[VOLUME 2 ISSUE 1]

[SEPTEMBER 14, 2007]

THE BITS HERALD

An English Press Club Publication

INSIDE
EDITORIAL TETE-A-TETE WITH SAMSUNG PLACEMENT FEVER BATTLE OF THE MESSES COMPLAINT BOX FRESHERS DAY OUT TIDBITS WEEKEND DESTINATION AMBOLI BOOK REVIEW - HP 7 2

ELECTIONS 2007-08
The elections for the Council of Student Affairs (2007-2008) were const 3 ducted on the 1 of September this year. An unprecedented total of thirteen students contested for the four major posts, leading to a very inter4 esting and chaotic audi debate. brow raising moments. The Election Commission initially barred all those who have been under the scan of the Disciplinary Committee, at any point of time, from contesting. This rule had to be revoked because the DC itself bars students from contesting for only one year. The CGPA cut-off was fixed at 5.5. Despite voracious pleas to modify this rule and even a signature campaign by some students, the Election Commission did not change its stance.

As usual, there were promises galore - most of which we have heard time 5 and again. There were a few that elicited chuckles like the infamous Gang of Girls concept. And then 5 there were some downright desperate ones like the proposal to increase the number of movies screened (point to Unlike last year, all hostels were al6 be noted: the Movie Club is inde- lowed only one representative each for cultural activities, sports, maintependent of the CSA). nance and the mess, irrespective of The elections went very smoothly their composition. This restriction was 7 thanks to the outstanding efforts by protested against, but to no avail. In the software developers - Abhishek hostels where students from different 8 Kumar, Shubham Malhotra and Gau- batches reside together, the juniors rav Paruthi and the Election Com- were allegedly requested to step mission. The results were announced aside by the seniors. on the day of the voting itself. The Earlier, there was a stir when two stunewly elected CSA members are: 8 dent members quit the EC in protest of the manner in which a certain facV. G. Kamalesh President Bala Tarun Nelapatla Vice Presi- ulty member was interfering in their work and the functioning of the Comdent mission. Vinod K Kommineni Treasurer Naga Hareesh Talluri General All said and done, we at the English Secretary Press Club would like to wish the new Elections in BPGC, for some reason, Council of Student Affairs good luck have always been controversial. Like in all its endeavors. in the previous years, this years elections too had their fair share of

[THE BITS HERALD]

[VOLUME 2 ISSUE 1]

[SEPTEMBER 14, 2007]

FROM THE EDITORS DESK

A common phenomenon witnessed in our campus, at the beginning of every year, is the creation of new clubs. This of course, is accompanied by the renewal of old The Edit Team: (defunct) ones. Krishna B (Ed) We have clubs for almost every kind of activity ranging from various performing arts Tanaya S (Ed) to software development. Sometimes, there are two registered clubs doing essentially the same thing. Gowri Thampi Ankur Kumar Most clubs begin the new year by inducting new members through an induction process. In some cases auditions are held and people are selected based on their performKhushboo S ance. They also rope in people based on past experience. Notices are put up. Meetings Megha G are conducted. All in all, there is plenty of enthusiasm to spare. Karunya M Asmita N Fast-forward to a few days before the Test-I. The meetings stop and suddenly everyRaleno P thing comes to a standstill. The club and all its activities are not just kept aside but forSuramya M gotten. This continues till the end of the semester and sometimes, the year. The clubs G. Srikanth Sanjana Devaki simply become dormant till they are renewed the following year. The renewal someB. Pavan Gopal times involves a lot of politics with power changing hands and even experienced memAnurag Sharma bers asked to prove themselves again. Transparency in functioning is lost. This bleak scenario, however, isnt the case with all the clubs. Some of them have shown a lot more dedication to their cause. And they have done a commendable job. Interview Team Also, this year, some of the older clubs have begun to show signs of responsibility and are working more professionally than before. So maybe we have reason to be optimistic and look forward to change, this year. Sponsorship Team The departmental associations too, often lie dormant. While they have done remarkaCoordinators: bly well in coming up with innovative names, logos and T-Shirt designs, not much has been seen yet of their technical prowess. The shoddy state of stalls during QUARK Vivek Kumar G 07 and lack of funds for research projects stand testimony to this. Design Team Ankit Goyal Pratik Mandrekar Faculty Coordinator: Dr. Joy Anuradha Contacts: epc@bitsgoa.ac.in Here too, there is a glimmer of hope. The CSA, this year, is taking departmental associations quite seriously. Their first step will be to introduce a common structure for all of them. The powers and the duties of the leading members will be clearly defined, thus clearing up the prevalent chaos. The recent weeks have also seen a lot of regional clubs getting together. This is welcome as long as it is in good taste. Regional clubs should serve the purpose of creating awareness about different cultures and integrating them into a whole rather than just being language based conglomerations where regionalism can raise its ugly head. Extra-curricular activities are as much an important part of a collegians life as are academics. They are a reflection of smart time management by a person and also serve to hone his skills in his field of interest. We can only hope that this year, the clubs and associations work actively in co-ordination with each other and the CSA, to come up with quality events and activities aimed at making life better for all of us.

