Issue 1, Semester I
Pilani, Saturday, 10 August, 2013
epc.bits-student.org
Semi -Column
Parivartan Progress
A lot of progress has been made over the last few months: a rotunda, new academic building, an amphitheatre and more.. We bring you updates and what to expect in the near future.
ERP is here to stay, says Dean ARCD
Following in the footsteps of our sister campuses in Goa and Hyderabad, BITS Pilani, Pilani Campus took the call of moving on from the monochromatic Legacy System to the much-vaunted polychromatic ERP System for academic registration this year. In keeping with the BITSian’s general resistance to change, many students were up in arms about the move, which they deemed unnecessary and hurried. These apprehensions spawned from the trial run last year, where the first 100 PR numbers were requested to give the ERP System a shot, and had a nightmarish time with the same. The EPC spoke to Prof. N. N. Sharma, Dean, ARCD, for his views on the subject.
(continued on page 3)
Convocation 2013
With a heavy heart, but eyes filled with hope for the uncharted future, the graduating batch returned back to their alma mater for Convocation 2013, probably for the last time in the near future. The Convocation took place on the 4th of August 2013, and... (continued on page 4)
‘We won’t give up,’ Prof. Sharma said, when asked about the largely negative response that the system received from the few students who managed to get their hands on it. He informed us that the glitch was due to a connection failure which the team thought it had sorted, only for it to surface again this year. ‘It was a networking issue,’ Prof. Sharma said when quizzed about what went wrong. The system underwent problems on the first day not only at Pilani, but at Goa and Hyderabad as well, which have used the system in the past. When asked about the need for change even though the Legacy System was working perfectly fine, Prof. Sharma stressed on the ERP System’s superior interface and ease of handling. ‘It takes one a while to get used to it, but after that, it is much easier to use than the Legacy System’, he said, while drawing comparisons to a shopping cart. He also spoke about how the ERP System was more foolproof and possessed a superior navigation technique.
When asked about the way forward, Prof. Sharma requested the patience and cooperation of all the students, while stressing on the fact that they would definitely not give up without giving it a fair chance. He said that a mock registration is to be organised in September or October and requested that all students participate, to help iron out any issues that might remain. He touched upon the fact that many major colleges and industry environments use a similar system for their varied registration requirements, and was hence convinced of its utility and versatility. Regarding the problems that students faced with registration, particularly with the electives, Prof. Sharma took pains to assure us that all the issues will be sorted, and said that the problem of the SOPs being counted as discipline electives was due to the lack of time they had to calibrate the Legacy System perfectly. He once again confirmed that the problems students faced would be solved, and encouraged them to regularly check the ARCD Discussion Forum Facebook page for updates and to post any queries they may have regarding the registration process. Signing off, Prof. Sharma once again requested the cooperation, coordination, and patience of the students regarding any issues that the System might face in the future, and insisted that the system had immense potential and hoped that it would realise the same one day.
First Year Special Section - Page 5
Survival in BITS needs no following of a set of rules. However, you might want to keep in mind the following guidelines as insights into BITSian life for a memorable four or five year stay.
Mechanical and Chemical placement system revamped
Although it is not that time of the year now when we report all the highs and lows of the placement season, but new measures by the Placement Unit warrant attention. And attention and more is exactly what it is getting by modifying the placement for core engineering disciplines mechanical and chemical. The other streams have an established and largely working system that the Placement Unit feels does not need to be meddled with. They expect the new system, still in its pubescent phase, to give these two specific streams a huge facelift. The existing system is slightly unfair to both the companies and the potential candidates, as the pool of students who avail it is limited to only those on campus at that point in time. Thus, the companies that one is ‘exposed’ to depends on the semester that their Practice School 2 is done in.
We’re listening!
Hate mail or fan mail, we welcome all kinds of feedback. You could even write for us in the future. Send us a mail at [email protected] or drop a message on our Facebook account ‘The Fine Print Online’.
English Press Club Recruitment Test Monday, 12 August
?Writers,
Last year, the top recruiters in the first semester were Schlumberger, Shell and Exxon. In the past, the first semester saw more of IT and core recruiters compared to the second, which is majorly dominated by consulting companies, leading to reduced placements.
May is also when off campus placements are conducted. Around May, when students have already left, they can send in their applications to these companies, and the lucky few are called for placements on this basis. When the new system is implemented, all placements will commence around the 14th of December when the winter vacations begin, ending when classes for the new semester begin. This takes which semester PS-2 is done in out of the equation. This big ger demographic will ensure greater competition and hence better placements. The fact that placement season in IIT Delhi will be on around that time will be another incentive for more companies to head over 200 kilometres away to Pilani; although hearsay apprehensions are abound as their season is supposedly starting a whole fortnight before ours, leading to empty company coffers by the time they manage to reach the desert. The harsh winter weather in Pilani is one of the few threats to the new system working well. But then again it shouldn’t be a colossal difficulty seeing as, in the past, winter placements have generally been better than summer placements. The new scheme is still in its beta testing phase. More than 350 companies have been approached by the Placement Unit already and the responses have been tepid, that is to say. If the beta stage works out as planned, the new scheme will no doubt be put into place straightaway. If all goes well, placements for Mechanical and Chemical disciplines will show major improvements as planned.
Designers, Cartoonists, Bloggers, Photographers. Mostly writers. Come!
?Room No. ?5.15
3115
pm
?Cactus
Flower (Annual Literary Magazine) walk-in recruitment test at the same time.