowance: $4,000

Monthly Stipend: $2,500 per month up to 6 months on a pro-rata basis

Health Insurance: (International) Health Cover will be provided for full period of Award

Travel Insurance: (International) Coverage provided for travel to and from Australia, not during.

Health & Travel Insurance (Australian): Coverage provided for full period of Award.

Total Value: Up to $23,500.

How to apply: Online.

Deadline: June 30, 2013.

Check out:

www.innovation.gov.au

Commonwealth scholarships in Sri Lanka

CSFP endowment fund offers Commonwealth Scholarships in Sri Lanka. The scholarship is provided to study master's programme in Molecular Life Sciences and Business Administration or in Public Administration.

Eligibility: Applicants should:

Be citizens of any of the following Commonwealth countries: Australia, Bangladesh, India, Jamaica , Kenya, Maldives, New Zealand, Pakistan, Seychelles, Solomon islands, South Africa, Swaziland and the United Kingdom.

Hold a first degree of upper second class Honors standard (or above) in a discipline relevant to that in which study is proposed

Number of awards offered: Three

Duration of award(s): Scholarships are offered two-year master's degree programme

How to apply: Application form should be submitted to national nominating agencies in the first instance by post or electronically. Successful candidates will be required to complete an application form for the proposed university of study in addition to their scholarship application.

Deadline: May 30, 2013.

Check out: www.csfp-online.org/fund/sri-lanka.htm

INSPIRE scholarships in Natural & Basic Sciences

The Department of Science & Technology (DST) under the Ministry of Science and Technology announces Innovation in Science Pursuit for Inspired Research (INSPIRE) scholarships for students pursuing bachelor's and master's level courses in Basic and Natural Sciences.

Under this scheme 10,000 scholarships of Rs 80,000 each are announced annually The candidates should be 17 to 22 years of age at the time of application.

Eligibility: Students with aggregate marks within top 1 per cent of their Class XII examination of any State/Central Board in India are eligible.

Student must be pursuing courses in Natural and Basic Sciences at the BSc or Integrated MSc level. natural and basic sciences include mathematics, physics, chemistry, botany and zoology and earth sciences. Courses other than these subjects (such as Engineering Sciences, Computer Sciences, Agricultural Sciences, Electronic Sciences and -Medical and Bio-medical Sciences) are NOT included in the current scheme.

Students who have secured in the Joint Entrance Examination of IIT top 10,000 ranks, plus those clearing AIPMT (top 10,000 ranks), and who also opt to study natural and basic sciences in any academic institute or university leading to graduate and post-graduate degree, would be eligible for scholarship.

n Students pursuing Integrated M.S. courses at IISER, NISER and Department of Atomic Energy Centre for Basic Sciences, Kishore Vaigyanik Protsahan Yojana (KVPY), National Talent Search Examination (NTSE), Jagadish Bose National Science Talent Search (JBNSTS) scholars and International Olympiad medalists pursuing Bachelor/ Master level courses in natural sciences.

Detail: Each scholarship valued at Rs 80,000 are announced annually for students pursuing bachelor's and master’s level courses in Basic and Natural Sciences.

Number of awards: 10,000 scholarships are awarded.

Duration of awards: Selected candidates will be supported for a maximum period of five years starting 1st year course in B.Sc., B.Sc. (Hons) and integrated course leading to MS or MSc.

How to apply: By post.

Deadline: Completed applications should be sent by ordinary post only within 90 days from the date of the advertisement in newspapers.

Check out: www.inspire-dst.gov.in/scholarship.html

Overseas Research Scholarship

Newcastle University, UK is offering support to international students pursuing a research programme at the university.

Eligibility: You could be eligible to apply for an ORS award if:

You have been offered a place on a PhD research programme

You have been assessed as international/overseas for fees purposes, and are wholly or partially self-financing

You intend to register to start your studies during the 2013/14 academic year.

Details: Each award (value approximately £5,000 to £9,000 per annum) covers the difference between fees for UK/EU students and international students.

How to apply: Online.

Deadline: April 26, 2013

Check out: www.ncl.ac.uk/postgraduate/funding/search/list/ors

Happiness @ work
Gems of ancient wisdom
Treat failure as a temporary setback

The difference between successful and ordinary people is their approach to failure. While non-achievers never rise after a reversal, go-getters take these as stepping stones to success.

On March 29, 1857, sepoy Mangal Pande of the 34th Native Infantry Regiment exhorted his colleagues to join him in revolt. But it all appeared useless. Within days, Pande and head guard Ishwari Prasad were executed and the regiment was disbanded. But, out of the blue, the revolted re-started on May 10, 1857 in Meerut. As a result, East India Company’s rule ended in 1858.

In the Battle of Haldighati in 1576, Rana Pratap suffered a massive defeat. Injury and starvation forced him to accept Mughal Emperor Akbar’s terms. But Prithviraj, a Rajput poet in Akbar’s court, inspired Rana not to give up. With the help of Bhil tribal and funds from trader Bhama Shah, Rana secured the fort of Phinsahra and the areas of Devar, Udaipur and Komalmir.

On the death of King Jaswant Singh of Jodhpur, Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb annexed the realm and held Jaswant’s wife and her baby boy Ajeet Singh in captivity. Durgadas, son of the Prime Minister of Jodhpur, vowed to restore the Jodhpur throne to Ajeet Singh. Many battles and 29 years after Jaswant Singh’s death was Durgadas able to fulfil his promise.

Marriage brought peace-loving Queen Vidisha and military expert King Ashoka together. Despite Vidisha’s efforts, Ashoka went on spilling blood on the battlefield. She left him and joined Buddha’s Sangha. Finally, Ashoka saw the light and took refuge in the Buddha.

Razia and Altunia were in love but they were separated by distance — she was the Sultana of Delhi and he was the Governor of Bhatinda. Jealous courtiers forced a wedge between the two leading to a battle between their forces in 1240. Razia lost and was taken captive. Finally, their misunderstanding melted away and both were joined in matrimony.

On seeing King Gushtasp of Persia accept Zarathushtra as his guide, courtiers turned green with envy. To get Zarathushtra held for sorcery, they planted evidence at his home. But the king’s steed fell ill and only the prophet could save it. So the king released Zarathushtra, accepted his terms and banished the guilty courtiers.

Jamsetji Tata couldn’t start a hydel plant on the Narmada in Jabalpur as a shrine was situated there. His second attempt at Dudhsagar falls in Goa failed as Goa was under Portuguese control and Bombay under the British. Gostling, an architect in Bombay, provided the breakthrough. He decided to construct a lake in Khandala and create an artificial waterfall. In February 1911, the foundation of the Walwhan dam was laid.

Forget not, fools fear failures!

— Sai R. Vaidyanathan

The writer can be contacted at svaidyanathan@tribunemail.com