TIPS TO FIRST YEAR ENGINEERING STUDENTS Prof. D.

Niranjan Babu Bapatla Engineering College, BAPATLA Engineering courses have been the selection of the most of the plus two pass out students. Every year thousands of graduates are passing out from professional colleges. But if you look at the pass out results of the engineering studies, then it will be very less than the plus two results. The reason is, only the students who are joining the engineering course with their own interest can pass the university exams. Because the engineering exams are all about the technical knowledge of the branch they have selected to study. These exams cannot be passed by the students who havent studied well and good. The students who have been joined in the engineering colleges under only the wishes of their parents cant pass with good marks in the engineering exams. But some of the students are settling well in corporate sectors and reputed organizations. But every student should think about Bright carrier and future, early settlement in the life and to lead happy live. To succeed in any course Knowledge, Approach, Time and Planning are very important. Most of the students opted in engineering ,might have got the seats of their choice in different Engineering colleges affiliated to various universities such as J N T U, Andhra University, Osmania University, Sri Venkateswara , Acharya Nagarjuna University, Sri Krishna Devaraya and other universities in the state Some of the students are from villages and some of the students are from towns and they should adjust themselves with new environment as early as possible. Once the admission is completed and joined in the college first the student should concentrates on the following points. 1. Academic calendar of the university / college for 1st year engineering 2. Syllabus pertaining to their branch. 3. Text books to be purchased. 4. Timing of the college, according to that Time management. 5. Facilities available in the college. 6. Adjustment to the college environment

According to academic calendar of various universities the 1st year class work starts from fourth of September and ends by May or June 2011. Excluding vacation the class work will be completed nearly in 7 to 8 months of time. Weather it is annual or semester pattern the academic schedule will be tight and students didnt get any time to relax.

The fundamental aspect to any student is time plane. It may be divided into macro and micro & short and long term planning. How to take up the 1st year engineering course up to April comes under Macro planning. Day to day learning and reading comes under micro planning dealing the graduate course year wise in short term and project yourself to higher education and reaching self goal of your life in long term planning. Micro planning based on the class timings and travel time estimates how much time available in day or week to complete the home work further reading. In professional course one can learn 50% only through class room lecturer, for remaining 50% they have depend on library and subject discussion with friends and faculty. It is compulsory to make the habit of self learning from 1st year onwards. It is also good to approach teachers frequently and clarify their doubts by discussion to get good knowledge in subject. Read more text books and prepare your own subject notes.

To gain maximum knowledge through classroom teachings follow these instructions. 1. Make your mind fresh before entering in to the teaching classroom. 2. Reach the college 10 minutes before class work commence 3. Concentrate in the subject teaching of the faculty. 4. Write running notes and note down important technical points. 5. Ask questions and clarify doubts as many as possible in the classroom and also in the department. 6. Dont be sleepy in the class. 7. Dont miss single class and dont loose attendance. (% of attendance also carrying marks in some universities) 8. Complete the homework on the same day 9. Make a glance of the topic before it will be delivered in the classroom.

Outside the classroom, the utilization of available time also very important. Spend few hours daily in the library search the topics in different text books which are thought in the classroom. Read once or twice until you understand the topic in the text book which you can follow better. Still if it unclear takes the help of internet, there one can find the lecture notes of eminent professors (Ex. MIT lecturer notes, IIT lecturer notes) and go through the Material on CDs prepared by IIT faculty. It is customary to know the latest applications and advances in that field. Once in a week go through the scientific magazine and

journals for current work and recent developments related to a particular field. Be friendly with all students. Observe one or two weeks, the behavior and attitude of your classmates and improve the friendship with whom you are comfortable and views are tunable. Invites friends to your room and discuss the subject for the better knowledge. Like minded students form a group and exchange text book among them and share the views. This decreases the inferiority complex and fear and develop the completion in the young brains.

In the 1st year 75% subjects are related to science and humanities and remaining 25% belongs to common engineering subjects. In most of the universities 90% of subjects are common to all branches one or two papers may be different. Understanding of the basic subjects like Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry and English in the 1st year may not be difficult. Because they are continuation to the intermediate syllabus. Engineering subjects, like Engineering drawing, Engineering Mechanics, Electronic devices & Circuit Theory ( for circuit branches ) and computer programming are knew to the students and appears to be difficult. One may achieve more marks in all subjects by doing worksheets given in the class room, solving numerical problems of old question papers and doing exercises given in the different text books. A part from theory, lab particles also play a key role in the professional courses. Synchronization of theory and experiment yield more command on the subject. Try to perform simple experiments and do mini projects after the regular ones. No doubt the more practical experience and good analytical capability certainly enhance the confidence level of the students. One aspect of the education is gaining good knowledge the second thing is how to attempt the examination and get more marks. In most of universities, the internal marks carry 30% to 40 % weight age. Internal marks will be awarded by the performance of the assignments and midterm examinations to be conducted in the college. Every mark is having full weight age. In respective of any exam write all internal examinations seriously. This benefit on the long run to score in final examinations conducted by University. Percentage of marks plays very important role in campus selections and higher education. Avoid back logs, dont think of supplementary examinations it will hamper the career prospects and diminish the job opportunity at campus placements. Performance of the student in each subject and growth rate