[THE BITS HERALD]

[VOLUME 2 ISSUE 1]

[SEPTEMBER 14, 2007]

TETE-A-TETE WITH SAMSUNG

Samsung India Software Centre, Noida, visited our campus on 1st September to recruit students from our college. They selected four students for their R&D centre. We spoke to Arun, Jyoti and Saravana from Samsung on what qualities they looked for in the students and how did they find the placement sult of the aptitude test. Also, we are looking for not just engineers process at our campus. with sound technical knowledge, EPC: What are the skills you are but also people with good communication and team-building looking for in the students? S: The student should have ex- skills. So extra-curricular activicellent C programming and ana- ties play an important role in the lytical skills and should be com- HR interview. pletely thorough in digital electronics and microprocessors. We EPC: How are important are the may also take students interested projects done by the students? in VLSI a few years down the S: The projects are definitely important as they show the area of line. interest and specialization of the EPC: What selection procedure students. did you adopt? S: We first distributed a Power- EPC: Can we see Samsung bePoint presentation which had all coming a PS-2 station in the near the information required about future? our company. A written aptitude S: Its a bit difficult because ours test of 1 hour duration was con- is basically an R&D centre with ducted. The scores of this test specific focus on Samsung prodwere sent to Samsung headquar- ucts. So we might have to share ters in Korea. The short-listed codes and design patterns which candidates were then called for a otherwise give us a competitive edge over others. technical and HR interview. EPC: How relevant is the CGPA of a candidate? How much importance is given to extracurricular activities? S: CGPA is a reflection of a students academic performance, so it is a fair indication of his standing among his peers. In our selection test, the short-listing was done only on the basis of the reEPC: Have you been to Pilani campus? How was your experience here? S: We havent been to the Pilani campus till now. There was some problem of clashing of dates at Pilani. We were informed by the Placement Unit at Pilani about the Goa campus. So we decided to come here first. The experience

was good. The fact that 4 students have been selected shows this. The selection procedure is solely based on a students performance. Its a standard procedure for any campus. So it is not really dependant on the reputation or the history of a particular campus. EPC: What kind of skills do you impart to the students in the training period? S: The training is of 2 months duration during which the students are briefed on their role in the organization and technical seminars to boost their knowledge. During the on-job training, the students are put in actual teams and assigned tasks which is a part of our team building exercise. EPC: Anything else you want to tell us? S: Since only half of the students are at campus in one semester, the companies have to come twice. It is not very convenient for the companies to schedule a visit in every semester. It is better if all the students are together.

[THE BITS HERALD]

[VOLUME 2 ISSUE 1]

[SEPTEMBER 14,2007]

PLACEMENT FEVER
Microsoft, Yahoo, NVIDIA, National Instruments, John Deere These are some of the big names that visited the campus during placements. The preparations for the placements had begun way back in June with Harisudan as the student coordinator working on the placement website. A number of students also volunteered and helped in the process. A total of 36 companies visited the campus. Most of them were software and IT companies (popularly known as bus companies). This led to a lot of disappointment among the non-CS/IS students as many of them hoped to get placed in core companies.

which generally takes in 1 or 2 people - recruiting as many as 7 students from our college. Ten students were short-listed based on an aptitude test (quantitative aptitude, logical reasoning and data interpretation) and a technical test (C/C++ programming, operating system and database management). Two rounds of technical and HR interviews were held for these candidates. The placement had started off Subsequently, after a telephonic with NVIDIA taking in 2 students interview from Hyderabad, seven after much deliberation. Yahoo, of them were selected. whose arrival was postponed, also roped in 2 students for a cool pay Sadly, the bus companies took a package. It also made an offer to large chunk of the students. This one student who was doing his was probably because very few PS-2 at its branch. The biggest core companies were present. success, however, was Microsoft - John Deeres and Essars participation was a much needed relief for the mechanical and chemical engineering students. Fiorano, Aricent and Exeter brought cheer to EEE and EnI students.

dents Why 80 companies at Pilani while only 36 here? Why has ST Microelectronics indefinitely postponed its arrival? Why have companies like Infosys and Wipro selected very few students and also made last minute change in their offered pay package? Why did Cosmic Circuits go back empty handed? And the list goes on

A letter signed by all the students was sent to the VC apprising him of the placement scenario at Goa campus. It is hoped that advanced preparation, betSome questions still remain un- ter management and proper coanswered in the minds of stu- ordination with the placement unit at Pilani will surely improve the situation by the time the next round starts in January. Once bitten twice shy, as they say.

[THE BITS HERALD]

[VOLUME 2 ISSUE 1]

[SEPTEMBER 14, 2007]

BATTLE OF THE MESSES

Many students prayers were answered this year, when the mess contractor Mr. Atish Raiker was replaced in DH-C by Food King owned by Sarath Babu, former Bitsian and IIM-A graduate. course, there are many others who simply do not care. All said, healthy competition between the two is always welcome. the two messes. The maximum number of people eating in any one mess, however, will be restricted to 60% of the total. Those who do not get to eat in the mess of their choice in the first half of the semester will be given priority in the second. The plan is to ensure that neither of the dining halls gets overcrowded. This system, however, is far from flawless. Most students will have to eat in a mess they dont prefer, for over half the semester. And if more than 60% opt for any one mess, there will be a few who will get to eat there for the entire semester. On what criteria will these few be chosen? What about the good number of students who prefer opting out of the mess? These are a few questions left unanswered
Schedule for today?? No Breakfast, lunch at Atishs, snacks at Monginis and dinner at Food Kings

A 15-day trial of each mess helped us decide which food we The change has evoked a mixed like best (dislike least??). After response. Some find Food King this month, students now have an better; some dont, while of opportunity to opt for either of

COMPLAINT BOX
With little heed being given to most of students woes, some students believe resorting to humour is the best way to bring attention to their problems. Here we have some complaints laced with hints of sarcasm. All of them have been picked up from the hostel complaint registers.

No need for rock music; my fan makes more noise. Too many ants on the table for no apparent reason. No hot water from the geyser and no cool water from the cooler at FT3. (Guess they cancel each other out Eds. :D) Perennial water problem: More water is available outside the hostel due to the rain!! Gate-bandh at 11:30: We want freedom!! Water is leaking from the ceiling. Please act quickly before the room fills up and I drown.

Is anyone listening???

[THE BITS HERALD]

[VOLUME 2 ISSUE 1]

[SEPTEMBER 14, 2007]

FRESHERS DAY OUT

By Anurag Sharma

It was nearly 4.00 a.m. and I rubbed my left forearm again, in vain attempt to ease the "satisfying pain", still originating from the self inflicted wound. I had nearly pinched away my arm during the course of last 24 hours, just to ensure that I was not dreaming... I had arrived a day prior to the "admission day" and had ample opportunity to voraciously devour (with my eyes of course!!) my campus, more so with the Rain GOD sparing me that day. After the short journey from the airport, the campus rose before our eyes (me and my father) from NH17-B much like what Hogwarts did for Harry, grand, graceful, green and gorgeous. After securing a hostel room for me, we took a self tour of the campus and were for the most of our journey, either open-mouthed with air or beaming happily. The grandeur of the campus lay before us in its full might and it was with reluctance that we finally called it a night. The "admission day" was even more exhilarating (and exhausting!!). Hundreds of students, moving through the corridors, breathed life into the walls. I had butterflies in my stomach; I felt like a child being introduced to his new playhouse (though I was aware that B.E.(Hons) CS was no play !!) and at the same time confused with the varied discussions about placements, preferences, faculty...which I couldn't help but hear from the throngs of anxious parents who had collected. Nevertheless, once I got my admission slip (after standing an hour in line!!), a sense of joy, relief and exhaustion swept through me -- I was finally a BITSIAN. For the institute it was just another student, but to me it was everything

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[THE BITS HERALD]

[VOLUME 2 ISSUE 1]

[SEPTEMBER 14, 2007]