will be counted. Also some universities indicate star mark on final marks sheet which identifies as compartmental candidate. The completion of all subjects at a time with good percentage describes the potentiality of the student. The continuous performance without backlogs is one of the key factors to assess the candidature of a student at the interview or to get a visa to go abroad for higher education The students should be very careful in completing the engineering course without any subject failed history to have the bright future In the long term planning choose the suitable field in the first year itself. Options will be either going to higher education or search for a job. If the student opted for higher education like M.Tech, M.S or management study, be aware of GATE, GRE, TOFEL, CAT competitive examinations. Concentrate in the topics embedded in these examinations from the 1st year itself onwards. Without disturbing the regular curriculum.. To get a job after graduation focus on the opportunities of campus placements provided by TCS,INFOSYS,WIPRO,CMC etc and prepare for IES, IAS,GROUP-1 and other competitive examination like ISRO,DRDO,BEL,BHEL,NTPC,VSP,BSNL, from first year onwards.

In the present scenario admission in to the engineering course is much easier because of increase in number of seats and establishment of colleges even in rural areas. Recent estimates indicate that only top 30% to 40% may get jobs in the good sectors. With the increase in competition one should require quality education and additional skills. Not only the knowledge the companies also demands soft skills. Most of the recruitment sectors observer in the student are 1) Knowledge and intelligence 2) Physical smartness 3) Sharp mind 4) Leadership qualities 5) Fluency in English 6) Communication skills 7) Confidence level 8) Capacity to work in group environment 9) Soft skills 10) Professional ethics 11) Hands on the Experience in the elevent field.12) Behavioral skills One of the major hurdles faced by the rural students is the medium. Even though the teacher may give explanation in Telugu some times, for the absorption of the subject in the class room the students are unable to reproduce it properly in the Examinations. English Communication and lack of subject reproducibility is a usual problem with Telugu medium people. The indirect effect of this problem is development of inferiority complex and reduction of leadership quality. . If the student is keen to improve their excellence in exams, the following tips may be useful.

1. Start each day with a greeting in English Like Good Morning or How do you do. This enhances your confidence levels and adds a feel good factor 2. Watch as many English News channels as possible. Preferably if you are an Indian, try to watch BBC channels since the pronunciation is in line with ours. 3. Use sentences to reply to questions rather than a simple YES or NO. 4. When you are listening to a friend or a speaker, try to rephrase, what you have listened to in English. 5. Writing questions in English is another effective method of finding answers in English. 6. Each day practice crosswords/jumbles in English Papers and read English news papers, and science magazines 7. Start spelling out each word when you write a notes or an article. 8. Think in English This is a tip related to MTI, but is not easy to follow. Most of the Language related problems arise due to the inability to think in a particular language. Hence its important to think in English.

Now a days most of the Colleges are establishing English Communication skills labs. From first year on wards, utilize communication skills lab seriously and participate in the group discussion with in and outside the college. Involve yourself deeply in seminar paper contest , additional training classes and competitions conduct by the college, which helps in the campus recruitment and job placement Due Globalization of corporate companies students should improve their communication skills Every Engg student should have computer knowledge in his career. Keep on learning the basic computer courses throughout the graduation period irrespective of branch. Keep yourself away from the misconcept about the superiority of a particular branch. Strength and weakness of the student will be counted in the job recruitment. Each branch has its own potential. Reach the higher levels in a particular field and get a superior training. Priority and motivation should be given to sports and entertainment by forming the clubs to conduct different activities. Leadership qualities should be improved by participating Curricular and co curricular activities like conducting college functions, participating number of events like technical discussion, paper presentation and quiz Parents have to monitor the performance of their child in regular intervals. Try to solve the problem faced by your children. There is a scope that the student may get laziness and irregularity in the studies. Because of spy freedom and no physical pressure he may go away from

his responsibilities. The parents are advice to be in touch with class staff coordinator and head of the department to know the marks and daily attendance. Motivate your children encourage to participate invention activates and get counseling by suitable experts. Each student thinks for a bright further and happy life it may be possible with the hard work and proper training in advanced technologies in all the four years. Develop interactive skills, interpersonal skills, mingle ness with others, as a Good communicator, convincing abilities and team sprit. In any competitive examination like GATE, CAT, GRE aptitude tests are very important. Practice number of problems by collecting more number of books from first year onwards which a lot at the end of course

Apart form the education it will be better to have a good character and habits. To achieve this concentrate on the following points. Positive thinking and be regular to the classes Develop time sense. Make good friend circle and help the other needs. Participate in social activities like NSS,NCC Constant learning and reading 6. Technical and Literary Clubs Will help students in honing the managerial skills while allowing them to escape in to creative worlds of learning 7. Nature Walks, Meditation and Stress relief classes Will help in dealing with the mental tantrums and keep the health in fine shape. 8. Quiz, Drama or Hobbies clubs Students should invest in hobbies which will allow them time away from academics. This hobbie can be as slow as fishing/bird watching/star gazing to as quick as quizzing.
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Finally, now a days parents role for development of their children is also very important. They have to monitor their son/daughter regularly and get the information from college. If the parents identify any pitfall in their children immediately they should council them in right direction.

In conclusion, it is with utmost care and objective implementation that one may get the integration of knowledge. First year is only the foundation. The future is yet to be built

D. NIRANJAN BABU PROFESSOR DEPT. OF ECTRONICS BAPATLA ENGINERING COLLEGE BAPATLA