TIDBITS
EPSILON 07 Epsilon is an intra-college B-Plan competition conducted annually in BITS-Pilani. This year, thanks to the efforts of the Centre for Entrepreneurial Leadership (CEL), our college has been invited to participate. Around 20 teams each from Goa and Pilani, each team having 36 members, will be selected for the first round. Over a span of one month, b-plan workshops will be held for these teams to put their rough ideas into a more polished form. Basic introductory lectures on business overviews, marketing, finance, etc will be conducted. They will then have to submit their final proposal, on the basis of which, six teams will be short-listed. The short-listed teams will undergo one month of mentorship. Finally, three teams will then be elected winners. They will get a direct entry into Conquest, the prestigious B-plan competition organized annually by BITS, Pilani. ELECTIONS IN PILANI Elections at the Pilani campus were also held on September 1st. The results: President CH HARI KRISHNA REDDY General Secretary KAMATH ARJUN P. (Goa Board Topper) YES!! Youth Empowerment Seminar, a course conducted by The Art of Living, is proposed to begin in the first week of October. It aims to provide a platform for students to help them discover and put to use hidden potential.
C A R T O O N

NUS - BINGO The last week of July, 2007, marked the first ever visit by the entrepreneurship cell of a foreign university to OUR college. Students members of the Business Incubation of Global Organizations (BINGO) at National University of Singapore (NUS), spent a day at our campus to get an insight into the universitys entrepreneurial activities.

GEARING UP FOR THE FESTS Preparation for both, Waves and Quark, has already begun this year. The Spons Club and The Publicity Club have already begun work and it is believed that the remaining clubs will be formed soon. This year, both the festivals are expected to be much grander than their previous editions. Sounds good to us... NEW CLUBS

All 3: Ill have the eleven o clock rule removed. Ill

C O R N E R

"The Wall Street Club" has been started in association with an identical club in BITS-Pilani. It aims to conduct lectures about stock market trading. The Electronics and Robotics Club aims to teach robotics to those interested.

[THE BITS HERALD]

[VOLUME 2 ISSUE 1]

[SEPTEMBER 14, 2007]

WEEKEND DESTINATION - AMBOLI

Amboli is a beautiful hill station located at an altitude of 690m, in the Western Ghats. Though it is in Maharashtra, it is a very popular holiday destination among the people of Goa (including Bitsians). This is due to its proximity to the state. This charming hill station is a 160 km drive from BITS Pilani, Goa Campus. At this time of the year, the place is dotted with numerous waterfalls and a wide variety of flora and fauna. Bathing in these little waterfalls, high up on the mountain slopes, is a truly rejuvenating experience. One cannot but stare awestruck at the breathtaking views encountered en route to the hill station. There are numerous roadside eating joints which offer the traditional Malvanni (Coastal Maharashtrian) food among other cuisines. Places to visit include Sunset Point & Hiranyakeshi Temple. One can also go bird watching and trekking. Amboli can be most easily reached by taxi al- It is an ideal place to break away from the hectic Bitsian life and chill out with the clouds though buses also go there.

BOOK REVIEW - Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

The wait is finally over for millions of eager fans. The seventh and final installment of J. K. Rowling's "spell"-binding series, Harry Potter, is here. And what a grand finale it is. With a delicately woven story, iron-clad plot, and magic that only Rowling can create, this book has not failed to deliver. The reader clings on as Harry takes on the task that Professor Dumbledore has set him - to find and destroy all of Lord Voldemort's Horcruxes and to kill the Dark Lord. With the help of his friends Ron and Hermione, and a few clues Dumbledore has left him, Harry embarks upon this dark and difficult journey. Meanwhile the wizard world is sunk in terror, and the Ministry of Magic has been infiltrated by the Death eaters (Lord Voldermort's followers). With Dumbledore dead and the Order of the Phoenix greatly outnumbered, people look to Harry Potter as a symbol of courage and consider him to be the "Chosen One" to end this terror. As Harry goes about his seemingly impossible task, three mysterious objects, christened the "Hallows", take centre stage and become as significant to the story as the Horcruxes themselves. The book ties together many loose ends, and leaves the reader satisfied, yet intrigued by the beauty of the plot. Rowling touches upon many moral issues like the importance of friendship, courage and selfsacrifice. Now that the final book has been released, and with no more Harry Potter adventures to look forward to, there is a definite disappointment among readers. But one thing's certain; Harry Potter has cast a spell so strong that he wont be forgotten among his fans any time soon.